So, summer break for the kids, so far we've played a session of Savage Worlds, and many games of Munchkin and Killer Bunnies. We did the interview with Mr. Schmid, that will be posted in the next week. The boys will be reviewing several games coming up as well.
Gam3rCon and SDCC are coming up next month.We're going to Gam3rCon multiple days and I think we're going to SDCC on Saturday.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Free RPG Day - June 18th!
Free RPG day is coming up, it's going to be a hectic day for us, kung fu practice for the San Diego County Fair in addition to covering FREE RPG DAY!!
There's some great stuff on the list this year too:
There's some great stuff on the list this year too:
- Amarillo Design Bureau
Prime Directive Adventure "Starship Aldo" (both d20 & GURPS)
- BlackWyrm Games
XDM Adventure: "Laser Squid Nemesis" - Blue Panther
Dice Tower - Chessex
Commerative Dice For Store Owner - Eden Studios
All Flesh Must Be Eaten Quickstart & Adventure - Exile Game Studios
Hollow Earth Expedition Quickstart & Adventure - Fantasy Flight Games
Black Crusade Quickstart and Adventure - Flying Buffalo
Tunnels & Trolls Solo Adventure, "Rescue Mission" - Goodman Games
DCC RPG Quickstart - Green Ronin
DragonAge Quickstart - Paizo
"We Be Goblins!" Pathfinder Adventure - Paradigm Concepts
Arcanis RPG Quickstart & Adventure - Pinnacle
Savage Worlds Quickstart & Adventure, titled "The Wild Hunt" - Q-Workshop
Unique Elven-themed Dice - Stone Tablet Games
Aspect Quickstart Adventure - Troll Lord Games
Amazing Adventures Quickstart - Valkyrie Games
Stellar Horizons Quickstart - White Wolf Publishing
World of Darkness Quickstart - Wizards of the Coast
"Domain of Dread: Histhaven" D&D 4th Edition Supplement to the box set "The Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond" - Mayfair
Settlers of Catan: Catanimal Variant rules (single page paper insert)
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Store Spotlight - Pair-A-Dice Games
The pictures for the store spotlight have been posted on the Facebook account.
Pair-A-Dice Games is located just off I-78 in Vista, in the In-n-Out Burger complex.
Pair-a-Dice will be the only store, in San Diego, with the Free RPG Day swag on June 18th (according to the Free RPG Day website at time of writing).
The store has puzzles, board games, role-playing games, CCGs, CMGs, and much much more. Rob has been expanding his used book section and it has now expanded into a second set of shelves, if you're looking for out of print games, there's a good chance Pair-a-dice has what you're looking for.
With a game room that fits 5 tables, you can usually find some sort of game going on in the evenings. From Magic the Gathering and Monsterpocalypse, to Pathfinder Society and RPGA, it's the only game in North County. Check the calender on their Event Calender.
Within the next couple weeks Pair-a-Dice is moving down to the end of the building in a brand new 3800+ sq.ft. store, complete with private gaming room, and what's to be the largest game room in San Diego (per Rob's claim.) Exciting times are coming to the San Diego Game Scene!
Pair-A-Dice Games is located just off I-78 in Vista, in the In-n-Out Burger complex.
Pair-a-Dice will be the only store, in San Diego, with the Free RPG Day swag on June 18th (according to the Free RPG Day website at time of writing).
The store has puzzles, board games, role-playing games, CCGs, CMGs, and much much more. Rob has been expanding his used book section and it has now expanded into a second set of shelves, if you're looking for out of print games, there's a good chance Pair-a-dice has what you're looking for.
With a game room that fits 5 tables, you can usually find some sort of game going on in the evenings. From Magic the Gathering and Monsterpocalypse, to Pathfinder Society and RPGA, it's the only game in North County. Check the calender on their Event Calender.
Within the next couple weeks Pair-a-Dice is moving down to the end of the building in a brand new 3800+ sq.ft. store, complete with private gaming room, and what's to be the largest game room in San Diego (per Rob's claim.) Exciting times are coming to the San Diego Game Scene!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Interface Zero review
This RPG uses the Savage Worlds Explorer’s Edition, which is required to play. No additional material is required, though some new expansions are being released, such as Zeeks (the psionic supplement), and the recently released Boston world hot spot book. Produced by GunMetal Games, in print and PDF format.
First Glance:
This is cyberpunk pure and simple, from the cover to the interior artwork, sleek, dirty, deadly. A Quick glance shows it’s an almost 300 page Hardcover book; black & white interior, mid-grade paper, with a solid binding.
Main Review:
As a setting for Savage Worlds, it requires the Savage Worlds Explorer’s Edition to play.
The timeline is 2088, the first chapter is a fairly detailed timeline of how the dystopic world of Interface Zero came to pass. Approximately 80% of the population have a TAP installed, a cybernetic interface that allows you to see the hyper-reality which exists almost every where. The holographic screens in Minority Report are an example of what this reality might look like. Everything is wired in to this system, keypads, billboards, etc, certain areas might have a themed view, for example, a high end bar that uses the TAP to look like you’re in Valhalla, being served by Valkyrie.
