Mastering The Game: Are Your Players Mushrooms?

Welcome to Mastering The Game, where I try to shed some light on issues related to running RPGs.

Today, I want to ask you: Are your players mushrooms? As in, do you keep them in the dark and feed them shit? Because you might be doing it.

To put it another way, how much do your players know about the world in which their characters live in?

I was thinking about my old Deadlands posse, the Ferner Five, and then started watching something about metagaming. I'll talk more about metagaming in another post, but there's one part about it I got to thinking about.

You see, when I was running it, only one player was really into the lore. I did give everyone an overview of the setting and then let them make their characters. While we were making their characters, we would talk more about the lore and how they fit into it. For example, while we were making Deiter, he ended up with Ugly As Sin from his Veteran O' The Weird West card draw. So, we talked about it. I gave him some ideas, a few monsters, and we worked out that the reason why he was so ugly was because he pulled a Prairie Tick out of his throat. That gave us some history to the character (having him in Kansas), showed just how much of a tough hombre he was (technically, he shouldn't have been able to do this), and helped both of us know more about the character. I did this with every character and each got at least one moment like this in their backstory.

However, as the game progressed, I found that I had to fill the players in more and more about the background of the game. What the City O' Gloom was like. How the Maze worked. I also made sure to have any maps laid out for all to see. And so on. I'd always brought the main information book for people to read, as well as loaning out the setting books for the locations they were traveling to or from. But, people never really read them. And, I have to be honest, it was a little disappointing. That said, even though I had to stop and explain things, they were still very much in character and wouldn't need me to tell them background twice.

 

But, there's another side to this. Back in the day, I tried to play Paranoia. And had a clone die after asking a rules question. Which is why I never played that version again and didn't even try for many, many years. I get that was part of the “fun” of the game, but that's not my kind of fun.

However, there seems to be that sort of thinking running around out there. That players shouldn't need to know basic information about the setting. I remember listening to an RPG horror story about these weird infectious goblins that weren't really goblins, but the characters didn't know they were infectious, and... Well, let's just say it was messy. The point was, if I'm from this world, shouldn't I know the basics about it? Why should players and/or characters be kept in the dark?

I don't understand this way of thinking. That said, I do understand that DMs and GMs might want to keep some things secret. Not only did I keep a lot of critters and monsters under my hat in my Deadlands game, I also kept some very important secrets about the major players in the setting. And I feel that's fair. It was a great reveal (for the one player that way paying attention) when I dropped Reverend Grimme's “Dark Secret.”

But, I never tried to hide basic information about the world. I actively encouraged it and do in every game. Sadly, most people who play games with me don't seem to care as much I do about “fluff” or setting information. Which I feel is a shame and, to be blunt, I will punish players for not knowing it. I spent a lot of time to come up with it and then had to print it out. If you don't care about the time I spent, I'm not going to be happy. I do try to cut them as much slack as I can, give them plenty of time to read everything and I'm always available to answer questions or provide summaries of stuff. I just get ticked off when people don't even try.

But, one thing I don't do is intentionally keep the characters ignorant. If a characters should know something, I tell them. If they might know something, I let them roll. For example, if a character in D&D is level 10, they've probably fought a lot of different monsters, so I'll tell the players what it is. Now, if it's something unique, I'm going to let them roll for it. And to keep them guessing, I'll describe the creature rather than telling them what it is. I find this is much more fun for everyone involved. You get the fun of listening to them make guesses and they get the enjoyment of coming across something they've never seen before.

What I don't do is keep them in the dark or lie to them about things. Let's say you're doing a game of D&D that involves a lot of undead. A foul necromancer has been attacking the kingdom for months and unleashed all kinds of undead against the area. While characters might not have encountered every monster out there, they would be familiar with the lower level ones. Zombies, skeletons, and the like they're going to be able to recognize right off the bat. Something much more threatening and still not unheard of, they're going to get a description and a chance to roll. Something like a Devourer. It's possible that someone fought one and told tales of it in a tavern or something. Okay, I'll allow it. But, let's say something is so new, mean, and nasty, that it's been able to kill everyone that's ever faced it. It's reasonable that the characters are going to have no idea what this thing is. So, just a description, and a very hard roll. I think that's fair. Some people might argue that it's not fair, but my game, my rules.

