Ring Side Report-RPG Review of EB-02 Voice in the Machine

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day!

Product- EB-02 Voice in the Machine System-DnD 5e Producer- DMs Guild Price- $ 4.99 here https://www.dmsguild.com/product/299680/EB01-Voice-in-the-Machine?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR- Solid rescue adventure! 93%

Basics- ONCE MORE INTO THE BREACH! Continuing the Oracle of War storyline (or maybe starting it), the players are asked to go on a rescue mission into the Mournlands. Will they find the missing salvage crew, survive the warforged separatists, and understand what’s up with the crazy talking box?

Mechanics or Crunch- This adventure is a bit higher level for the players. It's written for tier one, but one wrong step or even a few bad rolls can tank this quickly. The adventure forces stealth, which for a party of pure beatsticks isn’t as much fun as they hope. Overall, it's doable and not too far outside of expectations, but I think toning down the challenge as written would help with this. 4.5/5

Theme or Fluff-This is a really fun adventure setting the tone for the Oracle of War story as the players finally get into the main event. It’s actually a dungeon crawl. Which is always nice to see, but it's set in a town. So why don’t they go around? That’s the one part that kind of puts a damper on the situation. Otherwise, it’s a good intro to the meat, story, and setting of this campaign. 4.75/5

Execution- PDF? Yep! Hyperlinked? no... I really like what’s in this with two versions of the adventure for the pretty version and the simple printer version as well as the newspaper that you can hand out. I still like hyperlinks as it will help me hop around between parts of the adventure! But amazing art, font, and layout make this a dream to read. Aside from my love of hyperlinks, this is a really well done adventure. 4.8/5

Summary- I love Eberron. I love playing in the Mournlands. I also love a good dungeon crawl. This is all three. The missteps are minor and if you look at your group and see a bad mix for some parts, then as a GM a few changes will help. Also, you may have to add pieces to keep your players from skipping the adventure. “Voice in the Machine” is a solid start to the real campaign of Oracle of War. 93%

Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Carbon 2185

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day!

Product- Carbon 2185 System-DnD 5e Producer- Dragon Turtle Games Price- $ 25.10 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/283725/Carbon-2185--A-Cyberpunk-RPG-Core-Rulebook?term=carbon+2185?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR- Dungeons and Shadowrun, kind of 90%

Basics- Want some cyberpunk with your DnD 5e mechanics? Carbon 2185 uses the DnD mechanics you love but moves them to a nonmagic, cyperpunk future. Let’s break it down

Mechanics-If you can play DnD 5e, you honestly know everything you need to. It’s d20 + ability modifier + proficiency modifier if they are proficient. This is the elegance of the DnD 5e system, and it's fully on display here as skills, attacks, and saves all come across into this game.

Character generation-Again, DnD 5e is on display, but there are some drastic changes. You choose a not-race called an origin, then you choose a background. This is honestly the biggest change from DnD 5e. Here you choose an occupation then roll 2d6, adding half your Intelligence modifier to see if you last five years in your chosen occupation. Roll below your threshold and you are injured and lose your job! Survive long enough, and you get paid as well as gain a skill. You can take as many five year time periods as you want, gaining skills and money along the way. All characters get a retirement gift when they leave but if you go long enough you get a retirement bonus. This also changes the game in a weird way. This is an old mans game. If you need four times five years to get a retirement bonus, then your 18 year old going into work ends up 38 coming out. Heck, if you pull another five years in for the sweet, sweet money, you end up middle aged! Age alters the stats a bit, but it’s something to consider.

Classes-Carbon 2185 is DnD 5e, so there are base core ideas that will be here. The Daimyo is the barbarian and so on, but Carbon 2185 has subtle changes to the system that will keep it fresh. Your Daimyo also has bard abilities that make it a bardbarian. Most of the classes are represented, but they end up with a Carbon 2185 twist that does make them fun.

Cleric/Doc-You can’t really have a high hit point game without a healer, so this system has the Doc. The doc doesn’t get spells, but gets a lot of other toys that make them kind of a fighter or other splash classes. Healing abilities refresh after short rests to keep your characters fighting.

Wizard/Hacker-Everyone wants a spellcaster in their DnD, and cyberpunk is no exception. The hacker is the class that has nanobots that do things. In this system everyone basically has Matrix-like hookups that allow them to go online, so you can use that to manipulate them either with pain or distractions. This character also is the one who can manipulate computers, but there is also the hacking skill.

Now the breakdown!

Mechanics or Crunch- I like the crunch here, but I feel that other cyberpunk games have ruined me. Shadowrun has deckers who are hackers, but in this game you can’t really hack a computer and make it do all the things you want to do. Hackers have limited uses of their “spells” so it feels a bit off. Why can’t my hacker hack more than three computers a day at first level? I know the “why” is mechanics based, but it doesn’t quite fit. It's fun, and it’s fast, but some things don’t fit as well as I want them to. Also, this game is VERY random. Character backgrounds have a very wide variety as some lucky players can get MASSIVE amounts of money and skills while an unlucky one won’t get money or skills from their background. Base abilities are the same with no point buy in the basic system . There is the basic array, but I still want my point buy. Furthermore, no feats!? You get character advancements, so feats may come one day. But, I want them! Let’s hope they come out in another book. Overall, Carbon 2185 works mechanics, but there are some issues that may affect your fun in the crunch. 4/5

Theme or Fluff-Carbon 2185 is its own setting. It’s not exactly just cookie cutter cyberpunk, but is it's own world that builds fairly organically from today. It's depressing as all hell, but it feels real. I enjoy playing in this setting while I would NEVER want to live there! 5/5

Execution- PDF? Yep! Hyperlinked? YEP! I like the book in general, but I feel that more is needed to further define things like computer security level and how some skills work. More are the major things I need here. Like more pictures of enemies in the back of the book. More explanation of things that are talked about, but not shown. I like what's here, but give me more to help better understand the world. 4.5/5

Summary-I like this book, but other things may have influenced me. Cyberpunk is a fun world to play in, and the DnD 5e system works lightning fast. But, some of those pieces don’t work well, like the hacker’s “not spells” and hacking computers. That hurts things a bit in terms of flow. The world is fine, but I want more stuff to show myself and the players to help me see the world and better understand the flow and crunch of it. I foresee a number of expansions to this and that would really help the players make the characters their own. It's a solid RPG with a few issues that hurt it. If you want some Cyberpunk and some simple gaming, this will be your new favorite. 90%

Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Oracle of War- The Iron Titan

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day!

