Tommy's Take on Wild World Wrestling Main Event Edition

Nearly two years ago, I reviewed Wild World Wrestling, the spiritual child of WWE: Know Your Role!, one of the more surprising (in a good way), d20 RPGs. Now, Wild World Wrestling: Main Event Edition is about to drop, with improvements and refinements based off of gameplay and feedback. You can see characters built with the first edition of the rules right here on this blog by searching for VIP Wrestling.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: First off, this is actually a pre-release PDF, as Main Event Edition is actually waiting the Print on Demand approvals from One Book Shelf, so it can be released as a print + PDF bundle I believe. In the interim, it appears as though the first edition of the game has been removed from RPGNow. According to the Timeout Diversion Facebook group, the PDF will remain $5, and the print book will sell for $20.

The wrestling in Wild World Wrestling is kayfabed. That is, you aren’t predetermining winners, you are playing it out like a competition. You are not Steve Borden and Terry Bollea, for instance, you are Sting and Hulk Hogan.

As I reviewed the game once before, I’ll describe the game in broader strokes, and then discuss some of the changes between the first version of WWW and this one.

The system is a modified d20 system, with classes removed and ability scores now covering Power, Athleticism, Instinct, Brawn and Flair on a scale of -5 to +5. Your level typically corresponds with your place on the card, from curtain jerker to main eventer, though there are rules in place to give your characters temporary artificial boosts and penalties (Star Power). Alignment is replaced with Attitude, with Face, Tweener and Heel as options. You can purchase Gimmick Enhancements that tweak your wrestler to better fit the concept. Flaws can be used to purchase extra Gimmick Enhancements. Hit Points give way to Fatigue and Heat is kinda like Action Points that power your Finishers, among other things.

There is no set list of wrestling moves, rather a group of modifiers that can be used to build pretty much any move that you would like, with tons of examples provided.

The rules also extensively cover special matches (like cages, battle royals and ladder matches), as well as outside the ring type stuff, like cutting promos and sneak attacks.

A roster of 13 sample characters based on WWE and TNA superstars is included, including a Paul Bearer-like manager.

But what does the Main Event Edition bring to the table?

Some key changes include:

-          Free Gimmick Enhancements for filling out not only your name, but your gimmick and your entrance music (an important staple in pro wrestling).

-          Characters now get more Skill Points per level.

-          Characters can now swap out a single Gimmick Enhancement each time they level up (rather than having to blow up their sheet and rebuild every time they, say, want to drop a finisher). This is more for Kane making mini transformations over the years from Evil to Slightly Less Evil than it is for Dr. Isaac Yankem, DDS becoming Fake Diesel.

-          New Gimmick Enhancements like Critical Strike (when you NEED to go in for the kill), a new set of Master GEs (like Master of the Game, in which you are prepared for basically any opponent), and more, with many other GEs being tweaked (like Indefatiguable now being available to anyone).

-          New Flaws: Glass Jaw and Old Injury (yes!)

-          Submission rules are now mechanically identical to pin attempts.

-          New Tie-Breaker order.

-          Tweaks to Tricks, including a great new Heel Trick called Phantom Tag.

It is also worth noting that a new Quick Play document has been released, which includes six new wrestlers, including one based off of one of my personal favorites, Wade Barrett.

WHAT WORKS: Still the best wrestling RPG I have ever seen. The level-by-level GE swap is brilliant, and a welcome addition. I always like more stuff to play around with, so more Tricks, Gimmick Enhancements and Flaws are a good thing. The production values on the book are a noticeable step up.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK: Still probably the RPG that I’m likely to have the hardest time getting players for. Either my potential players are not wrestling fans, or they are already indy wrestlers and don’t feel the need to play an RPG about it. I still would have preferred Skills to have gotten a full overhaul into something closer to the Star Wars Saga Edition rules.

CONCLUSION: Improved production values plus rules tweaks are a good thing. Timeout Diversions is promising more support for the game, including roster books, federation books and quarterly books coinciding with the major Pay Per Views. Wild World Wrestling has already made big steps to separate itself from Know Your Role (which was already a fine game), and while few of the changes in this book are massive innovations, they do a nice job of pushing the game just a little higher up. If you’re a fan of pro wrestling and RPGs, you have absolutely no reason not to pick this game up…even if, like me, you will just stare longingly at it in hopes of someday busting it out in play.

