Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Arcanis 5E Campaign Setting

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

Product- Arcanis 5E Campaign Setting System- DnD 5e Producer-Paradigm Concepts, Inc. Price- $25.00 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/234910/Arcanis-5E-Campaign-Setting?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR-Shades of grey are finally comprehensible! 95%

Basics-For the EMPIRE! FOR ILLIIR! Arcanis was a campaign setting for 3.5 DnD which grew to its own game when 4th edition happened, and finally is coming back into the DnD mechanics with a conversion of DND 5e. How does the world of the Shattered Empires stack up with a 5e rebuild? Let’s get into it!

Mechanics or Crunch-I usually start with theme, but let’s go mechanics first. If you like 5e DnD, then you will like this. This isn’t a scrap to the base boards rebuild of DnD 5e, it’s a new implementation using the same base mechanics of proficiency, hit dice, et al. you most likely love from DnD 5e. And honestly, that a good thing. I could give any person playing “Hoard of the Dragon Queen” an Arcanis character and they would be playing in seconds. So that begs the question, what's different? Well some things are just simple reskins. The Fury is the Barbarian. It’s got some different parts to it, but let’s be honest-it’s just a new name. Not bad, some theme for Arcanis added, but it is what it is. Some get a much more exhaustive change. Paladins are holy champions, and they might be a tad overpowered if you build them right, but that’s a criticism of DnD 5e itself. Holy Champions get god specific paths to take that really hit theme hard with powers appropriate to the gods of the setting. The same thing for clerics. There are new races with instructions on how to change DnD straight races toward Aracnis races like there are no Tieflings, but there are Dark kin. New feat trees are brought in so you can master a fighting style with both introduction and advanced versions of those feats. The book also introduces psionics in a heavy way, but honestly, it’s just the same mechanics you’ve seen time and time again in DnD 5e vanilla. You have powers, the DC of the power is 8 + ability mod + proficiency or you attack with a power and you use ability modifier + proficiency. DONE. Vanilla is my favorite base for ice cream, so this isn’t a bad. Rocky road starts Vanilla, and that's what this book did. It took the base stuff you know and like and made it something you will love. 4.8/5

Theme or Fluff-So what is Arcanis? Well, that's probably the best thing this book does. You get to feel the Shattered Empires honestly better than before. It’s a pretty weighty tome coming in over 400 pages, so you get a lot of backstory. And that’s really what this world needs. I came in when DnD 4e brought about a major change in the RPG world around it. The Aracnis alone system wasn’t bad, but it relied heavily on me having books that we not in print and knowledge for a world that I could not find. So, I was honestly in the dark for large portions of this world. Heck, there wasn’t even a great map available. I had fun with what I understood and playing in, so off I went playing and running Arcanis all over. But, I would always run in to diehards who knew stuff from the wayback. The 5e book fixes this smashingly. I get better breakdowns in things. It’s big, but doesn’t have to dedicate all the pages the base DnD system does to the base rules just saying “GO SEE THE OTHER BOOK YOU BOUGHT!” and can dedicate those words to how the world works. That’s amazing! The mechanics have been adapted and modified to meet the needs of the theme. Again, that's a phenomenal way to build your world. As a GM when I run games with this book, I’m not lost. I feel like I finally know as much or MORE than my players. Sure, they are also republishing all the old books with updated rules, but this is a good way to hop in to a world of multiple different empires and groups fighting and in-fighting for control in a quzi roman world. 5/5

Execution-And the low point because I’m a bit petty. I like the way this book is laid out. I like the text style, but it might be a bit too small. I like the background, but I would like a background free version to read on my tablet. It comes in a PDF from Drive Thru RPG, so I’m thrilled that we’re moving Arcanis to the Paper free world. But the things that makes me the least happy is no-hyperlinks in the text. This book is 400 plus pages. Thats a lot of hopping around trying to find pages. Just link the book! The book is bookmarked, so if you read on some readers, you will be fine. Honestly, it’s small things that minorly annoyed me about this book, but as the RPG industry moves forward, I want hyperlinked PDFs to become the standard! 4.4/5

Summary-The real two remaining question to if you want this book is 1-Do you like the 5e DnD rules? And 2-do you want morally ambiguous semi-roman age fantasy? If you don’t like 5e DnD, then this book still has lots of background that you might want to put into your game. If you don’t like shades of gray in your fantasy but love DnD 5e, then this is a great source book for crunch including psionics which WotC needs to get out there before they end up just copying these guys. I like this book. I like the shades of gray fantasy that Arcanis bring to the table and using 5e is a great way to get people into the world extremely quickly since 5e is a snap to learn. My only qualms with this book are technical. Give me a backround free version if I want to print and bind myself or read on a tablet and HYPERLINK THE BOOK! Will that stop me from reading this? No. This books is a well done resource from a fun world where a fallen Roman empire battles snake people for dominance of long lost relics that belonged to the elven gods that the Roman gods ate for power using slick mechanics. Ya, that’s an Arcanis sentence if I ever saw one. If you want to play in that world, then you need to get this book NOW! 95%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of What’s Past is Prologue

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

Product- DDAL-ELW00-What’s Past is Prologue System- DnD 5e Producer- DMs Guild Price- $4.99 here https://www.dmsguild.com/product/248589/DDALELW00-Whats-Past-is-Prologue?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR-I can get my DCC RPG in DnD now! 92%%

Basics-A get rich quick job in Eberron? That CAN’T FAIL! The players take the roll of level zero characters as they attempt to earn a ton of money on a simple pick up and deliver job. Along they way they get a ton of thing to sell for millions of GP, but how will they do it?

Theme or Fluff-The story of What’s Past is Prologue is a pretty simple one, but it’s done well. The players get pregenerated characters that they will meet later in the Eberron adventurers league adventures. This story tells how the characters got together, how they get a ship, and how they are amazing wealthy. That part of the story is fun and really tells a great Eberron based story while giving me the GM a jumping on point to dump the Eberron goodness on my Forgotten Realms/old school fantasy only players. The only real problem with a prologue based story, is players always do things they are not supposed to do! The adventure gives some guidelines for this, but honestly, my players could not ditch the skyship fast enough! It might have been easier to instead of having a Sharn based section where the players can go off the script have some other story of how the characters fix their newly acquired ship. It’s not game ending, but be ready for this eventuality! 4.5 /5

Mechanics or Crunch-This adventure features something new in DnD-level zero characters! I love level zero character in Shadow of the Demon Lord and DCC/MCCRPG, so this was great for me! My players had to adjust to this, but they dealt well. Aside from that, the encounters are balanced with the limited power of the players. Running DCC style funnels in DnD 5e is a valid way to build characters now! 5/5

