Category Archives: review

RPG I Love You: Cold Shadows

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WILL RAMBLES

Hey folks! It’s been a while. I’ve been avoiding writing “reviews” since I officially joined the indie publisher club. This is not an RPG Review (although I’ve had one queued up for Cold Shadows for a while). I’m doing a new thing I’ll call an RPG I Love You where I’ll point out games I love and the reasons I love them. Honestly, I’ve never reviewed an RPG I actively dislike… it’s not really how I roll. Maybe there’ll be some mention about the things I DON’T love in an RPG I Love You, but that’s not the focus. Oh, and one more thing, the rating system I’ve done in the past is gone. Kaput. Finito.

Now that we’re done with the meta stuff, let’s see if I can still do this…

Cold Shadows is one of the games whose Kickstarter ran while Gallant Knight Games was an imprint of Nocturnal Media. Sadly, the death of RPG industry legend and luminary Stewart Wieck of Nocturnal came before the final product delivered. As fans of role-playing games, we are all in debt to Stewart on a level similar to that of Gary Gygax and Greg Stafford and the other progenitors of our favorite hobby. Mr. Wieck’s contributions are multitude, and when he was at White Wolf, he changed the industry forever with the World of Darkness line of games.

This RPG I Love You is dedicated to Stewart.

ColdShadows

I LOVE YOU, COLD SHADOW

Today I’m looking back on the Kickstarter edition of Cold Shadows, the narrative Cold War spy roleplaying game by Gallant Knight Games.

Cold Shadows enables groups to tell John LeCarre-style spy stories full of tense scenarios where agencies are the greater whole and agents serve the agency’s purposes– mostly.

It’s based on the Blood and Honor ruleset by John Wick Presents. I’ve played that one as well, and I’d recommend it for groups looking to tell narrative samurai stories. If your tastes run more toward samurai noir during the industrialization of Japan, you should also check out World of Dew by Woerner’s Wonderworks. Ben Woerner was heavily involved in Cold Shadows as well.

This game, like its predecessors makes certain assumptions about both the group and the GM and their capability to narratively describe things on the fly. Additionally, its focus on Agency first and above all is not just lip service, it’s driven both mechanically and thematically throughout the game.

If your game group likes a realistic spy stories and a good roleplaying good challenge, you’re in the right place!

Size and Production Quality 

Very nice book with quality semigloss paper and good binding. It’s not the biggest RPG in my collection, but there is plenty of content between the core book and the additional goodies (Cities in Shadow and The Black Book). Probably approaching couple hundred pages total in digest size format. Additionally, the page layouts are very thematic and aesthetically pleasing.

Art

The cover art you seen. Interior art is mainly photographic and thematic. It fits the style well. I’m a big fan.

Content and Rules

The theme of the content is very nice, although it can be challenging to find what you’re looking for in the book. Luckily, it’s not huge, so a little page flipping won’t be too painful. As previously mentioned, the rules are based on Blood and Honor. It’s a roll and keep system I haven’t seen in any games besides this line.

The gist is this, you have a pool of D6s for a given task based on your character’s setup. You’re going to choose how many you want to roll to try to hit your target. The remainder you keep, and each one allows you to say true things about your success (provided you did succeed). It can be a lot of fun when the group gets into this.

There are also subsystems for all sorts of assets spies might have access to in and around their bases of operation. This is a lot of fun to peruse and set up.

Overall, I think the system is extremely cool, but I’ll also allow that it may require an adjustment period for some players. Dropping a group of murder hobos into Cold Shadows probably won’t lead to a satisfying experience.

GM Tools and/or Pre-made Adventure

There’s a ton here, and I’m sure to miss something. Between Cold Shadows, Cities in Shadow, and The Black Book, there is plenty of content and information to run a game set all over the world and in varying time periods. I won’t go too into depth, but I will say if you have a historical campaign based in this world, there’s a ton of good content here written by some very talented folks. For the game itself, there are lots of fully realized agencies and cities you can put on the “board” for your players to explore.

Final Thoughts

I’m happy I was a backer of Cold Shadows. I even had the opportunity to do a bit of writing for The Black Book. It’s an excellent game (the best spy game on my shelves, and yes, I have a few). I had a chance to play a short campaign run by one of my teammates at work. Super fun time.

If you’re having trouble finding a copy, Cold Shadows and its supplements can be found on DriveThruRPG.

RPG Review – WEG Star Wars 30th Anniversary Edition

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WILL RAMBLES

Here’s a fun one. Star Wars The Roleplaying Game by West End Games was one of the first non-TSR games I played. It was so long ago, and I was so young and broke, I never even owned a copy.

