Blood Games is a monster hunting \"modern Occult horror role-playing game\" that takes a bold leap from the usual fictionalized pseudo-modern horror settings and places the game milieu squarely within our sometimes flawed Technicolor world. The rules are rooted in a simple skill based system that should be a good evenings worth of fluffy goodness and beer and pretzels fun with a bit of crunch.
Post originally by flyingmice at 2004-12-06 18:44:18
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I am heartly glad you are back, Kester! I've missed you!
I'm really dissapointed that you haven't been able to catch onto the Chargen system. In the next revision I'll have to run through an example character or something.
You'll probably be happier with Goshu Otaku's upcoming d4-d4 version of Blood Games. It's rules-light, an excellent system, and the chargen system is nothing at all like ours.
opefully we'll be seeing a lot more Kester reviews now that the logjam has broken!
Post originally by kester pelagius at 2004-12-06 19:13:12
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Howdy,
**I am heartly glad you are back, Kester! I've missed you! **
*blushes*
Aw, schucks.
**I'm really dissapointed that you haven't been able to catch onto the Chargen system. In the next revision I'll have to run through an example character or something.**
That makes two of us!
It's not that the Chargen system is too difficult to understand, let me make that perfectly clear. As I've said before my basic approach to looking at RPG rules is to go into the text like the average gamer would... quick glances.
At a glance, I am sorry to say, I really did't get a solid grip on what was going on.
It was dang frustrating and I don't mind saying it made me feel like a bit of a twit for a while there.
That said, if time is taken to read every word, meaning approach the game text as a GM would, then a general idea of what should be going on can be grasped. But at the end of the day when it came time to write my analysis up for the review I couldn't help but feel I either ain't getting it or there needs to be a simple example that lays everything out for the terminally dense. ;-)
Anyone else feel that way or was it just me?
That said this is a nice game with great potential, bit too much white space though.
Post originally by Creel at 2004-12-06 22:38:54
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From what you've written, this game sounds like you really, really want to like it -but it's an overly complicated and not very well written mess.
If you have to read through gaming material with a level of focus usually reserved for Immanuel Kant just to understand what's going on, the problem is not with you, the problem is with the writer.
Why on earth, at this stage in the history of table top gaming are there character creation rules for a modern genre that are not clear, concise and simple?
GURPS, d20, D6, Unknown Armies, Savage Worlds, ad nauseum have all done it before. Why should we waste our money and our precious lives on a game that can't even manage that much?
i apologize for the rant. Obviously this is a sore point with me. =)
Perhaps you could explain again how good the setting is.
Post originally by Max at 2004-12-07 04:16:47
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I'm sorry but I just don't get any idea of this from your review.
I know a lot about what the game doesn't contain - enough art, ritual magic, UFOs and Big Foot. It's not Ars Magica or Call Of Cthulhu.
What it does it contain? Zoroastrianism, a paragraph on Templars and StarCluster 2 game engine.
What's the engine like? It's a rules-heavy engine that is also good for a beer and pretzels game. Huh? What dice do you roll? How does combat work? What about sanity rules?
What about the setting? If it's the real world, then where does the horror come from? Is it about occult, or are we talking about the mundane (and often much scarier) horrors of everyday life?
If, in fact, it attempts to stick to the real world, then why do you say it "occupies a fantastical realm somewhere between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Exorcist". I haven't seen the latter but the former series doesn't really adhere to realism that much. And where does the serious look at religion come into all this?
I'm afraid that your review raises more questions than it answers.
Post originally by flyingmice at 2004-12-07 08:20:31
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Hi Creel:
Kester's problem with the rules is entirely with the character generation. As he says, "The system is simple and relatively straightforward." I should note that other reviewers have had no such problem with chargen - with Blood Games or any other game using the StarCluster system - nor have we recieved any complaints from our customers on this issue. I think therefore the problem may be limited to Kester and some others like him, and will most likely be solved by our generating a sample character as a guide.
Kester is an extremely intelligent fellow, and I'm not suggesting he's too dim to catch on. I'm saying that different people need different kinds of explanation, and our failure was to not accompany our instructions with a sample character, to show how the instructions work in practice. It's a good idea, and will be implemented in the next version, which will be our standard free upgrade to existing customers.
The chargen procedure for all StarCluster 2 games is very similar, and you can download StarCluster Light for free from RPGnow:
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=3125&
Read and judge for yourself.
Post originally by Sensei at 2004-12-07 14:00:00
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Not to harp, but I'm glad someone else brought this up. Mr. Kester, no offense, but your 'review' was quite extensive, and even so, I have no idea what the game is like or about.
Religion is apparently involved, and perhaps the occult.
But I'm not sure how.
Plus, I really like to know about the system mechanics of games, so perhaps you could fill us in on things like, how are PC's generated? How many stats? What ranges? How are combats resolved? What about other task checks; are there any? How are they resolved? What does religion have to do with all this? Are players occult investigators? Everyday people? Ninja? Gimme some hints.
Any insight into the actual game and system would be much appreciated, thanks.
Post originally by Kyle at 2004-12-08 09:34:32
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You could always check the other review, too.
Just ignore the forums attached to it. The well-known Usenet atheist troll Zoran provides yet another object lesson in why the review forums ought to be moderated....
Post originally by flyingmice at 2004-12-08 12:42:45
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Sensei wrote:
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Plus, I really like to know about the system mechanics of games, so perhaps you could fill us in on things like, how are PC's generated? How many stats? What ranges? How are combats resolved? What about other task checks; are there any? How are they resolved? What does religion have to do with all this? Are players occult investigators? Everyday people? Ninja? Gimme some hints.
Any insight into the actual game and system would be much appreciated, thanks.
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Hi Sensei:
The game is percentile roll under skill, with high attributes increasing skill percentage. For tasks that have possible differences in quality of success, an optional quality of
success roll is indicated, percentile roll high. Combat rolls (to hit/damage) are just an example of the standard chance of success/quality of success used for all skills. There are several ways to adjudicate non-skilled chances at the discretion of the GM.
There are seven attributes: Strength, Coordination, Agility, Endurance, IQ, PSI, and Charisma. Initial Attributes can be randomly generated or bought from a point pool. Random generation gives the first four and charisma a range of 2-12, IQ 70-141, and PSI 0-5. Point buying gives more arbitrary results, but the pool is big enough to be slightly above average in all attributes. A "stat" that figures only in character generation is starting resources, used to finance education.
These initial attributes represent the character at age 10. There is a year by year life path after that during which skills can be aquired and increased and attributes can increase - or decrease due to age. The GM indicates what age she wants the characters to be for this session/campaign.
The life path is used for advancement after the adventure/campaign is over - there are no experience points. The adventure/campaign represents the highlight of that year in the character's life. Progression is by age.
Religion is entwined about most everything in Blood Games. All religion is founded on the supernatural, and all religious ritual has in-game effects against the supernatural. Many of the character options are religious in nature. There are several different and discrete magic systems, most of which are religious in nature.
PCs can be supernatural investigators, religious people, navy seals, ordinary joes and janes, or whatever you wish. There are extensive career and schooling tables, and directions for making your own if you want something particular. The largest chunk of the game book is just this.
Linear Mode