Product- EB-EP-01 The Iron Titan System-DnD 5e Producer- DMs Guild Price- $4.99 here https://www.dmsguild.com/product/308553/EBEP01-The-Iron-Titan?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR- Something for us all! 95%

Basics- Multi table event? With my home group? OH YES! I’ve been part of lots of multi table events, but never one at home with a solo group. The Iron Titan picks up with the players dealing with the giant they adventured under in the first Oracle of War adventure causing havoc in town. How well does a multi table event translate to home?

Mechanics or Crunch- This adventure is pretty much the same event in both the multi table event and the single table. The multitable event has rules for multiple tables, and it's well written. There are small sections added to this adventure that help you run it as a single table event. The players honestly don’t get a different experience in terms of single table crunch vs a multi table event. That’s quite frankly awesome. 5/5

Theme or Fluff- The story of this one is simple. Zombies come. You kill zombies. Then Big Moe attacks, and you run around Big Moe killing pieces of him till you win. Here is where something strange happens. This is a battle interactive, and I liked it when I ran it with several other tables. But I think I like it MORE as a single table event. My players felt like they were the stars. They blew up both arms then went for the head. In the multitable event, you turn off a hand, but then another group does that as well. That’s kind of strange… It's a fun story where everyone gets to play, but this multitable event actually runs better in single player mode! 4.5/5

Execution- PDF? Yep! Hyperlinked? No, but it doesn’t really matter (I’d still like it though). This is well done. I think the hyperlinks are needed more here than ever as this gets long and finding the sections you need on the fly is pretty important. Overall I like what I see. It reads fast, is well set up, and let’s you go from downloading to playing in about 10 minutes. And you can play well after 10 minutes! Solid execution in this one but I miss my hyperlinks. 4.8/5

Summary- I like this adventure, but this goes beyond me liking the adventure. We’re in the middle of the plague. Some people can’t make it to a regional con. Some people have limitations on where they can play. Some groups can’t travel. Now every group playing the Oracle of War campaign can play this. Of all the things I like about this adventure, that's the best part-accessibility. More groups will have the shared experience of this adventure. You will enjoy this kaiju killing adventure, but the fact that any group anywhere can play this makes this a homerun I hope I keep seeing more of. 95%

Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Oracle of War- The Night Land

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day!

Product- EB-01 The Night Land System-DnD 5e Producer- DMs Guild Price- $4.99 here https://www.dmsguild.com/product/296403/EB01-The-Night-Land?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR- Standard start to something great. 93%

Basics- Eberron? In MY 5e? OH YES! Let’s hope in and look at the new TWENTY adventure long story for Eberron The Oracle of War Storyline called The Night Land. You start by rolling into the town of Salvation on the Mournland border, and like all poor hungry souls, it's time to find a job! What’s the job board got today?

Mechanics or Crunch- This adventure is pretty balanced for crunch. It is the same formula you’ve grown to love or maybe be annoyed with in this first adventure by Shawn. Three small quests with some time between to rest up. The party does some crazy stuff, rests, repeat. The players learn how to be their characters, get a bit of a challenge, and then 4.5/5 Theme or Fluff- Standard well done 1st level adventure! Shawn does 1st level adventure well. Small packages to not kill the party day one. It has a bit of Eberron feel, but like most things, it will require the DM to amp up the world feel. You do hang with some goblins, changelenings, and some horrors of the mournlands, so you get a good intro of the horrible things that want to eat you! You can get a bit bored as your party might recognize a formula when they start. But its level one! You’re off to run errands and kill low level monsters, not take on the Lord of Blades day one! 4.5/5

Execution- PDF? Yep! Hyperlinked? No, but it doesn’t really matter (I’d still like it though). This product has THREE PDFs. One is the adventure in glorious color with lots of pictures that you run through the home printer. The second is a slimmed down blacka nd white no frills product that you run through the home printer. Third is a newspaper to throw the players! That's some awesome world world building! In addition, the adventure organizers have FULL PAGE sheets the players get after the adventure. The things they check off let them know some serious crap is up. Heck, I as a GM who isn’t fully aware of the campaign knows some crap is up, so I’m buying in too. I also like the authors' use of the DMs Guild to full effect by putting lots of pictures in. These are pictures I’ve seen before, but it's a nice touch to the other pictures that they throw in. I like the art deco style of everything. It honestly makes me feel more like we are between wars and I know something bad is coming…. 4.9/5

Summary-I like Eberron, and The Wife LOVES Eberron. This adventure brought her back to 5e and weekly gaming at the store. That's the sales pitch that I can give. Now, is it perfect? No. It’s 1st level fare. Small tapas portions of adventures as your cleric might be able to roll out two cure wounds and a real bad round of two crits can completely wreck a party. Is that a problem? No. This is fun. I’ll equate this to my favorite above average hibachi restaurant. I know exactly what the chef is going to do there, but guess what? I’m going to show up and be happy I went! 93%

Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Adventurer's Backpack

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day!

Product- Adventurer's Backpack System-Castles and Crusades Producer- Troll Lord Games Price- 19.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/234183/Castles--Crusades-The-Adventurers-Backpack?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR- OPTIONS! 86%

Basics-It's time for a solid player option book for CnC! This book features TONS of new classes, spells, items, niche rules, and even a complete new magic system. There is even a whole chapter dedicated to backpacks of tools each adventurer would need to do their job. How does it stack up?

