Catalyst At Gen Con 2015

Jul 282015

Catalyst At Gen Con 2015

Catalyst Game Labs will be at Gen Con 2014 in force! We’ve got a slew of great gaming and games to check out at booths 417, 413, 509, 617.

THE SHADOWRUN RPG EXPERIENCE

Once more the fantastic Shadowrun RPG Experience returns!

Dive into gaming in the Sixth World like never before as players step into the infamous Dante’s Inferno club in Seattle’s Sprawl. An 8-foot tall, 30-foot long banner creates an immersive 11 foot diameter room were you can learn Shadowrun, Fifth Edition and run the mean streets in the shadows of the megacorps.

Runs must be made by appointment only with our exclusive Dante’s Inferno concierge.

SHADOWRUN: CROSSFIRE

“I know I sound like I’m talking about a roleplaying game, and it’s not. But it lends itself well to telling a good story.” – Zee Garcia, The Dice Tower

If you’ve not played Crossfire, stop on by to give it a try!

Shadowrun: Crossfire is a deck-building game crossing cyperpunk with fantasy and plunging players into a world dominated by ruthless megacorporations; Crossfire gives players the chance to dive into the world’s shadows to see if they can survive. They’ll have weapons, spells, contacts, and gear to help them out, and they’re going to need those resources. If they play their cards right, they’ll do more than survive—they’ll become legends.

SHADOWRUN: CROSSFIRE HARLEQUIN PARTY II

You think you know the Shadows? You believe you’ve paid the right price to be a Shadowrunner? Think again chummer! Shadowrun: Crossfire will take you down a new path of mysteries and danger. Harlequin has some big plans for the small group of runners who are willing to risk their very souls to beat the objectives. Invitations to Harlequin’s little soiree are hard to come by.

Come on down to the Indianapolis Convention Center, Rooms 120-122 on Saturday, 1 August at 2200 if you dare to take part in the Shadowrun: Crossfire release event. Crossfire designers Rob Heinsoo, Rob Watkins, and Jay Schneider will be running this event!

BATTLETECH NOVELS

BattleTech fiction has always been its greatest strength, with well over a hundred novels publishing across twenty years. Nothing brings the epic stories, heroic characters and desperate battlefield action to life better than novels. It’s been long years since new print novels saw publication for this seminal universe. Now, a new era is opening for BattleTech as the first, all new, full-length novel reaches print at Gen Con. Stop on by and grab a copy of Embers of Wars and slide back into the heavy metal action of the 31st century!

Oh, and we just might have a sample miniature to show off what we’re planning for the future!

THE DUKEDOM

“…this is one of the best abstract strategy games I have ever played.” -Tom Vasel, The Dice Tower

We’ve brought it back again! Come play a larger-than-life version of The Duke with 18 inch tiles on a 10 foot x 10 foot board! Or sit down at one of several The Duke tables and give this fantastic tile-laying game a full try.

The game is also back in stock after a 6 month hiatus…grab your copy while you’re there!

OTHER NEW GAMES

We’ve got some fantastic new games coming your way.

VALIANT UNIVERSE RPG
“Basically, this game hits all the right spots it needed to. It encourages you to play all the main characters from the comic books in the Valiant Universe, and gives you no holds barred access to the Valiant universe.” Aaron Richardson (All Us Geeks, Guest Review)

The Valiant Universe RPG was released last year, with its companion Digital Initiative up for some awards!. Stop on by and play a game!

ENCOUNTERS: BRAVEST WARRIORS

We pre-released Encounters: Bravest Warriors last year, but the full release is now available. And each deck now includes 1 unique CatBug die! Additionally, the fantastic folks at WeLoveFine have given us several CatBug Pounce Vinyl Figures to give away! Just stop by the booth, play the wonderfully fun and fast Encounters: Bravest Warriors or purchase a deck, and you’ll be entered into a drawing each evening at 5:30 PM to win a free one! (You must be present to win and no tickets carry over from one day to the next.)

JARL: THE VIKINGS TILE-LAYING GAME

In the long winters between raiding seasons, warriors keep their intellect sharp through games of wits and chance. Ragnar, Rollo, Floki and even the Earl challenge each other to this game of stone placement filled with tactics and subtle maneuvering for victory.

The first of our games based upon History Channel’s hit TV show, Vikings, will be available. Powered by The Duke, the Jarl: The Vikings Tile-laying Game brings all the brilliant game play in The Duke to a new stand-alone game with all new tiles and a few new movement icons.

WRATH OF DRAGONS

Take on the mantle of a most powerful dragon. Awaken each century, terrifying and rapacious. Lay waste to settlements and cities. Burn crops… Consume flocks… Hoard treasure…

And pass into legend as the greatest dragon of any age!

We’ve got an early release for our new, unique ‘Resource Destruction’ game in Wrath of Dragons. Come play a dragon as it pillages and plunders across the landscape, stealing gold, livestock, nobles and crushing human’s that dare raise settlements in your lands. Whoever hoards the most after six centuries wins!

Matt Speaks RPG 6 the Role of Character 5 Alignment

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Jan 152015

In this episode of Matt Speaks RPG I continue down the yellow brick road of character creation as we discuss alignment. I present the two common mind frames of alignment while sharing with you some of my personal experiences.

Next week we will move into defining your characters personality that is if you don’t want to move through all of the traditional alignments.

I will get the written articles up before next week or I won’t post the next video.

