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.

Tommy's Take on Shadownrun 5th Edition, Milecastle 42 and Djinn of the Deep

SHADOWRUN FIFTH EDITION

Fun fact: I actually have no experience with Shadowrun whatsoever. Yes, I know it’s pretty much a classic and one of the bigger fish in the gaming sea…and, yet, here we are. So when I got a chance to review the Fifth Edition of the game, I took it.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: First and foremost, this is the 5^th, and most recent, version of the game. The books clocks in at 489 pages, making for a hefty tome. The PDF is about $20, about a third of what the print version is going to retail for, it looks like. Shadowrun is a mix of fantasy and cyberpunk sci-fi elements, a lot of which have now been seen over the years. The system uses a d6 dice pool system, with 5s and 6s for successes and “Glitches” occurring when half or more of the dice rolled come up 1s. The world is ran largely by megacorporations, and people deal in both Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality while Magic is a fairly commonplace element.

WHAT WORKS: I like the fantastic elements like the elves and dwarves and orks and trolls, blending them with the modern world. The magic system has some very neat points to it, with my favorite part being the mentor spirits. The book is a gorgeous piece of work, with some impressive art. There is a “random run generator”, essentially a random adventure generator, which I always love. Character creation levels are provided, so you can start campaigns with street level newbies, capable warriors or power players.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK: In-game fiction doesn’t do too much for me, anymore, and there seemed to be a lot of that here (maybe it was just my perceptions), especially for the price. I’m not a fan of the approach taken with the system…for the most part, I’ve moved towards “lighter” systems over the years, and a skill heavy system like this isn’t really in my wheelhouse (75+ skills is a bit much for me).

CONCLUSION: Shadowrun isn’t really for me. I’m not surprised, as cyberpunk isn’t a genre that really interests me, and when I do have a desire to scratch that itch, I have a perfectly good Savage Worlds alternative waiting for me (Interface Zero). The book never really “clicked” for me, making it difficult for me to engage with it, and I think that might be the “Dracula” effect: In short, all those trends that Shadowrun kinda helped set are a bit overdone now, and so it has a bit of a “been there, done that” feel to it. That said, if the system were more my speed, I really think I could get into the setting due to the “magic plus sci-fi” mish-mash. Not a bad product, just not my cup of tea, unfortunately.

MILECASTLE 42

Open-ended adventures are always a good thing, IMO. One of Silver Gryphon Games’ newest releases is just that, an alternate history sandbox adventure called Milecastle 42.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: This 27 page adventure costs $5 and is, in a nutshell, Romans versus Zombies. The PCs are stationed at a Milecastle, essentially a lighthouse which is part of a series of such houses 5 miles apart. The night before, Milecastle 42 signaled in desperation but now their light has gone out, so it’s up to the PCs to investigate. The PCs are given objectives and guidelines and then turned loose to investigate Milecastle 42 as they will. The outpost, of course, has been overran by zombies (this isn’t a complete surprise, as the Romans are living with the plague in this reality) and most of the zombies are capable of little more than pack mentality and animal cunning. That a more intelligent foe is directing them shouldn’t be a big surprise, but where the adventure really wins out is in the climax, which comes out of left field in an awesome way.

WHAT WORKS: The “Final Boss” is really kinda epic. The page numbering is all in roman numerals, which is a nice touch. I love a good, open sandbox adventure.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK: All the characters are going to be a bit “samey” by the nature of the game, as PCs are built off of a template that is customized.

CONCLUSION: A fun one shot or convention game, Milecastle 42 also allows for a few options for continuing the game depending on the success or failure of the PCs. I’m not a big fan of what amounts to pregens, even though I understand why they’re there, but as I don’t run a lot of one shots or convention games, I’m not really the target audience. If you’re not tired of zombies yet, or if you want them in a different milieu, then Milecastle 42 is well worth picking up, especially for its “OH CRAP” moment at the end of the adventure.

DJINN OF THE DEEP

Another one shot/convention style adventure, this one casts the PCs in the role of pirates who learn that there’s always a bigger fish…

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: This nautical adventure weighs in at 22 pages and $5, and is also part of a bundle that includes deck plans for a freighter by Dramascape for only 99 cents more. Players are given a template to customize, as well as a primer on the rules of pirating. The adventure is pretty straight forward: The PCs get to raid a ship, get overtaken by a bigger ship (a shark-shaped submarine, in fact), and wind up bumping noses with the biggest fish in the sea. References to pulpy authors abound and genre fans will surely catch the nods. It is built as a suitable convention or one shot adventure, though tips are provided for expanding it beyond that point.

