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BASH! Basic Action Super Heroes (Original Edition)
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 07/20/2012 14:34:47

BASH! is a fantastic little game of Super Heroes. Instead of a huge book of powers or effects, BASH instead focuses on "What do you want to do?" and "What kind of hero are you?", Simple, but powerful questions.

BASH is a simple supers RPG that I am sure I am going to be playing more of in the near future. But what has impressed me the most are the number of conversions that the BASH fan community has already put together. I converted one of my M&M characters over to BASH fairly quickly. I have another character I am working on now that started out in BESM 3.0, re-done in M&M (as PL 5), then converted over to Marvel Super Heroes. It will be interesting to see if the BASH conversion goes over well.

The game achieves the near miraculous feat of being simple to use and learn and yet powerful enough to keep you interested and coming back to the game. The mechanic is kind of an odd one with multipliers (but I think it works for supers) and exploding doubles on 2d6, which I admit I like. It also has a cool FASRIP-looking chart for die results, so it gives it an old school feel (something all old school supers games had were charts, lots of them!). I like that the main Abilities have been reduced to just three; reminiscent of Tri-Stat, but these a Brawn, Agility Mind (BAM!), which appeals to me. Everything after that are skills and powers. It has it's legions of fans and I can see why. There are BASH Fantasy and BASH Sci-Fi games too, which I will need to check out.

BASH is a nice alternative to M&M or Icons, both very fine games, but BASH is easier to get going in. Yes, even compared to Icons. In addition to all of that BASH has a great power leveling system to play everything from Street Level Mystery Men to Cosmic "New Gods".

Like most Supers games, well pretty much every game, I look at the magic first. So far the powers look very Champions or Mutants & Masterminds like, i.e. I choose the "Blast" power and call it "Arcane Blast". I plan to look at Fantasy BASH for more classical, ritualized spellcasting. Given my GM's preferences, I also expect we will be diving into Sci-Fi BASH at some point this year as well. Since that seems to be the thing to do I'll post some conversions for BASH myself, after I have read it a bit more.

It's not perfect. BUT just like like the comics would sometimes have huge cross-over events, so can games. If you are happy with your current Supers RPG, great, but maybe the characters fall into a wormhole-spacetimebridge-cosmicsink and end up in a BASH universe.

If you like supers games then get this.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
BASH! Basic Action Super Heroes (Original Edition)
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Creator Reply:
Thanks for the review, but were you using this Original Edition of BASH! or the newer BASH! Ultimate Edition? I ask because you reference the Dice Roll Chart, and that was a new feature added to the BASH! Ultimate Edition book's back cover. However, it is perfectly usable with the BASH! Original Edition, and can be downloaded for free. Also, the Original Edition of BASH! really only worked for more Street Level superheroes. BASH! Ultimate Edition is the one that expanded to allow Cosmic characters and also had "Mystery Men". Regardless, Thanks again!
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Crook Book #1
by Thomas H. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 06/22/2012 20:11:55

This is a great supplement of well thought through villains that are ready to jump into any street level modern day campaign. There's a nice mix of power level and character motivation and the builds are streamlined and effective. Sometimes you need to tweak a cobbled-together villain from a less polished supplement just to make sure he can take a hit or throw a punch, but these guys are solid right off the shelf. M.E.R.I.T. is a good little organization write-up at the front of the book, and the field agents are nicely made to challenge errant heroes. (Although I have to say M.E.R.I.T. is in the running for most laboured acronym of the year!) The books layout is slick and professional and the art work is inspiring.

It's a five start supplement, but I've only given it four, and here's why: There's ten villains in here, and with a $4.99 price tag that's 50c a throw. At the rate heroes chew villains up, we poor narrators need a sweeter deal than that!



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Crook Book #1
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Escape from Castle Island
by Olivier R. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 06/17/2012 12:17:13

It's a nice, short adventure, ideal to launch a swahsbuckling pirate campaign. It should be considered as a "pilote episode" of a TV show.

