Kingbeast's Lair

Date At Start Of Game: 10/01/206

[Author's Note: This is the log for the 14th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

The Temple Of Dark Lady

After a brief planning session the group decides on their normal plan…a frontal assault! Oren takes the lead with the rest of the party right behind. Although Oren gets momentarily trapped in a whip he breaks out then smashes the Ant Kin slavers. Bilby cuts up others while Po and Cillian work in tandem to take down the remaining. After the slavers fall Po goes to work healing the sick and injured. Bucky is very hurt and is quickly healed. Oren and Bilby push the wheel so that others can rest. After arming the freed slaves Po and Cillian lead the survivors to the main cave where Bucky and Grattle Skrak then lead them out of the temple.

At this point the PC try to decide how to proceed. Po detects that the pipe has protection magic. Oren and Cillian think the device is some type of pump that is likely being used to pump lava up to the room above. When Cillian looks up to see where the pupe leads his vision seems to be magnified. In the room above the stone wheel he sees a horrific sight. There is a massive Elephant Kin smith pounding on a thin long sword blade. To his left is a masked woman who appears to be casting a spell at the sword. While all of this is happening other Ant Kin warriors in the room are pouring buckets of blood onto the blade! With that the PC decide to stop turning the wheel and to face off against anyone who is alerted. After a minute or so three Ant Kin warriors emerge from a hallway to attack the PC. Although the PC dispatch them quickly one manages to alert guards in a nearby room. With a few brief hits the PC fell the remaining Ant Kin guards. Thinking fast Oren decides to cave in the tunnel so that others cannot approach. While Oren digs Cillian watches the forge room. He spies the masked woman speaking to the air. In a flash Narduhl appears! She says something to him then he starts to cast a spell and shrink again. Thinking quick Cillian puts a cloth on the doorjam and watches for it to move. He is hoping to see it move when Narduhl goes under the door then he can attack. After seeing the cloth move he attacks but with due to Narduhl’s tiny size he cannot hit him. After missing the tiny mage with their surprise attach the PC decide they better beat him back to the forge. They fling open the door and start running forward at top speed lest they lose the element of surprise.

In the forge room the PC find the large Ant Kin smith which Oren recognizes as Ember Firenose, the woman with the mask who has a scorpion tail, and a single Ant Kin warrior who is covered in golden jewelry. The woman and Ember are trying to work on the blade even though the lava has receeded from their forge. The woman seems to be spirit surging to boost the effects of her spells. Cillian sees flame and earth spirits flying from the walls into the blade where they vanish. As they move to attack Oren taunts Ember Firenose. To his surprise the smith does not react at all…it is as if he does not hear the comment! Oren deduces that the smith might be under some type of enchantment. With that Oren closes the gap on the woman in the mask. She laughs saying that Narduhl told her about the PC. After this she throws a bag of powder on Oren which blinds him. She then tries to sting Oren with her tail but the barb bounces off of his tough atmored hide. Po curses the Scorpion Kin spirit mage from a high vantage. Bilby and Cillian moves in closer. As the PC near behind them two shadow praying mantis traps spring! These are Narduhl’s handywork. With that the Scorpion Kin woman tells Ember to stop working on the blade and to crush the party! He looks up with glassy eyes and moves around the forge. When Ember drops the blade Cillian grabs it and moves it closer using his air spirits which are surprisingly very difficult to summon. When the thin blades reaches his hand Cillian lights up his fire spirit hand and holds the blade. The effect is nearly blinding as fire bursts from the blade! Cillian can feel a sense of power and control that distorts his thoughts but he holds on tightly. The woman screams when Cillian grabs the blade claiming that it was made from “crimson tears of blood in the Dark Priestesses name”. As she is yelling Oren manages to take a bead on her and do some damage but a tough defensive spell protects her from harm. Bilby leaps to the fray but has trouble getting a square hit on the nefarious spirit mage. As Po casts he feels a sense of power and surges his spells while remaining airborne. The Ant King jumps up the wall and manages to smash into Po sending them both crashing to the ground. When Ember reaches Cillian he starts to swing his massive hammer! Cillian dodges the attacks not wanting to feel their effect. When Oren’s eyes clear he swings a massive strike felling both the Scarlet Scorpion and the Ant King! The Scorpion Kin falls into the lava forge where the magma seems to reach up and pull her under. Po recognizes a huge spirit whim backlash taking place and tells the PC that they better leave the area immediately! Cillian briefly considers throwing the sword into the lava but decides that it should instead be investigated once they leave the forge. As they run from the temple Ember, now clear headed, says that the sword cannot be destroyed in the fires of the forge where it was created…he also relays that he only knows of one other place where it might be undone but that reaching this place with be a dangerous and deadly journey…

Date At End Of Game: 10/02/206

-== What is it? ==-

The Ghostbusters Roleplaying Game is a boxed set published by West End Games that was released in 1986. It’s subtitle is, “A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game.” It was written by Sandy Petersen, Lynn Willis, and Greg Stafford from Chaosium. Chaosium is even given full credits with logos on the various manuals and box. The Ghostbusters RPG allows players to role-play as the infamous team from the first movie or to create their own team of ghost chasers. I am reviewing a copy of the boxed set that I purchased on eBay.

