Tommy's Take on Improbable Tales: Helicarrier Heist (Savage Worlds)

Running a Savage Worlds supers campaign? Fainting Goat Games provides a lot of support for that (or, probably, for the system of your choice). And here is one such entry: Helicarrier Heist.

Sentinel Comics Starter Kit - Second Impressions

Second round of the Sentinel Comics Starter Kit tonight. See Part 1 over here.

So, the way this kit works is there are 6 adventures. One is an introductory adventure that can basically be played standalone. You can even double up the first two without moving on. The next three can be tackled in any order, leading up the grand finale, the sixth adventure. We played The first two last week in Part 1. We played 3-5 tonight. I'm going spoiler lite, but providing my thoughts here.

- I still like the game system. The group has gotten used to the mechanics. Their Green-Yellow-Red abilities are starting to become second nature. They are watching for them, and ready to use them when available. That's a good thing, IMO. There's a lot on a given character sheet, so it can be daunting...but none of my players seem bothered by them.

- There's a LOT of metagaming going on here. They've figured out how to utilize their Principles to farm for Hero Points. They bend their solutions around their powers and qualities to get the best possible dice combinations they can come up with. I'm real accommodating, but I'm also not afraid to say "no" if it doesn't make sense. My players are cool with this. We're also cool with metagaming. Savage Worlds has a bit of that. I like my games to have a lot of "game" to them, or we're just telling stories. That's my take, doesn't have to be yours. If you like systems to "get out of the way"...this ain't it. You decide if that's a feature or a bug. (I call it a feature.)

- The three adventures tonight, frankly, were not very fun to run. Two of them were not much more than just a series of Overcome actions. That wasn't by player decision, that's how they are structured. In fact, they outright failed the last adventure, and I don't blame them, because the Overcome actions being called for were, frankly, silly. It required multiple overcome actions to make it through a maze...but the thing they were overcoming were...hieroglyphics. Not giving directions, but telling a story. It didn't work, and it sucked the energy out of the group. Yes, an experienced GM can circumvent this stuff. But I tried to run the Starter Kit as a starter kit, as close to the rules as possible, to decide how I feel about the product. Tonight's adventures felt incredibly one dimensional.

-  I'm not a big fan of how the information in the adventures is laid out. Part of it is on me, but there are points where the necessary information felt very lacking. I'll get into more detail in Part 3, after we finish off the Starter Kit, and that one will be a little more spoiler heavy.

- I didn't back the Kickstarter, funds being the reason...but I still want the core rulebook. One of the designers told me that one of the qualms we had about the system had already been addressed, and I'm genuinely excited to look at character creation and see how it plays putting your own characters together.

- My feeling right now is: The game is great...I'm just not sold on 3/5s of the Starter Kit adventures (jury is still out on the final adventure until we play it).

Sentinel Comics RPG - First Impression from the Starter Kit

Hey, look at that. A new blog post. But I gamed about something I wanted to talk about, so here we are.

Legendary Edges in Necessary Evil

No, this isn't a general, all-purpose fan thread about suitable Legendary Edges for Necessary Evil. This is about the Legendary Edges that I gave my PCs and their NPC teammates when the campaign reached Legendary. Had some folks ask me about it, found the notes recently, thought I'd post them.

Since there are spoilers for Necessary Evil, the Edges are after the jump so no one gets it spoiled for them on the front page of the blog.

BAMFsies, Kickstarters and Patreon, Oh My!

Been a couple of days since I posted, so I thought I'd mention a few things that popped up recently.

THE BAMFSIES

The BAMFsies returned, with superhero experts like Steve Trustrum, Steve Kenson and Jacob Blackmon. Check it out for the only RPG awards that focus specifically on superhero RPGs.

Zenith Comics Patreon



Andrew Collas and Zenith Comics have launched a Patreon for the Zenith Comics Heroic Handbook, which will provide game stats for the HEROIC universe, Zenith Comics' superhero setting.

Pip Core System Kickstarter

Eloy Lasanta and Third Eye Games have launched a Kickstarter for the Pip System Core Book. This will be a core book for the system that powers family games such as Mermaid Adventures and Camp Myth. In addition to the rulebook, they are trying to unlock The Kid's Guide to Monster Hunting. Buy in is as low as $15, and Third Eye Games has a great track record with Kickstarter fulfillment.

