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NerdBurger Games’ CODE WARRIORS, A Review
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<blockquote data-quote="Egg Embry" data-source="post: 8754200" data-attributes="member: 6808965"><p>I’m a huge fan of <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/10416/NerdBurger-Games/subcategory/31078/CAPERS?affiliate_id=814082" target="_blank"><strong><em>CAPERS</em></strong></a>, Craig’s award winning RPG of humans wielding superpowers during Prohibition. It uses a card base mechanic that suggests a form of gambling that perfectly suits the hedonism of the era’s recreations. Cards and gambling put against a world of gangsters and speakeasys is storytelling and mechanical perfection, offering gameplay that enhances the in-game culture of the setting. Because of my high esteem for <strong><em>CAPERS</em></strong>, I am always on the lookout for Craig’s next idea. When I got a preview at <a href="https://www.gencon.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Gen Con 2022</strong></a> of <strong><em>Code Warriors</em></strong>, Craig Campbell’s next full RPG, I was interested to see if he could combine elements again to create something amazing. To my delight, with <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1582756696/code-warriors-rpg" target="_blank"><strong><em>Code Warriors</em></strong></a>, Craig Campbell strikes again!</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]259683[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>To get into the mindset of this tabletop roleplaying game, take <strong><em>Tron, Wreck-It Ralph, Ready Player One, The Matrix</em></strong>, and any story of the characters inside the computer, then pull the plug. <strong><em>Code Warriors</em></strong> tells the story of those programs as their system fails and their world comes to an end. Think <strong>Disney</strong> family fun seen through the pitch-black apocalyptic fantasy lenses of <strong><em>MÖRK BORG’s </em></strong>atmosphere. The juxtaposition of these elements creates a stronger whole. Humans going through an apocalypse has been done, but computer programs facing a total system failure of their computer, that’s a fresh coat of point for the concept.</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Code Warriors</em></strong> is 192 pages of setting, rules, NPCs, aberrants (monsters), and system hazards. The core system runs on Trait Checks involving four Traits (Body, Mind, Charm, and Heart). During character creation, you’ll pick your Program Type (your class) and a variety of details to develop your character background while providing a reason to care about the end of the system. Despite the summer tentpole inspiration for this RPG, the tone leans towards serious and even somber. With the end near, this RPG requires a session zero to decide on the overall tone of the RPG. While it could be addressed as a serious take on the idea of living programs (and the game feels perfect for that), your gaming table will need to discuss how serious the world will be.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]259684[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Be prepared: for <strong><em>Code Warriors</em></strong> you’ll need six d8s. If you’re at home, you have at least twenty d8s or you would not have clicked on this article. Hey, you’re a gamer and dice are life, we all live that truth! However, I don’t travel with six of any type of die save for d6s and d10s. If you’re like me and have the dice at home, make sure you pack a few extra d8s if you sign up to play this RPG at a convention.</p><p></p><p>For a check to accomplish any action (skill, combat, etc.), pick a Trait and roll that number of d8s against a Target Number between 5 and 8. You have to roll at least one success to succeed at any Trait Check. Additional successes offer boons to enhance the results. In combat, your character will attack and defend, as the GM will not roll dice in this RPG. Damage can lead to Glitches as your program degenerates. Like many RPGs that touch on technology as a base, this one offers a variety of upgrades to customize your character.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]259685[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>The setting has two eras, “Before the Collapse” and “During the Collapse”. When the computer is running, life is OK. When the Collapse starts, so starts the collapse of computer society. In terms of the overall tone of helplessness and despair, the game offers three modes. Easy Mode is the world of most post-apocalyptic movies; it’s bad but life finds a way. Hard Mode ratchets up the tension as the end is eventual, though it may be not soon. While Easy suggests the world will go on in a reduced gear, Hard implies that this situation is temporary and the gears may eventually strip. Finally, there is Hopeless Mode, the transmission is going to die on the next gear shift and with it, this journey. Hopeless Mode is the <strong><em>MÖRK BORG </em></strong>atmosphere I mentioned earlier, creating a dark option within a genre that leans towards action-adventure, not grimdark. If you go with Hopeless, the end is inevitable.</p><p></p><p>Environmentally, the world is a program much like <strong><em>Tron</em></strong> where there are plains, some physical features, and “rivers,” but there’s no weather, no animal life, no sun or moon (though there are cycles that amount to day and night). Ultimately, the strangeness of the setting is its disconnection from our everyday background. No breeze, no AC, no heat, no snow, no animal noises, just terrain and programs. It might be like being on the moon; there is a world, but it’s not like Earth.