Legend of the Five Rings Beta First Looks

Hey Game Fans, today we’re going to talk in brief about the new version of the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying game from Fantasy Flight Games.  Currently it’s undergoing an Open Beta for playtesting and i personally think that’s a fantastic idea.  Legend of the Five Rings is a long running franchise, featuring a Miniature Wargame, a Collectible Card Game that ran for several editions, and four editions of a Roleplaying game that featured drama, action, and intrigue.  

Since the property was acquired by Fantasy Flight Games, rumors and questions have been circulating about what they would do with the property.  They announced a new ideation of the Legend of the Five Rings card game, this time using the Living Card Game format that Fantasy Flight has had great success with in other properties (including Star Wars, Warhammer 40,000, and Call of Cthulhu to name a few).  They are also offering a board game that features the Great Clans of Rokugan vying for control of the world of L5R in the aptly named Battle for Rokugan.  I know that i was very interested to see what they did with the Roleplaying game side of the Franchise, and i have had a little bit of time to take a look at the first few chapters of the Beta (I think I’ve almost figured out how to make a character).  I’d like to talk about those first few chapters today and give you folks my first impressions.

Test of Honour (First Looks)

Test of Honour is a fast paced skirmish game from Warlord Games.   Set in Medieval Japan, it features clashes and confrontations between warring clans of Samurai and their peasant retainers.  Honour is a driving force in this era, and the game is fast paced, dynamic, and filled with excitement and the dice themselves can swing a glorious last stand into a rout of the enemy forces, or turn a sure victory into an ignominious defeat. Let’s take a closer look at Test of Honour and see what convinced me to buy a starter set this weekend at Recruits

 

First Looks (1879)

So we're back from an unintended vacation caused by a flu bug.  Hopefully we get everything back on track and on time and we're going to pick up some of the slack we missed while we were down.  Today we're going to take a first look at 1879 from FASA Games.  It's a wild action adventure setting based in an alternate history and forces the characters to deal with colonialism, indigenous natives, areas of vast resources, and a host of other wild and crazy encounters along the way.  We haven't gotten a chance to take a hard look at the mechanics of the system, so today we're going to talk about the setting and some of the conflicts that drive 1879.

A Brief Look at Tales from the Loop

Hey Game Fans, we’re working on new focuses and ideas for our article series, and were going to broaden our horizons and show off some other role-playing games.  I picked up a bunch of these last weekend, and we’re going to get started with Tales from the Loop.  With a tagline of “Roleplaying in the 80’s that never was,” this game combines a very odd juxtaposition of the fantastic and the mundane and turns both ideas on their heads.  Characters in this game are children living in the 80s under the shadow of The Loop, a project designed to explore strange energies and they experience fantastical things that no one else understands.  The story explores the very real struggles that children deal with and the adventures they go through while experiencing their mundane lives.  Other folks have compared it to ET, The Goonies, Stranger Things, and other stories like this.  I would also compare it to the struggles the children have with Pennywise the clown in the first half of IT, from Stephen King, or the kids from the film Super 8.  It’s a very novel concept for a storytelling device and the game looks absurdly fun.   

Tales from the Yawning Portal (first thoughts and ideas)

Hery Game Fans, we’re going to take a quick look at Tales from the Yawning Portal, the newest Hardcover book released by our grand masters, Wizards of the Coast.  This is a different kind of hardcover adventure, and we’ll get into that in a minute.  First i’d like to thank the fine folks at Wizards for putting together a product like this.  Second, settle in because this isn’t like a product we’ve seen before, so i’m going to ramble for a while.

Bluebeard's Bride (First Looks)

Another great find on Kickstarter is Bluebeard’s Bride.  Some roleplaying games are big, and full of epic adventures and cover many different types of stories.  Bluebeard’s Bride takes that idea and says “no.”  It focuses on one specific story that it can tell over and over again, rivalling a 1,001 nights in terms of depth and interaction.  I have been reading and playing roleplaying games for over 25 years, and i think that i’ve seen a lot of the different ways that you can present roleplaying games.  Then i see something like this and it just blows my mind.  Let’s take a look at Bluebeard’s Bride.

