A Personal Ranking Of (my) D100 RPG's

Committing to D100 RPG’s as my main squeeze, has created a medium sized collection and a few formed opinions. If I had to rank them from “probably only a resource” to “most likely to be played”, then it would go something like this;

1. Open Quest. The most “fundamental” of the serious systems I own. It is pretty much pure D100, minimum fluff.

2. M Space. Using Mythras Imperative as a base, M Space is a new take on the venerable, Traveller style of game. It is to me more emotive, deeper feeling and by far more mysterious, which for my preferred style of sci-fi fits the bill. Traveller had that, but has more recently turned into more of a modern squeaky clean sci-fi stereotype. M-Space has a harder edge.

3 Call of Cthulhu (5-6e). The original d100 RPG for me and still a balance of the best the system dynamic has to offer. Fragile characters lucky to survive a day, but capabe of amazing deeds? CoC is the one. Achtung Cthulhu and Weird War 2 also need to be included and do the earlier period expansions, but CoC standard is still the king.

4. Zweihander Engine (including Dark Astral and Flames of Freedom). A combined entry, but they are all linked by system and intent. These three genres cover several of my favourite genres with just the right theming, all missing more or less from my other D100 systems. Dark Astral gives me far future grim-ness and Flames is such a strong period resource, I am using it as an AWI source book.

5. The Art of Wuxia. A surprise choice as my Wuxia interest is limited to growing up with re-runs of “Monkey” as a teenager and some Manga, but the game just gets me into the groove and is my favourite version of the “Bare Bones” engine.

6. Destined. Risky adding a very new game, one I have not even read entirely, but the genre is an eternal itch needing a good long scratch. Supers are an over serviced, under realised theme for me. At one stage I had probably close to 30 supers games, but none reigned supreme. A d100 game (Super World) was always there, but pickings were otherwise slim. Destined marries the theme with a modern d100 game engine, that I think is ideally matched.

7. Warhammer 1e. Flawed and dated perhaps, but so, so good. A complete game in a book is not a new thing now, but it was then and still holds up. It is still viable and for me, it holds so many great memories.

8. Clockwork and Chivalry/Cthulhu. Using the Openquest system, this combines my love of the English Civil War period with the weird science, hedge magicks and supernatural themes. There are only a few games with multiple cross-overs so harmonious (Heroes of Normandie for one). I am lucky enough to have all that was printed including the revised edition.

Just reminding myself there is more to life :).

9. Mouse Guard (converted to d100). Not a D100 game, but a grounded and simple theme, so very easy to convert. The big vs small dynamic is also easy to convert, giving the little mice the ability to attack specific locations simply by being there, where the bigger critters have to catch them if they can.

10. The One Ring (converted to d100). Like Mouse Guard, TOR is easy enough to adapt to d100. This means those beautiful adventures and artwork are not going to waste, but the overly structured originals can be used mre as a guide than a stricture.

11. DWD fusion, which is Covert Ops, Bare Bones Fantasy, a little Wuxia and/or Sigils and Shadows, the official fusion of these.

12. All things Legend. Not the pinnacle of the Runequest evolution, the plain little black books, a random buy on a trip to Melbourne, have become a favourite. Basically a re-print (typo’s and all) of the RQ2 books, just with RQ filed off, they are great value and full of crunch. Deus Vult and Hitorica Rodentia are included in these also.

13. The Big Gold Book. If I could only have one…. . The Big gld book is not onky a useful tool kit, it also does a good job of representing all that came before. You basically have the skeletons of Elric/Stormbringer, Hawkmoon, Call of Cthulhu, Elf Quest, Runequest and the “Worlds” books in one place, to pick and choose from. From these roots, Astounding Adventures, the Monographs and one-off titles like Devils Gulch have spawned, broadneing and defining the BGB’s applicaton.

14. The Witcher. A project I may try, the deeply layered Witcher RPG is also a perfect cross-over for a game like Mythras of Legend.

X Wing et al, The Eternal Flame.

No other game can keep me hooked, even when it is not being played much, like X Wing (Attack Wing and Armada included).

Some, but not all are available in the various forms of the game.

Please note, there is a ton of stuff on this site about X Wing all versions, but just because the “fever” has hit me again, I thought I would revisit them again.

I can waste a ton of hours, just analysing the 1e landscape, come up with alternate forms of the games rosters and hypothetical play styles. Therapy in frustration sometimes, but therapeutic none the less.

As things stand there are a ton of carefully “reduced” versions I have at hand, each aimed at a different level and/or feel of the 1e game. My intention is not to disrespect the game. The opposite is true. I love the clean logic of the X Wing 1e game, but wish to avoid the things that over time, changed this purety, especually the action layering that defined the late game. The designers found a need to replace the game with a second edition to address these issues, so how irrelelvant or irreverent is it to de-evolve it to a workable form instead?

The main culprits are Elite Pilot Talents, Mods and Titles. EPT’s are at odds with the actual pilot talents that are printed on the cards and are much better aligned with Star Wars canon. Mods are the same, changing the inherent character of the ships and Titles were either an artificial game based representation of a named ships “special” capabilities, or a way of fixing the problems the above contributed to.

Flight School. Using the TFA TIe/fo and T-70 with no upgrades, just pilots, this is a great tool to familiarise a new player. You have a great representation of the X Wing the core game concepts, with full cover of manoeuvres, pilot abilities and base actions. The ships are also pretty rugged, so ships (games) seldom implode in front of players’ eyes.

Classic. Sticking to the ships and characters from the original three movies, this is the next step and a personal favourite. I would have been totally ok if X Wing the original game had stopped right here, but money needs to be made, fans sated. If it had, it would have stayed balanced and probably died quietly in a dignified, proud fashion. No EPT’s, titles or mods are used, just pilot talents and Crew upgrades are kept to named characters and other upgrades pulled back into a basic envelope.

Skeleton Crew. This form has seven defining ships per faction, nothing repeated, sticking again to the basic four actions only. Each faction gets a decent spread of capabilities with the true flavour of each coming through. Again, no EPT’s, no mods, slightly stripped back upgrades make for a decent game with variety, that’s easy to teach and balanced.

Bare Bones. This is skeleton crew expanded to all ships with the core four action profiles. The spread is now uneven and there starts to be some repetition (Y Wing, HWK) and named titles are included for flavour. This is the mid point of this grand experiment and the one that started it all. The idea was to strip back the excess, all the things that unbalanced and over complicated the game for casual play, especially between experienced players and new comers, where a little knowledge swayed things far in favour of the better versed player.

Expanded Bare Bones. This includes the rest of the non TFA ships from 1e with all actions as well as the single card Epic ships, but still excludes EPT’s, Mods and generic titles, but most other upgrades are included and the Epic ships get their named titles in lieu of pilots.

Fight Club. When the “all upgrades” itch needs a scratch, but some control is still desired, the top five fighters from each faction are thrown into the arena with all upgrades available. Work done late in the game to balance out these ships is realised with S-Foil, Integrated mech, Renegade refit X Wings vs Vaksai Kihraxz or X1 Tie Advanced. This is late X Wing 1e at its best, as long as you know what you are doing.

Aces High. Same as above, but only three ships are used (X Wing, Kihraxz, Advanced), the work horse line fighter representatives of each faction with all upgrades. I really like this one also. The Droid supported Rebels, System enhanced Imperials and multi Mod and Illicit tricky Scum, who between them manage to support almost every upgrade outside of Crew. Represent! We also have a slightly simplified version using the Interceptor for the Imperials.

Bottom of the Barrel. This is Bare Bones Expanded, but Scum only. The Scum are broken up into factions (Black Sun, Binayre Pirates with Cannons instead of Missiles on their Z95’s, Tansarii militia and free booters).

The variations are limitless, so more may come.

*

Attack Wing, the poorly named Trek equivalent gets similar treatment, but is more aligned to Era and scale (TOS, TOM, Kelvin, Enterprise, Delta Quadrant, TNG “Battle” and TNG “Skirmish”).

The only mechanical difference is to balance out my dislike of the Titled ships’ illogical difference to the generics (don’t like illogically semi “sentient” ships, so sue me).

I do two things here to mitigate my grumpiness.

I use the base ship classes only and secondly, but depending on the series used, allow the players to buy any upgrade types on the card (limited to one of each), up to the ships’ points value or from a pre-decided point “reserve”, but the player may only deploy the amount shown on the ship card (i.e. choose when you decide to use them, not lock them in before the game). This allows a budding “Kirk” to choose a surprise manoeuvre from any of those available to the period and when the time comes, rather than having to play to a pre-decided tactic.

This helps “thin” periods like the Kelvin or TOM series have that “surprise” factor, adding real tension and tactics. For bigger games like TNG Battle, just the base upgrade options are used normally, which are plenty in these bigger games. Some later inconsistencies like a choice of two Hydran Hunters or Gorn raiders are also fixed by simply removing the less likely ones.

My game, my way.

My Own RPG Vision, The Journey Continues

Writing your own game can be the work of years.

Mine has been an on and off process for decades and alwaysbstems from the same basic though; “I do not totally agree with the characteristics used by most games”.

My first two RPG ‘awrenesses” were the first editions of that ancient D20 game and Traveller. They had very different takes on characteristics, both with merit, but also both with issues for me.

Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma

vs

Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, Education and Social Standing

Three are agreed upon, one is re-worded, two are very different. The game themes are also very different though and within their own envelopes, pretty much ideal (although I have never settled with Soc). The reality is, you could get away with the Tri-stat like Body-Mind-Spirit/Soul and make these a base for more specific skills and abilities, but that for many is too vague.

My next and most enduring game paradigm came from D100 games who use a slightly different and often flexible set;

Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Size, Power, Charisma, Appearance or Education. The itialicised ones come and go, generally, but not always settling on just Size and Charisma.

Pow is the odd one for me. It is sometimes ideal (supers, fantasy, horror), sometimes just an odd one.

At first I tried to break it down to six defining, core chrs;

Prowess (Strength and Agility), Dexterity (fine motor skills), Reason (left brain), Intuition (right brain), Resilience (physical and mental) and Presence (the force of ones {“self”).

My main issue, that even with these six to me, perfectly balanced representation of a person or other being in a role playing environment*, there is little room to combine them into a 2x chr + skill vs d100 mechanic. They are too comprehensive and inherently over lapping, leaving little room for discreet definition. Goos for a different system, but not my needs.

I decided to go back to a more deterministic set of eight characteristics, allowing for more defined and flexible wording.

These are broken down into four sets of two (a rigid and flexible characteristic to each pair), each directly connected but effectively opposed;

Physicality.

Strength and Dexterity, (the physical realities of your body, that can be honed and even changed, but are generally a part of you from early on).

Physical Condition.

Endurance and Agility. These are more down to your age, activity level and general up keep.

Intellect.

Reason and Intution. The left/right brain, logic vs creativity pairing. Intact from the above six, these two have become entrenched in my thinking.

Personality.

Will and Presence. These two are a measure of inward and outward projection of personal strength or character. Like the others, the player character can excell at one, usually at the expense of the other, with rare individuals solid in both**.

By splitting Resilience and Prowess from above, I can now re-constitute them along with several other primary combinations as the building blocks for my d100 mechanic. The mechanic assumes 2x characteristics as the base with a skill level and experience value applied for a total vs a d100 roll in a roll under is better format.

This is not a one-off, fixed combination, but rather a “by circumstance” design, so gun skill may be applied to a quick draw (Reflexes), autofire (Prowess) steady aim (Balance) or knowledge of a weapon (Perception or Concentration) test. This allows the skill list to be reasonably broad, but realistically and individually applied, in other words, skills and chr tests are intertwined, but not exclusively connected and fully flexible.

From here we can generate combinations that are more or most common, so they will be worked out on the PC’s sheet as a helpful guide and to reduce wording later.

Combining them each with themselves gives us the pure chrs;

Physical Might, fine motor skill Manipulation, physical Stamina, physical Flexibility, intellectual Wisdom, inherent Luck, self Discipline and overall Charisma.

Combining the pairs of matched/opposed chrs defines the parent group;

Physical Focus, Physical Condition or Health, Intelligence or Perception and Character or Spirit.

Combining logical pairings within the same physical and non-physical groups.

Str + End = Consitution, Str + Agl = Prowess, Agl + Dex = Coordination.

Rsn + Wil = Concentration/Retention, Rsn + Pre = Persuasion, Pre + Int = Empathy.

Mixing the physical and non-physical groupings allows us to define another half dozen common pairings;

Str + Wil = Physical Tenacity, Int + Dex = Reflexes, Pre + Dex = Poise, Rsn + End = Determination, Wil + End = Resilience, Int + Agl = Balance.

These can also help define the core principals of the characteristics in players minds.

It is possible from here to define quite detailed character traits;

A charming, even glamourous character, devoid of empathy and clumsy both socially and physiclly could be high in Presence, Agility and Endurance, but lacking Dexterity, Intuition, Reason and Will.

A street wise tough, lacking in social graces from a 30’s Noir novel may display high levels of Will, Endurance, Intuition and Strength, but be low in Presence, Reason and Dexterity.

For NPC’s it may be as simple as generating the secondary stats only (2 graded averages take from a master list), so you know how well they shoot, fight or interact in their chosen forms. Of course the GM may simply assign skill values that make sense.

