Category Archives: first look

first look

X-Men vs The Snap!

expansions, first look, LCG, Marvel Champions

We all know that eventually I will have all the expansions for Marvel Champions.

The plan is to pick up a couple of heroes a month and a campaign/scenario.

That plan started this month with the arrival of Nebula, Phoenix, and Wolverine, along with The Mad Titans Shadow campaign.

Obviously this is a first look/impressions of these new arrivals so they haven’t been to the table yet.

I think you should also bare in mind that I only play Marvel Champions multiplayer, and currently only use the prebuilt decks. So no solo play, and currently no deckbuilding.

It should also be noted that I don’t have everything. Hence the opening couple of sentences to this post.

Also that I’ve picked these heroes and the campaign not based on any rankings, that these are the best to get, etc. But because these are heroes that I think are cool, and enjoy in the comics. The campaign was chosen because I thought it would be cool to go toe to toe with the main villain.

That should be enough ammunition to dismiss anything I write in the rest of the post. So let’s get on with it…

Wolverine

If this Wolverine deck wasn’t an aggression deck then I think myself and others would be complaining it’s not thematic and true to the character.

Wolverine is all about dealing damage and lots of it in one go by the looks of it. But in doing so Wolverine also takes a bit of damage. Luckily he is able to heal not only in his alter ego form but also in his hero form. This is very on the nose theme wise.

Phoenix

Phoenix as it comes out of the box is a justice deck. Justice decks are usually about dealing with the villians scheme by removing the threat tokens.

I’m not sure why they took Phoenix in the justice direction. The fifteen Phoenix cards don’t scream justice, unlike the Wolverine cards that scream clobberin’ time (I know its a Thing thing!)

If I was into the deckbuilding side of the game (which I’ll get into further down the line in my journey with Marvel Champions) then I’d definitely be trying Phoenix as an aggression deck.

Nebula

Nebula like Phoenix is a justice deck.

The Nebula deck does feel more justice than the Phoenix deck.

I like the look of the technique upgrade cards, and how they boost Nebula. Very thematic. It does look like cycling through the deck and discard pile to get to and play these cards is key.

The Mad Titans Shadow

This campaign expansion pitches you against Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight (with Corvus Glaive), Thanos, Hela, and Loki.

The villain and scheme really decide which hero or type of deck you should be playing.

For instance the Ultron game I played with Diego was super tuff for us as we had no way to combat the minion spamming that happened. We needed a hero that could take out the minions. Which neither of us were playing.

I’m avoiding reading anything about the schemes so that when I play them I get the twists and turns.

But as villians selected for this expansion we have the ones you’d expect plus two you wouldn’t.

I can’t wait to see how Loki and Hela are worked into the campaign story. Obviously Thanos and his minions are telling the Infinity Gauntlet story to some degree.

We also get two new heroes to add to the roster to choose from.

Spectrum

Spectrum comes as a leadership deck. I’m not sure why looking at her fifteen cards. I don’t see anything here that supports helping other heroes in the team.

Spectrum is all about swapping between the three energy forms that boost one of the three hero stats when face up.

That alone interests me enough to try the character out, because Spectrum isn’t a hero I’d naturally choose to play.

I see Spectrum as one of those characters that could be any of the four aspects.

Adam Warlock

Adam Warlock although not a hero I’d go for when choosing a hero to play. I have to admit the fact he has all four aspects in his deck and uses this to power his ability does look like an interesting mechanic I’d like to try at least once.

So two very interesting heroes mechanics wise.

I can’t wait to play the following team-up with Nathan when I visit him next week.

Hopefully going up against Thanos will not be another Ultron experience!

Dragons Of Stormwreck Isle Starter Set

D&D, first look, RPG

I know this post is pretty late to the party considering US based content creators got a head start on the rest of the world when they were able to buy this starter set and cover it during the Target exclusivity window. Everyone else has had to wait until it was released last month. Even then I’m a little later than others.

But I did only get my copy three days ago.