Open Legend RPG (First Looks)

A couple of interesting games popped across my Kickstarter Feed this week, and i have to admit i have been mightily impressed by both of them.  I’ll talk about the first one, Open Legend, in this article, and the other one, Bluebeard’s Bride, should get a feature later this afternoon.  Open Legend is an Open Source, System Agnostic Role-playing Game and features a lot of heavy talent from the RPG community, including, Ed Greenwood (Yes, that Ed Greenwood) and Matt Mercer (Yes, that Matt Mercer) to name just a couple of the people that are involved.  My connection is tangential, as it is through my internet friendship with Ryan Schapals, one of the many hard working folks who help bring Hyper RPG to life every week.  It’s a brand new kickstarter campaign that’s only been up for a day, but when last seen had allready cracked two stretch goals.  Let’s take a closer look under the hood of the game.

Star League Era (Amaris and the Rim Worlds Republic)

I did make a minor goof when i mentioned societal constructs that wouldn’t survive the Star League Era.  House Amaris and their Rim Worlds Republic would also be lost to the fires of Interstellar war, and by the end of the Star League Era, their systems would either be destroyed by the rigors of war, or absorbed by the Lyran Commonwealth.  Stefan Amaris, the last ruler of the Rim Worlds Republic, would be the architect of the fall of the Star League, but he had some some help along the way.  

Shadowrun: Anarchy (First Look)

Shadowrun: Anarchy is an alternative rules system for playing games and telling stories in the Shadowrun Universe.  Shadowrun has the distinction of being the 2nd role-playing game i’d ever played, and is one of the oldest of its kind still in publication.  Across the last five editions, Shadowrun has pushed the boundaries of the cyberpunk trope and thrown in some old world black magic for fun.  It’s a world where elven wizards take tea with ork hackers while plotting their next move against the Dragon sitting atop the corporate throne.  You can tell so many different stories in the Shadowrun Universe and make flavorful, neat characters that can do a lot of things.  

The Star League Era

The Star League is often looked back upon with nostalgia.  It was the last time that humanity was united under a single banner.  Technological revolutions, Scientific research, and colonization of new worlds rapidly changed the face of the Inner Sphere.  The Cameron dynasty, rulers of the Terran Hegemony (A state of technological advanced worlds around Terra), had united the five great houses of the Inner Sphere under their banner, and with the power of their armies, brought the Periphery to heel.  It was an age of peace, but it could not last.

Battletech: The Game for PC (Coming in 2017)

All right game fans, we’re going to knuckle down and talk about one of our favorite things, and the only thing we’ve personally backed on Kickstarter, Battletech.  Aiming for a release window in 2017 (we’re not completely sure when in 2017, but i have faith that they will deliver “the goods” in a timely fashion) Battletech returns to the tabletop as a turn based strategy for the first time in a very long time.  Battletech has been used as source material for a lot of games over the years, and a fair number of players get their start from the computer and console games before coming over to the tabletop side of things.  We’re going to do a brief cover of what we know, and what we hope to be true for this game.  

Adventures in Middle Earth: Player's Guide (First Looks)

Cubicle 7 Entertainment took on a daunting task worthy of Fellowship and adventure.  They put together a campaign setting that uses the Middle Earth from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series using the fifth edition rules for Dungeons and Dragons.  What they’ve accomplished is an amazing interpretation of the source material that provides you with an excellent game setting to tell your own adventures in the wild places of Middle Earth.  