In theory, any two chrs may be combined, such as Wil + Dex for handling fine tools in a delicate, dangerous operation (a Starfleet doctor disarming a torpedo on the surface of a moon) or Agl + Pre for pulling off an alluring walk (any Bond femme fatale), but for the sake of expediency, the above work just fine as a base for most skill tests. The GM and players may work together to “work” the system, using good story telling to sell any concept within reason.

*

The skill system is a simple 1-4x level*** and +1 per year of experience as a % multiple of the base chr combo, so the skill is expressed as skill level (1-4, but 1 may also be only “aware”) + experience in years.

The “average” for a master of a skill is 84% (4x21), with rare cases of 100% can be reached (maximum), but only in some combinations. This gives a skill several ways of being applied, nuancing the system closer to reality.

Take a character dynamic like “The Good Doctor” as an example. A high level logic and analitical mind with poor to nearly non existant empathy can be effective in a team, even with a relatively low level of experience, but the other doctors, even if less skilled but more experienced or more skilled but less intelligent add the other dimensions needed to balance the team out.

Skill tetsts are applied using a pool of d10 die, assigned by difficulty (we use red and blue die);

Mundane. 3d10 (blue) take the best combination of 2. A test only rally used if failure can lead to consequences or drive the story.

Standard. 2d10 (blue) arranged as wanted. The base test assuming no direct opposition or pressures are applied.

Challenging. 2d10 (red/blue) arranged in pre determined order (red 10’s, blue 1’s). This is the base for most opposed tests without advantage.

Difficult. 2d10 (red) in worst possible order (Crit-any, highest fail, lowest pass). Pushing hard or without advantage.

Daunting. 3d10 (red) using worst two.

Improbable. 4d10 (red) using worst combination of two.

etc.

Familiarity without training usually adds 1 level of difficulty, sometimes more and occassionally no skill check is allowed (a recently discovered New Guinea tribesman trying to land a Jumbo jet).

• Doubles are critical successes or failures,

• an optional table of consequences can be used (low crit succusses and high crit failures are less dynamic than the opposite),

• higher success or lower fail rolls are better if opposed,

• “00” always fails and fumbles if not 100% chance.

*It can cover animals (highly intuitive, lower reasoning), automitons (the reverse), avoids blow-outs, like super strong types, by concentrating more on the coordination of physical characteristics and leaves plenty of room for interpretation (the difference between Darth Vaders and a super models Presence for example can be defined by other chrs).

**Chrs are usually generated by rolling a pool of 6d6 and assigning three to each chr. The player can then aim for a balanced share, or extremes. In some systems, the pool may be increased or decreased, the assigned split changed or limitations loosened.

***Familiar (as a base only with extra difficulty applied), trained, proficient, expert, master.

And The Road Goes Ever On

So, succumbing to the draw of Zweihander, has led me down other paths.

I am not obsessive about d100 RPG’s, I am just limiting myself to them. I really (no really…) do not want to collect them all, to chase up every edition of every game, or even try to find those old favourites that I let go of years ago (TMNT, Hawkmoon, Elf Quest) or even travel down some newly established d100 roads at all (Newest Rune Quest, CoC 7th, D100 Revolution), but I will chase up the best representative(s) I can of the genres I like.

Inevitable probably, because yes, I like.

Zweihander has a couple of spin-offs that really appeal and neither have direct equivalents in the d100 landscape. To be clear, it has not even arrived yet, but I have re-read a lot of older reviews and found many new ones and I am excited. This is not just a good remake of WHFRP 1-2e, but possibly a superior d100 core mechanic. If it is a good enough fit, I will run the Enemy Within campaign (1e or 4e) with it rather than the less cohesive WHFRPG 4e.

Flames of Freedom is a reimagining of the older “Colonial Gothic” line of games in a 600+ page tome, complete with rules. I have been tempted by this system before, so a Zweihander version in all its weighty glory is really calling. It also borrows heavily from the feel of that parent game. It is as grim and perilous, just in a different place and time, but still has the same vibe. I have always been drawn to the early American colonial “Sleepy Hollow” period or earlier. This is set around the AWI (another favourite).

Dark Astral is another game that fits well and has been ordered. Gene Wolfe’s “Book of the New Sun” far future dark sci-fantasy series was a favourite growing up. I loved it’s timeless feel. Dark Astral uses a similar theme. Zweihander again adds a darkness and peril that this needs. I do have a far future BRP expansion directly linked to Wolfe’s work “Chronices of Future Earth”, but DA adds the grit, the dread.

13Th Age, The Great Exception

When I did my recent post about converting games to d100 format, I had some real difficulty with 13th Age.

The question I kept asking myself was why?

Every other system could be and in some cases should be conerted for the reasons ststed (consistency, familiarity, simplicity, more fun), but converting 13A seemed like a retrograde move,like sewing legs back onto summer cut-offs for winter

The fact is 13th Age exists in my collection of systems as the ultimate “anti d100” game, the release valve or mindset change. 13A is d20 on steroids, a paragon of abstractness, even in comarison with other d20 games, so if the intent is to convert it back to a more “realistic” d100 base system, then its existence in my collection has to be questioned.

If anything, it plays dual roles, reminding me why I like d100 games and provides a real play style switch. Savage Worlds was meant to be that game, but failed to excite. 13A on the otherhand did it with bells on.

This was highlighted by two things.

The first is how pointless d100-ing 13A would be. Nothing fits in that dynamic. Plenty of games are like that, SW included, but with 13A, even the more rigid dynamics of 5e are stream-lined. The whole point of 13A is to translate years of d20 house rules into something usable by others. It is even a d20 alternative and exemplar in many ways of alternate play styles.

I know that the point of my conversion article was more about re-purposing a systems adventures etc, but even that seems to be at odds with the mindset I adopt when playing 13A.

The reality is any games, d100 or not, can liberally borrow concepts from 13A, but shoe-horning d100 mechanics into 13A does little but break it at it’s core.

The second point was highlighted by a 13A supplement, 13th Age Glorantha and the irony is not lost on me. I have never been overly interested in Glorantha as a d100 setting, which is heresy I guess as Rune Quest, the original Glorantha setting core game is the d100 elder, the progenitor of the whole family, but a version of the game I have never been interested in. Call of Cthulhu was my and many others first d100 contact and will always have a place. RQ was more of a DnD 1e competitor, which I did not play anyway, so it slipped past me. I have adopted Glorantha-free versions of the same evolved system (Legend, Mythras, RQ6 Essential), but never paid into the full thing.

In 13A I like it and feel it really fits like a glove. Again heresy I suppose, but with fresh eyes, the system fits the feel, screw the history. I bought 13AG simply to get more 13A, but fell into the world on offered seemlessly. Plenty of Glorantha fans, with deep roots in RQ can find 13AG interesting, maybe even flattering, but coming from the opposite perspective, I find it the only tolerable form of Glorantha for me.

This is heroic high fantasy, which I feel is much better served by this form of over the top d20 handling. Happy if you don’t, but for me Glorantha with 13A is fine, without it is just another form of d100 fantasy and I have tons I prefer.

Mouse Guard, AIME/TOR, Monsters and Other Childish Things, Traveller etc are all in the d100 parameters for easy conversion. 13A should not be.

The Beautiful Thing That Is "Blind" AIME

“Blind” play role-playing is a form of the game that I feel has genuine potential.

Blind play is a different take on role playing, one closer to original role playing, with its roots in free-form make believe, or original story telling. It just uses a strong frame work of RPG rules to make it work from a gaming perspective.

I am not a control freak, well I am a little, but in this particular case it is not about control. It is about players immersing themselves in their character rather than the governing system.

My earlier article on Blind role playing was a while ago so let’s look at the benefits.

The “other” version is also ok for this form of play, but the 5e compatible option is less rigid and better tiered for GM control and d20 also a cleaner fit for blind play.

For the player, they have a character description, not a character stat sheet. This sheet will have all of the stated skills and abilities noted and a deep, but number devoid decription of the character relative to their environment (there is room here for the GM to mislead the player, bth for character portrayal and story needs). They will know (roughly) how they rate physically, mentally and personally, what skill sets they can call on and their special abilities, but no set measures.

There will be no numerical values assigned to these on this sheet.

Players will roll their own dice, but only know if they have succeeded or failed, not specifically by how much. This removes gamesmanship and number crunching, allowing the player to (only) view their character as an alternative persona to themselves, with the same level of self perception we all share (relative, using educated guess work).

The GM holds the mechanical information at hand on their own work sheet.

This gives the GM several responsibilites, but less systemic transparency and some benefits.

Play is 100% story telling, no number crunching. There can be no min-maxing, no rules lawyering, no player manipulation of the math.

Rolls are used for tests, but the characters ability to know the odds is gone, so fudging, deliberately miss-leading and gently nudging are all invisible mechanics to the player.

Two massive campaigns just waiting to be completed.

The GM cannnot abuse this or the whole thing becomes an “us against the cruel world” thing, but if all are on board, play becomes effectively system agnostic from a players perspective. It could even be theoretically possible for a GM to switch systems mid campaign with little player awareness beyond new dice mechanics being employed. Even experienced players quickly divorce their need to control elements of the game from the role they are playing. The dynamic is the same, guestimation and trial and error, just coming from a less knowledgable base.

The first step as always, is character generation.

From the players end this is simple and as involving;

• Think up a character concept.

• Interact with the GM to cement these ideas in place (the GM makes the mechanical calculations).

• Characteristics are rolled in secret or a fixed set used, but assigned in the players pre-stated order

• Class/careers and a suite of extra abilities are offerred by name and description.

• Plan an ongoing development path so that the GM and player can work logically towards improvement within story context.

Interaction is key. The GM has to share options in terms of life skills, natural abilites and class/career proficiencies, using real, not game terminology and the player for their part has to be clear about their ideas.

Some systems lend themselves to this style of play, others not so much.

One of the best systems I have at hand is Adventure In Middle Earth, or Tolkein’s world for D&D 5e. I am on record as saying I do not love D&D in any edition, which must seem from someone who has over 40 years of role-playing under their belt, to be a bit of a contradiction, but to be clear, D&D is not the be all and end all of RPG’s, just one of the the biggest/oldest kids on the block, well tested and enjoying a revival. People say D&D like they used to say “Hoover” meaning all vaccuum cleaners.

Why AIME?

AIME has several elements that lend themselves to Blind play.

Character generation is simple and well directed.

• Roll characteristics based on a priority list from the player of Strong, Fast, Tough, Smart, Wise or Charismatic.

• Choose a culture (race and sub race) and a cultural virtue and you are half way there.

• Then a class is selected. The player must be offerred a list of proficiencies either overtly or as devined by the GM from the characters wishes as well as a choice of class abilities, but on the whole, choices are logical and tests are based on characteristic values.

At this point, the characters player sheet may look like a cross between a resume and diary. The first pages of a legendary story unfolding.

The GM’s sheets on the other hand are all math and stat values, unclutterred by niceties or fluff. Such is the lot of the mediator. The full group can be amalgamated into combat, travel and other interaction sheets.

*

Life is not a set of chance based values spelled out in front of us. We all have our own perceptions of our selves and our relative place in the world, but nothing is set in hard values. As we attempt different tasks success or failure may come, but when do we get any mathematical feedback of how much we missed by? Repeated poor showing in combat may be down to relatively poor kills (which may be inflated in the player characters view), or a run of bad luck, just like in life.

It comes down to this.

Would you rather this interaction;

“The beast turns to you and charges. You need a 17 to hit.” “Ok I got a 12 +3 for Strength so 15. I swung and missed, but was close. Can I add something to the roll to get me over the line?”. If you want to spend a Hope point we can make it work, but if you had rolled lower it would be a stretch”. “Cool, I will do that then”.

or

“The beast is huge and comes at you”. “I swing with all my might, which is great as I am usually the strongest person in the room” (player rolls medium-high, which has in previous fights been enough). “The blade slides off its hide, taking chips off as it runs down its side, but not embedding”. “We need this thing to go down or the party is in real danger and I am all that is standing in the way”. “Desperate times call for desperate measures”. “I dig deep and thrust back up in a loop from the missed blow, does it work?”. Yes, you find something more and change the miss into an upper cut and catch it from below” (the GM marks off a Hope point).

If you answered “B”, then Blind play may be worth your trying.

Other e lements of AIME that work are Virtues, Hope and Shadow points.

Virtues are almost automatic abilities, that are inherent to the character. Mechanically they are nearly irrelevant, so they play perfectly in this space. The GM may insist on a roll, then decide, based on that or not, to change the outcome. This is a good example where added fog of war can help the GM control story outcome.

Hope points allow the character to dig deep if the GM leaves the door open.

Shadow will allow the GM to force actions on the player that they may not naturally be going to role-play. Boromir loosing control, Frodo fighting the Ring etc. can become a tug of war between character and GM, one that both have mechanical in-put into, even if the player may feel frustrated.

Why not The One Ring?

The main reason for using AIME and not TOR is system cosistency.

Apart from the easier and more familiar system, AIME is a lot more consistent at this point in system and information roll-out.

TOR is also a little difficult to get a handle on, with mixed releases and sub-editions coming in a bit of a flurry, some replacing parts or all of others. Throw in the new second edition and a slight shift in time line and it all gets a little squiffy. This is less of an issue with blind play, but still less clean than AIME.