The boxed set is quite extensive. It is comprised of several goodies. All of the documentation is 8.5″ x 11″ with color covers and entirely black and white interiors. All of the punch out cards are three color (black, lime green, and white). Here is a summary of the contents:

• How To Play – 4 pages – Handout that describes how to play the game.
• 10 Minute Play – 4 pages – Handout that goes through an actual play session.
• 5 small red six sided dice plus a larger six sided Ghost dice – On the Ghost dice the 6 is replaced with the Ghostbusters logo.
• Ghostbusters Logo Patch – A iron on patch.
• Operations Manual – 64 pages – Includes a table of contents but no index. – This book is a set of adventures, adventure ideas, Ghostmaster (aka GM) tips, and NPC. It is written in a very non-traditional manner with “break the 3rd wall” comments from the authors to the readers and rule asides made in the middle of the text.
• Training Manual – 24 pages – This is a smaller rulebook that has expanded rules for the game. These rules include details on how the players can make their own Ghostbusting franchises. Like the Operations Manual is has a slew of comments from the authors and from the Ghostbusters themselves.
• 2 Sets Of Ghostbusters Corporation Forms – 4 pages each – Forms that can be used to enhance game play. For example there is a liability waiver form with tons of fine print.
• Punch Out Equipment Cards – Cards that are selected by the PC before each mission.
• Punch Out Character Sheets Of The Ghostbusters From The Movies – Can be used to play the main cast.

I have not played the game I have only read the material in the boxed set and one of the support modules. I may review some of the adventure modules in future blog posts as I acquire them.

-== What I Like ==-

The thing I like most about the Ghostbusters RPG is that it is VERY easy to play. This game is a perfect entry product for people who want to show their friends what roleplaying games are all about. The ages on the boxed set are listed as 12+ but I really feel like younger players would not have an issue playing the game. I’ll talk about the mechanics below and you can see what I mean.

One other strength of the product is the subject matter. Everyone has seen the Ghostbusters movies and understands the feeling of the genre. This is light hearted adventure fun.

I enjoyed reading the Ghostbusters RPG from cover-to-cover. The snippy comments from the writers were really funny and evocative of the setting. One interesting note about the writers is that they all went on to do many awesome products after the Ghostbusters RPG was released. A friend in the industry remarked to me that the Ghostbusters RPG is like the Velvet Underground of role-playing games. That is really true and very nicely put.

One other strength is that the rule mechanics strongly evoke the setting. When completing a task the player roles dice based on a stat. One of the dice is the Ghost dice described above. They total the dice against a success number set by the Ghostmaster. If the dice total more than the success number then the character succeeds at the task. If a Ghost is rolled on the Ghost dice something bad happens to the player. Thus a player could actually succeed at a task and still have something bad happen! For example, Egon wants to juice up his proton pack so he can try to contain 12 small ghost ducks which are frightening children on a park playground. The Ghostmaster says this is a difficulty 20 task. Egon rolls his 7 Brain dice and gets 22 and a Ghost. He succeeds at the task…but then wonders why his proton pack is getting so warm…REALLY warm! Like the movie calamity seems to follow the Ghostbusters.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

The most glaring weakness in the product is by far the artwork in the main two manuals. The covers are very simple Ghostbusters logos and interior art is very simple or cut directly from the movies. To make matters worse the artwork is also repeated many times throughout the text. The Ghostbusters iron on patch is “ok” but you can buy nicer ones online. The Ghost dice is cool but the Ghostbusters logo is not printed too well and I would actually be afraid of ruining it during actual play. My instinct would be to use a different dice instead. The punch out cards are nothing special but appear to be adequate. The cards and quality of the goodies are the only reason I am giving this product its current rating (i.e. a 9 out of 10).

-== Summary ==-

After reading the Ghostbusters RPG my first reaction was that this is a focused story game product written before people understood what that meant. There is not even a damage mechanic to speak of in the system…but the writers realize that then explain that it isn’t really needed. This game is frivolous fun and downright brilliant in design. I had heard that it was excellent and boy it delivers.