Mechanics or Crunch- Ah old school… you provide us with gonzo options and allow the DM to do whatever they want. The problem is, this is pretty rules-light for how some of the crunch works. A perfect example is the warrior priest. That class has Cure Wounds which allows them to heal other characters. Awesome! I love it. But the rules don’t describe: do you roll once per day, or do you roll all hit points and then give them out as you want, or do you spend dice as you go? I could hunt online and find the answer. I don’t want to do that. I just decided and went with it. This is old school, so once the group decides, we roll with it. That's the bad; the good is this book gives you new character classes, character options like spell casting rangers, paladins,and bards, lots of equipment options, spells, and all sorts of tools adventurers might need to fight evil. It's not perfect, but the flaws are all part of OSR rules' light touch. The good is amazing and makes this worth the price. 3.75/5 Theme or Fluff- I would not call this a fluff book, but I do think what is here is done well. It mostly gives you ideas how the new things fit into the fantasy worlds of Castles and Crusades. It's world-agnostic in a decent way, so you could plug these into any fantasy world and have a fitting character. I would like more, as I want to build out the world and campaign setting, but the book gives you enough that you can find the equivalent in your world and plug and play right away. 4.25/5

Execution- PDF? Yep! Hyperlinked? YES! This book is well done. It's an old school game, but it's modern design makes me happy. It's not perfect - I would like the font to be a bit larger, but this thing has all the things I think a modern book should have. 4.9/5

Summary-My summary of this book comes down to one very specific question-do you want more character options for CnC? If yes, then get the book. It’s not perfect; I think things need another round of writing to fully explain what the writers wanted me to do in some spots, but if you can look past some small issues, you will enjoy this. The fluff is decent. I want more, but it's not bad. Just not the whole world laid bare. Physically, the book is done well. Links, layout, and text all work well. I’m glad this is in my collection, and I know my players are always happy to have this as a place to get spells, classes, and toys to help them put down evil. 86%

Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Refractions of Glasston

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day!

Product- Refractions of Glasston System-Call of Cthulhu, 7th ed Producer- Taylor University PWR Press Price- free! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/297601/Refractions-of-Glasston?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR- A college work! 90%

Basics-All is not well in the midwest….In a small glass making town in Indiana, something ancient and evil is stirring. Can our heroes learn the horrific secrets in time or will fail and end up consumed by the glass as well? Let's break this down!

Mechanics or Crunch- This is mechanically well done for an intro adventure. Honestly, the only major tool in the CoC toy box that isn’t on display is a chase scene. There are fights, ancient, evil books, spells, investigation, and lots of social interaction. If you play your cards right, don't lose your head, and look everywhere (all the parts of a smart CoC investigator), you can put down something TRULY evil, and it will feel natural when you do it. 5/5

Theme or Fluff-Here things suffer a bit. The story is decent once you are in. However, it's a big rough getting the different investigators together, into the town, and working together. That's a pretty rough start other than "YOU SEEM TRUSTWORTHY! LET'S INVESTIGATE HORRORS BEYOND HUMAN KEN TOGETHER!" But once you are past that part of the story, it opens up well and you will have a blast. 4.5/5

Execution- PDF? Yep! Hyperlinked? no…. For a first outing by this team, I like what's here. Need my links, but it's not bad. There are rough spots like there is a character that they characters will need up with who plays a major role in advancing the story, but she’s not in the Dramatis personæ at the back of the adventure, so that's a minor problem. Aside from minor issues like that, the adventure is solid. The pregenerated characters have a mix of types that are fun, but their skills are thought out enough that they compliment the problems you see well. I would like for pulp options in the next adventure like how that is handled in the larger adventures Chaosium puts out, but again, that's going beyond in development. What's here is relatively solid and reads well out of the box. 4/5

Summary-I majored in the hard sciences in college, so I never did anything as cool as write a CoC adventure for credit. But, if this is the quality I can expect going forward, I think I really missed something awesome. This is a good intro adventure with a fun variety of toys to spring on and for the adventurers. The story has a harder start, but once it’s going, it takes off. The execution is decent. It's not perfect, but the issues are minor enough that the players won’t know if you think on your feet as a keeper. Good layout and text make this easy enough to read. I did enjoy the line about completely reading the adventure before you start because that NEVER happens. Overall, this is a fantastic intro adventure I feel like I can spring on any group of new players and get an amazing CoC experience that will hook them for decades to come. 90%

Ring Side Report-Keeping It Classy: The Cleric

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day!

Product- Keeping it Classy: The Cleric System-Dungeons and Dragons 5e Producer- DMs Guild Price- $ 5.95 https://www.dmsguild.com/product/290873/Keeping-It-Classy-The-Cleric?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR- Routinely amazing 93%

Basics-Time for class options for my favorite class-the cleric! How does this one stack up compared to the others?

Mechanics or Crunch- This is a well done book with a few things that I would not have done myself. The book has new cleric domains. That was a given, and these are well done mechanics. Perhaps a few too many rely on playing with the channel ability, but I like them all. The book has new items. Again, solid things I expected. The book also has a new race. This I am less a fan of. It’s well done, but I want all the races set out before I start a game. That’s just preference. What I would like instead is more spells and feats. But, that’s again a personal preference. What is here is solid, but I would just like more. 4/5

Theme or Fluff- The Keeping It Classy series keeps it classy here. The race is well done. The domains feel right. The items have good fluff to make you feel them in the world. I love what is in this book! 5/5

Execution- PDF? Yep! Hyperlinked? Yep! Ok, all the things I want standard in a book written in 2019! It uses public domain art well to break up the flow and makes the book easier to read, so this honestly is how I want books written out. New art is nice, but for the price you can’t beat what is here! Text is well laid out. If you want solid design of a book, this is a good example to use. 5/5

Summary-The Keeping It Classy series is a precision machine that keeps spitting out precision product. Think less McDonald’s machine and more Fine Dining expectations-the routine should be phenomenal. And this is true. The book has good races, items, and class parts that if you want new options for your cleric, then this is worth your time. I’m not as much a fan of new races as other DMs, but the race is well done. I’d just like more other “things” like feats and spells, especially for this spell casting class. However, that boils down to the problem of me wanting more from this book, which means I like what’s here. This is as always a routinely amazing book from a routinely amazing team. 93%

Ring Side Report-Esper Genesis Threat Database

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day!

