|
I bought most of the PDFs for Star Trek Adventures a long time ago, but didn't get to run it. I love the setting, but I didn't love the rules (at the time). But after some time running some other settings where there's a lot more crunch and funny dice with my regular group, I thought this might be worth a try. Having the PDFs makes sharing easier than having only physical books.
But the layout of the core rulebook is a little convoluted. Sometimes something is used before it is explained, and there's a lot of fluff mixed in, making it harder to find the specific section you need later on. Sort of by accident I bought the Tricorder Collector's box on Amazon, and it came with the digest rules. At first, I thought it was a bit of a waste since I had the Core rulebook, and figured I'd just use the book at the table to pass around. I really wanted the box itself for a project. Well, after looking it over, I bought the PDF of those rules here as I much prefer the layout. It works better as a RPG rules book than the original core rules by quite a bit.
Technically it is redundant, but it's that good. I'm only writing this review because there weren't any reviews mentioning this on this product (there are others stating this on the Core Rulebook, but you won't see those if you just look here).
The system is pretty easy to pick up. There are vague similarities to other system like Star Wars RPG, but it is much easier to play with normal dice than that game, which requires either specialty dice or the app on smartphones to be played functionally). You generally have 2 to 5 d20s you'll roll. You want low rolls. The specific number you need depends on your character's stat + department. If you have a focus that applies (each character has a few of these, like Xenobiology or Philosophy or Subspace Theory) then really low roles (equal to or below the department you are using in the roll) count as 2 successes. Extra successes beyond what you need build momentum, which is a group resource that anyone can use to buy extra dice on a critical roll.
If you don't have enough momentum, you can instead give the GM Threat to use on a 1-for-1 basis. This is very similar to the Light Side Dark side destiny system in the Star Wars RPG game, but isn't a zero sum system. I much prefer this method as momentum and threat can build and be spent separately so neither side and "freeze" the other out by refusing (or forgetting) to spend it. Some weapons will build threat automatically, which explains why Trek ships don't pull out photon torpedoes at every opportunity (much like knives and guns don't get pulled in every fight in the really world, either).
Finally, some rolls will also use 6 sided dice (for example, combat, but also extended tests) to determine the specific effects of a successful roll. They have specialty dice you can use (which also come in the tricorder box I mentioned) but they really aren't needed. The six possible effects are:
1: 1 stress
2: 2 stress
3: Blank
4: Blank
5: Effect
6: Effect
The roll that say, "Effect" cause 1 stress, and trigger one use of the special effects in play. Typically, that depends on the weapon being used. That might be extra stress inflicted, or ignoring some of the resistance of the target, but it could also be a loss of power, additional automatic hits caused, or damage over time). Finally, the total amount of stress you rolled is totaled and reduced by the opponent's resistance. If there's anything left over, they lose that much stress and if you do 5 or more, there's an additional effect. In personal combat, that's an injury (they are seriously wounded and out of the fight). In Extended Tasks that's a Breakthrough (you need a number of these to succeed, so a really good roll might let you succeed earlier than expected), and in Starship combat these are hull breaches and can take out a system completely. Finally, high results on the d20 can result in Complications. The simplest of these are additional Threat, but other results are possible, such as destroying a control, or hitting an ally. Normally these only result on a natural 20, but that can be lowered due to existing complications or certain character traits, perhaps in exchange for additional (free) dice.
This same system is used in extended actions, so once you understand how it works you know how all the systems work. It gives you the opportunity to have unexpected results. You knock out the guard, but you can hear another pair coming around the corner, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I wasn't sure about this system when the Kickstarter launched, so I didn't back it. I see I made a mistake. The system looks good, and the books (I've since bought everything except Escape from New York) that's out now, and I'm going to buy Kong as soon as it comes out here. The quality of the PDF is very good (though there are some charts with issues on Good Reader and Preview, Acrobat doesn't have the issue so it's not a deal killer for me).
