Bulldogs! The review

So, Bulldogs! was an odd read.

Not odd, in a bad way, but I have read quite a few Fate books at this point and there are certain parts in each of them that I can pretty much skip. The introduction to fate, this is how fate works parts of the books.

This is not a criticism, but just part of the experience.

For the most part, Bulldogs! does not stray too far from what Fate already does. The biggest difference is in its setting. It is hard to look at this and not compare it to Diaspora, since they are sci-fi games using the Fate system. They do go about their approach very differently though. Diaspora is more of a hard sci-fi game where you get to create the system from scratch. There is a lot to like about that. Bulldogs! already has a setting and allows you to jump into the game a lot quicker.

It also has a very Firefly feel to it, which is what drew me to the game in the first place. I would play either gladly, this one just hits what I want a bit more.

There are a couple of things this game a bit differently than other Fate games.

First, the character creation is not as collaborative. That doesn’t mean you cannot do as a group, but instead of your character being a part of another’s phase, everyone is done separately. You do not get involved with their “adventure type” phase and it gives you ideas on how to come up with your aspects. Things like weaknesses, your homeworld, your profession, or ones specific to the alien race you choose to play. It is unlike anything Fate has done before, but it seems interesting.

Another interesting thing is the game suggests that you let the GM be the captain. That is an interesting idea, but some people may want the Firefly game and can you imagine someone not being Mal?

Then you get to make a ship (or you can choose one already made), and off you go!

Secondly, there are the races I spoke of a moment ago. They are:

Arsubararans-Human like and pretty much everywhere.

Dolome-Huge, blue, tripod-legged. Very loyal, but you probably don’t want to make them angry.

Hacragorkans-green, burly, tattooed, and man do they love fighting. It is what they excel at.

Ken Reeg-Slick, smooth, and also green. They are manipulators of the highest order. Dealing with them is always a risk.

Robots-Where would the galaxy be without them? They come in just about every shape and size you could imagine.

Ryjyllians- Catlike and with retractable claws, they are fierce mercenaries that have a high code of honor.

Saldrallans-Snake-like and cold blooded. They were one side of the thousand years war. Their ruthless pragmatism guides the Empire well.

Templari-Haughty and purple, the Templari rule the Devalkamanchan Republic, guided by their belief that they are genetically superior to all others.

Tetsuashans-They are slug like and unlikely adventurers, but they seem at ease in space. They have an affinity for piloting and ship-building.

Urseminites-They resemble small teddy bears, but don’t let that fool you. They are angry and murderous in temperament. Due to this, they tend to be despised by all.

The best part is that they also give you really good tools on creating your own species. Which is most definitely what I want to do. They give you a lot of examples of abilities to choose from, and it looks like it would be fun to do.

The ship combat is handled a lot like normal combat, but it seems like it would flow well, as each member can do certain things. From piloting, firing cannons, repairing, etc.

Overall, it was a fun read and I really want to play this pretty badly. I have wanted to play something that gets the feeling of Firefly, and I think this could be it. 

Diaspora book review

So, let’s get this part out of the way. I am NOT a sci-fi guy.  Never have been, never will. Sure I like some sci-fi things, but once you get into the hard sci-fi stuff you typically lose me.

So when I heard a little over a year ago there was a sci-fi Fate game, I did not really want to have anything to do with it. Then I joined G+ and met people like Brad Murray and others talking about how awesome it was.

I just now got around to reading it all. J

So, obviously it is a Fate game.

You start by doing something that I think would be so awesome to do and lord knows it read well enough. Cluster Creation. Yes folks, you get to create the universe the game will take place in, and then roll to see how the different planets connect to each other.

Brilliant is the word that comes to mind.

You can roll the four fudge dice for the system attributes (technology, environment, and resources) and look at the results.  It goes from +4 to -4 and all in between. For example we will use technology, a +4 gets you a T4 which means that tech has advanced so far it is on the edge of collapse. Earth right now is at -1 which is considered the atomic age, and -4 means they have any tech at all…i.e. the Stone Age.

Just was just 3 of the 9 things you could get, but you get the point.

You roll for all three and voila, you get your worlds. You then have to give each world a few aspects and off you go to character creation.

A lot of the rest is basic Fate stuff, so I won’t go into much of it other than to say there are A LOT of skills available since there are so many different things you can do in this gamel

Then there is the social combat in the game. I have heard for a while how good it is. I am not going to try to explain it, cuz I don’t really understand it after reading it. Let’s just say it is very interesting, but I really need to see it in action.

I also loved how they wrote small examples of the game and how they felt like miniature stories. It was great stuff to read.

The bottom line is that it was a fun read. It is not typically my kind of game. I am not sure I would want to run it though. A bit too crunchy for me with some of hard sci-fi stuff, but definitely want to play. 

Dragon Age Rpg...the review.

So, Saturday, I picked up the Dragon Age Rpg...cuz it was dirt cheap. I have wanted to read through it before, since I am such a huge fan of the game on my ps3. I must have beaten that game 5 different times. L O V E D it.

So, I was excited when I opened the box when I got home. Inside? A players guide, GM's guide, a map of Ferelden, and a bag with three of cheapest looking d6’s I have ever seen. I think they took them out of yatzee or something. 

I knew beforehand that this was a fairly, rules light kind of game...but damn. It really is. I personally don't have too much of a problem with it, but I know others would. Especially those that like a bit of crunch to their game. 

So after rolling stats. Wait. Rolling stats? It actually makes you choose the ability and then roll to see what you get. I have never been a fan of this way, and would allow anyone to change that if I ran this.  So, anyways, you can choose to be a wizard, rogue, or a thief...just like in the game. You can also choose backgrounds that allow you to get other skills. Nothing to out of the ordinary here. Then you choose focuses, which allows you to add a +2, to any die roll it associates with. So a +2 to sneaking if you chose that as your focus. Character creating did not exactly break the chains of the industry, but it did seem pretty quick.

The books were small, and very quick reading. Again, nothing out of the ordinary, and the book on how to run the game was almost boring at times. The artwork was not too bad…nothing great, but definitely worth looking at.

The mechanics are very simple. 3d6+ability (like strength) +focus and you compare it to the total. The one thing that was sort of interesting is the dragon die. Just choose a different six sides die to be that one and when you are making a roll and succeed, check the dice. If any two of the three dice are the same number, you then check and see what number the dragon dice is. You get that amount of points to use in stunts. For example, if you are healing, and this happens, you can use stunt points to heal for an additional amount. It seems like a nifty little device, to break up the mundane system it seems to be using. I like the idea behind it.

It also comes with a starting adventure that seems more like a tutorial than anything. Reading, it felt like it was holding my hand at the beginning of Skyrim. Not bad, just kind of generic. But it is free and not a bad way to start. I would just tweak it a bit.

Overall, this game is mostly going to appeal to the fans of the video game. Which to be fair isn’t a bad thing. IT would also be a great game to start people out with. Other than that, I am not sure how many other people are going to be too excited about it. I would definitely play it, but I fit in their demographic pretty easily. But as a rules light kind of game, I think it could be a lot of fun.

Rating. 6.0 out of 10.0