AIME on the other hand, coming in mid-stream, is a tight set of books, coherent and clean. It is also a conversion to an extensively tested existing set, not a newly developed set of rules, built from the ground up.

You get the Players Guide, which, in patnership with the free 5e basic rules, is all a player needs to create a character and play.

The GM’s Guide in turn give a GM all they need to start things up, again with the “how to play” section of the Basic rules.

Wilderland Adventures takes the players from levels 1-6 and links in well with the Mirkwood Campaign.

The Mirkwood Campaign is a full ride from around level 5 to as high as you want, in yearly doses with Eriador Adventures filling in the middle levels with a set of adventures on the “other side” of the mountains.

My intention is to start with Wilderland, blend it with low end Mirkwood, then do a cross-over set of lower level adventures in Eriadore, return to Mirkwood (getting the feel for the coming changes), back to Eriadore for the Gibbet King linked adventures and back to Mirkwood for the end game.

Each side of the mountain also gets a guide book that allows a GM to fill in and populate these adventures books with a “sandbox” tool kit. The full adversary and ally list with these two, the adventures and the GM guide are plenty.

Could not be clearer.

There are a couple of books I missed, choosing not to bother with them (for TOR or AIME) and a map set, that I already had for TOR. Apart from a re-purposed 5e GM screen, that is all she wrote.

D100 RPG Compatability And Conversions

I am literally sitting in front of my embarassingly big collection of RPG books. Embarassing because it is three 180cm long shelves left after another big clear out!

The good news for me though, is the content is much more streamlined and therefore more likely to be used. If a friend asked to play a game in a period, theme or even specific sub-genre, I am probably able to handle it without resorting to a non d100 system. Anthopomorphic animal characters? Pirates with supernatural themes? Zombie Apocolypse or Vampire plagues? Giant mechs? Maybe just some simple historical hack and slash? All good, all at hand.

But what if one of my rare survivors from the greater collection appeals and I want to run it as a d100 game because it is (a) more familiar to me and likely my players or (b) it is just better/easier/more coherent and flexible?

Lets look at what is on the shelf.

The Mouse Guard

One of the primary draws are hit locations, which makes big vs small creature fights possible.

Yes I can do anthropomorphic animals (Historia Rodentia, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or generic), but the charm of The Mouse Guard is a strong draw. The support materiel, which is the bulk of my complete collection is a fine place to start. Stories are stories and the power level and theming are perfect for a d100 style game (no-magic, low power, classic medieval, just mice).

Mythras Imperative fits, as does Legend or the BGB. Systemically, you are replacing “Wises” with skills and mentors with, well mentors and family background and The Guard with an organisation. These things can act as a guide, as they would in any game. I feel that even without the RPG’s (1 & 2e), just the comics would suffice for background.

Hit location based combat systems fill in the missing link, that is, how does a little mouse kill a giant beast without getting squashed? There are rules at hand for size differences, but something as simple as tiny creatures attack the location they are near means the little mice only have to maneoeuvre to the right place to hit where they need. Big creatures in turn, have a penaty to hit little targets (or little creatures can Dodge, big ones cannot), again already an option in some systems.

The One Ring

TOR is another system primed for conversion. The power level is again low and realistic and magic is in the world but no more prevalent for most than Mouse Guard. Characters are simply a matter of creating skill lists for each culture and handling “madness” or taint is right in the wheel house of CoC’s sanity rules (but the ones in TOR can basically work also). The dice mechanic is unique, but lines up quite well with a d100 game, even the fatigued rule can simply be an added level of difficulty (or reversing the dice?).

Monsters in TOR cannot be taken lightly, which is the same as any d100 game, but proabably a non-hit location combat style would be fine, like maybe Openquest or Magic World?

Both LOTR games offer the same background and attempt to align themselves to each other, so get one right and you have both covered

Adventures In Middle Earth (5e)

AIME is the 5e conversion of above, so the same applies, mostly. This is TWORPG* heavily restrained, so no real issues. The “softness” of a hit point pool and levels based game is replaced by the more realistic paradigm of a d100 system which can really only be good. The release from levels and classes gives a freedom that I always prefer and the source material is roughly identical to TOR, so either-or. Balancing encounters and rewards is actually not that hard, because in d100 games, everything is potentially a tough hurdle.

Of course, there is the now long defunct MERP/Rolemaster d100 system, still available in PDF.

Iron Heroes (3e)

This is a TWOPRG heart breaker, pushing things into the more heroic end of the hobby, so it is a tougher fit. Or is it? The gritty feel of Iron Heroes has always felt like a d100 game near miss. The inflated hit point totals can be mimicked by a base line of more hits and higher skills (Astounding Adventures has some good pulp ideas). The Heroes could have Siz+Con for hits (supporting cast x1/2) and with skills in the 70%+ range, they will be hard to best, but never impossible.

These two have much in common. Classic Fantasy is designed to simulate OST levels based games, so drop the magic and it can be very close. The basic flexibility of Mythras, Legend, Magic World or Openquest though fit even better. I would even say much better as the core of Iron Heroes is limited to re-imagining the Fighter and Rogue classes, something d100 skills based games do so very well without limits.

DC Adventures, Marvel Heroes, Champions etc.

A supers game about the DC universe using a d20 system or Marvel with a dice pool system. These are generally right in the Destined or Superworld wheel house, especially the Batman or Spiderman level. Using these as a guide (the reason I held onto them), it is a hobby in itself to regenerate these whole universes in Destined (for personal use only of course). Super World is an option, but Destined is the “new shiny”.

Most Supers games end up at the same place after travelling different roads. I have only skimmed Destined, but between it and Superworld, I have a few ways of travelling that road.

The Witcher

Very few game systems could do The Witcher justice as well as the origional game has. The lethality, depth of detail and gritty realism is very similar to Deus Vult, but any d100 game could handle it. Mythras/Legend in particular are good examples of strong and detailed one-on-one combat systems with enough crunch to feel right. The Witcher series or the RPG can provide all the necessary monster weaknesses and tricks, so converting is pretty straight forward. I feel there is even more room for creativity within the world provided using a d100 base using all the resources available, because most Witcher creatures are based on fairytale precedents.

Using a d100 game would allow the GM and players to replace some of the detail TWRPG is known for, with more open role playing. Many of the things the game forces on players are base requirements, just called out specifically, so it is really just up to the GM to set the level of detail and tone, such as equipment maintenance, daily expenses. All RPG’s go at a pace and with details set by the GM and to a lesser extent the players. Race into fights with superior enemies, worn or untried equipment, fail to learn lessons or do your home work and reap what you sew.

Games that feel the need to force extra processes and details on their players are fine if they hit the right chord, especially if they are simulating a specific flavour, but they can feel rail-roady if not. TOR, Mouse Guard and TWRPG can all feel a little “mechanically inflexible” , but the background and feel they provide are excellent to mine for information. One of the reasons I prefer AIME to TOR for example, is the slightly less controlling nature of the 5e converted game.

Zweihander, a new game, still on its way here, but a known commodity, would make a great Witcher adjacent game. If anything it is even darker and more violent.

Immersive, crunchy and lethal monster hunting with everything at stake.

Savage Worlds

For a long time, I wanted to use SW as my lite “pulpy” system, and d100’s for more realistic stories, to the extent that I was “mirroring” genres between them, an idea that does not seem to be just mine. Some games like Modiphius’s Achtung Cthulhu, even come as a CoC/SW cross-over system.

SW really fell out of favour with me during it’s latest edition update. I do still have the SWADE book, but probably not for long. If the SW Supers and Sci-fi expansions come out soon, there is a slim chance i will go back down this road, but probably not, considering my current direction. To be honest I never felt totally comfortable with the game, but grew it sometimes reluctanlty as my counter point to others. I even tried to slot it into my Malifaux rework, but again it just defied me.

Savage Worlds sells itself as the ultimate on-the-go RPG, but to be honest, I find d100 games even quicker. Explaining % mechanics comes pretty much immediately. Explaining “raises”, multiple die types, “wild” dice, card driven initiative and “Bennies” and when to use them can be less straight forward. The whole system is actually a collection of sub-systems.

Generally the only complaint d100 games generate are its relatively lethal (i.e. realistic) combat, which siimply makes players adapt their expectations and live a little in fear (all good), and a reputation amongst experienced gamers of being “swingy”, which is partly shared illusion and easily enough mitigated. It is not as swingy as SW though.

Tellingly, new RPG players rarely find either of these two things odd or hard to digest. Only players coming from other games get caught out.

13th Age

This one is tricky. I have 13A as basically my anti-d100 release valve. Converting it seems odd and ironic, as one of the few d100 games I have chosen not to explore is the new Runequest, the original d100 game. I feel the 13A version fits better for me! If I had to do the 13A world, it would use a simple system, probably Openquest with many of the same concepts used. I would expect to go through more characters though. The “One Unique Thing” and Icon relationship rules can be ported over wihout issue.

Again Classic gets another image share, because of levels etc, but Openquest would be cleaner and more “magical” and it has Ducks (for Runequest).

Warhammer 4e

Why swap out one d100 system for another d100 system? The source materiel is massive and engrossing and the feel second to none. The system however is dense and inconsistent. It often occurs to me, that all that stuff could be so easily handled by a more flexible and fluid d100 system, especially the convoluted dice mechanics. Re-making all the careers in d100 terms would be easy and fun and the power levels are similar. The reality is, games like WHFRP use constraints to focus character development and creation, that good old fashioned role playing can fill.

There is also Zweihander of course, which is an actual WHFRG replacement game.

I just ordered Zweihander, so this is probably a rendundant conversion, but easy enough done. Magic World does have Beastmen as does Openquest.

Monsters and Other Childish Things

An odd but cool little game that escaped the recent cull thanks to it’s theme and cool art. There are several d100 systems that could handle something like this. It could simply be the story of the early days of a super hero, as could have a conversion of Better Angels (a game where the player next to you plays your possessing demon and on around the table), a game from the same series I gifted recently.

The monster as alter-ego/companion/possessor/frenemy is a common theme in pop culture (ET, Will Robinson from Lost In Space to Venom as examples), so most supers or super natural systems can fit this in seemlessly. The games extra books add the inspiration, but systemically, nothing is hard to re-hash. MAOCT actally uses a pool of D10’s system. The red and blue dice I bought for it have been pressed into service for my d100 games, so conversion seems natural.

After The Vampire Wars, Destined, the BGB, Mythras Imperative, Bare Bones (any). So many options.

Mongoose Traveller 1 & 2e

This is too easy. M-Space is a clone of the original Traveller, which is exactly what the two Mongoose Traveller editions are. M-Space is less tied to a back story, is cleaner and more versatile and can be crossed over with any other Mythras style game or mechanic. I feel it is a better option all up. I also like the moody and minimalist art more (Trav 2e art leaves me cold). If I want a more pulpy game, Frontier Space is at hand as is the BGB.

There is even a “Pirates of Drinax” Traveller to M-Space conversion document available.

Percentage systems can feel a little mathematically heartless some times, something like the hand of the “cold hard universe” feel in hard sci-fi.

Hero System

One of the great RPG rivalries of the 80’s through to the early 2000’s was the one between the generic Hero/Champions system and BRP. Both are able to incorporate most concepts and styles and both are stable. It is interesting to note, they are both also roll under systems, one using d100, one d6’s.

My preference is for BRP for most “grounded”, fantasy or historical games, Hero for more contemporary and supers styles, but I do find hero a bit dry and mathy and even though it plays easily, character development is usually a full evening on its own and big fights can also hog a full session. With a BRP game, you can pretty much design a character, explain the basic processes (% roll under), whip up a scenario and play it with new players in the same evening. Many of my early CoC games had debutant players who generally slotted in seamlessly. Even early casualties could be replaced quickly enough.

Hero provides mathematical balance in the extreme, BRP supplies more character, with simplicity. This is less of a conversion than a choice, but even a Hero specific story can usually be converted in concept. Something that helps me pick d100 is the collection of games I own now. The latest Mythras and earlier BRP genre books cover so many bespoke story themes, I often have enough to work without going fully generic, which is always easier.

Over six editions, Hero has managed to leave huge back catalogues of resources out in the cold (4e in particular). D100 systems never seem to abandon older product entirely.

*The Worlds Oldest Role Playing Game (just).

All For One and One For All!

More d100 madness. I have decided to pull the trigger on Zweihander and it’s companion Main Gauche, which are super cheap on big bad Amazon at the moment. That’s 1000 pages of retro goodness for about $100au.

Zweihander is a slightly contraversial re-hash of Warhammer 1e, or to be kinder, it is a fan driven generic re-imagining and clean up of the 80’s system, made well after it was dropped by the makers. I am ok with that.

I also stumbled across a game that had blipped my radar a while ago, but dropped away soon after. Osprey’s Jackals is a fantasy take on ancient Greek/Egyptian/Persian mythology, using Open Quest as it’s base.

OG3 in turn, is my favourite implementation of all d100 systems. It uses the “doubles as criticals” option, caps skills at 100% and has generally a common sense approach to most things d100. If I were to make a d100 game, these would be the framework I would start with and with it’s open license, I actually can.

