Blast From The Past: Buffy The Vampire Slayer

“If the apocalypse happens, beep me.”

I have no problem admitting that I'm a fan of Buffy. I remember when it first came on TV and watched the first episode. I wasn't hooked right away, but stuck around because of Alyson Hannigan. I have no problem admitting this as well. I'm a sucker for redheads.

As I continued to watch the show, I enjoyed it. I found myself identifying with Xander. White, lower middle class (if not poor), a little geeky, and just awkward. When Xander gets shot down by Buffy, I know exactly how he feels. Why he didn't go for Willow is beyond me...

Ahem. Anyway. Before too long, Buffy was a wildly successful series, that even got a spin-off show, and helped push the “Urban Fantasy” genre into existence. Given the popularity of gaming that was happening in the early 2000's, it should come as no surprise that Buffy got the RPG treatment. What surprised me was that Eden Studios managed to pick up the license. I wasn't surprised to see them get Army Of Darkness (which I now regret not picking up when I had the chance years ago), but Buffy seemed a little out there for them. My introduction to Eden Studios was All Flesh Must Be Eaten (which I reviewed a while back). They also did some other stuff that was clearly inspired by World of Darkness. There was always a dark edge in their early games. All Flesh, Witchcraft, Conspiracy X, and Armageddon; these all dealt with horror and bad monsters to one degree or another. While Buffy did have some horror elements (the first episode still gets a jump out of me, many years and viewings later), it was very clearly Noble-Dark, not Grim-Dark. So, I wasn't sure what to make of this idea. I was also worried about balance and keeping Mary Sues at bay. I've been on FanFiction.net. I've even been known to write my own fan fiction. And what I've learned about Buffy fan fiction is that there's a lot of Slayers out there. So, so many. Would this game be about a posse of Slayers going around kicking fangs and taking names? I didn't want to see, so I skipped it.

Recently, I had a chance to pick up the core book in near mint condition for $3. I couldn't pass that deal up. I bought it and have started reading through it. Already I can see that the humor of the series is front and center, making me hopeful. While the system is very much the Unisystem at its core, there's a few changes that have been made. The damage is a flat number, no rolling and multiplying (except for Slashing and bullet damage, which is optional). They dropped Endurance and Essence points. They added in Drama Points. And they condensed skills and combat. I guess you could call it “Unisystem Light.” Which does kind of fit Buffy. And would make it easier for people new to roleplaying. 

When it comes to making characters, there's varying power levels, as is the norm for Eden Studios. You can make a White Hat, Hero, or an Experienced Hero. Thankfully, they didn't make Slayer a power level. Instead, it's a 16 point Quality. There's also options for vampire, werewolf, Watcher, and even robot characters, as they're all Qualities. While they did add several thematic Qualities, the Drawbacks are still lacking. Usually a Quality, like Nerd or Jock, have a built in Drawback. One thing I will say is that FINALLY corrected Fast Reaction Time in this edition. Which I'm totally stealing for my Silent Hill project. There's also some simple rules for magic, but there's an expansion called Magic Box that greatly expands the system from what I've been told. There's also a bestiary book, to help flesh out the enemies the slayer and her posse could face.

Looking over the game, it's clearly designed to be in a high school setting, but there's no reason why you can't change that up. With the aforementioned Qualities of Jock and Nerd, coupled with the Drawbacks of Misfit and Teenager, it's all ready for you. But, if you don't want to, you don't have to. Another thing they mention is playing games without a slayer. As the game was written in the later years of the series, you can do a whole campaign involving the Initiative. That would be the government monster killers, in case you don't remember. Or, if you wanted to have some real fun, you could have “good” monsters, such as werewolves and vampires with souls, maybe working with some magic users, to fight against “bad” vampires, demons, and other baddies. It's really up to you. Even in the series, they mentioned other Hellmouths (most notably Cleveland), so you can have some fun. Of course, who really wants to play a game set in Cleveland?

The long and the short of it is that you've got a “cinematic” version of the Unisystem that let's you play in the world of Buffy and captures the spirit of the show. Does it feel like any other Unisystem game? No. Does it feel like Buffy? Hell yes.

Gaslands - The PIT Crew: Time Extended Review

Once again, we're back with the PIT Crew, talking about Gaslands!

This time around, I'm going to take some time to discuss the Time Extended. What's Time Extended? It's a series of supplements that adds new vehicles, weapons, sponsors, scenarios, as well as rules and all sorts of good stuff. As of this posting (April 2019) they've put out four of these TX things and each one is absolutely free. Just head over to the Gaslands website and click the TX tab. You're welcome.

I'm posting this now because Gaslands: Refueled is suppose to include these with the new sponsors and rules. So, this is a preview of what's to come later this year.

TX1: Savage Highways

The first issue of TX, we're given some extra rules for the War Rig as well as a little campaign based around the War Rig. While I think the War Rig is badass unit, and own four myself, this does limit the usefulness of the campaign for some people.

The campaign itself is only three scenarios, with the second one being 2A and 2B and depends on who wins the first scenario.

To play the campaign, the players into two teams: The Riggers and the Gangers. The Riggers pick their sponsor and much take a War Rig (except Miyazaki because they can't take War Rigs, much to my disappointment) and then the Gangers make their list, but can't take a War Rig (duh). The Gangers be played by as many people as you want, dividing up the points among them.

