Have you ever wondered why cats are such loving creatures, but also appear to be sadistic self-proclaimed overlords? I'm sure there are a lot of answers out there, like because they protect us from the dangers of ancient Egyptian undead. Anyways, John Wick has provided us a way to explore the answer to that question in the form of the role-playing game Cat: A Little Game About Little Heroes.
Now, Cat is not a new game as the edition I have was published in 2014 and that certainly isn't the first. In fact, the first edition of this game was finished in 1999! As a smaller, indie game it is one of those that you don't see popping up everywhere. You probably won't see it at most local game shops and you definitely won't find it at Barnes & Noble. Nevertheless, it is still being published and still worth your time to at least get a preview here. If you are intrigued and want to know what it is like to play you can also check out our one-shot adventure on Untamed Dice. The playlist for that can be found here.
The Mechanics
Let's begin here, because the mechanics of a game can turn a lot of people off of it. On the other hand, an interesting set of mechanics could be the reason you pick up the game. Either way, Cat is a very simple one. You may not enjoy simplicity, and if you need some heavy complexity, mechanics, and math turn away now. The GM, or Narrator, will probably just reach out and push your stuff off the table anyways.
Personally, I enjoyed the simplicity of the game and thought it left a lot of room for the important part of the game: playing. Don't get me wrong I love D&D and other complex games for what they do, but I don't need a ton of rules to know that a cat is an asshole, but its a lovable asshole. They do things, for REASONS, and then pretend they didn't. In the game there are certain difficulties set by the Narrator which determine the number of needed successes (1-5). Then you roll however many dice you have in a stat (3-5). Evens succeed and odds do not. Got it? Good, because that is all there is too it.
The only exceptions to this is that there are limits to what cats can and cannot do. There are also specific ways around those limitations. Magic is straightforward and based on the tail stat. Spells are specific, require a certain tail score and may ask you to roll. There aren't a lot, you don't have to choose them, and you just have them or you don't (again based on tail). There are a few other bits like what you are good at might add a dice and scars which temporarily reduce your scores because you're hurt, but these are simple +/- a dice functions. What it comes down to are that the mechanics are very simple, easy to learn, and meant to create drama. They are not there to create a complex world, that is up to your imagination.
The Story
Spoiler alert: cats are here to protect us from the boggins and other nasty things. The idea behind Cat is that cats are here to protect humans. There are reasons for this, mostly because they won the Contest and we lost. They get to rule the world, but have to protect the losers. That is how the Contest works, after all. I don't want to go too heavily into the story, because you can read John Wick's short at the beginning of the book if you get it. The story is good and really puts the game, its intent, and its purpose all into perspective.
The story of the game at your table? Now, that we can talk a little about. As Narrator and players the basics are the same, no matter what: monsters are real, cats rule the world, cats protect people from monsters. But the genres and stories that include cats, all the ways you could work with cats, those are quite varied and many are mentioned in this book. Wick provides you with folklore about cats that is true, and facts about cats that are false. He also provides context for running a game which includes the various bogeymen that might have to be dealt with to where cats might come from (Ulthar perhaps?). There is plenty there for a group to sink their teeth into.
Playing It
When playing this game, the Narrator has the job of providing an enemy, a goal, and creating drama throughout. Because there are not a lot of mechanics this is easy in some ways, mostly not having to look much up or figure out various things when the players decide to try something crazy. The difficulty comes in with creatively responding. It is on your shoulders to do it, do it well, and not take too much time.
The weight of the game, the story, and how it unfolds is much more in the hands of the players, or at least it seemed so. It is really hard to tell with Cat. It is a game that really lends itself to acting almost as if you are just telling a story with each of you jumping in for a turn. Of course that's what RPGs are, but the few mechanics and the fun of the setting make you lost to that fact. It's a great feeling and tons of fun. There is a lack of structure to the game, but because you're cats the story easily comes around to something happening that causes you to get back on track. The game just lends itself to happening without effort and without pause.
Presentation
I have mixed feelings about the presentation of the book. It is not a large game and it certainly doesn't need to be. The book is quite small, but could actually be made smaller. The font isn't huge, but the spacing is generous. The table of contents is fantastically laid out, but some boarder or chapter number on the corner or page edge would make quick look ups a lot easier. Instead, there is a paw print motif that runs up the side of pages. Well, some of them...randomly. It isn't a terrible look, or even distracting, but it is a bit random. There are plenty of good cat pictures and silhouettes of cats throughout, but I would have liked to see more art like the cover with a cat protecting its human from unknowable monsters. To me, that would have added to the feel of the setting a little more.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Cat is an amazing game. It is a ton of fun to play and takes virtually no thought process to learn. You can sit there and have plenty of silly fun mixed in with epic misadventures and get plenty of laughs doing it. No, it isn't super complex. Yes, it is made for adults AND kids. But those things are why I like it. You probably won't play a giant campaign from it, but that's not the goal of the game either, At John Wick Presents you can find it in print and PDF for just $15 and it is well worth the cost, in my opinion. Sure the production value of the book is low compared to the giant hardcover, full-art games like D&D but it isn't a book that will make you go, "why did I spend money on this?" It gives you exactly what it says it will, and you shouldn't expect more. Cat is a gateway to a fun time, and John Wick is very obviously passionate and committed to this game as a part of his design career. I won't play this game all the time, probably not even that often, but I know that I will play it, have fun, and I am glad I own it.
Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts
Monday, February 13, 2017
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Player Review: Monster of the Week
This spring, when we went to PAX East, I planned on seeking out the tables that were showing off and / or selling indie RPGs instead of looking for board games to add to the collection. I was not disappointed and found a great number of games to choose from. Some I had eyed before and others I had never heard of. Of those I had already heard of, Monster of the Week jumped out as not just one I wanted to play, but one I knew Untamed Scribe would be great as GM for. After a few texts I circled back and bought it (along with Cats, Wield, and Our Last Best Hope).
This month we finally tried it out. You may have caught some of my tweets and I have certainly mentioned it on here before. Not to worry, you guys will get to listen to it soon enough. Well, as soon as we can get the last session in. This review is different from my Death House review and from most reviews I will do because, fair warning, I have no GM-side knowledge. I know only what I have experienced in those two sessions and what little I have seen online. As such, this review is a player review.
Monster of the Week is based on the Apocalypse World RPG system and published by Evil Hat. You can find it over here. The idea behind the system is a fantastic and classic one and it is the source of the game's name. In television many shows are written so that you can see one self contained episode each week. Sometimes you get a double-episode thrown at you with a to be continued. Essentially you are looking at similar stories as can be found within the X-Files, Buffy, Scooby-do, and Supernatural. Thus has been born the monster of the week trope.
Monster of the Week manages to do this all in spades. It is a very simple system based around rolling 2d6 and adding a simple bonus. Regardless of action being attempted, you can come to know exactly what to expect from your roll. Low enough and you botch but gain very precious XP, higher and you might succeed at a cost, even higher and you succeed, or get a 12 and you go beyond even your own hopes. To figure out the results of rolls it is as simple as rolling and adding somewhere between +0 and +3 and that is it! From there is is just a matter of understanding the workings of how a monster of the week runs.
For me, this was both the greatest strength and the greatest weakness of the game. You see, running a game the same way in which any of the previously mentioned shows, or other similar ones, requires you to act within the expectations of such entertainment. You have a group of characters that inevitably get split up and run into problems. By design the game seems to seek out the same thing. In a show these things are fairly easy. We can be so caught up in a scene that we don't even wonder where the hell the others are until that moment when things change and the tension is released just as the others show up. Great timing guys...
That is much easier to do on TV though. In the game things can naturally flow that way, especially in a smaller group, but don't always. For us it did in the first session where we split into two pairs each covering half of a situation. Well, I am sure there were other options, but you get my point. The more people added to such a game the harder it becomes and the more important it is for the GM to split teams and keep them split for dramatically appropriate times. The problems I mention in Tuesdays article are the same problems that TV shows tend not to see because, well, TV shows that are monster of the week tend to have only 2-3 major characters (PCs) in an episode.
However, if you have a group that gets into the game and the genre and, in some ways, hams it up then you have a fantastic thing going. Monster of the Week excels at hamming it up and making that work for your group. It feels just like you are playing a character in an episode of your favorite show in the genre and you can do anything. Not only that but the characters are incredibly diverse. First there are many "classes" to choose from. Second, each one has a number of choices that they can be built to make each new character unique. Third the game limits you to one character of each type while also making sure you have interlaced backstories. Because of this, your group will be diverse, different each time, and everyone will feel that they had a stake in the creation of the group as a while.
The problems of Monster of the Week, however, reveal themselves when you have a group used to something a lot more rigid and initiative based rather than something scene based. Time is incredibly fluid when it comes to a monster of the week show, especially when you consider time-tight dramatic sequences. It almost like that one character was just sitting there waiting for the worst moment to jump in, right? In games like D&D you all go on an initiative and splitting the party is a death sentence. In Monster of the Week it is not only common but just the way things work out. Without care scenes can become entangles and complicated to run and play in. As a player that was the most frustrating aspect and one not easily solvable without going through those tribulations yourself.
The other problem with Monster of the Week is the difference between a success and a total success. In the short, a success grants you a question or two from a list depending on what was happening and what skill you were using. A very specific list. A roll of 12 or higher is what gets you access to ANY question asked. At least in rules as written. My problem with this is, rather than there being a fine line between rules as written and rules as intended, there is a rather large leap. During the course of the game you may want to investigate and a question may not quite fit the criteria presented as choices. In fact it probably won't. For example I was investigating a library on fire and looking for people to help. The questions presented were not really fitting to such an occurrence, and I had to word them properly even though the GM (Untamed Scribe) was willingly flexible in this regard. That ambiguous grey area of reality was a wall that needed addressing and consistent watching to keep the game running smoothly because it was a cornerstone of how the mechanic work. When does my question leave the confines of a certain tier roll and become the next? What is asking too much? Am I not asking enough?
All in all, though, Monster of the Week is an incredible game. It takes story archetype (monster of the week) and turns it into a game, one which can be played in a variety of genres. It gives you a simple, flexible rule system from which to run the game and allows you to run it in a variety of eras and genres. The replay-ability seems endless. The way it runs is akin to those television shows and feels great. You are not just allowed to draw on great tropes and occasionally over the top events, but encouraged to do so. Press your luck, doom your character, save the world for another day!
The problems I saw in the game could come from anywhere. Not having read the book I can't tell you where specifically. It is most likely a combination of a few factors: being used to D&D, being new to the game, etc. None of the problems I saw are things which cannot be overcome. However, they are something which should be addressed in the book. I hope they are, or that they are in future editions. I look forward to playing this again and urge you to try it. I do warn you, however, to put yourself in the mindset of a TV show character first and treat the game as if your watching what happens on TV. Time does not work as you might expect.
