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AICN TABLETOP: D&D Open Grave! Clone Wars! Talisman! Space Hulk???
Hola all. Massawyrm here.
Well, I’m finally caught up once again and have had some real time to play some games and cuddle up with a book or two. And that means its time to finish catching up with a bunch of the things that have found their way here to the Casa del la Wyrm. Lots of stuff this week, so let’s dispense with the foreplay and get into it.
D&D Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead
The second of a continuing series of DM only monster books, Open Grave follows the new fourth edition model that combines third edition concepts with the classic old school model. Much like the series of monster booksin third, each focuses upon a different CLASS of monster. First we had Dragons with Draconomicon, now we’ve got the Undead with open grave. But unlike the old model, which included lots of character options making it a book for both DMs and PCs, this goes back to keeping the PCs hands off of the material. This trend is kind of nice, actually, allowing a lot more secrets to stay in the hands of the storyteller and not the players – some of whom memorize the books and its many monsters. While not the best idea FINANCIALLY, it is one that keeps players from feeling like they need to buy a dozen or so books a year to keep their characters competitive with other players.
And I for one love that change. The player books are solely for players and the monster books are the DMs domain.
So how is this book? Honestly, my very favorite thing to be put out for 4th edition so far. Holy crap is it a neat book. I’ve always been a big fan of the undead as opponents in my campaign – hell, our playtest campaign was essentially a survival horror game that evolved into a much larger scale. And I would have given my right arm for this book back then. It is nothing but artifacts, pregenerated encounters and fluff for the undead rounded out with 88 pages of new monsters – some new and many classics.
Also included, making this a MUST BUY for old school fans, are such fan favorites as vampire lord Strahd Von Zarovich (of Ravenloft fame) and stats for the lvl 35 encounter Vecna (as well as several of his weaker thralls.) These can be found in a section with a number of villains ranging from heroic tier on up to final encounter Vecna, each with fluff and descriptions of how to use them in a campaign.
This book is just a great read – and more than any other supplement thus far has seeded the urge for me to DM a campaign again. If you’re one of those old school fans who just likes reading the material, but never plays – THIS is that book you want to pick up and read cover to cover. There’s as much delicious fluff here as there is dedicated monster stats blocks. A fun book that will remind you just why you love undead in your D&D.
STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS CAMPAIGN GUIDE
It was inevitable. And here it is. I’m just getting into Star wars role playing, myself, and have really dug the books they’ve put out so far (especially the FORCE UNLEASHED campaign guide and the KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC guide.) But as much as I had issues with the film and have yet to really get into the television show, I admire that they’ve released a book giving players stats for everything they’ve been drinking in on a weekly basis. And I’ve got to admit, as a fan of Jedi style campaigns, I really do like the idea of playing in a very dark, post Order 66 universe in which the Jedi are dying off – and before they do, many of them are falling to the Dark Side. This book goes into quite a bit of detail on how to run a campaign like that, which makes it worth checking out even if you’re not a fan of the series.
But the series really is what this is all about. If there’s a character you like on the show, odds are you’ll find stats for them here, including a CL 4 Asoka, CL 14 Anakin and Obi Wan, CL 19 Mace Windu and a Clone wars era Yoda. Every type of battle droid imaginable is in here as well as Episode III era Boba Fett, Chewbacca and everyone’s least favorite gay, alien Truman Capote impersonator Ziro the Hutt. Everything needed to play during this turbulent period of SW history is here. As much as I’m not a fan of the execution of the stories from this era, I do like some of the fluff, so I’ll no doubt end up at least playing a few games with this book.
Maybe I’ll run a survival mini campaign in which Jedi have to outlive Order 66. That might get the old juices flowing. And let me tempt some players with falling to the dark side…before they mercilessly kill Asoka. Because, really, why else would they give us her stats? ;)
TALISMAN: THE MAGICAL QUEST GAME>
Is Dungeons & Dragons a bit too time consuming for you? Descent a bit too intimidating? Do you want a game that you can play with your kids who are too old for a lot of family board games but still aren’t quite ready for more sophisticated gaming? Let me re-introduce you to Talisman. The classic game is back, once again brought to the shelves by Fantasy Flight Games – a group of folks who seem to be working their own special necromancy on some classic titles.