 

What I don't think is fair is when you keep something hidden from the players that their characters would know. Let's take our undead example. The characters have been fighting these things for months. Suddenly, their in a fight and the zombie bites someone. In this world, the bite is infectious, like in our zombie films. But, since the players weren't told, they're probably not going to be worried about the bite. Until they have to make rolls or their friend turns. If the DM says something like “Well, I thought your characters wouldn't know because these are different zombies.” Unless this is the very first encounter with them, they would know. Don't do this. Seriously. This is bullshit. It's been months. They know.

This sort of thing is bad. Why? Because it breaks the trust between the GM and the players. And that trust is important. Mistakes happen and there's an easy way to deal with it: Apologize and make sure that if you make a mistake again, they can call you on it. We're only human and we'll never improve as people, much less GMs, without some help.

You don't want to punish players or make the game much harder than it should be just to get your rocks off. No one else is going to find that fun. If you're a player and you run across a GM like this, walk away. No D&D is better than bad D&D (or World of Darkness, FATE, or whatever you kids play these days). The game should be enjoyable for everyone at the table, GMs included. If this is your style of fun, it sounds like you might have some problems. If you want to run a game like this, be up front and don't piss and moan when no one wants to play with you.

Let's talk about what information you NEED to give out. You might be thinking “well, what do I do when a character fails a roll when they're looking for information?” That's a tough one. I usually try to make the roll for the character behind the screen, that way they don't know if they failed or not. And I don't lie about it. One thing I do for rolling for things like checking for traps is to have them make a series of rolls for each section of the corridor they're checking. That way they don't know if the area they're checking has a trap or not and they won't know until they hit that area. It can create a bit of tension as they're not sure what is going to happen. Maybe they got lucky and the natural 1 they rolled was for an area that has no traps. Or it might be a TPK trap that they just triggered. You roll the dice and take your chances...

But, what about information rolls? This is where you want to roll behind a screen, as that limits the chance for metagaming. They only know what the character knows, right or wrong. And this is where you need to make sure that you have a good poker face and can provide good descriptions. They need to believe what you're saying. You're not lying, you're telling them what their characters know. And that's not being unfair or deceitful. There's always a difference between character knowledge and player knowledge. Make sure the players remember that. Because, I don't know about you, but I'm not an expert martial artist. Doesn't mean I can't play one in a game.

That said, there's some other stuff you can tell players freely. I generally assume that if it's in the player's part of a book, or otherwise common knowledge for your setting, they don't have to roll for it. It's like things are today. You might not know a whole lot about the Electoral College in the USA but you know it exists and that it's part of our elections. If you want to know more, you can look it up. And so can characters. You should reserve rolls for things like detailed knowledge that they have to remember on the fly. Think about being on a trivia show and having to remember how many votes in the Electoral College are need to win the White House. I challenge you to do that right now without looking it up. That's what you save rolls for. Either trying to remember or looking it up or asking around for information. It's not for basic information that anyone would know, information that's old or lost or hidden. If there's any sort of disagreement about it, roll off.

As I mentioned above, I'm willing to answer questions about the world freely and I try to make sure my players know that. If it's going to slow down game play, I try to have everyone take a break (unless it's something everyone else needs to know RIGHT NOW) and I'll fill the player in.

(Note: As I was editing this, I watched a video from the DM of the Oxventurers Guild, Johnny, and he said something very important “If you don't want them to fail, don't make them roll for it.” And I think that's a very important thing to think about.)

 

At the end of the day, it's about making sure everyone is having fun. Most players I know don't like being kept in the dark and being fed shit. I don't you do, either. So, don't do it. D&D and other RPGs are cooperative. They're about having fun. It is not a “you against them” type game, usually. Don't be an asshole. You don't have to give away the deep, dark secrets of your settings and games because of lucky rolls and you don't have to make everything a challenge. If you honestly don't know what you need to tell your players, get opinions. Notice the “S” there. I will say that I have the opposite problem of what I've been talking about today, I give away too much information sometimes. I can also accidentally forget to mention critical information. Mistakes happen.