Specifically for Pacific Rim, they include a larger scale called "Titanic Scale" to handle Kaiju and Jaegers. Its very similiar to Mega Damage in Rifts, and works in this situation because a normal person realistically can't really interact with a monster that's hundreds of feet tall in a meaningful way (except as toe jam). You need something like a Jaeger to fight Kaiju, and if everyone is doing that, then wouldn't it be much easier to scale the ranges, damage, and effects of these things to more manageable numbers/sizes instead of having kaiju do 100d6 damage for a light attack and take up your entire game table if you want to use battlemaps?
You can also customize your Jaeger with gear and equipment, though there aren't a ton of options they are enough to make them each unique without inducing option paralysis. There are two different kinds of resource limits, the bulk of the equipment and the neural load imposed upon the pilots. Bulk is the same concept as Everyday Heroes uses for normal scale eqipment. Neural load, though, limits the individual equipment a character can use and is based upon their proficiency bonus. Your Jaeger could have a weapon installed with a 4 NL, but if your prof bonus is only 2 or 3, you won't be able to activate it, making it dead weight since it still has the same bulk. Its a reasonable way to handle different characters having access to better equipment in hteir Jaegers as they level up.
Jaeger don't have hit points, and at first I was a bit skeptical about this choice. Instead, damage done to the Jaeger is split among the characters piloting it as psychic damage. The Jaegers can still be damaged, but this is handled through damage to specific systems. Your Jaeger could have a weapon damaged, or an arm blown off, and there are systems for getting this damage fixed and backgrounds features that can make this process faster. I think it's a good way to handle Jaegers without having a ton of additional data to track. Kaiju can also have location based damage like this, but they only have one damage level for each location, in addition to having overall hit points. This reduces the number of things the GM has to track, while retaining flavor and distinctiveness.
There are rules for The Drift from the movies, and this is one of the things I think they nailed in these rules. To pilot a Jaeger for more than a few seconds, you need two characters to share the "neurological load". This process doesn't always work flawlessly, and some people are more compatible with other specific people than others. Depending on how well two people are able to connect, you might find the Jaeger doesn't operate very well (like having disadvantage on all rolls), all the way to being better than the sum of its parts (using the better of the two pilots rolls on every action, and doing more damage if both pilots succeed in an attack, for example). I think there's some great role playing potential in this system.
There's a new class for the Wise Hero archetype called Bonded Twins. While I like this, since the Jaegers require two pilots, I'm not certain on how they are supposed to operate 100%. The concept is for a single player to have 2 characters so they can pilot a full sized Jaeger "by themselves" without needing to make two whole characters up. And I think I understand how'd they work (they have couple of pages explaining them), and they have some benefits over a traditiomal character, but they have downsides, too. They appear to be balanced, but I think I'd have to play one in an actual game to see how they work for sure.
Reading this has me very interested in the King Kong rules that are due out in a couple of days, as the two sets of rules are supposed to be compatible.
|
|
|
|
|
|
First, the good:
Really interesting ideas on integrating real world technology changes into the technology of the near future. When I first played Shadowrun in 1989 there was no wifi. Most people didn't even have home computers, much less networks of them in their home. Fast forward 10 years and it wasn't uncommon to have a home network, but it was a wired one. Fast foward another 10 years and people routinely had personal wireless devices in their pockets with more computing power than basically anything anyone had when the game came out. A setting that tries to predict what techology and society could be like 70 years in the future is likely to need tweaks from time to time, and I like a lot of the metaplot in Shadowrun and how its adapted concepts like wireless computing and the Cloud™. Then add in Magic and how old beliefs are seen in a new light and you have room for a lot of chaos. Yet, the world is still somewhat recognizible. People are still people, for the good and bad that brings.
Some of the new mechanics are interesting. Edge actions are interesting. You benfit from having a high Edge stat, but its not insane to not build your character around it. You'll be able to build up Edge points to spend over the course of a confrontation (physical, magical, technological, or social) if you are in an arena you excel in compared to your opposition, but it will take time. Time you might not have. And there's uses for anything from 1 to 5 points of Edge. So if you only have Edge 1, you might not be able to easily pull out that utlimate move right out the gate, but some creative thinking and planning might let you do it by shifting the arena mid confrontation. I generally like this, at least as a concept.