Tommy's Take on Wild World Wrestling

See, I always thought that the WWE Know Your Role RPG was one of the most underrated d20 releases I had ever read. It wasn't perfect, no, but it was MUCH better than it had any business being. Unfortunately, some combination of Comic Images and WWE stumbled like crazy and the game only got a single release before dying out.

Tony Lee, as part of his new Timeout Diversion Games, has overhauled Know Your Role, stripped out the "WWE" parts of it, and has released Wild World Wrestling, a new 118 page PDF in hopes of providing wrestling fans who are also RPGers with a new, fully supported version of a great game.

The production values are a noticeable step up from Killer Thriller, with several color photos splashed throughout. The PDF does lack bookmarks, which wasn't a huge issue with Killer Thriller, but is a little moreso with this.

OPENING BELL

This is the introductory chapter, explaining the design philosophy. This game is very much focused on in-ring action and not the nuts and bolts of running a promotion, so that things like contracts, expenses, etc., are non-issues.

Everyone is assumed to have a stable of characters (with a number of levels divided up among the characters, not generally equally), and the author even insists that the game can be played solo, since everything is ultimately up to the dice.

COMING DOWN THE AISLE

This is character creation. The six d20 stats have turned into five: Power, Athleticism, Brawn, Instinct and Flair. All five abilities apply to a certain move type, as well as having additional uses, such as beating countouts, giving interviews and avoiding submissions, etc. There is no true "dump stat".

The abilities are ranked from +5 to -5 with 0 as the average. There are two methods of character generation: Random - rolling 1d6 - 1d4, for a range of -3 to +5, or point buy, with characters having 5 points to spend, and abilities being able to be "bought down" in order to give extra points.

Instead of hitpoints, the characters take fatigue damage, of which every 20 points gives a -1 to rolls, and - on critical hits - injury damage, which last far beyond the match.

WWW retains the d20 level scale, with each level corresponding to a position on the card from curtain jerker to main eventer. This section also provides a suggested "spread" for each player's group of wrestlers, to allow maximum possibility for the players to remain involved, as well as providing the best ratio for the fed.

Instead of alignments, characters have Attitude - Face, Heel and Tweener. This allows certain tricks for each wrestler, based off of their mindset.

Weight Divisions modify Abilities while the Weight Mod is applied to most of the actual maneuver attempts...for example, it is much easier to powerbomb a guy who is 140 lbs than a guy who is 350 lbs. HOWEVER, it can be crippling when a giant goes down, as that same weight modifier becomes bonus damage when he does fall. Heat is an in-game currency that can be built up to do some extra tricks.

Characters are further defined by Skills (4 per level, modified by certain other Gimmick Enhancements) and Gimmick Enhancements (4 at level 1 and 2 each additional level).

With only 8 basic Skills (some of which can be further defined), the skill system is more streamlined than in KYR, and Gimmick Enhancements are fairly extensive, replacing Feats and Talents from Know Your Role.

Some Gimmick Enhancements allow you to change the abilities that modify a certain roll, while Finishers are purchases through Gimmick Enhancements as well. Monster Comeback allows Faces to "Hulk Up" while getting beaten on, and Reckless Abandon gives you bonuses on moves that have the potential for hurting you as much as helping you.

There's even a very nice "Repackaging" GE, which allows you to rebuild yourself from scratch...new Gimmick, new Finisher, etc. This is very much in line with pro wrestling, where guys go from evil dentists to impersonators of former stars to demonic half-brothers from Hell.

There are also Flaws, like Injury Prone and Overconfident. The interesting thing about Flaws, is that your opponent gets to decide when they kick in, allowing them to take advantage of your weaknesses. Flaws can get you an extra Gimmick Enhancement, and can be bought off by sacrificing an Enhancement.

Star Power is an awesome, optional rule that can allow you to boost up your lower level wrestlers and penalize your higher level wrestlers, to simulate the pushes and de-pushes that wrestlers receive.

WAR OF THE RING

Here we get the basic system, with the Difficulty, and the rules for Critical Hits and Misses (which, as mentioned, can be devastating in a wrestling match).