Execution-This is a solid modules that is spaces nice, reads quick, and provides most of what I want in an adventure. Its a PDF, so that makes me happy! But, it doesn’t have hyperlinks between the parts so I can quick navigate. Also, this modules again doesn’t have much if any box text. BOX TEXT IS SUPER IMPORTANT! It lays the scene for the GM to get in the right headspace on the fly as well as making sure the author lays out what information the PC have right away without the GM having to take notes on what’s in the scene. The first paragraph of each section is like box text, but I as a GM have to read that, chop out my parts, and give a good scene starter to the players. Another issue is the number of pregens. You can have seven characters at a DnD Al table, but this adventure only comes with six. If you want to run seven, you have two of the same character, and that’s not as much fun. Aside from those issues, the book is laid out gorgeously. The layout uses lots of old Eberron artwork. For a non-WOTC product on the DMs Guild, this is the exact reason the Guild was made-get non-WOTC people to make great product using art assets that usually only WOTC could reprint. This book has some obvious flaws, but it's still a solidly produced book. 4.25 /5

Summary-The best and worst part of a DnD story are the players. In a homebrew game, where the players can completely 180 degree their characters because they want to, free choice is amazing. In a prologue adventure, that freedom hurts the story a bit as the PCs behave in ways the regular characters would not. That said, the story here is a great one and I can’t wait for the next part of the story and how players own characters will interact with their prologue selves. The new mechanics here work well, are simple to implement, and easy to understand. That’s the trifecta of new bits on an RPG system, so good job! The execution is a bit off, but not in a way the will destroy the product. GIVE ME HYPERLINKS AND BOX TEXT! We’re exploring a ship, so having a ready to go box text will rapid fire my players through the exploration and get me in the rooms mood. But, the book look AMAZING! I love the layout, text, spacing, and all the wordy bits that some modules forget are an important part of the human reading process. If you want to jump on the Eberron Adventurers League season, then this is an excellent way to start. 92%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Lover in the Ice

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

Product- Lover in the ICe System- Delta Green Producer- Arc Dream Publishing Price- $4.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/184098/Delta-Green-Lover-in-the-Ice?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR- Good adventure, Hard NC-17 rating! 85%

Basics-Some things are best left unremembered. In “Lover in the Ice”, a snow storm opens up a Delta Green storage facility, and “something” gets out. Can you stop whatever got out from loving its way across Missouri in a blizzard?

Theme or Fluff-The story of “Lover in the Ice” is a solid one. Players race around a medium sized town in the middle of a blizzard of the century. It's got some great scenes that feel real and a lot of little extra fill out the world details. What I miss from most of Arc Dream’s work is intro paragraphs of box text. These set the scene for the players and really the GM to get you in the right headspace for each location. I’m long enough in the tooth that I can cobble one together from the description, but this is something that needs to be part of each place you visit! Players do a breach, bang, and clear for several houses and locations, and a quick section detailing what each room looks like will really help my players and me. It doesn’t make the story any less fun, but it does make me have to do more work. What here though is fun, but HOLY COW it’s hard R. KNOW THIS GOING IN! If your group is ok with that, then have at this one! 4.5 /5

Mechanics or Crunch-Overall, I like what’s here, but I think some things need to be filled out a bit more. There is a monster that can do some very horrible things to the players. I’d like a bit more words on how the attack is done. I have an idea of how it works, but I’d like either a few extra checks or two phase method of attack to make it happen. Otherwise the attack looks like its a one and done prospect. That’s a bit rough. Also Delta Green likes to just give the players information saying if you have HUMINT 30% you know X. I prefer to make the players roll. This is at odds with the ideas Arc Dream has of not making trivial things rolls, but it’s more in line with player expectations. Players like touching dice and even if I say “you know X because of your HUMINT 30%” It feels less fun to the guy/gal holding the dice. Overall, this is much more of a social/explore mission than a straight up fire fight. Don’t expect Fallujah level fights here! This is a contain the problem mission. The mechanics work well, but I had a few issues that I changed on the fly because its my game and I can. I think you will do the same, but I think these changes should be a standard part of the scenario. 4.25 /5

Execution-I like the basic setup of this mission. Now, let’s get petty! “Lover in the Ice” has a decent layout, but for the price, I kinda want a cover page, more art, and hyperlinks. Its a PDF, but not hyperlinked, so I get slightly annoyed. It’s pretty short, so this is a good one shot. But, I’d like a bit more production value. The monster gets a hand drawn picture, but never a nice, graphic picture I can throw to my players. The handouts I gave to my players are amazing and horrified a few of the players to stop reading! But the adventure puts up a few red herrings along the way. There is a section where players can keep finding random crap. Nothing in the random crap box is useful except one item. That is fun to see all the different things in there and what other things Delta Green might have been up to! I’d also like player maps of places without the marks that a GM has. These unmarked maps are VERY useful as something I can plunk down on the table instead of having to remake maps or just cover up points of interest. I like the general execution of this adventure, but I’d like a few more things to really knock it out of the park. 4.25 /5

Summary-I really love this adventure! It's got a solid storyline, good execution, and enough action to keep the players involved. It is not without its faults. I’d like a bit more direction or changes to some of the rules, some extra writing, and some minor things added to the product. None of the faults here absolutely breaks the game in any way. Honestly, if your group can stand Hellraiser and wants to try Delta Green, then this is a great intro game. If your group cannot stand theme of body horror and rape, then give this one a hard pass. Just like sushi, it can be done amazing, but if you can’t stand raw fish, pass and be polite. Don’t force anybody to eat the sushi! But if you want to try this one, it’s a great day to save the world from some crazy horrors in the snow! 85%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Wayfinder’s Guide to Eberron

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

Product- Wayfinder’s Guide to Eberron System-DnD 5e Producer- Wizards of the Coast Price- $20 here http://www.dmsguild.com/product/247882/Wayfinders-Guide-to-Eberron-5e?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR- A much needed update on nearly everyone's favorite modern crazy setting. 88%

Basics-Whose ready for some Dragonpunk? Wayfinder’s guide to Eberron is a 5e update to Eberron from Keith Baker. Eberron debuted in 3.5 DnD, received a 4e update, and this is the updated 5e version. What Eberron is is hard to describe. It's a post-magic war, Noir, fantasy, semi-modern sci-fi non-standard epic with sprinkles of Cthulhu mythos added in, with massive changes to the standard DnD world as magic is extremely common and every race doesn’t follow any of the normal conventions set before. The book itself has one chapter setting the tone and feel of the world. After that is a chapter on the geography of the main continent followed by a chapter on the different races of Eberron. From there the book shifts to magic, focusing one chapter on Dragonmark houses (think magic family guilds with tattoos that appear under stress providing magic powers), and then new magic creation rules as well as items for the world. The book wraps up by focusing on a major city of the world called Sharn, and finally providing additional resources like extra reading, a glossary, and pictures you can use for your game.

