RPG Style Games…

[8thParticipant]

By order of the Universal Head…. well… he made a suggestion!

Less generalised topics… so here’s one for you.

As I’m an RPG addict first and board gamer second, I like to bridge the gap with games when I can… Castle Ravenloft and the like.

As mentioned elsewhere, there’s another ‘colon’ game on Kickstarter which fits the category… Folklore: The Affliction.

Looks interesting and after hovering for a while… I have dived in with the $95 pledge.

I wasn’t convinced by the $149 pledge, as apart from the ghosts, I’m not that interested in the other items. And I can add the ghosts if I want them as an add-on.

They just unlocked their sixth stretch goal and very close to the seventh with some interesting add-ons and stretch goals announced.

I know its 12 months until it ships, but I’m sure CMON will mug me for more money before then to fill the time.

If anyone spots other new RPG Style boardgames of note (Kickstarter or otherwise) post them here please.

[Universal HeadKeymaster]

Added the link for you.

I’ve done some work for Greenbrier in the past (I rewrote and redesigned the Zpocalypse rulebook for them) and in my experience they’re good people.

I love the theme, very A Touch of Evil, though the combat system comes across as a bit uninteresting. But I’ll watch this one with interest, especially if they release a rulebook preview.

[8thParticipant]

Thanks. When I tried adding a link to KS page before it stuck the video there.

There’s a scenario preview for download on KS page.

I have A Touch of Evil… OCD made me buy everything 🙂

Ed Greenwood involved. He’s kind of an RPG rock star.

[Universal HeadKeymaster]

Just watched the Undead Viking review, and it sounds pretty fun; and he says it’s the closest to an RPG game he’s played in a boardgame, which is a big call.

[8thParticipant]

I watched that too.

Although combat might seem a little complex to a board gamer, but to the RPG fan it’s simple. It’s often harder to explain what a d100, or percentile roll is to a newcomer than it is for them to make the roll.

Castle Ravenloft (and it’s sister games) are cut down versions of D&D4, but basically a dungeon crawl, which is only a small part of what an RPG is.

Folklore is trying to introduce the story aspect and the add-on decks look like they may add an interesting twist.

And how can you say no to game that comes with a Courtesan as a hero? Saving the world, one bedpost at a time 🙂

[Universal HeadKeymaster]

ON the contrray, the combat seems too simple – roll a d100 and add modifiers. But I guess it’s a nice throwback to the old days after all the bespoke dice with swords and shields on them these days!

[8thParticipant]

There are complexities to combat, modifiers to the roll, using one digit of the d100 to determine which type of attack occurs.

But I was comparing the complexity to the likes of A Touch Of Evil where you roll multiple d6 and have to get 3+, 4+ etc and count successes. Too many games rely on d6.

And you’re right about custom dice, so common now. You spend so much time working out which symbols cancel which (FFG Star Wars for example) that it detracts from the gameplay, takes you out of the game and into the metagame.

I asked Greenbriar about solo play and as I expected, solo you play two characters, with possibility of sing!e character in future expansions, beyond this Kickstarter, which is good.

Firstly, two characters is no hassle to run and allows you to combine them in multiple ways.

Secondly, it means they are thinking beyond this Kickstarter, so the game has a future, not a one shot.

[CK LaiParticipant]

Yeah, the fact that Ed Greenwood is a major draw… but all those charts and tables! I’ve kind of gotten spoiled with Euro minis games. Minimum bookkeeping. Of course, they’re not RPGs either 😉

I guess I have to admit to myself my RPG phase has passed… what once attracted me no longer does.

[8thParticipant]

RPG phase has passed!

I know all of those words, but that sentence does make sense.

It’s like saying… Breathing phase has passed… Eating phase has passed.

[Universal HeadKeymaster]

Trust me, if you’ve been into this stuff for 38 years, as I have, you’ll realise that phases don’t last. A lesson I learned the hard way when I sold all my original RPG stuff in my twenties and then had to buy it all back from Ebay in my late 30s. 🙂

[CK LaiParticipant]

@ 8th: LOL!!!

[8thParticipant]

38 years UH?

I’ve been roleplaying 33 years and board gaming prior to that was probably family games like Monopoly and Scrabble, so not sure that counts.

I sold a load of MERP, ICE and D&D stuff when I was unemployed for a while… so I could spend it on new games that I wanted then.

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