Bundle of Holding Thread

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I have traveller5 up... I have the books, but not the PDFs

EDIT: And since you reminded me, I got T5. And the basic level for Indie Treasure Trove.

Girl Underground I got for my daughter and she loved it. It's a PbtA game, with one role set (the Girl) and her companions- each with a playbook. The only differences I could see from my readthrough was that it has Manners (which are limitations imposed by society that the Girl will try to overcome in the story) and Beliefs (those things that come from the Girl conquering a Manner). This is the method of advancement and as the Girl gets a belief, she can use it in situations as a catch all if it applies.

Each one of the companions has moves, but also has directives as to play in order to portray a similar character from Through the Looking Glass.

Hunt the Wicked uses the Ethos system by Ben Dutter, used in his game Vow of Honor. It uses regular d6, divided into the Base Die (1d6 which is always the base), Advantage Dice and Motivation Dice. It is player facing, i.e. only the players roll. Your Motivation Dice come from a pool based on your character's motivation and when the action applies to them, and are a limited resource. You can add a max of 5MD to any roll. Advantage dice are added based on certain situational, racial, and character advantages that may apply to the roll. It is Skill based, and the skill you use determine which numbers on the dice are successes.

You start with 2 motivations, a certain number of ranks to divide between the 8 skills (usually 1 Gifted, 1 Competent, 5 Adequate and 1 Bad), 1 Talent that adds AD on a particular relevant type of skill use. It's low/medium crunch, and equipment doesn't give bonuses, but permissions. Bounty Hunters also have 1 special technique that acts like a motivation to give a boost in times of need.
 
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Stan said:
I've been able to make my will saves for the last couple as they were games I didn't play. But I feel myself caving in for the Indie Treasure Trove.

The only one I have is Duelling Fops, which is fun. Anyone know about any of the others?
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Girl Underground is really good and one of the designers went on to create Trophy. We have a short thread on it here.

www.rpgpub.com

Girl Underground - Pbta Game for Alice, Wizard of Oz, etc

I think this looks cool, I've listened to one of the designers talk about it on The Gauntlet podcast and it seems to have a nice emphasis on a rules light approach to PbtA with the traditional AW strengths of clear GM structure. A different aspect of the game is the players take turns playing...
www.rpgpub.com www.rpgpub.com
 
Another quick deal in, and last day for T5

Bundle of Holding - Armistice

bundleofholding.com bundleofholding.com

I backed this on Kickstarter because I love the premise, but AMN as it's another I haven't gotten around to reading. If there's something you want to know, ask- it will at least get me to peruse it.
 
chuckdee said:
Another quick deal in, and last day for T5

Bundle of Holding - Armistice

bundleofholding.com bundleofholding.com

I backed this on Kickstarter because I love the premise, but AMN as it's another I haven't gotten around to reading. If there's something you want to know, ask- it will at least get me to peruse it.
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I was thinking of buying Never Going Home this morning and would appreciate if you or anyone else was able to give me their hot take.
 
Brock Savage said:
I was thinking of buying Never Going Home this morning and would appreciate if you or anyone else was able to give me their hot take.
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Great. You had to ask me something, so now I have to read LOL

I'm going to assume you got the flavor from the description, and just going to concentrate on the systems, especially as I haven't played it before.

It uses pools of d6s governed by the rank in skills. Dice showing 5 or 6 are successes. The number of successes must meet or exceed the TN to accomplish the action.

There is a system they call +One that govern ways you can manipulate the roll- the number of manipulations that can be done to a roll are based on the attribute tied to the skill rather than the skill.

The +One system allows:
Before a Roll you can temporarily gain an untrained skill (dice are bought separately) and add a die to the pool.
After a roll, you can add a pip to a die or reroll any number of dice (once).

Other than actions, there are also challenges which represent touchpoints that no one character can overcome. It can consist of multiple skill rolls, one skill roll by each character, or a large target number that you have to accumulate successes to overcome.

In addition to the dice, you have a 52 card deck with 2 jokers. They represent the emotional resources and memories of the characters. The four traditional suits relate to different emotional cues, i.e. Spades represent Knowledge, Learning, Growth, and overcoming Suffering. Jokers are wild, and trigger a reshuffle of the deck when pulled. The black joker also triggers a draw for possible corruption.

Each player has a hand of cards that represent memories that they hold on to- playing a card represents the character losing or forgetting something about themselves. Maximum hand size is seven, and cards are earned for surviving missions, completing special tasks, defeating antagonists, or at GM whim.

There are a few ways to use cards:

The Journey- players must contribute one card for each Journey made by the unit. If they do not have any cards, they instead contribute one from the deck without looking at it.
Initiative - highest card revealed chooses the initiative for the conflict. These are not discarded.
+One - cards can be spent to add a +One effect.
Whispers (supernatural abilities) - sometimes these require a card to be burnt to power the magic
Healing - a card can be spent to negate damage, or out of combat to heal any one attribute one point.
Character Growth - cards can be spent at the end of missions to increase attributes and skills.