One big problem with the Ghostbusters RPG is in finding a copy of the game. I found my copy on eBay but it took quite a while to get and I paid roughly $50. That is a VERY good price for this product which is very tough to source. Expect to pay upwards of $75 to get a copy on eBay. I really wish whoever has the rights to the game would try and get a PDF copy made available. This is a game that people should play and enjoy. I give it my highest recommendation…”Fancy shootin’ Tex!”

I give it 9 out of 10 paws.

I know I know…what is up with this lame blog post John. Normally I don’t cross post sales but this one is a biggie. Every Twilight 2000 v1.0 product in PDF format for $40 at DriveThruRPG. This is $282.00 worth of products. SERIOUS STEAL! Here is a link to the deal.

PS I promise for a new blog post real soon. I have a review and another game report in the works.

Date At Start Of Game: 10/01/206

[Author's Note: This is the log for the 13th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

The Temple Of Shazartza

After defeating the Ant Kin warriors the PC proceed carefully. Cillian and Bilby take the lead exploring the various side chambers. In one they find a well and in the other they find a posh room that is covered in mold. After checking the side rooms they head down the ramp towards where they saw the Ant Kin “butcher”. In one of the side rooms the PC are shocked to discover many severed limbs and body parts. Alongside the bodies are casks filled with blood. Po gingerly examines the room and notices that all of the body parts are from children, women, and the elderly only. One of the bodies is the Deer Kin archer Miya. Horrified the PC proceed.

In the next area they find a row of cells that are currently empty but appear to be recently used. In one cell there is blood and a red stocking cap. Bilby remembers the red cap on the woman they saw at Raftport. At the end of the hallway is a room with some bunk beds and a table with a warm lantern. When Po enters the room he hears a voice. His spell does not detect any magic but he appears to be the only one that can hear the voice. The voice is walking around the room and orating about the “virtues” of the Dark Mistress! Eventually it starts talking about various torture techniques. Po carefully speaks out to the voice. To his surprise it responds! The voice is from someone named Balthazar who claim to be the once high priest of Shazartza. Wanting to gain his trust Po convinces Balthazar that he is an ally of the Dark Mistress. After convincing the spectral voice that he is an ally Balthazar tells Po that the Ant Kin are minions of the current high priestess. The current high priestess is a woman known as the Scarlet Scorpion. She has been the only other person that has been able to hear him speak in quite a while. Balthazar then tells Po that if he gives a certain greeting and response it will be “deemed acceptable” by accoltyes of the Shazartza. The greeting is, “I travel with a heavy right hand laden with a hammer.” The response is, “May you find the vengeance you seek.”

During this conversation Cillian finds a secret door on one side of the room. On the other side of the door he sees larger natural cavern. Immediately outside of the secret door is a small metal pot with oil and a wick. After watching for a few minutes he observes an Ant Kin warrior approach then listen at the secret door. Cillian tells the party to quiet. When the Ant Kin leaves the PC start to devise a plan. After several different plans are discussed the PC decide to wait for the guard to return then to grab him and rush out to get any others.

The guard approaches and right before he touches the secret door Cillian opens it and Bilby grabs the Ant Kin warrior. He pulls him into the room then shoves him into a nearby cell and locks the door. While this is happening another Ant Kin warrior armed with two crossbows dashes out of the natural cavern to alert others. Bilby heads out into the dark cavern after the Ant Kin warrior. The rest of the PC grab nearby lanterns and head out after them. Eventually Bilby catches up to the Ant Kin but only scratches him with a hit to his leg. The Ant Kin fires his crossbows. One bolt nearly goes through Bilby’s chest! Luckily the rest of the PC are right behind and take down the Ant Kin with some well placed strikes. Po heals Bilby during the combat using his powerful Spirit Magic.

The Temple Of Dark Lady

With that the PC head into the large natural cavern. They can see many footprints leading down the cavern but only Ant Kin tracks are returning. After almost a mile of trekking through the cavern it narrows to a man made tunnel hewn out of stone. Carefully Bilby and Cillian scout ahead. Bilby hears a distant sound of mechanical gears in the distance. The first room is round and is flanked by two stone effigies of Shazartza with a hammer in one hand and flame in the other. Cillian looks through the statues and finds that they are doors that slide to one side. After carefully searching them he finds that they are trapped if opened the wrong direction. When he listens at one door and is startled when the status speaks to him, “The Dark Mistress asks how you travel in her temple?” He answers with the greeting, “I travel with a heavy right hand laden with a hammer.” The status replies with, “May you find the vengeance you seek.” With that Cillian opens the door. Inside one room is a mushroom garden. In the other is a well with some glowing fungus.

