Arabian Nights no more

Coriolis: The Great Dark is more than just a sequel to The Third Horizon. It expands the universe and drags the story away from the Middle East-influenced Science Fiction of the last books. The setting I thing is much cooler (pun intended). Coriolis: The Great Dark is set far beyond the last iteration of the game. Colony ships have fled the growing war and have followed a faint signal that many think could be the Nadir, sister ship to the Zenith.

As the signal dies the colonists are stranded in a dead system they call Jumuah. To make things worse the portal that should lead them out is dead. The colonists established a single city on an asteroid called, and I shit you not “‘The Ship City of Coriolis the Eternal and Jumuah the First and Last”. I know right but thankfully it gets shortened to City Ship. In true Coriolis style, they decide to send expeditions into the depts. Where they fight Alien ruins and a disease called the Blight.

A new System for a new system

To push home that Coriolis: The Great Dark is an updated version they have modified the previous rule system that flies more closely to the Year Zero Engine (YZE). This is a welcomed change as if you have played any Free League games you will be very familiar with how easy it is to use. Most changes are small like six attributes rather than the usual four, talents instead of skills.

The two big ones for me are no more Darkness Point mechanics. This is replaced with Hope because there is nothing worse than the loss of all Hope. The other is the new Delve mechanic. The group will make Delves into the ruins to retrieve artifacts. With each Delve the group will have to bring significant supplies, oxygen canisters, food, water, batteries, etc… or else they won’t be coming back. Each one has a difficulty rating (0-3) and markers that show what each character needs supply-wise to make it back. Plans will go out the window as unexpected monsters, blight, and sneaky NPC will ruin your day.

Beauty in the darkness

As usual, the book itself looks amazing. The artwork though different than The Third Horizon is still beautiful. It’s dark and lonely and for some reason has a feel of Event Horizon to me in contrast to the warmth of the last books.

In the pack you get Coriolis: The Great Dark, a quickstart book but you also get four pre-generated character sheets. These are for The Algebraist Apprentice with Bird, The Wreck Diver, The Guild Soldier, and The Vacuum Welder.

If you play Coriolis then you will get The Great Dark and if you don’t and want to start from the start then you better hurry up as Free League is discontinuing the printing of The Third Horizon. I would recommend this game especially if space exploration is your bag.

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The campaign is now running through a list of stretch goals, including a full-colour map of the Lost Horizon, custom dice, Alchemy Virtual Tabletop Content Module and a soundtrack with ambient music, with more stretch goals on the way.

Tell me about Coriolis: The Great Dark Roleplaying Game

Inspired by 19th-century expeditions, deep sea diving and pulp archaeology, Coriolis: The Great Dark offers you to join dangerous expeditions, navigate the Byzantine schemes of Ship City, and hunt for the keys that unlock the mystery of the Lost Horizon.

A boxed campaign set entitled The Flowers of Algorab is also part of the Kickstarter and delivered alongside the core game. If successfully funded, all backers will get the PDF versions of the game months ahead of the official release.

Coriolis: The Great Dark is the second edition of Coriolis – The Third Horizon, Free League’s very first science fiction RPG. The rules have been updated and further developed, the setting is new and advances the timeline of the universe.

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The Dragonbane Bestiary includes no less than 63 creatures, each brought to life in text and art, as well as a random encounter and a seed for a complete adventure. Among these fantastic beings, there are nine new playable kin included, each with their own unique ability.

So many options

The full-colour hardcover book is gloriously illustrated by the artists Johan Egerkrans and David Brasgalla. The book will be available both in a standard edition and in a premium Collector’s Edition, with a faux leather cover and gold foil print.

A complete cardboard Standee Set for the creatures in the Bestiary for use on a battle map will be released on the same date, available separately for purchase.

The Dragonbane Bestiary and Standee Set are available for pre-order in the Free League webstore. Pre-orders will give immediate access to the complete PDF of the Bestiary ahead of the release.