The big question I had to ask myself is do I have anything worth adding to the conversation about the new starter set?

After all there are some pretty great content creators out there that have shared their thoughts on it already. Some in the time since it has come out have even ran it, and shared more thoughts on it.

So what could I possibly add to the conversation about this new starter set?

You know I haven’t played the adventure. My initial impressions are exactly that. So take them for what they are.

So straight out of the box you get the following when you open it up.

  • Dragons of Stormwreck Isle adventure
  • Basic rules book
  • 6 dice
  • 5 pregenerated character sheets

WotC still don’t give a full set of dice in the box. They should at least provide two d20’s. But they don’t.

The Dragons Of Stormwreck Isle adventure is smaller compared to the original starter adventure Lost Mines of Phandelver.

For starters it takes characters from levels one to three, compared to characters finishing at level five in Lost Mines.

Page count is less 48 pages compared to 64.

But looking at the adventures and the dungeon maps players will explore, the maps are just smaller. Less to them. Having said that I’m already planning to reuse one of the maps for my current campaign.

I’m not sure why they reduced the scope, and size of the dungeons. Maybe the feedback WotC got over the years since Lost Mines was released is that new players and DM’s found the adventure too daunting.

I love the art in the new starter set, especially with the characters depicted being the characters from the 80’s D&D cartoon.

One thing I’d have liked to have seen included in this updated starter set is the inclusion of cardboard standees. Although a dream inclusion would be the Wizkids Idols of the Realm 2D starter set they do for this. Yes the price would go up but it would rake this set to the next level.

A digital code to unlock the adventure on D&D Beyond should have been included. No ifs or buts. This omission is mind boggling.

An A4 wipeable grid sheet to use as a battle map, similar to the ones WotC used in their DM kits would also have been nice. Along with a DM screen like the one in the essentials kit.

Although the fact WotC did create complimentary videos to help players and DMs get started, and provide a link to it in the box was a nice touch.

I don’t think the new starter set is an improvement over the previous one. So I’m unsure why they changed it. If it had some of the things added that I mentioned above. Yeah I can see why it was updated. The changes were needed to compete with similar starter sets from other systems.

But change for change sake? It feels like a money grab to me.

Yeah this will allow a group of friends curious about trying D&D to do exactly that. Which is what it’s intended to do.

Gloom Digital First Impressions

apps, first look, iOS

Since Gloom has had my interest reignited in it in the past week or so I was pleasantly surprised and delighted to find out there is a digital version of the game.

I don’t know why I was surprised at all.

These days it would have been more surprising if there were no app version of the game.

But still I was.

So I parted with the pennies, all £5.99 to download it. Another £2.49 of them would get me the Unhappy Homes expansion as an in app purchase. Which I didn’t part with until I had at least decided if I liked the app.

Naturally the app version uses the same art style and art of the physical game. I personally do like the art.

I love the music for the game, it kind of has that Danny Elfman Batman Returns feel to it. It’s suitably atmospheric. There are also little sound bites for each of the family members to try and give them a bit of character.

The BIG surprise for me is this is a solo game where you play against up to three AI bots. Which you can’t even change the difficulty level of. Multiplayer and/or pass and play (standard features in other digital adaptations of board games) should have been included. But are sadly missing.

Speed of play is a little bit of an issue for me. There is no way to speed up the AI turns (something you’d expect should be there from the start). This digital version isn’t going to be one of those games you turn to when you find you have five minutes to fill.

I did find it nearly unplayable on my iPhone. The cards are just too small and unreadable. This is much better on an iPad.

Personally I think some sort of card zoom feature similar to that in Epic the Card Game could have been used.

Naturally playing against the AI looses something from the physical game. The storytelling element. Even with online play against others this would be missing without some sort of voice chat. But that’d never be implemented in app. You’d have to use a third party service like discord or zoom to get the voice side of things. Without the storytelling Gloom is reduced to “just” a card game.

Overall this app version of Gloom has an alpha/beta release feel to it. It’s missing what I’d consider to be core functionality that you’d expect to be there.

