I mentioned yesterday that I was not too keen with Savage Worlds as a Super Hero/ Villains game. The point buy system just didn't make superheroes or villains that powerful if you are running a campaign with established heroes or villains.
This was the case when I played Necessary Evil. I wanted to play a Ra's al Ghoul -esque character. Ra's al Ghoul is rich, has a boatload of minions, a sidekick in Ubu, Lazarus Pits around the world, and he is as wise as he is strong.
I looked at what he had in a M&M beginner character, and he had everything to be all I wanted in that build. I figured even if I had to lower the minions and he had less pits he would be awesome.
When stating out my character in Savage Worlds, she did not have as much intelligence as physical prowess. I had to pick and choose. The Rich feat only gave me so much money and it was not Tony Stark money either. No Lazarus pit hot tubs in boats and only one pit guarded by my only minion. My husband had no points left to be able to use his tail and if you don't get that power in the beginning, you can't get it throughout the campaign.
All in all, the character creation kind of dampened my interest in Savage Worlds as a super hero system.
HOWEVER....
I love Savage Worlds for everything else. It is great for Pulp games, Pirate games and their Space 1889 game is awesome.
If you pick up the deluxe edition, it contains all errata. The system is simple to teach, simple to prep, and simple to learn.
If you like it, check out their Pirates of the Spanish Main book. The maps alone are worth the price of the book. I loved the adventure in the book so much I made it my convention games for two years.
Then... I implore you... please look at Space 1889. I love what they have done with it. And the 20+ adventures in the back of the book are worth it. Need the stats for a Yeti... they have that in this book! This is my convention game this year... Until Dragon Age Box Set 3 comes out that is.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Review: Marvel RPG - Margaret Weiss Productions
Boston Gameday was a few weeks ago and I got my first taste of the new Marvel RPG from Margaret Weis Productions, home of the Leverage and Smallville games. (I have to admit, I am a DC fan at heart. I have a soft spot in my heart for Ra's al Ghoul. It is very important for me to mention this so that you understand that this review is from the heart and completely unbiased.) I am very particular about the superhero games that I play. I have a love for M&M and a dislike of using Savage Worlds for Superheros.
The one thing I knew was not to compare it to Wild Talents or Mutants and Masterminds, as I knew from Smallville; it would be nothing like that. But also, I was hoping not to see the long and involved character creation that comes with playing a Smallville campaign. I have to admit, when Margaret Weiss announced they had the Marvel license I was a little sceptical. How would they make that work and work smoothly? My husband shared that same thought. We would check it out to see what they did with it.
I was delighted with Marvel RPG. I have played 2 games so far and read the book. I love the damage mechanic and the way they use the Cortex system to their complete advantage with the super powers.
Initiative worked good and really gets the players thinking strategy. You have a card, coin or something else with two sides. If the card was face up, you hadn't gone yet this round. If it is face down, you have gone this round. The Watcher (better known as the GM) chooses who goes first in round 1. Then after that person goes they pick who goes next and so on until the round is over. Then the last person to go in the round picks who is first in the next round. Here is the thing to remember. If you choose the bad guys to go last, they can choose themselves to go first in the next round! (By the way, don't do that... it is super painful for our heroes.)
I love how if you are working solo, with a buddy or with a team you have a different pool starting dice to roll. For example: As Wolverine, I had a better pool starting dice if I was solo than if I was working with a team. So, at every opportunity I would announce that I was going to work solo. Add in Superpower, Trait and Specialty dice and you have a boatload of dice to roll.... I love rolling dice so this was great for me. (What gamer doesn't like to roll some dice from time to time?)
But by far, the best thing about this game is the Doom Pool. The Doom Pool is just a fancy word for the pool that grows every time the Watcher wants to take advantage of an opportunity (a 1 on any dice). I love that some PC's (like Wolverine) have the Berserk talent as a special FX under the . Going Berserk allows a PC to roll the doom pool, but then one of the dice in the pool goes up a type (a d6 would go up to a d8 and so on).