In addition, Free League is also releasing a hardback version of the Dragonbane Rulebook – also in a standard edition and a premium Collector´s Edition, with a faux leather cover and gold foil print. The contents of the separate Rulebook are the same as in the softcover rulebook in the boxed Dragonbane Core Set, but has an added introductory adventure – The Castle of the Robber Knight. Just like the Bestiary, the Rulebook is available for pre-order in the Free League webshop, with immediate PDF access.

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The project has come to life in collaboration with CCP Games. These are the developers behind the award-winning title that has recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Not only that, it has become a cultural phenomenon thanks to its player-driven economy, massive scale, and unique social dynamics. The board game is now live on Kickstarter and anyone can pledge to the project to receive the rewards with estimated delivery in the fourth quarter of this year.

EVE: War for New Eden aspires to capture the essence of EVE Online. How? By recreating its broad world, thrilling exploration, strategic planning, and spectacular cosmic warfare. Players will find themselves shaking up the delicate balance of power among the four in-game factions. These factions include the Caldari State, the Gallente Federation, the Amarr Empire, and the Minmatar Republic.

EVE: War for New Eden: Building a bigger bolder board game

As a large-scale 4X strategy board game, EVE: War for New Eden rewards players for exploring mysterious celestial bodies. The game wants you to expand your empire’s territory and technology.You must exploit the economy to amass resources. You’ve also got to spend them all to deploy formidable fleets of diverse spaceships capable of exterminating the opposition.

“We presented the EVE board game’s prototype to EVE Online fans at Fanfest 2023, CCP Games’ annual player convention, and to board gaming enthusiasts at Essen SPIEL 2023, the largest board game show in the world. These are two very different crowds, each looking for different things in this game, and we were truly humbled by the amount of positive feedback we have received from both communities,” said Roman Łakomiak, founder of Titan Forge, and lead designer behind the game.

A Kickstarter campaign offers backers an opportunity to take part in the creation of the game. And be the first to receive it at a significantly reduced price. The higher the funding for the project, the more additional free content and visual upgrades Titan Forge will include in the final game.

EVE: War for New Eden will also allow fans to get involved more directly with community contests that will add additional Event Cards to the game based on the real history and situations in EVE Online. The campaign features Collector’s Packs with large-scale spaceship models to paint and display and a 200% scale game where all components are doubled in size for truly spectacular tabletop clashes.

Follow the campaign to get the latest updates.

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2023-10-09

Enter the Gallowspire: The Non-Rogue Roguelite

Pathfinder: Gallowspire Survivors has you entering into the dungeons of Gallowspire to face the lich Tar-Baphon in the Pathfinder universe. Traverse the lower depths of the Gallowspire fighting as a Fighter, Rogue or Wizard. Along the way, you’ll face floods of enemies, and learn and equip new abilities and talents! You’ll have 4 main bosses to face along your journey across 5 levels of difficulty.

Gallowspire has a very tight and neat roguelite design that I feel so many other games in this genre deviate from. But Gallowspire really hits the perfect spot. All the spells and abilities have a nice sharp, crisp sound to them really amping up your fights. The bright colours of your characters are set in stark contrast to the dark and dreary dungeon floors. The variety of enemies is also pretty spot on, with not too much repetition as to feel boring. This is not to say that Gallowspire is exceptional in all these regards, but more that they hit all the necessary notes (design-wise) that any roguelite worth its salt should.

The Survivors

This transitions me into the gameplay of Pathfinder: Gallowspire Survivors. For anyone familiar with Vampire Survivors, you’ll feel right at home here. You are controlling a single character as one of the 3 classes mentioned above. You are also given a companion who is an NPC of any one of the other 2 classes not chosen for a particular run. Apart from the boss levels, you’ll find yourself in a large open-floor dungeon fighting off hoards of enemies coming at you.

Along the way, you can pick up health potions, XP potions and other types of potions. Every few seconds a chest will also spawn which you can unlock. In every chest are 4 random cards which can be abilities and/or talents. You also get this same screen upon levelling up. Every card grants you new abilities/talents or upgrades current ones. Herein lies the draw of replayability in Gallowspire. You can only choose so many cards per run, but you can re-roll the cards so long as you have a re-roll available. Each class has its own unique cards to choose from.