Some very fortuitous circumstance came about to make this project a reality. West End Games was purchased by Nocturnal Media, but they no longer held the license to produce RPGs based on the Star Wars intellectual property. Fantasy Flight Games is the current license holder (after a stop at Wizards of the Coast). At any rate, Nocturnal, FFG, and LucasFilm all collaborated to bring this 30th Anniversary Edition to light. The core book has a lovely posthumous dedication to Stewart Weick as it would not have been made without his efforts.

As a fan of both the game itself and of anything Nocturnal Media was involved in, SW:tRPG30AE was a no-brainer purchase for me.

SWTRPG_30th_2

THE REVIEW

Today I’m reviewing Star Wars The Roleplaying Game 30th Anniversary Edition by West End Games. This is a reissue of the classic RPG in a slipcase with the quintessential Star Wars Sourcebook. The review will cover the entire product as a whole.

1.) Size and Production Quality 

Sitting on my desk next to Star Wars Edge of the Empire, a modern game I’ll likely never review because I don’t love the dice system, SW:tRPG30AE is similar in size and weight. However, in terms of pages, SWEotE is 400 pages and change, while both 30th Anniversary Edition books combine for just under 300 pages. This isn’t to say the reissue isn’t packed with content, the font is smaller, and in the style of most older games, there isn’t a ton of graphic design taking up space.

Where I’m just a bit disappointed is with the paper. I’d hoped Fantasy Flight would have sprung for nice smooth semi-gloss pages, but instead, we get the same type of paper the original game was printed on: flat white paper slightly rough to the touch. Yes, the same twelve full-color glossy pages are sprinkled throughout the core book that were in the original. The Sourcebook has none, although it’s pages are the same iconic black+blue of the original.

That said, for the price, you’re getting two hardbound books in a gorgeous slipcase. I’m not that upset.

I recommend picking it up at your friendly local game store. Retail price is $59.95 (or a few bucks less on Amazon).

8/10

2.) Art

By modern standards, the art is still decent. It was fantastic for its time. I love those twelve glossy full-color pages so much. Everything else is black and white, and high quality. There’s also quite a lot by the standards of the time. As I flipped through SWEotE, a game with the gorgeous art Fantasy Flight is known for, I didn’t see a significant amount more than these books have.

7/10

3.) Content and Rules

Here’s a neat thing about SWtRPG30AE if you don’t already have a copy, it’s entirely rooted in the original trilogy. If episodes IV-VI are your jam, this is magnificent news. The Sourcebook is jam-packed with details about ships and other vehicles, locations, creatures, enemies, and info about your favorite characters.

And THEN, there are the rules. WEG D6 system was developed for the original Ghostbusters RPG and adapted for Star Wars. These rules hit a note I love and something you’ll see me talk about when discussing TinyD6 games. They are simple, not stupid. The rules have been remarked by some as having a bit of a scaling problem at higher levels, making it difficult for GMs to challenge their players. I can see that being partly true, but a good GM should be able to deal with it. Hopefully with WEG D6 2e is released, it will deal with those issues because I love this system and would love to see more games developed with it.

8/10

4.) Game Master Section

The book is laid out a bit funny. The “Gamemaster Section” is really just the game rules with GM tips and some fairly prescriptive guidance sprinkled throughout. The “Adventure Section” has some additional thoughts on running and creating adventures. Overall, meh.

5/10

5.) Pre-made Adventure

There is an iconic, four-episode adventure included in the book. It’s pretty good, and I’d run it as an intro to the game if you have four sessions or an all-day affair. Also, there are ten “adventure starters” that show some of the variances of the Star Wars universe. Most of these would make fine one-shots or additions to an ongoing campaign.

On the toolkit side of things, the SWRPG Sourcebook has all kinds of good stuff you can use to put together a long-running campaign.

8/10

Total Score: 36/50

If I were adding points for nostalgia, Star Wars The Roleplaying Game would get an extra five at least. It’s a solid game.

You made it to the end! Have a fun pic of Harry, Carrie, and Mark with some stormtroopers as a reward.

harrycarriemark

A Final Note About My Reviews

RPG reviews are among the highest viewed articles I write, and I’m glad people seem to like ’em. I stick to games I enjoy, have played, and usually have run at least once. I avoid reviewing RPGs I’d score low because frankly, I can’t care enough about a game I don’t dig to write a full review of it. Life is too short.

I don’t accept review copies, but for full disclosure, I do use affiliate marketing tags on my links to DriveThruRpg and Amazon. Thanks for reading. See you again soon for another review!

Buffy First Watch – Season 1 Episodes 5-8

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I’m back. Even though episode 1.4 was a total drag, we’re going to press forward. This is my very first viewing of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it’s only been 21 years since the show first aired.

As long as I can bear it, I’ll keep writing about the experience. You’re welcome?

1.5

Can’t a girl get a minute for a date? Nope.

Ah, the logistics of pagers. A beautiful plot device lost to the past.

