Tell us about something good that you got recently

[Mankcam]

In your opinion. It's worked well for me. I think anyone who says that X is not a good fit for anyone's game is pulling out the badwrongfun card. As long as your table likes it, it's the right choice, IMO.

Yep most certainly, I should of thrown an "IMO' at the start of that sentence, sorry if sounding prescriptive.

Actually I think Fate Core can do gritty flavour as well, but it's a hard sell to try and tell that to anyone, and I personally don't attempt it with Fate Core primarily due to having other rpgs that do it fine. I love the old Crit Tables from MERP, the hit locations from RQ/BRP/Mythras, WFRP etc, so they are my go-to rpgs for gritty settings.

However Fate can certainly do it if someone is good enough with the right narrative descriptions for Aspects, Stunts, and Consequences. It's really up to the GM running it how gritty or how pulpy it feels, and for me the lighter end of things is how I like it, the rollicking adventure/action stuff, or with Tolkien-like prose and whatnot

 

[chuckdee]

Yep most certainly, I should of thrown an "IMO' at the start of that sentence, sorry if sounding prescriptive.

Actually I think Fate Core can do gritty flavour as well, but it's a hard sell to try and tell that to anyone, and I personally don't attempt it with Fate Core primarily due to having other rpgs that do it fine. I love the old Crit Tables from MERP, the hit locations from RQ/BRP/Mythras, WFRP etc, so they are my go-to rpgs for gritty settings.

However Fate can certainly do it if someone is good enough with the right narrative descriptions for Aspects, Stunts, and Consequences. It's really up to the GM running it how gritty or how pulpy it feels, and for me the lighter end of things is how I like it, the rollicking adventure/action stuff, or with Tolkien'like prose and whatnot

Our Dresden Files campaign was quite the bloody and grim affair.

 

[Mankcam]

We have another convert! I love those sheets too!

Glad you liked those character sheets!

Fate Core can be a great system if retrapped for particular settings. I don't know why Evil Hat didn't keep going with their Pulp Adventure setting, Spirit Of The Century, it was a perfect fit for it, but they seemed to have moved on now.

Here's some examples of other character sheets we have used Fate Core for:

The first one is for a modern era Action Flick game which I set in my semi-mythical version of Los Angeles, inspired by Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Fast & Furious, Magnum PI, Burn Notice, Miami Vice, Bad Boys, True Lies, Bosch, etc. This character is a Hollywood Stuntman with a secret past of being in British Special Forces, perfect canon for an Action Flick:


Another Fate Core game we ran which was Tales of The Arabian Nights. We wanted rollicking adventure full of bawdy gusto, not bloodthirsty hack n slay sword n sorcery; so Fate Core was also a good fit for our Arabian Nights games. This character is a bit of a Rogue with a background of being a Storyteller and Barber. If anything he vaguely fits a Bard class, but again it was great not to be straight-jacketed by any Class structure during character creation and beyond:

Sorry to derail the thread, but it was a perfect opportunity to post these, heh heh
Hopefully you'll find them interesting

 

[Mankcam]

Our Dresden Files campaign was quite the bloody and grim affair.

Yes Dresden Files would have been grim at times, and it's a game I wished I had bought at the time.
I still might go hunt it down actually

 

[sharps54]

The key, which isn’t limited to FATE by any means, is to get buy in from the players and for them to not try and break or abuse the system during the game.

 

[chuckdee]

Yes Dresden Files would have been grim at times, and it's a game I wished I had bought at the time.
I still might go hunt it down actually

Dresden Files Accelerated is still in print, I think. I haven't actually tried that though I have it... we used the Fate 3.0 rules in the original Dresden Files RPG.

 

[Mankcam]

The key, which isn’t limited to FATE by any means, is to get buy in from the players and for them to not try and break or abuse the system during the game.

Absolutely

 

[Acmegamer]

In your opinion. It's worked well for me. I think anyone who says that X is not a good fit for anyone's game is pulling out the badwrongfun card. As long as your table likes it, it's the right choice, IMO.

 

[Mankcam]

View attachment 61174

The core mechanic roll of 2D20 is great for pulpy action, I really enjoy that part.
It's just that the rest of the rules...ah...well, ahem, heh heh

 

[chuckdee]

View attachment 61174

Even 2d20

I actually liked it in Mutant Chronicles and Conan and Dishonored. It was a bit much in Mutant Chronicles, but it was still fun. Still wish they'd listened and cut it down a bit, but it's not that bad IMO.

