Adventure Most Fowl - An ADRD Review

I was provided a copy of Adventure Most Fowl by Grey Fey for this review. I have read it a few times now, and I have to say that I like it. What you have here, despite what the authors claim is a "one off," is a collection of characters, maps, and monsters, that in addition to telling the tale provided, opens up the idea, to me at least, of a micro sandbox. I'll talk more on this later. First, let's take a look at what is here.

Billed as an OSR module for levels 0 to 1, AMF lends itself very easily to any system under that umbrella that you would like to use, whether the originals B/X, BECMI, or even Advanced, or if you are using more modern OSR systems like C&C, Lamentations, Iron Falcon, or the like. No point listing all of the systems that you could use here. You can literally drop AMF in, either as a prologue, which is what I might do, or as a fork in the road.

I will also say this, though listed as an OSR module, you could easily use AMF in non OSR systems...

GASP!?!

Yeah, crazy I know. But there is enough information here, system neutral information, on the town of Kith, it's inhabitants, and the, ahem, well, let's say antagonists, for you to run it with anything with very little work. If you are thinking systems like Symbaroum, Shadow of the Demon Lord, or even fantasy themed Cypher system, then you get my drift.

But let's get back to the book. And always keep in mind that these are my opinions.

Layout - Good

Nice clean two column layout for most of the text, with easily separated sections. Some of the map and picture layout is a bit odd, but not glaring. Font size and style choices are good and readable, both on a phone, tablet, and I would assume in print.

Cartography & Art - Awesome to Moderate

The cartography is Dyson Logos. Don't know him? Fix that right now, I'll wait. Yeah, you see what I mean. I am extremely happy for Grey Fey for getting a commission from Dyson for their work, and I wish more people would use his stuff. One day we will not have maps, we will have Dysons. Okay, I'll quit gushing. As far as the art in the rest of the book goes, it is fair to middling. I feel that the NPC portraits are a little weak, but I am not an artist either so I hate to judge. From my point of view though none of the art is painful to look at, so I'm good here. You won't buy this for the art, but it shouldn't turn you off either.

Writing - Good

For a first work, published at least, this isn't bad in my opinion. There is a voice here, which is good as a lot of small press rpg stuff out there is very mechanical and bland. Not sure the voice is well developed yet. Does it work for this offering, yes it does. Is it casual and easy to read? Also yes. Can you understand the intent, as it comes to running the game. Yes.

Story/Mechanics - Good to Great

Once you get used to the voice and art of AMF, you begin to see the plethora of information here that you can use. I can easily see using a lot of character interaction with the NPCs, possibly even some of the antagonists. The quest that is given is suitably laughable for zero to 1st level characters, but the directions this story follows can easily take you from light hearted to weird all the way to creepy if you let it, but then this is the your mileage may vary aspect of all such supplements. Though light, the setting aspects presented in the module are intriguing, and worth a read even if you don't run it. If Grey Fey can incorporate this kind of subtle world building in all of their projects then I won't be surprised if they do well. The adventure as presented should provide a group with a good session or two, but there is more here to build from should they choose to.

As I said earlier, as I read AMF, even on the first read through, with the way things were presented I was taken with sense that this is the beginning of what would be an awesome format for a micro sandbox, a single hex of a larger hexcrawl laid out with several sessions worth of material. If each following product is presented in the same manner, you can easily build hex after hex of story and adventure. I really hope that Grey Fey keeps up the good work.

Should you buy Adventure Most Fowl?

Do you want a small, contained adventure area with interesting NPCs and room for development, that can be dropped easily into an OSR, and even some other systems' campaigns? Then yes, at $4.99, or $2.99 as of this writing, you are getting a good deal and lots to work with.

Well, those are my two coppers, and I hope you find my review useful, and enticing.

Thanks again to Grey Fey for the review copy, and I look forward to what you produce next.

The Curse is Coming

So in my home group I have been tasked with running Curse of Strahd, and so my research and preparation begins. First I need a list of Tarokka cards (in the new Gale Force 9 edition) so that I can come up with uses for them:

Pentacles - Wizard (Master), Transmuter (1), Diviner (2), Enchanter (3), Abjurer (4), Elementalist (5), Evoker (6), Illusionist (7), Necromancer (8), Conjurer (9)

Swords - Warrior (Master), Avenger (1), Paladin (2), Soldier (3), Mercenary (4), Myrmidon (5), Berserker (6), Hooded One (7), Dictator (8), Torturer (9)

Coins - Rogue (Master), Swashbuckler (1), Philanthropist (2), Trader (3), Merchant (4), Guild Member (5), Beggar (6), Thief (7), Tax Colletor (8), Miser (9)

Glyphs - Priest (Master), Monk (1), Missionary (2), Healer (3), Shepherd (4), Druid (5), Anarchist (6), Charlatan (7), Bishop (8), Traitor (9)

High Deck - Ghost, Tempter, Seer, Raven, Donjon, Mists, Darklord, Marionette, Broken One, Innocent, Beast, Horseman, Artifact, Executioner

It has been hinted that the deck will be used to set up random encounters to make each play through of CoS unique, and that sounds awesome. But I want to do more with the deck. Some initial thoughts include:

Addition to Initiative, possibly with special effects
Effect on Critical Hits and Fumbles
Represent Inspiration, possibly granting additional abilities depending upon card gained

Symbaroum - An ADRD Review

So, I haven't done this before, and I figured why not. Maybe I should be reviewing all the games I buy and/or play. Maybe some of you out there might be swayed into buying the systems that I love. Or maybe I'm just throwing words out into the ether. Who cares, here we go...

