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

One of my first reviews was of the Pathfinder RPG Beta. It is probably a testament to Pathfinder’s growing popularity that it is, to date, my most read review. So with the release of the final game, I felt I should contribute my thoughts on the official product.

First a little background. When Wizard’s of the Coast released the 3^rd edition of Dungeons and Dragons back in 2000 they did something remarkable. They released the core of the rules under a license known as the OGL. This license, which is irrevocable, allows other publishers to create works that are compatible with the d20 system that was the basis of that edition of D&D. The idea was to make it easier for more material to be released for the system. This would in turn drive up sales of the core books and other supplements by WotC. A number of publishing companies were created specifically to take advantage of this opportunity, and a new era of gaming was born.

One unintended consequence of this open license was the possibility for other publishers to rewrite the rules of the game. There are now quite a few variant rule systems out there, from Arcana Evolved to True20. Some companies created even more drastic changes, creating totally different game systems from the d20 system. When Wizards released the 4^th edition of Dungeons and Dragons, they did so under a much tighter license. There will be no games like Mutants and Masterminds based on 4^th edition. Which is really too bad, because I think it would be a great system for a superhero game. But that is a discussion for another time.

With 3^rd edition retired, but still available under the OGL, Paizo stepped up to carry the torch. Pathfinder is the d20 revision that is most like 3^rd edition. It doesn’t chance the fundamentals of the game the way that Conan or Iron Heroes did. Instead the goal was to create a game that was mostly compatible with the old material. Paizo wanted to continue making 3^rd edition adventures and supplements, but wanted the rules to still be available in print. So they took the opportunity to tweak the system and clean it up along the way. The Pathfinder RPG was born.

Unlike most role-playing games, Pathfinder underwent a yearlong public beta. Anyone could download the beta version for free and provide feedback on the forums. 3^rd edition had already undergone one major revision in its lifetime, so the fundamental game is really quite refined. If you are looking for a drastically new system, Pathfinder isn’t it. It is more like a distillation of everything that made the d20 system great.

The book itself is physically quite impressive. It weighs in near 5 lbs and has 575 pages. It is in full color, and is beautifully illustrated throughout. It contains all the rules that used to be in the old Player’s Handbook and Game Master’s Guide. The book may have a hefty retail price, but the PDF is less than $10. There is also a rules reference document provided online for free. Paizo wants everyone to have access to the rules and give them a try. It is probably a little daunting for newcomers though.

I’m not going to go through a detailed list of how it is different from the old rules. The key changes I will point out are an easier skill system, a streamlined maneuver resolution system, and generally more options for character classes. Similar skills have been consolidated together and skill ranks now match levels directly. This is something I will port into any d20 game I use in the future. Special moves like grapple, trip, and bull rush all use a fairly simple combat maneuver system. Most classes now have more options to choose from. For example, sorcerers now can pick from several bloodlines which give them different bonus powers as they level.

I think the biggest strength of the system is also its greatest weakness. The d20 system has always been a very customizable rules set. Characters can mix and match classes at each level. There are a wide variety of feats a character can use to add variety to abilities. So while building a first level character is fairly easy, a new player joining a high level game for the first time can be overwhelmed with choices. If you want a game that has the potential for a lot of complex customization, this is it. If you are looking for a light rules system there are plenty of other good choices out there.

Paizo put a lot work into making this an amazing book and a great system. If you are interested in fantasy role-playing games, you should definitely check it out. It may not suit everyone’s taste, but the OGL will ensure that the d20 family will continue to evolve. The Pathfinder RPG another step forward in the evolution of the game.

Apathy Rating: 4/5.

Becoming a patron of the Open Design Project The Red Eye of Azathoth has rekindled my interest in Call of Cthulhu. This led me to poke around at Yog-Sothoth, the best source for news and information about all things Lovecraftian. Eventually I noticed a new trilogy of modules called Curse of the Yellow Sign. It is written by fantastic writer John Wick. I’m most familiar with his work from my days playing Legend of the Five Rings, but after reading this module I’m inclined to hunt for more.

First let me talk about Call of Cthulhu. This RPG has been around for as long as I have been gaming. The game is based upon the works of H. P. Lovecraft and other authors that expanded upon his ideas. One overriding theme to Lovecraft’s work is that there are things in the universe that the human mind cannot comprehend. There are terrible beings who barely even notice humanity, even when they are incidentally destroying or upsetting millions of lives. Against this backdrop characters are often expected to investigate mysterious occurrences, ancient ruins, and bizarre dimensions. Since exploring the unknown is a common theme the game is often set in the 1920’s and 30’s, the era in which Lovecraft wrote. In a time before satellite maps of every continent there were still places in the world to explore. There was room for massive pyramids in the unexplored Antarctic or complex hidden cave systems in the mountains around Los Angeles.