Stacking pillows in front of the door. That’ll keep the vampires out. Particularly the one locked in the room with you. Also, “pork and beans”. Can anyone explain this line to me?

Mental note: never kill Buffy’s date.

Line of the show, “That was my hopeful ear. Can you repeat that?”

1.6

High school clique as a pack of hyenas. Apt.

Oh. Dodgeball.

Bye-bye principal Flutie. That was pretty dark.

Line of the night: “In his animal state, his idea of wooing doesn’t involve a Yanni CD and a bottle of Chianti.”

Tricky Willow. Love it!

Some fun character development. I like the final bit with Xander and Giles.

1.7

Three against one? No fair! Oh. 3v2 is better. I’ll accept this.

Giles (Anthony Head) is fun. He’s great.

Kissing vampires, Buffy? Shame! Enter Xander’s logic: gotta kill Angel. Big surprise.

Willow gets the line of the night: “Nonononono, no speaking up. That way leads to madness. And sweaty palms.”

Plot twist! Also, I’m all for the death of annoying vampires. Way to go, Angel.

Yes, Xander. They definitely aren’t kissing.

1.8

DON’T OPEN THE MOLOCH BOOK BUFFY!

“The only reality is virtual. If you’re not jacked in, you’re not alive.” – Fritz the best actor EVAR.

DON’T SCAN THE MOLOCH BOOK WILLOW!

Oh… an email love affair with an unidentified person. Could be a circus freak, or worse, a guy with back hair. Nope. At least it isn’t that bad. Just a digitized demon.

Xander wins again: “To read– makes– our– speaking English good.”

By Fritz.

Bye Moloch. A little poetic justice never hurts.

buffy108-moloch

Conclusion

Still watching. I’m not sold yet, but it is a fun piece of history.

Buffy First Watch: Season 1 Episodes 1-4

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Let’s see how far this goes.

A touch of background. I’m familiar with the works of Whedon. In fact, some would consider me a fan. Firefly, Serenity, and The Avengers are all favorites, but I’ve never watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel. Several friends have stated that 2018  (21 years after the first episode of BtVS aired) is a completely legitimate time for a first watch of the series, so here we are.

I’ll be subjecting you, dear readers, to hot takes episode by episode.

TBTBuffy

1.1

Special effects not so special, even for 1997. Not a huge issue, because I totally caught some of that signature Whedon dialog, even if the actors haven’t totally figured out how to deliver it. It’s enough to move on to episode 2.

Gotta love that scary cliffhanger ending. Did that seem disingenuous? It was.

1.2

Is Buffy wearing the cross or not? One second it’s there, the next it isn’t. Conveniently, it is when needed to resolve the cliffhanger from episode 1.

Watching Anthony Head act uncertain and sheepish is unsettling. I’m used to him playing Uther in BBC Merlin where he’s equal parts commanding and xenophobic with a dash of extra crazy. His line about wresting information from the infernal machine (AKA searching the internet) and then going on about how British it was– GOLD.

She can throw the tall skinny teenage vampire 30 feet, but she can’t shut a door?

Line of the night, “I have to have the most expensive thing, not because it’s expensive, but because it costs more.” -Cordilia

The fight sound effects. Ugh. All the sounds effects. Double ugh.

1.3

Willow: That girl’s on fire!
Cordilia: Enough with the hyperbole already.
Girl bursts into flame.

“I laugh in the face of danger. Then I hide till it goes away.”

That creepy moment when mother and daughter go all Trading Places so the mother can be a cheerleader in high school again. And kill, maim, or burn people with witchcraft. Hm. Poetic justice in the end.

1.4

One of the only teachers who doesn’t think Buffy’s a felon goes missing (killed). Xander drools at all the girls/women and in his sleep.

Well, those bushes weren’t attached to anything. Props that look like props. Unfortunate.

Natalie the giant preying mantis substitute teacher. Teen virginity drama. This wasn’t the best of the four episodes.

Conclusion

I’m going to keep watching. 1.4 made me briefly question it, but there’s enough good stuff going on, for now, to keep it interesting. If this were 1997 I probably would be more impressed? So far BtVS isn’t the greatest thing in the world, but I can see the potential. Supernatural, for example, owes a ton to this show.

RPG Reviews and Review Copies

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For Immediate Release (Heh. I always wanted to say that.)

Be it known here and throughout the realm: I do not accept review copies of games in exchange for performing reviews.

It’s not you, it’s me. I only review role-playing games I’ve bought personally. Mostly only games I’ve actually been a game master for, but I may also occasionally review games I’ve only played.

but

If you’d like to enhance the odds of my reviewing your RPG, the only recourse is to invite me to play your game with you. I may or may not accept, but if I do, odds are I’ll buy a copy, and likely write a review.

I recognize there are sites out there doing this, it’s just not me.