The books look nice and high quality in layout. Art is good (but sometimes not great), and evocative. It feels professional at first glance. But see below.
And the bad:
There are unacceptable problems with the editing that do not really get addressed, and this is true throughout the line. Having some typos is expected, even with professional editing in a paid product. But many other things are never addressed and really shouldn't have made it beyond the proof-reading stage. But the core PDF not having bookmarks added, even years after being released? That's not just a low bar, that's the bar still being on the floor. Add in the problems that aren't really addressed. Can a hacker hack your cyberarm? Yes, but what can they do other than brick it? I have no idea in the core book! Maybe they can control it like a drone and make you keep hitting yourself over and over, or shoot your friend? That's not really addressed until the Matrix book that didn't come out until very recently, and only as a Technomancer ability. That's not really something that should be left up to each GM because it has really fundamental effects on the game.
Some parts of the changes to combat really strain the suspension of disbelief. Armor doesn't provide direct protection anymore, it instead only helps prevent the enemy from gaining Edge when they attack you? For some weapons that might make sense, but for others it feels far too strange. A average person using a knife to stab someone with heavy security armor probably should have more trouble than just giving the target one or maybe 2 points of edge (which they could then use to attack someone other than the knife wielder on their turn!). That seems all kinds of wrong to me. It's also ripe for abuse, which they had to call out in the rules, so obviously was a problem during playtesting. They propbably should have reworked that part opf the system rather than releasing it, though I also get the problem earlier editions had where someone could be so tough and armored it was really hard to hurt them, which isn't fun and could make combat really bogged down without progress on either side at times.
Overall:
If this is your first exposure to Shadowrun you will be confused. There's important things left in the air that are not defined but should be. There's some very dense lore that won't make sense without the context of prior editions. But you will probably have less frustration with some of the changes from earlier editions.
If you've been playing SR for a long time, you will probably like the setting advancements and plot development. You'll probably find lots of Easter Eggs that will bring back fond memories of ealrier editions. You will probably also had a lot of the new rules, at least at first, and maybe forever. I'm currently in a love/hate relationship with the combat system in general.
Verdict:
Interesting ideas, but the execution is defintely lacking. I honestly don't know if the problem is CGL, but if it isn't they should have addressed these problems through updates by now. It might be worth picking up for the lore updates and finding ideas to mine for other systems (or earlier editions).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wicked Ones is one of my favorite game systems of the last several years. And I was eagerly awaiting Undead Awakening. I wasn't sure how compatible the two systems would be, or how drastically changed the system would be to support the different kinds of monsters they would be. If you've played Wicked Ones, you can think of Undead Awakening as the concept of "Primal Monster", but as applied to the setting and some of the basic rules to support that difference in setting. Its not completely different, but feels different.
First off, I love the reskinning of Master Plan as a candle that burns down. Setting a deadline (pardon the pun) on whatever created this Undead Awakening is a great way to repurpose the Master Plan. Second, making it easy, and even important to the advancement of the game, for the PCs to die and return again (and again) shows the difficulty of beating undead foes for good.
There's a section on altering basic concepts in Undead Awakening to make it play more like Wicked Ones, or incorporating parts of Undead Awakening in a Wicked Ones game that may prove useful in my cirrent game, and is a welcome addition.
I also think there's a lot of value in this as an example of ways to extensively mod Wicked Ones for other kinds of games. From small changes to support a different kind of monster included in the base game (Wandering monsters, Big Bad Wicked Ones, to Valiant Ones) to larger changes to make a setting distinct in this expansion (Candle, Rot, New Monsters), and all of this being exceptionally well supported with the digital assets being included in the downloads.