WHAT WORKS: The layout is gorgeous, and I think a lot of folks will appreciate the assumption that the PCs are actually playing pirates and not Disney Pirates. The crazier, pulpier elements are a nice touch without getting into full blown supernatural.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK: Act Two essentially hinges on the PCs essentially becoming subservient to an adversary, which is hard to pull off without frustrating players. The editing on the version I received left a lot to be desired, but that may have been cleared up in the final retail release.

CONCLUSION: While I appreciate the pirates, the adventure just doesn’t click with me the way a lot of other Silver Gryphon stuff does. It’s not a bad product, and the bundle with the Dramascapes map is a great deal, and Djinn of the Deep may well hit that tonal middle ground between Pirates of the Spanish Main and 50 Fathoms. Recommended if you’re wanting pirate fun without the fantasy weirdness of 50 Fathoms.

The Michael Rohan Memorial Bundle

From Fabled Environments:


Fabled Environments is proud to announce a Charity Bundle to benefit the Michael Rohan Memorial Fund. This bundle, slated to be released July 2nd through OneBookshelf (DrivethruRPG/RPGNow.com) contains great submissions from Pinnacle Entertainment Group(the folks that brought us Savage Worlds), Fat Goblin Games, Reality Blurs and others. There is even amazing original artwork from Aaron Acevedo.

The Michael Rohan Memorial Fund

On June 10th of this year, the Creative Director of Silver Gryphon Games, Kevin Rohan, lost his 6-year-old son in the aftermath of a tragic accident while swimming at a local water park. This loss has deeply affected the Rohan family as well as the friends of the Rohans and hundreds of families that they are close to and through out the community.

Seeking to turn this tragedy into community outreach, the Rohan family has decided to start the Michael Rohan Memorial Fund which will be used to help pay for swimming lessons for local families, assistance for CPR and lifeguard training, as well as help with grief counseling in the wake of a tragic loss. There are plans for more and bigger things as well, and with the appropriate funding we will be able to achieve some great things and extend our assistance beyond just our local communities. 100% of the money raised through this bundle will go to the fund and will allow us to begin helping other families almost immediately.

My thoughts:

The Rohans have been truly inspirational with how they have worked to make a horrible tragedy into a positive for the world. Support this bundle, please...not because it's $176 worth of amazing products for only $12, but because it's a good thing to do...the rest is just icing on the cake.

Tragic News

I'm only mentioning this since the news has gone public now among the Savage community, but Kevin Rohan of Silver Gryphon Games recently suffered the most stunning a tragic loss imaginable when his 6 year old son  Michael passed away after an accident at a public pool.

There are no words to express how horrible this is, and even though I have only dealt with Kevin in a Publisher-Reviewer capacity, the news brought me to tears. My heart and my prayers go out to Kevin, his family and everyone affected by this tragedy.

For those who have the means and the inclination, the Rohan family has set up a memorial fund in Michael's memory. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to the Michael Rohan Memorial Fund, mail a check to: State Bank of Spencer, 728 Grand Avenue, Spencer, IA 51301, Memo: Michael Rohan Memorial Fund. Any questions call Mike at State Bank: 877-551-6580.


Thank you for reading this, and keep the Rohans and their family, extended and immediate, in your hearts in this trying time that no one should ever have to endure.


Tommy

Tommy's Take on Ingenium

Silver Gryphon Games, perhaps most famous for Wellstone City (and rightfully so), released their own fantasy system a while back, called Ingenium. So I'm going to take a look at it here, and see what it has to offer in the fantasy game market.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: The Ingenium corebook is a standalone volume, 102 pages in PDF and $4.99 in PDF or $19.99 in softcover...and you can order the softcover from RPGNow and get the PDF for free. The PDF isn't a graphic-intensive book, but it comes with a printer-friendly version anyway.

The cover is a somewhat manga-esque drawing of a warrior battling a huge...thing...which looks evil and, frankly, kinda epic. That's a good start. The introduction talks a bit about the game's development and the goal of making an RPG of epic adventure, part Hollywood, part anime and part Howard...kind of like Conan meets Battlechasers, I suppose. The core mechanic is pretty simple as well: d10 + modifiers versus target numbers or other attribute checks.