Call of Cthulhu is currently in its 6th edition, but the core rules really haven’t changed much over the years. The system is primarily skill based, with a simple advancement scheme where characters improve the skills they’ve used during a scenario. Unlike most role-playing games, more pages are spent dealing with a characters mental health than to combat. As characters learn more about the horrible things that lurk at the fringes of reality, they slowly drift toward madness. Role-playing insanity is one of the highlights of playing in a Call of Cthulhu game. More often a character’s career will end in the asylum than the graveyard. I have always felt this made the game best suited for one-shots, scenarios that are played out in one or two sessions. I’ve heard of people having longer campaigns, but I have never seen one.

Curse of the Yellow Sign – Act 1: Digging for a Dead God is designed to be played in a single evening as a standalone scenario. This might seem a little odd for part one of a trilogy, but the series is related by theme more than specific characters. The scenario comes with six pre-generated characters and it really should not be played without them. Unlike some adventures where premade characters are merely a convenience to get a game started quickly, much of the module’s story is built around the characters. The tension comes from the motivations and relationships that come with the characters. Many of the terrifying acts will be performed by the PCs against each other. Did I mention the player’s will be taking on the roles of Nazis?

The setting really starts quite simply. The group is a Nazi expedition to Africa whose goal is to secretly gather diamonds from a mine in the jungle before the British become aware of their presence in the area. A door with a gold symbol is uncovered by the workers, and when it is opened they learn a terrible secret. From there it is up to the players (with careful nudges from the GM) to do what they can to survive, and perhaps escape with some of the gold.

The scenario is definitely a sandbox. Probably half the module is advice on being a GM for a horror game. I should also emphasize the horror nature of the story. Unlike many Call of Cthulhu modules, there isn’t much of a mystery to discover. The characters may learn some horrible truths, but that isn’t the point. The point is to horrify your players and get them to be terrible to each other. Play on the player’s suspicions of one another; making just one character believe that another is betraying them is enough to spark everything into action. Whether they survive the night isn’t really as important as letting them have good interactions with each other.

As an inexpensive module this one is well worth picking up. If you’ve never played Call of Cthulhu this is a great way to try it out in a single evening. Just reading it made me want to run it. I just need to find six of my friends that I want subject unspeakable things to. Actually, what I really want is for John Wick to come over and run this scenario for myself and friends. I don’t think I can do it justice, but I’ll try.

Apathy Rating: 4/5.

Universalis is a universal role-playing game. It is not intended to be a Generic Universal Role-Playing Game that allows a game master to run any sort of setting. In fact, it does not have a separate game master at all. It is a very rules light system for cooperative storytelling. Individual players do not necessarily have a specific character they play. Instead the story grows naturally from the input of all players.

Our first game of this turned out to be very silly. It turned into 80’s cartoon adventures. We had a bronze age ruled by My Little Ponies who were at war with Glow Worms. Care Bears were a secret order of holy knights dedicated to preventing the prophecy of Ruxpin the Destroyer, “When all the pyramids fall, Ruxpin shall rise.” In the end it fell to Thundar, the kobold servant of Glow the Hut, and his one time enemy Harold Weston, Squirrel cavalry commander for the ponies, to try and stop the mysterious figure from fulfilling the prophecy. One of their companions was a Marsh Wolf, which are puffy and squishy and smell of hot chocolate. They were trying to stop the gladiatorial fight between the four ponies of the apocolypse (Sniffles, Snuffles, Tum Tum, and Bucket) and the glow worm champion Maltox (huge and spike covered) which would take place upon the last pyramid. If the blood of both fell atop the pyramid, Ruxpin would rise again. The Marsh Wolf revealed itself as the mysterious figure and the protagonists were unable to stop its scheme. Blood flowed and the apocalypse began. We left it there in case we wanted to do a sequal, “Revenge of the Ruxpin.”

It was late, we’d been drinking, and things got very silly. We had a lot of fun though.

Our second game we tried to be much more serious. Probably too serious, as we lost steam somewhere. It is hard to do a mystery without a GM who knows where it is going. Our game was X-files but set in cold war Soviet Union. There was a mysterious murder, a child attacked in the woods by hair, and a mysterious cult involving a barber. Nobody really knew where to take it from there.

So Universalis is very much a game that can be anything. It is only as good as what you put into it. I can’t say we really tested the rules that well, because we never had to resort to the conflict resolution. We always found that people would compromise before it got to that. Perhaps we are simply a more cooperative bunch. As it is, I highly recomend giving this game a try. It is a unique exerience and you never know what you’ll end up with.