Stonemaier Games Release Official Scoring App

apps, first look, iOS, news

As part of the tenth anniversary celebrations for Stonemaier Games (which strangely for a fanboy I haven’t written about yet!) have just announced and released a free official Stonemaier Games Scoring app.

The app will initially act as a digital score pad for Wingspan, and record high scores. Other Stonemaier games will follow over time.

So how will this effect the unofficial, nothing to do with Stonemaier Games, Wingspan scoring app Wingmate?

Although technically they do the same job in other ways they differ.

Firstly Wingmate will cost you money. To score a game (other than the free to try single player scoring), use the automata, use either/both the expansions for scoring, you have to fork out hard digital cash.

As mentioned earlier in the post the Stonemaier app is completely free.

Wingmate is designed to be used during play.

At the start of a game you set up the end of round objectives either using the app to select them or draw them randomly physically and let the app know which ones you are using.

Then during the game at the end of each round you record each players score for that objective.

The official app is designed to be used at the end of the game.

It’s here that I noticed a difference in the nectar scoring.

Wingmate calculates the end game scoring on the rules where points awarded are based on majority in each habitat. Whilst the official app gives a point for each nectar collected!

When did this change? Shouldn’t the official app use the rules or give the option to chose between the two?

I don’t play using the Automata so I haven’t used that option in Wingmate. And I’m not paying £1.79 to see what it does! I’m not that dedicated.

The official app keeps a high score table, which Stonemaier plan to have so that you can see how you rank against other users of the app.

It also allows you to record scores for three other Stonemaier games (no score pad functionality) for their own respective high score tables. With the same future plans.

Currently Wingmate does not have this functionality. Will they add it? I’m not sure.

I’m not sure what the future of Wingmate is. I think the official app will meet the majority of players needs. Despite the change in nectar scoring. Whether that takes away enough in-app purchases income to justify stopping the further development of Wingmate I don’t know. Maybe it forces Wingmate to drop the in-app purchases and go completely free also. It’s going to be interesting to see what the developer decides.

I do like the end of round scoring functionality of Wingmate. I’d definitely add this to my wish list of features for the official app after sorting out the nectar scoring. Which for me is the top priority.

As a first release the official app is pretty cool.

Although I only cover iOS apps this will as soon as the Google app approval process allows be out on that other platform too.

Going Underground – a first look at the new D&D DM Screen Dungeon Kit

D&D, first look, RPG

Whilst everyone else is doing back flips and cartwheels over the latest WotC D&D 5e adventure The Wild Beyond the Witchlight.

The new Dungeon Master’s Screen Dungeon Kit (DMSDK) seems to be flying under everyone’s radar. I’m not seeing any of the “BIG” D&D names talking about it. It’s all about the feywild or the upcoming Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons previews that are dripping out.

Don’t get me wrong I’m pretty excited about what Fizban has to say about dragons. Well as excited as I can muster considering. I have little to no interest in Witchlight. It’s just not for me. Which is fine. Not everything WotC does has to be.

However I do like a good DM screen.

With the arrival of DMSDK I now have four (if you don’t count the thin cardboard one from the Essentials Kit).

When buying a DM screen I tend to avoid adventure specific ones (although if I was running the adventure I might be tempted to get the matching screen) and go for the more useful for me general ones.

Naturally my first DM screen was the official WotC Dungeon Master’s Screen Reincarnated (DMSR) for 5e. Which I really like and is the screen I use the most.

However nearly a year ago WotC released the Dungeon Master’s Screen Wilderness Kit (DMSWK). I did a pretty bad unboxing video for it here. Which focused on running wilderness adventures.

I also have the Galeforce 9 DM screen for the Ghosts of Saltmarsh adventure book Of Ships & The Sea. Remember what I said earlier. Yes that breaks that rule. But mainly because this is aimed more at running campaigns that are at sea, so is more generic.

Which brings us to the latest addition to my DM screen collection.

