Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
A New D&D Revolution: Nations & Cannons Core Rules Review
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Sparky McDibben" data-source="post: 9018579" data-attributes="member: 7041430"><p>Alright, friends! Almost done with <span style="font-size: 15px">this </span>review. However, a quick note first. The Kickstarter for <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flagbearergames/the-american-crisis-a-nations-and-cannons-adventure-for-dnd-5e?ref=1y7gqr" target="_blank"><em>Nations & Cannons: The American Crisis</em></a> has less than 24 hours left. It's like 4x funded, and there's a ton of stretch goals accomplished. If you think these rules are interesting, or you just like supporting non-WotC designers, might be worth a look.</p><p></p><p>Now, let's dive into opponents! The Core Rules have 28 statblocks for several different kinds of adversaries, divided into several broad categories:</p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Artillery - Big guns that go BOOM!</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Beasts - New beasties customized to a more North American environment</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Irregulars - Mercenaries, warriors, and special forces; have a d8 HD</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Partisans - Militia or tradesmen not often on the battlefield; have a d6 HD</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Soldiers - Trained troops, crack veterans; have a d10 HD</li> </ol><p>There are only two artillery statblocks, but they're quite interesting, because they're basically a swarm with a single big AoE attack. The Galloper Gun, for example, fires in lines with either cannister (3d6 ballistic damage, which remember cannot be reduced by resistance, but the line is 15' wide), or round shot (6d6 ballistic damage, but the line is 1,200' long and 5' wide). The base save DC is set at 11, but can be modified up or down by giving the gun a better gunner. The crew is actually six footmen (a separate statblock, each of them are CR 1/4), so when the gun is attacked, you have stats handy for the crew to defend their gun. Artillerymen get irrationally fond of their guns, so that tracks.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://media0.giphy.com/media/fxaTKpRPFgUnSzmVFi/200.gif" alt="cannons people GIF" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>The beast options are the devs giving animals some teeth (pun intended and <em>I HAVE NO REGRETS</em>) by giving existing beasts some new options. So the black wolf has a howl option that can summon regular wolves, and the rattlesnake has a rattle that frightens (as the condition) anyone within 30 feet who fails a Wisdom save. I really like this - wolves and rattlesnakes should be scary!</p><p></p><p>Irregulars are light skirmishing forces, especially Native American warriors and frontier folks. The devs have avoided writing up an "Iroquois statblock" and focused on instead broad fighting archetypes that can be deployed easily by the DM. The one that sticks out here are the Hessians, which include the Hessian conscript and Hessian schasant (sergeant). This is where we start to see some real innovation by the designers, because there are several sets of statblocks that are meant to be used in large numbers together. These are typically noted by a trait or feature in their statblock like Regimented: "The conscript cannot score a critical hit. The conscript has advantage on attack rolls if an ally with the Regimented trait is within 5 feet and isn't incapacitated." So the designers give them the option of hitting more frequently, but cap the damage by nullifying crits. The other thing the advantage does is lower the risk of these guys misfiring with their weapons, and it encourages large groups of goons to bunch up, presenting well-equipped PCs with nigh-irresistible targets for grenades, gambits, etc.</p><p></p><p>The other thing with Regimented creatures is that they typically have a leader nearby with an ability like the schasant's Volley Fire: "The schasant orders allies with the Regimented trait and a loaded musket to prepare a volley. Any such ally within 30 feet that has not acted this round (or an ally that has taken the Ready action) can immediately move up to half their speed to close ranks. Participating allies can take no further actions this round.</p><p> If two or more of such allies form a continuous row they can fire their muskets in a volley, a 100-foot line that is 5 feet wide per participating ally. Each creature in that line must make a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) ballistic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one."</p><p></p><p>So as you can see, large numbers of bad guys can coordinate on their off-turns and create some real nasty hazards. The thing that's nice from a GM standpoint is that putting all this movement and attacks into the hands of single creature (the schasant) without individual attack rolls meant that when I ran these guys, it dramatically reduced the workload of handling even upwards of a dozen creatures at a time. And that's without using any of the popular mob hacks like tracking damage as one big pool, etc.