All the themes are fairly classic, but it works fairly well.

Alas, it's not very original either, so DMs won't find anything new or surprising in there.

The "schools" contained are interesting examples of what it is possible to create with the rules provided in the main rulebook.

A nice one, can't wait to see what BASHMAN has in stores for other supplements!

The price is right for the quality of this work.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Escape from Castle Island
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Honor + Intrigue
by Olivier R. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 06/17/2012 12:08:49

It's a labor of love and it shows. It contains plenty of very good ideas to implement the swahsbuckling genre at your table.

The only thing that does not work for me (YMMV) are the dueling rules, which IMHO slow down combats and are thus not "in the mood". The good side is that you can get rid of them pretty easily. My personal approach is the following, depending on the players' mood:

  • if my players feel inventive, I tend to play the duels "wushu-style": the better they describe their actions (and the more flamboyantly the better), then I simply give them an according bonus to their "bladework". If the roll is successful, they get to describe their action;
  • if my players are not "in shape" (it is late at night, etc), then I made a set of cards that reproduce the listed actions. Each player draws a single card, activation costs 1 Fortune point, or it is free if they have that action already mastered. The cards represent an opportunity in combat to play this action. If the player feels at ease, (s)he can describe how it came to happen (and then rolls accordingly). If the player gives the DM room to make his combat more exciting, then he does not pay anything at all. Each round, each player draws a new card and gives the DM any used or unused cards they had the previous round. This keeps things flowing and exciting, while a more "tactical" set of rules tends to slow things down (at my table, YMMV).

I did not like the "detailed combat" rules, separated between main actions and "small actions" which can be used as reactions, etc. It reminded me too much of my old D&D days.

I also houseruled things to simplify a bit more social combat during "actual combat". I suppressed Composure and instead decided that successful social actions could remove lifeblood (difference between the player's roll ad the target's Flair) OR 1 advantage in combat (player's choice). This houserule gives one less thing for DM and player to keep track of, and tends to accelerate combats, while keeping flavour).

I kept the "classical" social combat, as I loved the example provided in the rulebook.

I am also in love with the stunts rule (which should be encouraged, actually it can by itself alone replace any dueling rules) and the firearms rules.

I also kept the whole Fortune Point system,which I'm really fond of. My houserules also encourgae players to act "in tone" in order to gain Fortunes Points, which they will likely badly need when combat happens.

I don't use the more "simulationist" rules found in the ships section (especially the ones about costs, and all that sort of things which I prefer to solve without rules).

I really liked the parts about secret societies, magic, monsters, etc, that provide a fresh "pulp angle" to a highly a-historic kind of game. And it's a good idea to keep it in a "real world basis" as digesting (as in 7th Sea) real-world analogues that feel at best clumsy is not my cup of tea.

All in all, it's a great game because if you find that a rule is too "detailed" for you, then it's easy to remove it in favour of a simpler one. The setting (although highly a-historical) is good too.

I can't stress enough that this book is a love letter to the swashbuckling genre, that gave me only one obsession after reading it: find some players and have a blast of daring actions!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Honor + Intrigue
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Five Minutes to Midnight
by William W. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 03/06/2012 20:43:52

A gritty superhero adventure set in an alternate history where the Soviet Union never collapsed, and the Cold War rages on into the 1990s. The supers in this world are high-skill, no-power heroes who encounter a very powerful menace.

The adventure includes playtest notes (a rarity in adventures like this, and I always enjoy seeing them), six pre-made characters that fit the story and setting rather well, and a set of printable paper minis to use for the adventure. The character art is fair to good, and the formatting is clear and easy to read. It's a nice package for a reasonable price.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Five Minutes to Midnight
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BASH! Fantasy Edition
by Guy D. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/06/2012 19:22:26

After years of searching and testing I have found this to be the best starting RPG for kids. Curiously this is what it was designed for. Kids needs to be able to read and do basic arithmetic. After that the rules are easy to follow, characters are quick to build. My 7yo and 9yo are totally into this game.

