John Lennon

SpellCaster is a magical and physical combat game for two or more players. Each player is represented by a Spell Caster, a warrior mage trained in the ways of combat and magic, skilled in powerful martial arts techniques and armed with a complete arsenal of spells. The goal is to defeat all others players and remain the last spell caster alive. SpellCaster uses ordinary playing cards, but is no ordinary card game as it combines hex/grid map strategy. Since the game uses poker cards, generic playing pieces and any plain hex or grid map it is easy to play and easy on the budget, unlike most any other collectible trading card game. SpellCaster uses a unique system of card combinations in preparing and casting spells.

Requirements

• Graph or hex game mat or paper for a playing field
• One playing piece and one standard poker deck (52+Joker) for each player.

Setup

• Shuffle: Players shuffle their decks. Remember to keep your Joker in the deck.
• Burn Card: Draw the first card from your deck and place face-up next to your deck to create a discard pile.
• Draw: Each player Draws a hand of seven cards.
• Spell Preparation: Charge cards by placing them from your hand face down in front of you, creating prearranged spells if possible. You may refer to the spells list. You do not have to Prepare any spells, but you may not continue until your hand is reduced to five cards. (It is acceptable to achieve this by discarding two cards; it just is not a good strategy). This is a rare time when you may Charge more than one card, or even every card in your hand.
• Initiative: Play high-card with your opponent, by drawing one card from the top of your deck and placing it to the front of your deck to create a MOVE card (do not discard). If your cards match, draw another card. This card determines player turn order and starting movement; high card goes first, low second. You may move your playing piece in any direction to a maximum number of spaces equal to your MOVE card’s CV.
• Replenish: Draw enough to restore your hand to five cards before the first turn. It is the high card winner’s choice to place their piece first on the board, or second. The first turn begins after all players’ game pieces are in play.

I Play Games!

HEX is a one page solitaire game by Jeff Moore, an established game designer and author on 1km1kt.net. HEX soon after it was created, inspired the author to issue The Character Sheet is the RPG Challenge, that has been on now for two years running, with 27: The Character Sheet Is The RPG Challenge II currently going, issued by Errin Famiglia. This game was one of the first that I ever downloaded from 1km1kt.net, and I’m glad I did. I was attracted by HEX as a solitaire one page dungeon adventure, featuring random dungeon generation, complete with encounters, treasures and goals. Its single page also holds a character sheet with XP advancements, all the rules needed for play and even the game’s dialogue: “A curse has infested an ancient keep near your town. The evil magic has filled the keep with monsters. Can you save your home from this Hex?” -a powerful hook.

HEX is an amazingly whole game, simple and clear in its one page presentation. The questions that are asked at the end of the game, should you roll 9 and Exit the Dungeon, along with the author’s encouragement to “Chronicle your adventures!” gave me the idea to write this review and include the following play record with my analysis.

So, I played HEX and after a few minutes of rolling dice and taking notes here is what I came up with:

Play Record 1

turn 1 Roll 5 Room Monster Corridor Action Fight Result H-1,E-1,X+1 HEX 5,5,1 lvl 1 Keys

turn 2 Roll 4 Room Monster Room Action Fight Result H-1,E-1,X+1 HEX 4,4,2 lvl 1 Keys

turn 3 Roll 6 Room Treasure Action Roll 2 Result get keys+1 HEX 4,4,2 lvl 1 Keys 1

turn 4 Roll 4+1 Room Monster Corridor Action Run Result move on HEX 4,4,2 lvl 1 Keys 1

turn 5 Roll 6+1 Room Stairs Down Action — Result lvl +1 HEX 4,4,2 lvl 2 Keys 1

turn 6 Roll 6+1 Room Stairs Down Action — Result lvl +1 HEX 4,4,2 lvl 2 Keys 1

turn 7 Roll 4+1 Room Monster Corridor Action Run Result move on HEX 4,4,2 lvl 2 Keys 1

turn 8 Roll 2+1 Room Empty Room Action Rest Result H+1,E+3 HEX 5,7,2 lvl 2 Keys 1

turn 9 Roll 5+1 Room Treasure Action Roll 1 Result get keys+1 HEX 5,7,2 lvl 2 Keys 2

turn 1 Roll 3+2 Room Monster Corridor Action Fight Result H-2,E-2,X+1 HEX 3,4,3 lvl 2 Keys 2

turn 11 Roll 5+2 Room Stairs Down Action — Result lvl +1 HEX 3,4,3 lvl 3 Keys 2

turn 12 Roll 3+3 Room Treasure Action Roll 5 Result get X+3 HEX 3,4,6 lvl 3 Keys 3

turn 13 Roll 5+3 Room Boss Action lose Result H-6,E-6,X-1/2 HEX -3,-2,3 lvl 3 Keys 3

Results

I earned 3 experience points, I coudn’t buy any upgrades to magic weopon or magic armor.