  • Front cover
  • Back cover
  • Inside

As the name suggests the DMSDK is focussed on running adventures/campaigns in the depths of the earth. You know the dungeon part of D&D.

The player facing side of the DM screen has some beautiful art by the artist Greg Rutkowski that just evokes going into a dungeon.

Player side of the DM screen has art by Greg Rutkowski

Even if I didn’t need the tables on the DM side I’d quiet happily double up on the DM screens with this on the outside and most likely the DMSR behind it for me to use. I have done that before with the Saltmarsh screen and used the art to help invoke the mood and setting for the session and used the tables from the other screen.

On the DM side we get tables geared towards dungeon delving, along with the usual condition reminders. The tables look useful. But the real test to this is when you have to use them in anger.

Maybe in another post I should compare the information on the official WotC DM screens and see how much over lap there is. Definitely a project for another day.

DM Side of the DM Screen

After the DM screen there is a doubled sided sheet dry erase sheet which has a summary of actions players can take during combat. Then on the other side a blank grid for drawing on.

  • Front
  • Reverse side
Dry erase sheet

Unsurprisingly there is only one of these included in this Dungeon Kit. A second would have been nice for those that don’t have the other kit. I think this is a handy DM tool to include.

There are two sheets of condition cards included. Each sheet is nine cards. Giving a total of 18 condition cards. Three of those cards are tailored towards a dungeon adventure (brown and yellow mold plus green slime).

  • Example reverse side
Condition Cards

These condition cards use the same art as those from previous kits, just scaled and toned differently. Best I can say about this art is it’s functional.

I think these cards are so handy to have to pass to a player when they get that condition. It doesn’t just remind them and you they have that condition. But the reminder text on the reverse about the condition is very useful for the player to refer to.

I’m getting a nice little collection of these cards now.

As I am of the initiative cards that are included. These like their wilderness kit versions use the art from their respective DM screens.

You can use these a couple of ways. The first is as reminders to players and you where they are in the initiative order after everyone has rolled for initiative. Or taking a leaf out of the Year Zero system, shuffle and deal out randomly to determine players initiative order. Either way works.

  • Front of the Initiative Cards
  • Deck box

The included deck box also uses the DM screen art. But like all other WotC deck boxes they include in products (especially on the MtG side of things) you have to “assemble” the box. Describing it as flimsy is being generous.

Now onto the real star of this kit for me.

Included with this kit are four sheets of Dungeon Geomorph cards. We all know what a fan of this sort of thing I am. So nine cards per sheet, which gives us 36 Geomorph cards.

With the cross hatching, these cards have a Dyson Logos feel to them. I don’t know who created these. But they are nice.

  • Front
  • Reverse
Dungeon Geomorph Cards

These can be used while preparing for a session or on the fly at the table.

I’m a fan of these focused DM screen kits WotC have produced. I really like the little extras they add to them. Personally I think they are great for new and old DM’s.

P.S. for the record I was never a The Jam fan. Luckily one of their more popular hits gave me a song title I could use in the title of this blog post.

Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

D&D, first look, new arrivals, RPG

Yesterday saw the release of the new D&D source book Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft (VRGR).

Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft Alt FLGS Exclusive Cover

VRGR takes players and DMs back to Ravenloft and the Domains of Dread. But this isn’t an adventure like the Curse of Strahd. This is a campaign source book.

A campaign source book that gives players and DMs the tools to run horror themed D&D campaigns.

Contents page (Image taken from EN World)

As the content page (above) shows those tools include new options for players such as lineages, dark gifts, new backgrounds and subclasses.

For the DM there is a chapter on creating your own Domain of Dread that also covers the various types of horror. Followed by coverage of the Domains of Dread that make up the Ravenloft setting. DMs also get a chapter on running horror games that also includes an adventure “The House of Lament”. This adventure is for first level players and takes them up to level 3. From a cursory glance over the adventure it looks like a haunted house type of affair.