I also appreciate and take full advantage of the plot point mechanic. Instead of allowing a re-roll, plot points will allow you to add on an additional die that you just rolled. So instead of 2 dice added together it is three. What if your highest die is going to be your effect die. Do you add a lower die type to your roll to keep the higher die type as your effect dice? This was a question that came up a lot of times in the games I played. Almost always, they kept the higher die type as the effect die and added another die instead.
The book was well designed, the art was fantastic (as it should be in a Licensed Comic book game), well edited and the index was super helpful.
Another positive is that writers and designers that worked on this book are fairly accessible. Cam Banks, the chief designer of this book was answering questions on twitter for me and a few others who had questions on the book/rules.
One of the negatives for me was that the Hulk was left out of the Operations Manual. As an Avenger and one of the better known heroes, I thought for sure he would be there. I know that everyone can't be included, but it is the HULK for goodness sake! I have a very basic knowledge of the Marvel Universe, so for him to be missing was sad for me. Thank goodness for the Internet I found a fan version that designer Cam Banks said was close to the version he was working on for one of the 15 supplement books due out in the next year. (I am not exaggerating, they said they were releasing 16 books in one year.
They really knocked it out of the park on this one. If you are not familiar with the cortex rules, they are not too hard to pick up. But if you want to familiarize yourself with them before taking on the superhero genre, you can pick up the Cortex Rulebook or better yet pick up the Leverage game. It was one of my favorite games of the year last year.
Will I pick up the supplement books? Most of them. I am not really up to date on the happenings in the Marvel Universe. I know I am picking up the Civil War book, which is due out in May. I am crossing my fingers for a Marvel Zombie supplement.
As this is my first review, I think I need a ranking. Maybe dice. D4 being lowest and d20 being highest.
I give this one a D12 out of a D20.
The one thing I knew was not to compare it to Wild Talents or Mutants and Masterminds, as I knew from Smallville; it would be nothing like that. But also, I was hoping not to see the long and involved character creation that comes with playing a Smallville campaign. I have to admit, when Margaret Weiss announced they had the Marvel license I was a little sceptical. How would they make that work and work smoothly? My husband shared that same thought. We would check it out to see what they did with it.
I was delighted with Marvel RPG. I have played 2 games so far and read the book. I love the damage mechanic and the way they use the Cortex system to their complete advantage with the super powers.
Initiative worked good and really gets the players thinking strategy. You have a card, coin or something else with two sides. If the card was face up, you hadn't gone yet this round. If it is face down, you have gone this round. The Watcher (better known as the GM) chooses who goes first in round 1. Then after that person goes they pick who goes next and so on until the round is over. Then the last person to go in the round picks who is first in the next round. Here is the thing to remember. If you choose the bad guys to go last, they can choose themselves to go first in the next round! (By the way, don't do that... it is super painful for our heroes.)
I love how if you are working solo, with a buddy or with a team you have a different pool starting dice to roll. For example: As Wolverine, I had a better pool starting dice if I was solo than if I was working with a team. So, at every opportunity I would announce that I was going to work solo. Add in Superpower, Trait and Specialty dice and you have a boatload of dice to roll.... I love rolling dice so this was great for me. (What gamer doesn't like to roll some dice from time to time?)
But by far, the best thing about this game is the Doom Pool. The Doom Pool is just a fancy word for the pool that grows every time the Watcher wants to take advantage of an opportunity (a 1 on any dice). I love that some PC's (like Wolverine) have the Berserk talent as a special FX under the . Going Berserk allows a PC to roll the doom pool, but then one of the dice in the pool goes up a type (a d6 would go up to a d8 and so on).
I also appreciate and take full advantage of the plot point mechanic. Instead of allowing a re-roll, plot points will allow you to add on an additional die that you just rolled. So instead of 2 dice added together it is three. What if your highest die is going to be your effect die. Do you add a lower die type to your roll to keep the higher die type as your effect dice? This was a question that came up a lot of times in the games I played. Almost always, they kept the higher die type as the effect die and added another die instead.
The book was well designed, the art was fantastic (as it should be in a Licensed Comic book game), well edited and the index was super helpful.
