A look at the Alien RPG Maps & Markers Pack

Alien, RPG

More Alien RPG stuff, this time it’s the Maps and Markers pack.

The Maps and Markers pack consists of a large double sided map, and markers to use with the game.

Let’s look at the markers first.

The markers provided are meant to enable the tracking of characters, aliens, motion tracker pings, spaceships and and space combat actions.

As you can see below the markers are double sided cardboard. On the none spaceship/combat action markers one side is the tracker ping with a letter identifier. Whilst the other is an icon plus a letter identifier. The letter identifier is barely readable.

The maps or one side of the maps I have a big problem with.

The side I’m ok with is the star chart of the known charted universe. It’s a star chart.

The other side on the other hand is not as advertised. If you were buying this so that you’d have the required maps/floor plans to use along side the Cinematic adventure Chariots of the Gods. Which it is advertised as and even says so on the back of the packaging. Then you are are out of luck. What they actually give you is the maps for the sample Cinematic adventure Hope’s Last Day that is in the Alien RPG core Rulebook.

A bit of a big mistake. It looks like if you really want the maps for Chariots of the Gods you are going to buy the new boxed set in August.

The map is also not a battle map. As the photo shows below with a couple of tokens on it. The tokens look too big and cover up chunks of the map. It’s ok for showing a rough position.

I think this Maps and Markers kit is over priced for what it is. Especially considering you are not getting the maps you are expecting. I’d have liked to have seen bigger more useful maps. This is the only official product where I feel I’ve been ripped off.

Chariot of the Gods

Alien, RPG

The last three months or so have seen me resurrect my baking skills and extended them. I’m now baking two sourdough loaves a week (I love the toast it makes) plus until two weeks ago shortbread biscuits which have been replaced with pound cake. I’m developing a serious pound cake addiction.

Apart from the fact I’m enjoying the consumption of what I bake. What spurs me on and gives me a warm feeling is the joy my baking brings to Nan. She doesn’t eat much of it. But she loves seeing it straight from the oven, and having a small bit of whatever has just been baked once cool enough.

I have picked up a hard copy of the cinematic adventure Chariot of the Gods for the Alien RPG. This is technically the second published Alien RPG cinematic adventure if you count the mini adventure in the core rule book.

I’ve yet to run an Alien RPG game (hopefully once this pandemic has become safe enough to allow people to gather again). But reading this cinematic adventure it’s obvious they are at least on paper written differently from a D&D adventure.

A cinematic adventure comes with pre-generated characters, cast of NPC’s, agendas, maps, events and descriptions of key locations on the maps.

The pre-generated characters are the first difference. Cinematic adventures are the Alien RPG version of a one-shot. So the expectation is that the adventure is completed in a single session or possibly a second at most (depending on the duration of a session). They are also seen as a great intro to the Alien RPG and also for sessions at a con. With that in mind you get pre-generated characters for the players to choose from to play.

A cinematic adventure is split in to three acts, and at the start of each act players get a new agenda for their character to replace the previous acts agenda.

For me the biggest difference between this and say a D&D adventure is that within an act things are event driven. Some of the events may be mandatory, but the majority will not be, and may never be used. Very none linear.

The maps and the location descriptions are not any different from any other RPG.

With the act structure and events reading a cinematic adventure is a very different experience to other RPGs. Something that took me a little time to adjust to. It’s going to be very interesting to see what an Alien RPG campaign adventure looks like.

With the map and counters pack (on the way) that’s available, and the deck of cards this adventure is well supported for the GM and players.

The adventure is a softback, and 48 pages. And not bad value.

Core 2021 Prerelease & Chandra Spellbook

magic, MtG

Another pandemic MtG Prerelease is upon us. This time for Core 2021.

Thanks to my great FLGS my Prerelease kit was delivered today along with the latest in the spellbook series, the Chandra spellbook.

I’m pretty happy with the pulls I got from my prerelease kit and the additional 2 packs. I particularly liked how they used the b-side of the deck building advice for a prerelease for a timeline about Teferi. I kind of wished they did something similar in the spellbooks.

For me this is the first of the spellbooks that has been for a Planeswalker I like. I’m a Chandra fan. I’m assuming the next two years are going to be Nissa and Liliana. The other two big name Planeswalkers and part of the Gatewatch. Which I’m happy with this as they are the other two Planeswalkers I like. Although I am becoming a fan of Vivien Reid.