Well, this has gone on long enough. If you want me to explore more about making your own game worlds, let me know.

Until next time!

Battle Report: Perilous Tales: The B-Team vs Imhotep

Preamble:

Five women, highly trained and highly motivated, set out to discover the cause of the disappearance of a archaeological dig team in the deserts of Egypt. What they find may be one of the greatest threats they've ever faced!

Heroes:

I call this team “The B-Team” using models from Reaper, the “we closely resemble but are legally distinct from” the movie SuckerPunch. I'm using different names but if you want to find them, they're under the Chronoscope line, listed under “Anime Heroine” and “Survivor.”

Barbie – Leader

Traits: Discretion, Sneaky

Bambi

Trait: Marksman

Becky

Trait: Crackshot

Bai

Trait: Lucky

Bobbi

Trait: Medic

Villain:

The Mummy -

Master: Imhotep

Minion (Unique): High Priest of Karnak

Minions: Cultists of Karnak

Set-up:

The Desert Dig Site -

Quicksand (Unsteady)

Blazing Heat (Creeping Horror)

Sand Storm (Raging Storm)

When it came to setting up the board, I might have gone overboard (haha, unintentional pun there). I wanted it to look like something out in the desert with some large holes to represent the pit that would have been dug to discover the tomb. I also used some stuff to represent the ruins that would have been around it as best I could. Next time, maybe a bit less terrain is in order...

I also rolled Aggressive for the deployment of the Threat Tokens, which was a little hard with what I had out.

Objectives:

Stop The Ritual – This required an altar or something like that, so I grabbed the one I got from the first Bones Kickstarter. I had real trouble placing it as it says you're suppose to in the rules. With the requirements for both it and the tokens, it was literally impossible.

Set The Explosives – With how much terrain I had, this one was going to be easy. Provided I could actually get to the other side of the board!

Escape – I didn't score a single point from this one but it is a nice one to have, as you can use it to score points from wounded models.

 

The Game:

I deployed the team kind of near the middle, as my goal was to drive for the middle of the board (for the Altar), some terrain (for explosives), and get the hell out of Dodge! As we all know, that was a fools game...

 

Once the game started, I tried to send Becky off on her own, down a kind of alley, while the rest of the team advanced together. Of course, Becky got close enough to trigger a Cultist and got tied up for the first few rounds. I had to divert Bobbi to help her out and then heal her.

As I tried to advance, I got screwed. Hard. Without the lube. I managed to trigger ALL of the environmental effects, one right after the other, thanks to the successes rolled during the start of the Villainous phases. Then, I brought out Imhotep! He thought Barbie was his Dearly Beloved and then started kicking on Bai, who ended up having to take on another Cultist as well!

So, I had to throw Bambi in to back up Bai, and then had Becky and Bobbi run in after they cleared out the other Cultist. Along the way, I had to have Bobbi heal Becky really quick, and then try to heal Bai as much as she could, which might not have been entirely correct in the rules (it doesn't say you can't heal someone who's Engaged in combat, which might be something to think about moving forward, I'd say “no” if it were me).

Meanwhile, I had Barbie running around and trying to score points. Which was the plan from the get-to, but I didn't like how she was pretty much running around by herself with the Priest out there somewhere. Given how poorly I rolled, I was very glad I didn't have him pop up. Then again, since she was the Princess, she actually would have been fine... Hmm...

By the end of the game, I had a huge snarl in the middle of the board. Imhotep and the Cultist kept trying to smack Bai and missing, while Bai and everyone else kept trying to smack them and kept missing. It was a real comedy of errors, let me tell you. Even with the high skill of Imhotep, I kept rolling tens on the Difficulty dice. At one point, I rolled three tens, one on each die. I still don't know how that should have worked, but since it was the hero rolling, I counted that as two successes. As the rule states that the hero needs to “meet or beat” the difficulty. I rolled two Difficulty dice because I had Advantage, in case you're wondering.

The fight ended when Barbie came back from dealing with the Altar and placing some explosives. Then, she joined the brawl in the middle and whittled Imhotep down. If she had kept moving around, I would have triggered the last two Threat Markers and it would have been bad.

 

Of course, after I killed the Cultist, I realized that the game should have ended three turns ago...