Opposite the entrance the PC find 3 doors. Behind the left door the PC hear Ant Kin speaking. Behind the center they don’t hear anything. Behind the right they hear mechanical gears. They decide to carefully check the right door. Inside the room is a stockade for 3 prisoners and some whips. Down a set of stairs Cillian finds a larger natural cavern that bends to the left. At the bend he finds a cage with waeary prisoners. At the far end of the cavern Cillian find 5 Ant Kin warriors whipping a set of prisoners who are turning a large cog. One of the prisoners is a large Horse Kin. The gears appear to be some type of bellows that are feeding a pipe.

What is all of this for?!?

Date At End Of Game: 10/01/206

-== What is it? ==-

Richard Scarry’s Busytown: Eye Found It! (Busytown) is a cooperative family board game from I Can Do That! Games. Over the last few months it has won an astounding 6 family gaming awards. The I Can Do That! Games company was founded by Jacobe Chrisman of Cranium fame. Busytown was actually designed by Forrest-Pruzzan Creative, LLC. They are the design team behind several of the latest releases from I Can Do That! Games.

Busytown comes in a sturdy card board box that depicts the major characters from the Busytown Mysteries TV show. Inside there is a 6′ board in 3 sections, 4 counters (Lowly, Huckle, Sally, and Hilda), a spinner, a large ferry counter, a set of 10 magnifying glass tokens, 6 food tiles, a small deck of Goldbug cards, a small sand timer, and an instruction sheet. The manufacturer’s listed age is 3 and up.

-== What I Like ==-

The instructions for Busytown are VERY simple. The entire set of instructions fits on a 6″ x 6″ sheet of paper! Essentially the game is a race to get ALL of the players to a picnic lunch before Pig Will and Pig Won’t eat it all. Counters are moved by rotating a spinner. The spinner has several possible outcomes. There are movements of 1 to 4 squares, two pigs eat food areas, and two Goldbug areas. If any player spins a pigs eat food then 1 of the 6 food tokens is removed from the picnic. If Goldbug is spun then a card is taken from the Goldbug deck. This card depicts something that ALL of the players must try and mark with their magnifying glasses tokens. The amount of objects found before the sand timer runs out is the amount of spaces that ALL players are allowed to move. If for example the card is a balloon then all players must study the detailed 6′ game board to find as many balloons as they can before the sand runs out. Remember that this game is cooperative…everyone wins or loses as a team. The board has different paths to give players options as they progress towards the picnic. Eventually everyone must enter the ferry and proceed towards the picnic. The ferry really adds to the excitement as everyone ends up cheering for the player who is behind to make it on board so it can leave.

My family has been doing game night for roughly 6 months now. My boys are 5 and 7 years old. Often when I introduce new games the first questions is, “Is this a game where someone wins?” After hearing that I made it a mission to look for cooperative family games. Busytown is my first find. (Note that I have found others that will hopefully get purchased and played soon.) This time when the boys ask their question they got a very different answer, “In this game everyone either wins or loses together. If we play as a team we could ALL win!” After their little brains started digesting that they smiled and we gave Busytown a try. To put it mildly this game has been a huge hit for our family. It encourages teamwork, fosters turn taking skills, enhances their observations skills, and teaches basic movement strategy. Very importantly it also teaches the kids how to lose gracefully. It was really nice to hear them say after our first session in which we lost, “Wow that was fun but I want to play again so we can win!”

Busytown faithfully sticks to the theme of the Busytown Mysteries TV show from Cookie Jar TV. In show and the game a team finds clues around Busytown to solve a mystery OR in this case to get to a picnic before the food is gone.

The various components except for the egg timer are very nicely done and sturdy. The large playing board is colorful and detailed in Richard Scarry artwork. All of the counters are thick and the box is sturdy. All in all the package is very nice.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

My only complaint with the components is the egg timer. It really needs a better stand as the game is made to be played on the carpet. We have lots of issues with it falling over or being out of view. Eventually we figured out to place it on some empty water near the ferry but since there is a lot of action around the board it can get knocked over. I think if I made a small stand for it that would help. Actually a better idea might be to ditch the timer altogether and instead use a small digital timer.

Like a lot of family games I think the designated age is a bit off. I can see a 4 year old playing this game but it would be a bit tough in my opinion for a 3 year old.

We have been playing the game for about a month and so far it has good staying power but that is a concern. It feels like a game that might peter out after some use.

-== Summary ==-

Richard Scarry’s Busytown: Eye Found It! has the honor of being the first game that our family has absolutely loved. It is fun for adults and parents. This is the perfect starter game for a family with young kids. The price point of $19.99 at Toys R Us is ridiculously low for a game with quality components like this one. My gosh go out and but it already!

You can get it from Amazon.com at this URL for $43.99. Toys R Us sells the game for a paltry $19.99 at this URL and right now they are offering free shipping!

I give it 9 out of 10 paws.