Back when I was kid, my parents forbade me from playing D&D. Pat Robertson and his accursed 700 Club had worked their social engineering scare tactics on my devout parents and had, having been caught up in the D&D scare Craze if the early 1980’s, deemed it the work of the devil. I was not allowed to possess, play or so much as gaze upon the devils handiwork. Which of course meant that I was hooked for life. Did I play? You bet your ass I did. I played the shit out of it. It just meant that I hid my books better than I hid my playboys, because, well, I could EXPLAIN the Playboys.
But with a stay at home mom, I needed a cool game to play with my buddies when they came over to my house. And that was when I found the original Talisman. It’s a pretty simple game, played on a standard, static board with a regular old d6 (six sided die.) And while it has been so long since I played it, and I couldn’t explain to you the rules of that version, I can definitely say that the reboot captures the feel of the old game pretty well.
TALISMAN: THE MAGICAL QUEST GAME is a board game for 2-6 players in which, unlike many of FFGs recent releases, is a cut throat, every man for himself race around the board to collect the Crown of Command and use it to force your opponents off of the board. Along the way you collect magic weapons, items and followers who increase your (very basic) stats and make it easier to battle the many monsters you’ll come across in your search for the namesake talisman which you need to win the game.
But just because it is simple by no means makes it a short game. Depending on how friendly, strategic or large a group is this can definitely make for a full evening’s entertainment. It is by no means a short game – it just simply is not as involved as something like Descent. If I have one real complaint, it is that much like the WORLD OF WARCRAFT board game (not the Adventure game), it is just too easy to avoid other players and essentially play your own game for the most part – simply racing against the others until the end when someone gets the crown. You CAN fight and play a very bloodthirsty match, but it is often less risky to go off on your own – and some folks aren’t too keep on games that aren’t ALWAYS pitting you against your opponent. Of course, that’s what makes this great for family board game playing – it’s a game in which you don’t HAVE to beat the crap out of your kids to play competitively. Thus they have a good chance of winning without you throwing the game. It still requires thought, strategy and a little planning – but it is in no way purely tactical.
If you enjoy fantasy gaming or want to revel in some nostalgia like I did – Talisman is out now along with an expansion (which I haven’t has a crack at yet.)
WARHAMMER 40K RUMORS!
Alright, just last week Bigred stopped by and gave us a look at what the year had in store…then all sorts of rumors starting coming into BoLS that might answers one of the biggest lingering questions of this year: why only TWO codexes. Most years we see 3-4, one new codex release every quarter. But this year people are hearing about only two. Is there a third in the works? Or something BIGGER?
The new rumor is that there are two releases that will take the place of the usual codex slot. The first, this summer, might bring us the long rumored PLANETSTRIKE – a new rulebook like the cityfight rules that are additional rules for a very modified game. This expansion ruleset has long been rumored to focus on air combat and drop pods, with a heavy focus on missions that involve a definite ATTACKER and DEFENDER. In other words, missions that range from bombing raids to possible dogfights. A lot of this is all conjecture and rumor right now – but it has been around for a while and has reared its ugly head again. This ruleset would most likely come out with a number of plastic releases which would most likely be aircraft (like the Valkyrie already being released) and has long been said to include the eternally sought after plastic Thunderhawk.
The second and newer rumor is that September will bring us a brand new version of SPACE HULK. That’s right, guys, everyone’s favorite Terminator armor versus nids board game may find itself rereleased, along with new plastic termies and genestealers. This would be pretty cool and an interesting alternative to a new codex (although we are in need of some codex revamps PRONTO.) Not a lot is known about this yet except that rumor puts it on the schedule. There’s a whole slew of new rumors over at Bell of Lost Souls this week. Just my luck – I ask Bigred to give us an update just before a big break comes his way.