Apathy Rating: 4/5.

Last weekend my friend’s invited me over to play a game of Dogs in the Vineyard. I must admit I was skeptical about the setting at first. You are “God’s Watchdogs” in the wild west, specifically in the early days of Mormon settlers. It is sort of like a Mormon Inquisition, only there still is a US sheriff around to deal with as well. As I am not particularly religious, I rarely play religious characters. On the other hand, role-playing is about being something other than yourself, so I was willing to try it out.

I can say I’m very glad I did. The system is very unique and refreshing. If one of my complaints about 4e Dungeons and Dragons is that it doesn’t support much for role-playing interaction, then Dogs in the Vineyard is exactly the opposite. All conflicts are resolved with a unified system. You start with a pool of dice using two of the four statistics. What pair is used depends on if it is a non-violent conflict, physical brawl, lethal fight, or a gun battle. You have a number of traits for your character that can be anything you can think of. Some of the traits I had were “Knife Fighter” and “Afraid of God” to give you an idea of the variety available. If you can find a way to apply a trait to the given situation, you can roll those dice and add them to your pool. You only use two dice at a time until someone relents or runs out of dice, so each conflict takes a little while to resolve. This lends itself to an action then reaction, back and forth feel. It really encourages creative role-playing and narrative development. Conflicts can always escalate from one form to another. If you are having trouble convincing the town hooligans to back down, roughing them up may do the trick.

Another interesting aspect to the system is that conflict leads to experience. You don’t even have to win to get some. Physical fights can also lead to damage, but most of the consequences of non-lethal engagements are actually good things. Sometimes you might gain new traits, or build new relationships. Damage usually comes in the form of reducing the power of one of your existing traits. Either way, you really get the sense that your character develops over the course of the story.

The setting of the game has the potential to either be very silly or very serious. You are dealing with faith and morality in a potentially lawless area, so which you get depends on the disposition of your group of players. Our story involved the murder of a man in a small town. He lost a lot of money gambling and made a few enemies around town. We soon learned that a group of brothers were the likely suspects, and they even admitted to giving him a beating before his death. The widow was quick to accuse them of the murder, and after a near brawl during a church service she eventually admitted to the crime. It turns out that the man had been taking his frustration out on her, and she finally couldn’t take it any more. In the end we decided that it would be up to her if she turned herself in to the law, for we felt she truly regretted the crime and was driven to it besides. She turned herself in and we left town quietly.

So if you want a story driven role-playing game, I definitely say give Dogs in the Vineyard a shot. I know I have a soft spot for independent games, but we had a blast playing it. It was an engaging experience for all involved and nobody at the table got bored. All in all we had a great experience and in the end that’s what counts the most.

Apathy Rating: 4/5.

This week we will look at Starcraft: The Board Game from Fantasy Flight Games (FFG). Normally I’m wary of franchise games where one company licenses a non-game brand from another company. If you haven’t heard of Starcraft from Blizzard you should probably go back to 1998 and play it. Suffice it to say, the original is a science fiction real time strategy (RTS) computer game. It is very popular and along with Warcraft helped define and shape the genre. The highly anticipated sequel is coming very soon^TM.

Luckily, you don’t need to know anything about the computer game to enjoy the board game. Certainly having a familiarity with the factions and their various units makes it easier to remember what different units do. On the other hand, having preconceptions might hamper your strategy on the first few plays. Converting a game from real time into a turn based game necessarily requires some changes to mechanics. Fortunately FFG has experience with science fiction strategy board games with Twilight Imperium, which is a fantastic game if you have four to eight hours to play it. They are similar games and if you are trying to choose between the two I would say the primary advantage of Starcraft is that it can be played in two to four hours instead. I must warn you, both require a fairly large sized table.

Unlike the computer game, where each session resolves a single battle on a single planet, the board game takes a grander scale with armies conquering territories on different planets. At the beginning of the game each player takes turns placing two planets in the galaxy. Between two and six players may play, so a game may include between four and twelve planets. Each planet has a few territories and each territory will have either a type of resource or a victory point value (Editor’s note: Conquest Points are the official designation.) Most of the fighting will be over these victory points. At the end of each turn if you control a territory with victory points you earn the points. This is important to note, because unlike some other war games, you don’t need to have conquered more than half the map to win. It also means you can get a sizable lead, and then edge your way to victory holding just one or two territories. The advantage of this system is it keeps the game from running on too long, and it encourages players to start fighting very early in the game. The biggest mistake most new players make is waiting too long to start the offense.