Theme or Fluff-I like the stuff in this book. It is travel guide to the world of Eberron providing a much needed update for the most recent system of DnD. Players get to learn about the world, and GMs get enough story seeds that they can set a story anywhere. The races feel fresh since that is a major point of Eberron, and the world is deep. My major complaint is this book feels short. Under 3.5, whole books were written about each of the different countries, and here each place gets about a page. For a book published by Wizards of the Coast itself, I expect a bit more for a $20 PDF. Nothing here is bad, but I expect a bit more from the main publisher. 4.5/5

Mechanics or Crunch-Wizards of the Coast put out a book, so they know their own system. I love the new races and am glad to see the races specific to Eberron get a 5e DnD coat of paint. I also can’t give enough praise and love to how Dragonmarks and magic item creation is handled. Dragonmarks are one of the core elements of the Eberron setting as these magic family businesses run large chunks of the world, at least by proxy. Previous editions handled this by feats, but this one sets them up as races. You are born a Dragonmark, which feels thematically true, but I also like the crunch of how each Dragonmark is handled. Magic items are extremely common with an almost cellphone like network existing in Eberron, so magic item rules needed an update. This book provides new item creation rules and providing costs for items. This is an update the system needed long ago as some DnD Adventurers’ League players are swimming in gold but have no real use for it. In Eberron, that gold has a place to go! 5/5

Execution- HOOOOLLLLYYYY COW! Wizards of the Cost put out a PDF and its hyperlinked!? Overall, I like the flow in this book. I don’t hate reading the book as it doesn’t hurt my eyes to scan or dive deeply into each topic. The text is laid out well, font is good, and I like the art. Now, the art is very recycled, but the DMs Guild lets authors use art from previous editions, so I don’t hate it. I would like a bit more from the mothership, but its is not bad. The book does feel short, and that short nature hurts it a bit. I could easily see expanding each country to two pages and adding in more art assets from other books. This also kinds of makes me angry as your charging roughly full price compared to Chaosium and Paizo for a book that the fluff is already written for and your art is already written for. The art is already made, and you have the graphics sitting on a hard drive, so why not use them? The maps are ok, but they are the most general ones from the setting, so you don’t even see the capital cities on them. This would also break up the text a bit more as multiple pages are two columns in a row. There is enough white space to not make reading boring, but I’d like more. 3.75/5

Summary-Eberron is an amazing setting that everyone should experience. From how it flips the script of traditional RPG elements to its Noir setting of morally gray characters, it should be on every RPG player's bucket list. This book provides a great new update to the world, providing both DMs and players with a wealth of information. My main complaint is that I would like more. For a $20 PDF, I would like a bit more, and some of the more I want are things that Wizards of the Coast already has like maps and art assets. Some are included in the back of the book, but putting them where they are mentioned in the book might help a bit more. That said, you can’t really go wrong with this book. If you are tired of the same Tolkien inspired fantasy, then check out Eberron. This book will give you the 5e shot in the arm you’ve been looking for to start your own game. 88%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Close Encounters: Hyperspace Fiends

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

Product- Close Encounters: Hyperspace Fiends System-Starfinder Producer- Fat Goblin Games Price- $6.95 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/222888/Close-Encounters-Hyperspace-Fiends?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR-Horrors from the low planes in the upper skies! 98%

Basics-Where we’re going, you don’t need eyes to see! Close Encounters: Hypersapce Fiends is a new book in a series bringing old fiendish monsters and things from Pathfinder into space with Starfinder. This book bring demons and devils into space, TOGETHER! Turns out hell and the abyss collapsed into one horrible thing and now they’ve joined a tag team battle against the universe, if they can stop knifing themselves in the back!

Theme or Fluff- The base Starfinder game is devil and demon poor, but this book brings all your classics back, and their stats feel like they should. There are even some crazy fiendish effects on magic, some ships that are stated out, and some environments traps that can affect your players should they enter the lower plane. There is also story to backup why these two age old enemies are working together to kill everyone. Overall, I like what I’m seeing here as it’s a great way to bring back some fun Pathfinder elements to your Starfinder game. 5/5

Mechanics or Crunch- All the crunch is right. The CR are good and the monsters hit the places they did in Pathfinder with basic updates of the mechanics to fit the slight changes between the systems. I love what's here, and it’s going to fit mechanically well into any game where the GM would like to put a Technomancer in Hell. 5/5

Execution- Is this available in PDF since its past 2015? Check. Is it hyperlinked even though its less than 40 pages? Check. Ok we've hit all the basics to make me happy. Now the extras! This book has lots a art with the creatures looking like the demons you’re used to but with a Starfinder art twist. There are demon/devil ships, but I would like a few more and some close up art of them. The art for the ships isn’t bad but its only one picture of the two new ships. The book even includes the rough seeds on an adventure from levels 1 to 20. Also, my favorite devils the low level lemure isn’t in the book, so that makes me a little sad. Finally the price is a tad high as its about $7 for a 30 page PDF. These are by no means going to keep me away, but it's something to note. 4.75/5

Summary-Fat Goblin was one of the first on the scene making Starfinder Compatible products and they have really demonstrated what you can do as a third party publisher. Its some fantastic material. I love putting demons and devils in my game and now I can easily do so. This is only GM book. It's fun, but honestly players need not apply as there are no player specific material here. GMs get fun new toys and things to inflict on their players. It's not perfect with a few minor things like price and some minor monsters being left out, but in total, this is a great resources if you want to put some horrible demons and devils into your game. 98%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Alien Evolution: Cosmic Race Guide Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea everyday! Product- Alien Evolution: Cosmic Race Guide System-Starfinder Producer- Fat Goblin Games Price- $3.95 [here]( http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/223749/Alien-Evolution-Cosmic-Race-Guidebook?affiliate_id=658618) TL; DR-Jack Kirby does Starfinder! 96%

Basics-Tired of just the core races already? Need some more classic 70’s ancient aliens artwork? Then I’ve got a book for you! The Cosmic Race Guide has an impressive amount of new species to plop into any Starfinder game.

Mechanics or Crunch-Starfinder, when it launched, didn’t have a lot of races. None of what was there was bad, but it was a limited picking. This book opens up the floodgates. Nothing here is all that crazy. The races do follow a pretty predictable formula, but its not a bad formula as everything is balanced. I would have liked a few racial feats for each race. But, there are over 10 new races here, so It’s a great place to look for an impressive assortment of new races for any space game. 4.75/5

Theme or Fluff- Here is where the book shines. Every page of this book feels like Jack Kirby wrote it as the art is completely New Gods or crazy space Thor 3 on every page. Everything feels right. You get a full color art picture of each race and its homeworld. The art mixed with the flavor of the races just belongs. Starfinder is already a mix of magic, machine, and the future, so adding the proper amount of crazy Kirby makes me extremely happy. 5/5

Execution- I am really pleased with this book. First and foremost, it's a hyperlinked PDF. Next, the art is great. I would have liked more, but it's enough to break up any monotony. The layout isn’t cluttered. My one grip is the price. It’s a tad high, but if you want a ton of new races, this is the book you need. It’s a well put together book that's fun to thumb through till you find your favorite race and dig in. 4.5/5

Summary-I really like this product. I read this book the week after seeing Thor 3 in theaters, and it feels like an honest extension of the movie. You get Kirby, you get aliens, and you get your magic. Starfinder feels like the 70’s comic vibe will fit better than any serious game play as you have the elements of more space opera than space drama built right in, and this book takes that banner and runs hard with that idea. I wouldn’t consider this the most serious book. This isn’t Lord of the Rings, but it is an amazing romp in the galaxy showing you all the crazy kids at the cantina while giving you the rules to play each of them in turn. Get this book, crank your Flash Gordon soundtrack, and find your next favorite character to play in the galaxy. 96%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Finders Keepers

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

Product- Finders Keepers System-Dungeons and Dragons 5th Ed. Producer- Janek Sielicki Price- $3.95 ** TL; DR**-The Great and the Mixed of the DMs Guild 93%

Basics-Need a 20th level adventure in a hurry? Here you go! Finders Keepers is a 20th level adventure set in the Forgotten Realms, but easily ported to any place. Players start in town, but soon enough a rampaging dragon attacks the land. Players then have to save the town, and perusing the dragons leads down a rabbit hole of dead gods, hidden powers, and words that can literally destroy the world!