Mythras owes us a system defining Mythic Greece book, but until then, you have base Mythras, Runequest 6 Essentials and other bits to get by with. What took me about Jackals though, and I will accept the tag of hypocrite here after my last post, is the glossy art and world creation. It is gorgeous and close to its historical ties, but free of historical clutter. The great thing about any d100 game is of course, I can press any other d100 mechanic into service with little fuss. There is nothing to say the setting could not be used with full Mythras or other Open Quest elements added. ed. since cancelled because I do not need a glossy take on the same basic stock RQ6 already covers.

So, just how compatible are the d100 games?

Most, if you call “most” the main two groups of Runequest and Basic Role Playing games, use the same 6 core and a few flexible characteristics. Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Power, Size and any of Education, Appearance and/or Charisma, depending on the system. These are very similar to the original TWORPG’s 6.

Power is the only odd one, calling out a difference between a true supernatural/spiritual characteristic and a mental/personal one like Charisma or Wisdom. Sometimes Power is a perfect fit, sometimes an odd one, but it can be dropped or renamed if it wrankles.

The benefit though is a more flexible range of choices than the fixed six.

The mine of information and system options is deep and mature.

Almost all are skill based systems that eliminate two of my bugbears, classes and levels. This is the biggest selling point to me. I dislike the abstractness of levels and classes. They are game system controls, not reflections of reality. Ironically, TWORPG has always struggled with skills or proficiencies, d100 games thrive on them. Why can’t a thief sing, a fighter perform acrobatics or a magic user swing a sword? The reality is you cannot do eveything, but the reality is also, you cannot artificially restrict a characters path without a break in that same reality.

The basic roll-under system is also consistent, although how that is implemented varies. The cool thing is though, as long as you are consistent, you can always change it to a version of the system you prefer. I feel that the basic principals are continually evolving, always with forward pointing growth, but nothing is left behind. No edition wars here, just a constantly improving landscape.

Combat varies a little in two main areas. The first is the choice whether to use hit locations or not? Even if no hit locations are used, reverting to a more abstract style hit point pool, combat in d100 games is universally realistic, brutal and final. Massive hit point reserves are rarely used as a buffer against imminent doom. This does not have to be a d100 only paradigm, it just generally is. Possibly the desire to simulate reality as closely as possible and avoid abstractness generally, leads down this pathway, but what ever the reason, very few d100 systems are “soft”. I like this also.

It makes every interaction tense and dangerous or, more accurately, hyper realistic. TWORPG in particular can be simplistic and dull in combat, a mathematical exercise, sometimes barely worth slogging through. In most d100 games, a single lucky hit can be game changing, so no enemy can be brushed off as toothless.

The second element is less specific system “crunch”. For example the Mythras family has post-roll critical success choices, allowing the player to decide what it is they have done over and above just hitting. This opens the door for all sorts of special effects.

Magic on the other hand varies enormously. The beauty of the similar systems though is, you can mix and match to a certain extent. At last count, I have probably 15 bespoke magic systems at hand and that is not at all comprehensive. What I like is the variety both mechanically and thematically, which is often enough to define the feel of a game. Caution needs to be exercised with some combinations, but after a while you get a feel for what will work and what needs revising.

After this, there is always a ton of game behind each title no matter how small, but the core things that drive them are quite similar.

Basically, each addition to my d100 collection adds to all my d100 collection.

Handy.

D100 Dungeon Discovered And Destined Arrives

It never ceases to amaze me how many games there are out there to discover, even when you limit yourself to a single format (d100) within a single genre (RPG’s).

D100 Dungeon, discovered when I was hunting for a Malifaux d100 option, looks like a winner that melds the old Steve Jackson Melee/Wizard, Write Your Own Adventure and OST DnD vibes (3 Stats, solo dungeon delves, hand drawn maps etc) into a D100 system, re-imagining. So of course I had to have it!

I have stayed mostly true to my plan of avoiding any new RPG’s especially non d100 games, but this one just screamed out to me. Tons of vocal supporters, solo play (option of group) and a clean and logical system all work for me.

I went for the soft cover + PDF options on DTRPG. Soft cover books are fine, especially when you can print out the needed charts and tables from the PDF’s. The savings helped cover the third book I purchased (book 4), giving me the Core (bk 1), Players Guide (bk 2) and Tome of Extraordinary rules (bk 4). I also have the PDF’s now of course, but I must admit, I really do not feel like I “own” them until the hard copies come. I am sure the other two or three books will be added later but maybe only as PDF’s as they are adventures not “enablers”.

D100 stirred up some other recurring thoughts also. My dislike of overly glossy, feigned immersion by proxy games, the ones heavy on production values, but no heavier than anything else in substance. These may even force on the reader, a fixed paradigm of pre-conceptions, stiffling open creativity.

We are handed everything these days. We often know what to visualise when reading a well known book, because the accompanying movie or series has created a backdrop and this, for better or worse. What does Harry Potter look like…….bet I know where your imagination went.

The same is true of RPG’s. I have many fond memories of games drawn (literally often) from my own imagination, using a solid, but visually unexciting set of rules. Old school DnD comes to mind, but these days even that corner stone of the hobby has gone “Hollywood”.

Traveller (GDW 1.5 ed) is an example of a game that lacked any visual cues in the three book base set. That’s right, it had zero illustrations. It is famous however for it’s cover that painted a picture in your mind of a desperate situation for the free trader “Beowulf”. It still sticks with me, and many others to this day.

My reserved but solid love of all things d100 comes with some requirements. The first is to embrace the very flexible, simple, realistic, but sometimes poorly implemented system mechanic. The second is, that with only a few exceptions (Warhammer 4e), most d100 games are pretty basic in their presentation.

For me, this is a huge plus!

From the very early versions of Call of Cthulhu (2-4e), Rune Quest or Storm Bringer (1-4e), d100 games have been high on character, tension and immersion, but relatively low on “fluff”. Even the first edition of Warhammer Fantasy Role play, had a few colour plates, but generally stuck to very approachable pencil sketches, adding to its feel.

I find illustrations that look hand drawn are the most appealing. They make me feel like the designer is sitting at the table with me, giving me the ok to join in with my own efforts. Glossy tomes of artistic excellence, just make me feel detached from the whole thing. The same happens with miniatures. There is no doubt, that for many the biggest hurdle is the intimidation factor of the magnificently painted figures showcased by the companies involved. Malifaux is a prime example.

In the modern era, there seems to be a push back from d100 production companies against this over the top presentation style, relying more on the games content than slick presentation.

This for me is a release. When a game is “perfect”, it needs to be. The annoyance of no real shield rules in Warhammer 4e is compounded by the quality of the book. It is perfect to look at, a treasutre to own (two), but like a shiny veneer with hidden cracks underneath, it is not perfect in application.

Content is really highlighted here. The game needs to be a standard bearer of the genre. When it is just “ok” or falls short of fullfilling its potential, it just stings that little bit more. The true measure of a RPG system is in the play and shape that takes. D100 systems, not without some known issues, are stable

If the book was cheaper, printed in mostly black and white and on regular paper, it could be dealt with, with notes in the margin, printed pages inserted or simply re-bought in a later edition without breaking the bank balance. It can also be bought in a PDF and printed at home or cheaply by a professional and look much the same as the original. Mongoose Traveller is an example of an older system with all the retro charm I like, printed on plain paper. Notes from the slicker newer one can be easily added to it, making it better mechanically, only adding to the feel.

Another issue is life span. A $100au+ book printed on high quality glossy paper, is no more likely to survive extended use than a soft cover paper back, which has the benefit of being more easily backed up. Ageing the former is heart breaking, while aging the latter is empowering. My ancient WFRPG 1e is coffee stained, yellowed and generally a bit rough. My 4e versions are perfect, but I feel I need to keep them that way and I only have two so I always have one in that condition! It is also a bigger wrench when edition wars inevitably kick in.

The One Ring caught me there. I have the slip case, revised and an eye on the new second edition. Apart from the mounting cost and waste of older editions, changes can make whole systems of books redundant. The new ones gave some small changes, but the look, that you are paying a premium for, has totally changed!

Creativity. When the book is less precious, less opinionated, I feel my creative juices kick into overdrive. The game is mine, not the writters. If I don’t want “X” to look like their version of “X”, then it won’t. I appreciate the odd visual “stimulant”, but not an over bearing graphic lean.

I do not read pictures books (well the odd comic), because I don’t need a picture painted for me, so why would I need a picture-game? A nice cover, some black and white "generic” illustrations and even some nice inspiration are fine, especially if the game is based on a specific work or historical period, but leave it at that. Leave it to me. M-Space is ideal to me. It has some very emotive colour plates (like the front cover), that take me back to my sci-fi roots, but nothing is decided for you, only more mysteries to be uncovered.

Mongoose Traveller 1e is a fine example of a game that uses simple retro style illustrations to enhance it’s narrative. These “career path” ones in particular, fit perfectly with my minds eye equivalents from my early days of role playing. My inspirations were 2000AD comics, Star Wars, Stainless Steel Rat and Jerry Pournelle books and the art of Chris Foss and similar, which these drawings compliment well. The 2e ones just don’t fit with my perceptions, looking more like generic (bland) modern sci-fi, which is at odds with the older sci-fi interpretation the system is based on.

Primary examples of systems that should have me excited, but fail to, are Warhammer/Hordes RPG’s (sold), Mongoose Traveller 2e (in limbo) and to some extent Warhammer 4e (but I will persevere).

Favourites and systems that tick all the boxes of being close to my ideal of appraochable, free form and well balanced are most d100 systems especially Legend, WHFRP 1e, M-Space, Chivalry and Sourcery and Call of Cthulhu, but also Mongoose Traveller 1e and the Hero System 4e. It may be that these are coming from my sweet spot period of role-playing, but they may very well be one of the reasons it was my sweet spot.

Retro is very in at the moment, I feel in part because we are looking for that missing something. Maybe that missing element is what we put in, the hand made or bespoke connection, not what is delivered to us for free.

The one exception, as it manages to get around all of the above issues and still be “high end”, is 13th Age. The books are weighty and glossy, but not overladen with illustrations and many of those are simple chroma-white sketches that are very much on point with the games style. There is also a massive effort exerted by the writers to empower the gamers to make it their own.

The books are mid-range expensive, but they are also very well make, not too precious and there has been no revised, upgraded or typo fixing reprints so far, even after several years. As it does so many ways, 13th Age is an exception to the rule.

*

On a side note, Mythras Destined arrived today. This was meant to be the end of my d100 path, but finally succumming to RQ3e it’s companion and three D100 Dungeon books has extended that day out. It has however closed the loop for me in another way. I now have a comprehensive range of options in Mythras (high crunch), BRP (mid crunch) and “other” (low crunch) d100 systems.

Super World as my only real d100 supers system (although the BGB could handle plenty. Seeing as supers games have always been a personal favourite, seemed a bit thin. Destined slots into a larger family of games that give me access to supers, super natural, weird science/sci-fi and fantasy options with one unified system.

It is another fine example of pleasant, but not over done production values, heavy on content.

Malifaux Break Through

A couple of cool things happened today in my Malifaux saga*.

I discovered the official site has a “classic malifaux” collection, made up of older figures, some with and some without blisters, cards etc. I am fine with that as I do not intend to use it as written anyway. There were some hard to get (Purifying Flame, constructs, Drowned), some filler (Freicorps) and the odd figure I did not know even existed (alternate Criid).

The site had about 100 figures available (some boxed sets). Many were of no interest, but this one fits my “Criid as Demonologist” idea better than the original, so the older one can be a Witch Hunter instead. I may buy more but the freight is fast but expensive (about 50% of the order), so maybe not.

Secondly, after ditching Savage Worlds as my main conversion path (not enough options and it did not capture the feel), I have decided to go with my own supers based miniature combat system.

This is a table top or RPG core system capable of handling large numbers of figures, wide power ranges and is very flexible for the application of effects**. The system has a simple and robust mechanic capable of extra ordinary, even extreme results, but less often than the “exploding” dice of SW and answers that old pearl “how does a Batman or Captain America have any effect in a crew including Superman or Thor”, basically skill matters as much as power.

Can the nice little old lady with an attack of 1d4 (handbag with a brick in it) beat the Hulk to the punch with his 10d8? Sure, if old nan beats all those dice with one d4 roll, and then only one hit is achieved. After the look of shock dissapears from the green guys face, nans luck is likely up. In testing, we actually had an occassion when Thor landed in a group of hapless mooks and managed to miss the lot! “Letting you off with a warning cowardly ones” he said, red faced, then decimated them next turn.

*

*I promised myself no more “sagas”, but Malfaux was a half completed project from years ago, that selling off my massive Warmachine/Hordes collection went a long way to funding.

**The core of the system is the base mechanic.

The “strength” or power of a skill, attack, defence, is expressed by the number of dice rolled.

The “skill” or accuracy/speed of a skill effect or attack is expressed by the type of dice rolled (d4 to d20 including d16).

This pool is rolled either in direct competition with another pool or against a fixed value, sometimes with a number of successes required. It sounds mathy and cumbersome, but the roll only has to decide a winner (higher roller or roller with the most of a tied maximum value) and how many “wins” were rolled (# die over the highest value of the losers pool).

Only the “wins” matter, with an effect multiplier applied such as x2 damage etc.

Characters have a hit point pool for body and mind, and a (usually half way) point where they become “staggerred”, from that point ignoring all following odd rolls. They can also be “stunned” which forces them to ignore even rolls and other conditions that can be applied such as entanglement which reduces strength and/or skill values. Lots of options.