</p><p></p><p>Partisans are light militia, and include folks like minutemen, Highlanders...</p><p></p><p><img src="https://media4.giphy.com/media/8L0yOaWLNmHnm9T4yy/200.gif" alt="There Can Be Only One Highlander GIF" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Not that guy, but that movie is still one of my favorites. I mean these guys:</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]284477[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>They <em>look </em>fierce, but really they just want a hug! (You'd want a hug too if you had to pull off that hat. I mean, I don't think I could pull that hat off, but damned if that guy isn't giving it a 100% effort). There are also stats for chaplains, provocateurs, machinists (who are more like general fix-its), etc. These folks are specialists, and you really only add them to encounters if there's something special you want to include.</p><p></p><p>Finally, we have the soldiers. These guys are also designed to be used in large groups, with sergeants, field officers, and even drummers (who get a fun ability to suppress the frightened condition). There are also more specialist troops, like the fusilier and the grenadier, both of whom get fun abilities that reflect their more aggressive combat roles. Fusiliers especially are nasty boys - two of these guys almost wiped the floor with a 4th level barbarian who came at them with party support.</p><p></p><p>There's two things I want to highlight here. Except for specific ones like highlanders and Hessians, most of these statblocks can be used by either side of any conflict. An eagle warrior could be a doughty Iroquois ally of the French, or one of the brave Stockbridge warriors, etc. The footmen, likewise, could be Redcoats or Continentals.</p><p></p><p>The second thing is the Trappings system. With unique or more difficult statblocks, the designers added a little blurb underneath the statblock about what you could find on these folks. So when you defeat a field officer, for example, you have a 50% chance to recover a gorget and a 50% chance to recover a dueling pistol. You could get both, either, or neither. Most foes won't have trappings, but the ones that do will be the ones that the PCs will remember.</p><p></p><p>All in all, these designs help me run linear warfare-style scenarios without having a calculator and an aide-de-camp. Honestly, that's exactly what I wanted, and I applaud the devs for it. Well done! Next time, we'll round it out with the Invasion of Canada!</p><p></p><p>What time is it? SYRUP O'CLOCK!</p><p></p><p><img src="https://media1.giphy.com/media/gdkjaeg3NQyWkf9upm/200.gif" alt="Hungry Maple Syrup GIF by Johnny Slicks" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sparky McDibben, post: 9018579, member: 7041430"] Alright, friends! Almost done with [SIZE=4]this [/SIZE]review. However, a quick note first. The Kickstarter for [URL='https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flagbearergames/the-american-crisis-a-nations-and-cannons-adventure-for-dnd-5e?ref=1y7gqr'][I]Nations & Cannons: The American Crisis[/I][/URL] has less than 24 hours left. It's like 4x funded, and there's a ton of stretch goals accomplished. If you think these rules are interesting, or you just like supporting non-WotC designers, might be worth a look. Now, let's dive into opponents! The Core Rules have 28 statblocks for several different kinds of adversaries, divided into several broad categories: [LIST=1] [*]Artillery - Big guns that go BOOM! [*]Beasts - New beasties customized to a more North American environment [*]Irregulars - Mercenaries, warriors, and special forces; have a d8 HD [*]Partisans - Militia or tradesmen not often on the battlefield; have a d6 HD [*]Soldiers - Trained troops, crack veterans; have a d10 HD [/LIST] There are only two artillery statblocks, but they're quite interesting, because they're basically a swarm with a single big AoE attack. The Galloper Gun, for example, fires in lines with either cannister (3d6 ballistic damage, which remember cannot be reduced by resistance, but the line is 15' wide), or round shot (6d6 ballistic damage, but the line is 1,200' long and 5' wide). The base save DC is set at 11, but can be modified up or down by giving the gun a better gunner. The crew is actually six footmen (a separate statblock, each of them are CR 1/4), so when the gun is attacked, you have stats handy for the crew to defend their gun. Artillerymen get irrationally fond of their guns, so that tracks. [IMG alt="cannons people GIF"]https://media0.giphy.com/media/fxaTKpRPFgUnSzmVFi/200.gif[/IMG] The beast options are the devs giving animals some teeth (pun intended and [I]I HAVE NO REGRETS[/I]) by giving existing beasts some new options. So the black wolf has a howl option that can summon regular wolves, and the rattlesnake has a rattle that frightens (as the condition) anyone