This is one of my first forays into a smaller, tighter, more narrative game and it was fun. I have learned a lot from playing it and love the style. Don't be afraid to try new things, and if you want to run a game in the vein of Supernatural, Buffy, Scooby-do, Doctor Who, X-Files, or anything similar then I would definitely point you towards Evil Hat's Monster of the Week!
For me, this was both the greatest strength and the greatest weakness of the game. You see, running a game the same way in which any of the previously mentioned shows, or other similar ones, requires you to act within the expectations of such entertainment. You have a group of characters that inevitably get split up and run into problems. By design the game seems to seek out the same thing. In a show these things are fairly easy. We can be so caught up in a scene that we don't even wonder where the hell the others are until that moment when things change and the tension is released just as the others show up. Great timing guys...
That is much easier to do on TV though. In the game things can naturally flow that way, especially in a smaller group, but don't always. For us it did in the first session where we split into two pairs each covering half of a situation. Well, I am sure there were other options, but you get my point. The more people added to such a game the harder it becomes and the more important it is for the GM to split teams and keep them split for dramatically appropriate times. The problems I mention in Tuesdays article are the same problems that TV shows tend not to see because, well, TV shows that are monster of the week tend to have only 2-3 major characters (PCs) in an episode.
However, if you have a group that gets into the game and the genre and, in some ways, hams it up then you have a fantastic thing going. Monster of the Week excels at hamming it up and making that work for your group. It feels just like you are playing a character in an episode of your favorite show in the genre and you can do anything. Not only that but the characters are incredibly diverse. First there are many "classes" to choose from. Second, each one has a number of choices that they can be built to make each new character unique. Third the game limits you to one character of each type while also making sure you have interlaced backstories. Because of this, your group will be diverse, different each time, and everyone will feel that they had a stake in the creation of the group as a while.
The problems of Monster of the Week, however, reveal themselves when you have a group used to something a lot more rigid and initiative based rather than something scene based. Time is incredibly fluid when it comes to a monster of the week show, especially when you consider time-tight dramatic sequences. It almost like that one character was just sitting there waiting for the worst moment to jump in, right? In games like D&D you all go on an initiative and splitting the party is a death sentence. In Monster of the Week it is not only common but just the way things work out. Without care scenes can become entangles and complicated to run and play in. As a player that was the most frustrating aspect and one not easily solvable without going through those tribulations yourself.
The other problem with Monster of the Week is the difference between a success and a total success. In the short, a success grants you a question or two from a list depending on what was happening and what skill you were using. A very specific list. A roll of 12 or higher is what gets you access to ANY question asked. At least in rules as written. My problem with this is, rather than there being a fine line between rules as written and rules as intended, there is a rather large leap. During the course of the game you may want to investigate and a question may not quite fit the criteria presented as choices. In fact it probably won't. For example I was investigating a library on fire and looking for people to help. The questions presented were not really fitting to such an occurrence, and I had to word them properly even though the GM (Untamed Scribe) was willingly flexible in this regard. That ambiguous grey area of reality was a wall that needed addressing and consistent watching to keep the game running smoothly because it was a cornerstone of how the mechanic work. When does my question leave the confines of a certain tier roll and become the next? What is asking too much? Am I not asking enough?
All in all, though, Monster of the Week is an incredible game. It takes story archetype (monster of the week) and turns it into a game, one which can be played in a variety of genres. It gives you a simple, flexible rule system from which to run the game and allows you to run it in a variety of eras and genres. The replay-ability seems endless. The way it runs is akin to those television shows and feels great. You are not just allowed to draw on great tropes and occasionally over the top events, but encouraged to do so. Press your luck, doom your character, save the world for another day!
The problems I saw in the game could come from anywhere. Not having read the book I can't tell you where specifically. It is most likely a combination of a few factors: being used to D&D, being new to the game, etc. None of the problems I saw are things which cannot be overcome. However, they are something which should be addressed in the book. I hope they are, or that they are in future editions. I look forward to playing this again and urge you to try it. I do warn you, however, to put yourself in the mindset of a TV show character first and treat the game as if your watching what happens on TV. Time does not work as you might expect.
This is one of my first forays into a smaller, tighter, more narrative game and it was fun. I have learned a lot from playing it and love the style. Don't be afraid to try new things, and if you want to run a game in the vein of Supernatural, Buffy, Scooby-do, Doctor Who, X-Files, or anything similar then I would definitely point you towards Evil Hat's Monster of the Week!
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Review: Death House
Before I get into today's review, I want to bring up the metal dice from Norse Foundry again. We got to use them for our Brave New Worlds game over the weekend. Everyone took one to use as their wild die. Having had a chance to use them throughout a game allowed me to get a little more input for them. As I said, they are heavy. This ended up being more than just a good feeling when rolling. The dice don't go very far. I don't know about you but sometimes dice like to try to escape, but these metal dice don't. As for damaging the table, the handful of rolls didn't do anything to the table, but we were being careful. Most of the rolls were on a notebook, or something similar, and this worked just fine. Despite the lack of damage, I still suggest being careful on your tables!
Now, let's get into Death House! Two and a half weeks ago I ran this intro adventure for four people. Two of them were veterans of my games and two of them were completely new to tabletop role-playing. We used pre-generated characters from the DM's Guild (you know the ones I reviewed last week). We let the newbies pick first and the veterans filled out the team, and it worked great. After a brief overview of rules we got right into it.
Before I tell you how it went and my opinions based on that session let's get to the nuts and bolts of Death House. This adventure is designed to be an introduction to Curse of Strahd which came out last week. It can be found in Dragon+. That adventure path runs from level 3 and up, and Death House allows you to become introduced to the land of Barovia, the gothic horror aspect of the setting, and get players to level 3. In all it is an absolutely fantastic adventure. I loved reading what was going on and what could happen. Running it for the players was even more fun as they ran around wondering what would happen, while also having a good idea about how horrible things could be.