Once the worlds are set up, each faction begins with a few starting units on a single planet. Players can build more units where they have bases and more bases where they have units. Only a limited number of units are available at first, so a player may also purchase upgrades for their bases. It should be noted that resources spending is marked by worker tokens. You place a worker on a resource card to mark that you have spent it that turn. Resources are refreshed each turn, but you can only spend as many resources as you have tokens. One thing that often confuses new players is the difference between units and tokens. You are only allowed to create a certain number of units per turn (based on upgrades) but tokens are not limited in that way. The easy way to remember is that units are always represented by plastic figures and they do all the fighting.

Each turn has two main phases: placing orders and resolving orders. Players take turns placing orders on different planets. They get placed in a stack, where the first order in is the last order out. This makes the timing of placement very important. If you put your four orders on different planets and nobody else places orders on those planets, you can resolve them in any order because they are the top of the stack. If you want to surprise attack someone, you want to be the last person to place an order on a planet, so you can mobilize there first. The three types of orders you can do are mobilize, build, and research. It should be noted that research can be done on any planet, whether or not you have units there. It allows you to buy technology cards and draw event cards. So since orders are placed face down and it can be placed anywhere, you can use it to fake out your opponents and make them think you are moving where you are not. After all the orders are placed, you take turns resolving them. If none of yours are available, or only a limited number are because other people have stacked orders on top, you may be forced to pass or perform an order you didn’t intend to at that time. So careful order placement is important to the strategy of the game.

There are three factions in Starcraft. Up to two players may play each faction. Terrans are easily the most familiar to new players as they are the humans. When mankind grows up and leaves Earth, they conquer alien planets using marines in powered armor. As you may know, I am a fan of the Warhammer 40k universe. So it’s hard for me not to think of Terrans as Space Marines. To be fair however, both games are heavily influenced by the classic novel Starship Troopers. The biggest advantage that Terrans have is their bases are mobile. This is particularly important when they purchase the upgrade that keeps enemies from attacking bases from other planets. Then enemies have to spend a turn landing troops on other nearby territories before they can assault the base, instead of dropping troops directly from space.

The second faction is the Zerg. Zerg are completely alien creatures. Unlike anything that has ever been seen before. Their biggest advantage is they have a lot of cheap units that swarm across the galaxy. Their basic unit is the Zergling, which are weak on defense but usually do more damage than they take, suiciding to take out larger units with them. While they can’t quite do the super fast rush attack they are known for in the computer game, if you don’t start your offense early you aren’t doing yourself any favors.

Last is the Protoss, probably the most unique creation in the Starcraft universe. They are also aliens, but these are at least more humanoid. They have more advanced technology than the Terrans, using energy weapons and force fields. They would seem to have the advantage except that they tend to have more expensive units. On the other hand, in the games I’ve played they’ve always done very well but many other factors affected that. I haven’t actually played them myself, so my only advice is for their opponents: Don’t let them build up, hit them hard before they get to the top upgrades.

Overall, this is a quality game. It comes with a large number of nice plastic figures. My only complaint is the flying units are too easy to snap off their bases. I already have three or four that need repair. If you are looking for a lengthy war game, something more complicated than Risk and only slightly more than Axis and Allies, then this is definitely a winner. It encourages early conflict and keeps the game interesting up until the end. There isn’t a long finishing them off phase, keeping the game relatively short for the genre. My only regret is that my table is just a little small.

Apathy Rating: 4/5

Welcome to the first of my weekly game reviews. Before we take a closer look at Dark Heresy, I must begin by saying I intended on being very angry at Games Workshop (the publisher’s parent company.) Shortly after publication Black Industries announced that they would be closing down all of their lines except their novels. This seemed like a foolish move. They release a new line and sell out the initial print run. So why would the parent company tell them to close down? They have done a very good job with the new version of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP). They recently reprinted Talisman, another classic Games Workshop game that had been out of print for years. How could GW be so foolish?

Let’s look a little at the history of GW. I’ve been playing their games for a long time. Warhammer FRP first came out in 1986. It had strong ties to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, such that you could take your character from the role-playing game and easily convert them into a champion for the battlefield. They produced a number of supplements, including a very well received Enemy Within campaign. So fans looked forward to the possibility of an rpg based on Warhammer 40k, the science fiction version of their war game. It never happened. They closed the fantasy rpg line. This isn’t the first, or the last off-shoot game they spawned and then abandoned. Hero Quest, Space Hulk, and Blood Bowl are just a few you may have heard of that come to mind.

