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.