A call to you nerds out there

how many of you have seen Artemis? Its a starship bridge simulator, and I want it, I want it now

to play you need 6 people. and 6 computers one of which needs either a huge screen or better yet a projector, each of the 6 people take on a role, coms, weapons, engineering, helm, science and captain, 

Everyone apart from the captain gets a computer, you station shows the information relevant to your role, the captains job is to sit in the middle and lead with the 6th station runnig the main view and the main bulk of the game

I saw this in its planning stage a while back and though it was cool but details at the time were vague and it looked very much like a simple concept, now today i hit upon it again and the videos I have seen are  a delight.

clubbing together to get a game of this working wont cost the earth with all 6 players chipping in for the $40 price tag (or even the free demo) a lot of fun could be had for a little outlay as everyone will already have a PC to cart along or a laptop, and these days large LCD TVs are everywhere for the main screen

check out the site here

to see it in action here

or head over to our facebook page here or drop a comment below and let us know what you think

Chronicles of Arax

This is a free solo rpg adventure that can be found over at DriveThruRPG (links at the top, and the bottom of this blog)

I was looking around for something that I could play one day when I I had some spare time. I saw this, and it caught my eye. I dont know what it was, something just drew me to it. So I downloaded it and had a look.

It details the core rules quite well, written in a way that even a newcomer could understand. All that is needed is some paper, a selection of poly dice and a pencil. I found it best to print off the file, and write in pencil, which can be erased to play again.

I wont go into detail on how to play the game, but the adventure itself is rather good. Be warned, it is very hard to get through this alive! But I found that multiple play throughs were a joy, not a chore. The big baddie at the end is one tough cookie, but great fun.

It is a basic swords and sorcery fare, barbarians and evil wizards type thing. But with a decent story to keep you held for a few plays, this is great for a free downloadable. There are other “expansions” for want of a better word. These come in the form of extra characters and adventures, but you do have to pay for these, although it is not expensive, $2 dollars at most. So for a outlay of a few dollars, you can play a game with multiple characters, through different adventures. Not bad in my book.

The other only downside that I see to this game is that it is not supported any more, so no more official content will be released for this game, which I feel is a shame as this was a good romp through a fantasy setting.

Get the free download at least, and if you like it enough, maybe buy some of the extras and support what seems to be a decent game developer and hopefully we will see some more content for this game.

Chronicles of Arax is a free downloadable solo adventure available from DriveThruRPG.

Free is the Word!: Useful Freebies

This is a new post that I am going to be doing. I will take a look at all kinds of free games and utilities, for those times when you are bored, or don't have enough money for a full blown game. Most of these will be sourced from DriveThruRPG, which, if you have not visited yet, is a great place to get all manner of downloadable game goodness.

Here goes for the first instalment!

3 really useful freebies!

10x10 Hex Grid

This is exactly what it says. Very useful for drawing maps, plotting scenarios, planning wargame strategies, the list goes on and on! I am going to be printing a stack of these, and use them to plan my 40k strategies.

Get it here

650 Fantasy City Seeds and Encounter Hooks

Ever been trying to create a event in a RPG game you are running, and just can't come up with something? Have your players completely thrown you and you need something for them to do? This is your answer. 65 pages of fantastic events for you to get started with. Some of these are one shot things, but many can be the beginning of a full blown adventure. A invaluable source of inspiration. Print it and keep it for those emergencies.

Get it here

101 City Names

A list of 101 city names that could be used in a fantasy or sci-fi setting. One page, great for when someone asks where a NPC comes from, or if the player party decides to go in the opposite direction to the way you want them to. Another one to print off and keep in your GM book!

Get it here

Descent 2nd Edition

Here is a game off the beaten track of all the Warhammer 40000 posts that have been going up here recently. Descent 2^nd edition is the follow up to the hugely popular Fantasy Flight Games, Descent: Journeys into the Dark.

A lot of people loved the first edition, and a lot of people hated the it as well. The main complaints were about the length of the game, and the sheer amount of space that it took up on the table. 2^nd edition is very similar, but also very different.

