Tommy's Take on Firefly: The Game

Apparently it's Firefly Week on the blog, as I now tackle the board game by Gale Force Nine.

Tommy's Take on Firefly: Out to the Black

You’re probably heard of Firefly. Cult classic show on Fox, cancelled without airing all of the episodes, made by Joss Whedon, had a follow-up movie called Serenity? It now has a couple of tabletop games available: A board game by Gale Force Nine and this game, a card game by Toy Vault.

DISCLAIMER: I received no compensation for this review in any way. This is based off of playing a store copy of the Firefly card game, via Kryptic Comics & Games.

Tommy's Take on The Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay

So, the only Labyrinth Lord products I have ever reviewed have all been by Small Niche Games...and when I posted recently on Google+ about how I needed to do more reviews, Pete Spahn hit me up again about a review, this time for The Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay, a "home base" meant for The Chronicles of Amherth.

Wonderful Web Resources: Paper Friends!

I was never really a fan of using miniatures when I gamed. I didn't want to load up on on minis and maps and blahblahblah, really only making exceptions for the old Marvel TSR RPG, since they included the maps, the paper figures and so on.

And then Savage Worlds happened.

Just like that, I went from entirely mapless and miniless gaming to throwing whatever I could get my hands on out onto the table. When we played Necessary Evil, we just unloaded with HeroClix minis and maps, plus the Necessary Evil Figure Flats (for the enemies, mostly). Much easier to print up a slew of Drones than to find a couple dozen identical minis, even in HeroClix.

Other games have had more...struggles. In Savage Midnight, I pulled heavily from my D&D Board Games (and other fantasy board games), and in Deadlands I caved and bought the Cardstock Cowboys, which is a decent selection that was not optimized for printing. My short-lived Star Wars game was just difficult.

I've even busted out Pathfinder Pawns in some decidedly non-Pathfinder games.

Last night, I decided I NEEDED to find a Martial Arts figure, for our Deadlands game, and so I searched around on the Internet, coming back to the Seven Wonders site, and their Paper Friends selection. Now, I had visited here before, but never utilized the resources...until I saw a thread that pointed me back to this site, specifically the Spies section, and wound up printing off two pages of Martial Artist figure flats for one of my players to use as his PC in the game. Then I printed off a Surgeon and a Gunslinger for two more NPCs, and went to their Chronicles of Gor section to print off the scariest werewolf I could find!

And that was just the tip of the iceberg. This site has 15 pages of Marvel Heroes, 20 pages of Marvel Villains, and 12 pages of Marvel Goons! And that's not even getting into the themed sets, the giant figures and so on! The depth of the selection is impressive as well. Sure, you get Captain America and Doctor Doom...but what about Kristoff Vernaard? What about Magneto's clone, Joseph? The Winter Soldier? The new, young Nova? Most of the Marvel UK characters? Gambit's ex-wife Belladonna? What about The Hood? Corvus Glaive from the recent Infinity crossover, or Banshee in his new Horseman of Death persona?

And that's just the *Marvel* selection, folks. There's DC Paper Friends, an Indy comics selection (featuring two of the biggest: Hellboy and Invincible) and Mutants & Masterminds characters.

Many of them are placed in broad genres, like Fantasy characters, fantasy creatures, Horror, Sci-Fi and so on..including four pages of Deadlands Paper Friends that supplement the Cardstock Cowboys nicely (including a Cyborg Marshal that I wish I'd had earlier in my current campaign). And if you can't find some use out of the Pulp Adventure sets, you may be doing it wrong.

Oh, and then there's the TV/Movie Paper Friends...like Firefly, Dr. Who, Star Trek, Planet of the Apes and - yowza - 11 pages of Star Wars figures.

The best part is that the site is still being updated, the owner will consider requests for Paper Friends, and he will even give out his templates if you ask. Literally the only downside is that it can be virtually impossible to sort out all of the options to find something specific you are looking for.

Finally, it is worth noting that the site specifically states that he will honor any requests from an artist who either wants their work removed, or properly accredited. It's one of those things that I'm afraid evil lawyers will someday take away from us, but in the meantime, my gaming table appreciates the variety in figures being used...

...now if I had a better method of printing maps...

Tommy's Take on East Texas University

ETU - East Texas University - is the new Savage Setting by the 12 to Midnight guys, Ed Wetterman and Preston DuBose. Currently on Kickstarter, it was funded in about two hours...and I have a pre-release copy of the book, which I am eager to dig into.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: ETU is on Kickstarter, as mentioned above, and the Kickstarter ends June 12th. $20 gets you the ETU PDF, and $35 adds the Degrees of Horror plot point campaign, while $50 scores you both books in print. A slew of other rewards are planned, but I'm not reviewing the Kickstarter, I'm reviewing the ETU book.