Another positive is that writers and designers that worked on this book are fairly accessible. Cam Banks, the chief designer of this book was answering questions on twitter for me and a few others who had questions on the book/rules.
One of the negatives for me was that the Hulk was left out of the Operations Manual. As an Avenger and one of the better known heroes, I thought for sure he would be there. I know that everyone can't be included, but it is the HULK for goodness sake! I have a very basic knowledge of the Marvel Universe, so for him to be missing was sad for me. Thank goodness for the Internet I found a fan version that designer Cam Banks said was close to the version he was working on for one of the 15 supplement books due out in the next year. (I am not exaggerating, they said they were releasing 16 books in one year.
They really knocked it out of the park on this one. If you are not familiar with the cortex rules, they are not too hard to pick up. But if you want to familiarize yourself with them before taking on the superhero genre, you can pick up the Cortex Rulebook or better yet pick up the Leverage game. It was one of my favorite games of the year last year.
Will I pick up the supplement books? Most of them. I am not really up to date on the happenings in the Marvel Universe. I know I am picking up the Civil War book, which is due out in May. I am crossing my fingers for a Marvel Zombie supplement.
As this is my first review, I think I need a ranking. Maybe dice. D4 being lowest and d20 being highest.
I give this one a D12 out of a D20.
Things I learned as a judge....
My time as ENnies judge has taught me many things.
1) 50,000 pages is a lot of stuff to read... A lot.
Not saying it wasn't fun, as it was all fun. Cause it totally was. But think about it. 50,000 pages. It is a lot. If I wasn't on bed rest for a month I may not have gotten everything done. I went into early labor reading the Bestiary 2 for Pathfinder. I brought books with me to the hospital when we went into active labor. I was reading pretty much all the way to the point where we needed to get the nomination list together. And I read it all. Just a note to all those thinking about running: May and June, you may not see your family. Also, there are good and bad products. Not everything will be excellent.
2) It is tough to read a product with a lot of stuff going on in the background.
My husband is a graphic designer and I have gotten a little picky with the design layouts for my books. If your text is in black and white and so is the artwork around it, it really REALLY detracts from the word on your page if your margin is close to the artwork.
3) 172 hours of podcasts will at times feel like homework, and other times it is a ton of fun.
For the record "Um" and "Like" are not really great on a recording.
4) You have to give a little to get a little.
As you have to work with four other individuals to come up with a nomination list. Somewhere there is going to be a give and take.
5) Never judge a book by its cover.
This last one is the most important. You see, my judges award was not a fancy 1,000 page book. It was a book that arrived in a simple Manila envelope from a very indy company in my home state of Massachusetts. So independent, in fact that they couldn't even make enough money to stay in business and they are currently taking a break. (Hopefully not for long.) I opened it and out it came. Twenty eight pages or so and a simple card stock cover with a hand drawn picture on it. It was called "Eat and Run". I was 7 0r 8 months pregnant at the time, so eating and running had a different meaning to me. I put it on my shelf thinking it would be a good book to bring to a doctor's appointment. But one night after finishing Skullduggery (another awesome game), I was looking for something else to read. It needed to be short, because I liked to read the books in one sitting if I could and bedtime was fast approaching. I pulled it from the shelf. I thought, "fine, this will have to do" and proceeded to laugh my ass off for over the hour I read this book. I even re-read sections to my husband, and the baby was kicking away. This clearly had the approval of all three of us.
Later when I had to choose my Judge's Award it was down to this one and a well known heist game that fans really liked. The company for the heist book was well known and I knew the book was selling well. To me the clear decision rested on which one kept me entertained the whole time, was a good bang for your buck, and the company needed the exposure. From cover to cover "Eat and Run" was the clear winner. I knew the system as I had run a "Kobolds ate my Baby" game set in Disney World, but the system just clicked with zombies too. Not only that, I read it and knew I could run it right then. But the idea that this small company would be AT GenCon and would get the award to display on top of the fact that the game was tons of fun in a small package made it irresistible to me. I chose it.