within 30 feet who fails a Wisdom save. I really like this - wolves and rattlesnakes should be scary! Irregulars are light skirmishing forces, especially Native American warriors and frontier folks. The devs have avoided writing up an "Iroquois statblock" and focused on instead broad fighting archetypes that can be deployed easily by the DM. The one that sticks out here are the Hessians, which include the Hessian conscript and Hessian schasant (sergeant). This is where we start to see some real innovation by the designers, because there are several sets of statblocks that are meant to be used in large numbers together. These are typically noted by a trait or feature in their statblock like Regimented: "The conscript cannot score a critical hit. The conscript has advantage on attack rolls if an ally with the Regimented trait is within 5 feet and isn't incapacitated." So the designers give them the option of hitting more frequently, but cap the damage by nullifying crits. The other thing the advantage does is lower the risk of these guys misfiring with their weapons, and it encourages large groups of goons to bunch up, presenting well-equipped PCs with nigh-irresistible targets for grenades, gambits, etc. The other thing with Regimented creatures is that they typically have a leader nearby with an ability like the schasant's Volley Fire: "The schasant orders allies with the Regimented trait and a loaded musket to prepare a volley. Any such ally within 30 feet that has not acted this round (or an ally that has taken the Ready action) can immediately move up to half their speed to close ranks. Participating allies can take no further actions this round. If two or more of such allies form a continuous row they can fire their muskets in a volley, a 100-foot line that is 5 feet wide per participating ally. Each creature in that line must make a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) ballistic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one." So as you can see, large numbers of bad guys can coordinate on their off-turns and create some real nasty hazards. The thing that's nice from a GM standpoint is that putting all this movement and attacks into the hands of single creature (the schasant) without individual attack rolls meant that when I ran these guys, it dramatically reduced the workload of handling even upwards of a dozen creatures at a time. And that's without using any of the popular mob hacks like tracking damage as one big pool, etc. Partisans are light militia, and include folks like minutemen, Highlanders... [IMG alt="There Can Be Only One Highlander GIF"]https://media4.giphy.com/media/8L0yOaWLNmHnm9T4yy/200.gif[/IMG] Not that guy, but that movie is still one of my favorites. I mean these guys: [ATTACH type="full" alt="1683775169490.jpeg"]284477[/ATTACH] They [I]look [/I]fierce, but really they just want a hug! (You'd want a hug too if you had to pull off that hat. I mean, I don't think I could pull that hat off, but damned if that guy isn't giving it a 100% effort). There are also stats for chaplains, provocateurs, machinists (who are more like general fix-its), etc. These folks are specialists, and you really only add them to encounters if there's something special you want to include. Finally, we have the soldiers. These guys are also designed to be used in large groups, with sergeants, field officers, and even drummers (who get a fun ability to suppress the frightened condition). There are also more specialist troops, like the fusilier and the grenadier, both of whom get fun abilities that reflect their more aggressive combat roles. Fusiliers especially are nasty boys - two of these guys almost wiped the floor with a 4th level barbarian who came at them with party support. There's two things I want to highlight here. Except for specific ones like highlanders and Hessians, most of these statblocks can be used by either side of any conflict. An eagle warrior could be a doughty Iroquois ally of the French, or one of the brave Stockbridge warriors, etc. The footmen, likewise, could be Redcoats or Continentals. The second thing is the Trappings system. With unique or more difficult statblocks, the designers added a little blurb underneath the statblock about what you could find on these folks. So when you defeat a field officer, for example, you have a 50% chance to recover a gorget and a 50% chance to recover a dueling pistol. You could get both, either, or neither. Most foes won't have trappings, but the ones that do will be the ones that the PCs will remember. All in all, these designs help me run linear warfare-style scenarios without having a calculator and an aide-de-camp. Honestly, that's exactly what I wanted, and I applaud the devs for it. Well done! Next time, we'll round it out with the Invasion of Canada! What time is it? SYRUP O'CLOCK! [IMG alt="Hungry Maple Syrup GIF by Johnny Slicks"]https://media1.giphy.com/media/gdkjaeg3NQyWkf9upm/200.gif[/IMG] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
A New D&D Revolution: Nations & Cannons Core Rules Review
Top