Rolling a natural 1

Now on the surface, this all sounds pretty great and par for the course for any rogue-lite. However, where Gallowspire lost me was in the actual playthrough. The abilities that you unlock fire off automatically. So the only real input by you is movement, collecting items, and an ultimate you can use once every 10 – 6 seconds or so. Outside of this, you feel a strong lack of control, and after a while, you feel as if you’re playing a running simulator in a dungeon. But even more frustrating is that this type of gameplay inevitably funnels you into a select few playstyles. You either focus on movement speed to quickly get out of trouble or focus on your stop time. Everything else doesn’t ultimately matter as you can passively kill enemies.

A Path to Find

I have seen some strange design choices in games, but the choice to remove a player’s ability to use, well abilities is baffling. The only way I can justify long playthroughs for this game is on handheld devices such as the Steam deck or the Nintendo Switch! Outside of that maybe give this a miss if you’re looking for a more engaging roguelite! But there may be hope on the horizon as BKOM Studios has another Pathfinder instalment in the works, which may, hopefully, redeem the Pathfinder games!

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All backers who pledge levels with physical rewards within the first 24 hours. They will receive a unique bonus art print of one of the cover art pieces. If successfully funded, soon after the Kickstarter ends. All backers will get early access to the PDF versions.

The Fallen Halls

For long ages, the great city of the Dwarrowdelf was the seat of Dwarven kings. They were rich beyond measure in gold and Mithril. But a thousand years ago, Durin’s Bane arose and drove the Dwarves from their halls. The city fell into darkness, becoming an abode of Orcs, Goblins – and worse. Countless Orcs perished in the Battle of Five Armies. the Halls of Durin lie empty once more. Maybe there are piles of treasure there, waiting to be claimed. Maybe Mithril still glimmers in the mines under Caradhras. Cross the dread threshold, adventurer, and delve deep!

Moria – Through the Doors of Durin includes:

• And At the Gates, The Trumpets Rang: Rivals, allies and patrons in the quest for Moria, as well as a history of the Dwarven city from its founding to its fall.
• Journeys in the Dark: Journey rules adjusted for underground exploration, Moria-specific Undertakings, and advice on running games and campaigns set in the city.
• Fell Foes lists the Orcs and other enemies that may be found in the city – and rules for risking an encounter with Durin’s Bane.
• The Mansions of the Dwarves is the largest part of the book, describing Landmarks and hazards in the various regions of Moria.

Speak friend and enter

Moria – Through the Doors of Durin describes the city of the Dwarves. The surrounding lands as they were in the last years of the Third Age. For each region of Moria, we describe Landmarks, factions, and non-player characters that the Loremaster can use as desired.

Moria – Through the Doors of Durin written by seasoned game writer and author Gareth Hanrahan and
overseen by Francesco Nepitello. All beautifully illustrated by Antonio De Luca, Giuditta Betti, Federica Costantini, Michele Galavotti, and Niklas Brandt.

There is no ‘true’ Moria — in one game. Maybe the great quest of the heroes is to loot the fabled Treasure Vault of Uruktharbun. In another, the treasure vault might have lain broken. Some were empty for a thousand years; in others, it never existed at all. Moria is to be explored cautiously; even the Wise cannot trust their memories in this place.

If you want to get the Kickstarter then look no further than here.

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The Third Horizon

As I mentioned the main theme of Coriolis is inspired by the Middle East. This is right down to fashion, food, and myths. The story itself is a war between the Firstcome and the Zenithians, who are descendants of the second wave of colonists.

The Coriolis is the central Hub of the Third Horizon. It’s a large space station that was built from an old arkship. Think Babylon 5 or Star Trek: Deep Space 9. Coriolis is split into three regions. The Core, the Ring, and the Promenade. Each area serves the players as places to buy goods restock, and play out missions

Create, Play, Have fun

Creating characters is fun and pretty standard. First, you need to choose what group and concept you will belong to. Each group has a sub-concept/Talent that you will use for extra stats on different actions.