It would also work for adults and experienced RPGers.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
BASH! Fantasy Edition
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Honor + Intrigue
by Marc H. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/04/2012 12:45:20

Intro: I have Savage Worlds, and am a huge fan of it, and was thinking about using it for the ubiquity setting of Regime Diabolique, wich i loved but somehow just couldn't get the hang of the system. It is a great system, but just not for me.

And then this came along. Sliced bread for swashbuckling. Awsome! The system is easy, yet complete, and has a tremendous swashbuckling feel. I am so going to use this for Regime Diabolique!

It's not going to replace Savage Worlds as my go to system, but having this for my musketeer action will keep that fresh, and keep SW fresh for other stuff as well. One minor flaw: I had to turn to Barbarians of Lemuria to get some divine magic rules ( it has a free version, but it would have been nice to have that in this set of rules as an option )

Get it......It's awsome



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Honor + Intrigue
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Creator Reply:
Thanks for the review, Marc! Regarding "Divine Magic", there are some things. On page 189 it says that the Clergy career can be used to transfer a blessing that is used to fight unholy monsters like demons and undead. Likewise they can make prayers that grant protection to allies against such unholy monsters and sorcery. They can also do exorcisms on unholy creatures. You are right that Clergy are not by default "magic". Mysticism is not part of the the "normal" training that they would receive. However, there is nothing stopping a person with the Clergy career from also having the Magician, Astrologer, or Alchemist career if you want to have a character more focused on the mystical. The Soothesaying aspect of Divination magic might be especially appropriate if viewed as "miracles" or talking to spirits.
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Honor + Intrigue
by Nick R. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/20/2012 10:18:55

This is an excellent RPG for anyone who loves the simplicity of Barbarians of Lemuria but wants a bit more crunch. The fencing manuever rules are superb and give a totally cinematic experience. I ran a sample game at Conception 2012 and wrote it up here: http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?614181-Honor-Intrigue-Fair-Wind-in-Jamaica.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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BASH! Ultimate Edition
by Emma M. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/14/2012 19:13:06

At just over 140 pages, you'd be forgiven for thinking BASH was a beer-&-pretzels, no-brainer kind of game. Don't be fooled for a second. The writing is tight & concise, the artwork fun (while a bit too DC Animated for my taste), and above all, the system is player -and- GM-friendly, a rare thing in an ever-increasing market of superhero titles. Character creation is effortless, and encourages the player to think in terms of the character as a person, not just a set of numbers. There are some critics who say the game lacks 'granularity', but let's be honest, when you've just picked up an M1 Abrams tank, do you care whether you can throw it 45 meters or 50? No, me neither. In the end, the game does exactly what it sets out to: Presents a fast, fun, adaptable & wide-open superhero game with none of the bean-counting of certain other titles. I've played most of the superhero games out there, but when you (and your players) read a new book and ask yourself 'How can I create insert your regular character here in these rules?', you know you've found a keeper. 'Basic' doesn't have to mean 'dumbed-down', and this is one case where it definitely doesn't! Stop reading now & go buy this. Really. You'll be so glad you did.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
BASH! Ultimate Edition
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BASH! Ultimate Edition
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 02/08/2012 21:24:31

BASH! is a fantastic little game of Super Heroes. Instead of a huge book of powers or effects, BASH instead focuses on "What do you want to do?" and "What kind of hero are you?", Simple, but powerful questions. The game achieves the near miraculous feat of being simple to use and learn and yet powerful enough to keep you interested and coming back to the game. The mechanic is kind of an odd one with multipliers (but I think it works for supers) and exploding doubles on 2d6, which I admit I like. It also has a cool FASRIP-looking chart for die results, so it gives it an old school feel (something all old school supers games had were charts, lots of them!). I like that the main Abilities have been reduced to just three; reminiscent of Tri-Stat, but these a Brawn, Agility Mind (BAM!), which appeals to me. Everything after that are skills and powers. It has it's legions of fans and I can see why.

