It’s been a while. Here are a list of games and authors that I am either actively reading or actively pursuing. I do not have enough information to review any of these products yet, but they have all piqued my interest.
Games
I am interested in this game, because I wanted to examine simple and fun resource management games, what makes them tick, and how they can be iterated off of.
Holdout is by Humble Bard Games. $5. This is a print and play game. A video overview is here.
The description for Dangerous Space says:
"Dangerous Space is a dungeon crawl experience in futuristic starships.
This solo, roll & write game has a tactical emphasis on dice management and careful placement.
With puzzle-optimizing challenges combined with a hero tech tree, you’ll find yourself racing the clock, dodging enemy laser blasts and confronting some deep space terrors.”
The Dangerous Space Core Set is $4.
Stoneburner- I’ve been reading through this game. Stoneburner is about being a Space Dwarf and inheriting a space mine in an asteroid that is infested by demons and worse. It takes its inspiration from Deep Rock Galactic, Doom, Dwarf Fortress, The Expanse and Firefly. In addition, it claims it is “solo friendly.”
Mechanically, to perform a check you roll a skill die, or a die from an item. The roll result of 1-2 indicates you outright fail, or you may succeed with a major complication. A roll of 3-4 means you succeed in your endeavor, however there is a minor complication. A roll of 5+ means you greatly succeed, and the higher the roll result the better.
Now after you use a skill or item, your die for that skill or item decreases by one step, (ie 1d6 turns into a 1d4). Skills cannot go lower than a 1d4. Dwarven classes have three skills: Strength, Dexterity and Willpower. These skills may vary from 1d4 to 1d8, depending on starting class.
Stoneburner is created by Fari RPG’s, specifically by René-Pier Deshaies. It is $15.
The system is based on the Wolves Upon the Coast hexcrawl's system. Bandit Republic was created by Tom Mecredy who some of you may remember as the author of the Napoleonic naval OSR hexcrawl Shot and Splinters that I liked so much I designed two additional random tables for.
Bandit Republic is currently 50% off through 1/30/24. Normally it is $20 as of January 2024. As the hexcrawl is further developed, the price will increase.
UPDATE **Kickstarter is LIVE Through Feb 15th**
Patreon post link about Over War: Monarch Edition here.
Over War: Monarch Edition is a tactical tabletop rpg (inspired by Fire Emblem, Yggdra Union, Langrisser, and the works of Yasumi Matsuno) soon to be a Kickstarter (possibly in February) by author Richard Kelly and expanded by Blackoath Entertainment. Blackoath was responsible for Across a Thousand Dead Worlds which I enjoyed reading and wrote a review of. So, expect the Blackoath touch of a solo mode and tons of interesting random tables with Over War: Monarch Edition.
Here is the blurb that got me excited about Over War: Monarch Edition from the Patreon post.
“But how does it play, I hear you ask? Well, players maintain a warcamp, unlock new units and supplies between missions, then take to the field, relying on the types of characters they've recruited and the formation they've put them in to carry them through battles.
Missions take place on hex maps covered in unique terrain types. Cities can be conquered, swamps can be slogged through, units can take to the air to avoid the effects of terrain or stand on mountains and fire downward into foes for extra damage. Throughout all this, the emphasis is on keeping things simple and keeping choices meaningful. Dice are rarely rolled. Attacks typically hit. And good formations, tactical choices, and resource spending carry the day.”
Want to see how the original Over War plays? There are FREE Community Copies of Over War: The Night Comes Down on the itch.io page. Make sure you scroll down to the bottom to get it.
Books
I recently downloaded the Kindle sample of Premee’s book No One Will Come Back For Us. It contained two and a half short stories: Below the Kirk, Below the Hill; Instructions; and The Evaluator. In Below the Kirk, Below the Hill; and the section of The Evaluator that was present in the Kindle sample, Premee Mohamed creates a mood of a normal world but with pinpricks of oddity that she pulls on to lead the reader through mystery and horror indicating that what these people live in, is not our world, or if it was; something very alien has happened to their surroundings and they are trying to cope. I’m very eager to continue reading The Evaluator to see how the story develops. I’ll report back if she is one of the authors who also treads the path of cosmic horror in her tales.
