[Gaming 101] Games to Start With Part 1: Fantasy

In celebration of Gaming Library‘s announcement that they’re willing to special order RPG books, I figure it would be a great time to start delving into good books for starting RPG gamers in the Philippines. Today we’ll be focusing on some Fantasy RPGs that have amazing production values and excellent mechanics. Admittedly this isn’t a complete listing, and there’s certainly lots of room for this particular genre, but that’s what I’m hoping the comments are for. If you’re an old hand to RPGs, and feel that you know of a game that I haven’t included, feel free to put them in the comments, the post is meant to be a reference after all.

That said, let’s get started with a few excellent Fantasy games for consideration:

Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition by Wizards of the Coast
In tribute to the people responsible for the hobby, D&D takes the top spot. Love it or hate it, Dungeons & Dragons has introduced a lot of us in the hobby and everyone has at least some some passing knowledge of the rules. The latest iteration has easy to learn rules and a whole bunch of neat support in the form of figures, adventures and a strong local community. The game comes in three core books, the Players Handbook, the Dungeon Master’s Guide and the Monster Manual. There are a bunch more of these three (PHB 2, DMG 2, MM2, etc), but you only need the first three to play.

Pathfinder by Paizo Publishing
Born from the Ashes of the 3rd iteration of the D&D rules, Pathfinder takes up the ball where Wizards of the Coast left it and made it their own. With interesting setting, continuous support and fantastic artwork, there’s little wonder that Pathfinder is the powerhouse that it is today. The Core Rulebook is massive, and in gorgeous full color. The local community of Pathfinder players are pretty helpful, and there’s a strong internet community in case you want to ask about something. Everything a player needs is here, but the GM will need to look for a different book or online sources for monsters.

Fantasy Craft by Crafty Games
On the other side of the equation is Crafty-Games’ Fantasy Craft. Born from the same D&D 3rd edition rules that birthed Pathfinder, Fantasy Craft takes the rules to the direction of a fantasy gaming toolkit. Definitely great for people who want to make up their own worlds to play in rather than work with someone else’s setting. Wuxia? Steampunk? Conan-esque Swords & Sorcery? Fantasy Craft does it all with style. The book edges out Pathfinder and D&D in the fact that it also provides all the necessary information in one book. GMing advice and Monsters are already here.

Legend of the Five Rings 4th Edition by Alderac Entertainment
Fans of the CCG will need no introduction, but to those who are new to the setting Legend of the Five Rings is a fantasy adventure rpg set in the land of Rokugan, which is a pseudo-Japan setting mixed with other Asian elements. Fantastic artwork, an excellent back story and the best iteration of the rules to ever come out so far make this game a strong candidate for gamers who enjoy the idea of playing in a Japan-inspired fantasy Setting

The One Ring: Adventures Over the Edge of the Wild by Cubicle 7
Tolkien Fans need little motivation to check this game out. The One Ring is the first in a series of games that will be exploring Middle-Earth’s eras and locales. Set in the time just after the events of The Hobbit, this game puts the characters in a time of adventure and danger as you take on the roles of elves, men, dwarves and hobbits as they go on adventures and explore the world of Middle-Earth. The hardcover version of this game is especially tempting as it comes in a lovely slipcase cover and its own set of special dice and maps.  Again the book is in full color and sports some truly breathtaking illustrations.

Dragon Age Set 1 & 2 from Green Ronin
Green Ronin picked up the license to do a tabletop RPG for Bioware’s Dragon Age, and they came out with a very impressive ruleset that carries the mood of the videogame and is full of old-school nostalgia.  The harcover copies are especially good since they come with multiple books, a poster-sized map and all the dice, everything you need in one box!

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That’s it for my initial batch, tomorrow we’ll look at another excellent series of RPG: The World of Darkness from White Wolf Studios

If you’re interested in picking up any of these in hardcover, you can order them directly from Gaming Library.

To place an order, please go to Gaming Library’s special order express page : http://www.gaminglib.com/pages/special-order-express-page

Take note that placing an order there doesn’t mean you’re committed, rather the Gaming Library team will be giving a quote and you can now choose whether to push through with the purchase or not.

Good News Everyone! Gaming Library Now Accepts RPG Orders!

After the rains this kind of good news is very much appreciated. I’ve just gotten word that Gaming Library, an online business that specializes in bringing in board games to the Philippines is expanding its business to cover RPG books as well! This means that us local gamers can now go ahead and place orders for just about any RPG in hard cover. While they won’t be carrying any books in stock (yet) they’ll be open to accepting special orders for books provided that you give them the full title and the publisher of the game you’re looking for. I’d suggest providing a link to the publisher’s website as well just to make things easier for them.

It’s been a long time since we’ve had this sort of opportunity, so I figure I might as well get it out there. I’m already writing up a list of which books I’m interested in getting…

So drop by Gaming Library via their website and check out their stuff as their board game and card game offerings are really good too.

To place an order, please go to Gaming Library’s special order express page : http://www.gaminglib.com/pages/special-order-express-page

Take note that placing an order there doesn’t mean you’re committed, rather the Gaming Library team will be giving a quote and you can now choose whether to push through with the purchase or not.