Mechanics or Crunch-This book is fine, completely fine, but that's the one problem with the book the author can’t fix. The monsters are all directly from the Monster Manual, the items from the DMG, and traps come from there as well. That all works well, but if things are just exactly what you’ve seen before, it's a tad bland. But, the way the DMs Guild and the AL runs, writers can’t change that fact. That little bit hurts the book a bit, but honestly as constrained by the rules as this book is, the mechanics work. What's here is good and runs well, but I would like the author to do a bit more, even though I know he can’t. 4.25/5

Theme or Fluff- This is an awesome story! We get dead gods, demons, devils, entering alternative worlds, and a goal off saving everything. The author can’t write new mechanics, but he CAN write a crazy new story! I love what’s here! It might not be completely the most original as I’ve seen tiny bits of other things, but I’m happy to see all the pieces come back together in a great new way. 4.75/5

Execution- Hay, this book made me change my opinion of how books are put together. This is one guy at a computer putting out fantastic materials. There is art to break up text, there is the standard template to break up text, and there is formatting that works welo. What I have here that puts it over the top is hyperlinking to pages, maps that the GM can copy/past into any software, and a new art that is made just for this material and handouts. This caught me off guard. WHY ARE OTHER BOOKS NOT DOING THIS? This is a less than 100 page adventure, and honestly, it doesn’t need hyperlinking, but the addition makes my life a little bit easier. Also, not many groups make it to 20, so this book comes with pre-generated characters with and without items to make the plug and play that much easier for any group. More books need to do that, and adding this and other little parts makes me honestly love what’s here. 5/5

Summary- This is a fantastic adventure constrained slightly by the DMs Guild. The book itself is put together amazingly well! As I read more and more books on my tablets and phones, simple things like hyperlinking make my life that much more simple! The store is great. It’s got a few elements that you may have seen before but it's not a ripoff of any story, and it’s told well. The mechanics are the low point, but that’s a bit harsh. It’s far from bad in any way, but it’s limiting for the author as you can’t build new material as often. Overall, I found this to be a solid adventure that you can plug and play into any FR game with ease that is well put together. 93%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Psionics- The Next Stage in Human Evolution

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

Product- Psionics- The Next Stage in Human Evolution System-Dicepunk Producer-End Transmission Games Price- $20 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/151035/Psionics-The-Next-Stage-in-Human-Evolution?term=psionics++end+transmi?affiliate_id=239993 TL; DR-Angry teens with psychic powers-THE RPG! 88%

Basics-We all want to crush someone’s head with our mind-BUT NOW WE CAN! In Psionics, you play a person, most likely a teen, whose outsider status has fueled your transition to something greater. You’ve developed psychic powers that make you now stand out. However, now secret groups all over the world want you to study, to be a near god, to use as a weapon, or to just destroy as an act of faith. Let’s break down the absolute basics.

Base System- This system is called the Dicepunk System. The basics of the dice punk system is roll under sometimes, but not the standard system you expect. You have skills and attributes, and you want to roll under. Want to sneak somewhere? You roll 2 six-sided dice and try to roll under your Speed attribute (a value from 1 to 10) plus your Stealth skill (a +0, a +2, or +4 to the attribute). A natural 2 is always a success, and a natural 12 is always a failure. One of the saving graces of Dicepunk is EVERYTHING is a d6. Dice will never be hard to find.

Combat- Combat is an interesting mix. Instead of roll under or using a flat skill, initiative is two six-sided dice plus a mix of attributes. On a turn you can move, do an action, and do some free actions like yell something. Action range from attacking, doing other things, to using psychic powers. When you attack, instead of roll under, you roll two six-sided dice then add skills and try to beat a defense value. Beat or equal it, and you do the damage on the weapon. After you go, the next person goes, with each turn being 10 second of combat. First one to die-loses! Armor reduces damage, but you only have so much health. When it’s out, you’re down.

Psychic Powers-Alright here is the main attraction to a psychic game! This game uses Power Points for its magic which you spend to power your abilities. Bigger powers use more, and smaller powers use less. Psychic powers also have a cost to your health in the form of drain which causes half the amount of non-lethal damage as the power points spent. This can knock you out! Also fun is Overflow. Every time you use some psychic powers, you fill your overflow. When you completely fill it, you overload and unleash crazy psychic powers on the world and basically become a psychic hand grenade harming yourself and all others around you! Overflow also fills as you get angry. Remember you’re an angsty teen, so being angry is a big part of the deal! Powers basically work as an attack or with targets making an attribute check. If you throw a car at someone with your mind, you make an attack roll. If you throw a fire blast at some people, some of them may have to make a speed attribute check to see if they get hit by the secondary damage of the blast. Powers are divided into three groups based on colors with some subgroups. Blue is telekinesis, red if pyrokinesis, and green is psychokinesis. You can level up each individual group, and as you level them up you unlock more powers in each ability and the ability to take subgroups like mastering entropy, magnetism, or luck with pyrokinesis.

Ok, now the review!

Mechanics or Crunch-Overall, the system is strong, but it has a few issues. Dicepunk is a different beast. It works well, but I always have issues with dice systems where you sometimes roll up, sometimes roll under, and sometimes have a strange mix somewhere else. It’s not difficult, but it could take a bit to always make sure you’re doing the right thing. Things are balanced, so it fun and feels fair, but my own personal preferences do take away a bit of the fun. 4.25/5

Theme or Fluff- This is the high point of the book. You can tell the author really focused on bringing their world to light. It’s got secret societies, anger management issues that fuel powers, stories for character development, and art to make you see what they saw. The nature of emotion in the book is strong, and the really forms what the story of angry kids against the world. Some of the aspects of the story are a bit cliche, but that doesn’t hurt this product. 4.5/5

Execution-This book is put together pretty well. It’s laid out well,and finding what I need is pretty easy. That’s good. What I don’t like is the PDF isn’t hyperlinked, and it’s over 300 pages! That can make life a bit harder as you scroll through the entire book to find what you want. As for what’s in here, there are a lot of stories, which is good, but there may be a few too many for my taste in a RPG. Also, I’m not the biggest fan of the art. These are petty concerns though. Overall, this is a well-crafted RPG with no major issues in execution. 4.4/5

Summary-If I was going to run a psychic teen RPG, this is the system I’d use. It’s made well with lots of story starters and is easy to use. It’s got a few issues like why some things are roll under and roll above, but those are problems you can get past pretty quick once you get into it. The theme is on point, and overall the book has great execution. The best praise I can give this book is this-this system feels distinct from magic. Most psychic RPGs feel like it’s magic with people holding their heads. Here, Psionics make me feel like I have psychic powers. 88%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Homeward Bound- Simple rules for player-owned base

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

Product- Homeward Bound- Simple rules for player-owned base System-Dungeons and Dragons 5e Producer-Jan Sielicki Price- $3 here http://www.dmsguild.com/product/201016/Homeward-Bound--simple-rules-for-playerowned-base?affiliate_id=239993 TL; DR-Finally a use for money! 94%

Basics- You’ve killed the dragon, gotten it’s hoard, and now you just want to go back to the inn to drink? Savages! Time to get and build up your own house! Homeward Bound is a supplement focusing on maintaining a home in the adventure. Instead of just drinking in a bar, you can own land, quest to keep that piece of land safe, and drink in your own home! This book has options for the players and ideas for the DM.