Fear Agent & The Goon Kickstarter Double Shot



Pinnacle, makers of Savage Worlds, have launched a pair of licensed RPG Kickstarters, for Dark Horse Comics' Fear Agent and The Goon! The Goon is outperforming Fear Agent just a hair, but both are funded and working on stretch goals. You can go as simple as PDFs, but there are minis and bennies available for both books as well. Written by John Goff (Fear Agent) and Matthew Cutter (The Goon), Pinnacle is bringing their "A-Game", as usual...and Pinnacle's Kickstarter fulfillment track record is impeccable.

I have a slew of reviews I'm working on. No promises on the schedule, but check out all of these worthy endeavours and allocate your gaming funds accordingly.

Keep the dice dizzy!

T.

Superhero Kickstarters to Check Out

Hey all, just checking in with a couple of Kickstarters to recommend for you...

SENTINELS OF THE MULTIVERSE: OBLIVAEON



Greater Than Games is doing one of the ballsiest things you can do...they are killing their cash cow while it's still HOT. They insist they always had a plan, and this is the grand finale of that plan: A final expansion in which the heroic characters of the Sentinels of the Multiverse will join forces with some of their fiercest foes to battle an epic Galactus/Darkseid/Thanos-like entity that wants to eradicate the multiverse.

I am a huge fan of Sentinels of the Multiverse. It is, simply put, the greatest card game I've ever played and I have logged hundreds of games and hundreds of hours. For those who are unfamiliar, you have a number of hero decks (generally 3-5), a villain deck (or a team, more on that later) and an environment deck. Then it's (generally) a slugfest until either the heroes fall or the villain does (some villains and environment decks introduce alternate win or lose conditions). The game has continued to grow, with multiple boxed expansions (gritty street-level, mystic and cosmic themed), new variants (two boxed sets introduced the concept of taking on teams of villains) and numerous single-deck expansion packs, as well as promo cards that provided variant heroes and villains to play with. The game is completely co-op, with the villain decks essentially being "automated". There's even an amazing video game version on Steam, Android and iOS devices.

Details about the gameplay in this expansion are still scarce, but it's known that multiple Environments will be used, as well as a Mission Deck. I freely admit, I have a ton of confidence in these guys to deliver, as I have yet to regret a purchase for this card game.

It is worth noting that the larger Sentinels line will still continue with their miniatures/skirmish game Sentinel Tactics (which I also enjoy, but rarely get to play) and the upcoming Sentinels of the Multiverse RPG (which I intend to get due to my love of the universe).

Heck, you can even get an ultimate collector's box in this Kickstarter that promises to hold every official card they have released (even sleeved!).

Highest recommendation for one of the greatest games I have ever played, from a company with an impeccable track record. I would  love to see that million dollar stretch goal shattered.

AGAINST THE AXIS - WORLD WAR II ERA PLAY IN STARK CITY

My friends over at Fainting Goat Games are hard at work on Against the Axis, an ICONS World War II book that is now also getting Savage Worlds and SUPERS! support. They have even joined forces with Heroic Publishing to tie in with several of their Golden Age style characters.

The ICONS manuscript is complete, and this is a full blown sourcebook that ties in with the Stark City setting released a few years ago, not simply an adventure (of which ICONS has seen several of).

Pinnacle's own Clint Black (who was the man behind one of my favorite campaigns of all time, Necessary Evil) is signed on to write a stretch goal book if it gets that far, but right now the campaign is struggling. Fainting Goat is a good company with great quality and reliability, and the ICONS manuscript is complete, so there is very low risk in backing this one, which still needs just under two grand to hit its funding goal in a week.

Tommy's Top Six of 2015 and Birthday Blog Giveaway

It's that time of year again...a New Year and a time to look back on my past year in gaming. I reviewed a ton in the first half of the year, then spent the second half of the year doing way more writing than reviewing. But I did still hit on six products that filled me with a particular joy, so here we go.

The rules, as arbitrarily decided by me: 1) One game per publisher. 2) My primary exposure to the game must have been in from December 1st of last year to November 30th of this year. 3) I must not have been involved of the production of the product (but you should totally check out Savage Tales of Horror, ya'll).