Warning the following will include spoilers!
In its basic layout the game runs smoothly. The PCs are forced into Barovia, giving them the hook to just wonder what is going on. With virtually no stimulus within the town, the PCs cannot ignore the crying child. Then, the mists do well to force the player's into the house and the namesake of the adventure. By that point they are creeped out, curious, and left with few options. It is a bit of a railroad in, but at that point the exploration is completely up to them. The house itself is given great thought and detail, throughout, even down to what will and won't (mostly will) age when removed from the mystic house. It is very careful to make sure the DM understands the house is, itself, an entity.
The adventure hinges on finding a secret, but provides a few ways to reveal that secret, ensuring that the adventurers are likely to discover it one way or another. Finally, the ultimate ending allows two outcomes, neither of which are easy to deal with. If the PCs take the "easy" way out, they must still make a sacrifice and have only themselves to choose from. The more difficult way out includes not only a fight, but a gauntlet through the house as it tries to murder them all. There is every possibility that they don't all make it out, assuming they all make it to the end.
There are a few problems I have with the adventure. The first part of it is there are some layout problems. There is a section called adventure hooks. No surprise, this section implies a number of hooks, but only gives the Creeping Fog. Other hooks are supposedly presented in the Curse of Strahd, and I am sure they're there. But that does little to help this adventure, especially when run before the release of the adventure path. Now, its a good opening to such an adventure, but there is no need to imply other hooks.
Part of the layout problem I have are the descriptions. They are incredibly written, but few in number. In fact they specifically only occur in the most important rooms in the game. This is not really a surprise, but is a bit of a dead give away to players at the table. Now, perhaps they find nothing in the library and that breaks down the assumed importance of written narration, but if they find the secret... I would have liked to see two or three more narrations. These could have been on some of the more detailed rooms that ended up having nothing in them. While I understand this could hinder the party's ability to find the secrets advancing the adventure, but I think the adventure is better designed than that.
Let's see, other problems. This one is a bit nit-picky, but I would have liked the maps spread onto two sheets and zoomed in. It was cramped and sometimes you could lose where you were describing. The last problem I had with this adventure is the speed at which it progresses. This is not so much as it being too fast or too slow. In fact, my players skipped very little and we played the whole thing in one long session. However, we didn't level. That would have taken significant table-time from us in describing new abilities or spells to the new players.
Now, here's the problem: if the players had not skipped that little bit, the ensuing battle would have meant not finishing in one night. Leveling them up means that we would have not finished in one night. Frankly, it should have been obvious to end the session with leveling to 2, but the game was going very well. The only way I can see this being solved is to warn the DM. I know there is no way to predict session times, but in terms of "expected" session times and adventure layout the suggestion slapping me in the face would have been nice.
So, now let's talk a little about how awesome this was to play. We had secrets, traps, ghosts, sounds, hidden images, background story, creepy mists, and classic monsters. This little game was prefect for the new players. It showed them what D&D was all about, and they got into it. So much so that we are waiting on the Curse of Strahd to arrive so we can continue playing! I must say that the game is a bit brutal too. The spectre of the nursemaid? That murdered on player outright. In an amazing display of attempted diplomacy, our cleric rolled a 4. He assumed that she may be like the ghost children and willing to talk. Instead she attacked. The roll was just enough to take him from full to 0. And then he rolled a 3 on his Con save. Needless to say, the newbies learned how dangerous things can be as they watched one character wither before their eyes and die. I am just REALLY glad one of the veteran players died.
The adventure was also very good at getting the players into what was happening. They searched for secrets, traps, and monsters. They looted all the treasure they could, even throwing curtains full of silverware out the windows. They saved each other from getting sacrificed (I played the shambling mound as trying to take a sacrifice from them) and avenged the one who died (though they could have left). Finally, even as the house tried to eat them, one of the newbies went back for the children's bones to bury later because the children begged them not to leave and she had successfully promised that she would be back for them.
If you don't have Curse of Strahd yet, or want to earn your way to level 3, I would definitely play Death House. Over two session though. It will prove to be a great adventure and nice entryway into the brutal creepiness of the Demiplane of Dread.
Now, let's get into Death House! Two and a half weeks ago I ran this intro adventure for four people. Two of them were veterans of my games and two of them were completely new to tabletop role-playing. We used pre-generated characters from the DM's Guild (you know the ones I reviewed last week). We let the newbies pick first and the veterans filled out the team, and it worked great. After a brief overview of rules we got right into it.
Before I tell you how it went and my opinions based on that session let's get to the nuts and bolts of Death House. This adventure is designed to be an introduction to Curse of Strahd which came out last week. It can be found in Dragon+. That adventure path runs from level 3 and up, and Death House allows you to become introduced to the land of Barovia, the gothic horror aspect of the setting, and get players to level 3. In all it is an absolutely fantastic adventure. I loved reading what was going on and what could happen. Running it for the players was even more fun as they ran around wondering what would happen, while also having a good idea about how horrible things could be.
Warning the following will include spoilers!
In its basic layout the game runs smoothly. The PCs are forced into Barovia, giving them the hook to just wonder what is going on. With virtually no stimulus within the town, the PCs cannot ignore the crying child. Then, the mists do well to force the player's into the house and the namesake of the adventure. By that point they are creeped out, curious, and left with few options. It is a bit of a railroad in, but at that point the exploration is completely up to them. The house itself is given great thought and detail, throughout, even down to what will and won't (mostly will) age when removed from the mystic house. It is very careful to make sure the DM understands the house is, itself, an entity.