I do have to say that I'm kind of confused about some of the rules. Like, how can you get more than two successes? There's several areas (including the Threat Check Results table) that goes well past the two you can get on a ten. From what I've read, it appears that you get a pass/fail results for successful rules, except when you roll a ten. Should there be a success for each number better the goal and the roll? I'm not sure...

So, with Imhotep and the two revealed Cultist dead, the Altar dealt with, and three explosives placed, I called the game.

Results:

Rank – C

I barely survived, just by the skin of my teeth. I made a lot of mistakes, which both helped and hurt me, but I had real feeling that I was screwed no matter what I did. With the range Markers are activated, and move when you roll the success on the test at the start of Villainous Phase, you're going to be swamped really, really fast. Next time around, I'm going to go for easier objectives and just rush for those.

The one thing that really gets me is how far things have range on such a small table. Threat Markers can be triggered 6” away and, when you roll the most common results on the Threat Check, you're almost always going to have SOMEONE within 10”. When you're racing against the clock, it's like the game is designed to end up with a mess in the middle of the table, which you don't even want to bother to escape because the villains are going to move 6” at a time, towards your heroes, making you choose between duking it out and just running away until time runs out. It just feels slightly off.

All of that said, I do plan on playing it again soon and I'm holding off on a firm verdict until then. So far, it's not terrible and is fun, but it's a slog, no two ways about it.

Let's Review: Perilous Tales (beta)

What is it?:

Perilous Tales is a Pulp horror miniatures game based on the movies and serials of days long past. It's currently in development and you can download it for free.

 

The setting:

While there isn't a real setting, per say, the game is clearly inspired by old horror and science fiction media from days past. Mostly, it's based around pulp fiction and B-movies from the 1930s to the 1950s, meaning things could be set anywhere from 1730 to 2230. It's all up to what models you want to use and what kind of game you want to play.

The system:

Perilous Tales uses an interesting system I've never really seen before. When you need to make a roll, you roll two d10. One of these is the skill of the model and the other is the difficulty you're aiming for (which means you're going to need two different color dice). Some models have a set number they can't roll below but, it might not be enough to make it.

One of the main selling points (you know what I mean) for this game is that it's designed to be played cooperatively or solo. That's right, you don't even need someone else in your house to play this game. You control both the good and the bad guys.

When you play solo, you get a group of five; a Leader and four Teammates. Your Leader is, of course, tougher, has more actions, and gets two special abilities. The Teammates only get one special ability, so be careful with who gets what, as some of them are one time use. There's no equipment to manage, which I don't know how I feel about. On the one hand, it could make your Teammates much more useful and allow for more customization (as well as get rid of the one time use abilities). On the other hand, I think it would take away from the simplicity the game is going for. Maybe give them as an option instead of special abilities? You can have one piece of equipment OR one ability. I don't know. I say this because the special abilities are the only way to make your Teammates unique. The special abilities seem balanced over all, allowing you to make a tough guys, snipers, medics, etc. That said, I wouldn't mind having something else to give them a few tweaks. I'm not sure what you could add but I might have some after I get in some games.

When it comes to the bad guys, things get interesting. The first thing is that there's a bunch of different villains (I'll get into it), each of which operate differently and have a variety of different minions. When you set up the board, you roll for for deployment of the “Threat Markers” that will represent not only your villains and minions, but the other threats as well. When you “reveal” the villains, they'll take actions based on their attitude. Some are aggressive, some are sneaky, some are half way between the two. The villains, and their minions, have something like AI behavior like in a video game, more expansive and complicated than I've seen in board games, and are suppose to take the actions based on their type. Which makes it easier to play the game solo. To determine what actions the villain and minions, you have a check list based on their behavior. Of course, you're going to have to keep track of what your villain or minion is going to do depending on the situation.

Now, let's talk about the games, or “episodes,” as they call them. Each episode is going to start with rolling for where to place the Threat Markers. After that, you can roll for or pick three Objectives. These Objectives can be as simple as killing the villain or as complex as activating a set of switches, with a lot in between. There's more than enough variety to make each game unique and interesting. If you're picking Objectives, you can make them fit your villain and location or what terrain you have laying around. There's Idols and machines you'll have to interact with, perfect for that thing that came as part of a pack that you never thought you would use. You know the one. Yeah, that one.