Combat is pretty important obviously. Whoever has initiative cam fprce their opponent to declare their move first, while also gaining a +2 to their own maneuver rolls...generally, you will want to save your more difficult maneuvers for when you are at a distinct advantage. Once each side picks their move, they roll off, applying modifiers...the winner inflicts his damage on the opponent, narrates the action for the round and gains initiative for the next round.

Rules for Stun are also present, as you can knock an opponent loopy and essentially just place them on the defensive.

Pinfalls are broken into segments, with modifiers for each part of the three count (Finishers give an automatic 2 count), with extras that can help pin attempts out, such as hooking legs for leverage and so on.

The amount of depth in the combat system is pretty impressive, covering submissions as well, disqualifications, ganging up on opponents and even attacking multiple people at once (with a growing penalty the more attacks you perform).

Tricks are extra tactics that Faces, Heels and Tweeners use in a match, some of which require Heat and some of which doesn't. For instance, you can spend 2 Heat to steal your opponent's Finisher...and if you do enough damage to gain Heat (likely), you get two Heat back instead!

There is also "Quick Match Resolution", determined with a simple die roll modified by Star Power and Heat.

WHAT A MOVE!

This is the chart of modifiers used to build your own move, as well as the dozens of moves pre-built. Note: There is no set stats for a move. For instance, one guy may have a clothesline that hits harder than another's...he just pays a bigger penalty for it (but that may be compensated for by having a higher matching Ability).

It covers a WIDE range of moves, nearly 20 pages of maneuvers statted out and ready to go, or available for quick modification. Superkicks, powerbombs, clotheslines, DDTs, you name it, it's all here. Those familiar with KYR will be familiar with this system as it is largely the same (if not identical).

THE ROAD TO STARDOM

This is the advancement system, which has been streamlined somewhat from KYR, doing away with the large XP totals of the d20 table and replacing them with a much smaller AP system. Title belts are still present, completel with benefits and Bonus Gimmick Enhancements that allow for a "Champion's Advantage", in this case providing stats for a fed's Primary Title, Secondary Title, Tag Team Titles and Women's Title.

BRINGING THE AWESOME

This is all about putting a show together. This includes how many segment each wrestler is allowed to appear in...I assume it's supposed to be 1 + Flair, but it was worded very badly. There are also guidelines on rating Promos (interviews) and Vignettes (skits) which, at your groups option, can be a combination of die rolls and votes from the players. This can allow you to gain more Heat.

One new addition is Ring Rust, potential penalties applied to wrestlers who are coming off of extended breaks, with the longer they have been gone meaning that they have bigger penalties to work off. This can be due to extended injuries, Legends getting challenged by mouthy young wrestlers and so on.

Several gimmick matches are also included here...likely enough to allow most groups to suss out their own gimmicks, like Ladder Matches, Hardcore Matches. Steel Cage matches, Battle Royals and Tables Matches.

CURTAIN-JERKING JABRONIES, MID-CARDERS & MAIN-EVENTERS

The book ends with a dozen wrestlers and one manager, all "inspired" by existing stars like John Cena, Paul Bearer, The Undertaker, The Miz, Mr. Kennedy, Jay Lethal, Samoa Joe and Jack Swagger. Obviously, you can use these guys yourself, use them as guidelines to model your own real life wrestlers or ignore them completely.

Lastly, we get a two page character sheet.

THOUGHTS

No index and no bookmarks are definitely going to be strikes against it. There is a table of contents, at least, and the PDF is searchable, but that won't help much who buy the impending print version.

Wrestlers should be MUCH easier to make now, as there are no more level limits on Skills, Talents or Feats, and classes have been done away with completely as well. With a little work, any existing KYR wrestlers SHOULD convert easily enough, though you may want to consider adding Flaws.

While I haven't played this version yet, I did play KYR and thought it was great. Unfortunately, I don't have a ton of gamer friends who are also wrestling fans, so my personal use of this may not go very far unless I can set up a PBP fed or something.

I've read every wrestling RPG available, I think, and played most wrestling games available, and I would have no reservations about giving this a big thumbs up.

Just...don't mind the pictures. They're a nice touch...but a bit cheesy in that "indy wrestler mugging for the camera kind of way".

Tommy's Take on Killer Thriller

Killer Thriller is the first RPG from Timeout Diversions, the new small publishing venture by Tony Lee, who I am most familiar with through his work on the WWE Know Your Role RPG...he's setting this imprint up as the "Cheapass Games" of RPG, barebones PDF products with more substance than style, at a low price.