 

[Mankcam]

I actually started off enjoying Conan, but then found myself getting frustrated with it.
Any further foray into the Hyborian Age will be using Mythras, but I'll certainly read some of the Modiphus Conan for resources.

I also have John Carter of Mars, but haven't played it. The character sheet does look a bit better than Conan's however, so I might give 2D20 another go with John Carter at some stage, but I have a backlog of rpgs I want to play first.

 

[Acmegamer]

Heh, I just read an EN World article by Lew Pulsipher where he used GURPS as an example of "buckets of dice". Kinda surprised me, expected better from him. At least he did use Shadowrun as one of the three examples, so he was basically one for three because his other example was Champions. Lol


Edit chuckdee meant to mention that I agree with you on Mutant Chronicles but my mind was drifting back to the article on EN I had just read. Lol Lost my own thread.

 

[3rik]

I played in a Star Wars game that used GURPS. Not something the average roleplayer would propose using but it was a fantastic experience. The GM was extremely familiar with the system so it ran smooth as butter.

 

[Mankcam]

More RPG swag arrived this afternoon!

Talislanta !!!

I first read my mate's Talislanta 2E core rulebook back in 1991, and always wanted a copy of it, given that it grabbed our imaginations
We never got to play Talislanta, perhaps the WoD explosion of the mid 90s is the blame for that, heh heh

I ended up buying the Talislanta 4E core rulebook in the mid 2000s, but again we never got around to playing it, and I only managed to read it superficially.
My interest in the setting and game was recently renewed with the crowd-funding of Talislanta Epic Edition, and I can't wait for it to be released.

This led me to go back and grab the earlier pdfs (now free), and DrivethruRPG has some of the earlier editions as fresh new PDF+PoD
I always wanted that old core book however, the firstTalislanta book I saw

Well, that dream just came true, heh heh

 

[Chris Brady]

I actually started off enjoying Conan, but then found myself getting frustrated with it.
Any further foray into the Hyborian Age will be using Mythras, but I'll certainly read some of the Modiphus Conan for resources.

I also have John Carter of Mars, but haven't played it. The character sheet does look a bit better than Conan's however, so I might give 2D20 another go with John Carter at some stage, but I have a backlog of rpgs I want to play first.

I'm the same way, but for me, it's that Doom pool. The players I have access to are very cautious and don't like having to give the DM something to use against them. As for my, I see my role as a DM as a facilitator, on top as arbitrator. They do something, I give them a reaction. If it makes their lives harder, so be it, but I personally dislike a mechanic that forces me to use it for that. Especially if the action is 'epic' or just plain awesome.

 

[Uferschnepfe]

View attachment 61165
Sorry to derail the thread, but it was a perfect opportunity to post these, heh heh
Hopefully you'll find them interesting

Cool logo, I once owned the pinball.

 

[Mankcam]

Cool logo, I once owned the pinball.

I did wonder wonder where that logo was initially from, heh heh

 

[Acmegamer]

I'm the same way, but for me, it's that Doom pool. The players I have access to are very cautious and don't like having to give the DM something to use against them. As for my, I see my role as a DM as a facilitator, on top as arbitrator. They do something, I give them a reaction. If it makes their lives harder, so be it, but I personally dislike a mechanic that forces me to use it for that. Especially if the action is 'epic' or just plain awesome.

Yep, for me the Doom pool for was a problem. I also see my position as GM in a similar point of view. I didn't like the at all the mechanic forcing me as a GM to do something or not do something. I always felt that if I ran one of the 2d20 systems i'd pretty much play rather loosely with that particular mechanic.

 

[chuckdee]

Yep, for me the Doom pool for was a problem. I also see my position as GM in a similar point of view. I didn't like the at all the mechanic forcing me as a GM to do something or not do something. I always felt that if I ran one of the 2d20 systems i'd pretty much play rather loosely with that particular mechanic.

You used and interpreted it differently than I did. From the sidebar on doom:

Because Doom is in a large part shaped by player action,
Doom helps provide a balance to the game, ensuring that
the “pressure” the player characters apply to a situation
is met with equal force from the opposition.
Doom serves as a visible cause and effect for play-
ers taking risks and avoiding immediate problems.
This provides the players with an understanding of the
Complications of their choices, and gives the gamemaster
a clear license to create problems on the fly. The game-
master’s use of Doom feeds from circumstances that occur
in-game. The heroes push their luck, and Fate pushes back.
Doom can also act as a pacing mechanism. The gam-
emaster adjusts the flow of Doom — choosing to save it
or to spend it, or even to take actions that accrue Doom
— so that tension rises and falls as needed, and situations
become more desperate. Scenes where the gamemaster
spends little Doom will be relatively easy for players,
but they allow Doom to accumulate and cause problems
later. Scenes where the gamemaster uses lots of Doom
result in a calmer situation afterwards, and allow the
players to relax a little.
As noted elsewhere in this chapter, the use of Doom
emulates the rise and fall of stress and danger found in
Howard’s stories, allowing players to experience that sen-
sation, but from within the context of the game setting.

