by Paul Evans

In the final month of the summer campaign First Army carries on its operations against the Imperial forces, pushing them further away from the Rhine, their main supply route. There is little booty to be had, but several promotions ensue and effective soldiers are Mentioned in Despatches. Fresh recruit to the Dragoon Guards Jean Seneaux is less fortunate. Unable to to control his horse in the heat of battle, he is swept into the middle of the melee where half a dozen swords end his life. RIP.

The signing of a peace treaty in Nijmegen between France and the Dutch Republic brings some peace for Third Army defending France's new northern border. However, this doesn't apply to the Spanish who press their attack on Mons. The town's defenders, Second Foot Brigade, are overwhelmed, but Brigadier Hugo Furst escapes to take command of Third Division. His newly-appointed Brigade Major, Henri De Flection, is not so lucky. Hurled from the town wall as he carries orders to the regiments, he does not survive impact with the cobbles below. RIP.

This leaves Second Army to account for and these troops get some hassle from Spanish forces, but nothing they can't handle. General Ben e'Volence, commanding, is the most successful looter of the month, adding nearly a thousand crowns into his coffers.

However, it's really quiet in Paris as the August sunshine beats down. Some desultory sword practice is all that happens.

Next month will be busy as the new Military Organisation takes effect and socialites apply for the jobs available. Not to mention everybody being back in Paris with full purses...

The full report is on my website: https://www.pevans.co.uk/LPBS/402/index.htmlLPBS: August 1677

by sdonohue

At the Corner of Mean and Meow by Colin Fahrion (aka catcubed) is an entry in the 2018 RPG Geek 24 Hour RPGs.

Presentation
The game is presented as a 1 page PDF. The document is well-formatted in a single column with limited artwork. It's all black &white.

Theme
This game is designed to be player outdoors while walking. The players take on the role of a feral cat and explore the town hoping to find someone to take them in for some warm shelter.

Characters
The game doesn't have any character creation rules. Each player basically pretends to be a cat out for a walk. There's not much more to it than that -- in many ways, it feels like a larp.

System
The system is interesting. The players each carry a die which they use to decide if their task are successful or not. The size of the die doesn't matter. Depending on the difficulty of the die, they roll it across a quiet street for easy tasks or a very busy one for hard tasks. If the die makes it to the other side of the street without being run over and they're able to find it, they succeed; otherwise it's a fail. If the die survives but has scuffs or cracks, it's left to the player to decide what complications might have impacted their skill check and results.

Playing the Game
Players go out for a walk and they talk about their cat's adventures as they go. If there are important decisions, they roll the die across an appropriately busy road, then they look for the die and determine the results. This continues until all the dice are lost/destroyed, everyone feels the story is complete, or the players are invited into a warm and cozy place.

Evaluation
I think it would be unfair to judge a game made and designed by a single person in a single day using the same standards I'd apply to a game with designers, editors, artists, and weeks, months or even years of design and playtesting, so I'm not going to do that.

This is a cool idea for a game, even if it is going to eventually result in lost or damaged dice. There's not really a lot of structure here and it's definitely the sort of game one could play without a GM and/or with relative newbs to RPGs. There aren't many rules other than the die and some suggestions that you explore the ground on your walk. The biggest issue might be if you have an easy task are only near busy roads (or the opposite).

I like this idea and the best part is you don't need pencils, paper, or even the rule book to play once you've read the rules once.

by sdonohue

Husband: The Role-Playing Game is an entry in the 2011 RPG Geek 24 Hour RPGs. It was written by Matt Cocuzzi (aka pobody's nerfect} who also did all the artwork and editing.

Presentation
The game is presented in a 2 page PDF document. It is primarily in two column layout and the editing is good. There are some issues with white space which make it more difficult to read the text.

Theme
The idea is that the players are all soldiers in France in 729 AD and the game is really about how crappy their lives are. They are likely ill-informed and uneducated.

Characters
Characters are defined by stats, advantages, and disadvantages; the game defies convention by opening with a character sheet. Some of the data is basic: name, age, complexion, and sex (always male). The game has six attributes which operate as ends of a spectrum: Strength/Quickness, Perception/Resilience, and Conviction/Deception. They can choose to either have +2 to one stat and -2 to the opposite, +1 to one stat and -1 to the opposite, or just 0. Characters also choose a rank but that comes with a cost. They can also choose 3 advantages which range from literacy to land ownership, military rank, or status in some group; some of these provide tangible benefits, like an increase on skills while others need more fleshing out. They also get three disadvantages like being a heretic, a debtor, or scarred. Again some provide direct penalties while others may require more work.

They then answer 4 questions: Who do you love the most in the world, When was the last time you saw them, What two things weigh heaviest on you, and What is your driving goal? The characters answer those and are ready to begin play.

System
The system is simple, but somewhat brutal. Players trying to accomplish a task roll 2d6 and add the appropriate modifier for their attribute. 10 or higher is a complete success, 7-9 is success with a complication, 6 or lower is a failure or perhaps a success with a serious complication.

Playing the Game
The game starts with the players discussing their answers to the 4 questions with the gm and each other and create their current situation. This should be a frank and open discussion, but the gm is advised to remember that the game is about despair and the players should fully understand that. Once they've agreed on a situation, they begin trying to resolve it.

The GM is advised to wait for the players to describe the story, then play to see how it resolves. The GM is admonished to be a fan of the players by making things challenging and interesting while not trying to trick or trap them.

Extras
The game provides significant (well significant in that it's most of a page in a two-page game) information on equipment and costs of common services and suggest three basic scenarios that might come to pass.

Evaluation
Since this game is the work of a single person in a single day, it would be unreasonable to judge it using the same criteria as a game with a team of developers, artists, playtesters and lengthy development cycles.

The math of the game works to fill the idea of despair. Even a character using an attribute he's good at will need to roll 8 or higher on 2 dice to succeed completely; that means success with complication is as likely as success on things you're good at. If you're even a little bad at something, well... I like it when the math of the game supports the theme (despair) and so I think this is a good system.

The decision to start with the character sheet is interesting, it sort of feels like you're being thrown into the game in the same way characters are likely thrown into the action. Overall, I like the system and premise of the game, so I think this one would be well worth giving a try.

by ambush8853

$5.00 for RPG Item: Supplement 04: Citizens of the Imperium
Condition: Like New
Location: Switzerland

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