Product- Esper Genesis Threat Database System-Dungeons and Dragons 5e Producer- Alligator Alley Entertainment Price- $ 24.95 https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/285863/Esper-Genesis-5E-Threats-Database?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR-Solid world building in a monster manual! 95%

Basics-They have a multidimensional cave troll! Esper Genesis Threat Database is Esper Genesis’s Monster Manual, BUT it has so much more. Let’s dig into my thoughts on this.

Mechanics or Crunch-Ok, it’s a monster manual. You follow the basic rules put out by WotC and you get solid, well executed monsters. Alligator Alley Entertainment put in good effort and created good monsters to challenge your heroes. You will always have your favorites. I like Lovecraftian horrors and xenomorphs like the movie Alien. I have both those things, so I’m happy! You will find your own favorite monsters and organizations to throw at your players. The one thing I miss that this system needs to steal wholesale from Starfinder is the monster manual also being a second player guide by providing new races for players. Again, I’m asking for a solid thing to be more. However, since most of the bad guys are not horrible spider animals but humanoid-ish creatures, it fits that players could be them. It’s a small gripe on an otherwise well made crunch book. 4.5/5

Theme or Fluff- Honestly this is where things shine. One of my MAJOR complaints about the base book was who are the bad guys? This books delivers on that by not only having flushed out monsters but a WHOLE SECTION on alien threats and organization. Like all monster manuals you get a page per bad guy that has a picture, some crunch, and some words about the bad guy, but the cherry on top is the fact that this book adds universe to the universe not just by throwing all of that into the book, but also a section on organization that threaten the universe, making this a world building book as well. I love what’s here for the monster and world story! 5/5

Execution- PDF? Yep! Hyperlinked? Yep! Ok, all the things I want standard in a book! Aside from that its a well laid out easy to read monster manual. It’s got all the small issues I hate in a monster manual with the key one being when you have a monster group of things like a bunch of different robots, not all the robots get pictures. You know they exist and you get a picture of one or two of the five, but I need something to throw up on a tablet to show my players so they know what the heck is going on! That’s a pretty small thing in an otherwise amazing book. However, there is one thing this book does that really makes me happy and it’s honestly, quite literally the smallest thing. If there is a picture of the creature in the book, they took a small blue representation of it and set it next to a standard human for scale. That’s it. That right there fills me with with all the happy because if you show me a space cockroach and say this is the key threat to the galaxy I think that might be the size of a planet when you meant as a literal space cockroach and they just swarm their prey and are getting everywhere. I love that as its something again I can throw up on a tablet, show don’t tell my players, and have them get their heads into the fight! Fantastic work on the production of this book! 4.75/5

Summary-Esper Genesis is honestly a sleeper system with some real power in it. It’s got a new take on DnD 5e, and this book proves that Esper Genesis has a solid creative team in it. The Threat Database provides a ton of monsters to throw at your players, great world building, and an excellent example of how to build a book. My gripes are far and few with most of them being things this system needs based on other Sci-Fi systems and problems I see in all monster manuals. Overall, this is an amazing addition to the Esper Genesis universe. 95%

Ring Side Report-Esper Genesis 5E Sci-fi - Core Manual

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day!

Product- Esper Genesis 5E Sci-fi - Core Manual System-Dungeons and Dragons 5e Producer- Alligator Alley Entertainment Price- $ 24.95 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/240798/Esper-Genesis-5E-Scifi---Core-Manual?cPath=26435?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR-5E IN SPACE! 92%

Basics-Want some DnD 5e but also want some spaceships and don’t want the less serious nature of Starjammer? Then Esper Genesis is the game for you. Hard space opera on the level of a Mass Effect with the crunch of the Forgotten Realms. Let’s go into the pieces first and then my thoughts on it.

Base Mechanic-Can you play DnD 5e? Then you know this system. That's it. That’s not a bad or a good, it's just the basic mechanics you know and you may love.

Classes-Like any system that bases itself on another base game there will be some reskins and some out of the box thinking taking the game in new directions. You have a not-fighter and a not-rogue, and the DnD 5e system needs those to work, but you also have whole new classes and a different magic system relying on new abilities, due to a new material found in moons across the galaxy. These new classes feel like combinations of clerics and wizards, and truly it's not bad. It breaks fun new ground on the mechanics of the system.

Spaceship Dogfights-DnD is NOT a crunch heavy system that requires a battle map to play, so the spaceship part of the game can’t use that either. Each player gets a role on the ship and can do different actions in a round from repairs to shields to killing people with lasers. However, this is all done quickly via theater of the mind.

Those are the basics. Let’s look at my thoughts.