Once you have the Objectives figured out, it's time to decide on what villain you're going to face. Again, you can roll off or you can pick which ones you want to face. Each villain comes with a set of minions and might even have some effects they call Perils. Gee, I wonder why they picked that name? Anyway. I suggest you pick your villains simply because you're going to need to have a set of models to represent them. Some will be easy to do, as they have swarms of vermin, townsfolk, and minor monsters. I'm sure we all have some demons, werewolves, witches, and monsters laying around in our collections, so you don't have to worry too much. But, they have a Blob villain, as in the classic movie The Blob. This one requires not only the main body of the creature but its pseudopods as well. While I have a lot of stuff, I don't have those. I might invest in some, however...

After you get all of that figured out, you have to figure out where this Episode takes place. There's a rather nice list of locations you can roll for, or pick, yet again. As I said for villains, I suggest picking this one, too. Because while the blob and robots work best on Moonbase X3000, I would have trouble keeping a straight face while trying to hunt down a VooDoo Priest in the same location. The game is played on a 2'x2' board, so you'll want to probably pick one that matches not only your villain, but your terrain and tiles (if you have some) as well. There's also a “basic” location you can use, if you don't have the right stuff for any of them. I think it's probably best to use this default one for your first few games while you're still learning.

Now, once you've got your location picked out, you need to look for the Perils that the location has. As I mentioned, you've got Threat Markers out there on the board. When you reveal them, you either get a villain, a minion, or a Peril. The Perils are environmental effects for the location you're playing in and should fit the theme of it. Using Moonbase X3000 again, you'll have to worry about being low on oxygen. While most of these Perils are the same you'll find in other locations, the ones for each location should fit the theme of the location. If that makes sense... Anyway. “Low on Oxygen” is the “A Thousand Cuts” Peril, which you'll see in others. But, it's also there with meteor strike and low gravity.

Alright, we've build our team of heroes, figured out our villains, and where the episode takes place, now what? Well, it's time to play. And that's the easy part. Your Hero and their Teammates need to go around and trigger those Threat Markers and complete the Objectives. Your models can move, shoot, and fight in close combat, as well as anything else from the special abilities. When you get close enough to a Threat Marker, you flip it over, compare the number on the bottom to the list of villains, minions, and Perils, and deal with the outcome.

As you play, the Threat Level will increase and complicate things even further. Maybe your characters will panic easier. Maybe the villain gets a health boost. The longer the game takes, the worse you'll have it, so you'll want to end it as quickly as possible.

And that's pretty much the game as it stands right now. Since it's still in a beta form, things can change a lot when it updates. I'm using the most recent version I have (from June 23^rd 2020). By the time I put this up, things could have changed, so don't get too mad at me if I'm wrong.

Is it worth it?:

Right now? Hell yeah! It's free! And, as we used to say around these parts, “free is a very good price”. Since we can't go out and play games with our friends, a game designed to be played solo is something we could all use right now. Since all this costs is time (plus printing costs if you want to print it out), this is worth your time to learn and play.

Even when this game does (hopefully) get a full release, I'll gladly pick it up. I don't know a lot of cooperative miniatures games out there, and with my love of the types of fiction that this game was inspired by, so this makes it very appealing.

Don't forget that they'll send out an email every time a new version of the game is released, so you won't have to keep checking.

And, since it's still in beta, let the creator know what you think of it. Maybe you'll make it even better and worth a physical release.

Sources Say: Blaster, Volume 01

Name: Blaster, Volume #1

Produced By: Blaster Magazine

System: Last Days: Zombie Apocalypse, This Is Not A Test, Relicblade, Gaslands, Rangers of Shadow Deep

Genre(s): Fantasy, Post Apocalypse, Wild West, Science Fiction

I'm sure you've probably seen this mentioned here and there and are wondering what this is all about. As it says, Blaster is an anthology gaming magazine for a variety of independent wargames, most produced by Osprey Games. Now, I don't play every game in this collection but I will do my best to review the whole thing. I'm also thinking about picking some of these up now. Let's get started, shall we?