I reached the 3rd level.

I found 3 keys.

I faced the level 3 boss. (evil Vampire)

I was forced to flee the dungeon after 13 turns of play.

Analysis

Even though I lost, I enjoyed playing, and in real life I feel like I gained experience points, because I learned a few things and I was inspired by the concept. Now I am working on my own game Dungeoneers RPG! Unfortunately, the “Keys and Level” system for rolling on the Dungeon table, borrowed from Doom Semper Fidelis has a few small flaws as implemented in HEX. In order to have the opportunity to regain Health or Endurance, you must roll 1 or 3 on the Dungeon table. That means if you find a Key (meant to be a “Treasure”), you lose a chance to heal -and once you have a chance to roll a 9 and exit the Dungeon successfully (keys +3), you can’t heal at all. That could be a problem, because monsters always do damage if you fight them, and you can’t avoid taking damage from Traps or a Boss. If you gain even more Keys, it becomes possible to roll off the table. It also looks like it might be possible to roll too many 7’s and quickly reach way too high of a dungeon level, and therefore have the monsters, traps and boss become impossibly deadly. Making the “stairs down” optional until the character chooses to leave the level might help this last issue.

I Play Games!

The game simulates some of the plot from BOGGY CREEK II: AND THE LEGEND CONTINUES a movie that can normally only be survived by watching it as an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3. The legend of the Fouke Monster aka the Big Foot of Arkansas aka the Creature continues and continues in the movies and you just want it all to end. The RPG took the hokey events of the movie and turned them into a “serious” game with out the humor of MST3K or the flaws that made the movie worthy of an MST3K episode. In the game, you want the search for the Creature to continue as you explore Murky County,gaining bonuses.This is because meeting the Creature is deadly, especially if you aren’t “prepared” with the various bonuses. Most of the places you search in Murky County will either send you on further along your search, present danger or provide opportunity and sometimes all of these. Many places are different depending on whether it is day or night. This increases both the amount of possible play and the length of time you could play this single page with out getting bored or seeing the same things happen.

Murky County’s creator, Errin Famiglia, is a prolific game designer on 1k1mkt.net and the person responsible for The Character Sheet Is The RPG Challenge II 27. The one page game is growing into a new cutting edge genre of role playing games, and solo RPG games, such as THE CREATURE OF MURKY COUNTY RPG definitely have a place in it.

Here is my play records for two games:

Play Record 1

Physical 6 Mental 6 Spiritual 4 Class: Professor
Status: wounded twice, horrified
1 roll 3 Lone Stretch Of Road, roll 3 day, roll 4

2 roll 3 Lone Stretch of Road, roll 6 night, roll 6 Creature Encounter
Creature Encounter:
roll 3 + Physical 6 = 9 < 11 I am wounded, roll 6 + Mental 6 the Creature is Outsmarted, roll 4 + Spiritual 4 = 8 I am Horrified

3 roll 4 Desolate Farmhouse, roll 3 night, roll 5

4 roll 6 Murky Creek, roll 1 Murky Creek Swamplands, I don’t camp here overnight

5 roll 4 Desolate Farmhouse, roll 1 day, roll 4

6roll 6 Murky Creek, roll 4 The River Bottoms, roll 6 Creature Encounter
Creature Encounter: roll 3 + Physical 6 = 9 < 11 I am wounded for the second time, so I lost.

Play Record 2

Physical 5 + 1 + 1 + 1 final 8 Mental 4 + 2 + 1 =final 7 Spiritual 6 + 1 = final 7 Class: Professor
Status: wounded, stop being wounded, horrified no longer horrified,
1 roll 3 Lone Stretch Of Road, roll 4 day, roll 2

2 roll 6 Murky Creek, roll 5, Old Man Crenshaw’s Place, roll 1 I am wounded

3 roll 4 Desolate Farmhouse, roll 4 night, roll 3

4 roll 6 Murky Creek, roll 5 Old Man Crenshaw’s Place, roll 2

5 roll 1 The Town Of Murky, roll 5, Post Office, roll a die the next time

6 roll 6 Murky Creek, roll 2 Murky Creek Swamplands, camp here overnight, roll 3

7 roll 5 Murky Creek, roll 6 The Creature’s Den, roll 5

8 roll 5 Murky Creek, roll 4 The River Bottoms, roll 5

9 roll 1 The Town Of Murky, roll 2 General Store

1 roll 6 Murky Creek, roll 3 The River Bottoms, roll 1, roll 4 + 1 physical

11 roll 2 The Town Of Murky, roll 1 Local Library, roll 3, Physical + 1

12 roll 4 Desolate Farmhouse, roll 1 day, roll 5

13 roll 5 Murky Creek, roll 3 The River Bottoms, roll 5

14 roll 1 The Town Of Murky, roll 5 Post Office, roll 6 Mental + 2, no more bonus here