New Information on Redbrick’s Fading Suns and Keeping up with Darthgus’ Infinity Core

I’m pretty sure that more than a few people might find this particular article interesting as it goes into what people can expect from the upcoming Fading Suns Revised Player’s Handbook coming out from Redbrick on GenCon 2012:

What’s in a book? As we approach Gen Con Indy 2012, this is the first preview of some of the game products that RedBrick will be releasing at the convention.

This article summarizes the major changes from Fading Suns Second Edition that you will find in the Fading Suns Player’s Guide (Revised Edition). A copy of the book’s comprehensive Table of Contents is attached to this post as a PDF to give you an idea of what’s in the Player’s Guide (and for comparison with earlier editions).

The Fading Suns Revised Edition was not written to obsolete years of Fading Suns material, but to streamline the game system, while maintaining compatibility with the sourcebooks players are already using. There is an active player base for Fading Suns Second Edition that have complete collections. The changes made in this edition may not be enough for you to consider migrating to using it. However, this edition will be available in print format to trade and distribution channels within the next few months, and therefore readily accessible to both new and existing Fading Suns players (whereas the First and Second Editions are out-of-print).

The universe is still the same as described in Fading Suns Second Edition, but the timeline has advanced to the year 5002. Emperor Alexius has steadily worked to increase the strength of the Phoenix Empire. Minor houses are beginning to play a more important role, both as puppets of the Royal houses and as strong supporters of the Emperor. By placing sons and daughters into the Order of the Phoenix as Questing Knights, the minor houses have been granted new access to land and titles.

The Victory Point System (VPS) has been modified to use Victory Points as both the number of successes and as a quality of success. VPS still uses a “roll as close to the target goal number as possible” mechanic. The system can be used to generate a simple pass or fail roll, with traits and skills being added together to determine a goal number. Victory Points are used to determine the level of success, and in situations like combat, to generate effect dice or wound points. Effect dice are still six-sided dice rolled in combat to generate damage levels (wound points) and determine how well armor protects a character (armor points). The rules of the game have been modified to reflect the revised Victory Point System.

Body and Mind traits remain the same as in Fading Suns Second Edition, but there are new Spirit traits: Presence, Will, and Faith. These traits are not the opposed Spirit traits of Fading Suns Second Edition, but mirror the Body and Mind traits. Spirit traits can be tapped to allow characters to perform acts above and beyond what they would normally be able to perform. Will can be used to focus on a task in the face of distraction, Faith allows a character to tap into their passion and ignite the fire within themselves, and a character can use Presence to inspire others in their group to perform at their full potential. Wyrd fuels theurgic rites and psychic powers, but can also be used by any character to reroll a failed goal roll or to reroll effect dice.

Character generation still uses the Lifepath System to quickly generate characters that are sufficiently well-equipped to jump right into the action of Fading Suns. The Lifepath System is designed to give players a quick method for creating well-rounded characters who are competent in a number of areas, but still customized enough to be uniquely their own. There is no longer a distinct separation between natural and learned skills, but every character still starts with some basic skills that they already know as part of their upbringing. Lore skills have been primarily removed in the character generation system to make room for other skills. The option to create a fully customized character exists (the Custom Creation System), with more options provided for starting characters younger, older, or at different stages of their career.

Blessings, Curses, Benefices, and Afflictions all remain in the game. A few points have been changed to fit in with the Lifepath System and to balance some of the options. Fighting styles have been added as a trait to allow characters to choose a fighting style for their character and to provide a guideline for Game Masters or players to create their own unique styles.

Skills have been streamlined and narrowed in focus. In some cases (such as combat) there are more skills, instead of relying only on a few skills to perform all combat actions. The Lore and Science skills have been combined to allow characters to quickly specialize in technology and science skills without sacrificing skills in other areas of the game.

Psychic powers are more flexible, as they can be modified by spending extra Wyrd before the power is used, or by spending Victory Points after the power is complete, to reduce the effect but make the duration longer. Theurgic powers are still static, but tend to have more powerful effects. Both Urge and Hubris remain as a counterbalance to using these abilities.

The combat system has been overhauled. Characters have a derived Initiative trait, and each combat turn add a d6 to it to determine their starting order. Combatants can choose different stances, based on whether they want to act aggressively, defensively, or balanced. Those characters that specialize in fighting styles have special stances available to them that can add to or improve the standard stances. Each turn in combat represents one action; multiple actions have been removed, though some actions may act like multiple actions, such as striking or shooting more than once, or drawing and shooting. Instead of dodging attacks, all characters have a Defense trait that represents their ability to avoid harm. The more attacks they face in a turn, the lower their Defense.

Armor and weapons remain the same as in Fading Suns Second Edition by having effect dice for armor or damage respectively. Once a character is hit or hits they roll effect dice to determine armor points and wound points. Weapons and armor also have optional properties that can be used to make weapons more dangerous by reducing the effectiveness of certain types of armor or to make armor more resistant to some types of weapons. Finally, energy shields remain the same as they were in FS2, but option rules have been provided to make them easier to overcome. When a shield is hit with excessive damage it burns out for a number of turns, leaving the character unprotected. Options to change the way shield thresholds work are presented in the book.