Character creation uses the Three Word System, in which you select a Trait, a Race and a Profession. Your Trait is a descriptor that dictates your Primary and Secondary Attributes (Intuitive gives you Dexterity and Magical Aptitude as Primary/Secondary, while Menacing gives you Charisma and Strength). Your Primary Attribute has a value of 3, your Secondary a value of 2 and all others a 1. The nine attributes are Awareness, Intelligence, Dexterity, Physical Strength, Willpower, Endurance, Appearance, Charisma and Magical Aptitude. Next, select your Race, which gives you a pair of Talents. Races in this game are Human, Dwarf, Elf, Gargoyle, Half-Wolf, Wingfolk and Catfolk. Next, you pick your Profession, which sets your Starting Talent Pool, an attribute bonus, your speed, hit points, talent pools you can advance into and starting gold.

For instance, you can make a Cunning Catfolk Assassion, with gives you Endurance of 3 and Intelligence of 2 for Cunning, being Catfolks gives him Feral Claws (a d6 natural weapon) and Bred For War (+4 HP and +1 Strength) and being an Assassin gives him the Shadow Talent Pool (with one rank in every Talent in the pool, plus one more rank for one of those talents), +1 to Intelligence, Speed 5, 1d12 HP and 1d10x5 gold (and access to the Assassination Talent Pool). Additionally, every character gets four talents from the General Talent Pool. Professions include Warlocks, Templars, Merchants, Paladins and Soldiers.

Ingenium uses levels, and the book goes up to level 25. Every level nets you ranks to spend in your talents, as well as some manner of ability increase (your primary increases faster than your secondary which increases faster than the rest).

Talent pools cover everything from skills to neat tricks, essentially Feats and Skills rolled into one. You have Basic Talent pools, which include Force (Melee Mastery, Armor Mastery, etc), Mystic (Healing Touch and Arcane Destruction) as well as Shadow (including bits like Lock Picking and Quickfooted). Advanced Talent Pools are bigger deals and include Arcane Blooded (Mind over Matter, Heaven's Fury and Shatterpoint), Thievery (Pick Pockets, Disarm Traps and Forgery) and Unyielding (Maddening Taunt, Natural Armor and Bull's Strength). Elite Talent Pools include options like Assassination (Hunter's Disguise and Silent Kill) as well as Ruin (Blood Magic and Annihilation). Finally, we have the General Talent Pool, where you get things like Armor Use, Weapons Use and Swimming, as well as background Talents like Mageborn and High Social Standing. Note: That is a very broad overview of the options available. I didn't list all the pools, much less all the talents in the pools.

The equipment chapter only takes up a couple of pages, but covers most of your basic fantasy standards.

The Combat and Action chapter covers, well, combat...and let's us in on a tidbit: Dice explode in this game...meaning that if you roll a 10, you keep rolling it, even for damage. In combat, everyone gets three actions that they take on their turn in initiative. Want to ready your weapon and attack twice? You've got three actions...do it. On an interesting note, combat is inherently non-lethal, in the sense that you HABE to declare that you are attacking to kill before your target can die from an attack. Three fighting styles are given as well, with their own pros: Dual wielding, two-handed weapon and single weapon and shield.

In non-combat actions, a critical success comes when you beat a target number by 15 or more, and a critical failure occurs if you miss by 20 or more.

Magic is a notable part of the game, with mages being able to use multiple power sources, including Blood Magic, Spell Points or Leylines. If you successfully tap the power source but fail the Magic Use check by 10 or more...that's bad. The corebook only includes Elemental Magic and Life Magic, with promises and hints that there are other types of magic out there. As it is, that covers a lot of ground, including Invisibility, Fly, Darkness, Instant Fortress, Fire Nova, Light of Healing, Resurrection, Nova Meteor, Contagion, Desert Graveyard, Bolt and Water Breathing. The selection is really broad, and the promise of more magic lurking is promising.

The stat blocks for the monsters look a lot like old D&D blocks, covering only hit points, number appearing, speed, damage, defense, soak and challenge level. Each creature has anywhere from a paragraph on up describing it, what it does, other imporant notes. These range from Bandits and Plains Cats to the subterrerean Hidden Ones and Dreamsnakes to the bizarre Cartazon and Verdant Mantids.

A section is provided on using Puzzles, Riddles and Traps, while a character sheet and index round out the book.

WHAT WORKS: I'm a sucker for a magic system with some flavor, and this one has some good flavor. The character generation is FAST, and there are a ton of option for customizing your characters by mixing and matching the Three Words, as well as the vast array of Talents (with an additional 30 Talents available in a free sourcebook).

