Saturday, January 28, 2017
Battle for Vedros
Forces are assembled! The Orks outnumber the Ultramarines by a substantial margin, but I'd never bet against the Space Marines. For the Emperor!
Here We Go Again!
A little gift to myself to celebrate my cool new job.
This time, I'm going to sit down and learn the rules, and I'm going to paint the damn miniatures!
This time, I'm going to sit down and learn the rules, and I'm going to paint the damn miniatures!
Sunday, January 22, 2017
(War)hammer Time
I guess all this time spent playing Blood Bowl and Space Wolf on my tablet has given me a hankering to try 40k again. I've ordered the most recent starter set -- apparently this version, Battle for Vedros, includes simplified rules that I might now have the patience to learn.
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Friday, January 13, 2017
Worlds of Warhammer
I've been looking around lately for good mobile games (I ain't got one of them fancy-dancy console game systems) to tide me over until the sequel to Injustice comes out later this year, and I've stumbled upon a couple of Games Workshop gems: Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf, a turn-based game of Space Marines tactical action, and Blood Bowl: Kerrunch, a game of fantastical football-themed combat and part of GW's long series of Blood Bowl titles. Both are free and highly recommended!
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Phun With Phasma
With the rain continuing to fall at an Old Testament pace, the boys and I finished up the Star Wars mini-campaign this afternoon. We ended up fleeing rather ignominiously during the final battle when Captain Phasma (of Force Awakens fame) showed up, but we got away without being captured or killed, so...victory!
Both boys seem to like this system better than I do. Matthew would like to evolve his character into some sort of Force-wielder, as in the Knights of the Old Republic video game that he enjoys. Nathaniel just can't wait for the next chapter of the story. Although the Force Awakens-era game doesn't currently have any other adventure books, at least there's a free downloadable adventure module (A Call for Heroes) that we can check out.
Both boys seem to like this system better than I do. Matthew would like to evolve his character into some sort of Force-wielder, as in the Knights of the Old Republic video game that he enjoys. Nathaniel just can't wait for the next chapter of the story. Although the Force Awakens-era game doesn't currently have any other adventure books, at least there's a free downloadable adventure module (A Call for Heroes) that we can check out.
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Escape From Jakku
Like much of the country, we're experiencing ridiculously bad weather here in western Nevada, so the whole family has been cooped up at home. However, it's been a great opportunity for the boys and I to crack open Star Wars: The Force Awakens Beginner Game and give it a whirl. Today we ran through about two-thirds of the introductory mini-campaign, and we'll probably finish it up tomorrow. The adventure takes place on Jakku, and thus far we've helped some friendly nomads repel an attack by local gangsters, discovered vital secrets buried in the bowels of a downed Rebel Alliance corvette, and made a harrowing escape from the desert world during a second enemy assault.
What's the verdict? Well, of the three of us, Nathaniel is the only one singing its praises. Of course, he's an easy sell -- he loves learning new game systems and he loves anything related to Star Wars. Matthew and I have a more lukewarm impression. I'm not sure either of us would be keen on picking up another of the Star Wars RPG books any time soon, especially with Tales From the Yawning Portal coming out in a couple of months to get us roaring back into D&D.
There's nothing inherently wrong with the Star Wars RPG system, it's just that it plays kind of slowly. For example, when it's time for an attack or a skill check, you roll a fistful of dice and sort them according to the symbols that come up. (There are no numerals on any of these dice.) At the most basic level, you need to have more Success symbols than Failure symbols (just like the attack rolls in X-Wing). In addition to Success and Failure symbols, you also have Advantage, Threat, Triumph, and Despair. Regardless of whether or not a check succeeds, an abundance of Advantage symbols allows you to "buy" useful side-effects from a list options, whereas Despair symbols allow the Gamemaster to screw you in some way even if your check succeeded. So, for every check, there's a non-trivial follow-up period where everyone is interpreting what just happened. It's fine if you're rolling to fix a broken hyperdrive engine or hack (sorry, "slice") into a computer system, but for combat encounters, the action moves so slowly that players (especially a couple of six- and nine-year-olds I know) tend to wander from the table when it isn't their turn.
If you don't mind the pace, though, the system gives you a fine Star Wars fix. We all cheered heartily when Nathaniel's character clambered into a rusty old turbolaser turret and blasted a landspeeder to smithereens with a single shot. The Force was with us on that one!
What's the verdict? Well, of the three of us, Nathaniel is the only one singing its praises. Of course, he's an easy sell -- he loves learning new game systems and he loves anything related to Star Wars. Matthew and I have a more lukewarm impression. I'm not sure either of us would be keen on picking up another of the Star Wars RPG books any time soon, especially with Tales From the Yawning Portal coming out in a couple of months to get us roaring back into D&D.
There's nothing inherently wrong with the Star Wars RPG system, it's just that it plays kind of slowly. For example, when it's time for an attack or a skill check, you roll a fistful of dice and sort them according to the symbols that come up. (There are no numerals on any of these dice.) At the most basic level, you need to have more Success symbols than Failure symbols (just like the attack rolls in X-Wing). In addition to Success and Failure symbols, you also have Advantage, Threat, Triumph, and Despair. Regardless of whether or not a check succeeds, an abundance of Advantage symbols allows you to "buy" useful side-effects from a list options, whereas Despair symbols allow the Gamemaster to screw you in some way even if your check succeeded. So, for every check, there's a non-trivial follow-up period where everyone is interpreting what just happened. It's fine if you're rolling to fix a broken hyperdrive engine or hack (sorry, "slice") into a computer system, but for combat encounters, the action moves so slowly that players (especially a couple of six- and nine-year-olds I know) tend to wander from the table when it isn't their turn.
If you don't mind the pace, though, the system gives you a fine Star Wars fix. We all cheered heartily when Nathaniel's character clambered into a rusty old turbolaser turret and blasted a landspeeder to smithereens with a single shot. The Force was with us on that one!
Thursday, January 5, 2017
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Star Wars RPG
It's a new year, so I thought it would be a good idea to kick things off with a post about a new game. Well, it's not exactly new, but it's new to me!
I recently picked up Star Wars: The Force Awakens Beginner Game, the latest entry in the Star Wars RPG game line. This series is produced by Fantasy Flight Games, the makers of Star Wars: X-Wing, arguably my all-time favorite miniatures game. It's obvious just by looking at the dice that the RPG and X-Wing share some DNA in their core mechanics, but I won't have a good feel for how the game plays until I succeed in getting a few players on board. Amy has zero (or even less than zero!) interest in anything related to Star Wars, and the boys are focused on increasingly complex feats of Lego engineering, so it may be a while before I can give this one a proper assessment. Stay tuned!
I recently picked up Star Wars: The Force Awakens Beginner Game, the latest entry in the Star Wars RPG game line. This series is produced by Fantasy Flight Games, the makers of Star Wars: X-Wing, arguably my all-time favorite miniatures game. It's obvious just by looking at the dice that the RPG and X-Wing share some DNA in their core mechanics, but I won't have a good feel for how the game plays until I succeed in getting a few players on board. Amy has zero (or even less than zero!) interest in anything related to Star Wars, and the boys are focused on increasingly complex feats of Lego engineering, so it may be a while before I can give this one a proper assessment. Stay tuned!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)