Mechanics or Crunch-Honestly, this is the shining highlight of the book. You have the cloned classes that you know were going to be there from the not-fighter to the not-rogue, but the changes in mechanics really help the players see a new universe of potential to the system. I like what I see here. Now, this is a reskin and cut and paste of some DnD things from spells that have to be healing word and cure wounds, but it is different enough so you get new things for you to explore. Heck, you can’t even say this is just a combo of Starfinder and DnD5e, as the stuff feels fresh enough that it has its own feel distinct from either of those properties. This isn’t just a hack job of reworked DnD 5e material, this is its own thing that stands strongly on its own two feet. 5/5

Theme or Fluff- I like what I see here, but like any gourmet meal, I left wanting more. There is a whole universe here to explore, but I felt like not enough time was spent on the world itself. It's some amazing stuff, even if it does take some strong references from the Mass Effect series with elements like humans fighting then joining a galactic UN, a mystery element that gives powers. Now, this doesn’t make this game and its world derivative. The basic plot of "magic/science things give magic/science powers to people and now we deal with it" is a staple of the scifi and fantasy field, but what I don’t like is the limited amount of information on display. I wasn’t so much as left wanting more as I was left not getting enough. I wasn’t full waiting for my next book, but was more often than not given enough story to start strong. The world is fun, but not flushed out enough. I’m down to play and read more. What is here does draw you in, but I feel I need another 30 or so pages to really know the world or universe, from bad guys to who the main races are. That said, what is here is well done. I enjoy every piece of it, but just need more of it. 4.25/5

Execution- PDF? Yep! Hyperlinked? Yep! Ok, all the things I want standard in a book! The book is laid out well and typeset well, but the big issue I have is too many pages of double column text. Even the best world book or rule manual is simply a guide book or math textbook, and those NEED to be broken up to keep the reader involved. So I want more pictures to show me cool stuff of your world. Also, this is a third party product, so it has a limited budget. Many cool things are discussed like the monster manual in the back of the book, but I need pictures to see what you're showing me. I want to see what you got. Also, as a new world that is whole-cloth your own, you NEED a short adventure to tell me your pacing and story structure. I read this as standard action adventure scifi, but you might have meant this to be hard R space horror. Overall, it's well done, but it's missing a few pieces to make it excellent. 4.5/5

Summary- From my review, you might think I don’t like this, but this is an amazing rpg. It's got scifi using the nuts and bolts of the DnD 5e system while not just becoming spelljammer. It's full of new flavor that is all its own and not just a copy paste from Star Wars. It’s got solid layout in a format I BEG the major RPG producers to do. All these things mean it is a solid game! My issues are minor, such as wanting more story in the base book, even though the authors clearly indicate other books that have come out since this game was published to build out the world like trailers for coming attractions. The execution of the book is good, but needs more pictures. I just want more in the book, but for a whole RPG from a small press RPG company, this is an amazing product. However, the inevitable comparison comes forward-Is this just Starfinder with 5e? And the answer, I think, is no. This is more light scifi with no space wizardry and none of the more fantastical elements that make Starfinder science fantasy while this is science fiction. The systems stay very separate from one another, as Starfinder embraces the hard crunch of Pathfinder while Esper Genesis has its own mechanics from 5e and modified as needed to give this the speed that 5e is famous for. With this book and the base DnD 5e book, you could make your own Starfinder game, but honestly, I'd use this book by itself to play an awesome game among the stars. If you are looking for your fast, fun, 5e scifi, look no further than this game! 92%

Ring Side Report-Keeping it Classy: The Bard

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day!

Product- Keeping it Classy: The Bard System-DnD 5e Producer-Kim Frandsen Price- $5 here https://www.dmsguild.com/product/281863/Keeping-It-Classy-The-Bard?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR-Another Solid Entry in the Series. 98%

Basics-CAN YOU HEAR ME! Keeping it Classy: bards is another book in the keeping it classy series this time focusing on bards. This book has items, bard colleges, a new race, and backgrounds all focusing on the musical characters in the party.

Mechanics or Crunch-What’s here is great! I like the new mechanics, and they all feel balanced with everything else. I like the items and the backgrounds as they fit as well. I’ve never been a fan of new races because it’s strange to just have a group of creatures that have always been here just appear out of nowhere, but the new race feels balanced as well. What I want more of is feats. This book and the bard need some more feats, so this feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. Aside from missing feats, I love the stuff that’s here. 4.75/5

Theme or Fluff-This again feels right. That’s what I want in a book for a class. The stuff here feels appropriate for the class and the various settings that the bard plays in. That means its done well. 5/5

Execution- PDF? Check! Hyperlinked? CHECK! Great layout and ease of readability? CHECK! This is how I want products made. It’s got some original art, but the art that is there does exactly what it was supposed to do- break up the text and intrigue me. The layout is nice. The font reads easily, and the overall presentation is top notch. 5/5

Summary-This is a 6 dollar book that provides a solid punch of material. You get great mechanics that build the class in a new direction by playing with some different resources. You get some new backgrounds, and you get solid items. I always want more,and here I feel a few feats would help round out the product. But, aside from that, the book has an amazing execution, and all the new toys feel like they belong in the fantasy world of DnD. This is a rock solid book most bards should at least check out! 98%

Ring Side Report- 7th Sea

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day! 

Product- 7th Sea

System-7th Sea 2nd Edition

Producer-Chaosium

Price- $18 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/185462/7th-Sea-Core-Rulebook-Second-Edition?src=hottest_filtered&filters=10101_0_0_0_0?affiliate_id=658618 

TL; DR-Great if you like story, bad if you need hard rules. 90%

Basics-It’s a Pirate's life for me!  7th Sea is an RPG set in a world on the cusp of the age of exploration after a massive civil war in fantasy not-Europe.  Also key to this game is its unique approach to combat and mechanics. Let’s dive into this one.

