Review: Swordsfall Summit of Kings

Disclaimer: This is not a paid review. I did not receive a free copy for a review.

If you aren't aware of what Swordsfall is, you really owe it to yourself to check it out. Brandon Dixon, the creator, has done an amazing job of fleshing out one hell of a world. On top of his World Anvil page, he has books on amazon, graphic novels in production, and a whole ton of incredibly sweet merch out there to promote his world and the people who are helping him bring his world and his products to life.

Swordsfall is much more than a Role Playing Game franchise. Brandon clearly has plans for it to be a multi-media juggernaut, and considering his tenacity and how prolific he is, I think it is only a matter of time before he achieves that. That said, he did release the Summit of Kings: Battle for the Supreme Jalen a love letter to rap and a preview of what the Swordsfall RPG will look like.

Strongholds & Followers - To Consider Before You Buy

On Friday I gave my first impressions of Matt Coleville's Strongholds and Followers. Over the weekend and the past few days I've had more time with the book. Today I want to give a sort of semi-review. My purpose here is not to give a full critique of the writing and its worth, but rather to point out the things I think it does well, and the things I wish they'd put more work into or given more consideration to. This will come out as a list of the Good and the Bad. I'll explain what I mean with each one. With luck, if you're on the fence on buying this book, it should help you figure out if you want to or not.

Edge of the Empire - Initial Impressions

I've talked before about the new Star Wars RPG from Fantasy Flight Games. I pre-ordered a copy when I had the chance, and it has been sitting on my table for the past week or so waiting for me to have the time to flip through it. With the group I play Edge of the Empire with gearing up to reconvene and adapt to the release version of the game I figured it was past time I started looking. Because of that, today I want to share my initial thoughts on the book. Some of these thoughts may be repeats of thoughts I had on beta documentation, but I'm going to try to focus on the release version.

First Impressions: Edge of the Empire - Beginner's Box

On Sunday a friend of mine stopped by with the beginner's box for the new Star Wars RPG, Edge of the Empire. As we had nothing better to do, and we all rather love gaming, we decided to give it a shot. Exactly as the friend had planned. It didnt take long for the three of us (there is supposed to be 4 I believe) to grab the character folders, figure out who we were from the stories on the back, and for the GM to begin with the game's introduction. Going in I knew I'd have a good time. Star Wars is, after all, my favorite universe and I've loved it since I was a kid. Still, Ill try to be as objective as possible with my first impressions here.

Sex and Violence. Re: Sexcraft by John Wick

Warning: The following post includes a mature discussion of Sex. Do not read further if discussing Sex in a civilized manner is likely to make you feel awkward or offended.

I've made no secret of the fact that I am a fan of John Wick's game design. Sure, I have some issues with some of his view points, but he also usually addresses that. He makes games for him and his group, I make games for me and my group, and as similar as they may be in some aspects, they're also very different in others. C'est la vie, and all that stuff. However, in reading one of his newer games  - namely Sexcraft: A Little Game With A Lot of Sex - he brings up one of the interesting aspects of our culture, and not just our gaming culture. I want to talk about that today.

Enter The Flux

What if the world died yesterday? 
What if the world died yesterday and was completely reborn? 
What if the world died yesterday and was completely reborn and you were the only one who noticed? 
And what if you could pull skills and abilities and even powers from the old world and use them in this new world?
~John Wick


This is the opening little blurb for John Wick's meta-game "The Flux". Last Friday, in my usual L5R table top game I decided I would spring it on my players and see what happened. I figured that if they didn't like it, it was easy enough to explain the one session lapse by a trip into Yume-Do (the realm of dreams) and just pretend it never happened. Luckily, things went better than that. So, I figured I'd post what I learned for doing this.

BADASS is Badass

You'll have to forgive me today, as I squee in delight, but I figure that I owe it to my loyal readers who may not know, to point out that there is a free, short, easily learned RPG system out there that you should definitely give a try to. The game? BADASS, by the author of the ever-awesome blog "Life of a Philippine Gamer". So, why is BADASS so badass? Well, read on and I'll tell you.

Review: Jason Richards's Complete Characters

I've talked about Jason Richards and the amazing things he's been doing over at Jason Richards Can Not Be Trusted before. However, today I want to take a more critical look at what he's been doing, because he has taken that ever important step from giving away his work, to charging for it. So, for those not in the know, and too lazy to click on the links above, what is he up to? Quite simply, he is making - and selling - Complete Characters. Just what is a complete character you ask? Well, read on to find out. But, before we begin, for those of you just wanting to know the final verdict, it is below.

Just the Review: Pass, I highly recommend you try at least one of these. They're chock full of RP goodness.

Review: Deathwatch

So, when I gave my initial thoughts on Deathwatch, a couple people expressed interest in a full on review for the book. So, here we go with a full review of Deathwatch after a couple weeks of looking through it, and spending some time on the forums for the game to see where other people are with it as well. So, read on for the Official Reality Refracted review of Deathwatch.