The Call of Cthulhu (First Look at Old Classic)

Chaosium Inc has recently released their 7th edition of their groundbreaking horror role-playing game the Call of Cthulhu.  Based on the shared horror universe of H.P. Lovecraft and his contemporaries, the Call of Cthulhu is a game of sinister cults, secrets man wasn’t meant to know, and the existence of entities so powerful and so dangerous that the idea of their existence drives mere mortals to madness.  It’s a dark and sinister world full of questions you shouldn’t ask to people you shouldn’t see.  Let’s take a closer look at the newest edition of Call of Cthulhu

The Army Painter (First Serious Looks)

Today we’re going to take a look at one of the many companies that produce the tools to put together your tiny plastic soldiers for you fantasy and science fiction battlefields.  We really, really like The Army Painter.  WIth a range of tools, paints, and other scenic elements, The Army Painter provides the full set of equipment you’ll need to take your models from their bare plastic sprues to looking like tabletop heroes in no time.  

With a hobby like tabletop wargaming, it’s always important to make sure that you’re getting the best value for your money.  The Army Painter is an incredibly economical choice.  We all want our models to look the best they can.  Army Painter does it at a very reasonable price.  Today we’re going to look at their painting system, so grab your paint and brushes, and let’s get decorated.  

Western Themed Skirmish Wargaming (3 Flavors to choose from)

I swear the Enraged Wookie and i were having a conversation less than a month ago about a distinct lack of Western themed miniatures games, and evidently the universe agreed.  Within the last two weeks, i’ve seen Kickstarter campaigns, news stories and general snooping that have found three interesting miniatures games that have a decidedly Western theme.  Hang on to your spurs, we’re going to take a closer look.  

Fantasy Grounds (We like Apps, we're more familiar with the edible kind)

Afternoon Game Fans, today we’re going to take a look at a different product than we usually feature, we’re looking at the Fantasy Grounds application.  One of the defining traits of Taletop Role-playing Games is well, the Table.  Traditionally these are games that we gather on a weeknight or a weekend afternoon to play.  Whether we’re at a house gathered around a table, meeting at a shop, a game cafe or a community center, these games require a social gathering point to get started.

Warhammer 40,000: The Factions, Part I

Evening Game Fans, tonight we’re going to take a deeper look at the various armies you can choose from for the wargame Warhammer 40,000.  There are a variety of choices you can select from, so we’ll look at each faction along three ideas.  Army aesthetic, play style, and numbers are all important characteristics when looking at your first army for warhammer 40k, all though i suggest new players look at the army aesthetic first.  If you don’t like the look of your army, it’s going to detract from your involvement from the game.  

Remember, all of the factions we’re going to look at can be found at www.games-workshop.com.  All you need to do is select the warhammer 40,000 tab, and scroll down until you see the list of armies on the left hand side.  We’ll take it from the top, but we’re going to cover the broad groupings rather than each individual sub faction.

Privater Press, Part II (Hordes Time)

Privateer Press has taken the cover of their new line of starter boxes for Warmachine and Hordes.  They are gearing up for the release of their newly revised rules set for the game and part of the roll out involves new starter boxes for the individual factions and a brand new two player starter for both lines.  Last Week we took a hard look at the new starters for Warmachine, so let’s take a look at those fearsome beasts from Hordes.

MDF Terrain (Two Good Looks)

 

 

All right Game Fans, today we’re going to take a closer look at one of the two major types of scenery you’ll find for your tabletop wargaming (or Role-playing) needs.  Today we’re going to focus on MDF terrain kits.  Now I'm sure two questions just popped into your mind.  First “What the hell is MDF?”  We’ll get to that in a minute.  Secondly, “What’s the other major kind of scenery?”  The other primary type of terrain you’ll find are plastic kits that need to be assembled like the models for your Wargame.  

 

 

This is Not a Test (First Looks)

              This is Not a Test is a skirmish war game created by World’s End Publishing.   Set in the nuclear wasteland of a post apocalyptic America.  It’s set in the northeast, focusing on the Tri-State Wasteland (made up of parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia)  and the areas surrounding them.  The background and setting are very comfortable to a new player.  It embraces the nuclear wasteland aesthetic and embraces themes that we’ve seen in other media, notably the Fallout series of games, and a host of movies including A Boy and his Dog and the Mad Max series. Gamers looking for role-playing games in this vein should take a look at the old classic Gamma World, and for a more animalistic approach, After the Bomb.