Tommy's Top Six of 2012 and Birthday Blog Giveaway

My blog officially turns three years old today, and has taken on a life of its own. I’m kinda proud of that. It is time for me to name my Top Six of 2012, the six books that stood out the most to me, under the following criteria: 1) I had to have had no involvement in the production of the book. 2) Only one title per publisher. 3) I had to have reviewed the book between the time I made last year’s selections and the beginning of December this year (to give me time to contact the publishers for the Birthday Blog Giveaway). Without further ado, in alphabetical order, the Tommy’s Top Six of 2012:

Little Fears Nightmare Edition (Fun Sized Games)

Why You Should Buy It: I loved the concept of the original Little Fears, with kids taking on the things that go bump in the night…but Jason L. Blair says he’s grown as a designer, and it’s clear to me that he has. This version is mechanically tighter in every way, with lots of cool stuff like Belief, which is generally more powerful, the younger your kid is. Additionally, the line is well supported with a supplement (Among the Missing) as well as microsupplements (Campfire Tales). Some of the background elements from the first version of the game still remain, while others are completely overhauled. Monster creation rules, plot seeds galore…this is one of the two best options I’ve seen for “kids versus monsters”, and it is the only one of the two currently being supported by the publisher. Whether you prefer “Monster Squad” or “Stephen King’s IT”, Little Fears Nightmare Edition has what you need, taking a good concept and backing it up with tighter writing and rules than the original.

Marvel Heroic Roleplaying (Margaret Weis Productions)

Why You Should Buy It: While Marvel Heroic has yet to knock off Marvel SAGA as my supers game of choice, or even my Marvel game of choice, it is going to be easier to find players for than my beloved SAGA, due to the fact that it’s in print and currently supported. Additionally, MWP have taken a licensed RPG and tried to lower the barriers for entry as best they can, with a reduced price point and even multiple entry points, with each of the first books in their Event series having a version that includes the Marvel Heroic rules. The first event series has already been completed this year, covering the events of Civil War, but while you may need a bit more knowledge of the event than is provided in the books, the Event itself is anything other than a paint-by-numbers railroad back through the events of the comics. Indeed, MWP’s Events allow you room to take the framework of the Event and let your players cut loose in it. MWP’s also provided some great freebie releases, including random character generation, as well as supplements that included not only Thor and Hulk, but plot seeds for including them in Civil War. Add in the “Unlockables”, and you get a superhero advancement system that does a better job of emulating comics better than the standard “zero to hero” progression found in most RPGs.

The Mutant Epoch (Outland Arts)

Why You Should Buy It: Random chart after random chart after random chart. In my opinion, it is the best RPG I have seen for insane, gonzo, post-apocalyptic action. The main mutation table is a d1000, for pete’s sake. The rulebook covers most everything you need to get started, even providing alternate apocalypse justifications like zombies or aliens. The game has some fantastic support, with a ton of freebies available at the Outland Arts website, as well as the Excavator Monthly magazine and more. It is just one of the easiest games in the world to roll up characters, roll up random encounters, etc. No planning needed, just dice! A post-apoc game tailor-made for my tastes…I can’t NOT recommend it.

Reclamation (Architect Games)

Why You Should Buy It: Very few PostApoc games really “speak” to me, despite how this list may look, but Reclamation did just that with its theme of hope and defiance in the face of a crumbling world. No, it’s not going to be easy to take the world back, but it has to be done. Not only is there hope in the crumbling reality, but the PCs ARE that flame of hope. The five Marks provide more focus than your standard mutation tables, as well as the cool, thematic nastiness of the Sickness overtaking your heroes for using the powers they develop. For a more “heroic” and “focused” PostApoc game, it is hard to go wrong with Reclamation, with the concept and powers combining to give Reclamation that extra “punch” above and beyond the typical PostApoc RPG.

Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer’s Edition (PinnacleEntertainment)

Why You Should Buy It: Savage Worlds is my favorite in-print RPG. Maybe my favorite of all time. In addition, I am a HUGE fan of the Explorer’s Edition format, providing the rules at a low-cost entry point while relying on the supplementary sales. As for the game itself? For me the proof is in the fun. I’ve ran the game over multiple genres and multiple sessions, and as my Necessary Evil game concludes, I’m hard pressed to think of a campaign that has been more epic or more deeply personal. Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer’s Edition also adds a healthy dose of new material, including new Edges and several options for you to use to tweak your games, making the Savage Worlds rules even more self-contained and versatile than they already were. It is $10 for a system that I have used to run westerns, horror, supers, fantasy and swashbuckling, and later this year we plan to use it to bring some of our favorite D&D settings back to life.  There’s a reason I called the original Explorer’s Edition my best RPG purchase.

tremulus (Reality Blurs)

Why You Should Buy It: A great game of investigative horror, tremulus introduced me to the Apocalypse Engine games, causing me to also pick up Dungeon World and Monster of the Week. The set-up with the Playbooks having all of the Moves already printed on them made the game incredibly easy for us to pick up, and I have yet to encounter any “Player Facing” oddities like I normally do in such games. Additionally, the Ebon Eaves town creation is a very interesting subsystem, as we did the town creation and dropped into gameplay all in about half an hour, without any prior preparation. Even better, as good as the main rulebook is, the material slated to come is even cooler. The product of a massively successful Kickstarter, tremulus made it to our table shortly after its release, and is very likely to come back very soon.