This brings me onto a minor criticism, and I know that page space is an issue in these sort of things. But considering the advice earlier in the chapter about session zeroes etc, you would have thought there would be a paragraph or two that a DM could use summarising the themes and content for the adventure. But to be fair I’d like to see this sort of thing in all of the official D&D books.

I’ve not run the Avernus campaign, so was shocked when I saw in a Sly Flourish video that it uses body horror in part of the campaign. There needed to be some sort of paragraph at the start of the book, and also at the start of each chapter similar to what I suggested above. If nothing else it forewarns the DM that there might be problematic content for their gaming group.

The final chapter is the good ol’ bestiary for the Domains of Dread. More monsters is always a good thing.

VRGR is the latest instalment in what seems like a fixation with horror for the WotC D&D crew. Since the release of Avernus, we have had Icewind Dale, Curse of Strahd Revamp and now this. It will be interesting to see if they lighten things up.

I’ve been looking forward to VRGR since it was announced. And apart from the comment above, my initial look through the pages hasn’t disappointed.

I’d like to run a campaign in the Domains of Dread. But luckily the way my current campaign is structured I can introduce horror elements to it using VRGR and Tasha’s as well. Naturally before doing so there would need to be a conversation with the players. (Is there a name for a mid game session zero? ) And although this book is specifically for D&D some of the information like horror genres, or running that session zero are applicable to other systems. Horror Cyberpunk Red anyone?

Alien RPG Starter Set – First Look

#AlienDay, Alien, first look, new arrivals, RPG

Happy Alien Day!

Yep it’s a thing. I only found out about it a couple of weeks ago while researching stuff for a future post. Fox started it about 4 years ago apparently. So later today when the States wake up we should see some cool Alien franchise product announcements being made.

In the meantime there are some Alien themed photos I’ve pushed out on social media to amuse you, plus this post.

Just over a month ago I finally caved and got my hands on the Alien RPG Start Set.

Inside the Starter Set is basically everything a group of friends need to play the Alien RPG cinematic scenario inside the box, plus the sold separately Destroyer of Worlds cinematic scenario. And yes some of the contents can be used when using the core rulebook and your own scenarios or campaign.

Contents of the Starter Kit

So what do you get inside the box?

  • A 104 page rulebook
  • The Chariot of the Gods cinematic scenario
  • 5 pre-generated characters
  • A double sided map
  • 84 game markers
  • 56 cards
  • 10 base dice
  • 10 stress dice

It should be pointed out that since the release of this Starter Kit, the only place you can get the game markers, Chariot of the Gods scenario, map and cards for the scenario is in this kit. They used to be sold separately.

But taking all this into account the Starter Kit does provide good value. The two sets of dice alone account for a large chunk of the kits cost. Before the kits release the individual parts came to more than the cost of this kit.

Naturally the rule book at 104 pages is a tad shorter than the 392 page core rulebook. Which is understandable this is geared at getting players playing a cinematic game of the Alien RPG as quick as possible. It doesn’t need the campaign or character creation rules.

For those wondering what a cinematic scenario is, this is basically what the Alien RPG calls a one-shot. It’s a single stand alone scenario that can be played in typically one to three sessions. In the Alien RPG these cinematic scenarios mirror the sort of story arcs that you get in the Alien movies. The game play is usually high stakes, fast and brutal (read high body count).

Naturally this cut down rule book doesn’t need the short introductory cinematic adventure from the core rulebook, or the creature stats (these are provided in the scenario).

I know some have criticised the lack of character creation within these slimmed down rules. But the D&D starter kit also didn’t allow you to create characters either. This is about playing a game of Alien RPG as fast and easy as possible. I don’t see it as an issue not being able to create characters. However I do agree with the comments I’ve seen about including a couple more cinematic scenarios. They could be short one act missions similar to the one in the core rulebook.

The cards provided include 10 initiative cards (although playing cards could be used for this), 12 equipment cards, 10 character/npc cards, and 24 agenda cards. Obviously the initiative and equipment cards can be used in other scenarios. But these are a handy inclusion.