Remember to take this all with a big grain of salt. We’re still far enough away that even if this is the plan, it can still be yanked. But I definitely like this as the summer and fall alternatives. Even if the rumors are starting to hint at Dark Eldar being pushed to next year...
Alright guys – I’ve got more stuff coming in every day. More to come.
Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.
Massawyrm
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But this stuff was not what I had in mind.
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RPG board games seem to be the "in" thing right now. I guess I'm old school and just prefer the pencil and paper games. I'm sure the boardgame ones are fine and all, but they just seem limiting, whereas the pencil/paper route is as big as your imagination.
I haven't even tried WOTC Star Wars, since they bought it from West End Games (or bought West End Games?) I prefer the D6 of WEG Star Wars. -
Even though I don't get to play these days (trying to get a group of friends back together on IRC to play our D6 Star Wars) I really enjoy your tabletop column. Keep up the good work!
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...GW had the tiles and rulebook up on their website for free download until late last year, so I think the rumor might be true.
So I went and got some AT-43 TacArms figures for the Terminators, some Alpha and Omega Phemeras from CONFRONTATION, and the room/hallway tiles from FFG's DOOM game and made my own set. It plays differently, as the halls in DOOM are 2 squares wide as opposed to 1, but it's still fun. -
This series is really good. Last week's episode on the snow world was amazing. The animators took inspiration from Ralph McQuarrie's original "Empire"-era paintings and crafted a world both new and reminiscent of Hoth. And the story was solid, too, with the Jedi caught in the middle and lots of peril and death. I think they've done, like, a dozen episodes so far. And a good 10 of them have been solid. Two or three have been OT-era great.
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...that came up with this one?
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It is Wednesday right?
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I’ve never played real role-playing games like D&D (there was nobody in my area remotely interested except me), so I am beyond a novice about this stuff. I just received a truckload of Heroscape stuff from a co-worker whose son has outgrown it. It looks pretty cool – is this a good starting off point for games like this or should I try something else? My kid is seven and he loves the sword and sorcery stuff.
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Hey Massawyrm. I think it was you that posted something a long time ago about a fun and addictive movie game that, if I remember correctly, "wasn't about how well you know movies but how well you know the movies you love". Was that you who posted something in that regard? Its driving me crazy trying to figure out the name of that game.
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That really brings back memories. Geez, the hours of my life that I've spent playing that game... Anyway, it and its expansions were really good, though the game rules left a lot of wiggle room for rules lawyers. It's sort of like Cosmic Encounters in one very basic way: it gives fairly simple rules (here's how you play through a turn, what you do when you land on a certain kind of space, etc.) and then gives the various PCs, opponents, and encounters abilities that deliberately break those rules. This kind of design makes you feel like you're playing an interesting, powerful character, almost no matter which one it is. The Prophetess was a cheating bitch though, grrrr...
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Mass, keep it up. My regular players (via online rooms) have kinda "poofed" at the moment but reading this kinda keeps me in the loop
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dude, I love that you cover the tabletop genre, but why are there almost never any pics of this stuff? This site is flooded with media all the time, yet this is always gimped.
Dude, post some pics or something with these write-ups so we can see what your talking about. Just about everything else on this site has some sort of media. . . -
I agree there should be more coverage.
It's like pure Star Wars crack at times. -
Even though it has its issues, the CB is off the hook! I recommend everyone check it out at the WotC site.
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Now they need to work on a new Blood Bowl!!! That game made you cheer when you broke 4 tackles and dove over a guy for a touchdown and didn't injure yourself! *sigh*
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that he wasn't aware that Talisman was relaunched about 1 year ago and that what FFG is now selling is the exact same game that came out last year under Games Workshop.
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Actually, it's not exactly the same game. They added/revised some mechanics. and the new edition has plastic miniatures again.