 

Gaslands: Martian Racing Federation

The setting of Gaslands is the dystopian nightmare earth, ruled by the Martians. Who are Earth colonists. And it's something that I feel a lot of people miss or ignore (I'm guilty of this). What this little expansion does is start exploring just how different life on Mars is.

While in normal games of Gaslands, you're driving around a rustbucket vehicle, loaded down with guns and explosive gasoline, trying to eliminate the competition; things on Mars aren't nearly as... Combative. The MRF is a complete 180 for the game. No guns, no explosions, no real violence at all, really. It's about winning the race pure and simple.

As such, there's a lot of changes. So far, there's only two types of vehicles: the Falcon class and the Buzzard class. The difference between them isn't very much. Since you can only have one vehicle in these games, you'll have to figure out if you want the better vehicle or have more points for Perks.

There's also new Sponsors, that can only be used in Martian games. Miskin and Rutherford return with their Martian companies, and we get Lexicorp and Yikker Hydros. Picking a Sponsor gives you a special thing, just like in normal games but you don't have to deal with the lists of Perks, as everyone has access to the same small set of them.

Now, for the major changes, you have a reduced set of phases each turn. Just planning, moving, and the different version of the Hazard phase.

The planning phase is what makes this game unique. Instead of choosing a movement template each turn, you can map out up to six templates (including slides and spins) before each turn. Each one has to be unique (can't use a template twice in the same turn, like the Long Straight, for example) and some of them will automatically end your move. You write down what you're going to use and then wait until the next phase.

The movement phase is just like the normal one, with each player going in order and moving their vehicle. You don't even roll skid dice.

The final part of the turn is where you deal with G forces. Instead of hazards, you have Gs. It's a little more... Okay, a lot more complicated and I'm going to need to really play this out a lot to get the hang of it.

Once you're ready to play, there's only two scenarios in this game thus far: a rehash of Death Race and a daring Canyon Run. I'm hoping that, if Blaster continues, we're going to get more of them and hopefully some more vehicles as well.

In the end, I feel like this is a really good idea but it needs more. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the rules because of the way they're written. If I get the chance to get into it, I'm thinking about making some nifty vehicles for it, as it would be a nice little breather from or sequel to an ongoing Gaslands campaign.

 

Last Days: Zombie Apocalypse: Timelines (Wild West)

This is the second half of why I bought this book. I like me some zombies and I like me some Wild West stuff. Sadly, I don't have a ton of Wild West minis (yet) so I can't really sit down to play this with someone else right now. With that said, let's dig in, shall we?

Right at the start, it's said that this is the first in a series of supplements for Last Days. After this, we're going to get an “Age of Sword” thing, some far future stuff, and a World Wars thing. Count me in for all of that. Nothing better than killing Nazi zombies, is there?

The first real changes we're seeing is the Refuges. Some of the ones from the core book and Seasons transfer completely or only with a few modifications but, some have to be removed (there's no malls in the old west, amigo). So that means we get a few more to make up for the lost ones. They're very much old west staples that make sense.

Next up, we have new characters. While the leaders don't have to change, some of the other people we have to add to your group do. Not only because some don't make sense in the period but also because there's some that do. You know, your gunfighters, trackers, and cavalrymen.

After people, we have equipment. And, boy howdy, is it great. Since you all know I'm a big fan of Deadlands, I was very pleased to see the LeMat turn up at the top of the list. There's repeating rifles, bayonets, and tomahawks. There's some more stuff that fits with the period and some other stuff that seems to be a bit of a set up for later expansions. Those would clearly the spears and javelins, plus one or two others. While they could be seen in the old west, I get the sense that they're there for the Age Of Sword timeline.

After that, it's just updates for the Salvage Tables and the new stats for everything above. Well, almost everything. There's a few things missing and that's irritating.

All in all, this is quite possibly my favorite section of this book and was the other half of why I bought it. While I don't have enough minis to run this (yet), I'm really looking forward to playing some games with it. Maybe a solo game of the Ferner Five? I like that idea...

 

Relicblade: Lotus Guilds of the Twilight Seat

Alright, our first section that I know nothing about. I'll try my best to parse it out for you but, I'm going to suggest that you get a full review by someone who knows about the system.