Base mechanics and rounds-Each scene in the game is divided into action and dramatic scenes.  Action scenes are high octane events where characters fight to the death against other humans or monsters!  Dramatic scenes are slower time periods where players may try to sway the king in a debate or sail a ship across the sea.  But, unlike most games where you choose an action, know your dice, and roll to see if it happens, in both scenes, you say exactly what you want to do.  THEN the GM says what attributes and skill you must use. You then take a total of 10-sided dice equal to the sum of that attribute and skill and roll them.  This is where the game becomes interesting and extremely different. you can use one or more dice that add up to 10 and that counts as a raise. Each raise is one action you can do in the scene.  Then, the GM will describe the scene where the main goals are, side goals are, possible hazards, and if any timed events are. You can can do exactly what you said you were going to do each turn with the person with the most raises going once first and continuing until his or her raises equal another player.  If you want to do something you didn’t ask the GM to do at the start, it uses two raises. Want to hurt a guy? One raise does one damage. Want to rifle through the desk? One raise. It very simple and very fast. Base monsters and humans are part of brute squads that do damage equal to the number left in a brute squad with numbers ranging from 1 to 10 numbers per squad.  Named monsters and NPCs are treated just like characters and rolling dice just the same.

Advancement-Characters advance via completing story steps.  These are amazingly subjective, but that’s an integral part of this RPG.  Every story step is one advancement and different things like skills and advantages require different advancement costs.

Magic-It wouldn’t be fantasy if the game didn’t have magic.  Magic is an advantage you can take like any other, but the different flavors of magic color your use. Some are things that require a sacrifice.  Some require a code of conduct, and some require you to build up a pool of tokens that counter your ability to do things but hurt the enemy. It's an interesting take on the use of magic, providing a diverse set of subsystems that don't break the game in their implementation.

Mechanics or Crunch-Overall, 7th age plays quickly, but it's VERY loose.  That’s its goal, but it's so loose my players had major trouble with the game.  One player couldn’t comprehend that he could just see the hidden stuff by spending a raise.  Upon being told he already rolled he rolled again and asked what it meant. It's a HARD shift for a murderhobo to join a story RPG.  I like it, but even I would like some more explanation to some of the more fluffy rules built into the system. Nothing here is bad, but it is a game that needs more than just a few quick half page explanations to show how it works. 4.25/5

Theme or Fluff-7th Sea is an amazing world.  It's fully filled out and well developed.  It's a place with lots of stories to tell as well as a lot of places to explore.  It’s got everything the age of exploration needs and all the fantasy that your average Pirates of the Carabean movie needs to tell epic high seas fantasies. 5/5

Execution-  PDF?  Check!  Hyperlinked?  CHECK! Great layout and ease of readability?  CHECK! What do I want? Well, honestly more. It's a pretty short PDF and the fluff part of the story is well defined.  That fills my soul with happy. What isn’t well defined is how to play. It took me way too long to see that your raises were your initiative and how you spent them one to one.  I’ve read a few of these books, so I feel that's a bit on this book. But then again, this is a solid paradigm shift. This ISN’T just reskinned DnD, so your traditional frame of reference if you came in as a solid d20 player isn’t as useful as you may think.  If you get used to thinking outside the box, you will be fine, but if you need hand holding like I do during my transition from DnD to story RPG, you might get lost a bit in this book's flow. 4.25/5

Summary- 7th Sea is a fun story game with less crunch than I’m used to.  My wife loved it and gravitated to it easily. My other gaming friends couldn’t handle the story based shift.  That’s the major take away-if you want more baked in story, this is the game for you. If you need more solid crunch in your game, then maybe give this one a pass.  The book is solid, if you can handle the stuff it leaves out because it's not important. If you need those pieces, then maybe just play DnD on a pirate ship. But if you can get into the flow of a story game and handle most of the game being hand-waved away because those parts are honestly not part of the story, this is a fantastic take on the pirate fantasy RPG.  90%

Ring Side Report- Keeping It Classy: The Barbarian

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea everyday!

Product- Keeping It Classy: The Barbarian System-Dungeons and Dragons 5e Producer-Kim Frandsen Price- $5 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/275287/Keeping-It-Classy-The-Barbarian?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR- Fantastic Third Party Content! 99%

Basics-BARBARIAN! Can you solve the riddle of steel? Keeping it Classy: The Barbarian is exactly what it puts out to be-a barbarian splat book, but it's even got a more for the rest of the table. Tons of new content for your barbarian characters and a bit of extra stuff for the non-barbarians out there with a new race, backgrounds, and some new toys. Let’s take a look at this book.

Mechanics or Crunch- This is a great book with lots of amazing content! The new paths are great. The new race is fun, and the new toys and backgrounds will fit anybody. Heck this one book has more barbarian content than almost all the current official DnD books out there! It’s not perfect as a few small issues crop up in wording on abilities, but you can easily look past that to see a phenomenal product. 4.9/5

Theme or Fluff-Your barb is not just a dumb meat shield. This book gives your hunk of muscle story from fun backgrounds to each path getting a full story treatment. Each path entry is short enough to not keep it in one world or setting, but long enough for it to be something to latch onto and build more of. This is the same for everything else here. Backgrounds? Not too long to wear out the welcome, but long enough to really get you hooked. Lizardperson race? Fun and full of enough story to make it something you want to read, but won’t lose interest in like an encyclopedia. Weapons? Pictures and descriptions for you to see in your minds eye. All told, this is a great product for the story based groups out there. 5/5

Execution- PDF? Check! Hyperlinked? CHECK! Great layout and ease of readability? CHECK! This is a product you can fly through, see the flow and major beats of in five minutes, and then dive back into for each section you want to really learn about. It's a fun read that flies by. I also like the liberal use of pictures. Most of the pictures are free to use art, and that's not bad! The pictures are related to the text, and the pictures break up the text while reinforcing the ease of readability. There is new art, and that is well done too! There are a few things I do think are a bit different such as weapons getting two sections instead of one describing the weapon and any special properties. Not wrong by any stretch, but it's different. Also of note the book is five bucks for 40 pages. The core DnD book (which isn’t hyperlinked or a PDF!) is 293 pages for about 40 bucks originally, so this is below price for the content your are getting! All of this adds together to a well crafted, fun to read book. 5/5

Summary- I really like this book. It’s a quick read that’s a fun read while still being a satisfying read. It's a barbarian splat book that doesn’t just have barbarian stuff in it. It’s got enough fun pieces that any players may want to pick this up. Have an hour and want to see a well produced book? Check this one out! 99%

Ring Side Report- Castles & Crusades Players Handbook

Originally posted at [url=http://www.throatpunchgames.com]www.throatpunchgames.com[/url], a new idea everyday!