Mechanics or Crunch-This book isn’t built to be a player option book, and that’s very important going forward. This book does have benefits to the player in the form of different things you can build which are nice and some of these even have levels of benefits depending on how much you build up. Those are all good additions to the players’ options in game. However, the major problems I had were the lack of player specific character options and the build your own manner option. Players can build things that give them a better start to the adventure, but there are not feats, spells, or player options that deal with their own manor. Also, players don’t have options to build their own manor out right. The typical ways to get a manor are find one or be gifted one. I’d like to forge my own. These don’t break the book by any means, but I’d like a bit more as a player. Something that might help is a character sheet for your house showing what you’ve added, the rooms that are there, and what bonuses you get from each. As a DM, I have enough from this book to do well with it in my game. 4.25/5

Theme or Fluff- This is a book of how to get and build a manor. Overall it doesn’t tell a story per se, but it gives you the theme of owning and building a house in DnD. The book does include a possible campaign for a DM to throw at the players, which is a nice touch. However, all the things in here have a good theme and description to them. It’s an entertaining read. 5/5

Execution-This book has got pictures, color, columns, art, tables, backgrounds, and story. Then why the 4.9? Size. This book has tiny font. On a tablet, it’s ok because I can zoom in. As a print out, it’s hell on the eyes. That said this is some of the best execution I’ve seen for a DnD 5e book yet. It’s organized well and even hyperlinked! Compared to some of the other stuff with just black text/white background/5 pages/5 bucks, this does raise the bar for the competition. Just be prepared to squint a bit. 4.9/5

Summary- I like what’s here. Here is the biggest part-this book picks up where the core DM’s Guild doesn’t go. You get a house/castle/tent anywhere, what do you do with it? This book gives you options. And the best thing this book does is give you options for what to do with money. Players are drowning in cash with not option for magic weapons as standard int he rules. Here, players get an awesome way to spend cash while building up a place to call home. Is this book perfect? No-I want larger text as I’m going blind, and I want player options. But here is the thing. This is a solo book done by one guy that’s as long as a Paizo player product, with pictures, and a mini-campaign, that costs less than the black and white standard adventures from the Adventure League. This book is not perfect, but book is what most of the DMs Guild need to aspire to be. 94%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Fantasy AGE Basic Rulebook Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea everyday!

Product- Fantasy AGE Basic Rulebook System- Adventure Game Engine Producer- Green Ronin Publishing Price- $16 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/153066/Fantasy-AGE-Basic-Rulebook TL; DR-A strong successor to Dragon AGE. 92%

Basics-The Dragon AGE has ended, but that doesn’t mean all the stories you wanted to tell in the AGE system have. Fantasy AGE is the basic rule book for the previous Adventure Gaming System(AGE) system that came out with Dragon Age RPG providing all the basics any generic Fantasy RPG could need. Let’s break this down piece by piece and see what I think of them individually.

Mechanics or Crunch- Game Basics- Fantasy AGE uses the same basic mechanics that Dragon AGE did; each player will roll 3d6 for an action, find the sum of the dice with some modifiers, and that will determine the outcome. Contested rolls work exactly the same with the higher sum winning the roll. This is a quick and easy way to have numeric diversity and an average in your dice rolls.

Stunts-One of the more interesting things with this system is stunts. WHen you roll your dice, two of the dice are one color and the third is a different color. If two of the dice have the same result, you get stunt points equal to the result on the differently colored die. These stunts have point values and will allow you to add extra flare and effects beyond hit a guy, cast the spell, or bluff the guard. Each type of action has it’s own stunt point chart that you can select icons to spend your points on with the more points spent, the stronger the effects. When I first read about this system, I was a bit put off, but then my math geek showed through. It’s easy to think that you won’t roll doubles often, but out of three six-sided dice, you roll doubles a little less than half of the time! Again, this is a fun addition to the standard "roll dice, hit guy, next person in initiative" we’re all used to.

Character Generation-Fantasy age characters make a few important choices and have to let some dice fall. When you make a character, you get to choose your race, background, class, and then you let the dice fall where they may! Lots of this system involves you randomly rolling for effects on your character. This results in your average character of a race having some average abilities and likely traits, but overall, I don’t like that part of character generation. While I’ve played older RPG editions, I prefer to let choice occur when you build your person. This system does downplay the negative aspects of low ability rolls, but I still prefer point buy. It’s an option, but most of the book tends to focus on rolling for your character.

Statistics:This game doesn’t have a ton of bonuses to your basic dice roll and that is great thing. Each person has a number of statistics being: accuracy ( weapon accuracy), communication (talking to people), constitution (body toughness), dexterity (agility and coordination), fighting (heavy weapon accuracy), intelligence (what you know), perception (situational awareness), strength (physical ability), willpower (mental resolve). You can generate these via point buy or just rolling 3d6 and hoping for the best, so your number will be between 3 and 18 white the modifier for your dice rolls roughly equal the modifiers most role players have from D&D. You can further focus in these abilities by getting ability focuses like Accuracy(Blades) where you add 2 to your dice results for all blades attacks. Thus, you will really only add two numbers to the three six-sided dice rolls. I do love any system that squashes power gaming at the start and builds in a mean and standard deviation for its die results!

Classes and Advancement-Much like the Dragon AGE RPG, there are only three core classes: mage, rogue, and warrior. These classes are much like you would expect. Mages cast spells, rogues are nimble and skillful, and warriors are heavy people-at-arms. Each level a character will get new options such as ability focus, talents (abilities in sequence like feat trees in DnD/Pathfinder), or class specific bonuses. The talents provide the bulk of the customization in the game. Every warrior has the same basic class abilities, but the warrior focusing on close combat and social interaction will be like that because of the talents he or she choose. You don’t get that many choices, but you do get a method to differentiate yourself from the press of other individuals out there.

Magic-Magic in this system is a point based system where players have a mana pool that is spent to cast a spell. Spells themselves come from the talents that players choose with each level of the talent providing more spells. It’s a simple system that reminds me of Final Fantasy and the Dragon Age video games. Not bad company to be in, but since you don’t get tons of different talents, you won’t have the abundance of spells you’re used to in different RPGs like Pathfinder.

Combat and Damage-Just like this games D20 cousens, combat flows in a turn based manner following every player rolling initiative. On your turn, you can do either two minor actions like moving or a minor and a major like attacking. Players and monsters have a defence rating that you attack just like any other skill in this game. If your attack roll equals the defense, you hit the enemy. Damage is done in this game based on the type of weapon you're wielding with armor reduces the damage that a character takes instead of providing a bonus to your chance to dodge the attack. This doesn't reinvent wheel, but why fix what isn't broken?

