I have a few games that piqued my interest. In a few weeks there is a convention where I could try out a few. Which should I prep? And why?
Torchbearer
Lamentations of the Flame Princess
Reign
I know DnD and ORE, which two of those are based on, if that makes any difference.
>>46337418
Reign, forever and always. (it tends to play fairly quickly, so it's fairly decent for convention play.
>>46337418
>Lamentations of the Flame Princess
That's kind of a snowflakey name. Does the quality of the game justify it?
>>46337507
Well I haven't played it but what I understand so far is this:
It's an auteur game very much colored by the sensibilities of its creator who didn't like the way DnD modules relied on unconnected empty tropes. The name is his personal label apparently derived from a bad breakup, it is not a descriptive title but a lyrical one.
The idea is a fantasy world that doesn't present hollow concepts but that actively tries its best to grind the characters to a bloody pulp. If Tomb of Horrors is a baseline, LotFP is the Heavy Metal cartoon version. Visually it is exploitative to a fault. The art is violent, sexual, and offensive in the best way.
Structurally it comes out pretty close to CoC where players don't get to 'win' scenarios but the way they fail tells a story constructed around grim flavor and mysterious threats.
It's a DnD where goblins eating your family isn't shrugged off as backstory and wielding a cursed item is bound to screw over your entire party eventually, even if it may come with temporary advantages. It's so gritty that to be a hero you have to risk everything every day. TPK is the default. The players have to be careful and inventive to avoid it.
>>46337454
Any pdfs?
>>46340039
Sorry
Enchiridion is only $10 and has all the crunch.
The world is elaborate. You can glimpse bits and pieces of it in the many free essays on the page.
>>46337507
Mostly, yes. It's a weird horror version of old-school D&D, with hideous eldritch things ripping the arms off the protagonists and a high death rate. If you like that kind of thing it's very good and the production quality is high. It also has some of the best fantasy adventures of the last few years, such as Death Frost Doom and Deep Carbon Observatory.
>>46337454
One of Reign's supplements includes a scenario called "Imperial Harlots", which the designer would actually run at conventions. If nothing else, it's easy prep. Here's a link because the file's too big to post here:
>http://gregstolze.com/reign/downloads/2YoORinterior.pdf
It's mostly a showcase for the Company rules (to the extent that you don't even use character sheets, it's entirely done at the Company level), and the setup is essentially that the players are running the most powerful nation in the world while the GM throws a constant stream of shit at them to ruin it.
No Crane fans?
>>46341564
>"Imperial Harlots"
I will look at that.
>Torchbearer
Crunchy gamist dungeoncrawler with a focus on characters through rule relevant instincts, beliefs, and goals, also social combat.
>Lamentations of the Flame Princess
OSR clone themed along adult horror in a very Howardesque fantasy world.
>Reign
Artsy setting with a lot of idiosyncrasies concerning classic fantasy tropes like magic(+craft), riding(not done), or death(killed spirits actually haunt their killer). Mechanically it's the most detailed of the ORE games and as such a very fast to resolve gamist dice pool, very precise with initiative and damage, and refreshihngly easy to mod with perfect balance in all kinds of ways that really change the dynamic or the focus of the rules.
>>46337418
Unrelated, do you have level maps and keys for the dungeon in your pic? Looks like it could be a cool game.
>>46349914
It's some vidya