Product- Castles & Crusades Players Handbook

System-Castles & Crusades

Producer-Troll Lord Games

Price- $20 here [https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/105322/Castles--Crusades-Players-Handbook-7th-Printing?affiliate_id=658618 ](http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/105322/Castles--Crusades-Players-Handbook-7th-Printing?affiliate_id=658618 )

TL; DR- An interesting mix of old and new. 86 %

Basics-Onwards to adventure! Castles and Crusades is an Old School game through and through in its seventh edition. Let’s walk through to see all this game has to offer!

Basic Rolls-Castles and Crusades uses the d20 system at its core. Attacks are D20 rolls plus an attack bonus and an attribute. Skills are d20 plus an attribute and possible additional bonuses. If you’ve played any basic d20 system you can hop right into this game.

*Skills, saves, and the Siege System-IWhen you do something in Castles and Crusades, you roll as discussed above, but you sometimes get to add your levels. If the thing you are doing is something your class could do, you add your level. If you would not be trained because this isn’t something you would know how to do, you don’t add your level. The gamemaster sets the number you need to roll based on two factors-attribute and challenge level. Here is the crux of the Siege system. During character generation, you get primary attributes from your race and your class. If the thing you are trying to do or the save you are trying to make is based on a primary attribute, then the number you need to roll starts at 12. If it’s a secondary attribute, then the number starts at an 18. Next the GM adds the challenge level. This is a number representing how hard the thing you are doing is. Open a one tumbler lock might be a challenge level 1, but the king's personal bank vault might be an 8. So, different characters have different required rolls based on their primary abilities.

Everything else-From here on, if you have played Pathfinder or DnD 3.5, you're in solid hands. AC, rounds, and spells all function pretty much like you expect. If not, then the book gives you a solid introduction to the system

Mechanics or Crunch- Overall, this is a decently put together system, but the Siege system has some significant bumps in the road. I have lived through 3.5e to 5e DnD and watched wild swings in how much control a GM has at the table regarding the number required to roll for PCs to get things done. This game is solidly old school as lots left up to the GM, and I feel that hurts this a bit. This game really needs a list of skills and what classes get what skills, if any. Its OK for the rogue to be the a skill monkey and have tons of skills, but often some things just are left up to the GMs discretion. Saves are even left up to the GM! There is a chart of what attribute you roll for each save with different spell and monster effect requiring different attribute saves. All of this falls into the basics of the Siege system with a fighter who didn’t choose dexterity in a worse place compared to the rogue when the fireball goes off or he sneaks around in the dark. It’s not bad, but GM and the players have to really work together to run this game as some things are too complex to run on autopilot like simple roll to dodge a blow. Solid, but some needlessly complex things mar the system. 4/5

Theme or Fluff-.Solid old school fantasy. The book doesn’t have a world per se, but it does have world building with discussions on the nature of magic and character classes. Even each class has a bit of fluff to make you understand who they are and if you want to be them. It’s light, but for building a generic fantasy RPG, it’s doing its job well. 5/5

Execution- PDF? Check! Hyperlinked? CHECK! Tables that lay things out well? Well here is where things break down. This game is solidly in the OSR crowd. That’s not bad as the old school has some great advice for the young, but some things just need a new touch! Things like laying classes out better in tables and saying what I get at each level instead of having me read the complete class entry to see if and when I get different abilities. Spells suffer from the same issue as challenge levels where much interpretation is needed to determine what kind of spell is being cast instead of just leaving me with what I have to roll.and More often that not, I’m left making a call on what I’m doing or what kind of save I have to make. And for some things, I just want to add things up some numbers and see if I succeed. It feels a bit like homework. It does read easily, but modern RPG design elements would really help make this book that much more easier to read and run. 4/5

Summary-This game is a solid entry in the Old School Revolution that is embracing the advances of d20 system, at least for the mechanics. Adding at most two numbers and hoping is easier that thac0 or other previous system, at least for new players. But this book didn’t take enough from modern systems and layout. Listing skills and just saying what attribute to roll for every spell and most common effect will really help me play and enjoy the game. Now, this game is absolutely playable and fun out of the box day one with the basic mechanics being tried, true, and tested, but more specifically, fun. It's old school fantasy RPG with some new additions that build on and preserve the original author's vision. However, some things could be done much better to really help me play and teach this RPG. 86%

Ring Side Report- Fine Country Folk

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea everyday!

Product- Fine Country Folk System- Shadow of the Demon Lord Producer-Schwalb Entertainment Price- $2.79 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/270395/Fine-Country-Folk?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR-Do you hear banjos? 95%

Basics- We don’t cotton to kindly to your kind ‘round here… In Fine Country Folk, two factions of rednecks vie for dark powers. Can you find the source of their vile power and end it or will you end up dinner for the inbred yokels or one of the made betters?