Just the Numbers
Presentation: 8.5/10
Layout: 9.0/10
Rules: 8.0/10
Character Creation: 9.0/10
Provided Material: 9.5/10
Final Score: 88/100 (B+)

For The Emperor! - Thoughts on Deathwatch (Not a full review)

So, in case you didn't know, I'm something of a science fiction fan. I love it, and I wish there were more games about it. Which is impressive when you consider just how many sci-fi RPGs are out there if you go looking. In that regards, when a housemate picked up Dark Heresy, the first of the Warhammer 40k RPGs in the new run by Fantasy Flight games I was intrigued. Rogue Trader than came out, and now, most recently, Deathwatch (Not Death Watch as I keep wanting to enter!) has hit store shelves in game stores everywhere. Now, Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader are interesting games in their own right, but they are still very traditional RPGs. You make your character, pick from a variety of classes, and in general have a whole ton of freedom of choice in who, what, and how you play. Deathwatch on the other hand does not have this. You play a Space Marine, with all that comes with it. So what does that mean? Well, Read on and find out.

Review: The Esoterrorists

So, while reading the Open Game Table volume 2 (you can find my thoughts on it here) I came across an interview with Robin D. Laws of - among other things - Robin's Laws of Good GMing fame. The interview was talking about a game system that Robin had put out called Gumshoe. I remembered hearing mention of gumshoe on Robin's live journal a few times, but I'd honestly never given it much thought. Curious though, I read the interview to get what seemed to be a rave review of an investigation type RPG. Curious, and very interested in seeing different takes on mystery type RPGs, I found and bought a copy of the Esoterrorists. I've been reading it slowly (emphasis on slow, this is a thin book and I've had it for two+ weeks already), and have to say it is a good little system. Not without its flaws, but a good little system none the less. So, read on for a bigger break down and review of the Gumshoe system, as found in The Esoterrorists, by Robin D. Laws.

Just The Numbers
Presentation: 8.5/10
Layout: 8.5/10
Rules: 9/10
Character Creation: 9/10
Provided Material: 9.5/10
Final: 89/100 (B+)

Review: Open Game Table Volume 2

So, over the summer someone was posting around looking for reviews of their work. Wanting something to do, especially if it gave me more to do here, I volunteered. Lo and behold, said work was the Open Gaming Table volume 2, which arrived yesterday and I have spent a good chunk of time since flipping through and reading the various articles found inside. Now, this review is going to be a bit different. It's not a game system after all, so scoring it doesn't seem right. Instead I'm going to use a simple Pass/Fail mechanic for the over-all nature of the book. If it passes, I'll be recommending it to you all, as the material in is good enough to warrant a look through in my opinion. If it doesn't, I won't be. So, lets go and see how it does.

Just the Review: Pass, I recommend you look through this when/if you get a chance.

Quick Fix: About the Reviews

I just wanted to point some things out really quickly about the reviews, to help people get an idea for how they work.

Don't Expect Many 10s or 100s, If Any
So, first off, a 10 to me is a very big deal. It means that there is no way conceivable that something could be done better. Everything is perfect, it covers all bases while bringing new things no one else ever has to the table. Perfection to me is something unattainable, and the closer something gets to it the harder it was for me to find something wrong. Even a book that I feel, in general, is more beautiful could get a lower rating on Art or Layout due to smaller mistakes overall. I'll point that out in the review of course, but I just wanted to point out that I don't see myself giving out any perfects.

What I Mean By Confusing Rules
So, in the Icons rules I mentioned that Combat gets confusing, but I wasn't very clear on what I meant. Now, all RPGs get confusing around combat, it is where things get complex and particularly weird. However, when I say the rules are confusing I mean that there is enough deviation from the core mechanics that play will stop if the GM doesn't know what that means. For comparison.

In L5R combat is straight forward, there are options, but you stick with the core mechanic of Trait + Skill Keep Skill is your roll. You roll against a Target Number, and you can call raises to make it harder for more effect. This translates over to combat, with raises being how options work. If you hit, you then do damage, and if you run out of damage you can take you die. If the GM forgets the exact rules for how a disarm works, they can wing it, because the core mechanic is heavily present. "Call X raises and I'll let you do it". Sure, you break from the game, but it works.

Now, in games like Mutants and Masterminds and ICONS you have a different problem. If you get a certain level of success in ICONS you can do something called a Slam. Well what is that? It means you knocked them into the next range increment. Awesome. Only, if you don't know that you then need to stop and look it up. There are other effects like this in ICONS, Mutants and Masterminds, and numerous other systems. They work, they're awesome, and I like them. But, they also break from the core mechanic and make things complex, and confusing. There is a risk of slowing down play for it, because the GM has less freedom to just wing it.

That is what I mean by 'confusing' rules.


That's it.
that is all I wanted to say. If something else in the review, or any review, confuses you be sure to ask. Either in the review, or right here.

Review - ICONS: Superpowered Roleplaying

I mentioned before that I wanted to try my hand at reviewing, perhaps establish some 'cred' before trying for 'press' badges if I ever manage to get going to cons. Besides, it'll give people a reason to rip into me if I ever get M.A/C.C into stores. My intention here is to be honest and objective. The first few reviews I do may be a bit 'wonky' as I get a feel for where my scale is going to be, which is partially why I chose a good one for my first game. If nothing else, it will hopefully set a base line for what is going on. Anyhow, without further ado, here is the "Official Reality Refracted Review" of...ICONS: Superpowered Roleplaying.