AMP Year One (by Third Eye Games)

1) Perfect for those wanting a Heroes-style "emergent supers game", rather than a traditional comic book-style setting.

2) The unique setting helps the game stand out in the pack of superhero RPGs in the world right now, as the system and setting are married together quite well.

3) Strong adventure support is a focus for the line, as AMP Year One got multiple adventure packs upon release, and Year Two has added in Faction Books with adventures.

4) The metaplot provides interesting twists and turns in the setting, with a five year plan mapped out for the setting and new elements being introduced as the setting develops.

5) The powers are neat and flavorful, and the new powers have thus far done a great job of providing new options, rather than power creep.

6) I loved this setting enough that I worked on two of the Year Two faction books (TRAC and the upcoming Hounds books...to clarify, I only had a hand in two supplements, not on this book at all).

Camp Grizzly (by Ameritrash Games)

1) I have never had a bad game of this. We've busted it out repeatedly, and had a blast each time, including the time Otis just spent the whole game mauling us.

2) The game is lite enough that you can run multiple characters to ensure you have a full spread of counselors, even if you only have two or three players.

3) The game is just full of slasher movie tropes, clearly crafted by fans of the genre, for fans of the genre.

4) Every character in the game, from Counselor to Otis to the campers and the cameos just screams that they walked out of an 80s Friday the 13th knock-off. From the little girl that keeps you from a little late night action, to the a-hole cops that can interfere with you, the brave lifeguard counselor who runs to stop Otis when he appears nearby to the little psycho girl who is going to grow up and live in a horror movie of her own someday...just a great cast of characters.

5) The Finale System (8 unique finales, depending on where on the board you initiate it at) provides ample uncertainty as to how the game will end and what you have to do to stop Otis. It may turn out that Otis was never there at all, and it was just an imposter, or Otis may aim to take you with him as he goes. We still have not played all of them, but the finales are arguably the the strongest part of an already great game.

6) For a simple roll and move game, the interaction between counselors, Otis, random placement of objectives, the 8 finales and the sizable card decks just overflowing with horror tropes ensures that there is a lot of replayability, and five expansions were unlocked with the Kickstarter and are still coming.

High Strung (Precis Intermedia Games)

1) Do you know a lot of other RPGs about playing a members of a rock band who are trying to make it in a harsh and unforgiving industry (as opposed to members of a rock band who fight crime and/or monsters)?

2) Lots and lots and lots of random tables, which obviously draws my attention.

3) Short and sweet. Whole thing comes in well under 50 pages, but provides a full game with no big, gaping holes.

4) The premise is "rock band", but the drama is on the personal events that surround the group in their pursuit of the big dream, essentially making it about a band who is trying to succeed in spite of themselves, especially as Hope (the game's big in-game currency) is stolen from player to player.

5) Brand new layout from the original version released by Flying Mice Games adds an additional visual flair, while still maintaining the indie charm that a game like this requires.

6) Player versus player with no player elimination, great for a change of pace if your group is one that likes to butt heads every now and then, but are capable of doing so without hurt feelings.

Shadow of the Demon Lord (Schwalb Entertainment)

1) Random tables for every aspect of your character, plus Interesting Things and even how you learn your new Paths. Have I mentioned that I love random tables?

2) Evocative art that constantly reinforces the slightly grimy, slightly "off" feel of everything about the setting, from character Ancestries to monsters.

3) The setting is at once a broad strokes kitchen sink, while also having a very distinctive feel and tone to it. While not a true "horror" game, it is definitely "weird", as everything just feels a touch "off".

4) Definitely a change of pace from high powered heroics of modern fantasy games, harkening back to older games with more "expendable" characters, combined with newer design concepts (such as unified subsystems, the Fortune mechanic and so on).

5) The Paths are fantastic, allowing you to guide your character through the career paths of their choice. You can even willingly become, say, a Warrior at level 1, turn Thief at level 3 and transform into a Magus at level 7, hitting three of the four major "multiclass" points. Obviously, certain combinations of Ancestries and Paths will mesh better together, but none are forbidden.

6) Shadow of the Demon Lord was one of my favorite purchases of the last year. Not least because of all the cool stretch goals I got in the Kickstarter, but the corebook itself as proven to be worth it, both reading and in play.