I am working off of a pre-release PDF, so layout and editing are not 100% complete. It treads familiar territory for Savage Worlds, namely modern horror...but centered around East Texas University, in the town of Pinebox, Texas! The setting feels very much like Sunnydale from Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a distinctly Texas twist.

The college theme is not just window dressing, but instead a major aspect of the game, as characters must advance from Freshmen to Seniors, with the Savage Worlds ranks corresponding with their education (Novice Freshmen, Seasoned Sophmores, etc). Characters must have a Major, which is indicated by a Skill, though they can be "Undecided" for the first couple of years. They also have a new Trait called Academics, which indicates the balance between time focused on fighting evil and the time spent on education. A couple of great sidebars discuss Common Knowledge in ETU, as well as a good, solid list of Majors.

Lots of info is provided on the University itself, including the fight song, a random Fraternity/Sorority generator, and a discussion of the American Collegiate System for those unfamiliar.

Some great new Hindrances are included, like Annoying Roommate, Anti-Tech Aura (because stuff Just Doesn't Work around you...Harry Dresden fans take note), Cursed (which manifests itself differently in each adventure), Overprotective Parents or even being a Townie. New Edges include Local Favorite (star running back in High School, here to lead The Ravens to a championship, maybe?), Gunslinger (Seniors only!), Demon Slayer (again with the Seniors only), Precognitive Flash, Psychometry and more. While the Arcane Backgrounds are excluded, there are definitely options your heroes can grow into.

More nice touches include Semester Allowances, differences in expenses for on-campus and off-campus housing, and even the means available to each wealth level for getting around Texas! There's even rules for Insurance (including getting your folks to cover the damages to your car), and a table for quirks with used cars!

The setting rules really make the setting "pop", as always, with ETU providing some of the best Setting Rules I've seen since Deadlands Reloaded. You get Advances like normal with every 5 points...but you also have to pass Exams. If you pass your Exam, you roll on the Passed Exams table, which gives you benefits like a new die type to a Skill, extra money, extra bennies, or even a brand new adventure hook! The Interlude rules are adapted to providing a means of relieving burnout (and giving you a bonus to your Academics rolls), and everyone can indulge in an Extracurricular Activity (named at the beginning of each Semester), like Athletics (which boosts your Strength and Agility rolls at a cost to Academics), Part-Time Jobs (which grant more money, but hurt your Academics), Romance (which dings money AND Academics, but allows you a bonus d6 when spending bennies if you are in some way drawing on your feelings for your crush), as well as even Tutoring (maybe you are taking money from the Rich Local Favorite who is devoted to Athletics, to help him offset his penalties to Academics).

A "player's version" of Pinebox is included, complete with a warning not to look like a psychopath, because people are likely to shoot you.

The GM's version goes into local legends and lore a bit more, including the various monstrous legends around the area, and more than a few shoutouts that long-time Pinnacle fans will likely catch (that couple that runs the comic store sure sound familiar to me....). The female dorms are rumored to be haunted (a common theme in real life...my local university was built around a Seminary Hall said to be haunted), and if you listen closely, you hear whispering voices from the concert hall.

Rules are also provided for various types of monster hunting, from ghost detection to extensive rules for rituals (and be careful what you dabble in, because magic may corrupt you...or summon the thing that kills you, if you fail). There is no quick and easy magic here...but, sometimes, you just have to take those risks.

The book also includes more random tables, including a new Random Adventure Generator (card-based), complete with two examples...but I'm going to provide my own on the fly:

Who: 7 of Clubs (Animal)
What: King of Diamonds (Theft)
Victim: 10 of Spades (Scientist)
Why: 3 of Diamonds (Secret Knowledge)
Where: 6 of Spades (Pinebox - Abandoned business/building)
Complication: 6 of Clubs (Rock Out - A big band is in town)

I'm kinda thinking a hyper intelligent monkey has attacked the scientists that were experimenting on him and other animals inside the boarded-up petshop and is planning a Planet of the Apes by way of Dr. Moreau-like revolution at the PineRocks Rock Festival. Why? Because Sad, Evil Monkeys are fun. Maybe the PCs get drawn in when their Biology Professor goes missing (because of the monkey attack) and gets transformed into Half-Man Half-Aardvark?

I love random generators more than I should.

There's even a High Strangeness chart to draw on just so weird stuff just happens.

Other random charts include a random party generator (no, not adventuring party...this is college), an a random Research Adventure chart.