I never saw where you were forced to use Doom. Doom is a counterpart to Momentum and player mechanics like that to allow the GM to perform actions.

The players seeing that I had a lot of Doom sometimes made them wary- because it could come down on them at any time. But they didn't know when it would happen- because I wasn't forced to do so.

 

[Gabriel]

It's been a while.



Broken Compass

This is what I've been focusing on reading lately. I feel captivated by the simplicity and style of the presentation. In terms of system, it's classic "roll dice and make stuff up" as well as fitting neatly into my personal category of games which I call "made up dudes and do something." (In other words a character creation system that makes up skilled regular people and then you just go play a sort of assumed game.)

Mostly, I bought this in the lead up for Household since I'm super excited for that one and some of that excitement rubbed off for me to want to pick up this. It's sparse on details but it gets my mind going. It almost returns me to those bygone days when all I needed was a super vague idea and some enthusiasm to run a campaign.

---




Terminator

I really only got these because I felt if I didn't, I might have that nagging feeling of missing out. This was one of those that the whole gaming crew would have wanted back in the day just for the name value. But, I haven't even looked at the core more than just flipping through it.

Almost certainly a shelfwarmer.

For the limiteds, you can see how the actual Terminator skull on the white cover doesn't really stand out at all. In fact, even on the black cover, it's almost invisible to the naked eye. It doesn't at all jump out that plainly when viewing it in person. I was disappointed, because I thought each cover would have a striking and constrasting Terminator skull rather than a slighly different gloss value of the cover color.

---



Monsterary of Zimrala

On the left you can see the limited slipcase edition. On the right you can see the regular edition.

This is a fun book. It's fantasy that doesn't take itself seriously. It's just flat out a book of just whatever someone thought would be cool with no pretentiousness at all. I'm not terribly sure of it's direct game utility, but reading (or just skimming through) it is fun and prompts ideas.

---



Anima: Beyond Fantasy

This, I believe, is everything released in English for the Anima: Beyond Fantasy RPG. Except for the book in the lower right, it's all a unique system. The oddball book in the lower right is allegedly D&D5e compatible, but I couldn't say for sure because it's still in shrink. I've been focusing on the Anima: Beyond Fantasy core rulebook, which is positively dense.

The system is kind of neat. It's something like if MERP (basic d100 mechanic) and Palladium Fantasy (character types and variety of magic) had some kind of bastard love child. The mechanics have a strange habit of being extremely nitpicky in strange places. But honestly, despite the clunk, it seems like it might be fascinating to play.

I'm not sure exactly what tone Anima goes for. Sometimes it feels like it's going for Exalted-style high power, but the system reads like it's going for very gritty.

Anyway, very cool, and glad I finally got off my butt and snagged these before they became unattainable.

---



Agone

Another one where I think this is everything released in English for this game. I just got this on a whim because multiple sellers were offloading this bundle for about the price of a GM screen for any other modern game.

It seemed interesting at the time. The system struck me as a fantasy version of Interlock (stat + skill + 1d10). But honestly, I haven't looked at it much since then.

---


Mecha X Monsters Evolved

I got this on a whim and didn't expect anything out of it. I had already thought it was not going to be meaty enough in the areas where I wanted to be a carnivore.

I got a little less than what I expected out of it. It's not even really a "make up a dude and play" sort of system. It's really mostly handwavium combined with a campaign outline and a few other more abbreviated campaign ideas.

Reading the main campaign, I felt like it assumed you'd have enough players to play both a human/mecha side and monster/kaiju side. It seemed the expected style of play was described as if it were a PvP wargame scenario.

Neat concept. It's a little too specific with it's settings to really use for general ideas.

Doctor Who: Tenth Doctor Sourcebook

This was the last thing I needed for a complete set of Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space 1e materials. I now have at least one of everything released for the system. The only things I lack now are cover/packaging variants of a couple of items.