The section begins with some lore and background information, which is good for someone like me who knows next to nothing about it. It talks about elves, which are usually “meh” for me in fantasy but, I'm getting a Warhammer 40k Eldar vibe from what they're saying. It's not an exact parallel, as it's much more a fan from perfection than debauchery, however I think I like that better.

With the history out of the way, we move on to talking about the Lotus Guilds and how they work. There's a brief description of two Guilds but I'm getting the sense that there's going to be more down the road. It mentions that four of them founded the place and there have been several more than have appeared since.

After that, there's this interesting thing about Lotus Bladesong. Again, since I don't play this game, I don't really understand what it does all that well, but it sounds cool.

This section ends with a mission called The Enchantress' Gate, which revolves around some “standing stones” and a treasure. It looks cool, I guess?

I'm sorry I'm not able to really get into this one but I hope it makes sense for those of you who do enjoy it.

 

This Is Not A Test: Masters Of The Wild

This is one of those games that's on my list to pick up. I keep forgetting about it. A few years back, a friend of mine came over and showed me the PDF. I do like me some post apocalyptic violence and this game was one of the best when it first came out. Sadly, the only core book I can find from the publisher is $50 and that's not easy to justify at the moment. However, in the future, I'll probably be biting the bullet.

This section is about creating a whole new faction, or so it seems to me. You have Beastmasters to use to build a force around, and they sound a hell of a lot like post apocalyptic Druids or Rangers, with lots of little animal buddies to protect them and wipe out their enemies.

There's a few different types of these radioactive druids. The first of which is “Master Chimeric Shepard.” This seems to be really involved with mutants and has to mutate their crew.

Next we have the “Elder Willcaller” which seems to have a more naturalistic, shamanistic way of looking at things. It looks like their special ability is to be able to summon a friendly monster on to the table for a game.

The nest part is about how to include the various critters from the game into a group. I don't know much about them but they sound cool. However, you better make sure you have all of the supplements, as there's four or five mentioned at the top of this section.

If I wasn't already interested in this game, I think this would push me over the edge. Just from the little bits of stuff I can see, I like how wacky yet serious all of this stuff sounds. I don't know how the game plays but I'll have to give it a try. 

 

Rangers of Shadow Deep: Rangers of the Watchtower

As you might have noticed, I'm not a huge fan of fantasy. I used to be but, I got burned out. I picked Frostgrave because it was a used copy and I have a ton of fantasy minis from the first Bones Kickstarter. So, I don't think I'm going to be picking up Rangers of Shadow Deep. Maybe if someone really wants to play it, I might be talked into it.

This section is just two scenarios, based around the Lord of the Rings and the encouters with the Ring Wraiths. If you have some LotR minis, this might be a fun thing to play. Or if you want recreate the feeling of that setting with minis from your own collection.

The first scenario is about a lone wizard having to leave word to his companions while escaping the wraiths. Depending on how well this goes, the next scenario can be easy or hard.

The second scenario is about Frodo and Strider, along with the other hobbits, rolling up to find the wizard and getting jumped by the Ring Wraiths. Let's not beat around the bush here, that's what these are suppose to be.

All in all, I think this is probably the weakest of the collection. It's just a “hey, remember this thing? Want to act it out yourself?” And that doesn't really engage me. That said, if you're a huge fan of this game and LotR, this might be worth it to you. You'll have to be the judge.

 

In conclusion, I think this idea of Blaster is a good one. You have content for a bunch of different games by their creators to help keep them, and their games, afloat. That's not a bad thing. One of the hardest things for indie gaming is keeping the game fresh in people's minds and getting them to spend money on them. Unlike bigger companies, who have a marketing team to help people learn about their products, independent creators have to do all of the work themselves. Something like this, where they can work together to provide fun for a lot of different people is solid. Even you look at what I've said, two out of the three games presented here that I don't already play piqued my interest (or helped me remember they existed) by being in this magazine.

I hope this thing keeps coming, maybe quarterly, and they not only keep up with the games already done here, but expand with more content for other games. I wish them the best of luck and strongly advise you to pick this up on DriveThruRPG if you haven't already and only play one of these.