Minions are handled easily by being grouped into teams of 4-8, acting as a single character with their quantity equalling their strength (1 fig = 1 strength).

Swarms are single large bases with strength points, which are like hit points but with no other effects other than equalling strength (again 1=1).

There is a little paperwork tracking hits etc, which I may remove by having a Savage Worlds/Mutants and Masterminds-like damage scale (Stunned, Staggered, down, out etc).

Each character has a series of physical and mental, close or ranged attacks and defences (a base and some special actions), easily modelled using this system. It is something I can get up in a day, then modify over time. Even movement is controlled with the above system meaning pushing your luck has consequences (Antman can fly 2d20”, more at the whim of the elements, Hulk moves with a relentless 8d8”).

If I ever get arond to making a point based character creation version, point costs can be expressed as Str x Skill (3d10 = 30 pts).

If the numbers get too big, smaller pools with multiples applied can also be used.

The one area I will change from my previous rule is to introduce a Savage Worlds-like card based initative system and a luck pool of backup cards for swap outs, maybe allowing the odd card exchange for a bad dice roll-especially useful for a defence roll, where one die can turn an attack.

Where Faux-Malifaux is different though is in the numbers. The supers game could have charatcers like the Hulk with 10d8 fighting, or Thor with 8xd10, where Malifaux will likely top out at 6d12 and average around 2-3d8-10.

Tolkien And RPG's

The history of role-playing games and the written works of Tolkein are as intertwined as any two different genres can be. The original DnD (Chainmail), used racial tropes that were basically lifted straight from the interpretations of Tolkein. Stocky Dwarves, elegant Elves, plucky Halflings and high medieval, Scandi Humans vs Orcs and Wargs etc.

There have been many other RPG’s directly or indirectly linked to Tolkein, some hits, some misses, some best forgotten, but I feel for the rest of the life of the role-playing genre, there will be a connection to Tolkein.

I have the recently defunct “The One Ring” RPG 1st edition (and revised) also known as TOR. It is gorgeous, rich and perfectly presented. I don’t like it unreservedly as a system, which is a shame, but not an insurmountable obstacle.

I also have Adventures In Middle Earth (AIME), which is The One Ring converted for DnD 5e, a relatively palatable connotation of DnD for me and a cleaner representation of the One Ring content as it avoided the “growing pains” of its older sibling, but it is still DnD, even if it is a better form of that for me.

So much beautiful content, so many potential hours of game play, but unfortunately, so very unlikely to be used as bought.

What to do?

Convert it to a D100 system?

The D100 family are nothing if not versatile, or more to say versatile and realistically grounded. The core mechanic is so matter of fact, so based in logic, that gaming any lower octane, realistically pitched world is always possible. These systems generally rely on role playing for much of their systemic depth rather than the more focussed and limiting TOR or even looser AIME approach. Players and the GM will have to bring the feel, which is to me, is role playing and much preferred to being rail-roaded by a system.

Mythras/Rune Quest 6/Classic Fantasy is the current excelsior, the latest edition of the venerable and highly refined RQ engine. It has the most detail and crunch, is the cleanest, most comprehensive of systems and has a lot of support. For high detail one on one fights it is unsurpassed, but it can get a bit heavy for massed conflicts. The original game is pitched at Iron Age legendary play, but early Medieval is no stretch at all. Character generation, as with most D100 games, is skill based, with cultures at the core, so knocking up some loose cultural parameters for Middle Earth should be easy enough, or even just let the players do it themselves based on their PC concepts and set on the go limitsto curtail truly odd mixes (horse expert Dwarves?).

Ignore the little black book in front, the rest of the Mythras family are all pretty compatible.

Legend is the rougher, simpler pre-curser to Mythras, with a slightly more medieval feel and has Vikings as a source book, which fits. Legend is like Mythras basic. It has fewer options especially in combat, so it is a simpler pathway, but still has plenty of depth. In a no or low magic setting, Legend is clean and straight forward, but has subtle magic pathways if needed. Legend can also act as a resource for Mythras.

Pretty much everything could be used, along side most Mythras resources.

Magic World is the generic form of the Elric system, which is the fantasy specific version of the BRP system. This is the best supported system historically with dozens os spin-off games, but Mythras is more complete and cohesive these days. It drops body hit locations and some other details of the RQ family, but still has much respect in the D100 community and is seen by some as the the best balanced fantasy game, at least mechanically in the D100 world.

The BGB is capable of handling most genres, especially with the massive wave of support materiel behind it.

BRP or the Big Gold Book is the generic version of Magic World, that is basically the same, but more flexible. It allows for a clean experience without the usual fantasy clutter, which fts with Tolkein ironically, who it could be said started all this, but is tame compared to many of the games available today. The main reason this appeals is its flexible nature.

Open Quest would be another good option. OQ is an even simpler game than Magic World, but has slightly closer ties to the newer games, probably closer to being a basic Mythras than Legend. It’s in its third edition with some clever and up to date mechanics. There are also a couple of self published off-shoots of OQ that have a very Tolkein-esque feel, possibly making conversion easier. If nothing else, the front cover, by the same artist as the TOR books, looks very Tolkein.

Bare Bones Fantasy is the slickest and simplest of all, but possibly too simple. This one is probably too generic in nature, trying to be the essence of dungeon busting RPG’s, which is not very Tolkien (but fun).

Simple and effective.

The main thing is to keep it simple and rely on a grounded system and good role playing. One of the things I really appreciate about most D100 games, is their lack of an overt opinion. Trying to press most other games, even generic ones into service always runs the risk of introducing a feel that just does not fit. Hero system, Savage Worlds, Cypher etc are all capable systems, but just do not feel right for simulating a traditional Tolkein World.

D100 games usually only fall down with OTT Supers, or fantasy, Wuxia (except Wuxia of course) or super lite narrative games, but even then they can work, it just comes down to the players and GM.

RPG's. What's Left?

My d100 game collection is being added to, but nothing else RPG is coming in.

Between the various d100 games I have or could access if needed, I have everything you could want if, like me you are a less than occassional games with a wide variety of interests. Lite to deep mechanics, every genre, most “feels” within those and so much cross-compatibility. Mostly though d100 games just make sense to me and those I introduce to role-playing.

I do have a few hold-outs from the old collection, just a few.

13th Age (complete to now) is my “I want to play D&D, do you have it?” game. It has it’s appeal, just not my usual thing. There is nothing really I can mine from it except the most basic concepts, like “The One Unique Thing”, or some good advice, but that is not the point. It is perfect for what it needs to be, an anti D&D, version of D&D.

Lots to like, but completely over the top for a d100 conversion.

Mouse Guard (all). I just love this game, it’s feel and the accompanying graphic novels. It does provide a good background for a d100 style version, but the elegance and simplicity of the system itself is part of the appeal. I have no real love for the rest of the Burning Wheel family, because to me, many d100 games fill that space well enough or better.

The One Ring (most). This one is likely going to be another conversion tool. This is not really that hard with d100 games as they sit at about the same power level (realistic and lethal). The actual system, now in a slightly different and smoother (mostly just mildly different) 2e, is fine, but quite stylised to make the Tolkein world happen how the designers want it to.

Adventures In Middle Earth (most). The 5e version of above is a much easier and more harmonious version of TOR, coming after it and bowing to the needs of 5e. I probably like it more as it feels less rail-roady than TOR, but also goes down a road I would like to avoid. On a bad day, I am tempted to get the Simbaroum and Iron Kingdoms versions in 5e, but that would only make what I am actually doing, clearing out and simplifying, go into retrograde. I have come to realise, that even though I like this one more, TOR is better for my needs.

Various Supers games. I have a DC and Marvel supers game, not to play but to mine for info for my own or other’s skirmish games and possibly “Mythras Destined”. In my recent purge I dropped a lot of supers RPG’s, admitting finally that they, for me a fan of low powered, multi genre and gritty supers, only needs one or two options that work (Super World-BRP or, Mythras-Destined).

SWADE (core book-recently lots of the older version). Not sure here. If I cannot get it up for Faux-Malifaux, it will likely go. I just cannot mesh with the abstractness of the system, unless it becomes the logical table top answer. I seem to have left the door open for the new supers and sci-fi expansions, but probably should slam it shut. SW has only ever really served as a distraction for me.

Iron Heroes (all+). This one is a real throw back. Monte Cook sponsored this 3e spin-off, based on the idea of a fighter only, heroic D&D game like Conan, where the mage or high priest is a foe of mysterious power. All the classes are fighter based except the brinkmanship, fragile and foolhardy mage and the core of the game is written around combat options. I love the Kev Crossley art, the old school feel and the fact I chased it all up, especially the revised version and the other revised version (both basically trying to fix the magic system). What use is it? Not much, but a bit of my RPG history I would rather keep than effectively give away. Facing facts, it is a system with issues and the more you shed, the slicker it becomes, but it still has its own charm.

Mongoose Traveller 1 &2e (core books + dozens of PDF’s). These are again throw backs to my role playing past. My very first games were the original played in high school at lunchtime with friends. I like the first edition presentation more than 2e, but the later one has some very good system changes. These also have a ton of PDF support, but M-Space and Frontier Space fill my needs. Like Iron KIngdoms, it is really a matter of just wanting to hang on to them rather than selling them off cheaply.

The first thing my mind goes to when someo’s flexibilityne asks where it all started.

Hero System/Champions (basic 4e + dozens of PDF’s). I have physical copy of 4e, my favourite, PDF’s of 5 and 6e (& Complete) and lots of PDF support, but I doubt I will ever use them unless Faux-Malifaux needs 4e’s flexibility. Champions 4e was my second big game, a favourite of my early groups enabler. The math did my head in, but the play was engrossing.

Lace and Steel (complete boxed set). An old Australian RPG based on The Three Musketeers with sentient Fae races, it has some great ideas and mechanics. Again, I love the art and feel and it is basically worthless so a no-brainer to keep.

Would I be tempted with something else? I bought D100 Dungeon on impulse today, which goes to show the appeal of a new to me RPG is strong if it is d100 based and relevant (solo) and Warhammer 4e still has a few books I need to complete it. Apart from maybe the still alive 13th Age, no nothing else entices, not even Through The Breach for Malifaux and thankfully most others are either finished or of little interest.

Some (More) Thoughts On Addressing D100 "Swinginess" Concerns

This old pearl has been running around on this site for a while now.

“D100 role playing games have an undeserved reputation for swingy resolution mechanics”.

I say undeserved mainly because the perception and the reality, especially in comparison to some of the big RPG names out there, are more about misunderstanding than reality.

Ironically, Achtung Cthulhu can be used with Savage Worlds, a game with an even bigger rep for swinginess.

d20 games have a linnear curve to their rolled value chances, but unlike the d100 games, they usually have roll over not roll under mechanics. It’s an illusion that this is less swingy, but that is the perception. The reality is, it is more limiting, creating a “dead” zone at the extreme ends, which leads to player dissatisfaction with early editions “topping out” chance curves (ever played a level 12 3e Fighter against some level 1/2 goblins?).

Even those with a curve like 2d6, 3d6 or 2d10 games, still have the same number of actual chances of rolling any single combination, they are just clumped towards the middle (called a Bell curve). This also has its own issues, mainly with mods that can become quite unbalanced at high or low levels.

Even Savage Worlds, a game with a very small and tight resuts spread has a reputation for swingness due to its “exploding” dice, so there is always a catch.

Take swinginess away completely and you have no risk.

D100 games offer a wide spread of evenly distributed values, and an equally large number of options within those. The two dice used allow for a built in critical system (doubles), a gentle growth path (1% increments) and several ways of implementing the actual mechanics.

To alleviate the swinginess of d100 skill systems, there are a couple of basic tricks available;

• Let the players choose the order their dice are read in for unopposed, non time critical tests or when they have the “advantage”. This means they will have a roughly 75% chance of rolling 50% or less. In other words, introduce a Bell curve of sorts (maybe Bell-bottom curve). Combat and pressure tests should stay “taken as they come”, but basic tests are more player controlled. This also allows a player to choose between two passing tests. In my own system, difficulty is measured in “how the dice are read” and for extreme tests how many are rolled, not mods.

• Increase the core skill level, either with a fixed base or increased skill starting formula. BRP uses the sum of 2x3d6 Chrs (average 21%), but maybe use three or even two chrs and a base depending on untrained likelihood (+0% for Jumbo Jet pilot, +20% for Bike riding).

• Always pay attention to the consequences of failure, especially critical failures. Make the penalty (or reward) fit the risk. I use a table for my “doubles are crit pass/failure” system, with escalating effects towards the centre of the spread and “softer” results at the extremes. Another option is to have levels of success or failure based on the variance of the needed roll and the acual, a bit like difficulty, but backwards. This removes the rigid line of pass/fail and turns it more into a softer indicator of success-failure levels. 20% levels seems to work.

• Re-interpret “failure” using the “fail forward” or “failure that succeeds, but“ models, especially when a test comes close (maybe a 20% either way rule). There are plenty of good systems out there to bring role playing into failure mechanics rather than just maths.

• Re-define the test parameters. Will the lever break on a fail, or just not turn enough? Are you maybe even turning it the wrong way, so no test is needed next attempt.