Star Wars Force & Destiny Beginner Game (Fantasy Flight Games)

1) Great introductory set for what can otherwise be a confusing system to get your heads around. The handy charts breaking down the dice symbols on each character folio made running and playing the game very smooth.

2) As is to be expected with both Star Wars and Fantasy Flight Games, the production values are top notch and intentionally evoke the darker mysticism of the Star Wars universe.

3) The included adventure not only provides multiple encounters, but multiple ways to resolve those encounters as well. One of the PCs in the game I ran was a top flight negotiator, and he managed to talk his way through half the adventure, whereas the other PC would certainly have had to fight.

4) The system, once you get the dice symbols down, is both simple and flexible. Struggling to explain some of the "Yes, but..." and "No, but..." results can be a problem, but in a pinch you can always hand out Boost and Setback dice to keep it moving.

5) The Force system is great in that it can force "Conflict" without automatically turning you to the Dark Side. Essentially, it randomizes your concentration and emotions (based on your Force Rating), providing actual incentive to tap into darker feelings to use The Force.

6) It convinced me to not only buy the Force and Destiny rulebook, but Age of the Rebellion and Edge of the Empire as well.

The Super Villain Handbook (Fainting Goat Games)

1) Available in ICONS, Fate and Supers! versions, each villain archetype has a set of sample stats for the system in question.

2) If you have the Field Guide to Superheroes, it has an appendix that discusses how to tweak those archetypes into villains.

3) The focus is on who the villains are, not what they can do. The ability to shoot bolts of energy from their eyes should define a good villain less than that they are a white supremacist who is using that power to "cleanse the genepool".

4) Multiple examples are provided for each archetype to draw a mental connection between the character types and actual villains you have actually read about.

5) Each entry breaks down not only the abilities that the archetype is likely to have, but the qualities they are likely to have, as well as the stories you can tell with them. This is useful to drive home the fact that there is more than one way to make an Assassin, or a Mastermind or a Cult Leader.

6) This book is at least as useful to me as a writer as it is for me as a GM. Honestly, even if you're running a supers RPG that this book hasn't been released for, it's still a valuable resource. It's that good.

And now, for the part you have all been waiting for...The Birthday Blog Giveaway! The blog turned six years old today, and we have prizes! Send me an email to "tommybrownell(a)gmail(dot)com" with the subject "Birthday Blog Giveaway" and send me your choices for prizes in order of preference. The prizes are:

- Two (2) PDF copies of AMP: Year One.
-  One (1) PDF copy of High Strung.
- One (1) PDF copy of the Victims of the Demon Lord Starter's Guide.
- One (1) PDF Copy of The Super Villain Handbook (ICONS, FATE or SUPERS!, your choice)
- One (1) Print Copy of The Super Villain Handbook (ICONS)
- One (1) Print Copy of The Super Villain Handbook (FATE)
- One (1) Print Copy of The Super Villain Handbook (SUPERS!)
- One (1) set of Laser Cut Wood and 3D Printed Gaming Terrain by Daft Concepts

For the Print Prizes and the gaming terrain, I can only ship them to the continental US, sorry. All entries are required by 11:59 Central time on 1/14, after which I will select winners! I do require a valid email address to provide to publishers for the digital rewards, and valid US mailing addresses for the physical rewards!

Good luck, thank you to the publishers for the prize support, and thank you to everyone who is still reading!

#RPGaDay Day 19: Favorite Supers RPG

To the surprise of absolutely no one who has been paying attention to me:

I'm not saying this game is perfect. God knows it isn't. Despite all the flaws, though, it has provided the most amazing superhero action I have ever experienced in an RPG, bar none. I would dearly love to get some version of this back in print because, aside from Savage Worlds, it's my favorite RPG of all time, and the lack of a digital edition, combined with the lack of in-print Fate Deck means this game is largely dead.

#RPGaDay Day 2: Game You Are Most Pleased To Have Kickstarted

I have Kickstarted some great games: Age Past (which also features some short fiction by me), the Awesome Powers series for BASH which is going to be HUGE when completed, Deadlands Noir, The Sixth Gun RPG, Fate Core (which had a ton of great stuff with it, but I am still most likely to play the Dresden Files version instead)...heck, I backed Feng Shui 2 on a whim, and I think I'm in love. All that said, the game I'm most pleased I backed on Kickstarter is AMP: Year One (and the Year 2 book) for Third Eye Games, which has kept me very busy the last couple of months. There have been a few games that have tried to tackle the approach of "modern day, suddenly people have powers", but this one has easily been my favorite (and runs neck in neck with Wu Xing as my favorite Third Eye Games RPG period).