The adventure hinges on finding a secret, but provides a few ways to reveal that secret, ensuring that the adventurers are likely to discover it one way or another. Finally, the ultimate ending allows two outcomes, neither of which are easy to deal with. If the PCs take the "easy" way out, they must still make a sacrifice and have only themselves to choose from. The more difficult way out includes not only a fight, but a gauntlet through the house as it tries to murder them all. There is every possibility that they don't all make it out, assuming they all make it to the end.
There are a few problems I have with the adventure. The first part of it is there are some layout problems. There is a section called adventure hooks. No surprise, this section implies a number of hooks, but only gives the Creeping Fog. Other hooks are supposedly presented in the Curse of Strahd, and I am sure they're there. But that does little to help this adventure, especially when run before the release of the adventure path. Now, its a good opening to such an adventure, but there is no need to imply other hooks.
Part of the layout problem I have are the descriptions. They are incredibly written, but few in number. In fact they specifically only occur in the most important rooms in the game. This is not really a surprise, but is a bit of a dead give away to players at the table. Now, perhaps they find nothing in the library and that breaks down the assumed importance of written narration, but if they find the secret... I would have liked to see two or three more narrations. These could have been on some of the more detailed rooms that ended up having nothing in them. While I understand this could hinder the party's ability to find the secrets advancing the adventure, but I think the adventure is better designed than that.
Let's see, other problems. This one is a bit nit-picky, but I would have liked the maps spread onto two sheets and zoomed in. It was cramped and sometimes you could lose where you were describing. The last problem I had with this adventure is the speed at which it progresses. This is not so much as it being too fast or too slow. In fact, my players skipped very little and we played the whole thing in one long session. However, we didn't level. That would have taken significant table-time from us in describing new abilities or spells to the new players.
Now, here's the problem: if the players had not skipped that little bit, the ensuing battle would have meant not finishing in one night. Leveling them up means that we would have not finished in one night. Frankly, it should have been obvious to end the session with leveling to 2, but the game was going very well. The only way I can see this being solved is to warn the DM. I know there is no way to predict session times, but in terms of "expected" session times and adventure layout the suggestion slapping me in the face would have been nice.
So, now let's talk a little about how awesome this was to play. We had secrets, traps, ghosts, sounds, hidden images, background story, creepy mists, and classic monsters. This little game was prefect for the new players. It showed them what D&D was all about, and they got into it. So much so that we are waiting on the Curse of Strahd to arrive so we can continue playing! I must say that the game is a bit brutal too. The spectre of the nursemaid? That murdered on player outright. In an amazing display of attempted diplomacy, our cleric rolled a 4. He assumed that she may be like the ghost children and willing to talk. Instead she attacked. The roll was just enough to take him from full to 0. And then he rolled a 3 on his Con save. Needless to say, the newbies learned how dangerous things can be as they watched one character wither before their eyes and die. I am just REALLY glad one of the veteran players died.
The adventure was also very good at getting the players into what was happening. They searched for secrets, traps, and monsters. They looted all the treasure they could, even throwing curtains full of silverware out the windows. They saved each other from getting sacrificed (I played the shambling mound as trying to take a sacrifice from them) and avenged the one who died (though they could have left). Finally, even as the house tried to eat them, one of the newbies went back for the children's bones to bury later because the children begged them not to leave and she had successfully promised that she would be back for them.
If you don't have Curse of Strahd yet, or want to earn your way to level 3, I would definitely play Death House. Over two session though. It will prove to be a great adventure and nice entryway into the brutal creepiness of the Demiplane of Dread.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Review: Norse Foundry D6 Commander Dice & Wizards Pre-gen Characters
Today, as promised I have a review for you. In fact I have not just one but two! The first is a review on some of Norse Foundry's metal dice. Full disclaimer, these were sent to me for this purpose, and I thank Norse Foundry for the opportunity to review a set. I wanted to wait until I could get my players to use them a bit, and thus get their opinions, but that had to wait until tomorrow. So, instead, I have my overall review of them today and next week I will include some post-playtime observations. Second, I want to do a short review of the pre-generated characters Wizards has on the DM's Guild. We got to try these for Death House over the weekend, with new and old players alike. Next week I will also have a second review. Can you guess what it is?
Gnomish Copper D6 Commander Dice by Norse Foundry
Norse Foundry has a number of awesome looking dice on their site. They have metal dice and gem dice, as well as some RPG coins and some other gaming tools. The pack I received was the five dice Commander pack of metal D6's, in Gnomish Copper. These dice look fantastic. I was lucky to get this color. In my opinion it is the best overall. Just a nice somewhat aged/worn look. The site shows the metal dice to be crisp, sharp corners and that is exactly what I got, in a nice thick piece of foam. The box they come in takes up a bit of space compared to just dice, but with the heavy foam and tight box, it is definitely a great way to store them (and protect other dice and minis!).
These dice don't just look good, but feel good. I wasn't sure how heavy they would be, given they are metal and I had never had metal dice before. They have a bit of heft to them, but still feel and sound like dice when you roll them. I cannot speak for the other colors, but the numbers are nice and solid on these dice and very easy to read. All in all they seem to be great dice to play with.