Summary-You can see the Dragon AGE in the Fantasy AGE. That’s not a bad thing as I liked the Dragon AGE RPG and the Dragon Age video games for speed and elegance of the systems. However, my major problem is that the character and players don’t have many options. Sure, it’s fun, but I’d like a bit more crunch to my characters. That said, it is a good, quick, and simple system that you can easily use in any fantasy setting. 4.5/5

Theme or Fluff- It’s always hard to judge generic RPGs for their fluff content. By their nature, there can’t be a significant amount of fluff in this book since any fantasy setting should be able to be played with in this system. But, the book does have nice art, good general fantasy additions, and all the standard fantasy pieces you will need for your toy box. Just don’t go in here expecting Tolkien as this book can’t have that level of detail and still be general enough for everybody. 4.5/5

Execution-This book reads relatively quickly and has a decent layout. I can quickly get through the book, find what I need and make a character in under 10 minutes. I’d like more pictures, and some extra tables to make scanning the book easier like in the talents section. I prefer to see something similar to how Pathfinder does summaries of feats before the full descriptions. The book even has a small bestiary with some monsters to throw at your players. It’s not large, but for the $15 I paid for the book, I’m pretty happy to see a complete system, game mastering guide, and monsters in one book. This book even comes with a small adventure, so you can jump into playing after you buy only this book. Overall, good book with a few minor problems keeping it from perfect. 4.75/5

Summary-Fantasy AGE is going to be an awesome RPG if Green Ronin can bring more out for it. Titengrave is coming out, and that will provide an awesome series of adventures and a setting for this game. That is what this book really misses-the fluff. The crunch is good. It might not be my all time favorite gaming system, but it’s well-designed, thought-out, and easy to use-all the things a quality RPG needs to be viable long term. I’d like more options, but that’s my old D&D 3.5 gamer heritage showing through. As for the book itself, it might not be my favorite layout, but it is a great way to present a games information. If you joined the Fantasy AGE for Titan Grave, you will not be disappointed! 92%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Savage Characters Volume One Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea everyday!

Product- Savage Characters Volume One System- Savage Worlds Producer- Dragonlaird Gaming Price- $5 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/137955/Savage-Characters-Volume-1?manufacturers_id=6270 TL; DR-An excellent book full of useful Savage Worlds characters. 95 %

Basics- Need some characters quick for your Savage Worlds game? Dragonlaird Gaming provides several characters for fantasy, horror, western, and sci-fi settings for the Dragonlaird Gaming Savage Worlds settings. Each character get's a full write up including a picture, a background, a character sheet, a novice character sheet, some character hooks for different character levels, and an advancement plan for the character. Some characters also get extra setting rules.

Mechanics or Crunch- The best comparison I have for this book is the NPC codex for Pathfinder, and honestly this is much better. Instead of providing several different characters at each level, this book provides less NPCs and gives you an easy way to drop each NPC into your game at any level. That makes this an easy to use resource for you game. Awesome. Even better, this book adds a few new traits for your characters to use. I didn't expect to find new character options in this book, so that's a present surprise! One bad thing about this book is, if you don't know all the Savage World rules, then the character write ups will not be as helpful. Every character has a great write up with all their traits, but if you don't know those traits off the top of your head, you're going to be spending some time going back and forth between this book and your other Savage World books. 4.8/5

Theme or Fluff-Each character gets a full right up with a background, description, pictures, and character hooks. I've got a picture to show the players, and I can jump into that character on the fly as a GM based on the character hooks and story provided. These are well done complete characters that can help me carry the stories in my games. 5/5

Execution- Overall, this is a well done book. I have a few minor problems with the execution of the PDF. I would like the book to be hyperlinked. Also, the art is good, but some are not as great as others. One more issue I have is I'd like a bit more discretion of the different worlds presented in the book. The character presented work well in any setting, but a bit more description of the worlds would possibly entice me to pay in those places a bit more. However, overall the book loads quick, looks great, and reads easily. 4.5/5

Summary- Need some well done characters quickly for your game? This is the resource you should consider getting. It reads quickly, is well designed, and has some great characters for your games. I do have a few minor qualms, but these problems don't hurt the overall presentation of the book. If you want to find out how to write a well done NPC book, this is the book to mimic. 95%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Calidar: In Strange Skies

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

Product- Calidar: In Strange Skies System- Pathfinder Producer- Calidar Publishing Price- $10 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/133973/Calidar-In-Stranger-Skies TL; DR- How about some Spelljammer in Pathfinder? 90%

Basics- Set sail for the first star on the right! Calidar is a setting for a universe focusing on flying sky ships that sail between planets with most of the focus on the world of Calidar. While the book goes small enough to detail the kingdom of Meryath on Calidar, the book also has enough universe detail to give any game master enough ideas for how to run the universe. Let's break this book down into its parts.

Mechanics or Crunch- This is not a crunch book, but it also doesn't want to be. Any book that starts with 45 pages of story to introduce the world via fiction wants you to get the world feeling first before even considering the mechanics of the system. For the majority of the crunch here, the system uses Pathfinder for its base mechanics. It does build where it needs to by adding some creatures that are specific to the world. The book does have new sky ships as well as maps for the setting as well. It's done reasonably well, but there isn't anything that really builds on Pathfinder's mechanics to make it its own. That's not horrible as building on established mechanics system is ok, but I would have liked a bit more to make Pathfinder its own. 4/5

Theme or Fluff- Hand's down, this is the best part of the book. The book begins with a fun 45 page story and spends most of its pages building a world for the players to play it. The fantasy isn't completely original with elements like orcs are evil and many common tropes, but that doesn't made it bad by any means. If you want Pathfinder Spelljammer, this is the setting for you. 5/5

Execution- This book does something different and uses three columns for its text. The text isn't bad, but the three columns don't really suit my reading and understanding style. The art here is well done as this is the first RPG book I've ever read where the air currents are laid out! That kind of attention to detail is impressive. Honestly, a little more art to break up some text and changing to the use of two columns, and I'd be much happier with the execution of this book. That and maybe a small adventure to help me as a game master get into the world a bit better. 4.25/5

Summary-If you want Spelljammer in Pathfinder, then this is the book for you. You will get the feeling of the old school with his book. This book has lots of details while still giving the writer room to build out into the different planets and still zoom into the micro scale of each city. It's a good book that really does build its own universe. It's got its faults as I would have liked to see some Calidar specific Pathfinder mechanics to really own the rules it runs on, and I would suggest a few changes to the layout to help me as a reader get into your text. That said, if you can get past a few minor faults and you want some planet sailing fun, then the best place is to start with a contributing author to Spelljammer back in the TSR days and this book. 90%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Baker Street

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

Product- Baker Street: Roleplaying in the world of Sherlock Holmes System- Baker Street Producer- Fearlight Games Price- $20 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/142228/Baker-Street-Roleplaying-in-the-world-of-Sherlock-Holmes?term=Baker+Street TL; DR- If you want to investigate some Victorian crime, you can't do better. 93%

Basics- Holmes is dead, but the world still needs heroes! In Baker Street, the players all take the roll of inspectors hired by Scotland Yard to help solve cases that would normally be throw to the late Sherlock Holmes. Are you on the case?

