[RPG]: 3:16 Carnage Amongst The Stars, reviewed by JimmieBJr (4/4)

[RPGnet Reviews]

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13991.phtml

Jimmie Bise, Jr's Summary:

Gregor Hutton's gem of a game is a gritty shoot-em-up wrapped around a surprisingly deep and enjoyable roleplaying experience. Strap on your gear, soldier, and hit the drop ships! Do you want to live forever?

Go to the full review for more information.

[Lethe]

Good review. You told me quite a few things about the game I didn't know, and have got me interested. If I hadn't just spent a ton of money on other games, I probably would have ordered this by now as it 1) Has a light system that looks like manages to be fun and unique and 2) Is different from other games out there.

Couple of questions, though. I'm guessing that a typical session involves a series of relatively quick invasions on alien planets? Or is it set up so that each warzone (or planet) lasts an entire session? Or is it scalable so you can do either one?

You mentioned that a token represents a group of aliens, but that the number of aliens this token represents is actually up to the player. So, is there no difference whether a player kills a token and says "I finally managed to kill one of those Buzflarks!" or "All right! I wiped out 1,000 Buzflarks!" Also, if the number is not set ahead of time, how do you determine how many aliens the player has to kill in order to get the token?

[JimmieBJr]

Originally Posted by Lethe

Good review. You told me quite a few things about the game I didn't know, and have got me interested. If I hadn't just spent a ton of money on other games, I probably would have ordered this by now as it 1) Has a light system that looks like manages to be fun and unique and 2) Is different from other games out there.

Couple of questions, though. I'm guessing that a typical session involves a series of relatively quick invasions on alien planets? Or is it set up so that each warzone (or planet) lasts an entire session? Or is it scalable so you can do either one?

I don't see where it's been expressly set up for either circumstance.

I'd be more comfortable with one planet per session, with the after-action promotions and jawboning coming right at the end of the session to give everyone a nice little cool-down before they head home.

There's nothing to say that a group couldn't blow through a couple or three planets during a session, though, if your players are into the combat and not so much into more lengthy roleplaying scenes. I think you could play at whatever pace is comfortable for the group.

You mentioned that a token represents a group of aliens, but that the number of aliens this token represents is actually up to the player. So, is there no difference whether a player kills a token and says "I finally managed to kill one of those Buzflarks!" or "All right! I wiped out 1,000 Buzflarks!" Also, if the number is not set ahead of time, how do you determine how many aliens the player has to kill in order to get the token?

I didn't explain that bit terribly well, I'm afraid.

What happens is that the players actually "kill" the tokens. After the token is dead, the players rolls a certain number of dice, based on what weapon they used for the kill, to decide how many aliens they actually killed.

So if you killed a token but were in close combat using a knife, you'd only get one kill. But if you were at a longer distance using an energy rifle, you might kill 20. But in each case, you only made one token go away.

The token is the thing, mechanically, that you're after. So if there's an encounter with four tokens, that's what the players have to overcome. It's only after the battle that you know exactly how many aliens they killed. That does encourage a bit of gaming strategy in that lots of kills is a good thing and since using bigger and better weapons lead to more kills, players are going to want to use their biggest weapons at optimal range. You, as the GM, will want the same thing for the aliens. Generally, though, those ranges aren't identical so there'll be some jockying around as players try to get into their sweet spot while you are trying to get the aliens to swarm them (or whatever they best do).

Did that make more sense?

And thanks for the complement. I think this game is a real treat.

[whiteknife]

When I first heard about this game I was unimpressed. But after looking into it, buying it, and playing it I'd have to say that it's an amazing game. Quick, fun, deep- it's got it all. I recommend it for everyone, it's truly one of those games you just have to own to fully appreciate.

[2097]

It's suggested that one planet is four encounters.

I'd like to add (though I'm probably going to review this game myself, too) that I first read the 24-hour-RPG-version and didn't understand the hype at all. This version, three years later, is so much more interesting, so if you've only read the 24-hour version, you're missing out. This is something completely different.

The threat tokens and the range rules are so clean.

[Gregor Hutton]

Thanks for the review. I think you've managed to highlight the things the game does better than I could.

One thing I was conscious of when writing it was to put text in there to really help a GM and players role-play. So there is, I hope, good advice for novice or veteran players alike, on how to play the game at the table.

Thanks again!

-Gregor

[JimmieBJr]

Quite welcome. I enjoyed writing it.

I found the examples pretty useful, but I tend to need a good example more than most, I think. I used the big example toward the back of the book to make sure I had my understanding of the rules right. If I wasn't sure of how you derived a roll or performed an action in the example, I went back to the rule section and made sure I understood.

[Akodo Daimyo]

This game looks super cool, and I can always use more games about killing stuff; I'll have to pick it up when I have the money.

How well would it do as an intro to "indie" games for new players? Most of my local players are oldschool RPG and wargame players or relatively new to RPGs in general.

[Gregor Hutton]

Hi MurderMunkey

I think it will be more natural to a Trad group than most Indie games. Don Corcoran certainly thinks so. See <a href="http://www.story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=7835" target="_blank">Don's post</a> where he says...

<blockquote>"<i>My estimation was that 3:16 is an excellent traditional RPG more so than a weak Story Game. As a traditional game it has all the GMiness and task resolution with some fantastic narrative elements. Let me expand on that. This game has a lot of great advice for roleplaying and storytelling. It really is what many traditional RPGs should be: Lets get to the point and play.</i>"</blockquote>

I also think that an Indie group will love it too, but its appeal is that the buy-in is very low and the play is very natural. I put advice in the book that I would have wanted as a player when I was starting out gaming all those years ago.

[weasel fierce]

The token thing is still confusing me from your description. Lets say we encounter 4 tokens, how does that play out in the game?