15 roll 6 Murky Creek, roll 3 The River Bottoms, roll 1, roll 4 < 6, Physical + 1

16 roll 2 The Town Of Murky ,roll 3 Police Station, roll 6 Search Old Man Crenshaw’s Place instead.
16 Search Old Man Crenshaw’s Place roll 6 search The Creature’s Den instead,The Creature’s Den roll 6
16 Creature Encounter: roll 4 + Physical 7 = 11, I end the Encounter

17 roll 6 Murky Creek, roll 2 Murky Creek Swamplands, camp here overnight, roll 1 Physical + 1

18 roll 1 The Town Of Murky, roll 4 Doctor’s Office I stop being wounded

19 roll 4 Desolate Farmhouse, roll 3 night, roll 4

2 roll 3 Lone Stretch Of Road, roll 5 night, roll 6 Creature Encounter roll 5 + Physical 7 = 12 the Creature is beaten, roll 6 + Mental 6 the Creature is outsmarted, roll 4 + Spiritual 6 = 1 I am horrified

21 roll 1 The Town Of Murky,roll 6 Old Church I am no longer horrified

22 roll 2 The Town Of Murky, roll 3 Police Station,roll 4 search Desolate Farmhouse instead,
22 roll 5 night, roll 1,roll 4 < 6 Spiritual + 1

23 roll 6 Murky Creek, roll 5 Old Man Crenshaw’s Place, roll 4 Physical + 1 Mental + 1 Spiritual + 1, no more bonus here

24 roll 6 Murky Creek,roll 6 The Creature’s Den,roll 1 Creature Encounter
24 Creature Encounter roll Creature Encounter roll 6 + Physical 8 = 14 the Creature is beaten, roll 6 + Mental 7 = 13 the Creature is outsmarted, roll 5 + Spiritual 7 = 12 the Creature is dominated Victory!

Analysis

The longer you survive in Murky County, the better your chances of gaining the sometimes required bonuses to beat the Creature. The higher your scores are the more likely it is that you can take advantage of an opportunity to gain bonuses.The Creature, Old Man Crenshaw and other dangers through out the game add a strong element of risk.The Creature is a powerful and elusive boss type since it takes above average scores in all areas obtained through game play to beat, outsmart and finally dominate the Creature, while as the Creature can easily wound,traumatize and horrify you with each failed rolled.

the game is copyright by Errin Famiglia, this review is copyright 27 John Lennon Goodwin, but please feel free to copy or repost unmodified

the Battle Royale RPG keeps to the spirit of the first movie and has most of the items found as “weapons” in the students’ survival packs.There aren’t any of the combo assault rifles/grenade launchers from BRII, though. For those who don’t know by now Battle Royale is about sending trouble high school students to an island to kill each other off, with a last man standing goal. That it was written by an actual high school student, Evil1 AKA Robbie Cousineau adds to the flavor of the game. Unfortunately there are a lot of spelling mistakes and the rules for character creation, skills and combat.The rules though simple, are not clearly expressed. These sorts of typos and errors found in other games are annoying, but they actually kind of add flavor to this game. Also, with a little work, the presentation could be improved and it doesn’t keep the game down. So, no big deal. The weapons list follows pretty closely to the first movie as does the suggested dangers and plot set up. Character creation should allow you to play most of the original students. That by itself makes this game worth playing! Especially if you can get a cut of the video that the students are shown in the first movie to have your players watch before the game. I checked and Evil1 is fortunately wrong about the availability of the movies and manga: Battle Royale and the sequel BR II are both in fact available to rent or buy in the United States as is the manga series! However due to “Community Standards” laws these and other fine movies and products may be banned within your local area of the USA. Watch these movies before playing the game for a wonderful time re enacting your favorite blood baths. This game is also a great outlet for playing out violent revenge fantasies on your class mates. Just make your class the one kidnapped into the BR program.(Because, of course in real life violence is wrong.) Battle Royale RPG also provides opportunities to create back stories, plot lines, relationships and all the drama to be found in the world of Battle Royale.