Preview The Ultimate Adequate Commoner on Kickstarter Now

 Featured, Pathfinder, RPG's  Comments Off on Preview The Ultimate Adequate Commoner on Kickstarter Now
Sep 252014
 

I just finished reading the meat of The Ultimate Adequate Commoner. Well, the preview copy that is.  I must say I’m a bit surprised, it has a lot of information in it that  supports everything you will need as a player to be ordinary – except one thing and we will get to that at the very end.

The Adequate Commoner starts out by asking you the question about the why you might want to play a commoner.  Which is the perfect place to start. Many players will just look at it say why and never think about an application of ordinary.  For most of us the goal is to play a hero right? Well don’t you know many of heroes are ordinary, or they were at the start of the story.

After defending the commoner as a class J.W. moves into what I would refer to as archetypes.  Sharing with you a few common themes in literature and gaming, like a peasant that enjoys melee, and my personal favorite the peasants that rebel or ninjas.  Not ninjas like Hollywood glamorizes, but the original ninjas.  The ones that learned to hide because they didn’t know how to fight and guerrilla warfare was their only method.  He also includes with each of these descriptions concepts on for a GM to consider when  balancing the class for the player.  In other words ne is encouraging the GM to help polish the otherwise scuffed commoner.  Which is something I think a good GM does anyway.

The class in and of itself  is well developed and appears to be balanced in structure – ordinary remember. The class only gets 2 weapon inefficiencies, but they get a job. Something I argue with friends about all the time.  Adventurers need to get paid too!

There is a lot of information in the book about gear, magic, alchemy and he even covers the aspect of an all commoner party, but if I tell you everything you won’t buy it. So what was that one thing?

This book will give an excellent frame to build an ordinary character. The kind that gets off the school bus starts to walk down the driveway and sees an orc horde charging the house.  What does that common person do?  Run, freeze in fright, or charge to help their family? I know my answer.  That one thing is the personality of the character.

This book will bring you to that point where an ordinary person is prepared to face that defining moment.  A moment that shapes the personality of a character.  This book will help players go beyond playing a mere role and step forward into playing a character.

Box Breaking 141 Panther AUSF. A for Bolt Action

 Bolt Action, Bolt Action, Box Breaking, Featured, Warlord Games  Comments Off on Box Breaking 141 Panther AUSF. A for Bolt Action
Sep 232014
 

Examine the new Panther AUSF.A medium tank for the German army in the WWII historical miniatures game Bolt Action from Warlord Games.  Historically the Panther was created by the Germans to solve the problem of the surprisingly superior heavy and medium tanks of the Russian army.  The Panther was fast, well armored, and packed some serious fire power for a tank of its size.

 

 

Stop back soon to see us assemble it.

Box Breaking 139 Robotech RPG Tactics

 Box Breaking, Featured, Palladium Books, Robotech RPG tactics  Comments Off on Box Breaking 139 Robotech RPG Tactics
Sep 232014
 

In this Box Breaking Matt Takes a look at Robotech Tactics from Palladium.   This box set contains everything 2 players need to play the game; Rulebook, 15 Veritech’s 2 Tomahawks, 2 Defenders 12 Battlepods template, dice and more.

 

 

I’m super stoked about this game.

Sep 222014
 

Watch as Matt takes a serious look at the high seas of the Pathfinder Adventure card game.   Skulls and Shackles is a complet Card game that allows you to focus on high seas adventure.

 

 

If you are familiar with the PACG then you already know that this is a great game.

Box Breaking 137 World War II Battle For Moscow 1941

 Board Games, Box Breaking, Featured, Zvezda  Comments Off on Box Breaking 137 World War II Battle For Moscow 1941
Sep 222014
 

Watch as Matt Takes a look at the Battle For Moscow 1941 from Zvezda Games.   Battle for Moscow is a historical miniature game that is fast and easy to learn.

 

 

 

Stop back soon for the how to play videos.

Flip Through D&D Next Monster Manual

 D&D, Featured, Wizards of the Coast  Comments Off on Flip Through D&D Next Monster Manual
Sep 182014
 

DnD_MonsterManualMatt discusses the finer points of the Monster Manual.  Like what does it mean to be a monster?  The book has some great ideas on dwellings, like an asylum in the underdark.  We also talk about the introduction of legendary  creatures.  Plus Matt shares a little bit of the Tarrasque.

 

I’m pleased with the new Monster Manual, especially if it is a hint of where the game is going,

 Posted by at 7:45 PM

Valiant RPG Rules Review

 Catalyst Game Labs, Featured, RPG's, Valiant  Comments Off on Valiant RPG Rules Review
Sep 182014
 

The Full book is about 200 pages. Nearly two thirds of the book is about the Valiant universe, its characters and some adventures. That means the meat of the rules are contained in about fifty pages. This sets the stage for a rich setting, great roleplaying and light rules.

I’m a big fan of this book. The art alone makes it worth the purchase. You find great valiant art on nearly every page. If you’re new to the valiant universe, like me, You will find this book to be a tome of vast knowledge. It was way too easy for me to become immersed in the fluff – not something I normally do.

I have already reviewed the QSR, but if you haven’t read that here is what I think you should know. Valiant is a storytelling game. The players each take turns narrating a chapter. They must combine their efforts to play through the challenges while attempting to overcome the obstacles thrown at you from by the lead narrator (ln) – who is also playing a character.

As you might expect you will face challenges that will require you to pass a test or two along the way. In order to make such a check you roll a d12 plus the appropriate stat die vs d20 plus some modifiers. The higher number wins. Luck is the wild card and it always remains a static number. When the die roll plus the static number match luck it’s a crit!. The other cool part about this is that the stats are represented by dice.

Which brings us to character creation. It is a pretty fast and smooth process, I made my first character in 20 minutes and my second in about 15. Creation uses nine steps one of which is assigning power dice and picking powers. This system is fast and easy. It’s so easy I think Valiant could be a great gateway game for a college dorm.

I have played a few time now and I find that the system flows smoothly, with very few hiccups. I was really surprised at that the narration works. It seems that there is never a dull moment in this universe, largely because each narrator is trying to out do the other. With all that said, I’m concerned for theValiant RPG – it might just be too much fun.

 

You can find a copy at DriveThruRPG or visit Catalyst to learn more

Box Breaking 132 Myth Wave 2 from Megacon Games

 Board Games, Box Breaking, Featured, MERCS, Myth  Comments Off on Box Breaking 132 Myth Wave 2 from Megacon Games
Sep 152014
 

Hey Guys look at what I have.   I picked up my second wave of myth at Gen Con.  This game only gets better.   So far I’m very happy with everything I’ve received for Myth.

 

 

We will be starting our tutorials on Myth very soon.   Come back and check it out.

1919 Kickstarter Preview for Black Monk

 Black Monk, Card Games, Featured, Kickstarter  Comments Off on 1919 Kickstarter Preview for Black Monk
Sep 152014
 

At Gen Con I met the crew from Black Monk and they Asked me to do a preview for their new game 1919 the Noble Experiment.     It’s  a card game where two to four players race to distill whisky, bottle it, and deliver it to the local bars and pubs.

Here is the Box Breaking.

 


Here we discuss the different card components that the game uses.

 

 

 

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