Tommy's Take on The Super Villain Handbook

There is currently a Kickstarter running for the Super Villain Handbook, written by the author of The Field Guide to Superheroes by Vigilance Press, Jason "Dr. Comics" Tondro. What is the Super Villain Handbook? Well, that's the point of the blog post...so read on.

Tommy's Take on Attack of The Buzz, Evolution of Apex and The White Knight and the AMP Year One Giveaway!

A trifecta of short reviews today, all AMP adventures, and then we announce the AMP giveaway winners! I'm pumped. You have no idea how much I LOVE doing giveaways.

Half-Dozen Heroes: AMP Year One

So I haven't done this in a while, but I decided to do an installment of Half-Dozen Heroes, in which I have created six PCs for AMP: Year One, just to show off the system and options just a little bit.

Sound good? Right-click on the character sheets to blow them up.

Tommy's Take on AMP: Year One

As you may or may not have heard, I'm running a giveaway over here for AMP: Year One while AMP: Year Two is on Kickstarter. You should enter that giveaway, unless you already own AMP. If, for some reason, you are on the fence about an RPG I am giving away, I am here to let you know what's inside and my impression of those contents.

AMP: Year One Giveaway and Year Two Kickstarter plus Fabled Environments and Connect Dice!

Todays blog post is about three Kickstarters and a sweet (if I do say so myself) giveaway.

Last year, Third Eye Games released AMP: Year One, their supers game set at the dawn of the rise of people with powers, called AMPs. The inspirations draw heavily from shows like Heroes, movies like Push and, of course, The X-Men (which heroes borrowed liberally from, so that makes sense). This is a setting in which powers are new and different and scary, and some people are embracing the change and others are looking out for themselves. The book, in addition to all the core rules, contained the Year One (2015) timeline for the setting.

Tommy's Take on Savage Worlds Super Powers Companion 2nd Edition

I love Necessary Evil. Like, a lot. It's my favorite campaign I have ever ran. I vastly prefer the Savage Worlds Super Powers system to the regular Powers system. That said, I have never had the desire to run a Savage Worlds Super Powers game since finishing Necessary Evil. Why? As fun as Necessary Evil was, I never thought the system was quite flexible enough for a standard supers game (I was willing to accept the limitations in Necessary Evil as a setting conceit).

Tommy's Take on ICONS: The Assembled Edition

So last year, after my review of ICONS, Ad Infinitum and Green Ronin Publishing joined forces to release ICONS: The Assembled Edition...not quite a second edition, more of a 1.5 Edition...something closer to what Pinnacle does with the Savage Worlds core books than what D&D does with its editions (that is, remaining 95% compatible from edition to edition with little work).

Random Acts of Kindness Week - Free Godsend Agenda and High Valor

Apparently, it is International Random Acts of Kindness Week, and a couple of awesome RPG industry folk have decided to honor it by giving away digital copies of their games.

The Bamfsies Are Announced and You Can Win MORE Prizes!

So, a while back I told you that the Bamfsies were a thing.

Well, the Judges had their say and the people had their say and awards were given to well deserved games. You should totally go check it out.

Tommy's Take on Cold Steel Wardens

How do you like your heroes? Deeply, deeply flawed? Less Captain America and more Punisher? Less Spider-Man and more Daredevil? You can probably bend your favorite superhero RPG to that accomplish that feel...but sometimes you want a game that will do it for you.

And now...The Bamfsies!

I was recently recruited by Mike Lafferty of Fainting Goat Games and the Bamf! Podcast to join the governing body of The Bamfsies, alongside Cam Banks, Chris Helton and Dan Davenport.

What are the Bamfsies? They are a fairly light hearted award series for Superhero Gaming, which all of the above, plus myself, have a love for. We already have the Hall of Fame up, and voting is ongoing right now for your picks for the Gamer's Choice award. We're going to attempt to coordinate a podcast for the awards next month, so you should get your vote in for your favorites NOW.

Gold star if you can guess my Hall of Fame selection without looking.