Over the years I’ve talked to a number of game store owners who have dealt directly with GW. The consensus is GW has always been a company afraid of branching out too much. They fear dilution of their main brand, the table top war game. I used to be an avid fan, but as the rising price of miniatures and the focus of the games shifted away from tactical squad combat and more into super heroes so did I drifted away from playing it. The frequent version changes, and the removal of my favorite army, the obscure Eldar offshoot Harlequins, completed my departure from their main line. But I’ve always remained fond of their other games, the bastard children they would spawn and leave to wander the streets alone. Warhammer FRP has been licensed to a number of companies over the years. Some have done well, others not so well. But Black Industries have released more books for WFRP than all others combined. While the editing may have been a little rough at first, books like Realms of Sorcery and Tome of Corruption have been very satisfying.

So after they announced the end of a just released, and highly anticipated, rpg line, I was very angry. What were they doing to me? Since the first printing was sold out at the wholesale level, I ordered a copy for myself. I was going to have at least something to work with. But in the time between then and now, they have managed to satisfy me. How could they rectify such a grievous affront? The announcement that Fantasy Flight Games would be taking over the role-playing and board game lines. This was very good news indeed. Not only would the two rpgs have a future, but Talisman would be getting expansions. The future will not be as dark as once thought. GW wasn’t pulling one of their dumb moves. They were preparing for shift in the license.

Many of you may be wondering who FFG is, and why they would be a good home for these orphans from GW. First off, they produce one of my favorite games, Descent, a dungeon crawl that is similar to a more complicated version of Hero Quest of old. They have some of the best support for board games I’ve ever seen. Not only do they have the usual errata and FAQs, but when they print new versions the corrections are already in. As opposed to Avalon Hill (which used to be a great company but is now owned by Wizards of the Coast which is owned by Hasbro) which hasn’t made a revised version of Betrayal at House on the Hill which was released in 2004 and has major errata on 25 of the 50 scenarios. For those that have older versions, FFG will often include fixed cards with expansions as they come out. Or the fantastic scenario editor for Descent. While I don’t know how well they will handle a role-playing game, although I do know they have a few themselves, I have faith that they will be very good at providing support for the games they are making.

Enough about the companies, how is the game itself? Well, there are good and bad things about it. Mechanically, it takes a lot from WFRP, which is to be expected. However, they replaced the winding career paths that happened in the fantasy version with a career path. In WFRP a character would often start as something lowly. A rat catcher or grave robber are the first things that come to mind. As characters progress, they move from one career to another. So the rat catcher might move on to become a thief, then an outlaw and finally become and outlaw chief. In Dark Heresy you select a career path at character creation. There is still a lot of customization available, but you will always be limited by the career path chosen at the beginning.

The game also disappoints fans of the 40k universe in being limited to a very narrow scope. The premise of the 40k universe is that it is far in the future. Humans expanded throughout the galaxy, and have achieved great technical feats. But science has become shrouded in religion and occult. Many of the marvels that are used are left over from previous eras, the knowledge of their production lost to time. Many of the worlds of the Imperium are little more than feudal societies. Some are untamed wildernesses. The Emperor is a powerful psychic, able to project his mind throughout the Imperium with the aid of the mental powers of numerous initiates. He is worshiped as a God and this view is violently enforced by all manner of branches of the government, but most fervently by the Inquisition. You play as acolytes in the Inquisition, fighting heresy and chaos throughout the Imperium. No chance yet to play alien races such as Eldar, Orks, Tyranids, or any of the other staples from the table top game. Combat is focused on ranged more than the fantasy game, which is to be expected. The critical hit tables, a key component in combat, are expanded greatly to have different charts based on weapon type. Which reminds me a little of classic Rolemaster style, but isn’t quite as chart heavy as that.

So for all the focus is on a small part of the overall 40k universe, they do that area quite well. There are a lot of details to help set the mood of the game. The largest single section is the career path chapter, and each career gets a fairly sizable description. The sample adventure at the end gives a reasonable view of the game universe, but could have had a little more of the investigative theme that seems to be where this niche of the setting is headed.

Overall, if this was all we were getting, it would be fairly disheartening. It’s a good start, and we’d then have a bunch of fan created expansions on the internet to fill out all the parts that are missing. Depending on what else comes out, we may still get that. But it provides a very nice groundwork to start from. I can easily see books about Eldar or Orks similar to Tome of Corruption or Shadow of the Horned Rat for the fantasy game. The two are close enough that many of the demons and mutations from Tome of Corruption are easily transferable to the 40k setting. Already they released a pdf with vehicle rules. So as it is, I really like what I’ve seen so far and I’m looking forward to what comes in the future.

Apathy Rating: 4/5