The Group concepts are:

• Free Traders – willing to travel anywhere in the system for whatever will make them some money on Horizon.
• Mercenaries – The muscle of the Factions, bought by the highest bidder and mostly hated by the populace because of their heavy-handedness.
• Explorers – are truth seekers who refuse to settle for the Bulletin’s oversimplified version of reality.
• Agents – infiltrate criminal organizations to assassinate whoever the Factions want to disappear.
• Pilgrims – Travel around the system looking for Holy sites to get work or to Entertain the masses.

Secondly, you get to pick the ship that will need to suit your group’s needs going forward. It doesn’t really matter what you do you will owe someone money. This is where a rich and important benefactor comes in. He will bankroll you but only if you give more back. On the flip side, you will gain a nemesis who will hamper you and your group at every turn.

Last but not least is your actual character creation. If you have played any other TTRPG you will be familiar with all of the options you are given. There is your background, upbringing, concept/job, followed by name and appearance. There are numerous tables that you can use in the Rulebook to help if needed.

Space never looked so good

This whole review is based on the PDF Kickstarter set. In this set, you received as always loads of add-ons and supplements to get you started. You will receive:

• Core Rulebook
• Battlemaps
• Character creation sheets
• Spaceship sheet
• System sheet
• NPC sheet
• Mission Sheet
• The Last Cylade and GM resources
• Emissary Lost

All of these are beautifully put together and easy to navigate. The artwork in Coriolis as with all of Free Leagues offerings just fits the mood of the game. Well, they don’t win all these awards for anything.

If you like sci-fi settings in your TTRPGs then I would recommend giving Coriolis a spin. Its setting is different but the gameplay will be familiar so what else do you want?

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Is that a duck? Yes…yes it’s a duck           

The first thing I noticed was how easy the guide was to read and get a grip with. I was worried that it would be a D&D 5E clone but was pleasantly surprised. Dragonbane uses a D20, roll-under system, so the lower you roll, the better in this game. This will be alien to most RPG gamers but if you roll like me it’s for the best.

You will then select a race or in this instance a Kin. There are six Kin folk to choose from:

• Human
• Elf
• Halfling
• Dwarf
• Wolfkin
• Mallard (Yes a goddamn duck person)

If you are not a Mallard and living out your Darkwing Duck fantasy are you even a Tabletop gamer? The character creation doesn’t end there though. There are also ten professions including, Merchant, Thief, Bard, Knight, etc… Sometimes I struggle with this part of RPGs but I found it really simple.

Roll low, aim high

There is a lot of 5E in the basic game mechanics. These are advantages and disadvantages while rolling but they are called boon and bane. There is also a push roll like in Vaesen. It lets you reroll a fail but if you fail again things get a whole lot worse for you as you need to pick a bane for your character.

Combat is fairly straightforward. You use initiative cards instead of rolling to see the order of combat. You take your turn just like you would in D&D but this time you get a chance to interrupt another action. This helps you to dodge or parry an enemy’s attack. You just roll your D20 against your skill level and hope you succeed. You roll damage like normal but armor can reduce it like in Vaesen instead of being added to your AC.

Another aspect I loved was how the magic worked. You get something called Will power. This works like MP works in most games. You spend your Will power to cast your spells or do certain abilities. The higher the level of spell/ability the more WP you spend and the more powerful it is. Simple really.

All the goodies

You get everything you need to start your adventures in the Misty Vale in the Drangonbane Core Set:

• 112-page rule book
• 116-page adventures book
• A solo play booklet
• A map of the Misty Vale
• Illustrated playing cards for treasure, initiative, and adventures
• Five blank character sheets
• Five pre-made characters
• A battle mat
• Ten dice
• Cardboard standees for players and monsters

I received the PDF version so all I didn’t receive was the dice, either way, that’s a lot. Plus with all the maps, standees, etc… it will give me and others the kick up the bum to host a game in person and not over Zoom.

I can’t review Dragonbane without talking about the spectacular artwork. Again this is down to the amazing art style of one of my favourite artists, Johan Egerkrans. He just gets the fantasy vibe and illustrated another favourite RPG of mine, Vaesen.

If you are a fan of fantasy TTRPGs then get your hands on Dragonbane. It’s quick and easy to play by yourself or with others. Even if you don’t just get it for the Mallards you cowards.

