HeapThaumaturgist
First Post
Well, I picked up Ronin Arts' "Modern: Contacts" today. Downloaded, really.
I heard some interest in the product in the ENworld chat room, but wasn't able to stay connected for more than 30 seconds at the shot, so I couldn't share my opinons.
Instead, I wrote a review and posted it to Ronin Arts' product page, and I'll reprint it here for any interested parties.
The information/rules on contacts provided on the first few pages of the document are very similar to the Contacts rules I remember from Alternity and Dark*Matter (released by Wizards in '99). If the concept was pulled from there, or great minds think alike, I won't venture to say. I will venture to say that it was good then, and it's good now ... having a codified system of contacts in your modern/sci-fi game ... ESPECIALLY an intrigue/investigation game, is invaluable.
The "rules" section of the booklet is broken into an Introduction, a bit on using contacts in your games, then a description of three types of contact (Information, Influence, and Skill), then a section on Obtaining Contacts. Inserted between these, on it's own page, is a side-bar containing three contact-related feats (Extra Contact, Powerful Friend, Wealthy Friend). The layout is very clean, in black and white, presumably for ease of printing. There is no art located anywhere on the PDF (the 'cover' is mocked up to remind one of the D20 Modern books, but has no "art") and the header/footer is small and out of the way. A good amount of information is packed into the pages. It prints easily and doesn't use up much more ink than printing any other document, though I will say that the "Cover" has the first 3-4 paragraphs of the actual TEXT of the document embeded within it, and if you print it it might suck up alot of colored ink in your ink-jet with the gray-green gunmetal and leather finish.
It is in the descriptions of theTypes Of Contacts, and the section on Obtaining Contacts where I find the first problems. In the individual contact-types descriptions, the average level of the contact is provided as a fraction of the PC's level (1/3, 1/4, 1/2 etc) as well as a description of what character classes usual contacts of that type would have.
In the short "Obtaining Contacts" section, however, there is a small table (probably the most important "rule" part of the book) that lists what level basic PC classes gain contacts, and the level of those contacts. I.E., at 3rd level Dedicated and Fast heroes gain their first contact, a 1st level NPC. This seems to conflict with the information given in the Types Of Contacts entries ... both may be "suggestions" or "guidelines" but the ambiguity remains and is confusing.
Returning to the table Obtaining Contacts, a critique (but not a problem) I have is that contact-aquisition seems to be toploaded for the Charismatic class (understandable) at one every other level, while Smart Heroes seem to be the 'nerds with no friends', and gain contacts only once every 5 levels. While the divisions between classes in the rate of contact aquisition is very linear (and there-fore easy to remember) it seems that for Smart heroes contacts become a rather unimportant part of the game (not gaining their first contact until their mid-range levels) while Contacts become a rather important "unofficial class feature" for Charismatic heroes. Depending on your game type, this may be appropriate or may need adjusting. (For instance, in my own games we focus on investigative style games and the Smart class is prominent. With the Contacts rules as they are now, my PCs would have to front-load Charismatic levels to gain contacts before their 5th or 6th or even 7th levels, or take the Extra Contact feat several times. I haven't playtested this, so it may work, but upon my first several readings this sends up a red flag for, at least, my own campaign.) I would have, perhaps, liked to have seen the table and connected rules redesigned to allow ALL the classes to have access to contacts earlier in their carreers, but further contacts delayed for classes other than Charismatic.
The only other (mildly) negative comment I have about the rules section is (what I assume) is a typo in the Feats section, where the "Bard" class is mentioned. Again, I assume this is a reference to the Charismatic basic class.
The "Sample Contacts" section is the majority of the 18pg PDF and contains several contacts of each type (Information, Influence, Skills). Each of these sample contacts appears on it's own page with a small description, a stat block, and a section for GMs to take notes. These pages are designed to be printed out one at a time, and the designers specifically ask if this is a style for NPCs we (the consumer) like. I will say that yes, yes I do. It's handy and easy to slip an NPC in the notebook/traper-keeper/manilla folder with the other sheets.
Like the rest of the document, the NPCs section contains no artwork, just a description of the charcter and a short quote. I like how this works.
Each of the contacts has a specialty ... a criminal informant, a mechanic, a secretarial priest ... some seem specific to a campaign style (how often does one need to get in good with the local Episcopal Bishop?) while others could easily fit in any campaign (who doesn't need a mechanic?)
For the cost of a burger combo at McDonalds, this PDF doesn't disappoint. If you already own a game system with a codified Contacts system, then you can probably wing it as easily as not, and we can all certainly come up with our own NPCs. This document is an interesting read and a good refresher/introduction to using Contacts in your games, as well as a time-saver with a double-handful of pre-statted and fleshed NPCs to toss into your games as contacts. If you're running an intrigue or investigation style game and you've never heard of Contacts, I'd say this is a Must Buy. If you're familiar with the concept and have a copy of Dark*Matter lying about, eh, it certainly isnt a waste of money and is affordable on the pocketbook AND the printer.