I reach a bit of an impasse when it comes to cost. The prices on this pack type range from $22.50-25.00, depending on color and sales. Thats $4-5 per die. Part of me wants to say that is quite a bit of cash for dice, and in all honesty it is. However, one should consider the general cost of dice. Fancy dice from places like Q-Workshop have a price that is still over $10 for a 7 dice set. There are numerous artisan dice around the web now as well from metal to wood to stone and more. These range from around $20 to over $200 for a set. It all depends on what you end up with. So, while I find these to be a be a bit of a purchase in general, it is probably well worth it. I don't see these wearing out very much over your life time and they are on the very low end of the artisan dice cost spectrum, making them worth the price. Especially since, unlike some artisan dice, these are easy to use and read.
My last thoughts on this come to only a couple of downsides / warnings. First, the pictures of the dice on the site are a bit brighter than what the dice actually look like. Not really a surprise for something made of metal, but you should be warned. Personally, I am glad these were a bit darker than the site showed. The other thing is that all that wait and nice sharp corners can be a problem. Be careful if you have a nice table, a soft wood surface, easily scratched surface, glass, etc. These dice are heavy and sharp, they do run the risk of damaging your table. But this easily solved if you have the awareness to drop them on a notebook or folder.
All in all, these dice are gorgeous and well worth the cost. Enough so that, when money allows, I will be getting a 7 dice set for D&D. The only question is, what style?
Wizards Pre-Generated Characters
Ok, these were once of the best things Wizards could have added with the advent of the DM's Guild. Not only are these pre-generated characters, but there are 15 or 16 if memory serves. And each of them comes with a sheet for levels 1 through 10, at no cost. Among these are some real gems like the Tempest cleric with the pirate background, a favorite at the table this past Sunday. At level 1, almost all of them are a single sheet with pretty much everything you need to get started. Just pick a character and go. For new players and old, these we well received, and provided what everyone needed to get into a character and focus on playing the adventure and sharing the experience of D&D with new players.
Personally I found a number of problems with these character sheets. First of all, among the gems (see the tempest pirate or the halfling monk) were a lot of intensely cliched characters. Tiefling warlock with a fiend pact, wood elf ranger, dragonborn dragonblood sorcerer. While I understand why these would be included I don't understand why Wizards did not take the opportunity to do some other interesting options. A tiefling cleric of light? A gnome wild magic sorcerer? A half-orc druid of the moon? There are plenty of interesting choices to make without even making more strange things like a dwarf evoker or something else from left field.
My second big problem with the sheets? Spells. After the release of the SRD, epsecially, why isn't a spell page included for the known/prepared spells of the casters? It would have been a thousand times easier if the players were not passing the book around and wondering what spells did. We made do with it, since one player was a druid and had those cards, but i would have loved to see a spell sheet. At least at level one. To give the newbie bard one extra sheet so they were not overwhelmed by the book would have been fantastic. I know you're probably saying I could have done this for them, but I just didn't have time.
I must say, as amazing as the pre-gens were, spell sheets would have doubled how impressed I was with them. Nevertheless, they are a priceless tool when you are starting a pick-up game or trying out a small adventure with a new or mixed group of players.
Gnomish Copper D6 Commander Dice by Norse Foundry
Norse Foundry has a number of awesome looking dice on their site. They have metal dice and gem dice, as well as some RPG coins and some other gaming tools. The pack I received was the five dice Commander pack of metal D6's, in Gnomish Copper. These dice look fantastic. I was lucky to get this color. In my opinion it is the best overall. Just a nice somewhat aged/worn look. The site shows the metal dice to be crisp, sharp corners and that is exactly what I got, in a nice thick piece of foam. The box they come in takes up a bit of space compared to just dice, but with the heavy foam and tight box, it is definitely a great way to store them (and protect other dice and minis!).
These dice don't just look good, but feel good. I wasn't sure how heavy they would be, given they are metal and I had never had metal dice before. They have a bit of heft to them, but still feel and sound like dice when you roll them. I cannot speak for the other colors, but the numbers are nice and solid on these dice and very easy to read. All in all they seem to be great dice to play with.
I reach a bit of an impasse when it comes to cost. The prices on this pack type range from $22.50-25.00, depending on color and sales. Thats $4-5 per die. Part of me wants to say that is quite a bit of cash for dice, and in all honesty it is. However, one should consider the general cost of dice. Fancy dice from places like Q-Workshop have a price that is still over $10 for a 7 dice set. There are numerous artisan dice around the web now as well from metal to wood to stone and more. These range from around $20 to over $200 for a set. It all depends on what you end up with. So, while I find these to be a be a bit of a purchase in general, it is probably well worth it. I don't see these wearing out very much over your life time and they are on the very low end of the artisan dice cost spectrum, making them worth the price. Especially since, unlike some artisan dice, these are easy to use and read.
My last thoughts on this come to only a couple of downsides / warnings. First, the pictures of the dice on the site are a bit brighter than what the dice actually look like. Not really a surprise for something made of metal, but you should be warned. Personally, I am glad these were a bit darker than the site showed. The other thing is that all that wait and nice sharp corners can be a problem. Be careful if you have a nice table, a soft wood surface, easily scratched surface, glass, etc. These dice are heavy and sharp, they do run the risk of damaging your table. But this easily solved if you have the awareness to drop them on a notebook or folder.
All in all, these dice are gorgeous and well worth the cost. Enough so that, when money allows, I will be getting a 7 dice set for D&D. The only question is, what style?
Wizards Pre-Generated Characters
Ok, these were once of the best things Wizards could have added with the advent of the DM's Guild. Not only are these pre-generated characters, but there are 15 or 16 if memory serves. And each of them comes with a sheet for levels 1 through 10, at no cost. Among these are some real gems like the Tempest cleric with the pirate background, a favorite at the table this past Sunday. At level 1, almost all of them are a single sheet with pretty much everything you need to get started. Just pick a character and go. For new players and old, these we well received, and provided what everyone needed to get into a character and focus on playing the adventure and sharing the experience of D&D with new players.
