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Thoroughly enjoyable story to read and run. Exactly what I was looking for as an introductory adventure. Well set out, good ideas of skills to use. Nice story you can edit to fit your own needs. Generally great all around. I wish Pelgrane would release more like this, like an Arkham detective tales they did for trail of Cthulhu. But for this system. Please do more.
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I'd only ever played a single one shot of a GUMSHOE game prior to picking this up (Night's Black Agents), and found the system to not be to my liking, but oh man has Swords of the Serpentine turned me around. This is one of few systems that I actually think I'm more excited to run rather than play, cause of how much excellent guidance is packed into this book. The adversary creation system is robust enough to handle a ton of ideas, and the implimentation of traditional and social combat is really exciting for fast but meaningful conflict. As someone who runs a lot of one-on-one and two player parties, I love the attention payed to scaling character power levels, and the freeform magic. Eversink as a seting is wonderfully fleshed and feels fresh as someone who has been playing RPGs for over a decade at this point.
I can also see the base of this system being easily hacked to run more traditional D&D fantasy, but if you're a sword and sorcery fan, this is perfect as is. I'd love to see this system get all the love in the world, expansions, more adventures, further setting books!
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The indispensable companion volume to the 13th Age rpg.
If you play 13th Age you want this book. The "no one true. way philosophy really shines here but it is pure gold. that can only make your game better
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What a great application of the GUMSHOE system. As a GM who is frustrated with many games at this time, this game provides a great new way to play fantasy games. The setting, the artwork and the maps are all top notch. Most rpgs deal with social combat and reputations poorly, but this game with the GUMSHOE system, allows for games of investigation, intrigue... Truley Amazing. To anyone who has not read the new rules, soo many things can be done with manuvers, I was worried about how it would deal with combat. I am happy to say, the combat is great.
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Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/08/100-days-of-halloween-lilith.html
Continuing my mini-dive into Lilith in various games.
Lilith
This book is by RPG luminary Ken Hite. It is only nine pages but it presents some background on who Lilith is including her "Herstory" (look if you don't know who Lilith is and why "herstory" is FAR more appropriate than "history" then I can't help you.)
We get an overview of her time in Babylon. A bit on the Burney Relief (the cover takes its cue for that) and how they are working under the assumption that it is Lilith or Lilîtu. (Personally, I like the idea that it is Ereshkigal.)
After this there are sections on what Lilith is doing in various Pelgrane Press games like Trail of Cthulhu, Night's Black Agents, Esoterrorists, Mutant City Blues, and the Dying Earth RPG.
Wonderful concept.
The zip file comes with PDF, MOBI, and EPUB versions of the book for ease of reading.
There are very few historical characters you could do a product like this with, so I really admire this choice.
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I ran a whole campaign in Night's Black Agents and my players and I had a lot of fun. It's extremely well designed for genre emulation combining investigation, horror, and action. You really do feel like you're in Ronin and then you learn the bad guys aren't working for the IRA but Count Dracula (or mutant zombies or the nosferatu or some kind of Lovecraftian god).
One thing I especially loved is that there's not just one type of vampire but a generation system that lets you build different types of vampires. Very different types of vampires that go well beyond the goth aristocrat from some minor province of the Hapsburg empire. Among other things, this avoids the problem of the players having read the bestiary and memorizing all the stat blocks. Go ahead and read the GM section, you'll enjoy it but you'll still be surprised by the vampires in my game.
I have a few reservations, all related to Gumshoe rewarding system mastery:
1) If you're not used to Gumshoe, a few of the mechanics can be a bit confusing. For example, in theory the distinction is just investigative (I get clues) vs general (I engage in combat or other action) abilities, but some of the general abilities have complicated rules about how fast you get points back and this gives the resource management aspect of the game an aspect of system mastery. For instance, the noob might choose to put points in network and thereby make their character more flexible, since you can use network to recruit lackeys who can do anything ... except network points don't refresh. The rules make sense once you understand them, but there's a learning curve to it.