Corruption - certain circumstances cause a player to draw for corruption - if they draw a black card, they get a point of corruption. Corruption is kept secret, and adds to the difficulty of journeys by adding cards when high enough. If a character gets 5 corruption, they join the Others.

In combat, the characters go in popcorn order, i.e. the character that just went chooses who goes next. Last character chooses who goes first next round (other than themselves). The rank of the attribute targeted indicates the TN for attacking- most attack Brawn, though some whispers attack other attributes. If you have armor vs physical attacks (vs Brawn) the target is the armor or the brawn, whichever is higher. Armor is used as a general term for hard to hit no matter the effect.

Weapons damage attributes, and weapons have extra effects based on extra successes. If any attribute is reduced to zero, the character dies.

Whispers are supernatural abilities gained from listening to the Whispers of the entities from beyond the veil in order to manipulate reality. There are a variety of specific abilities that are gathered into paths that have a thematic effect. The have a variety of effects, and a variety of costs (sacrifices, cards, etc). Some of them a pretty ... unique. An example - Blood double which causes the caster to explode into a pool of blood if they take damage and reconstitute unharmed nearby. Each path is based on an attribute for strength and effect.

Characters have three attributes and are built on 10 points divided between them: Brawn, Smarts, and Guts. They select three skills to be trained in, and assign 3 dice between the skills. At Deployment, they draw three cards representing their starting mental and emotional resources.

Now reading it, I realized I've done this before.. and thought the system looked pretty interesting and different, but I still haven't had a chance to play.
 
chuckdee said:
Another quick deal in, and last day for T5

Bundle of Holding - Armistice

bundleofholding.com bundleofholding.com

I backed this on Kickstarter because I love the premise, but AMN as it's another I haven't gotten around to reading. If there's something you want to know, ask- it will at least get me to peruse it.
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I got the email and jumped on it. They had me at haunted WW1... sometimes I'm easy. :wink:
 
Man, a lot of these RPG companies are following a trend. The “Level Up“ or “Complete” version is minimum 30-40 bucks.

Inflation I guess.
 
CRKrueger said:
Man, a lot of these RPG companies are following a trend. The “Level Up“ or “Complete” version is minimum 30-40 bucks.

Inflation I guess.
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I set the price thresholds for the Bundle of Holding bonus collections. I haven't changed my standard rule-of-thumb price point of ~25% of total retail value. It may seem the prices are inflated because the total retail value of the offers has been increasing. And that's not because individual items have grown pricier; rather, in general I've been including more titles.
 
Allen Varney said:
I set the price thresholds for the Bundle of Holding bonus collections. I haven't changed my standard rule-of-thumb price point of ~25% of total retail value. It may seem the prices are inflated because the total retail value of the offers has been increasing. And that's not because individual items have grown pricier; rather, in general I've been including more titles.
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Thanks for the explanation.
 
Allen Varney said:
I set the price thresholds for the Bundle of Holding bonus collections. I haven't changed my standard rule-of-thumb price point of ~25% of total retail value. It may seem the prices are inflated because the total retail value of the offers has been increasing. And that's not because individual items have grown pricier; rather, in general I've been including more titles.
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Don't get me wrong, I wasn't talking about you specifically, but the bundles in general. But, for normal pricing, Frog God is firmly in the "Premium Gaming" range, and Goodman seems to be inching that way.
 
Ha, you just got the email, too?

I never heard of it, and at first blush the default setting seems kind of silly to me. But there are some expansions included that are more up my alley. It all depends on the quality of the aerial combat system. Anybody know? Bonus if you can compare to Clash Bowley’s games, which seem kind of similar.
 
It's been a while so I can't remember the details but the key is that almost everything is a skill roll. For the fantasy version, instead of a ton of casting classes, there is one class but you choose among several magic skills to advance in. This makes the magic variable, free form within guidelines, and not as overpowering.

Here's the quickstart which describes the basics of the rules in 5 pages. That should tell you whether you want more of it.
 
Toadmaster said:
Yet another searchability issue "20".

Anyone want to sway or dissuade on this one? Does it really offer 3E / Pathfinder but easier?
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There was some good stuff for True20 (which is the way I always put it for searchability reasons, and because I see it written that way sometimes), but I never got into the system- just the settings. I only had the system so I'd be able to understand it for conversions. Some of the sourcebooks/adventures I liked/adapted

Agents of Oblivion: Starfall Jungle (True20 Edition)

World of Nevermore (True20)

Darwin's World: Survivor's Handbook (True20 Edition)

RunePunk: True20 Digital Edition

The Imperial Age: True20 Edition

RDP: Blood Throne: The Survivor's Guide to the Age of Blood

RDP: Technothrillers: Revised Edition

Interface Zero

 
Toadmaster said:
Yet another searchability issue "20".