Unfortunately, they never made it to GenCon and it was only after I got home from GenCon I learned of their financial misfortune and their "break" from publishing.
Someday I will run my "Eat and Run" game. I want to set a game at a convention. You are Zombies and you are in Boston at the Boston Convention Center.... It just so happens there is a bunch of people there at some sort of convention with dice... GO!
6) No matter what, someone is going to be upset with your decision.
Now, I thought our list last year was a really good list with some amazing products. (You should check out our nominations here. ) Still people were saying that x product should have been nominated and we were blind not to see it. (One of the products that was mentioned actually fell apart in my hands. I had to put the pages in order to read it. ) There is no chance AT ALL that everyone will be happy with your nominations.
1) 50,000 pages is a lot of stuff to read... A lot.
Not saying it wasn't fun, as it was all fun. Cause it totally was. But think about it. 50,000 pages. It is a lot. If I wasn't on bed rest for a month I may not have gotten everything done. I went into early labor reading the Bestiary 2 for Pathfinder. I brought books with me to the hospital when we went into active labor. I was reading pretty much all the way to the point where we needed to get the nomination list together. And I read it all. Just a note to all those thinking about running: May and June, you may not see your family. Also, there are good and bad products. Not everything will be excellent.
2) It is tough to read a product with a lot of stuff going on in the background.
My husband is a graphic designer and I have gotten a little picky with the design layouts for my books. If your text is in black and white and so is the artwork around it, it really REALLY detracts from the word on your page if your margin is close to the artwork.
3) 172 hours of podcasts will at times feel like homework, and other times it is a ton of fun.
For the record "Um" and "Like" are not really great on a recording.
4) You have to give a little to get a little.
As you have to work with four other individuals to come up with a nomination list. Somewhere there is going to be a give and take.
5) Never judge a book by its cover.
This last one is the most important. You see, my judges award was not a fancy 1,000 page book. It was a book that arrived in a simple Manila envelope from a very indy company in my home state of Massachusetts. So independent, in fact that they couldn't even make enough money to stay in business and they are currently taking a break. (Hopefully not for long.) I opened it and out it came. Twenty eight pages or so and a simple card stock cover with a hand drawn picture on it. It was called "Eat and Run". I was 7 0r 8 months pregnant at the time, so eating and running had a different meaning to me. I put it on my shelf thinking it would be a good book to bring to a doctor's appointment. But one night after finishing Skullduggery (another awesome game), I was looking for something else to read. It needed to be short, because I liked to read the books in one sitting if I could and bedtime was fast approaching. I pulled it from the shelf. I thought, "fine, this will have to do" and proceeded to laugh my ass off for over the hour I read this book. I even re-read sections to my husband, and the baby was kicking away. This clearly had the approval of all three of us.
Later when I had to choose my Judge's Award it was down to this one and a well known heist game that fans really liked. The company for the heist book was well known and I knew the book was selling well. To me the clear decision rested on which one kept me entertained the whole time, was a good bang for your buck, and the company needed the exposure. From cover to cover "Eat and Run" was the clear winner. I knew the system as I had run a "Kobolds ate my Baby" game set in Disney World, but the system just clicked with zombies too. Not only that, I read it and knew I could run it right then. But the idea that this small company would be AT GenCon and would get the award to display on top of the fact that the game was tons of fun in a small package made it irresistible to me. I chose it.
Unfortunately, they never made it to GenCon and it was only after I got home from GenCon I learned of their financial misfortune and their "break" from publishing.
Someday I will run my "Eat and Run" game. I want to set a game at a convention. You are Zombies and you are in Boston at the Boston Convention Center.... It just so happens there is a bunch of people there at some sort of convention with dice... GO!
6) No matter what, someone is going to be upset with your decision.
Now, I thought our list last year was a really good list with some amazing products. (You should check out our nominations here. ) Still people were saying that x product should have been nominated and we were blind not to see it. (One of the products that was mentioned actually fell apart in my hands. I had to put the pages in order to read it. ) There is no chance AT ALL that everyone will be happy with your nominations.
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