Personally I found a number of problems with these character sheets. First of all, among the gems (see the tempest pirate or the halfling monk) were a lot of intensely cliched characters. Tiefling warlock with a fiend pact, wood elf ranger, dragonborn dragonblood sorcerer. While I understand why these would be included I don't understand why Wizards did not take the opportunity to do some other interesting options. A tiefling cleric of light? A gnome wild magic sorcerer? A half-orc druid of the moon? There are plenty of interesting choices to make without even making more strange things like a dwarf evoker or something else from left field.
My second big problem with the sheets? Spells. After the release of the SRD, epsecially, why isn't a spell page included for the known/prepared spells of the casters? It would have been a thousand times easier if the players were not passing the book around and wondering what spells did. We made do with it, since one player was a druid and had those cards, but i would have loved to see a spell sheet. At least at level one. To give the newbie bard one extra sheet so they were not overwhelmed by the book would have been fantastic. I know you're probably saying I could have done this for them, but I just didn't have time.
I must say, as amazing as the pre-gens were, spell sheets would have doubled how impressed I was with them. Nevertheless, they are a priceless tool when you are starting a pick-up game or trying out a small adventure with a new or mixed group of players.
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Kobolds Ate My Baby! Review
Last night we finally had a chance to sit down and play Kobolds Ate My Baby! Described as the beer and pretzels RPG, this game is about being hungry, fearless, and death-prone kobolds. The skills you have may be as dangerous as anything else, Tor (god of kobolds) may strike you down for your cowardice, and battle may be fought with rotting ham hocks. This is the way of kobolds and the way of KAMB.
I personally have the printed version of Kobolds Ate My Baby! in color. Everything you will ever need to play this game, over and over again, is contained within this book. It may seem small if you just look at it, but it is crammed with information. There are random item tables, random death tables, skills, cooking, magic, and more. Additionally, this edition is color coded with the edges of every page being in a certain color separated by section. For example if you need to roll on the random death table just open to the grey section.
The book is also full of illustrations of various kobolds. Flipping through it you know this game is meant to be fun, silly, and hilarious. Once you open it, the book gets right into telling you what to expect. It takes the time to tell you which kobolds you are playing (the furry ones), about the god of kobolds, and King Torg (All hail King Torg!). The writing style is very loose and often quite funny. Puns can be found throughout and footnotes are often added for such things as telling you not to eat babies in real life(definitely not a good idea). Additionally every time King Torg's (All hail King Torg!) name is mentioned it is followed by "All hail King Torg!" This is something the players need to do as they play, on penalty of increasing their chances of random death. By including it the book keeps the lighthearted and fun attitude, but also reminds everyone that this is something that needs to be done.
The rules for KAMB, are very simple. There are only four stats, skills are something you have or do not have, armor falls apart when it loses hits (HP equivalent), and you can only hold two things (one in the right paw and one in the wrong paw). Character building is very quick, allowing you to build kobolds in minutes. Our first time it took about 20 minutes, but that included reading many of the skill descriptions and describing how things worked. Once you know what your doing, I imagine it would take seconds if not for flipping to the right pages and rolling dice for the random starting items, edges, and bogies.
The rules for doing everything is very similar. There are specific dice numbers to roll and a difficulty chart for when there is not. Random tables for results of things like cooking and buying items abound. KAMB can be played quickly, haphazardly, and on the fly; there is no need to be sure if what you're doing is the proper way and it is difficult to argue what you've done is the wrong way. Attacking things is a simple formula, something you learn very quickly without referencing the book beyond the one or two times a new situation (like throwing something) comes up.
Despite how much I love this game, its simplicity does have a couple of drawbacks. The first is there is no extra space in the book. It has been cut down to the minimal. As a result there is not, for example, a page that lays out the steps you need to take for character creation like there is in many games. Granted, the book is small and the Mayor (GM) should read it ahead of time, but trying to find how much gear you start with means you have to go back to the gear section and read the beginning. A single page with quick references is a small complaint, but it would be helpful.
Another thing that is tough to figure out until you play is how difficult things might be. When you roll, increased difficulty means more dice rolled. You want to roll low, either meeting or getting under the target number. Three dice are often rolled to do things, especially when players try to take two or three actions on their turn. Using the quick stats 10 is the best score, and getting 10 or under on 3d6 is easier said than done. If you roll even one five or six, you are almost assuredly going to fail. I would warn people looking to play this to make clear to players that it may be best to take one action per turn, at least until they start to understand how likely they are to succeed, as more actions means more difficulty dice for every action.
This brings me to my final complaint, perhaps the biggest one. There are two mechanics that are very troublesome in wording: bonus and penalty dice. Penalty dice is, actually, not bad. Should things be stacked against you for some reason a penalty die is added. It is, literally, a die added as a penalty. Bonus dice are added as benefits to have the right tools for the right job (for example). The problem with bonus dice are that they are not added, as the game requires more dice for more difficulty, bonus dice are actually taken away. The act of taking away intuitively goes against the title of "bonus." I cannot, personally, think of a better name for them, but the concept is a confusing one, at least at first.