The bestiary includes important NPCs like Sheriff Butch Anderson and James Nelson, President of ETU, as well as generic stats like White and Blue Collar Workers, Townies, and so on.

Then it gets into weird stuff like chupacabras, demons (an extensive list, as well as a random creation chart), ghosts (with a massive customization list as well), the Skunk Ape (East Texas' answer to Bigfoot) and much more...including that quintessential Texas horror creature: HOGZILLA.

WHAT WORKS: Thanks to the University spin, this setting REALLY stands out, and it gets even better with all the quirky tables (I love the Adventure Generator, as well as things like the Used Car quirks). It has the same sense of fun as the campier elements of Deadlands, or the better Supernatural episodes (just more localized). A fun twist on a genre that's kinda been done to death, supported by strong setting rules, as well as Edges and Hindrances.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Sure seems like game balance could get thrown out the window if that's the kind of thing that bothers you (I'm fine with it, myself). Also, the Research Adventures chart is too specific for being so small...seems like it could potentially get repetitive.

CONCLUSION: Obviously, anticipation was high for this, given how quickly it hit its goal...I love it. The sense of fun is very high, but it's still a lot scarier than a lot of games, given that you aren't likely to develop real equalizers in your war against the supernatural until you become Juniors or Seniors. I intend to back it, just working out what pledge level, and have high hopes for the Plot Point Campaign after reading this. Great stuff, especially if you're convinced Savage Worlds can't do anything different.

Tommy's Take on Ingenium Second Edition

I'm not going to do a massively detailed review of Ingenium 2nd Edition, as I have already done a review of 1st Edition, but as 2nd Edition is upon us, and the Kickstarter is about to close out, I took advantage of an offer to take a sneak peek at the 2nd Edition.

The Manna Hotel - A Fiasco Actual Play

So last night I got to check another item off of my gaming Bucket List: I played in a full game of Fiasco for the first time.

I played in a Fiasco demo a while back with Mike Lafferty, Daniel Gallant and Fiasco writer Jason Morningstar and enjoyed it (you can listen here), but had never had a chance to play a full game. I recently stumbled across the print version in a game shop and pounced on it, becoming so set on playing it that I bought the Companion and new sets of white, black and red six sided dice. After talking about it enough, even my usually non-gamer wife expressed interest in playing it.

So after taking a few weeks off due to various members of the group traveling, we reconvened last night to play Fiasco!

I gave a quick explanation of the game's premise and rules, and we got to work setting up The Manna Hotel playset (available for free here).

Disclaimer: The content is a little stronger than you normally find on my blog, so consider yourself warned.

Tommy's Take on Legendary

I've played a few Marvel card games over the years, but last year when I picked up Sentinels of the Multiverse, I also picked up the DC Deck Building Game and the newest Marvel card game: Legendary. Let's take a look at that one.

Tommy's Take on Bulletproof Blues

What do you do when a Supers game doesn't do precisely what you want it to? In this day and age, you design your own. Brandon Blackmoore did just that, producing Bulletproof Blues. With the 2nd Edition Kickstarter just launching, I'm going to take a moment to review the 1st Edition.

DISCLAIMER: An affiliate link for this game is included, but honestly, if it sounds appealing to you, you are probably better served backing the 2nd Edition Kickstarter. No review copy was provided by the publisher.

Tommy's Take on Castle, Baronica & Murder on the Hellstromme Express

Castle: The Detective Card Game

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: Published by Cryptozoic Entertainment, Castle: The Detective Card Game is a fast-playing card game designed for more casual gamers looking to dabble in some good, card gaming fun. Retailing for $30, Castle is a whodunit card game, in which everyone selects an investigator from the show (Castle, Beckett, Det. Ryan, Det. Esposito, Capt. Gates or Dr. Parish). Each investigator has a special ability, like Beckett being able to discard two cards of the same name and drawing five more, or Capt. Gates being able to take the top card from the Discard pile into her hand. Once everyone has a character, five suspects are dealt, and poker chips dealt out onto them. One chip says Guilty, the rest are Not Guilty and have a special effect (like forcing you to pass a card to the person on the right, or picking a player and allowing them to draw two cards). If at any point in the game you get the three cards listed on each suspect, you can Confront them, flipping over their poker chip. If they are guilty, you win! If not, follow the text on the chip. The gameplay is fast (each person only has one of five actions each turn) and simple (you are trying to find the three cards listed on the suspect cards to confront them), but has some nice trappings. For instance, the suspects are the murder mystery archetypes, like The Ignored Mistress, The Spiteful Sister and The Vengeful Spouse. In order to confront, say, The Loyal Brother, you need to Search the Victim's Home, have a Poker Game Consult (a Castle tradition) and perform an Autopsy. Other cards have special effects, like Killing By The Book, which has the killer following the MO of a killer from Castle's book (and letting you draw three cards and keep one), while another allows you to add an additional suspect (and maybe even changing up who the guilty party actually is). Some variants include using more suspects, as well as a "Season Mode", which ends when one player has three Solved Tokens.