BASH is a nice alternative to M&M or Icons, both very fine games, but BASH is easier to get going in. Yes, even compared to Icons. In addition to all of that BASH has a great power leveling system to play everything from Street Level Mystery Men to Cosmic "New Gods".

It's not perfect. BUT just like like the comics would sometimes have huge cross-over events, so can games. If you are happy with your current Supers RPG, great, but maybe the characters fall into a wormhole-spacetimebridge-cosmicsink and end up in a BASH universe. At under 10 bucks it is totally worth it.

I have a quibble with the "Bruce Timm" inspired-art. I am not really sure how they got away with that. Now mind you, I like the art. I like Supers games to looks like comics or supers cartoons, but this seems a bit odd to me.

No matter. Bottom line. Great game. Great fun. Great Respons...er sorry, Great Price. If you like supers games then get this.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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BASH! Fantasy Edition
by Ryan S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/06/2012 13:31:30

Wow. This is an elegant, simple, yet deep and HIGHLY flexible game. As an older gamer, a husband, and father who does some solo-gaming (using Mythic GM Emulator and house rules) I wanted a system that was easy to learn and play without being too 'fluffy'. BASH Fantasy fit all my criteria. You can create any character you can think of, add powers, add new races, add whatever you want, it's so easy to customize. Want a Sky-Rim style adventure where anyone can wield swords and magic or strict class system where mages can't use swords? Okay, fine. This system can handle whatever you want. Quick combat with enough tactics to satisfy most, a great magic and enchanting section, and tons of great settings ideas round out a great rules set.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
BASH! Fantasy Edition
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BASH! Ultimate Edition
by Ryan S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 12/08/2011 11:27:56

I have been a loooonnnggg time FASERIP fan since the Yellow Box came out. The advanced set rules were the best representation of fast and fluid supers combat/action ever. Sure, I had a few issues that I would try to house rule (movement was always a mess, an Incredible ranked attack ALWAYS does 40 damage, lack of opposed rolls) but all in all it was my boo. Bought M&M (way too much bean counting) and downloaded Icons (too loosey goosey) but nothing ever could replace MSH FASERIP. I see the appeal of M&M and Icons to others, but they didn't work for me.

For months I'd read up on BASH! UE and came close to buying it but always worried about the simplicity of it. I want simplicity but it seemed too simple. I finally took the plunge over the weekend (9.99 on sale) and am so glad I did. It makes me look at FASERIP and think "what was I waiting for?".

It simple and also very deep and versatile, no small feat. You can make any character you want and they can co-exist with any other power level type of character in your campaign. Sure, Superman will win most of the time but Captain America can make it interesting...just like he would in the world of comics. I love the rules for combat, quick simple, but thanks to hero points/dice any character can surprise (just like the comics!). One thing that drove me crazy in FASERIP and M&M is that Superman/Juggernaut/Magneto/Wolverine could kill almost any other hero in 1-2 actions and that's that. Sure that CAN happen in the comics but it doesn't. BASH! UE gets that. Supers is not a genre where hard core, rigid rules apply. Jubilee and Hawkeye should have the ability to make a real difference once in awhile and BASH! UE allows that with a very solid system.

The thing I keep thinking as I read the rules and make characters is, "this reminds me of when (insert hero) did (insert epic action) and saved the day". BASH! UE captures supers in a way no other game does. For the first time in 30 years I have mothballed all my FASERIP stuff. It's in the closet and BASH! UE is on the shelf.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
BASH! Ultimate Edition
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BASH! Ultimate Edition
by Gerry S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/21/2010 12:22:10

Much improved over the original edition, BASH UE gives you the tools to run fast paced, comic book style super hero adventures. Rules are not too crunchy, but not too light either.