I’ll be glad when prereleases get back to “normal”. At the moment it feels like I’m getting half of the experience. Possibly not even that.

Naturally there is the addictive cracking of packs, and discovering the cards you have pulled. But the whole social side is missing. The excitement, even buzz as people are opening their booster packs and discovering what they have got. The catching up with friends, some that you only see at a prerelease. The deckbuilding with your pulls and playing some magic.

Because of all that it kind of feels a hollow experience.

Boom and slash!

Funkoverse

On the third attempt I managed to get the English version of the Catwoman and Robin Funkoverse stand alone expansion. Ok the German version was on me, I should have read the description properly. But the French version was on Amazon and the seller.

That expansion was joined by the four character Jurassic Park set. Which I needed to get the second member of the team I want to play.

The team idea I have is to play the raptor, t. rex, and jaws. I’m calling it boom, slash, splash!

I’ve no idea if the team is any good, synergises or even has any combos.

I’ve not even looked at the character abilities. I just think it will be fun to play. I’ve not even looked at which two items the team will be using.

Despite not having played the game yet. For me this game is all about throwing your favourite characters together and playing. In other words having fun.

It’s not about having everything, and building the strongest most competitive team. That’s a rabbit hole I don’t want to jump down. I’m not saying that can’t be fun. But that’s a side that at the moment I don’t see in the game. It might come with an official organised play scene.

I want to avoid the whole having to buy a set just for an item that works well with a different character. That was the sort of thing you were having to do in X-Wing or Imperial Assault to be competitive in tournaments. I hope Funkoverse avoids that.

There are sets I’m not interested in buying. I’m not a big Harry Potter fan, nor am I that nostalgic to play The Golden Girls. I’m just getting sets that are based on stuff I’m a big fan of. Hence why I have the Jaws set on pre-order (it is the final piece in this team after all). Plus I will get the Back to the Future stand alone expansion. And the newly announced/leaked A Game of Thrones set appeals to me (despite the last two seasons being a train wreck).

So when I play this game with friends who don’t have the game, I will just put the figures out that I have and we will draft the characters we want to play with. With friends into the game we can do the same, or use the official beta organised play rules.

Hopefully this will keep the game casual and fun for me and my friends.

In the meantime I’m looking forward to getting the third and final member of this team next month.

Scythe Digital Version Released (last week) on iOS

apps, first look

The digital version of Scythe was finally released on iOS last week.

This is not a review, but a quick “hey look what’s been released”.

I’ve not played the game online yet, just against the AI. But I’m enjoying that experience.

I like the interface and found it easier and quicker to pick up than the PC/Mac version of the game (which I finally got to try after getting it in a Humble Bundle deal a couple months or so ago).

As you can see the app looks stunning. And I love the fact you have the option of playing with the minis and meeples either unpainted or painted. It’s a little thing, but a nice choice to have.

This initial release is the base game with some promo encounter cards.

I can’t wait to have the expansions as an option to purchase and play.

A look at a Scythe Board Game Coin Box

first look

I think we all know how I feel about the board game Scythe by Stonemaier Games. To paraphrase the late great Bill Hicks, I’m getting a warm feeling just thinking about it.

Last week on the Scythe Facebook group some-one posted that they had just got a coin box for the game off Etsy.

Naturally I ordered one.

I like things like this coin box for games. They are great for storage. But also aid in speeding up the setting up and packing away of the game. You just take it out of the game box, remove the lid and are ready to go. I have a similar box for Wingspan that holds the eggs and food tokens.

This particular box is designed to hold the cardboard coins or the official metal coins.

I did find the 10 value slot a bit close fitting. It’s also the coin that there is not enough space to fit all of them in. As you can see there are two different coloured 10 value metal coins. With only space to fit one of the two colours.

I love the design, especially the slot/groove for holding the lid in place.

For a 3D printed product this rocks. Glad I got it.

You can find the coin box HERE if you want to also get one.

New D&D Module Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden Announced

D&D, news, RPG

Last night the D&D Live 2020 Roll With Advantage event kicked off. Unlike previous D&D Live events this years is a virtual event (we all know why).