I’d have liked to have seen the pre-generated characters printed on card stock to make them a bit more durable to wear and tear.

Overall if you want to play the Alien RPG this Starter Kit is a good place to start.

Quest Decks by Dice Dungeons

D&D, first look, new arrivals, RPG

Nearly a year ago now I backed a Kickstarter for these deck of cards to be used with RPGs called Quest Decks.

By there end of the Kickstarter there were ten quest decks unlocked. These decks covered various genres and types of missions:

” •  The Notice Board – Filled with traditional quests a party may find in a fantasy town.

•  For The Crown – Plunges your character into a world of nobles and intrigue. A chance at bigger rewards, but with higher stakes.

•  Into The Stars – This sci-fi themed deck will take your players on Interstellar adventures. Designed to work great for space-fairing games such as Stars without Number and Starfinder.

•  Grimm Adventures – Explore spooky crypts and dark secrets in this eerie, ghost-themed deck.

•  Coastal Threats – Great for coastal regions and seafaring campaigns. Explore docks districts and seek buried treasure.

•  Far-flung Journeys – Embark on quests that require distant travel that will take you beyond the edge of world.

•  Neon Dystopia – From megacorps to mechanoids, dive into the neon shadows of the future in this cyberpunk inspired deck.

•  Eldritch Omens – Bring a touch of madness to your game and investigate unknowable horrors with this Lovecraftian themed horror deck.

•  Uncharted Expanse – Take your sci-fi adventures to edge as you explore the outer regions space.

•  Partners in Crime – This deck will have you using all your wits and cunning to plan heists, shake down shop owners, and fight for territory.” (Taken from the Kickstarter page)

I backed for five decks of my choice (a decision based on funds, and interest), and the physical copies arrived a couple of days back. I’ve had the digital versions of the decks I chose for a while. But unless I was in a hurry to use them, printing my own copies to use didn’t appeal to me.

The nice thing about the digital version of the decks was the “bonus” content. These are pdfs that any DM would find useful. There were three in total, A Lively Encounter (tables to add depth to random encounters), 50 Plot Points to Add Depth to Your Side Quests, and D100 Names (can never have enough lists of names).

The decks themselves are fine quality wise. I’d have preferred maybe better card stock for the deck boxes and cards. However I plan to sleeve the cards anyway, which means the deck boxes are redundant and most likely for the bin.

Each deck consists of forty five quest cards, three blank cards, a quick guide card (although the Quest deck didn’t have this), and an advert card for more Quest Decks.

I’m looking forward to using these Quest Decks. Tie them in with some of the other decks and the npc dice, and it’s possible to create a random quest, dungeon, and NPC’s on the fly during a session. Or as inspiration whilst session planning.

Geek Tank Games Minis Kickstarter Impressions

D&D, first look

This morning without warning my pledge/reward for the Geek Tank Games minis Kickstarter arrived (along with the new Terra Incognita expansion for Civilization A New Dawn which I was expecting).

I have to say I was a bit underwhelmed and disappointed as the reality hit me after opening up the parcel.

Despite the art being very attractive. It was the actual end product that was disappointing. The minis were much more thinner than I had imagined they would be.

One of the comments on the Kickstarter described them as flimsy. It’s the perfect description for them. The plastic used is thin, paper thin!

These minis are not usable without the official bases. As you can see from the photo, the bases have a slot cut in them that has a curve. A curve that gives the mini a bit more of a 3D appearance on the table.

I have found that the minis sometimes spring out of the slots instead of staying in. Which is annoying.

I also agree with the same commentator who made the flimsy comment that if I’d seen these on the shelf of my FLGS, that I would pick them up, look them over, and return them to the shelf.

As for the company Geek Tank Games. They have a lot of work to do to learn from the ‘mistakes’ made during the Kickstarter. The most important being more open and upfront in their communications to backers. I’d even say more proactive in communicating news such as delays or changing shipping methods.

These look great, but leave a bit to be desired in their execution.