The setting is vast, spanning the entire Earth in addition to the new galactic colonies. The main creative writer must have done his research as to future technologies, from the virtual overlay in the world to the rise of arcologies (a cyberpunk trope), this setting has it all, hacking, virtual worlds, even armed pizza delivery subscription. Races span from the plain vanilla human, the genetically engineered Human 2.0, an android, genetically engineered hybrids, and in true Blade Runner tradition, simulacra.
The great addition to the rules in this setting is the Cybernetics. Normally in Savage Worlds, a cybernetic upgrade would cost you an advance, which is fine if you want to keep them balanced with other powers. But with all the cyber-reapers out there, you’d lose an advance if someone stole your chrome. In Interface Zero, each piece of chrome increases your chances of cyber-trauma, depending on the quality of your chrome. If you’re a decked out Ronin sporting copious amounts of gutterware, your life expectancy will tend to be…short yet costly. The basis of the rules is that on a vigor roll you will have to roll cybertrauma if you roll a natural one or snake-eyes, that triggers a cybertrauma roll, which can result in various consequences, from nothing to massive feedback that causes incapacitation and breaks a piece of cyberware.
One of my personal favorites in the game is that MMORPGs are built-in, allowing you to play other games inside the game itself, perhaps the mercs have to defeat a legendary gunfighter in Deadlands to get his silver plated pistol which actually has information coded into it, yet the only way to defeat the gunfighter is to hack the system to find out his weakness.
Artwork: Excellent. Black & white art that evokes perfect imagery of this sleek yet dirty future.
Replay Value: Excellent, as an RPG, replay is typically good. The setting provides enough information to provide for hundreds of games all over the world.
Comprehension Level: Excellent. The additional rules are well written and easy to understand.
Humor: Some humor, but it’s a dark and dangerous setting, so it’s more dark humor.
Game Mastering: Excellent. There’s a 35 page game master section, which gives the GM excellent tips on running the system in addition to numerous tables to keep your players on their toes, and waiting for the next big score.
Family Rating: PG-13/R, This is a dark setting as I said, it deals with drugs, slavery, prostitution and even darker criminal activity. While you could run a toned down campaign for younger players, I don’t recommend the book for the innocent.
Price Tag:
This will set you back $39.99 MSRP for Print or PDF (price at time of writing is $11.20 on RPGNow). Zeeks is normally $8.99 ($6.29) and Boston: Broken Cradle of Liberty $9.99 ($6.99). In addition a free Adventure “The Prodigal” is available for download. A Second adventure, The Package, is available for $1.25 ($ .88)
Value: Well worth the money, with all the information contained, and the rule additions, this setting is a great value.
Overall Rating: EPIC! If you enjoy cyberpunk settings, this is an excellent one.
Interface Zero (Savage Worlds)
Interface Zero (Savage Worlds)
Monday, May 16, 2011
San Diego Game Store Spotlight
The new Store spotlight feature will be uploaded this week, with the first store being Pair-a-Dice Games in Vista. Also the boys interview with owner Rob North will be posted with it as well.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Gaslight Gathering Redux
Photos from Gaslight Gathering are being posted to the Epic RPG Blog Facebook page. (easier to view them there.)
We had a good time, no real interview prospects, but Sean and Ian were great game runners, getting people to play Kill Doctor Lucky, Save Doctor Lucky, Munckin Booty and Munchkin.
I got to play a couple demo games of Dystopian Wars in addition to playing games with the boys. I also learner how to play Red Dragon Inn!! That was fun, I was GOG! the half-ogre...and I nearly won...but me drank too much and passed out!
Dystopian wars is a steampunk land/naval wargame in an epic scale. Produced by Spartan Games, it is a very balanced game which relies more on tactics than luck, though luck definitely has it's day, as is uses and exploding dice mechanic.Still even with good rolling, poor placement and tactics can really mean the difference between a close game and a blow-out. Dystopian Wars
When you can support your Local Game Stores!
We had a good time, no real interview prospects, but Sean and Ian were great game runners, getting people to play Kill Doctor Lucky, Save Doctor Lucky, Munckin Booty and Munchkin.
I got to play a couple demo games of Dystopian Wars in addition to playing games with the boys. I also learner how to play Red Dragon Inn!! That was fun, I was GOG! the half-ogre...and I nearly won...but me drank too much and passed out!
Dystopian wars is a steampunk land/naval wargame in an epic scale. Produced by Spartan Games, it is a very balanced game which relies more on tactics than luck, though luck definitely has it's day, as is uses and exploding dice mechanic.Still even with good rolling, poor placement and tactics can really mean the difference between a close game and a blow-out. Dystopian Wars
When you can support your Local Game Stores!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Gaslight Gathering
In 13 or so hours I should be stepping into the world of Steampunk by the Sea...can't wait to see it.
San Diego's first Steampunk convention.
www.Gaslightgathering.org
San Diego's first Steampunk convention.
www.Gaslightgathering.org
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