Mechanics or Crunch-Shadow of the Demon Lord is one of the slickest systems out there, and Fine Country Folk keeps up that fine tradition. The adventure has some great mechanics for a hex crawl. Good, simple to draw map with a good random distribution of events, and well detailed locals with new monsters to fight. The simple nature of the adventure makes its a fun, easy to run, four hour adventure. 5/5

Theme or Fluff-Fine Country Folk is a hex crawl through and through, and it has some of the problems of a hex crawl. Overall, it’s an awesome adventure once it gets going, but like all hex crawls you can drop into the middle of an active campaign, the start is a bit rough. The hook into the adventure is the weakest part. Once the players have a reason to kill he inbred hicks or redneck mechanical abominations in the woods, they will have a great time. As a hex crawl, the DM has more work to do than in a set piece adventures to make sure a story flows and give the players a reason to stay. The adventure has prompts for DMs, but this is an important heads up that you should be aware of. It’s a fun adventure that will require a bit more muscle to get the story to crack over in the beginning but it hums along after the start. 4.25/5

Execution-Fine Country Folk is one of Schwalb’s longest adventure with lots of details and new monsters. This adventure is twice as long as his other individual adventures and FOUR times as long as some of the adventures from the first campaign. It has great art, nicely done tables, and is a breeze to read. Heck, it even references WITH PAGES things that DMs might need to review when they run this adventure. This is what I want a Shadow of the Demon Lord adventures to look like. 5/5

Summary-Fine Country Folk is standard Schwalb, and Schwalb is an acquired taste. I love sushi, but if you can’t stand fish or raw food, go away. Even Michelin star sushi is still sushi. This is some of Schwalb’s best writing, but it is still Schwalb’s writing. If rape, murder, violence, cthulhu-satan, or a whole host of other mean nasty things, you will be turned away by this one. I love sushi and the horrible, monstrous things Schwalb has to say, so this is a great work of dark vile fantasy to drop your players into. That said, it’s not perfect. Your adventure will need to shift into this one and hooking your players into this can be a bit tricky and I would like more explicit ways to get them involved more readily. That said, once you are past that, you will enjoy this fine food and the fine country folk who will try to eat you, skin you alive, or horrible experiment on you. Just pray your PC doesn’t have a pretty mouth. 95 %

Ring Side Report- Saga RPG Adventure Arc: Darkwood #3 - The Vile and the Voracious

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea everyday!

Product- Saga RPG Adventure Arc: Darkwood #3 - The Vile and the Voracious System- Pathfinder Producer-SagaRPG Price- $15(PDF)-40(softcover and pdf) here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/249671/01AA03--Saga-RPG-Adventure-Arc-Darkwood-3--The-Vile-and-the-Voracious-PFRPG-PDF--01AA03?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR-Why does it have to be mutant trolls! 93%

Basics- That troll pillaging the town has an arm growing out of his head! Darkwood 3-The Vile and the Voracious is the third part of an ongoing series where the players adventure through Darkwood, a community on the fringe where different power players attempt to gain sway while horrors in the woods attack unrelentingly. In this one the town is attacked by trolls, but not just any trolls, horrible mutant trolls! All the different groups are united against them, and the players are sent to exterminate the threat. In the dark caves where the trolls call home, long, best forgotten fey things are found as well. The book also features a new mechanics for mutant monsters, crafting rules, items, magic, templates, locations and even gods of the Darkwood setting.

Mechanics or Crunch-Here is honestly where the book shines. This book provides some really fantastic new crunch to Pathfinder with items, guns, templates and a large section devoted to making mutant monsters of old favorites. These are liberally applied to all the things the players experience through the adventure, so it’s fun to see the new crunch dropped on the players mid battle! The new camping expedition rules are a welcome addition as well as “Ok, you set watch” rolls one die per payer on watch “Ok, get back your spells and hp.” rolls encounter table and nothing happens REPEAT TILL DESTINATION is honestly boring. It's fun to make your players’ characters people and give them things to do while living. This book adds some solid mechanics to the Pathfinder RPG 5/5

Theme or Fluff- Here is the low point for the book. It’s not bad, not even close to bad, but this is not a very diverse adventure. This is an unrepentant dungeon crawl and everything about this one is getting you to the place, so the killing can happen. There are fun elements to the place like great descriptions of each room and new monsters to right in each room, but do not expect levels upone levels of intrigue i this one. It’s just a fun romp killing trolls with some extra splash put in to keep the bard from being bored in the back. That’s not a bad thing, but not a diverse adventure. A decent hack and slash dungeon crawl in a lost fey cavern. 4.3/5

Execution- The book is put together pretty decently, but has a few things I’d like changed. It reads pretty quickly and is set up so I, the laziest DM ever, can simply skim enough at the time to get the game running in under three minutes while I say take a bio brake on the phone with clear outlines of plot and locations as well as area descriptions with monster personalities. That’s exactly what I want from every adventure! I HATE having to read and reread a section to find how one of five brothers interacts in a combat when I’m trying to give life to 10 different monsters, and this book makes my life easy! What I don’t like is even on my tablet at the table, I have to do some considerable zooming to read the text. The background looks nice, but the weathered parchment look makes it hard for me to read because I’m getting old! Others things I think are interesting design choices are to put the camping section in the middle. It kind of interrupts the flow, so I don’t think it goes there while other mechanical things are at the back of the book. But, I honestly can forgive that pretty easily because this book HYPERLINKS THE DAMN PDF! I am boggled by how this isn’t industry standard, but these people do it and it makes my day. The art is nice and adds enough, and even better the PDF had maps WITHOUT labels on them that I can easily grab and throw into my online games or print for my table, so that is another fantastic plus to this adventure. Minor issues with the book, but otherwise its a solidly put together PDF. I have a few minor issues, but this is a well put together PDF 4.6/5

Summary-Sometimes you want a fancy 20 course meal with multiple courses. Sometimes you just want to curbstomp a troll in a cave. This adventure might not redefine the fantasy world for its story, but simple doesn’t mean bad. If you are in this deep to the Darkwood Adventure Arc, you are gonna have a blast in this book. If you are looking for your next book of long intrigue in the high courts of nobles, then this isn’t your book. But, if you just want a fun Pathfinder adventure you can spring on your players to have them fight some mutant trolls then honestly for 15 bucks it’s hard to beat, even if your players don’t care about darkwood at all and they just want some good old fashion hack and slash. The other things in here that really stand out well like the expedition camp rules, the mutant templates, and multiple other things are slick pathfinder additions. The Vile and the Voracious is a simple adventure done well and put together smoothly. 93%