• Only test when needed. The test of a good GM is knowing when and when not to test.

• Break a test into parts, increasing tension and story. This makes for a better game and story anyway, but it allows the skill level to smooth out to a more likely outcome, not a swingier yes/no question and allows the GM to apply different chrs or skills to the different elements of the test.

The reality is, most d100 games, indeed most RPG’s suffer from some form or other of mechanical swinginess, which is where the risk is found. They all come up with methods to get around this (or not), but there is always a way.

Bare Bones uses the higher base level model, using the actual characteristic -/+ based on skill.

Faux-Malifaux, The Re-Work

My recent re-discovery of my Malifaux 1e collection has reinspired an old project. To be honest, I am not sure exactly what that project was, being at least ten yeasrs ago, but it likely went something like;

Buy the Malifaux figs you like, then work out what to do with them. I did this with a mixed buy of Warhammer Grey Knights and Cygnar from Warmachine (all very visor-ey) that did not end well. I will admit to having often bigger plans that the will or dicipline to carry them through as planned.

I have recently added to my collection, picking up some of the ones I missed, but I still intend to miss others, especially the blatant female stereotypes and more gruesome types. Wins include Lucious and The Dreamer boxed sets and the odd blister.

Found a place that had both Lucious and his boxed set new.

Like many, I got caught up in the cool factor of Malifaux. Like many of those, I fell down at implementing the 1e rules and failed to play it.

Speaking of rules.

I have downloaded both of the bundles from DTRPG for Malifaux 1.5 and 2e for under $20au.

1.5e is a solid game, but tough to teach and hard for the over 50’s to read, especially the cards. I could easily enough increase the card sizes, or re-do them for a simple “training” version of the game.

2e could have been problematic, needing conversion card “Arsenals” that are well gone, but it looks like every character in the game is given a full or half page rundown with card (usually at the bottom, which makes stacking easier), so I could print and laminate if I choose to.

My issues, apart from the edition wars, are play balance and inconsistency, but also the crews themselves. I just want to mix up and harmonise the gangs a little more. They feel off to my eye, a little left of ideal, so I am determined to re-align some, not all, to better suit my interpretation of each figure’s look*. I also want to incorporate the Puppet Wars figs (1e metals). As an example, The Dreamer as a shape changing Demon host fits, but I want Teddy to be his “other” Teddy also.

This means using using another set of rules.

Savage World Adventure edition (SWADE) could do the job. It is a crunchy tactical minis game that turned into a lite role-playing game. It is also a little like Malifaux. The original Savage World systems grew from an alternate Weird West game, which is probably as close to Malifaux as any other minis based system, if a little cleaner and less “adult”. I could tap pretty much the entire core game system into this project either as an alternative of Malifaux or alternative to Malifaux.

SWADE can meld multiple genres into a single gaming system. It is a generic system and well polished these days. It is also devoid of paper work only needing markers for figure status (or simply laying them flat). I must admit, I have never loved it as an RPG, being only drawn to the fringe stuff and the idea of a fast and easy game (an illusion compared to my simpler d100 options), but it has the minis side covered for the most part. I even recently gifted the bulk of my older editions, but held onto SWADE on a hunch. It uses cards for initiative and with a small tweak, swapping out “Bennies” for a reserve card hand to be used for exchanges with intiative cards or even to replace rolls by spending them, it could feel a little like Malifaux in play. These cards could be an easy way of balancing the crews.

Another option is a d100 game, which gives me a variety of systems, all reasonably compadible and adds such niceties as hit locations, sanity, various magical formats. True RPG’s are not always great at table top minis games. Some need minis, but also need role playing, some are more “theatre of the mind”, but amongst the many d100 games I have, I can cobble something together. The pending “Destined” would likely be a good basis, maybe with After the Vampire Wars to fill some gaps (both Mythras). The Big Gold Book is also a possibility. Another option is Wuxia or Bare Bones Fantasy.

It is also possible to do a combat only system with a d100 base, as they are all pretty simple. I would use hit locations, which in one move gives me so many mechanics for “one shots” and unique and comical criticals and allows the models actual armour to be accounted for as shown and wound effects to make total sense. It would use individual character based d% skills and manoeuvres. This means each specific attack and character speciality can be accounted for simply by calling them out rather than a base line with exceptions. Hero characters may have several options, but each is a pick and use or triggerred option. Cards could still be used for init order with a “luck” hand used to swap out init cards or be spent to add to or subtract from die rolls, making some more effective (much less swingy than a smaller dice option adding a maximum of +/- 13% to a roll and the card is spent). SWADE is swingy, so this would be less so.

Hero System 4e is a contender (had 5-6e, but 4e sits better). This is a mathy system when character building, but once done, it plays well and can handle all sorts of powers and abilites in a unified system (character building is also a game in itself). It uses table inches and d6’s only, but cards could possibly be inserted somehow. My old book would likely fall apart with much more handling, but again, once the characters are built, the book is largely redundant (and I have pdf’s somewhere). Powers such as shape changing, presence attacks, control and manipulation, high speed actions and differing attack types are all handled well in a balanced and logical way and combat is detailed and gritty. The squeaky clean, four-colour supers vibe of the game goes away with some thematic terminology and character sheets.

A battered but still solid old system.

One of the main draws of HERO is the “concept first, character second” style it uses. I could concievably and quite easily just mimic Malifaux with this one. It is all there, but I still want to change some crews out.

One of the Osprey minis games like “In Her Majesty’s Name”, of which there are many and I have a few. My only concern here is a lack of depth for the full range of games I intend to run. Faux-Malifaux has many facetts, which is hard for some games to do.

Finally, a system of my own, but from scratch. Playing around the other day I came up with a simple characteristics as combat abilites system. These are easy to do if you make tha charcaters to fit the game, nit try to do a comprehesive design system. By basing all rolls and damage (reducing chrs) around Boby-Mind-Spirit, with each attack an ability specifically aligned to one of these or more, the game sits between a RPG combat system and minis game. Loss of any chr totally, results in unconsciousness-madness-loss of will.

My gut feeling is to do SWADE to start, with HERO and my own d% games up my sleeve.

Regardless of the rules, the crews and figures will be my vision, which is fine for a set of 10+ year old figs from a redundant and unsupported line.

*My crews will be;

The Ortegas, Latigos and Marcus as the noble “Outlander” bandits.

Zoraida, McTavish and the Gremlins as the Marsh Folk alliance.

Kirai, Ten Thunders and Punk Zombies as Oriental themed spirits trapped between here and “there” by a shared curse.

Pandora, Criid, The Dreamer/Lord Chompy Bits/Teddy, anything “devilish” or demon like, like the Terror Tots, Night Terrors etc as “The Possessed”.

Leviticus (box), McMourning (alt), Ryle and Coppelius as “The Twisted Ones”.

Ramos, an assistant?, anything mechanical horror-like, Arachnids, Necropunks etc and the two Rattlers from Puppet Wars, proving there is more than one way to skin the “augment” cat (and then re-animate it).

Seamus (Slasher of Kroy), Copycat, Witchling hunters and all the urchin types (Crooligans, Student of Conflict) as a nasty, lethal, Fagin like gang.

The Rat King (Hamlin alt), other Hamlin, Rat Catchers, Dire rats and lots of Warhammer Skaven rats.

Cassandra, Molly, Wicked Dolls, Stitched Together and the Puppet Wars figs as “mockeries” of actual players with special abilities if facing off against “themselves”. Would love the Coryphee also, but none to be found.

Nicodem, Mortimer, Pandoras “Sorrows” as Grave Ghouls, The Grave Spirit, Jack Daw, Vulture are “The Haunting”.

McMourning (reg), Sebastian, all the zombie types, The Impaired, Killjoy as the recently departed.

Hoffman, Kaeris, the Guardian and Watcher constructs, Witchlng Handler and Johan (+) as mechanics as The Guardians, Von Schill and crew as the “Exterminators”. Lots of goggles, tools and such.

Lucious, the Lawyer, Guild Guards, Gunsmiths and a few other sas the Witch hunting Grey Wardens.

The rest, a lot of extra characters, will be either lone hired guns, another band (Seven Sisters?), or may be added to the above crews for depth and variety.

Many are as bought, but many more are not.

Malifaux-pas Or "Savage-faux"

I have been clearing out.

Some things have gone, some have been rediscovered and one is even growing again.

Malifaux 1st edition was a thing for a while. I even painted a few figs, but uninspired by the game itself, I had other plans for the figs. I have a great western town, but also a medieval village, either of which could fit the bill. I will use the cobblestone Dickensian village as it fits the horror themes better and I have a ton of bases.

With Warmachine/Hordes gone, Malifaux became the next on the list, literally uncovered by the removal of 5 large plastic tubs of the bigger game. After a quick stock take, the same ideas came flooding back. Use the minis, but do your own thing. I also have 1e Puppet Wars (but no tiny Teddy, sad face), again with little intention of playing it, but a real hankering to use the figures, so I will do something that combines both.

The idea is along the same lines as the original game, but set in “Old Kroy” and based roughly on “Gangs of New York” (Old Kroy, get it…….….eh, tough crowd!).

I have several factions or “crews” in mind, all based on cliches and themes all possibly “overdone” already, but not by me. I do intend to paint the figures close to the Malifaux versions, just in case. My collection was nearly complete for my original needs, it just needed a few holes filled (Noble Knight and Tabletop Empires both had stock and between them, reasonable prices for most).

The Bayou Clans, all things damp and gruesome with a voodoo vibe.

Zoreida and co, Mc Tavish, Voodoo doll, Som’er Teeth and the Bog Gremlins with hogs of all sorts.

The Outlanders, a mean and desperate crew from the wasted desert.

The Ortegas, Pistoleros and Marcus (Spirit Walker) with The Rattler, Cerberus, Mauler and Jackelope.

The Lost and the Damned. Souls caught between here and Perdition.

Kirai and her lost spirits, Ten Thunder Brothers, cursed Samurai and Pandora with Sonnia Criid and their devilish crew (Tots and Fire Garmin).

The Twisted Ones, many different paths to “improving” the human condition.

Leviticus’s crew, Boy > Mr Chompy bits, Coppelius (squid head) with Ramos (or Mc Mourning) with his metal monstrosities including the two Rattlers from Puppet Wars.

The Gutter Snipes. Proving that children should not run with scissors or knives or swords…….or cleavers.

Seamus “The Slasher of Kroy”, Copy Cat, Crooligans + student of conflict, witchling hunters (as assassins), Hamlins crew.

The Cutting Crew. Everyone should have a dolly, something they can hold and cherish………..

Cassandra, and Molly the Maker with Teddy, stitched together horrors, wicked dolls and the bulk of the Puppet Wars figs as mocking parodies of the main players. Special moments are reserved for characters facing off against their stitched and stuffed avatars. (I played with the idea of these as actual Avatar companions, but I did not have the right coverage).

The Restless and Rotten. When the story is not over, but probably should be.

Nicodem, Mortimer and the spirits from Pandora’s set, the Grave Spirit, the Vulture, Sebastian, Autopsies, Crooked men, Jack Daw and mindless zombies. Desperate Merc #1 would fit here also.

The Wardens of Kroy. The not so squeaky clean, self appointed defenders of “normality”, what ever that is.

Hoffman and his team (the Guardian, Kaeris, the Freikorpsmen as “minions”), the Guild Lawyer (Warden) Guards, Gunsmiths, the Exorcist (Executioner) and Captain Sue.

The Bounty Hunters. Guns for hire, used to balance out other crews and be played as characters.

The Seven Sisters, Von Schill and the other left overs including Tuco, Sam etc.

There are a lot of switch-outs and leftover figures who may find homes in the stories above or will end up being Mercs.

As for a game system.

I am thinking of using my Savage Worlds Adventuers edition (SWADE). This was origionally a minis game based on the Deadlands world, similar in backstory to Malifaux. The previous edition even had a free download wargame only option called “Showdown”. It uses tabletop inches by default and cards for initiative. One house rule would be to take the Malifaux “players hand” instead of Bennies which would allow some swap-outs to “cheat” fate, a clean and simple way of retaining the gems of both games.

I cannot see myself using SWADE for anything else, like my Supers/Sci fi mixup I wanted to do with Explorers (if they ever get around to the expansions), so just using it as a deeper wargame experience may simply add the character that Malifaux had, but without the deeper pay in. A Malifaux theme can tap that resource fully, especially their clever arcane backgrounds that use the same core systems with fluff added for theme.

For role playing, SWADE sits on the opposte end of my comfort range. It is swingy, overly simplistic and a bit “gamey” and sometimes too abstact. These are things I avoid by playing realistic, gritty and grounded d100 games (except for their occasional swinginess).

For Malifaux, a game where luck and gambling phrases like “raises” and dirty tricks (cheating) play a part in a world that is brutal, SWADE actually feels like a good fit. It is smooth, quite nasty without being too dark and has good flexibility built in for the various forms of Malifaux style weirdness to be introduced.

Ironically, SWADE would then back add in a seamless story telling experience and advancement system to a wargame as it is a full RPG.

Maybe a last gang standing campaign, with the dead (usually) staying dead.

The Hump.

I am on the cusp of selling my massive Hordes/Warmachine and the bulk of my Attack Wing collections.