Starships have remained nearly identical to Fading Suns Second Edition in this edition. Charts and tables are presented for modifying ships or for piecing together your own, but no formal construction system is presented in the Player’s Guide. The forthcoming Noble Armada game (separate) is where you will find a unified starship construction and combat system, either for use as a standalone system for starship combat, or for use with Fading Suns to supplement roleplaying dramas. Rules for roleplaying starship chases and battles at an abstract level are presented in this chapter.

Overall, an effort has been made to make this edition of the game a new and exciting version of Fading Suns, one that remains true to the history and feel of the milieu. The Game Master’s Guide (due out in December 2012) will present more rules on dangers to the characters, creating interesting NPCs and challenges, and flesh out more of the game universe by presenting information on worlds, factions, and other organizations in Fading Suns.

If you have any specific questions related to this release, please feel free to post them in the Fading Suns forum and we’ll answer them as best as we can!

The Fading Suns Player’s Guide (Revised Edition) will be released at Gen Con Indy 2012 and is available only from the RedBrick/FASA booth #1935. Holistic Design Inc. will also have limited quantities of the Player’s Guide for sale at Dragon*Con 2012, in Atlanta, GA. The book is perfect-bound, 6.125×9.125″, b+w interior, MSRP$34.99. A PDF version will be available for purchase soon from OneBookShelf (details to come). Trade print and distribution to come after Gen Con (details to come).

It’s a lot of information to take in at this point, but it does seem promising. Since I can’t make it to GenCon (seeing as I live halfway around the world) I’ll have to wait until the PDF comes out on DriveThruRPG. That said I’m also eagerly awaiting any new preview news for Blue Planet, another sci-fi game that I’m extremely interested in.

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For those watching Darthgus, he’s still been posting updates on his spinoff system Infinity Core, and is hopefully slated to do some play testing in GenCon as well. I’m very eager to see the rest of his work, and I believe that in the long run, his independent gig will actually pay off in spades. If you’d like  to check out his work, do visit his Gamers Dev blog, and the Vagrant Workshop forums if you’d like to be included in his playtest as well!

[Let's Study: Yggdrasill] Part 6: Extras, Equipment and Experience

Hello everyone, the rains that have been battering Manila have somewhat lessened and my internet is back (yay!) so here I am with the next installment to the Yggdrasill Let’s Study series.

Yggdrasill has two means of simulating NPCs. Lesser NPCs are known as Extras, and are created via a simplified version of character generation. Each Extra has six attributes: Conflict, Relationships, Physical, Mental, Mystical and Vitality.

These attributes represent modifiers to various rolls. When a player acts against an extra, the attributes are used as penalties. When the extra is acting, the attributes are used as bonuses to a basic 2d10 roll.

Extras take less hits to go down, as taking more damage than their vitality attribute drops them from Unhurt to Wounded, and a second drops them further from Wounded to Dead.

Generating Extras is relatively painless, with the GM choosing a base archetype from a list and picking three Traits that further modify the archetype. It’s a quick and easy way to generate stats for extras without them all coming from the same mold. Even the extras will have certain statistical differences based on the traits chosen for them.

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Equipment is found much later in the book, and Yggdrasill doesn’t skimp on the details providing the standard exchange rates for silver (“2 ounces of silver = 1 milk cow”) as well as a sidebar discussing hacksilver, which are jewelry or objects that are hacked apart and weighed to assess their value.

The weapons are fairly straightforward, with a damage bonus, encumbrance rating, hit points and price in silver. There’s a good spread of weapons, but nothing too exotic. Likewise armor is fairly simple with Armor Values, encumbrance and price.

Of course Shields are included as well, it’s as staple of the Norse combat gear after all. Interestingly, shields work differently from armor, and improve Physical defense rather than absorbing damage as Armor does. The reasoning behind it is that shields are used to deflect rather than absorb, which works for me.

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In Yggdrasill, characters gain experience in the form of Legend Points. These allow characters to increase their skill levels and develop their knowledge and expertise. Advancement is similar to Legend of the Five Rings, where experience points are spent to buy up individual stats as opposed to levelling up and improving across the board.

Renown is the second kind of character reward. This measures a character’s reputation in the Scandian kingdoms, and acts as a sort of fame rating. This doesn’t distinguish between good or evil, though, what matter is that you are recognized. Renown starts at a character’s highest skill rating at character creation and is increased by performing Deeds. Great deeds performed in front of influential witnesses grant more Renown.

The Renown system is pretty neat and I feel that the Deed x Witness = Renown bonus formula is particularly inspired, and I might hack that mechanic into my L5R games in the future.

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And that brings us to the end of the Let’s Study articles focused on the mechanics of Yggdrasill. Tomorrow I wrap up the series with a review of the game, and turn my attentions towards Qin: the Warring States whose Let’s Study articles start on Monday!