WHAT WORKS: Good production values, especially the box, oversized character cards and poker chips (which are a thing of beauty indeed). Gameplay is fast and fun for a casual setting, and all of the major Detective Show tropes are in full effect with the suspects. Surprisingly, for a licensed product, the price isn't overly inflated.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Not a very deep game, if that's what you're looking for.

CONCLUSION: My wife is a casual gamer who is a fan of Castle, and when I read that this was basically a light, casual card game, I decided to pick it up for her for Christmas. Not a surprise at all, she really likes it. There's nothing deep or in-depth here, and there is a decent sized luck factor, but there's enough gameplay to keep me happy and fast enough play to keep my wife happy. It may not be what some were hoping for from a Castle card game, but it's pretty much exactly what Cryptozoic was actually trying for.

BARONICA: A Dungeon World Campaign Front

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: Released by Three Sages Games, Baronica is a campaign front for Dungeon World, which I reviewed recently. Baronica is based on the author's old fantasy campaign, with some details left out. In keeping with the Dungeon World mindset, Baronica is left pretty open for the GMs and players to fill in, maps included. It's a fairly typical fantasy setting, in which the High King has fallen and the people are trying to determine who can take the crown. In the meanwhile, goblins are getting violent, and a dark force is rising to consume everyone (because that's what dark forces DO). A number of important NPCs are provided, as well as questions relevant to the campaign for the players to answer, and Special Moves for certain parts of the setting (my favorite being the move that details what happens when the PCs encounter The Azure Unicorn). Of course, Dangers are present, and a few Fronts are provided to help you guide the escalation of the threat level (such as the Rise of the Dark Lord).

WHAT WORKS: If you read the advice on creating Campaign Fronts and Dangers in the Dungeon World book, and it didn't quite click, then this might well be worth reading. I liked that the maps are left open enough for you to add your own elements and features that appear in gameplay, and I particularly enjoyed the encounter with the Azure Unicorn.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: If you already have a sense of what you are doing with Dungeon World, world-building-wise, then there's not enough new and unique stuff here to make it worthwhile. The author admits that it's going to feel a little familiar to some people, so if you're already on that path, you are probably better served to keep going in that direction.

CONCLUSION: Recommended for people who are pretty sure they have the mechanics of Dungeon World down, but are not sure just how they are actually going to get the game going (the front suggests that the PCs begin in media res), but folks who have already started to work on their own Dungeon World setting aren't going to find a lot here to compel them to scrap their work and introduce Baronica in its stead.

MURDER ON THE HELLSTROMME EXPRESS

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: Murder on the Hellstromme Express is packed in with the Deadlands Reloaded GM screen, but is also available separately in PDF. It is perfectly suitable for use as an introductory adventure, but can also be dropped into any campaign in which the posse has a need to take jobs for money. The adventure is designed to run from Chicago to Dodge City, with the PCs serving as escorts for a Mad Scientist on a train full of 'em, each trying to impress a Hellstromme Industries auditor and earn points for the big Kansas Scientific Symposium. Wackiness ensues as the agendas of the various scientists bubble to the forefront, intersecting with a raid by a vicious Indian War Party. Assuming everyone makes it to the Symposium itself intact, one of the scientists has a final surprise for the posse...and the amount of help they have in that final battle relates directly to how well they managed the personalities on the train.

WHAT WORKS: All of the scientists on the train are interesting and were a blast to play as GM. Having the posse's interaction with them factor into the end game was a great touch. It makes for a good introductory adventure due to the mundane beginnings that help introduce more arcane elements of the setting.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Might not be enough action for some posse members in the early going. When I ran it, I did have one player get very restless waiting on a fight. It is, literally, a railroady adventure, what with most of it taking place on a train.

CONCLUSION: I wouldn't recommend buying the PDF unless you are completely unable to find the GM screen. Buy that and take this as the extra included with it instead. When I ran the adventure, the mad scientists thoroughly exhausted my players, and - as noted above - one of them got really restless with the lack of action, though that was due in part to the posse averting one issue with intimidation, and another through the well timed use of explosives. Definitely recommended if you need an excuse to get your PCs to Dodge City, or if you just want to show off the mad science in the setting.