Now that I feel like I have done more to explain my complaints about KAMB than my likes, I have to say I absolutely love this game. I love the concept, I love the mechanics, and I love the ridiculousness of it. My complaints are minor and mostly unavoidable. Read the book, get an understanding of the rules, and you will have no problems. Remember that this game is meant to be easy going and care free. If you are not sure what to do just do whatever you feel. Like I mentioned earlier, the rules are so simple and repetitive that you will know what to do very quickly. Those problem I mentioned do not stay problems, by any means. In fact, I hope you said to yourself, "well that's not that big of a deal," because it isn't. If those problems stop you from playing this game, it's not the game for you. Kobolds Ate My Baby! is a game that provides robustness in its ability to be played again and again, with wide and varied stories resulting, whenever you need some silliness. To do what Ninth Level did and cram it all down into the small ~120 page book, is a feat and I applaud them.
TL;DR - Kobolds Ate My Baby! is a fun, silly, cartoon of a RPG experience. The rules are quick to learn, and hurdles are easy to overcome. You'll die, you'll laugh, you'll have fun. Go buy it, crack open a beer, grab some pretzels, and all hail King Torg!
I personally have the printed version of Kobolds Ate My Baby! in color. Everything you will ever need to play this game, over and over again, is contained within this book. It may seem small if you just look at it, but it is crammed with information. There are random item tables, random death tables, skills, cooking, magic, and more. Additionally, this edition is color coded with the edges of every page being in a certain color separated by section. For example if you need to roll on the random death table just open to the grey section.
The book is also full of illustrations of various kobolds. Flipping through it you know this game is meant to be fun, silly, and hilarious. Once you open it, the book gets right into telling you what to expect. It takes the time to tell you which kobolds you are playing (the furry ones), about the god of kobolds, and King Torg (All hail King Torg!). The writing style is very loose and often quite funny. Puns can be found throughout and footnotes are often added for such things as telling you not to eat babies in real life(definitely not a good idea). Additionally every time King Torg's (All hail King Torg!) name is mentioned it is followed by "All hail King Torg!" This is something the players need to do as they play, on penalty of increasing their chances of random death. By including it the book keeps the lighthearted and fun attitude, but also reminds everyone that this is something that needs to be done.
The rules for KAMB, are very simple. There are only four stats, skills are something you have or do not have, armor falls apart when it loses hits (HP equivalent), and you can only hold two things (one in the right paw and one in the wrong paw). Character building is very quick, allowing you to build kobolds in minutes. Our first time it took about 20 minutes, but that included reading many of the skill descriptions and describing how things worked. Once you know what your doing, I imagine it would take seconds if not for flipping to the right pages and rolling dice for the random starting items, edges, and bogies.
The rules for doing everything is very similar. There are specific dice numbers to roll and a difficulty chart for when there is not. Random tables for results of things like cooking and buying items abound. KAMB can be played quickly, haphazardly, and on the fly; there is no need to be sure if what you're doing is the proper way and it is difficult to argue what you've done is the wrong way. Attacking things is a simple formula, something you learn very quickly without referencing the book beyond the one or two times a new situation (like throwing something) comes up.
Despite how much I love this game, its simplicity does have a couple of drawbacks. The first is there is no extra space in the book. It has been cut down to the minimal. As a result there is not, for example, a page that lays out the steps you need to take for character creation like there is in many games. Granted, the book is small and the Mayor (GM) should read it ahead of time, but trying to find how much gear you start with means you have to go back to the gear section and read the beginning. A single page with quick references is a small complaint, but it would be helpful.
Another thing that is tough to figure out until you play is how difficult things might be. When you roll, increased difficulty means more dice rolled. You want to roll low, either meeting or getting under the target number. Three dice are often rolled to do things, especially when players try to take two or three actions on their turn. Using the quick stats 10 is the best score, and getting 10 or under on 3d6 is easier said than done. If you roll even one five or six, you are almost assuredly going to fail. I would warn people looking to play this to make clear to players that it may be best to take one action per turn, at least until they start to understand how likely they are to succeed, as more actions means more difficulty dice for every action.
This brings me to my final complaint, perhaps the biggest one. There are two mechanics that are very troublesome in wording: bonus and penalty dice. Penalty dice is, actually, not bad. Should things be stacked against you for some reason a penalty die is added. It is, literally, a die added as a penalty. Bonus dice are added as benefits to have the right tools for the right job (for example). The problem with bonus dice are that they are not added, as the game requires more dice for more difficulty, bonus dice are actually taken away. The act of taking away intuitively goes against the title of "bonus." I cannot, personally, think of a better name for them, but the concept is a confusing one, at least at first.
Now that I feel like I have done more to explain my complaints about KAMB than my likes, I have to say I absolutely love this game. I love the concept, I love the mechanics, and I love the ridiculousness of it. My complaints are minor and mostly unavoidable. Read the book, get an understanding of the rules, and you will have no problems. Remember that this game is meant to be easy going and care free. If you are not sure what to do just do whatever you feel. Like I mentioned earlier, the rules are so simple and repetitive that you will know what to do very quickly. Those problem I mentioned do not stay problems, by any means. In fact, I hope you said to yourself, "well that's not that big of a deal," because it isn't. If those problems stop you from playing this game, it's not the game for you. Kobolds Ate My Baby! is a game that provides robustness in its ability to be played again and again, with wide and varied stories resulting, whenever you need some silliness. To do what Ninth Level did and cram it all down into the small ~120 page book, is a feat and I applaud them.
TL;DR - Kobolds Ate My Baby! is a fun, silly, cartoon of a RPG experience. The rules are quick to learn, and hurdles are easy to overcome. You'll die, you'll laugh, you'll have fun. Go buy it, crack open a beer, grab some pretzels, and all hail King Torg!
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