Apathy Blogs

I received a free pdf copy of Conflict Roleplaying for review. When I first heard about it, I was a bit cautious. I mean, I already have rules for how characters fight each other. After a quick glance through the book, I was already impressed. Conflict Roleplaying goes beyond characters fighting to explore the concepts of an arena game. It really takes the idea to a new level.

The core new concept are battle points, which rate characters and their gear. The game is really designed for teams of characters of characters to compete with each other in various games, like king of the hill or capture the flag. In fact, I would say that Conflict is to Pathfinder RPG as Team Fortress is to Half-Life. A great add-on the builds a whole new game out of an existing one.

There is also a lot of thought that went into making the arena more interesting. Most scenarios allow each team to purchase map elements to help customize the arena. These can be hindrances and traps, or beneficial areas for your own team. These help make any map different each time, and can be easily customized to suit your tastes.

I do regret that I haven’t had a chance to really play with the rules. Maybe when my party is between adventures I will have them bet on some games. They could build the teams and have money riding on them. A great way for me to take a break, make them do all the work for once.

I’m definitely looking forward to getting my hands on the box set. At $30 for the book and a map, it is a great value. I am also glad I already have Paizo’s Arena Flip Map. I know it isn’t an officially tested battle arena, but I’m sure it will work too. The best thing about this product is it makes you start thinking about different ways to use your existing game. That’s an A+ supplement in my book.

Apathy Rating: 4/5.

Want to learn more about Conflict Roleplaying? Read on…

• Atomic Array: Episode 042: Conflict Roleplaying
• Mad Brew Labs: Adding PVP Conflict to Pathfinder
• Apathy Blogs: A new way to play Pathfinder

My co-worker was talking to me about robots. I was amazed to learn he had not read many of the classic science fiction works dealing with robotics. As a quick primer, I came up with this list for him to read. If you haven’t read some of these books, you owe it to yourself to check them out:

• I, Robot by Isaac Asimov One of the earliest looks at the possible relationships between man and robot.
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner) by Philip K. Dick A more adversarial look at the conflicts between man and robot.
• Neuromancer by William Gibson A (relatively) more recent look at the evolution of AI.