I think a Supervillians Game with Superheros replacing Adventurers would be fun, and work well with this kind oif system. Or an Alien Invasion, with the Players picking different tropes of Aliens working to overtake humanity might be worth while. The point being, after playing and reading this, I'm full of ideas, whoch is the highest praise I can give for any game system. After playing games for almost 40 years, that's not novel as you'd think.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I ran my first session with it with one very experienced gamer and one who has played a little bit, a long time ago, but never a game like this. Everyone had fun and it was really interesting. They decioded to raid a Rank 1 faction but attacking a caravan as it split into 3 parts to trade with three different nearby towns. The first attack when off without a hitch. The player rolls were HOTTT. It seemed too easy. They carried the loot back to the dungeon and attacked the other caravan (the third was not goijng to get attacked as it comtained the vile friend that tiped them off to the opportunity). That one nearly resulted in a TPK. Engagement roll went as badly as possible, and the Wicked Ones were led into 2 ambushes. Multiple arrows were unleashed, and all defenses were quickly exhuasted. The Brain Eater went feral, and tried to use his mind control power to make the attackers kill themselves. Instead they turned and killed his thrall (3 dice, -2 for level 3 effect, +1 for dark heart, +1 for dark bargain (the command would affect his thrall as well) = 3 dice, rol: 1,1,1 D'Oh!) But in the end the Wicked Ones pulled it out, just barely.
The rules are easy to understand if you've played any other Powered byb the Apocalypse games, and explaining them to a new player who hadn't played any of those games wasn't all that difficult. The hardest part was getting them to accept that they get to narrate a lot more of the action than typical in a game. But that took a couple of actions for that to sink in and they were doing it easily. Next was me coming up with alternatives for partial resistances and alternative consequences for mized results to keep the game feeling fresh. I'm still working on that, but the players were happy at the end and we plan to continue it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
One of the more extensive modifications of the Apocalypse World rules, I found this version to have some excellent ideas and structure changes. It is also one of the best at handling different scales. You have two "characters" you play. One is a character in the more traditional sense, but the main character is actually a familiy of people that single character is from. I use the term "people" pretty loosely here. One of the families are synthetic beings, and another are uplifted animals.
Families have needs, and surpluses. Those resources (or the lack of the same) are a driving force for motivation. One of your figured attributes is the difference between the two of these totals (number of surpluses - number of needs), named "Mood". You have to roll that when the Family is under adverse conditions, so you want to get rid of your needs and maximize your wants so your family doesn't crack when things get hard and the GM decides you need to see if they "Hold Together".
Another great aspect of the system is the Quick Character system. If one of the Players wants to go off and persue a section of the map (that you all built together in the first session) for some goal it often won't make sense for everyone's character to go along. But rather than sitting out that part of the game, you make a Quick Character which is another member of their family with a reduced amount of detail comapred to a full PC. This way everyone can still be involved and not feel like they have nothing to do if the session focuses on someone else for a while.
|
|
|
|
|
|
These are really helpful if you use Hero Lab. Selecting the various Spheres of Power, making sure any bonuses are respected, etc is really useful.
For example, a 20th level Elementalist counts as a 15ht level caster for most Spheres. But for the Destruction Sphere they'd count as 20th level, which affects the damage they do, their Save DC, their range, etc. After the last update (make sure you read the README included so you set the Source correctly to get these updates) that difference in casting levels is correct, with the exception of range. Since that is only listed on the general Spheres tab, it won't list the proper close, medium, and long ranges for Spheres where the caster has a higher level. If they were included on each tab, as save DC is, this wouldn't be a problem anymore, but is a very minor issue.
If you use HL and SoP, this is a must-have.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Visually, these are very nice looking models. But they aren't well designed for 3d printing. For example, the pillars are merely placed next to the walls, rather than properly merging them with the walls. This causes there to be an inner perimeter between the pillar and the wall section ina single model, with a small gap between them. The connection is therefore weaker, more material is used to print them, more time is taken, and a weaker bond forms. These are all small mistakes that I hope they correct.
A perhaps worse problem is the overhangs. They would look just as nice if a very samll amount of attention was paid to reduce the amount of overhangs, especially the 90º overhangs. The stones don't need to stick out so far from the wall to look right, and by angling the edges of stones a little bit less they could easily be printed with minimal (or even no) supports.
|
|
|
|
|
|
When I saw this playbook I wasn't sure what to expect and passed it by. When I finally read the description and realized it was about playing Beholders, I was on board.