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The game is set to release on Steam later this year with cross-play capabilities, so you can enjoy this one-of-a-kind experience with anyone, anywhere! Get ready to unleash the power of Dungeon Full Dive and explore a whole new world like never before.

Game Features for Dungeon Full Dive:

• Build Your Own Maps: Whether it’s in the icy peaks of the mountains or a monster-filled forest, you can create or modify battle maps. You do this by using the in-game map editor.
• Create Your Own Hero: Build an army of miniatures using the game’s powerful character editor.
• Play with Friends: Each campaign can support up to eight players. It also promises to support crossplay between VR and PC players. This means you can chat with your party and roll the dice. 
• Explore the World: Choose how to view your world, through a classic top-down tabletop experience. Or you can see the world from the eyes of your miniature. 

The game will support crossplay between PC and VR players. TTRPG fans looking to get an early look at Dungeon Full Dive can sign up to take part in the alpha test later this year by signing up using this link. To learn more about Dungeon Full Dive and follow its development, players can wishlist the game on Steam and join the community Discord for up-to-date information about upcoming events.

Players can take TTRPG campaigns to a whole new level with Dungeon Full Dive. With mechanics and stat integration for 5e, players can create and modify their character sheets right in the game. It doesn’t stop there, as players will also be able to bring their character to life through the miniature builder. Once a player is done creating their character, they can place them on the map and see the world from their perspective instead of the bird’s eye top-down view.

Dungeon Full Dive comes with a powerful map builder that allows you to guide your party to any location. During your adventure, you can also engage with the world in various ways. For instance, you can make music using instruments at the marketplace, drink at a tavern, or venture into the eerie depths of dark forests. ​ ​ ​ ​

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The One Ring for Dummies (including myself)

So what are the differences between Lord of the Rings 5E and 2022’s The One Ring I hear you ask? Well other than the rules switch and certain RPG language changes there are not many. If you are familiar with The One Ring then you can really jump into this. On the other hand, if you’re a D&D player you will have to learn certain mechanics like, Fellowship score, Shadow points, and dealing with the all-seeing Eye.

The language changes are small. The Dungeon Master is a Loremaster, the characters are Player-heroes, races are now Cultures, and classes are renamed to Callings. There are also phases called Adventuring and Fellowship. Adventuring is broken up into Combat, Council, and Journey. Combat is, well combat. Council is the interaction you and your party have with NPC etc… And Journey is the traveling aspect of your time. Fellowship is when the heroes have downtime during their adventure. Where they can chat and relax or when the adventure is over.

I see you!

Shadow points and The All-seeing Eye are great mechanics and immerse you further into Tolkien’s world. You or your party member gain these by doing or witnessing evil acts. You can remove your Shadow points by using “Hardened Will” as long as it doesn’t match their Wisdom score. Players who have a Shadow score equal to their Wisdom go a bit crazy. They give into dark urges like betrayal, fear, and rage. If the Shadow takes hold you develop permanent flaws, or even worse get removed from the party altogether, Boromir style.

Adding the All-Seeing Eye into your game takes it up a notch. The Loremaster keeps track of all that you and your party get up to. Depending on what mix of cultures your party has the eye might be more aware of them. The more magic you use or Shadow points you accumulate will all add to the Eye’s awareness, even rolling 1’s brings his glare upon you. If the party finishes the adventuring phase without the Eye becoming aware of them, they remain hidden. If the Eye sees you then your adventuring will get harder. Something might go wrong, you might be betrayed or the enemies get stronger to fight. Basically, be good and stay under the radar.

Pack Old Bill up and away you go

Just like The One Ring, the Lord of the Rings 5E starter is stacked with what you need to jump in. You get the Core Rulebook, Shire Adventures book, and Loremaster’s screen with Rivendell Compendium. All of these are beautifully laid out. The artwork as usual is amazing and would not be out of place in any Tolkien book.

The Core rule book and The Shire Adventures book are the perfect way to get your party on the road. All in all, if you like D&D and Lord of the Rings then this is a no-brainer to pick up. Free League has taken what was done in The One Ring and slimmed it down and made it accessible across the board. I will hopefully in the near future get some people together and get stuck into this. You can check out my One Ring review here

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