H/WM, amounting to basically the whole 1st edition catalogue (all metal) with logical duplicates, 2e rules, the CCG and the compatible RPG, only recently finished, has been hanging over my head for the better part of a decade, filling five large plastic tubs, most still as bought, plus a shelf unit of undercoated figs and a decent amount of shelf space. Some things just get out of hand.

I really liked the idea of the RPG, but needing minis pushed me to quite disliking the game. It is theoretically playable without, as any RPG can be, but it does break the core game assumptions a little. I could have held onto my 3e set and have now to resist the shiny new 5e one, but I think after all this time, it is just good to walk away completely.

Time and painting skill were the enemies. Beautiful minis can do that, make you wait for the perfect time, when your skills and time align. This will never happen without another force at work, like a playing group or some early success. I did not have either. Ironically, my interested was peaked again recently with the discovery of contrast paints, but I will let fate decide (sold, for about as much as the RPG cost, but better than letting it sit).

Attack Wing is going to a player who wants to get into Star Trek.

My favourite later ship and series.

He chose a part of my collection only (no Voyager or Enterprise series), over an even better deal for Fed Commander et al, which I am actually happy about. Fed Commander/Starmada/ACTA are back on my radar, now with a nice, neat little bit of AW as an option.

Enterprise was always a favourite (yeah I know I am on my own here) and Voyager is one of the more harmonious AW sets. I am keeping the Tactical Cube, a Marquis, 2 Tholians and 2 Species 8742 ships for scenario play (the rules of time and dimensional travel at work). To be honest, this would have been my “start again” set anyway, so ideal.

Weird little guys, great for scenario play and they appear everywhere.

After deeply diving into AW, my desire to play faction and era specific games only allows me to split the sets and to be honest, AW does not have the ship stat variety that X Wing has, so as long as I have decent spread of abilities and upgrade options, less is more.

The Borg etc are also effectively two power levels. On one hand, the entire allied Enterprise era fleet (or Xindi) would struggle against one Tac cube, on the other hand Voyager alone is out of her league, so scary Borg (and Sp. 8742).

Enterpirse series has some lovely ships and all but one is roughly in scale.

Having a huge collection has also allowed me to keep some duplicate cards from other eras. The early Romulans, Klingon and even Earth (classed as Federation, which is technically incorrect), get some wild cards. The Enterprise for example has a couple of TOS tactical cards, the Romulans also.

Attack Wing is more upgrade dependant than X Wing in that the ships have little variation,especially on their action bars, but generally more upgrades, especailly Crew, which has the effect of making tougher ships.

Amarillo Calls

Some time a few years ago, I discovered the venerable Amarilla Design Bureau or ADB.

ABD exists for only one reason. It is the commercial side of a quite old and specific agreement going back to the early days of the Star Trek story. Using the licence granted for the Franz Joseph “Star Trek Technical Manual”, it allows ADB to use any generic, non specificly character named elements of the Star Trek galaxy covered by the original series and the short run, rarely remembered cartoon series only.

They can apparently use any race, planet, ship class and technical reference, just no character names.

Yes, you can have the Enterprise, but no you cannot have Kirk. Good trade off in my book.

From here, ADB developed a series of Star Fleet Battles rules sets going from a simple “pocket” game along the lines of the Steve Jackson stable of zip lock mini games to a set of rules similar to the operating instructions of a jumbo jet, which is apparently it’s appeal. This was also the spring board for an entire alternate history and universe.

Weighed down by its own history and a perception of being impeneterable to most, SFB became a niche within a niche. Blind loyalty aside, it’s retro styling and old school mechanics were just not going to gain many new followers, nor retain all the ones it had, but for those swallowed up by it, there seems to be no substitute. It’s almost a challenge rather than a game..

To address the massive gap between the SFB fans and the rest of the gaming community, in recent times, ADB has offerred several alternatives.

Apart from a simplified introductory “Cadet” SFB rules set, they have had a good hard look at the game and the companies future.

FC on the left and top, Starmada in the middle, ACTA bottom right.

Federation Commander is an attempt to simplify and strealine SFB, but stay basically in line with its principals. Basically a semi-modernisation. It attempts to keep the feel, the basic ship mechanics and tactical choices, but drops a couple of the big time eaters, like energy pre-allocation and 32 discreet phases per turn. Some say it did not go far enough, hanging on to too many SFB anchors, some say it lost that “something extra” of SFB. Many more though are relieved that the universe can now be accessed as just a game, not a life style choice.

To me FC feels like SFB without the semi role playing feel. With SFB you actually do feel like KIrk, transporting yesterdays lunch over to the enemy infected with Tribble spawn. Short of a genuine free-form RPG, SFB tackles the same level of detail through its comprehensive coverage of anything and everything considered “battles between ships in a Star Trek setting”, at least as much as any game has ever before.

FC retains the bones, cleaned and polished, but for better or worse, there is just not as much to know. Is it deep enough? It is tactical and immersive, requiring commitment and experienced players will always have an edge over newbs, but it is not impenetrable and can be picked up reasonably easily.

Next came mj12’s Starmada. This game has had its own problems, offerring just as many editons as SFB, but over a quarter of its life span. Rather than an escalation of difficulty and comprehensiveness, Starmada has just changed. It started well with a solid offering, then it was refined, then greatly simplified and finally refined and combined. It is one of those games like DnD that has its fans of every edition, with probably Admiralty edition is the most popular (=3.5e/Pathfinder equiv), beating out over simplified Nova (=4e equiv), with the newer Unity (=5e) which is taking the mantle now, but even Starmada X and the Compendium (=Old school DnD) are also still in the frame for many.

I have the near full set of “Admiralty” editon books for Star Fleet (no Battleships). This was the favoured one until the newer Unity, all available from DTRPG. It is tempting to get the newer one, apparently a steamlined Admiralty, and even printing off a pdf appeals as the production values of the ADB systems are plain black and white text and drawings in a basic colour cover, but Admiralty is probably fine. I think most of the changes to Unity effect the ship design rules, especially abused weapon combinations, something I won’t be touching on.

Starmada has many similarities to SFB/FC as regards ship stats and the universe, but with much simpler and slightly different mechanics, meaning that even though you can play a squadron game in the same time as a 2 on 2 FC game, or a couple of turns of SFB, you first have to be ok with the differeneces.

Some like it more, as movement apparently harkens back to older editions of SFB, using “Vector movement” and combat is detailed enough for quick one on one duels. Tactics come from multi ship manoeuvring with pre-plotting movement, a bit like X Wing etc.

Starmada Admiralty also has a simplified “Fleet Ops” expansion that allows for 20+ ships a side. This is not specifically Star Fleet based, just generic conversions, but it works and adds another layer.

The last one, also with a troubled history, is A Call To Arms Star Fleet. The Call To Arms series include several historical and other sci fi ship combat games including Victory at Sea (my WW2 favourite) and Babylon 5. The first attempt at converting the system to SFB was poor. The game was undecided which gods to worship, resulting in a Platypus monster no one liked. The second was better received. This one is aimed at minis on a table top, no hexes needed (although all of these games can be converted either way) and even came with its own ABD made fleets, now long gone.

This game annoys me. I find it overly cumbersome and poorly explained (is it only me?), but still desirable either re-written or even completely changed. I have a nice collection of metal ships, nothing near my comprhensive 1” counter range, but all the ships in ACTA are covered, so these two seem well matched.

Where do I fit in this universe?

FC is a comprehensive collection of counters and laminated ship tables as far as faction coverage goes, but not all possible ships (seriously not that committed). My metal minis are not even close to comprehensive, but that is a bridge too far and to be honest, I like the more realistic table presence of the 1” colour counters. They look small, even insignificant in the vastness of space as they should, and I can get on with it immediately.

ACTA is a work in progress. I feel it can be greatly streamlined, even partially re-designed, but that may be more effort than it is worth. More likely, I will just write my own, drawing from all of these.

Starmada is the favourite as I can play and teach it quickly enough, it feels Star Trek enough for my tastes (not tainted by years of SFB) and the predictive movement is a short route to tactical depth. Going in to Unity is not super appealing as I only just completed my Admiralty edition, but it may come painlessly enough (under $100au for the pdf’s and some printing). The main draw of Unity, is the ship rosters being printable from the pdf. If I do Starmada, I will re-write the rules for consistsney. Annoyingly, the reules presented are universal, then the Starfleet stuff has to be pasted over, changinf terminology and some elements are even irrelevant.

Between all three, every available resource is used.

Negotiating "Expansionitis"

With the huge upturn in game play generally, but especially during COVID lockdowns, many popular games are getting expansions. Like movie sequels, expansions can be a mixed bag. It also seems just as many are coming out with expansions in mind from design.

For me a game needs to be re-playable, deep and balanced. Some are designed to grow, some are poorly designed, needing help and some are blatantly incomplete without add-ons.

In this post, I am going to think out loud about this phenomenon and the effect it has had on me in particular. I will also look at the different dynamics at work and their effect on my “happines quotient”.

Everdell

Everdell is an example of a game that can function perfectly well on its own, but also has room for expansion. Three expansions (Spirecrest, Pearlbrook, Newleaf) add dynamics that change the game at a fundamental level. They add full sized boards, new game winning options and a shift in emphasis from the feel of the base game to something different.

There are several other expansions, some full expansions, but only adding small or no extra board space (Bellfaire, Mistwood), some are small parts of deluxe content (Legends, Extra Extra), that are all designed more as enhancements to the base rather than changes and even some that empower solo play (Rugwort/Mistwood). Interestingly, the makers of Everdell seem to warn against using too many expansions at once, which is nice.

Everdell is a prime example of a game that is beautiful, deep and reasonably well balanced out of the box. Solo play is the main issue especially for me as Meg does not rate it, but it is do-able if you can deal with the odd unfair feeling game. It can be “enhanced” by Bellfaire, especially for solo play, expanded gently and harmoniously with Legends, Extra Extra and Rugwort and have a genuine external threat with a true solo mechanic, but not outgrow its trousers, in Mistwood.

The other three full expansions change the emphasis of the game too much for me. I am aware of the mini-growth monster that can be unleashed here and how a game can lose balance or simply change if stretched. I am not saying this is the case for others, but it is for me.

X Wing

In deep enough to start repainting duplicate ships. A good or bad sign?

X Wing is a game that needs more than the base set, but you know that going in. The base set does not even allow you to build a basic tournamant squad, so committing requires some forethought. A plan of sorts even.

In either edition, lots can be achieved, by just getting 2 core boxes, one of each of the A, X, B and Y Wing expansions, the 1e Aces set (another A and B Wing) and the Milennium Falcon for the Rebels and the Tie Advanced, Shuttle, Tie Bomber and Interceptor and the Ace set (more Interceptors) for the Empire, but who really stops there?! Other games that share this dynamic that I have connected with are Attack Wing, Sails of Glory, Wings of Glory, Armada etc., but there are many, many more out there.

The worst offenders in this space are the “random” booster crowd who’s business model is based on rampant purchasing over common sense, disguised as “chance” collecting (Magic the Gathering, Heroclix). These guys have clearly copied the pokie machine business model.

For me, X Wing became an obsession, the latest of many, which is a known thing and something I am trying to curb. I was originally fuelled by cheap 1e clearances, but ironically as ships became increasingly scarce I actually ended up paying more than retail for some! I then dipped my toe into 2e and the drip feed continues. A great example of hindsight being a B%^#h, but so it goes, and seems to continue to. If I wound the clock back, I would have stopped at 1e original movie stuff only as outlined above. Simple, in hindsight.

Armada has a similar dynamic but is less needy and again I would have avoided the prequel stuff and just build two representative fleets. Attack Wing is similar, but the scale and timeline differences tend to make me (not everyone) less keen to collect everything. I am even looking to sell Attack Wing, but keep the “Enterprise” set only. Wings of Glory stopped after the last models covered the main planes missing and Sails of Glory with French and English fleets and Americans as wild cards (no Spanish). Oddly, the one that still calls to me is the bottomless pit that is Federation Commander, a game not without issues, lacking the lushness of newer games and realistically for me lacks likely opponents, but that retro 80’s vibe calls to me…….

Federation Commander (ACTA and Starmada)

A unified range of games, making additions multi faceted.

This one has its own special place. It is a part of a huge living group of systems that have been around for decades. There is nothing pretty about the game, nothing glamorous, just solid, time tested play and a few spin-off games that use the same components. It even has a retro vibe, which may be part of its appeal. There is a core game option (2 actually), but expansions are legion. You can expand the counters, minitures or both and the laminated ship rosters used. The labyrinth of combinations available requires a spread sheet to keep track of it (I have one, love my charts), but even then, confusion is the real enemy.

I collected what I like to think is a decent level of Federation Commander counters, laminates and support material, which also covers my Starmada Admiralty edition ships and enough miniatures to do the core fleets in ACTASF from Mongoose. I could keep adding to the game, but I have found a form of balance, giving the first 15 or so factions a decent showing in FC (some more than others) and have counters for more, that Starmada can handle, even Fleet Ops. I went in keen to collect and that is what happened, but from the start I had a feeling of control, only getting what I wanted, not exhausting the range, especially not the newer factions.

Heroes Of Normandie

Hard to resist, so why try?