I'm not sure how I feel about this campaign. It's very short and the winner of the last scenario is the winner of the campaign. Um, what? Game designers, please stop doing this. I mean, you have three scenarios, why not have it decided by the highest total of accumulated Victory Points? Or winners of total scenarios? Come people! Anyway, tangent aside, it seems a little short for a campaign. I do plan on playing through it and will post about it when I do. Maybe it'll change my opinion of it.

That said, it is worth downloading it, as it's free and it does add stuff for the War Rig, which you might want if you're going use one.

TX2: Stina's Stockpile

While this is the second issue of TX, I really think of it as the first “real” issue of the series. Why? Because it's the first one that introduces the new stuff.

The first thing this TX introduces is the all important weapons. Not only mounted weapons, but new weapons for your crews, too. Many of these weapons are ho-hum, but some are absolutely fantastic. Personally, I love the Combat Laser. Fun for cutting through people ahead of you. The BFG is something of a one-shot wonder, but is terribly devastating if used correctly. I also love throwing a Wreck Lobber on War Rigs. The best part is that it gets more ammo the more vehicles get destroyed. So, great for Derbies and other heavy combat games.

The next thing it adds is the first new Sponsor, Scarlett Annie. Looking at the pictures in the issue, she clearly has some kind of pirate motif. I can already hear you saying that pirates are done and played out, but there is something funny about a school bus with cannons sticking out of the windows. While I won't get into a full review of the Sponsor (I will try to do each one in order at some point in the future), I will say that it took me a while to figure out what exactly she's suppose to do. After looking over the Perks, it looks like she's really based around having large crews. That means using things like buses and trucks until TX3 came out and you got stuff like Heavy Trucks. Once I figured that out, things kind of clicked for me and I've been able to put together some lists for her.

The last thing this issue includes are two new Scenarios: Flag Tag and Tank Commander. To be honest, I don't really like either one of these. I've never been a fan of Capture the Flag in any incarnation, plus I feel like we already have a similar Scenario in the main book. Tank Commander looks fun, but is like the Monster Truck Smash Scenario in the main book; it requires having several tanks to play it. While I do respect the concept, it really sucks if you don't have the models laying around. Or you have to track some don't.

The last thing is some minor rule additions and one house rule. Nothing major, but nice to have them included.

I feel that this issue is very important to have. The new weapons are good and Scarlett Annie does add something to the game. Make sure to pick up your free copy.

TX3: Junk N Tow

With the stuff thrown in TX2, there was a some wondering about what they were going to include in the next issue. Well, it's a good one.

The first thing this issue of TX starts with is new and clarified vehicles. This is great. The new vehicles were sorely needed. The Heavy Truck is my go-to for a wrecking vehicle. The Drag Racer is hilarious and something I really want to play around with more. The Motorhome is interesting, but isn't easy to find. I lucked out and found one at the Dollar Tree. The APC is the only unit I really don't like, but might try it out soon. I think the Ambulance is interesting and worth trying, but it's hard to work into lists, as it costs 25 points.

The Sponsor in this issue is the Highway Patrol, which was something I thought about as soon as I finished the main book. Again, this group took some time for me to figure out. What I figured out was that they're all about board control. The abilities, the Perks, all of that comes together to make a group that can move around while making everyone else react to them. Not bad. Plus, I was able to find a lot of cheap cop cars.

The two Scenarios in this issue is Truckasaurus and Scavenger Party. While I don't enjoy having to find or make models for games, I do like the idea of making a Truckasaurus. I mean, come on! It's a truck eating robot dinosaur! Of course, actually making it will be a struggle. Scavenger Party is a preview of the campaign rules in TX4, but feels a lot like (yet another) Capture the Flag Scenario. Nothing too exciting.

The other thing in here is some errata, which needs to be there, as they added these new vehicles.

With all the vehicles added here, you really need to snag this one. Before you worry, there's different versions of the reference sheets and vehicle record cards. Just make sure you have the right one before you print them out.

TX4: Wasteland Survival Guide

Seeing how this JUST dropped, I haven't had a chance to go over it as much as the previous issues of TX. So, stick with me, okay?

This is a long awaited campaign guide for Gaslands. I know at least one person that's been waiting for this for a while. Personally, I wasn't excited for it, but I was curious.

My first impression of the campaign stuff isn't great. While I respect the idea behind it, I don't like how much focus on the Death Race Scenario in the plans for the campaign. It isn't my favorite Scenario. That's because of the gates and the static layout. Think about it: The campaign starts with this Scenario, ends with this Scenario, and can be randomly rolled (or picked) during the campaign. Imagine playing this Scenario four or more times. That doesn't excite me. Three of the other Scenarios are Capture the Flag variations. I'm feeling less excited now.

However, there's something a little different in this campaign style when you compare it to others in miniatures games. The first thing is that there's “on screen” and “off screen” Scenarios. The on screen ones earn you points to win the campaign, but the off screen ones gets you more Cans so you can beef up your force. This is a very interesting and unique idea and I think it works. This means that even if you're leading in the campaign, you might end up losing that lead do to attrition as you might not be making enough off screen. In addition, if you're really starting to lose, you can join the Pro-Earth Liberation. That means that you two ways to win. Technically. I don't know if that really work, but I do admit that I need to look over this more. I will say that two things jumped out at me when looking stuff over: what about Ejection Seats? And what about Exploded vehicles?

Overall, I'm not sure if this is something I'm going to get into. I need to play Gaslands some more, try all of Scenarios at least twice, and take it from there. If I start trying the campaign system, I'll make sure to post battle reports here.