Symbaroum

Okay, so I stumbled into this one while scouring the interwebs for cool stuff, as we all are oft want to do. The art style drew my eye at first, very dark, very moody, and yet beautiful in a tantalizing way. But I'm not an artist, I'm a gamer, so I did what I always do:

Find the Character Sheet

8 stats, an area for traits and abilities, damage tracking and something called corruption. Yep, liking what I see. No skills though, which I find interesting, but more on that later. From the look and the layout it appears to be rules lite to medium, which is my wheelhouse, so I'll give it a spin.

Luckily by the time I found Symbaroum it had already successfully crowdfunded (and I missed it, sad face) the English printing of this most excellent Swedish game. So that means I could jump right in. Picked up the PDF, and then decided to order the offset printing (which I should be getting soon, I hear it's beautiful).

Now I can't wait to see my book, but if it scans well (and from pictures I've seen it does) it will be amazing, as the PDF is awesome. And a native English speaker, I can say that the translation, while quirky at times, is well done, and I haven't noticed anything way off base in my perusal of the PDF. What I love about this book is all the setting information at the front, telling me a story and setting the mood before we even get to character creation and the rules. And man is the story a beast. Fallen empires, refugees from the south, barbarian tribes, amnesiac ogres, and on and on. All set in the backdrop of a larger, darker, less welcoming (if you can imagine) forest than Mirkwood. Davokar, I just love the sound of it.

When it comes to the language and the tone, and I'm not a linguist here so maybe I'm missing something, Symbaroum is very welcoming while at the same time mysterious. The feel of names, of people, of places, is organic, real in a way that some other fantasy games I have bought into (and love without a doubt) are not. Perhaps the names have meaning in Sweden, and I am missing something, but I don't really care, it works (though I'm sure I'm not pronouncing some of the names correctly in my head). Tonally, Symbaroum evokes more mystery and fear of corruption for me than The One Ring does, though I love ToR immensely, I guess I know a little too much about Middle Earth, whereas when it comes to Davokar, I am ignorant, and while not blissful, it is delightful.

I realize that I am being vague about the setting, and while part of that is I don't want to step on any toes, a larger part is that I simply don't know how to convey the feelings I am having as I read it. Grim, gritty, dark, it is all of these, but there is also a sense of wonder, of exploration, and of yearning that I can't seem to tack down. It's in the language, and the art, and it speaks.

So, if you want to get a better handle on the setting, you need to pick this thing up and not read it, but experience it, for yourself.

But what about the system you say? Is it any good?

I believe it is.

System is always the difficult part I find when having discussions with other gamers, and people have their likes and their like nots.  For my part, I am digging the system of Symbaroum. It is simple, light (to medium once you start racking up abilities), and familiar. Does it use a d20? Yes. Is it a d20 game?

Absolutely not!

I feel more Fate Accelerated Edition in Symbaroum than D&D or Mathfinder (kidding, but not kidding). You have 8 attributes that you use to do everything. And what's really interesting?

They never increase.

The stats you have at the beginning of a campaign are the ones you have at the end, unless there are some major magics or horrible catastrophes happening (of which, to be clear, there are no in book examples) to change them. So how does your character develop then. Through their abilities, all of which have three levels, from Novice on up. Classes? Nope (I mean they're in the book, but they are more like guidelines than actual classes, you'll see). Levels? Nope. Earn some experience, and increase your abilities, or learn some new ones. Or, use your experience in a pinch to survive (something that I won't go into more detail on, but I really love).

So, to do something you have to role under your stat. This I am beginning to like more and more. It is elegant, to not have to have lists of endless modifiers memorized or written down, just roll under. That isn't to say there isn't the occasional modifier in the game, but again, it is pretty simple, add it to the stat, and then roll under.

Symbaroum also goes down an interesting road by making the players do all the rolls. You are attacking? Roll. You are being attacked? Roll to defend. And this is accomplished with a very intuitive swap of an attribute to a modifier that I won't summarize here, but cause if I did, you could basically play the game without ever looking at the rules.

What really makes your character, aside from your attributes, is your abilities. Each ability (and some traits which you get from race selection) is tiered, granting increasing, and sometimes different, effects with each level of mastery. Even mystical powers are structured this way, although spellcasters have to beware corruption more than most. When, as some other reviewers have pointed out, most of the abilites are oriented towards physical conflict (read simply, combat), I don't look at this as a failing. Do I need a system to convince someone to surrender, or to charm a wandering merchant to give me a better price? No, that is what roleplaying is for. But that is a topic for another time, suffice it to say that while some find Symbaroum lacking in the arena of "social conflict" I would say that if you are roleplaying, this is not an issue.