Mechanics or Crunch- This is its own complete system, so let's break this up. Base mechanic- This is completely a skill based system. You only have a handful of trained skills, and when you do an activity, you choose a skill and roll that many six-sided dice along with a Sherlock die. If you are not trained and you need a skill, you roll two six-sided dice. You succeed on a 4, 5, or 6. The Sherlock die will add some randomness to the other dice. The Sherlock die has a 1, 2, 3, Watson, Moriarty, or Sherlock face. The 1, 2, and 3 sides of the Sherlock die make the 1s, 2s, or 3s successes on the other dice. Watson gives you a free assist to help another player or an extra success. Moriarty makes all non-successful die faces count against the successes! The final face Sherlock, Sherlock himself, allows you to name a dice face number and those dice now count as successes. The last thing to mention is professional skills and specialties. When you use a professional skill (think a skill you have ranks in) any 6's you get on dice allow you to reroll the die for extra successes. This can continue until you don't roll a 6 again! Specialties allow you to gain two extra dice on a check because of your degree of training in a particular area. The whole system is quick and easy.

Combat-Combat happens, but this isn't the main push of the system. Sherlock fights some foes, but that's not the big pull of the books. However, this game does have some interesting twists to fighting. The basics of combat work just like any other skill. If I try to hit your character, you would roll you dodge skill, and I would roll my weapon or attack skill just like the base mechanics above. If your dodge roll has more successes than my attack, you didn't get hit. However, if I have more successes on the attack, I roll a weapon damage roll. This weapon damage roll works just like above, but I use a chart to determine how many dice I would roll for the attack instead of a skill. I still roll the Sherlock die however. The most interesting thing is combat is not done with initiative like any other RPG. It's done by naming another character or the game master. Players start, then after the first player goes, and he/she chooses who gets to go next. However, keep in mind if all the players go, and choose the bad guys run by the GM to go last in the round, the GM can choose to have the bad guys go again at the start of the next round almost taking two turns in a row! That's a simple turn order mechanic, but it does lead to some interesting thoughts and discussions around the table! It's also fun to see a novel way of managing combat in a RPG.

Investigation- Here's the real meat and potatoes of Sherlock Holmes! When players investigate a murder or a crime scene, they enter a new phase of the game to gain and eliminate clues through several sub-phases. First, players Observe the scene revealing clues. One player rolls the dice for their observe skill, but every other player can give that player half their dice pool rounded down for their observe skills. The number of successes reveals clue cards that the players can begin to investigate. Each clue has a description as well as three leads that may go deeper down the rabbit hole or throw them off the trail. After the Observation round, players then do a Reason round. One player rolls his/her reason skill and other players aid as above. This will eliminate a number of clues that are false or erroneous. Finally, players then enter the Deduction round. Just like the previous two phases, one player rolls deduction while the other players help. This phase gives players a number of times they can ask the GM about different leads on each card to ask if they are real or not. Some leads on a clue card are not useful at all, while some are the next area that they players must observe or interrogate to determine who did the dastardly dead.

Threat-Sometimes a player want to ask more questions to a NPC then there is time to do. Sometimes a player want so re-investigate a room. Sometimes a player just wants to ask the GM for an assist to find the best way forward. When that happens, the threat level of the investigation raises! This is a behind the GM screen level of general tension that can only hurt the players. When the threat level rises, some bad events may occur like thugs ambushing the players, making the Sherlock die's 1 phase not work, or just adding extra bad guys to the final fight. It's an addition to keep pushing the players forward in their quest to solve the crime while preventing them from spending days looking over the first room.

Characteristics-This game doesn't have feats like Pathfinder/DnD, but what it does have are characteristics. You start with two personal characteristics, two professional characteristics, and two negative characteristics. These characteristics not only give you roleplaying hooks, but when you invoke a professional or a good quality you get extra dice on that skill roll. The negative characteristics give the GM some story hooks in you as well!

Resolve-I love story candy for my players. Resolve is that currency in this game. It's used for several things from adding dice to a dice pool to preventing damage when you are hit with a weapon. Also, when a GM invokes a negative characteristic of your player, you can spend a point of resolve to avoid the flaw. If you don't have some resolve, then you follow your darker impulses and do something that most likely won't end well!

Summary- Overall, this is a good system, but it does some minor flaws that are flaws in how investigations are narrated in all stories. You know every day you sit at the gaming table that there will be an investigation scene, kind of like every episode of CSI will have an investigation scene. If you can't get past that or don't want that in your game, then this system might not be for you. The system of investigation means that pretty much every charter has to have some ranks in the three skills used to find and discard clues and leads. Now, that isn't too much fun to have some of your character planed before you get to play, but then again you are playing a criminal investigation game! The basics of the skill system and the ease of it use do work really well. It's quick, fun and easy to play this game, even if I'd like a bit more flexibility in the game overall. 4.5/5

Theme or Fluff- You want some classic Victorian crime novels? You got it! This game has some great world building describing in vivid details the different classes of servants the upper class has to the various different kind of criminals that stalked Whitechapel in the 1890's. Baker Street is set up to tell a Sherlock Holmes' story well, and it succeeds in spades! Even the provided adventure looks like it's printed on a newspaper from the time! 5/5

Execution- Overall, this book is really well set up, but there are some problems. The general character building and how to play are all done well. It reads quickly and has some good spacing, all of which are very important to me. The PDF is presented like an old book with some wear and tear, which does give some excellent flavor. However, the PDF isn't really hyperlinked well with the hyperlinks just listing all the pages. Also, the adventure that is presented has great flavor as it looks like an old newspaper, and I'm happy to see an adventure here to help me run my first game. However, the use of Victorian newspaper format makes it harder to really read and digest quickly. You can't really scan it to find what you need in a hurry as it isn't really spaced well. It's some minor complaints, but these small things did hurt my overall experience slightly. 4.5/5

Summary-This is a great way to run an investigative RPG, but the problems you might have are if you want an investigative RPG. This game solves the absolute hardest and worst problem to correct in a RPG investigation-are the players and GM out-thinking each other? Much like old school point-and-click adventure games, investigation in a RPG might stall out because neither side of the GM screen finds the train of logic from the other side. The investigation system here is top notch allowing for really deep stories to be told. However, my only real problem with this system is its build really well to do what it does. If you want to do something that the system isn't designed for like run a Sword and Sorcerery campaign on Mars, this isn't what you should use. Also, you need to want to play a criminal drama and build your character for that. Pathfinder/DnD will have this one beat for variety, but if you want some really well done Victorian sleuthing, then you can't do better than this out of the box! 93%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Insight RPG System Core Rulebook

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

Product- Insight RPG System Core Rulebook System- Insight RPG Producer- NEVR Price- $10 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/127515/Insight-RPG-System-Core-Rulebook?term=Insight+RPG TL; DR-An interesting, simple universal RPG system that's worth the intro price. 92 %

Basics- It's time for an every system RPG! The insight RPG system is a universal RPG system that uses a d10 based mechanic for all its rolls. Let's give this system a point by point break down.