Anyone want to sway or dissuade on this one? Does it really offer 3E / Pathfinder but easier?
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It is easier due to the lack of PRCs, 3PP, thousands of rule supplements. etc. Here's a quick breakdown off the top of my head:

Good

Ability scores are modifiers only (-5 to +5, not 1 to 20)
Only three classes (Adept, Expert, Warrior)
Multi-classing is easy
No dead levels (you get 1 feat every level)
Reduced skill list (Stealth = Hide & Move Silent, Acrobatics = Balance and Tumble, etc.)
Spells are feats (cuts down on LFQW a bit)
Spells use a fatigue mechanic rather than Vancian
No AoOs
Armor absorbs damage (sort of)
Fate Points

Not-so-good

Uses a "damage save" mechanic instead of HP
Dex is used for both close and ranged combat, making it an uber stat
No flanking modifiers
No addtional STR damage for using a melee weapon with two hands
Experts can spend a FP to temporarily gain ranks in an untrained skill
Pitches itself as a generic game, but it doesn't work as well for modern/sci-fi
The Lucky feat (Add CHA mod to all saves)
A few spells need rework (too powerful)
A few feats need rework (too weak)
The trade dress and B&W artwork isn't the best

Conclusion

I was a big fan back in the day, but these days I'd probably use M&M or E6 instead
I didn't find much value in the 3 role handbooks but Fantasy Paths is great (shows you how to build D&D classes)
The Imperial Age supplement (steampunk) is excellent
The Lux Aeterna supplement (space opera) is interesting
 
Black Leaf said:
For those that want to get their Palladium on, BoH has Heroes Unlimited. While it's not quite the full catalogue, the only stuff missing is things like the extra power books where are utterly unessential.
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Ever since one of you said an AK-47 was listed under Powers, I've not been brave enough to look at Heroes Unlimited to see if it was true.
 
Black Leaf said:
For those that want to get their Palladium on, BoH has Heroes Unlimited. While it's not quite the full catalogue, the only stuff missing is things like the extra power books where are utterly unessential.
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The lineup is as follows:

STARTER COLLECTION ($14.95 US Dollars – retail value $55.50):
  • Heroes Unlimited™ RPG, 2nd Edition ($13.50)
  • Powers Unlimited® One ($8.50)
  • Villains Unlimited™ ($12.50)
  • Century Station™ ($12.50)
  • Mutant Underground™ ($8.50)



BONUS COLLECTION: The threshold started at $27.95 US Dollars – retail value $66.50.
  • HU Game Master's Guide™ ($12.50)
  • Gramercy Island™ ($12.50)
  • Aliens Unlimited™ Revised ($12.50)
  • Aliens Unlimited™ Galaxy Guide ($12.50)
  • Armageddon Unlimited™ ($10.50)
  • And two sets of Paper Miniatures ($3 each, total $6)
 
Picaroon Jack said:
The lineup is as follows:

STARTER COLLECTION ($14.95 US Dollars – retail value $55.50):
  • Heroes Unlimited™ RPG, 2nd Edition ($13.50)
  • Powers Unlimited® One ($8.50)
  • Villains Unlimited™ ($12.50)
  • Century Station™ ($12.50)
  • Mutant Underground™ ($8.50)



BONUS COLLECTION: The threshold started at $27.95 US Dollars – retail value $66.50.
  • HU Game Master's Guide™ ($12.50)
  • Gramercy Island™ ($12.50)
  • Aliens Unlimited™ Revised ($12.50)
  • Aliens Unlimited™ Galaxy Guide ($12.50)
  • Armageddon Unlimited™ ($10.50)
  • And two sets of Paper Miniatures ($3 each, total $6)
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For,those,that already own these books/PDF’s, how is the quality of artwork throughout the Heroes Unlimited line? Is it on par with Palladium Fantasy and RIFTS? (which in my opinion has usually excellent black & white art).
 
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Korgoth said:
For,those,that already own these books/PDF’s, how is the quality of artwork throughout the Heroes Unlimited line? Is it on par with Palladium Fantasy amd RIFTS? (which in my opinion has usually excellent black & white art).
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I don't own the whole line, but I'd say so. A lot of it is Kevin Long who did much of the early Rifts work and in general it's high quality.
 
I've never thought Siembieda was that much of a standout as an artist. Same with his design sensibilities and writing style. He's ... functional. And he has good ideas. It was Long and Wujcik that got me on board. Along with John Zeleznik.
 
chuckdee said:
I've never thought Siembieda was that much of a standout as an artist. Same with his design sensibilities and writing style. He's ... functional. And he has good ideas. It was Long and Wujcik that got me on board. Along with John Zeleznik.
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Siembada doesn't do his own art I don't think.
 
Black Leaf said:
Siembada doesn't do his own art I don't think.
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He has done at least some art for Palladium books (I just verified he is credited for art in one of the Castles books, I know I've seen "KS" initials in art in other books).

I also have a piece of original Siembieda art, just a 2.5"x3.5" "badge", but still original, purchased at a Boskone art auction in the 1980s.
 
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