Like Everdell, HoN is complete out of the box, but the expansions, especially the small counter panel or board packs are just begging to be added. The game never loses it’s core dynamic or its appeal, just expands it with consistent and harmonious content. Having a second compatible game Shadows Over Normandie allows you to take a different route, or join them together. Cunning. Addictive. Gorgeous.

I have never been so happy to add to a game, hungrily chasing every little, often scarce bit until I completed my first edition set, even paying too much for some rare KS bits, getting lucky occasionally. Every expansion added more goodness. The connection to Hollywood heroes (actual people with Hollywood faces) and the RPG, meets minis game, meets board game with it’s overall approachability all pulled me on. It is also compatible with the Achtung Cthulhu RPG, which helps.

Second ed? Not interested. My 1e set is complete, time to walk away.

Combat Commander

CC is another game with a known expansion path and a programmed one at that. To be a true CC player, you will collect the scenario books and likely all three games (I did). Not all expansions necessarily, just the ones that appeal, but the core game runs the risk of getting repetitive feeling without them and you do not want that. It is such a cool game, but it is scenario based. Another thing I like about this one is it’s completeness. LnL and OST sufferred from only dealing with small parts of the conflict in each game, CC covers all troop types and theatres, but omits vehicles, which I am ok with.

I bought the three base games and most of the expansions with the exception of Partisans (not available at the time) and the early war France, which did not appeal. Other games like this are the original Squad Leader/ASL (sold years ago), Lock N Load (sold), Old School Tactical (sold), leaving CC and HoN as my only tactical WW2 board games.

13th Age

An expansion that is really the second half of the core system.

The only RPG on this list, so by default a different beast. 13th Age is a great example of “compelling collectionitis”. When a known D&D avoider is happily driven to collect as much as they can of a game like this, they must be doing something right. Like HoN, this one seamlessly adds more good to the game without breaking its core principals. It is just a great read, very flexible and the additions tend to fill out things you could do yourself, but seem to want the wrtiters to.

I get everything for this one and semi randomly pick it up for a browse. Thankfully, their release schedule is slow enough to avoid being “that” game (see; 3e D&D/Pathfinder), so no regrets yet. I have an ongoing connection to D100 RPG’s as a whole, but only 13A is compulsive.

Zombicide

Lots of different nasties, if you can track them down.

Zombicide is one of those heart breakers, a game that had warning signs up front. The game has a lot of expansions, but they tend to become scarce, then expensive quite quickly. Like HoN, nothing is unappealing, which makes it doubly annoying when things become near “legendary” in their scarcity. Unlike HoN though, many of the expansions feel more like base game ommissions or must-haves. Based on a Kick Starter dynamic, you have to be quick or simply learn to live with a potentially incomplete, but still large and expensive game.

I was enticed by Black Plague, then the No Rest and Deadeye expansions (the last mainly because it was available). I knew what I was getting into, but caution be damned. I also picked up the KS Huntsman’s pack cheap enough through Miniature Market, and three of my favourite available guest boxes (which took some research and chasing). After a break, I finally relented and bought Wulfsburg, mainly because there are some Wulvz in the KS pack, but no cards. It is possible, but unappealing, to get just the main game. I class this as a game that I feel should have more variety up front not in expensive expansions. It can get stale quickly and I simply do not agree with some choices, but be warned, the expansions do not guarantee it will freshen up. I intend to house rule mine and use the minis for other games also.

All of these games have different “expansionitis” dynamics. Some force a collectors mantle on me because I genuinely want them (HoN), some because I need them to make the game complete or just better (Everdell/Zombicide) and occassionally, just a habit is formed that cannot be controlled (X Wing), but regardless, more thought needs to be applied at the beginning to avoid regret later.

The games I regret getting into are the ones that hit you with a tripple hammer of cost, frustration and added work (Zombicide). The ones I am happy to finalise with a feeling of balance and contentment are HoN, Armada, Combat Commander (all finished) and Everdell (soon Grasshopper, soon).

The one that drives in me the greatest emotional extremes, is X Wing. Love the game, hate the condition of the game and soooo many ships. I have not even looked at the prequels and the desire to get some of the later additions has eluded me.

Fed Comm is an oddity that sits outside of these being fun to collect, needing work, lacking player options, but also avoiding the pressures of the other games. You just know it is there, waiting.

A Return To Everdell

Everdell did not take with Meg, but I liked it. I played the odd game solo, then shelved it for greener pastures.

My set is basic, being just the core game with the “Extra, Extra” and “Legends” expansions, but boy, is this thing deep.

You are lulled into a false sense of fun-through-simplicity by the cute art, the giant cardboard tree and thick rules pamphlet, that ends up only having a half dozen pages of actual rules, the rest being card explanations, which is where the magic is.

Basic concepts, with cards that add a huge number of variations and combinations.

The tree in all its glory, not as cool as first thought.

We had friends over last night and I went this way to suit a gamer of similar tastes to mine and his daughter, who is an avid gamer (Queen of Ticket To Ride, Small World and Catan), but not as invested in heavier games like X Wing etc. There is a niceness to Everdell, something I want to embrace.

The first season (Winter), I was greeted with lots of blank looks and returned them with some of my own as my addled memory tried to explain partly forgotten concepts, but by the second (Spring) season, we were cooking, well I was cooking budget BBQ burgers, the others were going more French quisine.

My first season ended all to soon, which often happens when I am more concerned about getting others up to speed than winning myself (so he says), but Lee (dad) managed to milk Winter out for about a dozen turns and Kira (daughter) was just getting her game face on!

Short story short, my game ended far too early with only 17 points! I had a cunning late game plan of building the Palace, then the Queen then Callista Glistendew, but we cut the game short, ending on the Summer season as time was running out, so I could not quite swing it. Lee in the other hand did get the Queen and Glistendew and finished on 38, but his daughter, who kept going for a few more turns finished on 42.

They both finished their villages, which goes to show how quickly the game can move ahead, being more about quality of your builds over the four seasons, because quantity was easy for most (I only had 8).

This game allowed me to get excited about Everdell again.

Not enough to get too much more, because firstly, I am cautious of “expansionitis”, highlighted by having a games clear out now. Secondly I would need to be playing other than mostly solo to warrant it, so Bellfaire is the one addition now and the new Mistwood expansion on imminent release.

Bellfaire is the one of the first three expansions that does not try to change the game dynamic, just smooths and balances it. It is not the refresh that a very stale or curious player wants, but it does fix some issues with the game, especially for solo play and adds some modular extras;

• A small add-on board (optional) which can replace the Evertree. The board feels crowded with the tree on it and the event cards tend to get forgotten, plus I have bent the top of mine (sad face). We have found in our few games, that the tree tends to make all of the events less accessible physically. In our game the other night, I had to constantly remind my two debutant players to look above the river.

• Faction ability cards to differentiate the factions by more than just colour and cute shape, even the ones I do not have. Because I do not have the meeples for all of these, the ones I don’t have will play the role of “allies” to my existing factions. House rule may be to have your own and an ally card chosen from 2.

• The Market adds a new way of exchanging resources, something I have wanted from the beginning. We had a run-away berry collector last game, but with few options to spend them. As a Catan player, she felt frustrated that trades were not an Everdell standard.

• Other ways of scoring points, applied in a modular fashion.

• More forest and event cards and much more accessible ones, removing the “death by bad card draw” that can crop up especially in solo mode. In solo mode Rugwort is nearly guaranteed all or most of the events, as the smaller solo deck draw makes the needed combinations scarce and he gets the left overs.

• 2 more factions for bigger games (and the above extras provide the extra options a big game would need).

• Some handy bits like player boards, a Rugwort token etc.

• A box with harmonious art that looks like a compliment to the core one. No threat to the feel of the main game, this is a support element that I like.

The only other expansion I can see myself getting is Mistwood (pre-ordered today), which has an even better solo AI and just feels right to me. It changes the game to a “Root” like conflict game, but with an Everdell feel. Mistwood adds;

• Genuine low player count play with a fully developed AI who can participate as a player. Half of this expansion is dedicated to Solo or AI play, which is good becasue more than half of my games will be solo.

• More Legends and characters. I like the connection to Everdell immersion these add and the more i add, the more baanced the overall effect becomes. We have had a couple of games where a single Legend has been telling, but more makes for. a more interesting and equitable game.

• More factions with faction cards. Three normal factions and spiders. More is more here simple as that.

• Some variants of core cards, which like the Legends, adds variety.

• A new game dynamic, introducing an external enemy, but no more boards. I like Everdell pretty much as is, but an external threat gives me a feeling of closing the loop. Everdell is worth growing, loving and appreciating, so it makes sense it ia also worth defending from greedy outsiders, especially spiders channelling a Mirkwood or Harry Potter vibe.

This one also keeps the board size under control, leaving Everdell all about Everdell, but adds several nice card decks and some militancy, but not the all out scrap that is Root.

Root was hovering, but issues with solo and two player play without “Bots” and lower teach-ability for my occassional playing group are off putting. I also prefer the art style and less miltant feel of Everdell.

I really like the idea and reality of keeping the board as small as possible, sticking to just Everdell as a contained little world. Adding the Bellfaire sub-board in exchange for the cumbersome tree is a win, while still expanding the game within with or without it. Mistwood adds more harmonious elements (more factions, Legends, farms etc) without any more real estate and the whole spider thing is optional. The more dominant Pearlbrook, Newleaf and Spirecrest just don’t appeal on that level.

I did order the three Rugwort cards from the BGG store and some black rats from Etsy, so with “Extra Extra” and “Legends” I have the bulk of the better bits from the Glittergold deluxe option.

The Rugwort cards have a reputation for changing the game’s character, but it’s only three optional cards not a full expansion, diluted into the slightly extended content of the game I intend to build and with Mistwood loomng, possibly not that tough overall.

While I was there I added some Carcasonne tiles and the two Tiny Epic Western deluxe expansions.

Selling, or Re-discovering?

I have been having a clearout lately. Some things have been on the to “do something about or sell” list for a while and with my gaming malaise lately and the photo studio taking priority I have been emboldened to actually get something happening.

A bunch of RPG’s went to the local games shop to find a better home.

Old School Tactical went to a friend in Hobart, the same one who took my Lock N Load collection.

Through him I have a couple of contacts for my huge Warmachine/Hordes collection and something Star Trek.

Funny thing.

As I get these out to take some (bad) photos of them, I have re-awakened a passion for the more unlikley candidates.

When the prospective buyer of either my Federation Commander/Star Fleet Battles/Starmada/Starmada Fleet/A Call To Arms Star Fleet (yup, all those are the same, but different), or my Atttack Wing collections, I was genuinely torn as to which I would rather sell.

I gave him a good price for AW, probably 25% of what I paid. I went even better on FC & co.

AW has the ease of play, more recognisable cultural support and its similarity to X Wing. Games play easily, get you into the “Trek” vibe with characters and ships from all of the series and movies including the latest ones. I personally hate mixing ships and upgrades illogically across time and even scale boundaries, but each to their own.

Play is simple, but flavourful, sitting somewhere in between the X Wing and Armada scales.

My collection is comprehensive and balanced for all periods and themes. Want to do Voyager? I have it. DS9, maybe with a little Voyager added? I have all but the actual station (available as a deep cut). Maybe a full scale Fedration vs allied enemies or everyone vs the Borg? All good. The first Enterprise appeal? Again all but the “Weapon Zero” expansion which I missed several times. Any AW “period” is sorted, even the hard to get medium sized Borg Tactical Cube.

Excuse the shocking image. All of these are compatible with the counters or minis of the same system. This collection took some building. I had to make up the components of the Klingon and Romulan “Attack” boxes separately due to their scarcity and most of the other “Attack” and “Border” boxes were cherry picked from so I had a balanced representation of about 14 factions with 10-20 differnet ships each and logical duplicates. ACTA and some of the Starmada (in Admiralty edition) were equally hard to track down. ACTA goes to the core factions which cover the original TV series and early cartoon series (all their license covers), Starmada is comprehensive like FC going into the whole Star Fleet universe. There is a lot more to get and it is ongoing after decades, but not by me. I have tons.

FC and it’s spin-offs have a certain old school, deep immersion vibe and the different games, all playable with the same components, make it a system of systems for all tastes.

If you want lots of ships (or 1” counters) on the table, Starmada Fleet Ops lets you play with 20+ a side. Something less abstract? Starmada normal scale can handle a decent squadron quickly. More detail again is the realm of FC fleet scale or ACTASF and FC smallest scale can handle scenario driven 1-3 ship actions in detail. If maximum realism and crunch are your flavour, then dip your toes into the original Star Fleet Battles or even the RPG’s. The basic-intro “Cadet” rules for SFB are denser than the full FC rules which are comprehensive enough for most tastes. As far as I know, their RPG can link in with any of these.

If I had to choose right now, I would hang onto FC and co. Ask me tomorrow and I might flip, but right now, right this minute, it’s FC in all its old school glory. Funny thing is, I find FC, ACTA and Starmada all flawed one way or the other*, but the systems all seem easy to hack to taste.

*

*I have changed the semi random FC damage system to a more chain-reaction based one, ACTA is an odd beast based on the WW2 ship rules I like, but on each read I get a feeling I am missing something and it is a bit clunky (stream lined easily). Most use either counters or minis on a hex map, but ACTA uses an open table top (there are conversion hacks for any to either). Starmada actually changes how the ships act, to fit with it’s system mechanics, but variety is the spice…..