--fje
I heard some interest in the product in the ENworld chat room, but wasn't able to stay connected for more than 30 seconds at the shot, so I couldn't share my opinons.
Instead, I wrote a review and posted it to Ronin Arts' product page, and I'll reprint it here for any interested parties.
The information/rules on contacts provided on the first few pages of the document are very similar to the Contacts rules I remember from Alternity and Dark*Matter (released by Wizards in '99). If the concept was pulled from there, or great minds think alike, I won't venture to say. I will venture to say that it was good then, and it's good now ... having a codified system of contacts in your modern/sci-fi game ... ESPECIALLY an intrigue/investigation game, is invaluable.
The "rules" section of the booklet is broken into an Introduction, a bit on using contacts in your games, then a description of three types of contact (Information, Influence, and Skill), then a section on Obtaining Contacts. Inserted between these, on it's own page, is a side-bar containing three contact-related feats (Extra Contact, Powerful Friend, Wealthy Friend). The layout is very clean, in black and white, presumably for ease of printing. There is no art located anywhere on the PDF (the 'cover' is mocked up to remind one of the D20 Modern books, but has no "art") and the header/footer is small and out of the way. A good amount of information is packed into the pages. It prints easily and doesn't use up much more ink than printing any other document, though I will say that the "Cover" has the first 3-4 paragraphs of the actual TEXT of the document embeded within it, and if you print it it might suck up alot of colored ink in your ink-jet with the gray-green gunmetal and leather finish.
It is in the descriptions of theTypes Of Contacts, and the section on Obtaining Contacts where I find the first problems. In the individual contact-types descriptions, the average level of the contact is provided as a fraction of the PC's level (1/3, 1/4, 1/2 etc) as well as a description of what character classes usual contacts of that type would have.
In the short "Obtaining Contacts" section, however, there is a small table (probably the most important "rule" part of the book) that lists what level basic PC classes gain contacts, and the level of those contacts. I.E., at 3rd level Dedicated and Fast heroes gain their first contact, a 1st level NPC. This seems to conflict with the information given in the Types Of Contacts entries ... both may be "suggestions" or "guidelines" but the ambiguity remains and is confusing.
Returning to the table Obtaining Contacts, a critique (but not a problem) I have is that contact-aquisition seems to be toploaded for the Charismatic class (understandable) at one every other level, while Smart Heroes seem to be the 'nerds with no friends', and gain contacts only once every 5 levels. While the divisions between classes in the rate of contact aquisition is very linear (and there-fore easy to remember) it seems that for Smart heroes contacts become a rather unimportant part of the game (not gaining their first contact until their mid-range levels) while Contacts become a rather important "unofficial class feature" for Charismatic heroes. Depending on your game type, this may be appropriate or may need adjusting. (For instance, in my own games we focus on investigative style games and the Smart class is prominent. With the Contacts rules as they are now, my PCs would have to front-load Charismatic levels to gain contacts before their 5th or 6th or even 7th levels, or take the Extra Contact feat several times. I haven't playtested this, so it may work, but upon my first several readings this sends up a red flag for, at least, my own campaign.) I would have, perhaps, liked to have seen the table and connected rules redesigned to allow ALL the classes to have access to contacts earlier in their carreers, but further contacts delayed for classes other than Charismatic.
The only other (mildly) negative comment I have about the rules section is (what I assume) is a typo in the Feats section, where the "Bard" class is mentioned. Again, I assume this is a reference to the Charismatic basic class.
The "Sample Contacts" section is the majority of the 18pg PDF and contains several contacts of each type (Information, Influence, Skills). Each of these sample contacts appears on it's own page with a small description, a stat block, and a section for GMs to take notes. These pages are designed to be printed out one at a time, and the designers specifically ask if this is a style for NPCs we (the consumer) like. I will say that yes, yes I do. It's handy and easy to slip an NPC in the notebook/traper-keeper/manilla folder with the other sheets.
Like the rest of the document, the NPCs section contains no artwork, just a description of the charcter and a short quote. I like how this works.
Each of the contacts has a specialty ... a criminal informant, a mechanic, a secretarial priest ... some seem specific to a campaign style (how often does one need to get in good with the local Episcopal Bishop?) while others could easily fit in any campaign (who doesn't need a mechanic?)
For the cost of a burger combo at McDonalds, this PDF doesn't disappoint. If you already own a game system with a codified Contacts system, then you can probably wing it as easily as not, and we can all certainly come up with our own NPCs. This document is an interesting read and a good refresher/introduction to using Contacts in your games, as well as a time-saver with a double-handful of pre-statted and fleshed NPCs to toss into your games as contacts. If you're running an intrigue or investigation style game and you've never heard of Contacts, I'd say this is a Must Buy. If you're familiar with the concept and have a copy of Dark*Matter lying about, eh, it certainly isnt a waste of money and is affordable on the pocketbook AND the printer.
--fje