Killer Thriller It's a b-movie horror RPG, designed to be very tongue in cheek, a slightly less serious Slasher Flick, if you will and unlike a traditional RPG, every player is meant to play three (or more) PCs, and any character of any consequence who isn't The Monster is meant to be played by the PCs.

VICTIMS OF CIRCUMSTANCE

As noted, everyone plays multiple PCs, ensuring that no one gets kill "off screen". Character creation is simple enough, as PCs have three Inabilities (Unwise, Unluck and Undone) and you have a 7, 8 and 9 that you assign to each stat. When you roll against an Inability (2d6), if you roll under, something not great happens...if you roll it exactly, something epically bad happens.

Unwise is a measure of how not smart a PC is, and thus how likely they are to make...questionable...decisions...like when the lights go out and you hear a noise in the basement.

Unluck is a little better than Unwise, as it's just like likelihood that something will go wrong, not that you screw yourself up. Note: It's still bad. Unluck is used when you're trying to climb through the half broken window on the second floor, for instance.

Undone is both the social stat, and what you use to keep your crap together...i.e., seeing if your PC completely loses it when he boyfriend is found nailed to the bedroom door.

There is also Unharm, which is Hit Points, essentially.

Next, you define all of your PCs with a stereotype (although I might recommend starting with the stereotype and then going to the stats, but that's me). Every Stereotype gets a "free pass", which is something related to their schtick that they don't have to roll for.

Finally, characters get Unreal (think Advantages) and Unthinkable (Disadvantages), of which there are only about four each, so we're not talking a complicated system here.

For a pretty dirt simple system, the author does a GREAT job of suppyling all kinds of examples, both in-game and from films, about how the Inabilities work. The three stats might be a tad simplified, but it's a beer-and-pretzels horror movie game...let it go.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

THe way the group of PCs thing works is that when a character kicks it, you get to add their Unharm to another one of your characters. If you describe the death scene well, you can get more Unharm. This leads to one of your PCs eventually being big enough and bad enough to stand up to the bad guy.

When it's down to the Monsters vs Last Surivors, the Monsters have Inabilities that finally kick in, essentially putting the Monsters and Last Survivors on even footing. Last Survivors ALSO get to reroll doubles, making them even more efficient.

Finally, we get a list of common weapons, and their damage and any special notes that might apply (like getting tangled in barbed wire, or taking damage from electricity until something kicks you loose).

Again, the chapter abounds with examples, including a chainsaw weilding maniac performing an Epic Fail while trying to slice up a victim.

DEAD THINGS WALKING

This is all about Monsters, and the types of set-ups you can use...like a Boss Monster and Minions, like if you wanted to do Dracula and his Brides. This would also work with The Lost Boys, although I think that one would qualify for two bosses.

Among other things, it helpfully reminds you to give your monster a Weakness...with the helpful advice that you can ignore that Weakness come the sequel (see any Nightmare on Elm Street).

The rules for making a monster are real similar to the rules for making a Victim, and take up about a Paragraph...and a lengthy list of alliterative entries as inspiration for your Monsters, ranging from insane animals to demons to zombies and even using unearthly natural disasters are your baddy, each with a relevant movie quote for flavor (the PDF is filled with relevant movie quotes).

RUNNING THE SHOW

This is, essentially, a pair of horror "films" for your game, complete with relevant Monsters. The first is a slasher flick set in a mining camp, complete with three different "twists" to choose from. The second is a combo alien invasion/wheel out the monsters montage.

Even if you don't use the "films" as written, there are some very nice examples of monsters to use to build your own, including (essentially) The Blob, Dracula and Jason Vorhees.

The book ends with the author detailing the 15 year evolution of the game, and his apprehension about releasing it.

CONCLUSION

It's fun.

Seriously, it's a good fun game that can be a blast with the right group. It makes Slasher Flick (with 100 premade archetypes) look like GURPS in comparison, it's that light...but it is very detailed. There shouldn't be much confusion about how to do anything in the game, and the writing is very witty to boot...(seriously, I've never seen so many footnotes in a 25 page PDF)...so if you're wanting a dry, textbook read...this isn't it.

It's definitely NOT for someone wanting a gritty horror experience...it is meant to emulate the schlockiest excesses of the horror film genre, not that that's a bad thing.