And now, for the part you all really want to see: The free stuff we have to offer, and the rules for entering the contest.

As with the last two years, we had prizes donated by all six of the selected publishers…but this year, we also had the wonderful people at Fable Environments offer us prize support, making this the biggest giveaway we have ever offered!

And now, the prizes:

-          One (1) Little Fears Nightmare Edition PDF Bundle (Little Fears Nightmare Edition Corebook, Little Fears Among the Missing, Campfire Tales #1).

-          One (1) PDF copy of Marvel Heroic Roleplaying.

-          One (1) PDF copy of Marvel Heroic Roleplaying.

-          One (1) PDF copy of Marvel Heroic Civil War Premium Edition (includes the Civil War Event and Marvel Heroic rules).

-          One (1) PDF copy of The Mutant Epoch AND one (1) print copy of The Mutant Epoch.

-          One (1) PDF copy of Reclamation.

-          One (1) PDF copy of Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer’s Edition.

-          One (1) PDF copy of tremulus, to be awarded upon the commercial release of the book.

-          One (1) PDF bundle of Fabled Environment Cyberpunk Locations Maps Set.

-          One (1) PDF bundle of Fabled Environment Cyberpunk Locations Maps Set.

-          One (1) PDF bundle of Fabled Environment Cyberpunk Locations Maps Set.

That is eleven big prizes from seven great publishers, helping me say THANK YOU to each and every one of you for reading this blog!

To enter, simply send me an e-mail to tommyb(a)sstelco(dot)com, with the subject (minus the quotes) "Happy Birthday Blog", listing your order of preference for the prize. Once I have closed entries by 11:59 PM Central Time on January 15th, I will use a randomizer to determine the winners...#1 gets their first choice, #2 gets their first available choice (their first choice if it wasn't taken, second if it was, and so on).

Thank you once again for reading this blog, and thank you to the seven publishers for providing prize support for this giveaway! Do yourself a favor and support them, because they all make fantastic games and gaming supplements!

Have a Happy New Year!

Tommy

Tommy's Take on LFNE Book 2: Among the Missing

Yesterday, I reviewed Little Fears Nightmare Edition. Today, it's one full-sized supplement: Among the Missing. I'll work on getting to the Campfire Tales as time permits (and I still need to get two of them).

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: You can pick up Among the Missing for $20 in paperback or $10 in PDF, and it is a supplement revolving entirely around missing children, which are divided into five groups: The Abducted, The Stolen, The Runaways, The Abandoned and The Forgotten.

The Abducted are kids who are kidnapped by other people. Chapter one covers them, and this is one of those areas that can make folks nervous, veering into that "real world horror" that does make some folks uncomfortable (and I think that's a fair reaction to have). This chapter deals with not only the hows (covering the gamut from physical force being applied, to having a parent abduct a child without them really knowing - at first - that they are missing), to the  whys (one parent trying to "protect" a child from another, to creepy cult-like brainwashing). It is worth noting that while the author notes that even more evil motivations exist, he  has chosen not to highlight them for the purposes of this book. The common (in universe) resolutions are then provided, as these sudden abductions can sometimes allow Closetland to reach its horrible grip around the child.

The Stolen are children who are captured by Monsters. This follows a similar format, detailing how Monsters get children (like luring them into traps) and why (some love to eat kids, you know, while others just don't know how to make friends). A few options for resolution are also provided, from release to escape.

Next are those who choose to disappear, The Runaways. Again, same format: How (disappearing into the night, or into a crowd), Why (Escaping abuse, or perhaps jealousy) and the resolution (most of which aren't great).

The Abandoned have been left behind by their family, perhaps with a friend, or on a random doorstep. The reasons can be varied here as well. In fact, one can become Abandoned because a parent had your best interests at heart. Even if a child does find a new family, those scars are still present for Monsters to take advantage of.

The Forgotten are those who have ceased to exist in all but the memories of a few children (and that won't last for long). This one is the most fantastic of the options, but one of the most interesting, as it can happen for a variety of reasons (Monsters tormenting kids, parents grieving to the point that they push the surviving kid out of the world, forces making abusive parents forget they HAVE kids and so on).