These high profile events are used to announce and launch the new big module for the year. And like previous years (well last year for sure) there was a leak before hand. This time it was at the hands of WotC themselves when they mistakenly put a video live for a fraction of a second on YouTube. But that was long enough for some-one to get a screen grab and spread it around the internet.

What this all means is that the “big announcement” they make just confirms what everyone already knew.

This years big module that we will be getting from mid September is called Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden sees WotC revisiting the horror genre, but setting it in the icy wastes of Icewind Dale. When I heard this I instantly thought The Thing, 30 Days of Night. During the big reveal they mentioned there are around 40 stat blocks in this module, the most they have included in a module, They also mentioned that the module has been designed similar in approach to the Essentials Kit adventure. Which means you can dive in and out of the module and drop individual adventures into your own campaign, or run it as a normal campaign.

I’m pretty excited by this module. The horror genre is something I want to get to the table either in my campaign or running something like this or the Alien RPG.

Naturally there is the usual 3rd party tie in from Beadle and Grimm.

This box of props and handouts etc tied to the module is $499. A tad expensive for the majority of players and DMs. But still if this is something you can afford I’m pretty sure it’ll enhance the gaming experience.

There is also by now the standard and not surprising at all matching dice set.

I like these sets, but it’s getting a bit boring now. I think it’s about time WotC decided to be a bit more creative on the official accessories.

Plus there is the usual Wizkids minis support for the module. Which I find it hard to get excited about because they availability I found isn’t great, especially in the UK. Plus they are random packs, so you are not guaranteed to get what you want. A total turn off. Although the 2D standees and village paper craft stuff they briefly mentioned did sound interesting. Well the standees, I’m not sure about paper craft stuff.

Another big thing they were showing off was the footage and game play from the upcoming Baldur’s Gate 3, which was co-hosted/partnered by IGN.

WotC also announced a D&D cookbook.

I wasn’t overly impressed with the live demonstrations of a couple of the recipes. When they did the cocktail that seemed like jumping the shark for me. Cocktails in a medieval/fantasy setting doesn’t seem too authentic to me. And that was the kind of angle they were pushing. The Elven bread recipe that they demonstrated and put the page up on their website annoyed me. Well the recipe did. It measured stuff in cups. No weights. The melted butter measurement was given as half a stick of butter or half a cup. It’s obvious this is a US only type recipe book. But the recipes should have measurements in cups (for the yanks) and weight, ie 400g/2 cups (I’m not sure that’s right, it’s for illustration not use). The volume measurement is not very accurate and inconsistent. From my favourite cookbook Ratio by Michael Ruhlman, he wrote ,”A cup of flour can weigh anywhere between 4 and 6 ounces. This means that if you are making a recipe calling for 4 cups of flour, you might wind up with a pound of flour in your bowl or you might end up with 1 ½ pounds.” as an example of why he uses weight and not volume measurements. In the UK our butter is not sold as sticks and don’t equate to US equivalents. So the recipe is not very considerate towards an international audience. Bad call WotC in your new age of inclusivity not considering international customers.

Apart from the module, I found the whole online event and announcements underwhelming. A bit of a damp squib. I’m sure that many found the Baldur’s Gate 3 stuff exciting. But not something I’m not interested in as it won’t be on anything I own.

Still Alive

Uncategorized

After a day or two without posting I thought I better post something as proof of life. Plus by using the post title that I have, and the obvious (for a gamer) music choice at least you have some quality entertainment before getting to my drivel.

I thought in this “come back” post I’d briefly look at the two new apps I’ve been playing. Or at least discuss my experience of them so far.

About three weeks ago I got accepted onto the beta test for the Roll for the Galaxy app. It’s something I’d forgotten I had applied for. So when the email arrived in my inbox telling me I was in, was a pleasant surprise.

Basically being part of the iOS beta test means I get to play the game for free until they are ready to release it officially to the general public. That’s when I will have to delete the beta version and pay for the release version. When that moment happens I will gladly part with the money.

I’m really enjoying the experience of playing the app. I’ve not played against anyone else yet online. But my games against the AI have been fun.

I do own the physical game and I like playing the game. How ever I’d not really considered it a filler game. Games had typically taken around 30 – 60 mins depending on number of players and experience etc.

What I’ve found with the app and playing against the AI is that I’m playing the game as a “I have 5 minutes to fill” type game. Which surprised me a little. In fact since getting the app it’s been my go to app for those moments of “I want to play something, but not invest lots of time playing” moments.