It does a good job of translating the concept of a floating sphere with eye stalks that have various magical effects, all while putting their own twist on it. You get 4 of the eye beams to start, with moves granting you the others, and the ones you have access to are called "Awakened Eyes". This terminology is important because for each Awakened Eye you also gain extra visual abilities. For example, with the disease eye you can microscopic sight.
To balance all of this power with other playbooks, when you use your eye beams you have a good likelyhook that it will have to close for a while to rest, which means you lose the sight ability you gained with it during that time, too. This nicely forces you to use all of your eyes and not become overly dependant upon the same one or two all of the time.
There is one mistake in the book. The Eyes listed on the first page have a Paralyzing Eye, but the list on the last page that gives more details for each eye list a Psychic Eye instead.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I've finally had the chance to read through all of the rules for this and I love it. Great use of the Dungeon World system.
First off, who hasn't wondered what life is like for the weakest of the the intelligent denizens of the average fantasy world? They exist to be slaughtered by the dozens by low level adventurers, and very quickly even in large groups pose no real threat. Life must suck for them, and yet from that adversity can come stories of adventure and survival by the thinnest of threads.
What is it like to have to use every advantage you can come up with just to even the odds vs a famrer armed with pitchfork? With this game you can find out. If your gaming group is a large one, everyone will still have something to do, since none of you will be all that tough, but your village is counting on you to do your best!
So does the system allow you to advance? That's probably the best part in my opinion. In nost DW games you get tougher and tougher, just like in D&D, Pathfinder, etc. But that would really hurt this style of game. Instead, when you die, you get to play a new generation of your family, which gets the same stats, with a +1 to one of them (max of +2 total), and one ability from them from a sizable list, plus more depending upon your Wisdom bonus. Some abilities require your parent to have had a specific ability. This works really well into allowing you to bond with your character, even though they aren't long for this world in most cases.
Another source of abilities is the village you live in. This forms a sort of shared character that everyone uses. Everytime someone rolls a 'miss' result, the village gains an xp point. Abilities for the village cost either 7 or 14 xp, and might result in the village getting a protector, like a Troll, for example! But that Troll wants something, and you better provide it! No one likes an angry Troll, even those they are protecting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I printed these on my Flashforge Creator Pro at both 100 and 200 microns and really can't see any difference between the two beyond the floors looking smoother on the 100 micro setting. I painted both doors (from both print runs) and even the small details like the locks and bolts on the hinges look great on both of them, but since the 200 micron run took about half the time, I'll default to that for my prints.
The quality is very good, and the shorter walls have some advantages. Not just with players being able to better see where minis are at, and being able to place them closer to the walls, but because features like the doors can be placed eactly where they are needed, rather than requiring another part to be printed.
That makes secret doors much easier to handle. When the players find it, place it, and if they don't, don't bother. No need for a special platform to be printed, possibly giving way the secret.
The one drawback I've found is that the clips don't really hold the walls as well as shown in the video. They seem to be a bit loose to me and don't really hold the sides well enough to pick them up. In most cases, I really don't think this will be an issue, though. I suppose there could also be an issue with moviong the completed sections since I don't see any way to connect sections without a wall to place the clip on, but they are so easy to set up that I don't see this as a problem.
I plan to pick up the full set as soon as my budget allows.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I've been playing D&D since the old Red and Blue boxed sets in the 80's. While I had fun with those systems, things have changed since then and some much better mechanics have come out. So I was reluctant to check this out, since it mentioned OSR (Old School Revolution) and I haven't exactly liked some of the games I've tried. They were a little too old school for me.
But fear not, this system is really a new system, and uses ideas from many of the lighter, quicker systems that have come out, like Dungeon World and Fate to speed up play and make it easy to play a very powerful character, that actually feels powerful.
If you played Birthright, back in the day, and want to play that, this is the game I'd suggest using. If you like the setting of Exalted, but don't like how incrediably crunchy that system is (especially charm system, which I have a love-hate relationship with myself), then check this game out. Especially some of the "Themed" Godbound in the Deluxe version. Many of the types are obviously influenced by the different kinds of Exalted.