Chapter 6 covers playing a Missing kid, and most of character creation is the same, except you  must select one of the five types and your approaches to Stuff and Qualities change, as you have access to less Stuff (generally). New questions are also added to the Questionnaire, depending on your Missing type. This chapter also covers the use of Missing GMCs as both allies and enemies, and provides something of a mid-level between the quick and dirty GMCs and the full fledged characters.

Chapter 7 gets into Missing interacting in the world (both real and Closetland), hitting on places like community shelters, churches, etc...as well as crossover points between the two worlds (including how to find - and breach - them). There are a couple of interesting places that exist DIRECTLY between worlds, one of which being the Halfway House. This chapter also talks about the Laws of the In Between, and how it sometimes chooses not to enforce them. This chapter details hiding places in Closetland, like the Ash Pile, which can be used to make you invisible...just don't overdue it. Lastly, you get places to avoid, like Nowhere.

The next chapter covers people you can meet. My personal favorite is the vagrant known as Walter Highways, who can still see the Monsters. There are also a few folk that you can meet in the In Between, and even folks in Closetland that'll help you (and a big freaking Cat that won't). Some more monsters are also provided that focus specifically on missing kids. The Ghost Car particularly stands out to me here.

The Long Way Home is an adventure that is sparked by the sudden arrival of a boy who went missing about a decade ago...who hasn't aged a day. The PCs get to deal with his identity (and lack of acceptance from his family, who clearly have issues with him not having aged), and get to come face to face with a horrible monster. The adventure hinges on a big moral choice for the PCs, and is intentionally left open ended depending upon HOW they want to deal with the dilemma facing this child.

Lastly, the book has expanded GMC sheets, a new character sheet and new questionnaires, along with the promise of THE SEVEN KINGS, coming soon.

WHAT WORKS: The art in the books is eerily effective, with one piece (page 91 of the PDF) genuinely creeping me out as I was scrolling through the PDF. Seriously...not cool. The book has lots of information designed to inspire, and the writing conveys the research in such a manner as to not be tedious or boring. I do also love adventures that put actual choice in PC hands, and this one does a nice job of that, especially at the end.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Well, if you want a lot of crunch, it's not here. There are some slight tweaks to the character generation that you can use, but this isn't a "splat book". Similarly, the subject matter may begin to push Little Fears a bit more into "Squick" territory than a lot of you may like, addressing the idea of humans being as detrimental to kids as Monsters.

CONCLUSION: 128 pages flew by, thanks to the concise writing and conversational tone. The author has a knack for speaking to you when writing without it ever feeling tacky or annoying (which can be a hard feat to master). Little Fears will work perfectly fine without this book, but it does do a nice job of adding more pieces to the puzzle...pieces that are wholly optional and rarely completely spelled out for you, instead providing a long road for your group to walk down on and leaving it up to you all to determine what's at the end.

Tommy's Take on Little Fears Nightmare Edition

Back in 2001, Jason L. Blair released Little Fears, which attracted a lot of attention, and not all of it positive. See, it was called the "Game of Childhood Terror", and included a broad spectrum of terror, but critics seemed to latch onto the extreme ends of the spectrum (namely, pedophiles), and resulting internet discussions seemed to overwhelm the game itself. A couple of years ago, however, Mr. Blair released Little Fears Nightmare Edition, aiming at improving the product across the board.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: The print version is about $25, while you can get the PDF at RPGNow for $12. It weighs in at 194 pages, and has been pretty well supported, with a full supplement and multiple smaller ones called "Campfire Tales". Characters are children facing the horrors of Closetland, trying to hold onto both their lives and their innocence.

Little Fears Nightmare Edition uses d6s and tokens (poker chips, glass beads, marbles, whatever), so there's not a huge barrier for entry. Interestingly, characters have three Abilities: Move, Fight, Think, Speak and Care, and the player generally determines which he is rolling (based off of what he is trying to accomplish). The system is a die pool using an Ability plus a Quality to determine the number of dice rolled, and are either unopposed, opposed or sustained (called Quizzes, Tests and Exams). From the dice pool, you pick your top three dice to determine your total, and dice rolls are open ended, so as long as you keep rolling sixes, you can keep adding onto your total.

Characters also have Good Traits and Bad Traits, which can either allow players to reroll their lowest die, or cost them their highest die.

Success and Failure (Passing and Failing Grades) are measured for every three points over or under your target number.

Characters also have Belief, which is a risk-reward system (and where the tokens come in at). You can wager Belief by believing in yourself, someone else or even your Stuff (like your asthma inhaler being acidic to the evil clown). If you succeed, you keep your token. If you get  a Passing Grade, you get an additional token! If you fail? Well...your Belief is rocked, and you lose the token. If you get a Failing Grade, you lose an ADDITIONAL token. So wager carefully.  You also use Belief to perform rituals (like the Lord's Prayer), give monsters a weakness, and even destroy monsters.