In fact this beta version came out within a day or so of the Imperial Settlers Roll and Write app, and apart from an initial play, I’ve been playing this instead.

Nearly two weeks ago now the digital version of Viticulture was released.

Sadly for Viticulture it was after the Roll for the Galaxy app, and it has taken me just over a week before I even fired the app up and played a game.

Since then I’ve played a couple of games against the games AI. I’m liking the implementation but I’m missing the Tuscany expansion. It’d be nice to play a game or two against friends. But not likely to happen for a while.

But like the Lords of Waterdeep and Manhattan Project apps it will allow me to scratch a gaming itch. After all these are my three top favourite worker placement games. So having the option to play all three of them now digitally against AI is a god send.

I still have the Charterstone app to start playing, and I want to learn Race for the Galaxy using the app. So plenty to keep me going.

GM/DM Screens

Alien, D&D, Judge Dredd, Paranoia, RPG

To use a DM/GM screen or not to use a DM/GM screen? That is the question.

There’s not a right or wrong answer. It’s all done to your personal preferences.

Some prefer not to use them, and have everything in the open. Others like using them and keeping an element of surprise.

I fall in the later camp. I like them.

For me a GM/DM screen does the following. It firstly gives me access to handy tables that I use and refer to during a session. Secondly the side the players see with it’s art work helps set the tone etc for the campaign/session. Thirdly it allows the DM/GM organise and have things like miniatures, props, maps ready without being seen by the players and keep that element of surprise. Finally if you want to roll dice without the players seeing the result, and thus fudge the result if need be (but the discussion whether that’s a good thing or not is a whole different post all by itself.) I also like that a screen gives me somewhere to clip NPC character cards, or pictures relevant to the current encounter/location.

My personal preference is that a screen is landscape. It gives you the benefits I talked about above, without totally feeling you are cut off from the players.

It’s possible to purchase (or make) a generic DM/GM screen. These are blank screens that you can attach your own sheets of paper to that contain the exact information that you require. These are a bit more expensive than the dedicated screens you get for particular systems. I haven’t gone this route yet.

Naturally I have built up a small collection of screens for different RPGs that I own (which I may or may not have played yet). What follows is a brief look at the ones I own and my thoughts about them.

Official D&D DM Screen – This is a landscape screen that has four sections. The art the players see is cool, but generic D&D (image above ‘borrowed’ off the Internet). I really like this screen. For a noob DM like me it’s perfect. There is a lot of information on the DM side, such as status conditions, available actions, encounter distances (a very very handy table), DC levels, plus lots more. Information that you will use a lot during a session. I really do like this screen a lot.

Ghosts of Saltmarsh (GoS) DM Screen – When WotC release a campaign book usually a third party like Galeforce 9 get the licence to produce a DM Screen for it. This is by said licensee for the GoS book. Like the official screen this is landscape with four sections. The information naturally contained on this screen is geared towards running a GoS campaign or one that involves a lot of sea travel. We have tables for generating random ships, encounters on open water and hazards at sea. I love the art on the player side, and think it sets the tone and atmosphere really well for a sea based adventure. In fact to date that has been my main use for the screen! I have this in front of the official screen when the characters are at sea.

In an ideal perfect world I’d have this screen up along side the official screen.

Judge Dredd and Worlds of 2000 A.D. RPG GM Screen – this is a four section portrait screen. So it stands taller than the previous two mentioned and is not as wide. The player side of the screen has some great comic book art on it that definitely sets the tone, especially if playing judges. I like that it also has a handful of tables that players would find useful having access to for sentencing, and for their standard equipment the lawgiver and lawmaster. I’m conflicted with this screen. I feel that the publisher wasted a section by focusing on character creation. For me I’d preferred if this was replaced with information on creating dice pools and combat. Something a GM would use a lot more than the character creation information. I like the table listing NPCs and the page in the rulebook they can be found. The on patrol table is handy to have for generating on the fly crimes for players to handle. But the whole character creation stuff keeps niggling me from making this a must buy for the RPG. I hope that if they release a Strontium Dog version of this that they don’t make the same mistake.

