#RPGaDAY2015 Day 7: Favorite Free RPG

My favorite free rpg is The Window.  This is a simple system in which characters assign dice to their skills.  For example, my character might be “a crack shot with a rifle (D8)”.  To accomplish something you roll your skill and try to get a 6 or under.  If you are in a contest with someone, you both roll and the lower roll wins.

The Window is very simple are is made for narrative games.  I enjoy it so much because it is easy to understand and I was once in a play-by-forum zombie game that used The Window as its ruleset.  That game was a ton of fun.  All of the players just focused on doing stuff; we never thought about stats or rules,  We just role-played and had a ton of fun.

You can read and download the rules for The Window here.

#RPGaDAY2015 Day 6: Most recent RPG played

The most recent rpg that I have played is Fate Accelerated Edition.  This was actually my first play of this ruleset.  I was a backer of the FATE Kickstarter and I have been trying to get these rules to the table for a long time.  I ran a treasure hunting scenario inspired by Indiana Jones and the Gold Digger comic series.  I was very impressed with how well my players took to FATE.  I always considered myself to be the storygamer of the group but I think that they actually grokked the system better that I did.  I look forward to running more FATE, although I think that I will move on to the FATE core rules for the next game.

If you haven’t tried FATE or Fate Accelerated Edition, you really should.  The rules can be downloaded for free or for pay-what-you-want pricing, and there is a great FATE SRD available online.

#RPGaDAY2015 Day 5: Most recent RPG purchase.

I am a collector of role playing material.  I scour used book stores for rpg material.  I waste hours on the internet looking for sales and deals on rpg books.  I rationalize these purchases by telling myself that even if I don’t run all the games I own, I can always use the material for inspiration.  The truth is that I like to read role playing books.  They are fun, they often have cool artwork, and they provide some escapism.

The most recent rpg purchase that I made is a that I picked up is used copy of the book Passion Play.  These are the LARP rules for the Fading Suns rpg setting.  Fading Sun is a Dune-esque feudal space opera setting.  The game is published with its own house system for tabletop play.  I love Dune and Fading Suns has interested me since I first heard about it.  When I saw LARP rules for the system I grabbed them.  I’m not sure if I will run a Fading Suns LARP.  I’ve never LARPed, and I would want to play in someone else’s game before I tried running my own.  However, a Dune-inspired LARP would be awesome.  If you are interested in trying it out, let me know!

By the way, the Passion Play rules can be purchased in pdf format from drivethrurpg.com.

#RPGaDAY2015 Day 4: Most Surprising Game

The most surprising game that I have played is Dead of Night which is published by SteamPower Publishing.  

This is a tiny rulebook that can fit in your pocket.  The game is designed to give you the experience of a horror movie.  The rules are very simple and the characters are rewarded for acting out cliches from horror movies.  For example, if a character is being chased by an axe murderer and decides to run into the abandoned amusement park instead of towards the brightly lit downtown, they would be rewarded.

The surprising part of this game was how smooth it ran and how easily it emulated the horror movie genre. I ran this game for a small group and the scenario played out just like a slasher film. I was truly surprised that such a tiny rulebook could do so much.  This game goes to show that good things can come in small packages.  The second edition of the game is available here.  Grab a copy for Halloween and have fun.

#RPGaDAY2015 day 3: Favorite New Game of the last 12 months

I only played two new games this year, and I am using the term new to mean that the game was released in the last 12 months.  I played D&D 5th edition, although I did run a session during the playtest phase.  I also started a play-by-forum game of Silent Legions, an OSR horror game, although that game fizzled out.

I really like D&D 5th edition.  I like the simplification of the system.  I like the advantaged/disadvantaged mechanics.  I really like how WoTC has made the basic rules available for free. 5th edition D&D really captures that feeling I had when I played 1st edition and combines it with updated mechanics that are fun and make sense.

I also really like Silent Legions.  Kevin Crawford, the designer, consistently puts out good products.  Silent Legions follows that model, and he released the art for it into public domain.  At first glance Silent Legions looks like an OSR D&D clone with a skill and sanity system grafted onto it.  However, the meat of the book describes how to create your own elder god mythos.  This is a complete game plus a toolkit that you can use to create unique weird pantheons for other games.  Silent Legions also tells how to run a sandbox investigative horror campaign.  

I really like both of these new games.  I am going to say that Silent Legions is my favorite out of the two, mainly because of the toolkit nature of the book.  I can use Silent Legions to create weird gods and alien beings for a 5th ed D&D game, a Traveller game, or just a plain old modern horror game using the Silent Legion rules.  The core rules are simple and fun.