Characters also have Wits and Spirit, which can be damaged like their Health, and have negative effects of their own (like making a kid careless, or too frantic to concentrate).

The rules cover a LOT of ground, and all the rules are front loaded in the first chapter.

Character creation is point buy, with points equal to your kid's age...however, the younger the kid, the more often they can use Belief magic.

Qualities are player defined, phrashed in sentences like "I have lots of friends" or "I read a lot" or "I hit like a brick". Negative Qualities can be things like "I'm clumsy", "My family's poor" or "People don't trust me".

Then, you take a number of points equal to your Belief and buy Stuff with it (using the points to give the Stuff bonuses and so on, like Sneakers that make you Move faster). Nothing ground breaking here, but still very suitable to the genre.

This chapter also includes some nice guidelines for making a GOOD character...i.e., not making a passive character who won't get involved, etc.

The GM chapter approaches the game from the "episode/season" format, hinging pretty heavily on the three act structure, and providing a description (as well as examples) of a number of types of scenes. A "Quick Stats" system is provided, for minor GM Characters, with two examples (a teacher and a security guard). Perhaps the most interesting bit is the section on how to use the character creation questionnaire against the characters. Should I run this game, this might be the first time I actually make the players fill out the questionnaire.

We also get into character advancement here, both via Playaround Points and Aging...and, sadly, when a character turns 13, that's it...they're growing up. They lose the ability to Believe in themselves, start seeing monsters less clearly, and so on. The end is drawing near.

Finally, the GM chapter provides tips on tweaking the rules up to Dark Faery Tales (with Faery Magic and stronger Belief) on down to True Horror (heavily diminished Belief, or even removing it altogether).

Chapter four is basic information on the average life of the average American student in modern times, including different types of schooling, such as Private schools and homeschooling. This chapter also covers school breaks, as well as interactions with family members and even parents interacting with monsters. Here's a hint: They don't. They outgrew that nonsense a long time ago. We also get a list of the "Good People", my personal favorite being The Army of St. Nicholas. These are the people who didn't forget that monsters existed, you see. We also get guideliines of Hand-Me-Downs, which are Stuff that have gained some unique abilities over time, like Charm Bracelets, which grant a wish to a kid that Believe in them, or Bad Bunny which, when thrown at a monster, will latch onto its face and bite away, blinding them.

Chapter Five gets into Closetland, where the monsters come from. It begins by talking about how Monsters get over here, from seepage into our world (abandoned amusement parks, creepy woods) to bad dreams. THEN we look at how kids can travel TO Closetland.

Closetland itself is a freakish, evil reflection of our world and then some, with hundreds and hundreds of doors leading to who knows where. Fans of the original Little Fears will recognize parts of that Closetland carried over here, like Patchwork and Baba Yaga, as well as Queen Titania. The landmarks of Closetland are more archetypes than unique structures, like The Dollhouse and The School. And then there's The Black Bird Room...dear God. This chapter has a lot of plot seeds and unanswered questions which a GM can take off with for their own games.

A dozen sample monsters, ranging from "common" zombies all the way up to Baba Yaga are provided, as well as an extensive list of material (and examples) for building your own monsters from scratch.

Chapter six provides a sample story, complete with additional monsters and pregenerated characters, followed by a list of adventure seeds (alien neighbors, evil ice cream men and Silly Putty from Hell).

The author provides an afterword, and the book wraps up with summary sheets for the mechanics.

WHAT WORKS: The mechanics of this edition are MUCH tighter than the original in just about every way. Belief is a nice mechanic, with it's risk-reward system. A robust monster-creation guide is fantastic, especially when you don't have a full bestiary out there, and most of the flavor text is creepy without being overly drawn out. Oh, and the advice on using the Questionnaire against your PCs.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Well, I could always use random charts. I also thought the Closetland baddies in the original had a ton of personality, and most of them were ditched for this version.

CONClUSION: One of the most justified second editions I have ever seen. Tighter focus than the original, tighter writing, tighter mechanics, you name it. Lots and lots of examples, plus a steady supply of support? I'm not sure how you beat that. If you like the idea of kids versus monsters, this is one of the best options out there, hands down. If you liked the original, and I did, I don't know why you wouldn't jump at this one. If you scoffed at the original because of its "True Horror" content...rest assured, The Defiler is nowhere to be found, so you can feel free to give Nightmare Edition a go.

Hurricane Irene Flood Relief Bundle

Hey folks...

I'll try to get back to regular reviews and such in the coming week, but I wanted to toss a shout-out regarding this Hurricane Irene Flood Relief bundle, meant to help out the Schoharie County Community Action Program in New York.

There's some great stuff in here from several companies, but I'll say that Killer Thriller, Little Fears Nightmare Edition, Savage Suzerain and Zeeks alone make it WELL worth your $25.