Paranoia RPG – another portrait screen with four sections. This is a different screen to the others. The player side is designed to be used by the players! You actually need to keep the sheet of paper that comes with the screen as it has instructions and a table for when the players do use the screen. It’s very thematic. There are lots of tables on the GM side covering the cost of equipment, rewards, security levels, etc. Not the prettiest screen by far. Very practical with a fun player interactive element. I feel that alone is in keeping with the tone of the game. I think the only way this could be improved is to have a table of computer speak.

Alien RPG – my newest screen. This one is a landscape screen with three sections. So once again this is not as wide as the D&D screens. The player side art just oozes Alien, suspense and horror. The information on the GM side looks useful, there is the panic roll table, critical injuries, and other tables relevant to combat. There isn’t much I can say apart from this is a nice GM screen, and I’m glad I have it for the RPG.

There we have it, I hope you found this a helpful post.

Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica Extras

D&D, magic, MtG, RPG

With the digital version of Mythic Odysseys of Theros having hit D&D Beyond eight days ago, and the physical release still over a month away. I thought I’d look at the extras WotC released for the previous crossover between D&D and MtG, Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica.

First up is the themed dice set that was released.

I like the overall presentation of this dice set.

The dice set comes in a cardboard sleeve that shares it’s artwork with that of the sourcebook.

The tin is very pretty for a dice tin. I love the lid with the embossed guild symbols, and the artwork on the outside of the main tin.

Inside the tin we have the following dice: 1d4, 4d6, 1d8, 2d10, 1d12, 1d20 and a large d10 with the guild symbols on. You’d only use this to randomly select a guild, for instance during character creation, or for an NPC.

The tin itself is probably twice as deep as need be for the dice included. That extra space taken up with foam padding. Obviously you are not going to use this as a dice tray (which one or two of the later sets could be used for). However as a general dice storage box it’d be ideal.

At over £20 originally this dice set was in my opinion a tad on the expensive side. However in the last few months that price has dropped with some retailers and can be picked up for less than £15. At that price I think this becomes an affordable option that makes it worth considering if you are in the market for another dice set. But not if you only want that guild die.

The next extra is the Maps and Miscellany pack.

Once again the art used for the cover of the cardboard wallet that the contents comes in is the source book art work.

For the money you get 7 double-sided colour maps showing the precincts of the Tenth District with reference information on the back of each for that precinct.

There are also 11 double-sided maps of locations associated with the guilds themselves, and these too also have reference material on the reverse.

The contents are completed with two perforated sheets of cards (18 cards in total) that have character illustrations on one side and descriptions of guild charms on the other.

The guild location maps look like Dyson Logos maps. WotC have been using him for maps. And like many others I like his art style. I’m not sure who did the art for the district maps.

All the contents within the pack are A4 in side. Each map is card with a finish that is meant to be used with a dry eraser.

On the guild location maps the reverse information is made up with a smaller version of the opposite sides map with room labels (these are missing from the other version). A description of the location can be found along side a d10 Adventure Goal table.

On the district and precinct maps we get key location descriptions and a d12 table for people on the street of that district/precinct.

I like the summary information included on both map types. Although if using the location maps with the players if you have to keep referring to the labelled b-side I don’t think it’s very practical. I’m also not convinced about the A4 size for use during play. It seems too small.

The cards are useful for not only a campaign on Ravnica but for any D&D campaign to illustrate NPCs. And the guild charm side of the card a very handy reminder for players to have in front of them during a session.

Once again at £20 plus originally I felt a tad on the expensive side. However shopping around it can be found for a lot less. There are some nice touches. But I have doubts about the practicality of the maps during a session.

Using the DMs Guild it is possible to pick up a pdf of the two adventures that WotC did for two of the MtG Ravnica weekends. These were weekends tied in with the major Guilds of Ravnica MtG sets at the time, and used to introduce MtG players to D&D, and possibly less so D&D players to MtG.

Krenko’s Way is a reprint of the adventure you find in the Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica. Whilst A Zib For Your Thoughts is a new adventure that takes place weeks after the events of Krenko’s Way. And also comes with some pregenerated characters.

These two adventures are $4.99 on the DMs Guild with the money going to the Extra Life charity (something WotC supports each year).

Wizkids also released some painted miniatures for Guildmasters of Ravnica. But I don’t have any of them.

I think that covers everything. Hope you found the summary helpful, if not rather late. But then if like me you are only now just getting this stuff you like me saving money.