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: The bestiary just isn't very inspiring, due in part to the avoidance of common fantasy monsters combined with the lack of art. If you're going to go off the beaten path, that's fine, but pictures always help. There are only hints of a setting in the book, and the two factors mean it falls a bit shy of the promise from the great cover piece.

CONCLUSION: The lack of "spark" in the bestiary and lack of a setting aren't a deal breaker, especially given how easy it would seem to be to customize the rules, adding new Talents and Professions, maybe even races and certainly monsters. The system shows a TON of promise...hopefully it'll get the kind of support needed take it up that notch to truly capture the "epic" feel the cover evokes. Well worth checking out the PDF at a minimum.

Tommy's Take on Wellstone City Encounter Deck, ICONS Hero Pack 2 & 2.5

WELLSTONE CITY ENCOUNTERS DECK

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: This 8 page PDF is a "random events" chart designed for Wellstone City that can be used with any deck of standard playing cards (which are standard stuff for Savage Worlds). It is notable in part because many of the "randon events" can have HUGE implications on the campaign, like your own faction sending a sniper after you, or your rivals trying to recruit you as a double agent. The events are divided by suit, with a specific event for each card, although Spades/Hearts and Diamonds/Clubs use largely the same events with major/minor tweaks to them.

WHAT WORKS: Based off of a playing card deck makes the PDF incredibly simple to use, especially for folks on a printer budget. So many of the events having the ability to turn things on their ear is very much a plus in my book.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Given how big some of the events can be, and how closely they are mirrored in the Minor/Major scale, drawing once per scene seems excessive, especially when you factor in the "Joker" rule that can put multiple cards in play. I did note a few typos that made it into the final product. The PDF price seems a little high, *but only in relation to other Wellstone City/Silver Gryphon Games products*.

CONCLUSION: Great concept, but then I love random roll/draw charts, and the scale at which this chart works is very nice, with some real game-changing options present, which can lead to a series of double-crosses and and the like. A great idea for a great setting, adding an element of chance that can affect the game in minor ways (finding $20 on the street) to major ways (having the FBI offer you the chance to take down the Russian Mafia from the inside, or the CIA turning on you mid-op with an assassination attempt, for their own reasons). Especially recommended if you feel like your Wellstone City game is lacking a certain spark right now.

ICONS HERO PACK 2

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: With the success of the ICONS Hero Pack, it is no real surprise at a Hero Pack 2 came along. All of the art is still provided by Dan Houser, with characters created by ICONS fans, but this one only had 30 slots...which means the PDF is 65 pages, with every character getting a full character sheet and a background "page". Each character also receives a printable standee, so if you like your standees, there's a whole slew of them available for you here.

WHAT WORKS: One of the gripes I had about the first Hero Pack was that many of the characters weren't usable "out of the box", due to Qualities and Challenges not being specified, as well as the characters not having backgrounds...that is a non-issue here. Many of the characters were created by the same people, and have their backstories interwoven with one another. If I had to pick a favorite from this set, it would be Mook, a common thug with Duplication powers who hires himself out as an all-purpose Henchman force.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Some of the images, names and concepts seem to be an odd fit (Shadowform, the shapeshifter who turns into various tools and wears a green costume comes to mind).

CONCLUSION: From a design standpoint, this is an improvement over Hero Pack 1 in just about every way. The trimming down to 30 characters allows all of the characters room to "breathe", and allowing the artist's work to show off more than the otherwise crowded Hero Pack 1 did, and at $2 less than the first one.

ICONS HERO PACK 2.5

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: For $5, you get six new characters as well as an adventure with map and standees. In addition, Galacticron (who was lurking in Hero Pack 1) is present here, along with a couple of other villainous types specific to the adventure. The adventure itself is a pretty basic affair, with Lady Omega ripped Galacticron across space and into the New Mexico desert, in hopes that he will destroy Earth. The kicker, of course, is that the PCs can't really harm him directly.

WHAT WORKS: I really dig a couple of the new villains, like the tech-stealing Ephemera and Sequence - a villainous powerhouse who has received a serious upgrade. I actually wrote a comic script with villains similar to the "space locusts" that are presented here (although mine were more like cockroaches), so that's rather cool.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: The adventure could have used some editing, and while Lady Omega is TECHNICALLY a fully useable character...she comes across like the barest stereotype of a supervillain. Also, the "useable map" sure looks like it would be DRAMATICALLY off scale for the standees (and that's being generous with the definition of "scale"). I would have liked, say, a page of Lakmar Shock Trooper standees, myself...I mean, if you're going to use them, you're going to want a bunch of them.