#RPGaDAY2015 Day 2: Kickstarter game most pleased you backed

The Kickstarter game that I am most pleased to have backed is Call of Catthulhu. I was an early bird backer for this one. I tried this game with my daughter and she loved it so much I had to order a print copy of the rules just for her. This is the only game that I have been able to run for my whole family. In fact, why don't I just write a review of the game.

Review of Call of Catthulhu

Call of Cattulhu is a role playing game where you play cats fighting against supernatural threats.  The new edition of the game is made up of two books; the Nekonomikon and the Cat Herders Guide.  This review will cover book 1: the Nekonomikon.  The Nekonomikon is all that is required to play.

The Nekonomikon is available as a 40 page pdf or print-on-demand softcover book through Drivethroughrpg.com.  The Nekonomikon is the player’s guide and core rulebook.  The layout is easy to read.  The artwork consists of different cats with weird Lovecraftian appendages attached to them.  One thing that I really like about the book is that there is a great section of rules summary sheets in the back.

The premise of the game is that cats are intelligent beings who have carefully groomed humans to care for them as the cats fight against the forces of Lovecraftian darkness.  The system is very light.  Characters create a cat and decide on a background and class.  Most of your character sheet is descriptors.  In fact, there are no numbers listed at all on the character sheet

Whenever a cat tries to do something difficult, they roll a number of six sided dice.  A 1 or 2 is bad and 3,4,5, and 6 is good or a success.  This is also true for when the bad guys roll, so the odds are always in the favor of the players.  Characters can receive a bonus if their cat is particularly suited for the task that they are attempting. The book tells the players to use cat dice, which are custom dice with two cat faces that are crossed out and four cat faces that are not crossed out.  A batch of these dice were manufactured during the Kickstarter and are currently not available, but regular six sided dice will work just as well.  Players get treats, which are used for re-rolls.  Everything done in the game plays off of this success mechanic.  Combat is a contest as to who rolls more successes,  There are special moves that you can do in combat, critical successes and failures, and a few other exceptions but otherwise the core game mechanic is simple, nice, and great for keeping the story moving.

I liked that a 3-6 is always good and a 1-2 is always bad, even when the GM roles.  This is great for playing with kids, as the odds are more likely that things will go well for the players. My daughter wants to play this game often, and the easy mechanics are perfect for family gaming. She can easily add her own rules for magic and flying cats to the system with minimal effort.

Another aspect of the mechanics is that players are expected to method act as cats.  Treats are used for re-rolls, and one way to get treats in game is to get petted by humans.  If a cat is carrying something they are not allowed to talk, and cats who are not near each other can only communicate in meows and noises.  I run my game in a more cartoonish fashion, however. Our cat characters talk to each other all the time, and the game runs just fine.

What I liked most about this system

The core book is short and simple.   There is a great set of reference charts in the back.  The rules are easy to explain and to implement in play.  A group can create characters and begin playing in ten minutes.  The game is full of cat flavor.  If you have gamers or potential gamers who love cats, this is a great choice for them.

What to watch out for

This is a narrative, loosey goosey game.  There are virtually no stats, no list of monsters, no list of skill challenges, etc.  Players and GMs should be ready to play this game with a healthy dose of imagination.  If you need a solid system with a lot of rules to sink your gaming hooks into, this doesn’t have it.

There is also no setting in this book.  The setting information is in the second rulebook, The Cat Herders Guide.  The Cat Herders Guide contains some great information, but it is in no way necessary to play the game.  You can get hours of enjoyment out of the Nekonmikon alone.

Closing

Of all the games that I have backed on Kickstarter, this one has gotten the most play time at my table. I love the game and look forward to running many cat adventures. I give it two paws up.

#RPGaDAY2015 Day 1: Forthcoming game you are most looking forward to.

This August will be #RPGaDAY2015 so I thought I would dust off the old blog.  More details can be found here.  Today's topic is what forthcoming game are you most looking forward to.

I am a collector of rpgs.  I back many on kickstarter.  I follow the news feeds of my favorite companies.  There are many games coming out that I can’t wait to get in my grubby hands.  The one that I am most looking forward to is the Force and Destiny Star Wars rpg from Fantasy Flight.  By the time this is posted, the game should be available to the public, but I have been waiting for this one ever since Fantasy Flight Games announced their line of Star Wars rpgs.

I grew up loving Star Wars.  I have my old figures along with plenty of new ones that I have collected through the years.  I have the 2nd edtition revised WEG Star Wars book and Edge of the Empire.  The production values on FFG’s Star Wars books are amazing.  The reason that I am so excited about Force and Destiny is that it is all about Jedi.  

Jedi are probably the coolest characters in Star Wars.  They combine the wizard and the fighter, and give them awesome spaceships.  The idea of playing a Jedi excites the little boy who lives in my imagination.  So if you are looking for a good Christmas gift for me this year, the Force and Destiny core book would be a great choice.