Miniatures wise, like all other FFG games, they are fantastic. Not as many as in 1^st Ed, but still a good amount. Cards are standard FFG size, and board pieces and counters again the quality that you would expect from FFG.

It has been hugely streamlined. Many of the annoyances that were in Descent, like the Town, popping to the shops mid quest, all the re-spawn points, and the fact that the Overlord character has so many monsters, and then variations of the monsters that you never quite knew what you were fighting until you were dead.

This leaves a system that begs to be played, and with not as much to remember for a new player, should be completed in 2 hours or less, maybe a little longer, but not by much.

At heart its still a dungeon crawl minus RPG elements, but you can still level up characters, and indeed the overlord player can upgrade as well. If you want more of a RPG series, then D&D or other equivalent system is for you. This is a tactical miniature game. One player takes the role of the overlord, and runs the dungeon and monsters with the help of a deck of cards. Other players take the role of heroes, ones that must defeat the many dangers lurking in these dungeons.

I believe that all of these adventures could be played right from the box, pick one and off you go. This would be great to show new people how to play, but the real heart of this is the campaign system, linking all the adventures together, and powering up your characters. Indeed, the game comes with a campaign all set up and ready to go, and I can almost guarantee that there will be expansions just like 1^st edition.

If you own first edition, then there is a little bonus for you. There is a upgrade kit. It requires that the core 2^nd edition is bought, but upgrades all of the 1^st edition monsters into the 2^nd edition rules, so right from the word go you will have many more options!

Game wise, this plays well from 2 to 5 players, all within 2 hours, without the grind of 1^st edition. I played 1^st Ed, liked it enough, but never played again as it was draining in the long run. This is a lot smoother and a lot better.

If you have never played Descent: Journeys into the Darkness, and like dungeon games, then without hesitation go out and buy this game. It is fantastic and will be supported for a while to come, so many more adventures are to come. If you have played 1^st Ed, I would recommend this game a lot, but would also suggest playing before you buy. The changes are for the better, but may be changes enough to make you not like these rules.

All in all, Descent 2^nd edition is a rip roaring romp through a dungeon, with enough re-playability to keep it on the table for months to come.

Only War free beta

So I announced to a group of friends about how I wanted to run a RPG session, and it came to the decision that we would try Fantasy Flight Games newest offering, Only War.

It is a true RPG game along the lines of their other games such as Deathwatch and Rogue Trader. At the moment, it is only in beta stage, and the beta rule book can be downloaded over from the guys at RPG Drive Through until August for the nice sum of $20. Alternatively, take a trip over to the FFG website and download the free starter game. Here you will find a cut down version of the rules, and a campaign/ story for you to play through.

I decided I was going to use the free download, as I did not fancy paying for a PDF that potentially would only be played once. However, I will now be getting that PDF, but more on that later.

The game is based on the Warhammer 40000 universe, and deals with the Imperial Guard. Players can choose a range of characters that are pre generated, and there are no options for making any more in the free version, but these will get the players off to a nice start. The bundled story is nice, long enough to run 3 sessions out of it (sessions being around 2-3 hours), with enough detail to be really immersive.

The problem I usually find with RPG's are the combat systems, most usually seem really clunky to me. The combat system in this however, is fantastic, and makes sense in my head. Initiative can change with a bad roll, so not every combat is going to see the characters going in the same order, which as we found out can have a big impact.

The story bundled is nice, based on the remnants of a Imperial Guard squad trying to get off a deathworld before their commanders “glass” the area with a orbital bombardment. It has a interesting mechanism, as the characters only have 11 hours to get to a firebase many kilometres away from their current position, and most of their decisions will result in the clock ticking away.

Is it worth getting? If you are a fan or tabletop RPG's, then I suggest that you give it a try, either by getting the free version, or downloading the paid beta PDF. All in all all my players enjoyed it, and talk about it quite regular, and I will be running it again in the near future.