Even at first level as a Godbound, your character will be capable of taking on hordes of human soldiers, and yet find fallen Angels an overwhelming threat, so you can't just run roughshod over everything. You'll need to use your many powers and ingenuity to change the world and increase your power.
The free version of the rules will let you see everything you need to see to get a good grasp of how the system works (especially damage, which might through you at first), but it is worth paying for the Deluxe version to get the extra rules and details, IMHO.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Now that I've had my hands on this for a day and I've been able to read most if it, I'm giving it a big thumbs up. I played Shadowrun before Second Edition was even a gleam in FASA's eye, and every version since. This captures everything I liked about Shadowrun, with the exception of magic. Though I liked things like Shamans, and Physical Adepts, I'm absolutely fine with the focus on Cyberpunk. There are so many things The Sprawl can handle well that were more difficult or time consuming in SR that I'm not missing the magical elements.
For example, when a character gets shot, even if the wound isn't that bad in terms of the amount of harm done, they still might lose a limb! The amount of harm affects that likelyhood, so a minor scrape is a lot less likely to do that then a cannon shot, but the chance is still there. Getting that fixed after the run is no big deal (unless the cyber-replacement turns out to have strings attached...) but everything works to drive home the danger and push the plot forward, and that's why I love Apocalypse World rules so much. That, and Hamish Cameron is really responsive to questions on Google+.
I like the look of the layout, but it is one of the most printer-unfriendly pdfs I've seen in a while, with a lot of dark backgrounds with white writing, so I won't be printing anything from this until a printer friendly version is uploaded, which Hamish said is being worked on, so I'm not taking any points off for that.
If this was my first foray into Apocalypse World or Cyberpunk, I think there might be some confusion, but a good grounding in either one of those would help with understanding the other. The text at the end of each Playbook (character sheet for those that don't already know how Apocalypse World rules work) are a great addition for helping players undersatand why they would and wouldn't want to pick a particular Playbook for a new game, and I'd suggest every author include something similar with their rules.
I can't wait to run my first game in The Sprawl, and seeing what trouble the Players get into!
|
|
|
|
|
|
I'm really conflicted on what to rate this product. For the price to crunch value, I'd have to say a 2 (maybe even a 1). But I really like the rules for AIs and for that I'd give it a 4 or 5.
I have a major gripe with one thing, though. The terrible excuse for a a table of contents and a complete lack of an Index! The rules for creating an AI starts on page 145, which doesn't even show up in the Table of Contents. Instead, it is buried in a section called "Principles of Insanity". WTF? How are you supposed to know where this is short of memorizing it or looking at every single page?!? If there was a good Index, I'd forgive this, but I have to reduce the rating to a 2 instead.
There is some useful information here, but why is the ToC so terrible? For a premium priced PDF we should get a good ToC AND a good Index. There are apps that will build both of those for you, and this book really needs it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
First off, let me say I think this is my favorite FATE Core setting. There are plenty of settings that have the feel of medieval Europe, but not nearly enough that have a very ancient Egyptian styling.
If you are a fan of the style of aliens in Stargate SG-1, you'll like this game. But you could also be a fan of Warhammer 40K and find plenty to enjoy, too.
The artwork is very well done, and the worst images in it are better than the best in many setting from top tier companies. The best are perfect. The layout style is really nice, too, with full color pages designed to really evoke the setting on every page.
And that's the only problem I can find. The pages sometimes load slowly or are slow to redraw. Perhaps using layers so we can turn some of that off when we are on lower power devices or just need to flip quickly through the book would be nice.
The use of Fate Core mechanics is well done, the authors obviously understood them and built the game and setting with them in mind, rather than shoehorning another setting into this rule set.
There are rules for ship to ship battles that look functional and flavorful. Ships are handled like Fate characters, with the exception that they have a different set of skills and aren't required to use the skill pyramid. After reading a couple of additional actions they have access to (Boarding, sensor usage, etc) you can easily see how they work.
There have been a couple of small typos (tack rather than track, etc) but none of them have been glaring or show stoppers. In addition, the author has been really responsive about wanting to get them fixed.
Perhaps the worst thing is deciding what kind of character you'll want to play. But of all of the problems to have, this is one I can live with happily.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|