Includes a GM's section that covers running various genres, from pulp to cosmic level games.

well worth purchasing if you want an alternative to games like M&M/Champions



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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BASH! Sci-Fi Edition
by Andrew M. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/12/2010 02:20:44

BASH Sci-Fi Edition is indeed a complete toolkit for running any type of science fiction adventure a modern sci-fi fan can imagine, and it's also no slouch when it comes to running modern action or thriller games either. The system is deceptively complete, covering all of the major genres of science fiction. In addition, any or all of these genre packs, all of which are contained in the single pdf file for this game, can be combined seamlessly, allowing stories with combined genres or ones set in the far future where all of the strange technologies of fiction have come to pass.

Most modern games have a simple-to-understand action resolution system nowadays, but most generic, multigenre, or toolkit systems drop the ball when it comes to character creation, either leaving many options out in the name of simplicity, or falling prey to overcomplexity in the name of completeness. BASH does not fall prey to either of these issues. While characters are still built from points, the point values use much lower number all around, and the explanations for anything you might want to buy are quick and broad in scope without being vague. No calculators or reams of paper required to build a character - all of the point values for attributes, skills, advantages, and powers are in the single digits. A slight bit of game balance might be lost, but this broad-strokes style of bookkeeping is still precise enough to make sure there's a significant difference in cost between the powers to move small objects with your mind, turn invisible, or completely mind control someone.

Balance between mundanes and people with "powers" (each power is judged based on effect, and simply restricted to power sources that make sense) is kept by making near-impossible feats of mundane expertise into its own category of powers. In essence, being good at something is a skill or a high attribute, but being action-hero good at it is a power, just like mind control would be, and bought from the same pool of points that powers are.

Skills are judged by "have" or "have-not" and if a character has a skill, the character can roll their attribute to accomplish a relevant task. The have-nots can still make an attribute check, but, lacking the skill, will have a penalty on the attribute roll. This skill system is one of my only issues - while it makes the game very quick and easy to play, the lack of an ability to increase ratings in individual skills makes running a campaign slightly more difficult than a one-shot. However, it is possible to raise ratings in specialized areas of mastery within a skill, to alleviate this problem.

Finally, a lot of good examples are provided, even within the specialized genre packs, all within the book's 137 pages.

A lot of generic or toolkit game systems claim to cover all possibilities while remaining rules-light, but I am of the opinion that BASH is the only game system to manage being complete and being rules light, without these two goals interfering with each other. Overall, very little assembly required. I will use BASH the next time I run a Sci-Fi story for my group, and I expect that both the old hands and the newbs will be satisfied with the result.

For the asking price of the PDF, a solid value. I only wish it were sold in a pocket or digest-sized print edition I could slip in to my laptop bag or backpack, in case of pickup game.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
BASH! Sci-Fi Edition
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Creator Reply:
Thanks for the review. I would like to point out though that you *Can* improve your ratings in various skills by spending XP (3XP to raise a skill or buy a new specialty, page 45). You can also choose at character creation to put multiple "slots" into a single skill choice, raising the multiplier. Thanks again for the review, and I'll think about that digest size suggestion...
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Vengeance is Nigh
by Justin P. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 08/24/2010 21:16:06

Vengeance is Nigh is the first published adventure for BASH Ultimate Edition. I jumped on this as soon as it was released and recently had a chance to run it for a group of friends. We enjoyed the adventure, as it scratches the itch of an introductory superhero adventure and serves as a fantastic introduction to the grittier side of Megapolis. The end also comes with a rather surprising twist for how the adventure begins.

My only complaint with this one is that this adventure falls victim to the standard flaw of the great heroes looking to the little guys for help, and comes off as too much of a rail-road. If there was a little more setting description and a little more information that made this adventure feel like more of a comic book and less of a "quest" it would have gotten five stars. Still, it was an enjoyable introduction for new players to the mechanics behind BASH and the setting of Megapolis.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Vengeance is Nigh
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