If you had told me this would have been the most difficult item in the line for me to get hold of, I would have thought you were crazy. But, I guess since I waited, that's what happened. It was far easier to get a copy of Time Traveller's Companion than this book. I'd daresay it's easier to get a copy of the GM screen than this sourcebook.

---

Also got some new Macross Valkyries, a few new anime scale figures, and a new creepy doll, but no pics.

 

[The Convenient Skill]

Managed to get this on eBay for a very good price, amazing condition too.

The hunt for swashbuckling games continues!

 

[chuckdee]

it's classic "roll dice and make stuff up"

I've seen this before in other areas- what does this even mean?

 

[Gabriel]

I've seen this before in other areas- what does this even mean?

What it means to me and how I'm using it at the moment is that it's a general resolution mechanic treated loosely and subjectively rather than having lots of hard modifiers or tabular data. The GM just dreams up a general difficulty, the player makes a check, and the game keeps moving.

Think... the Ghostbusters 1e version of d6.

 

[sharps54]

The other way to look at it is for emergent games or even sandbox type games where the GM doesn’t have a railroady plot but just reacts to what the players do. To be fair a good GM will know their world and NPCs so they aren’t totally making it up they are having the world and NPCs react as they feel they would.

edit so in essence you react to what the players do, have them roll when needed and then continue to riff off the players as you feel the world would react to them until the next roll is needed.

 

[Acmegamer]

You used and interpreted it differently than I did. From the sidebar on doom:



I never saw where you were forced to use Doom. Doom is a counterpart to Momentum and player mechanics like that to allow the GM to perform actions.

The players seeing that I had a lot of Doom sometimes made them wary- because it could come down on them at any time. But they didn't know when it would happen- because I wasn't forced to do so.

Honestly, I wasn't the only one. It was a frequent thing I saw posted on Reddit and in other places. As I said, I'd have ignored the whole "having to" but I bet I would have caught flak from some players had I done so. Speculation on my part but valid I think with how many players come off these days.

 

[chuckdee]

Honestly, I wasn't the only one. It was a frequent thing I saw posted on Reddit and in other places. As I said, I'd have ignored the whole "having to" but I bet I would have caught flak from some players had I done so. Speculation on my part but valid I think with how many players come off these days.

The observation I had is similar to Fate points in Fate Core - the more I as the GM accumulated, the more cautious they tended to be. They knew that at any point, that Damocles sword could swing, and they had to account for it. I used that feeling to my advantage - when I wanted them to feel free to take insane risks and feel like their characters weren't in danger, I spent it- sometimes not even towards the players but towards the scene or setting. At times I'd hit them with it in order to get them to pull back and realize that they were in a more dangerous situation. Then, as they proceeded towards end game, I'd accumulate them- they'd know that they were reaching a reckoning of some sort as they saw the pool build.

 

[chuckdee]

What it means to me and how I'm using it at the moment is that it's a general resolution mechanic treated loosely and subjectively rather than having lots of hard modifiers or tabular data. The GM just dreams up a general difficulty, the player makes a check, and the game keeps moving.

Think... the Ghostbusters 1e version of d6.

I'll have to think on this - I've herd it used more negatively that there is no meaning but what the GM brings, so I had instant negative connotations behind it.

 

[Gringnr]

Picked up a copy of Red Markets. Been wanting to run a zombie game for a while.

 

[Mankcam]

What it means to me and how I'm using it at the moment is that it's a general resolution mechanic treated loosely and subjectively rather than having lots of hard modifiers or tabular data. The GM just dreams up a general difficulty, the player makes a check, and the game keeps moving.

Think... the Ghostbusters 1e version of d6.

That certainly describes PDQ, Fate, Cypher System, many others that are heavily based around the core mechanic/difficulting rating.
To an extent it balloons out to most systems that have a core mechanic scale, but I get the vibe of what you are intending with it being a 'loose' game

 

[Mankcam]

It's been a while.

View attachment 61199

Broken Compass

This is what I've been focusing on reading lately. I feel captivated by the simplicity and style of the presentation. In terms of system, it's classic "roll dice and make stuff up" as well as fitting neatly into my personal category of games which I call "made up dudes and do something." (In other words a character creation system that makes up skilled regular people and then you just go play a sort of assumed game.)

Mostly, I bought this in the lead up for Household since I'm super excited for that one and some of that excitement rubbed off for me to want to pick up this. It's sparse on details but it gets my mind going. It almost returns me to those bygone days when all I needed was a super vague idea and some enthusiasm to run a campaign.