CONCLUSION: A good product, with a great example of an adventure where the heroes HAVE to think outside the box, at least with the Galacticron problem. Despite the paper-thin characterization of Lady Omega, she does at least have a cool look and power set, so an enterprising GM can build from there.

Tommy's Take on Wellstone City

This is another one of those "Been meaning to review for a while now" books...Wellstone City by Silver Gryphon Games. Maybe it's me, but Silver Gryphon seems to fly under the radar as a Savage Worlds licensee, and if there's one thing I like to do with this blog, it's shine the light on the stuff that's slipping by...which doesn't REALLY have an effect, as it IS The Most Unread Blog on the Internet. Ever.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: Wellstone City is a modern noir Savage Setting, available from RPGnow in PDF format (78 pages) for $4.99 or softcover for $19.99 (and you can get a bundle which basically gives you the PDF for free while you're waiting for the book to show up).

The setting is Wellstone, a rough and tumble city of brutal violence and shady characters. If your thought process is that noir filtered through the Savage Worlds lens comes out a lot like Sin City, you're probably on the right path.

One thing that stands out right off is that, honestly, I tend to ignore the setting fiction, and I actually enjoyed it in this book, the author setting a nice tone.

Right off, Wellstone introduces some Setting Trappings: Everyone gets the Connections Edge, Rank requirements are removed for Edges, negative Charisma canbe used for Intimidation attempts and so on. While there is a new Hindrance or two, Wellstone City provides several new Edges, from Combat Edges like Combat Shooter (allowing characters to use even crossbows and rifles in melee combat) or Untouchable (meaning even Federal Agents keep their hands off).

They also add in more depth to the ammunition rules with Hollow Points, Mercury Filled Bullets, Tracking Bullets and much more. There are even Dragon Rounds which can turn a shotgun into a flamethrower!

Wellstone City itself is an island off the coast of Lousiana, divided into a number of boroughs like Little Italy, Little Haiti, The Spanish Quarter and The Battery (this would be the industrial area). The island itself has its history laid out, as well as each borough and their respective features, like Doc Murphy in Little Italy, who does the "under the radar" medical operations that folks go to when they can't afford to have hospitals asking questions about their injuries. A timeline is given from before 1560, when indians fought back and forth on the island, to the presence of European countries, to the effects of various American movements on the island.

Wellstone City is a battleground for a number of factions, such as The Black Dragons (a harrowing mixture of Triad and Yakuza), Blackhand Security (a private security firm waging war with organized crime), the police and government, a number of smaller gangs, and more...oh, and Freelancers (in theory, this is where the PCs fit in).

A slew of stock NPC stars are given, including a number of freelancers (all Wild Cards), generic mob bosses, a variety of gangsters and more. Startlingly complete in its number of variations.

The book also includes an adventure, Public Transit Assassins. It is designed to be a big "welcome to Wellstone City" for new players, although it can be used with characters who are new to Wellstone or are long-term residents. A number of options are given to kick the adventure off, designed to give the PCs an excuse to be in the same place at the same times as a mysterious phone call occurs. It leaves them with the opportunity to make a new ally or two, as well as an enemy or two.

The book does also feature an index.

WHAT WORKS: A great feel to the book, especially in the flavor text, which I really only tend to mention if I enjoy it quite a bit. The new Edges amp up the adrenaline a bit, combind with removing the rank requirements. To say nothing of a whole slew of stock NPCs for the GM to use.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: As settings go, this is real barebones, meaning that a novice GM might struggle wirh it a bit (or I may be the only guy who still reads "How to GM" sections). A couple of things make me question the game's focus...evoking Sin City, for instance, and then adding penalties for using bigger and badder guns.

CONCLUSION: Some nice rules options back up the modern noir feel, althoughI don't feel as though it's really aiming for "gritty" as some claim...and not that that's a bad thing. I think Savage Worlds is great for a Marv-like rampage, for instance. The ammo rules really cater to the folks that say Savage Worlds isn't crunchy enough, and the adventure does a nice job of getting the characters started in Wellstone City. A really good setting for an experienced Savage Worlds GM who is up on his noir, but someone new to noir or GM Savage Worlds might come up a bit cold. Also, last I checked, there was supposed to be an Interface Zero version of Wellstone City coming, and if that's still true, I can't see that not being great.