All in all, I can't wait to dive into Symbaroum, and plan to run a couple sessions (if I can get players) at my next local RPG day. Should you give it a look? Yes, I think you should. That is all for now.

As I see other reviewers reference this, I will say that I was not provided a copy of Symbaroum in any way for this review. I bought it of my own free will, and review it of the same.

Happy Gaming!

d8 New Mystical Treasures for Symbaroum

There is some great stuff in Adventure Pack 1 for Symbaroum, available here, and I can use that as a guide to create new ideas. Starting with more mystical treasures:

1. A swath of cloth, its coloring a faded, burnt umber of a fallen leaf of autumn left too long in the sun, that when worn, perhaps as a scarf or sash, disguises the wearer's shadow with one the color of the fabric. Once donned, the owner of the cloth becomes colorblind, seeing the world only in sepia tones.
2. A seed pod the size of a fist and the color of burning embers that when pried open explodes into a maelstrom of flames, dealing 1d12 damage to anything within several paces, including the one who opened it. Any living thing that survives the blast will manifest another seed pod in their body cavity that may erupt if they are killed with the same effects.
3. A gnarled nub of charcoal that can create an opening no more than a few paces deep on or through any solid surface it is used to draw one upon. May only be used 1d4 more times until there is not enough left. The fingers, or tips of gloves if worn, of the inscriber are permanently stained black after a single use.
4. A weathered bronze phurba inscribed with cuniform the length of its blade that lies dormant until its hilt is grasped. The wielder must make a Resolute test or suffer 1d4 damage as the idol on the pommel animates and bites the hand holding it. Success allows you to wield it as a short or throwing weapon that deals an additional damage equal to the target's total corruption.
5. A half-burned candle the color of iron and rust that when lit in a closed chamber holds all of the portals fast as if they were barred from the inside, and none can enter nor leave. When discovered, the candle will last a total of 1d12 more hours when found.
6. A thin needle carved of bone and stained crimson that if used to let blood from a living creature, dealing 1d6 damage, will remove any effects of poison or disease from that creature. If the needle is used on another, the user regains toughness equal to the damage dealt to cure the target.
7. A roughly worked bowl of petrified oak which if filled with water transforms it into a hearty stew that is enough to sustain one living being for one day. Once consuming the stew from this bowl, a creature cannot be sustained by any other type of food or drink unless they pass a [Resolute ← -5] test. Once this test is passed they can consume other food and drink as normal.
8. A nacreous block of soapstone that can envenom any weapon treated by it with a weak poison. Each time the block is used, the one using it takes 1d4 damage just from holding the vile substance.

I'm back from...somewhere...

I know that I haven't posted in a while, and I apologize for those that find some use in this thing. But I'm back, and I'm going to try to be more regular with my posts. They will still suffer from ADRD sadly, as that is who I am, but I need to get back to writing and creating.

Also I wanted to mention a couple of my new favorite things, Shadow of the Demon Lord and Symbaroum, both linked in the Games I Play list. You really should check them out.

And the ADRD Continues

Added several new games to the list, and when I get get myself to sit down and work at it got some fun (I think) stuff coming up:

Subclasses for White Star
A random Derelict crawl for White Star
A Cypher System hack of a popular setting concerning a nearly burned out sun and evil sorcerous kings...

[IF/OSR] Narrative Dungeoncrawling

So I've been reading up on hexcrawling and pointcrawling and dungeon and adventure design in anticipation of running an Iron Falcon game. I've looked at random generation, including online generators, of which there are many very nice ones. I've looked up the various bloggers out there who are mapping, and even looked at some tutorials about doing my own maps. Sadly I have very little artistic talent, and I can't even begin to compare myself to some of the talent out there. To sum up, I felt defeated.

But then I realized I need to just do what I do best, and write. I don't need a map, and in fact I prefer not to play with miniatures or maps. I don't need a random generator, as I ran most of my games from the seat of my pants up until recently when I started looking at crawls and frameworks and the like. So I'm just going to go with it, and use what I know.

Some folks won't like this, as they are more visual, and that's cool. Some folks won't enjoy it because it might feel like railroading and too predetermined. That's also cool. I'm doing this for me. I hope you enjoy it, and that it sparks some ideas as all the wealth of information out there has for me.

Narrative Dungeoncrawling

The idea is simple. Make up a bunch of cards that are little more than narrative seeds. Some can be specific, some can be general and reusable. When it is time to get out there and adventure, pick a card, randomly or not, and get there. Here is a sample card:

With a stack full of chamber, connection, and encounter cards I would be able to quickly run a game with very little prep, which is my ultimate goal. Of course it will take time to make the cards, but once that is done I can run many games with very little further work.

I'm sure I'm reinventing the wheel here, but I'm going to go ahead with this anyway.