Matt Speaks RPG 5 The Role of Character 4 Bastard Races

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Jan 092015

In this episode Matt speaks on the topic of “bastards”. In role-playing this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It doesn’t mean you’re an illegitimate child or a bad person, instead it means you ae an individual who doesn’t fit in because of race or some other factor. T his conversation includes half elves, half orcs, and everything els (those weird races that can be awkward to play).

I had a lot of fun with this. I have totally put a new spin on creating characters that are just odd. I hope it does the same for you.

The Role of Character Part 1

Articles about better playing, D&D, Doctor Who, Featured, Kromore, Paizo Publishing, Palladium Books, Pathfinder, Rifts, Savage Worlds, Shadowrun, Silvervine Game System, Star Wars, Valiant, Wizards of the Coast Comments Off

Dec 112014

The Role of Character

What does it mean to have character? If you are like most players you will start defining your path by picking your race and rolling some stats. Then you pick a class and maybe an alignment, and then you gear up for adventure. For many that’s all there is to creating a character, but for what I believe to be a much more exciting experience, personality needs to be bred into the character. I don’t mean a superficial background that is created by a few random rolls; I mean one that gives a certain amount of depth to one’s personality thus influencing thought patterns. Creating a character like that is a challenge that introduces ethical challenges that go beyond an alignment or dispositions established by a particular game system.

Valiant RPG Rules Review

Catalyst Game Labs, Featured, RPG's, Valiant Comments Off

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

Valiant RPG QSR Rules Review

THE STRANGE Player’s Guide

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Aug 092014

THE STRANGE Player’s Guide

$19.99 SRP

This will be a 96-page softcover book that will give a brief introduction to the setting and provide information needed for character creation. GMs can give this to their players to introduce them to the game. It’s also really handy at character creation time, or any time it’s useful to have another copy of the most important rules at your gaming table.

Mutants and Masterminds: Gadget Guides Sourcebook From Green Ronin

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May 122014

Mutants and Masterminds: Gadget Guides Sourcebook

$29.95 SRP

Gadget Guides is a collection of diverse devices for the Mutants & Masterminds Superhero Roleplaying Game, from armor and weapons to psychic crystals and steamtech. Each section of the book looks at a particular type of gadget, putting together the effects and modifiers from the Hero’s Handbook to create a catalog of ready-to-use items.

It also includes expanded material on the inventing, artificing, and ritual rules from the M&M Hero’s Handbook. What Power Profiles did for super-powers, Gadget Guides does for gear, making it a great character creation and in-play resource for both players and Gamemasters.

136 pages, full color, softback

Author: Steve Kenson

PDF available now at DriveThruRPG.

Shadowrun: Stolen Souls

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Aug 102013

Shadowrun: Stolen Souls

$44.99 SRP

SDI

Legendary hacker FastJack has left JackPoint, the victim of a condition that divided his mind against itself. Across the Sixth World, people’s minds are in schism, with new personalities emerging at unpredictable times. Chaos is growing, and corps frantically maneuver for information, stealing data and employees from each other at a rapid pace.

Stolen Souls helps players and GMs understand what’s happening while providing adventure hooks along with techniques and gear to help runners become aces at extraction jobs. Dig deeper into this new mystery that has torn through the Sixth World and discover just how deep the conspiracies and cover-ups go.

Shadowrun 5th ed Review

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Aug 052013

Shadowrun (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So the gang at Catalyst has redesigned Shadowrun and released 5^th edition. We managed to get our hands on a PDF copy to look at. But before we get into this review I have to let you know that this is a re-visitation for me of the Shadowrun world. I haven’t played SR since about 1986. I have dabbled with a little bit of the fiction here and there, and I even picked up an almanac or two for reference material. With that being said I asked the powers that be (Jason Hardy) a lot of questions about the changes. I even purchased the 4^th ed book as reference material. So you’re going to get the impression of an individual who took a crash course on the two game systems. It’s my hope that you can see how simple the system is.

With all of the above taken into consideration let’s dive right in. The very first thing I noticed was that the table of contents is huge – five pages. Before going any further I jumped right to the back of the book to see if there was an index; my favorite tool in most gaming books. Along the way I discovered an intricate bookmark system built into the PDF. Needless to say I found the layout of the book to be impeccable. The book is riddled with tables that make it easier to use. Did I mention this book is huge!

The art is not quite what I expected. Don’t get me wrong it tells the visual story of Shadowrun very well. I was just expecting something a little darker. I will admit I want prints of every night city scape they have in the book. There is something very alluring about the light pollution.

New D&D Encounters season starts this week

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Oct 262012

This week marked the start of the newest D&D Encounters season, War of Everlasting Darkness, at participating Wizards Play Network stores across the country! Running through December 19, War of Everlasting Darkness is the final D&D Encounters season in the Rise of the Underdark storyline, and it’s sure to be epic!

Deep in the darkness of the Demonweb Pits, Lolth has been spinning a web of deceit, treachery and ambition, but the time has come to fight back against her Darkening! Her goal – to seize control of arcane magic, a domain that has lain vacant since the death of Mystra a hundred years ago, and turn the surface world into eternal darkness. Under the advantage of her Darkening, Lolth’s servitors hope to help complete her ascendancy to her new role as Goddess of Magic. Can Lolth be stopped?

This season, there are three new features as the finale plays itself out:

1 2

THE SHADOWRUN RPG EXPERIENCE

SHADOWRUN: CROSSFIRE

SHADOWRUN: CROSSFIRE HARLEQUIN PARTY II

BATTLETECH NOVELS

THE DUKEDOM

OTHER NEW GAMES

The Role of Character

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