Mechanics or Crunch- Like all good universal system RPGs this needs a few points for the mechanics. Let's break this up. Base mechanic- This system uses d10 for all its rolls. It's an attribute and skill point system that plays a bit like a combination between the Synthicide RPG I reviewed last time and 4th edition Legend of the Five Rings. Basically, you are six different stats that are similar to the standard D&D array most roleplaying gamers are comfortable with. This determines the number of dice you roll. Then, you have skill ranks that you use to determine your success range. If you are untrained and the skill is something simple like dodge (the basic don't-get-stabbed skill), then every dice you roll can only succeed on a 10. However, as you put points into the skill, the success range increases with two ranks meaning the success range is now a 8-10. If you roll a 1, it is a fumble and never good side effects can occur. So a person with four body control (think dexterity for D&D/Pathfinder) who is shooting a gun with four ranks in the skill will roll four dice and can succeed on a 7-10. Some skills are complex meaning they are a mixture of two skills. When that happens, on skill is instead added as a bonus to your dice pool instead of modifying the success range. It all works well and quickly after some adjustment.

Difficulty and Challenge rating-Insight builds on the base mechanic by adding two different side mechanics to the game. Difficulty modifies the success range in the opposite range of skill ranks. A difficulty 2 task with a character with four skill ranks would only succeed on a 9 or 10. Challenge is the number of successes needed for a task. Climbing an ice wall while being followed by a polar bear would be a challenge 3 task needing three success at whatever range and dice pool you have.

Combat-Like most RPGs, combat is a pretty central tenant of the game. What makes this game interesting is that two different mechanics are introduced for movement and range. One is a custom system that is a hybrid of theater of the mind miniature combat, while the other is a standard D&D/Pathfinder battle map mechanic. In the Insight system, players are different distances and these distances represent different areas of the map. A basics quick diagram of the combat would be a middle band of the combat area where melee combat happens with five different range bands extending on both sides of the melee middle ground. Both systems use an action point mechanics to determine how many actions you can do on your turn. Using a larger, heavy hitting weapon takes more action points to swing, while stabbing quickly with a small knife would be fewer points per attack. One final subject of combat is damage. Damage works by the attacker rolling his attack dice using the base mechanic of ability dice number and skill number determine success range while the defender rolls defense in exactly the same way with the defender subtracting successes from the attacker's success total. If the attacker still has successes after defense, the number of attacker successes remaining is multiplied by the weapons damage value and the defender subtracts his/her armor value from this damage. Damage also affects specific areas of the body as a random dice roll is used to determine hit location. Each location can only take so much damage before the character begins to take penalties to attacks, defense, and skill values.

Magic- Insight is a universal system set up to run your steampunk game to your high fantasy, future magic system. Magic is a complex skill with a separate pool of points a player spends to cast spells similar to magic points from the Final Fantasy games. It's also elemental based with different elements being separate skills and granting separate effects such as fire doing damage and spirit healing and summoning creatures. Like everything else, it's well presented with examples.

Summary-Overall, I liked this system. I do have a few problems with it. First and foremost is the way skill dice work. It's confusing to get a higher skill number but that lowers the acceptable dice values for a skill check. Now, if you can follow the basics and you play for over 30 minutes, you will be fine and completely understand how the game is played. But, it's a little new user unfriendly. I do like the addition of the two ways to set up combat. I don't think I'll use the Insight introduced distance system at my table, but it's a new, well designed system. In summary, Insight might not be a perfect system, but it's got things that I love like variable actions per turn with action points and successes determining damage. It's worth checking out if you get a chance. 4.25/5

Theme or Fluff- Full disclosure-I was not expecting any theme from the Insight RPG. Insight is a universal RPG, so most authors don't put the time in to make a world for the players to destroy. However, the last chapter of the book is a fantasy world to play in as well as an adventure. It might not be your favorite world, but this book does have a setting as well as a quick adventure. There is even a map of the place! Well done! 4.5/5

Execution- This book has my new favorite execution mechanic-icons for important subsections. The book understands that the system might not be as simple as say Pathfinder/D&D to get on your first read through. However, the writers just put an icon next to an example to grab the reader's eye. The book also does this for important rules, notes, and optional sections. It speeds up your reading and rereading when you can glance over a page and get the rules you need right away. Also, the book does a simple introduction before the first chapter. You get the game rules as an intro before the book even starts, and as a person who reads lots of RPGs, that really helps me know what I'm getting into. And, it's a great reference for advanced players who need a quick start. There is even art from several different RPG styles and the world in the last chapter has a map that I never expected to see. From something I always complain about, the book has well done spacing, layout, tables, and font again making this a pleasure to read. 5/5

Summary- This is a well done system that has more in it than I expected going in. The system is pretty simple if you are accustomed to RPGs. If you are not, then the skill system might be a bit much for some intro players. That's the only negative thing I can really say. It's got a story to it that I didn't expect to read, and the execution of the book makes it fun to read. Honestly the only thing I want from this RPG is more. And, NEVR has several extra PDF available to build on your favorite aspects of the system. You don't get the custom, out of the box fit for a specific setting you would if you get a system specific RPG, but with a little work this RPG could easily be the campaign setting/system you've been searching for. 92%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Liber Arcanum

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

Product- Liber Arcanum
System- Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG Producer- Cognition Pressworks Price- PDF ~$10 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/139777/Liber-Arcanum TL; DR- More wizard options than you can shake a wand at. 90%

Basics- Behold the Book of Secrets! Liber Arcanum contains new wizard and elf player options for DCCRPG. This book contains the expected new spells but also has patrons, new subclasses of wizard, magic items, and more.

Mechanics or Crunch- Here is where the book shines. I love DCCRPG, and play it every other week. But, Goodman Games doesn't make many player options. This book is an excellent addition to any player wizard. It's got an impressive amount of spells as well as new patrons that come fully fleshed out. Every spell get's several pages describing it in detail as well as giving all kinds of interesting flavor. It's an easy drop into any DCCPRG game. 5/5

Theme or Fluff- Theme is another home run for this product. I'd expect, in book of spells and patrons, spells and patrons, but the book goes a little further by adding little story bits as well as art to draw you in. The arts not perfect, but it does a great job of telling a story. Furthermore, the book even has a cosmology. That is way more than I expected from a simple spell splat book. 5/5

Execution- Of the areas I review RPG products on, this is the one area where this product struggles. Some white space would really help this product. The first chapter adds lots of content, but it's pretty text dense. A few tables and some more art would have really helped break that up. On the subject of art, this product's are is ok. It's not bad, but it's not as good as the core DCCRPG book. That can take away a bit from the text, but overall, I'm just happy to see some art here. A little more space, some organization changes, and some art touchups would help this product make it over the top. 3.5/5

Summary- It's always good to read some more DCCRPG. Strange fantasy is always a crowd pleaser, as is this book. It's a massive 300 pages with lots of content ranging from the expected spells to the unexpected planer diagrams. That's pretty impressive from a third party publisher. However, it's not without its faults. The art is a bit off in places and the font size and spacing could use a bit of work. However, that doesn't detract from the awesome content in this one. A well done tome that should be found in any wizard's library. 90%