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Massawyrm, if you had listened to Pat Robertson's $700.00 Club (that is what the 700 stands for) then you might have become a good Chrisitan lawyer, doctor, or preacher by now. Instead, you are a contributor to AICN. D&D 4th edition sucks, by the way. I refuse to buy it, and I am waiting for the new Pathfinder RPG to come out this August. If you are a man, then you will cover that game when it comes out, and admit that it is better than D&D 4th edition.
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surprisingly good so far. I'm impressed with the amount of death and carnage they get away with.
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that ArcadianDS doesn't know about the $20 upgrade kit purchasers of the GW version can buy to upgrade their game to the current version.
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I've always used this game as a gateway drug for 40k :)
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...but have you given Warmachine or Hordes a try? The minis are great & the gameplay is quite fun. It's my game of choice at the moment.
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OK Vic - screw that Heroscape shit, it's for kids. Decent miniatures (though not to scale with most other games) so I understand your interest there. But you're better off trying out the D&D Miniatures game. It's a simplified version of D&D. When you've got that figured out, grab a copy of the D&D Players Handbook (I recommend Edition 3.5, as this 4th Ed. was an unnecessary revision). It's much easier than it seems. And though it's always difficult to find players, I'm sure you've got friends - make them play with you. If all else fails, grab Oblivion and a 360 and have fun.
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Feb 04, 2009 5:17:57 PM CST
Here i thought Space Hulk would be a sequel to The Incredible Hu
by regicidal_maniac
Godzilla style. A space experiment is subjected to Gamma radiation and HULKS out returning to Earth only to be stopped by Banner-Hulk. That or they adapt a loose version of that recent Hulk in space storyline.
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a Sword & Sorcery type RPG, it's better to stick to a simpler older game like the non-Advanced 1980's D&D books. You can get buy a pdf here: http://tinyurl.com/5bfwfgor you could find a hard copy on Amazon, eBay or at a used book store.
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...is that Gary Gygax was a devout born-again Christian. Sometimes the army of Jesus really is the only one that shoots its own wounded.
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When you still play with first edition rules. The new stuff might be good, but I refuse to use a DMG that doesn't have a picture of a giant Efreeti and the City of Brass on the cover!
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I think it was 2nd edition. Yay for Geek Cred.
Also, can we have one week without you plugging Bell of fucking Lost fucking Souls? We get it, you know the guy who runs it. Big whoop. -
Of all the things you seem to "get", you apparently don't get the concept of crediting a source. It's a writer/journo professional courtesy thing.
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Feb 05, 2009 8:30:29 AM CST
I have been waiting a while to give my view on D&D 4th
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
As an avid 2nd edition fan it had been a while. Having found a guy at my work who was into it as well, we decided to try and rope a couple of friends each and try the new edition. Fuckin wow Massa, we just took on a baby black dragon. We actually have two games going, one we are fairly balanced and a tad cliched(outside of the Dragonborn). Our team of 6 that took on the dragon are level 2 and 4 of us are Mages or Warlocks. We barely made it through but it was just like the old days. Next game...Feb 14th....and we are all married(good geek-lovin women).The main problem for us is kids running around. What a crazy old geek world we live in.
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I am a HUGE fan of 4th edition. I have played D&D since I got the Blue & Red "Basic" and "Expert" rules in elementary school and colored in my own dice. I love that every class matters, the balance, the amount of "stuff" to do each round. I love that you can have an irregular group and still come out fine. I can't stand the belly-achers who stand around talking about how their beloved D&D has changed and there is no more role playing. What a bunch of lazy a-holes. It is what you make it folks.I have had 3 sessions of one campaign where no one has fought once.
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Play a real game like Call of Cthulhu. D&D is only for munchkins and rules lawyers. Most fantasy campaigns are cliched Tolkien ripoffs. The only fantasy RPGs that I like is Warhammer FRP or Talislanta. But I would rather play D6 Starwars or CoC anyday.
