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Review / Remix: Everyday Heroes' "To Dethrone A Dictator"
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<blockquote data-quote="Sparky McDibben" data-source="post: 9089060" data-attributes="member: 7041430"><p>Howdy y'all! </p><p></p><p>I recently downloaded <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/421101/To-Dethrone-A-Dictator" target="_blank"><em>To Dethrone a Dictator</em></a> by Evil Genius Games from DriveThruRPG. It's an adventure meant for their <em>Everyday Heroes </em>system, which I found quite interesting and refreshing (system review <a href="https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?652619-Everyday-Heroes-Third-Party-5E" target="_blank">here</a>). The adventure is 59 pages long, and available as Pay What You Want. It's a decent set up for a 4 hour convention game, and a massive missed opportunity for a super-fun <em>Far Cry</em>-style sandbox. So, what I wanted to do here was to go over a quick review of the scenario, and then start talking about how I'd flesh this out for a sandbox-style game. </p><p></p><p><strong>REVIEW:</strong></p><p>You play as mercenaries recruited to kill the dictator of an African island nation. I half expected the group patron to be the Chevron corporation, but instead it's a shadowy group called REDEMPTION*. You parachute onto a beach, potentially fight some guards, link up with some resistance fighters in town, scout the King's palace, fight off a raid, and then launch your attack on the palace, culminating in a shootout with the dictator himself!</p><p></p><p>That ain't bad for a con game where you need to keep the pressure on and the PCs constantly moving. But there are some significant problems with the setup and execution. </p><p></p><p>For one, the King is defended by local troops and hired mercs. We're told that when the troops don't get paid, they'll leave. I cannot stress to you how much "That's not how that works!" was going through my head when I read that. If you're interested, see the Mercenary War, the 1527 Sack of Rome, and the Spanish Fury at Antwerp. Historically, the general point is that if you don't pay your mercs / troops, the result is that they take whatever isn't nailed down and then set up a bunch of little fiefdoms in the process. Ordinarily, I don't knock points for lack of realism, but reading that just threw me right out of the game. </p><p></p><p>Second, there's a distinct lack of meaningful choices on the part of the PCs. Almost everything gets spoonfed to them by NPCs. That's mostly a result of the convention game format, but it comes across as stifling when I think about trying to run this. </p><p></p><p>Third, it carries some problematic "white man's burden" vibes, although thankfully they weren't ever spelled out or expounded upon. That one I'm not going to knock the writers for, simply because I don't like dragging people for making the same mistakes I have. </p><p></p><p>Alright, now I've gotten through a quick review of the subject matter, next time I want to talk about how we can remix this into a great 1 - 10 sandbox adventure. See y'all next time!</p><p></p><p>*I presume the name was rated "A Little Too On the Nose" by the ACRONYM agency. </p><p>**@Libertad - don't worry, Grim Hollow's coming. I'm still re-reading the damned thing! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sparky McDibben, post: 9089060, member: 7041430"] Howdy y'all! I recently downloaded [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/421101/To-Dethrone-A-Dictator'][I]To Dethrone a Dictator[/I][/URL] by Evil Genius Games from DriveThruRPG. It's an adventure meant for their [I]Everyday Heroes [/I]system, which I found quite interesting and refreshing (system review [URL='https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?652619-Everyday-Heroes-Third-Party-5E']here[/URL]). The adventure is 59 pages long, and available as Pay What You Want. It's a decent set up for a 4 hour convention game, and a massive missed opportunity for a super-fun [I]Far Cry[/I]-style sandbox. So, what I wanted to do here was to go over a quick review of the scenario, and then start talking about how I'd flesh this out for a sandbox-style game. [B]REVIEW:[/B] You play as mercenaries recruited to kill the dictator of an African island nation. I half expected the group patron to be the Chevron corporation, but instead it's a shadowy group called REDEMPTION*. You parachute onto a beach, potentially fight some guards, link up with some resistance fighters in town, scout the King's palace, fight off a raid, and then launch your attack on the palace, culminating in a shootout with the dictator himself! That ain't bad for a con game where you need to keep the pressure on and the PCs constantly moving. But there are some significant problems with the setup and execution. For one, the King is defended by local troops and hired mercs. We're told that when the troops don't get paid, they'll leave. I cannot stress to you how much "That's not how that works!" was going through my head when I read that. If you're interested, see the Mercenary War, the 1527 Sack of Rome, and the Spanish Fury at Antwerp. Historically, the general point is that if you don't pay your mercs / troops, the result is that they take whatever isn't nailed down and then set up a bunch of little fiefdoms in the process. Ordinarily, I don't knock points for lack of realism, but reading that just threw me right out of the game. Second, there's a distinct lack of meaningful choices on the part of the PCs. Almost everything gets spoonfed to them by NPCs. That's mostly a result of the convention game format, but it comes across as stifling when I think about trying to run this. Third, it carries some problematic "white man's burden" vibes, although thankfully they weren't ever spelled out or expounded upon. That one I'm not going to knock the writers for, simply because I don't like dragging people for making the same mistakes I have. Alright, now I've gotten through a quick review of the subject matter, next time I want to talk about how we can remix this into a great 1 - 10 sandbox adventure. See y'all next time! *I presume the name was rated "A Little Too On the Nose" by the ACRONYM agency. **@Libertad - don't worry, Grim Hollow's coming. I'm still re-reading the damned thing! :D [/QUOTE]
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