---

Well, that is a motherload of new swag for you, a bit of a treasure trove!
In particular your pic of the pulpy goodies reminds me that Broken Compass is on my list to grab one day, but once I do I'll have to hunt down all those supplement books.
Looks great !!!

 

[Silverlion]

It's been a while.

View attachment 61199

Broken Compass

This is what I've been focusing on reading lately. I feel captivated by the simplicity and style of the presentation. In terms of system, it's classic "roll dice and make stuff up" as well as fitting neatly into my personal category of games which I call "made up dudes and do something." (In other words a character creation system that makes up skilled regular people and then you just go play a sort of assumed game.)

Mostly, I bought this in the lead up for Household since I'm super excited for that one and some of that excitement rubbed off for me to want to pick up this. It's sparse on details but it gets my mind going. It almost returns me to those bygone days when all I needed was a super vague idea and some enthusiasm to run a campaign.

\lted-style high power, but the system reads like it's going for very gritty.

Anyway, very cool, and glad I finally got off my butt and snagged these before they became unattainable.

I really wish I could find copies of those in print myself.

 

[Imaginos]

I really wish I could find copies of those in print myself.

Ask and Yadda yadda…

Search Results for Broken compass | Miniature Market

Thousands of niche hobby board games, tabletop games, miniatures, and role playing games. Free Shipping at 99+.

www.miniaturemarket.com

Can hit up gamenerdz or coolstuffinc for the core.

 

[Blammo]

I really wish I could find copies of those in print myself.

They're currently in print and readily available through many outlets. It's popular so you might have to hit a couple different stores to get the entire set (I got mine between Boardlandia for the core and Game Nerdz for all the supplements), but with the recent purchase by CMON, I can't imagine they're going to disappear any time soon. Unfortunately I sold off my books because I'm nearly 100% VTT gaming these days, but I just double-checked and all are still in stock at those shops.

Search: 6 results found for "broken compass"

Welcome to Boardlandia, your home for board games and card games. We are located in Appleton WI and proud to be a FLGS and FOGS!

boardlandia.com

 

[Silverlion]

They're currently in print and readily available through many outlets. It's popular so you might have to hit a couple different stores to get the entire set (I got mine between Boardlandia for the core and Game Nerdz for all the supplements), but with the recent purchase by CMON, I can't imagine they're going to disappear any time soon. Unfortunately I sold off my books because I'm nearly 100% VTT gaming these days, but I just double-checked and all are still in stock at those shops.

Search: 6 results found for "broken compass"

Welcome to Boardlandia, your home for board games and card games. We are located in Appleton WI and proud to be a FLGS and FOGS!

boardlandia.com

Wow! Thank you! I've checked several places and not found any in stock.

 

[Mankcam]

Is the Broken Compass Adventure Journal the core rulebook with a premimum cover?

 

[chuckdee]

Is the Broken Compass Adventure Journal the core rulebook with a premimum cover?

Yes. It's also the core book period. You need to have it in order to have the rules.

 

[Mankcam]

Yes. It's also the core book period. You need to have it in order to have the rules.

Gotcha, its a great cover for a core rulebook, it screams Pulp!

Can't find any of these Broken Compass books on the shelves here in the Australian shops (not surprising). The online stores down here also list them all as sold out or they just don't list them (more concerning). I think I'll just have to put some money aside and shop thru one of the US based stores if I'm ever going to get these

I really do not need Broken Compass.
If I want to run an Action/Adventure game I do have quite a few systems that either do it out of the box, or with one of their supplements:

• Fate Core/Spirit of the Century
• BRP/Pulp Cthulhu, Raiders of R'lyeh
• Amazing Adventures 5E
• Cypher System
• Savage Worlds/ Thrilling Tales
• Storyteller/Adventure!
• Two-Fisted Tales
• Tricube Tales...

However the art direction of Broken Compass really captures the adventurous spirit, and that vibe alone almost sells these books to me
Hmmm something to think about...my kids may not get a college fund heh heh
Just joking!

 

[Rich H]

Got the new TOR adventure supplement...



Cover perfectly capture the Lone Lands!

 

[StonesThree]

Are these new TOR books just reprints of the early editions material?

 

[Rich H]

Are these new TOR books just reprints of the early editions material?

New material, mate. This is a new set of adventures for the game, written by Gareth Hanrahan:



Can either form a loose campaign or be played as standalone adventures.

EDIT: The format is an improvement from 1e adventures too. They are still structured in a traditional adventure sense but each of them has a landmark that could be used independently if the actual adventure didn't fit your particular campaign.