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...because I hate D&D 4th edition. I have played since the blue box came out, and I know real D&D when I see it. This new edition is not D&D. 3rd edition was an improvement of the fucking game! 4th edition is a new, fucking game! Tey should have had the decency to change the name of it to Dragon-Rune-Wizard-Fighters or something equally shitty. I have chosen to stay with 3.5, and I look forward to the realease of the Pathfinder: RPG in August, 2009.
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Just had a company ask around on a board re: what sites with wide audiences review RPGs around here?
Tossed them the Massa e-mail. Then-again, I'll review it if you don't have time or interest. :D -Squashua / Part-Time AICN Comics @$$hole -
To tell someone to not play D&D and go play a "real game" like Call of Cthulhu is as dumb as telling someone that listening to Streisand is gay and that they should listen to "manly" music, like the Village People. The absurdity of your comment just boggles my mind.
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I still play 1st edition. I have nothing against the later ones, it is just that they never sent me like the original rules did. Plus, after awhile you get used to doing something a certain way, you decide to stick with it. I mean me and my friends pretty much know ever 1st edition rule so it would be ridiculous to change now.
I still check up on new monsters and adventures once in awhile to keep people guessing, but if I did have one complaint about later editions it wouldn't be the rules it would be the modules and adventures. That is one thing that has obviously dropped off in quality from the golden age of Gygax, Mentzer, Kuntz, Schick and the rest. Sorry, but nothing has been made that can compete with the Giant, the Drow and the Slave Lord series yet IMHO. -
...are more manly than Striesand. To me, a "real game" means a game where the players actually have opprotunities to actually role-play. D and D will always be about getting coolest treasure and the highest body count, or in the case of 4E, the neatest "powers".
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Actually I played D&D because it was the first role-playing game (and your first love is always something you don't forget) and because the genre and milieu is something that people find entertaining: a sword & sorcery world where you can be a powerful wizard or warrior, get treasure and have fantastic adventures. Sure you might not be able to role-play as much as other games, but truthfully I don't want my free time to be just an exercise in method acting, I want to have fun. And D&D is fun.
D&D might not be your cup of tea, and that is cool. To each their own. But if you want to get technical, I could say that as much as I am a H.P. Lovecraft fan, the idea of playing a game that if it accurately depicted his writing would always have me end up insane and babbling about unimaginable horrors doesn't sound like a great time (of course that isn’t what the game is really like, but you get the idea about how people have different taste).
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The game is only as bad as the DM. I make it a point to infuse as much Lovecraftian mystery into my games as possible. Also, last time I checked the only difference betwween D&D and CoC are the insanity points.
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Actually, I'm not sure about your experiences, but in my experience, all my Cthulu games have ended up exactly like you describe. "Ooooh, you're in a creepy house. Oh noes! You're going crazy. Bam. You're dead." Loads of fun.
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and play a real man's game--GURPS.
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Write your own damn game, and play that!
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this is how I got my AICN username. My dorkdom is revealed.
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would be that game, and Archive stands for Armageddon Response Computer HIVE.
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I'm not playing it alone.
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It is called Pussy Hunt.
The thing is the more you sit around a table rolling dice and playing Pussy Hunt, the less actual pussy you get, so I find it hard to get people to want to play it. -
For what it's worth, I commend your pioneering spirit.
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Any game can suck if you have a horrible GM, and I my prejudice for D&D stems from those experiences I have had with horrible GM that basically tried for a TPK instead of making a good story. I remember on Dm starting a session of D&D with " you are all walking down an islaoted road....well, just because." And then proceeded to have an Army of stone giants kill us. A lot of people do try to run Cthulhu the same way. A dungeon is now a haunted house, a Troglodyte is a deep One, etc. I have always tried to incorporate more problem/mystery solving elements and role-playing over monster slaying.
If you just want to run around a kill monster, play Gauntlet.
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