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]259686[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Graphically, Dan Morison delivers a <strong><em>Transformers</em> G1 Marvel Comics </strong>vibe with certain elements. His grids recall <strong><em>Tron, </em></strong>especially the graphics of the <strong><em>TRON: Uprising</em></strong> TV series. The color scheme is a bright vision of <strong>Decepticons</strong> in the desert. Taken as a whole, the artwork expresses the world, it conveys the robots-in-<strong><em>Mad Max</em></strong> concept that is the root of this setting.</p><p></p><p>Is <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1582756696/code-warriors-rpg" target="_blank"><strong><em>Code Warriors</em></strong></a> a next level hit like the award winning <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/10416/NerdBurger-Games/subcategory/26288_31078/CAPERS?affiliate_id=814082" target="_blank"><strong><em>CAPERS</em></strong></a> or <strong>NerdBurger Games’ ENNIE</strong> nominated <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/347465/Good-Strong-Hands?affiliate_id=814082" target="_blank"><strong><em>Good Strong Hands</em></strong></a>? Conceptually, <strong><em>Code Warriors</em></strong> has a stronger draw than any <strong>NerdBurger Game</strong> so far. Turning worlds like <strong><em>Tron </em></strong>and<strong><em> Wreck-It Ralph </em></strong>into apocalyptic concepts is a level of creative brilliance that should turn heads in Hollywood, comics, and sci-fi novels. This is an RPG so, like any RPG, it can be presented in several ways, but this one might benefit from a serious tone. Heroes battling against the impossible will create stories of great heroism. <strong>NerdBurger Games’</strong> <strong><em>Code Warriors</em></strong> promises a glitchy apocalypse that only your best programs will find hope in. As an RPG, <strong><em>Code Warriors</em></strong> reaches <strong>NerdBurger Games’</strong> lofty heights of originality and creativity.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]259687[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p><strong><em><a href="https://www.nerdburgergames.com/code-warriors-1" target="_blank">C</a><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1582756696/code-warriors-rpg" target="_blank">ODE WARRIORS</a></em></strong></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Published by <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/10416/NerdBurger-Games?affiliate_id=814082" target="_blank"><strong>NerdBurger Games LLC</strong></a></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">“Upgrade your Code. Avoid Deletion. Survive the Collapse. Rebuild Your World.”</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Game Design and Layout: Craig Campbell (he/him)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Additional Design: Chris Boyer (he/him)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Editing: Ginny Loveday (she/her)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Graphic Design: AnitaWiebe (she/they)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Illustrations and Cartography: Dan Morison (he/him)</li> </ul><p><em>DISCLAIMER: Egg Embry has attended gaming and comic book conventions with NerdBurger Games. He participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, and Amazon.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Egg Embry, post: 8754200, member: 6808965"] I’m a huge fan of [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/10416/NerdBurger-Games/subcategory/31078/CAPERS?affiliate_id=814082'][B][I]CAPERS[/I][/B][/URL], Craig’s award winning RPG of humans wielding superpowers during Prohibition. It uses a card base mechanic that suggests a form of gambling that perfectly suits the hedonism of the era’s recreations. Cards and gambling put against a world of gangsters and speakeasys is storytelling and mechanical perfection, offering gameplay that enhances the in-game culture of the setting. Because of my high esteem for [B][I]CAPERS[/I][/B], I am always on the lookout for Craig’s next idea. When I got a preview at [URL='https://www.gencon.com/'][B]Gen Con 2022[/B][/URL] of [B][I]Code Warriors[/I][/B], Craig Campbell’s next full RPG, I was interested to see if he could combine elements again to create something amazing. To my delight, with [URL='https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1582756696/code-warriors-rpg'][B][I]Code Warriors[/I][/B][/URL], Craig Campbell strikes again! [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="Code Warriors Cover.png"]259683[/ATTACH][/CENTER] To get into the mindset of this tabletop roleplaying game, take [B][I]Tron, Wreck-It Ralph, Ready Player One, The Matrix[/I][/B], and any story of the characters inside the computer, then pull the plug. [B][I]Code Warriors[/I][/B] tells the story of those programs as their system fails and their world comes to an end. Think [B]Disney[/B] family fun seen through the pitch-black apocalyptic fantasy lenses of [B][I]MÖRK BORG’s [/I][/B]atmosphere. The juxtaposition of these elements creates a stronger whole. Humans going through an apocalypse has been done, but computer programs facing a total system failure of their computer, that’s a fresh coat of point for the concept. [B][I]Code Warriors[/I][/B] is 192 pages of setting, rules, NPCs, aberrants (monsters), and system hazards. The core system runs on Trait Checks involving four Traits (Body, Mind, Charm, and Heart). During character creation, you’ll pick your Program Type (your class) and a variety of details to develop your character background while providing a reason to care about the end of the system. Despite the summer tentpole inspiration for this RPG, the tone leans towards serious and even somber. With the end near, this RPG requires a session zero to decide on the overall tone of the RPG. While it could be addressed as a serious take on the idea of living programs (and the game feels perfect for that), your gaming table will need to discuss how serious the world will be. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="Code Warriors Sample Pages - 202.jpg"]259684[/ATTACH][/CENTER] Be prepared: for [B][I]Code Warriors[/I][/B] you’ll need six d8s. If you’re at home, you have at least twenty d8s or you would not have clicked on this article. Hey, you’re a gamer and dice are life, we all live that truth! However, I don’t travel with six of any type of die save for d6s and d10s. If you’re like me and have the dice at home, make sure you pack a few extra d8s if you sign up to play this RPG at a convention. For a check to accomplish any action (skill, combat, etc.), pick a Trait and roll that number of d8s against a Target Number between 5 and 8. You have to roll at least one success to succeed at any Trait Check. Additional successes offer boons to enhance the results. In combat, your character will attack and defend, as the GM will not roll dice in this RPG. Damage can lead to Glitches as your program degenerates. Like many RPGs that touch on technology as a base, this one offers a variety of upgrades to customize your character. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="CW Half Page - Wounded Program P.jpg"]259685[/ATTACH][/CENTER] The setting has two eras, “Before the Collapse” and “During the Collapse”. When the computer is running, life is OK. When the Collapse starts, so starts the collapse of computer society. In terms of the overall tone of helplessness and despair, the game offers three modes. Easy Mode is the world of most post-apocalyptic movies; it’s bad but life finds a way. Hard Mode ratchets up the tension as the end is eventual, though it may be not soon. While Easy suggests the world will go on in a reduced gear, Hard implies that this situation is temporary and the gears may eventually strip. Finally, there is Hopeless Mode, the transmission is going to die on the next gear shift and with it, this journey. Hopeless Mode is the [B][I]MÖRK BORG [/I][/B]atmosphere I mentioned earlier, creating a dark option within a genre that leans towards action-adventure, not grimdark. If you go with Hopeless, the end is inevitable. Environmentally, the world is a program much like [B][I]Tron[/I][/B] where there are plains, some physical features, and “rivers,” but there’s no weather, no animal life, no sun or moon (though there are cycles that amount to day and night). Ultimately, the strangeness of the setting is its disconnection from our everyday background. No breeze, no AC, no heat, no snow, no animal noises, just terrain and programs. It might be like being on the moon; there is a world, but it’s not like Earth. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="CW Half Page - Stand Off Preview.jpg"]259686[/ATTACH][/CENTER] Graphically, Dan Morison delivers a [B][I]Transformers[/I] G1 Marvel Comics [/B]vibe with certain elements. His grids recall [B][I]Tron, [/I][/B]especially the graphics of the [B][I]TRON: Uprising[/I][/B] TV series. The color scheme is a bright vision of [B]Decepticons[/B] in the desert. Taken as a whole, the artwork expresses the world, it conveys the robots-in-[B][I]Mad Max[/I][/B] concept that is the root of this setting. Is [URL='https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1582756696/code-warriors-rpg'][B][I]Code Warriors[/I][/B][/URL] a next level hit like the award winning [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/10416/NerdBurger-Games/subcategory/26288_31078/CAPERS?affiliate_id=814082'][B][I]CAPERS[/I][/B][/URL] or [B]NerdBurger Games’ ENNIE[/B] nominated [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/347465/Good-Strong-Hands?affiliate_id=814082'][B][I]Good Strong Hands[/I][/B][/URL]? Conceptually, [B][I]Code Warriors[/I][/B] has a stronger draw than any [B]NerdBurger Game[/B] so far. Turning worlds like [B][I]Tron [/I][/B]and[B][I] Wreck-It Ralph [/I][/B]into apocalyptic concepts is a level of creative brilliance that should turn heads in Hollywood, comics, and sci-fi novels. This is an RPG so, like any RPG, it can be presented in several ways, but this one might benefit from a serious tone. Heroes battling against the impossible will create stories of great heroism. [B]NerdBurger Games’[/B] [B][I]Code Warriors[/I][/B] promises a glitchy apocalypse that only your best programs will find hope in. As an RPG, [B][I]Code Warriors[/I][/B] reaches [B]NerdBurger Games’[/B] lofty heights of originality and creativity. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="CW Full Page data storm preview.jpg"]259687[/ATTACH][/CENTER] [B][I][URL='https://www.nerdburgergames.com/code-warriors-1']C[/URL][URL='https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1582756696/code-warriors-rpg']ODE WARRIORS[/URL][/I][/B] [LIST] [*]Published by [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/10416/NerdBurger-Games?affiliate_id=814082'][B]NerdBurger Games LLC[/B][/URL] [*]“Upgrade your Code. Avoid Deletion. Survive the Collapse. Rebuild Your World.” [*]Game Design and Layout: Craig Campbell (he/him) [*]Additional Design: Chris Boyer (he/him) [*]Editing: Ginny Loveday (she/her) [*]Graphic Design: AnitaWiebe (she/they) [*]Illustrations and Cartography: Dan Morison (he/him) [/LIST] [I]DISCLAIMER: Egg Embry has attended gaming and comic book conventions with NerdBurger Games. He participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, and Amazon.[/I] [/QUOTE]
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