2) Character generation is a classless system based on point buys and this can make character gen a bit hard. (There are archetypes, but you still have to spend your remaining points). Pelgrane's character generation website The Black Book helps with the mechanical aspects of character generation but you still have to make choices and there are better and worse ways to do it.
3) You can spend points on a roll, the outcome of which is that you lose more points of the same type. This means that instead of thinking about how scared your character is that he just saw someone rip someone's throat out and drink their blood you're thinking about probability theory of spending points vs taking a straight roll. (FWIW, the expected value is worse if you spend points on the roll so don't do it unless you're in danger of going insane). I suggest a house rule that you can't spend points on stability rolls.
These reservations notwithstanding, I still think it's a great game. I enjoyed the campaign I ran and would gladly run it again for new players or play in someone else's campaign.
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This game was everything for my table! Atmospheric and spooky, with a lot of amazing historical work thrown in to boot.
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In terms of value for money, #Feminism is excellent. You're getting thirty-four (34), one-shot LARPS or "nano games" in one convenient package. Along with various gaming groups, I've played eight of them to thoughtful results. Apart from straight play, however, there's a wealth of character perspective on offer for any of your tabletop RPGs. You can use #Feminism just as readily as a supplement to enrich your other games. Either way, there's a lot game in #Feminism.
(I finally bought a .pdf on DriveThruRPG because my shelf copy has grown a bit careworn!)
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The PDF works fine for me--the problem experieced by the other user isn't universal/a glitch on a specific system.
This game is an underappreciated gem--get it! Can be played in connection with Fear Itself, also very worthwhile. Concept, content, mechanics, support, all great.
The review that prompted me to buy the game can be read here: https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/16/16027.phtml
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The perfect vehicle for tales of contemporary horror.
In this game you play as ordinary people, which to me is the key for a solid horror experience. It anchors the game in a baseline of reality, which makes the horror elements really stand out.
The game itself is simple and fast at the table, which is imperative for horror games - the system gets out of the way. Initially I was nonplussed about the "investigative spends" mechanic, however at the table it works just fine.
What I really like about this edition of the game is there is a TON of advice for designing and running "mysteries". For example, it has guidance on how to handle "red herrings" in a way that should satisfy a player, rather than frustrating them for shutting down the red herring.
Given the shift to virtual gaming these days, it's worth noting that Foundry VTT has a nice module for gumshoe games (https://foundryvtt.com/packages/investigator), which includes a Fear Itself setting.
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Played 'Before the Storm' online with some friends and had a great time. The card mechanic was a little strange at first, but we figured it out. I'm looking forward to trying out some of the other games.
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Our group (experienced gamers with probably 100+ years of role-playing between us) recently finished a six-month weekly campaign using this book. Some of their comments:
'Quite possibly the best campaign I've ever played. So much depth. Majestic.'
'Such a wonderful campaign. Delightfully entertaining, very immersive, clever and action packed. When I look back on where we started and all the twists and turns we had to navigate along the way, the mind truly boggles at the depth and breadth of the story. Some highly satisfying mystery solving and a nice slice of action to boot - 5 stars!'
The book is so packed with material I can imagine running the campaign at least two or three more times without repeating myself. It strikes a superb balance between providing huge amounts of background and characters, and yet leaving the GM and players the freedom to create their own unique story. The premise of the campaign is also so intriguing and inventive, with so many possible angles and layers to explore. This will be a tough act to follow as a GM.
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I am not a fan of too many rules and thus prefer systems as FATE. However, when I finally jumped into the text (I admit, I did not like the art that much) of this book, I was enthralled. First of all, this book felt after a long while like an honest player to player conversation. The commentaries from the authors and also the system itself feels more natural than many of the RPG books I have seen (especially I got the feeling with Star Wars and Star Trek books). The system itself feels like house rules polished into a diamond. The great and unique additions of 13th Age are mentioned many times and I must say, they work as a charm. For anyone peeking into the book, do not let yourself discourage by its length and especially the fact that it brings with itself already a setting. The system is so natural and easy to adapt that you can basically start creating characters with your players and with them create also the world.
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It is nice for what it is. I'd hoped for something a bit more in-depth on the Migo.
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