Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Uncharted Steampunk
Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea everyuday!
Product-Uncharted Steampunk
System- Uber RPG
Producer- Uber Goober Games
Price- ~$ 13 here http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/102911/Uncharted-Steampunk-ber-RPG-Steampunk-sourcebook
TL; DR- Marry this with the base book, and it's amazing. 83%
Basics-Need a world for your Uber RPG: Steampunk players to roam in? This is a companion book to the base Uber RPG: Steampunk game. This book provides a world to play in/destroy while still letting GM's build their own world.
Theme or Fluff- Uber Uber Goober likes to let GMs build their own world. This book, while a setting book, still let's GMs build their own world. How? Well each part of the world gets a description in the three main Steampunk styles that Uber introduces at the start of their books: steam tech focused, rebelling against society, and fantasy steampunk. Honestly, this has to be the best approach I've seen to getting the theme of your game out there. The author basically says "Here are three different worlds and their themes to play with. Choose one and go!" 5/5
Mechanics or Crunch- And here is where the book suffers. The book discusses the survival skill and gives ideas for encounters, but this book doesn't have many new mechanics in it. What is here is good, but the books main purpose is to build the world for you, got give you new toys for that world. It doesn't add to many new enemies or options, but what is here is well fleshed out. 3.5/5
Execution-PICTURES! This book has more pictures! The pictures of the continents are well done. However, much like Uber Goober's other books, there are still a ton of pages with just black text on white page. This book is, by definition, a geography/history textbook, and it suffers from many of the same problems old textbook do. That makes this much less exciting to read. A few more pictures of the peoples and scenes of different places would have really helped draw the reader in. 4/5
Summary- If this book and the core Uber RPG: Steampunk book were put together, they would add up to one amazing book. This book has all the world building and steampunk theme any player could ask for. The core book has sleek mechanics that make the game run well. This book and the core both fill the gaps the other is missing. On its own, this book is a good world book that gives the GM enough options to make the game they want happen in the world of their choosing. What this book doesn't have are many more mechanics and some more pictures to help set the stage and scenes. All together, this is good foundation for GMs to build the world they want. 83%
And now the Universal Airship Combat System
Product-Universal Airship Combat System
System- Uber RPG: Steampunk
Producer- Uber Goober Games
Price- ~$ 13 here http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/produ...ip-Combat-System-ber-RPG-Steampunk-sourcebook
TL; DR- Two books in one! 87%
Basics-Time to hit the sky! Universal Airship Combat System is a book covering the rules for airship and mecha combat in the Uber RPG system. This book covers combat in the RPG as well as giving simple rules for a tabletop miniature system.
Theme or Fluff- Back to the fluff first reviews for the Uber system. This book is not a theme book, but it gives enough options that you can fit any theme into it. Uber RPG: Steampunk doesn't have a default setting, so this book provides the mechanics to build whatever options you want into your own world. One of the saving graces for theme in this book is how damage is dealt. The system uses a 52 card deck to determine where shots hit and how it damages the ship. That kind of story elements really marries theme with mechanics as you get a short snippet on how the attack happens and some mechanical details to. As with the base Uber RPG: Steampunk, the book doesn't do much give you a world, but provides the tools to build it. The only problem with that is you, the GM and players, have to do much more heavy story lifting. 4/5
Mechanics or Crunch- While this book isn't a theme book; it is an amazing book for its mechanics. Much like Uber RPG: Steampunk, the base system is d6. The system presented here is amazingly simple and quick. Movement happens in ascending dexterity order. Slower ships move, and faster ships can react. Attacking happens simultaneously. You add up all the attack power your ship has, and then subtract the defensive powers your target has, and roll six sided dice. For each five rolled, draw a card from a deck of cards. For each six, draw two. The book has a chart detailing how the card damage and affects the ship as each suit and number focus on specific areas of the ship. Done! It's a slick and quick system that makes combat not drag as some large scare combat systems do. The book even provides mech combat if you want to climb into a steam powered mechanical walker. And rules for mech vs. airship combat! AND rules for a table top miniatures game! Honestly, this book is jam packed with a quick, easy to use, fun to execute combat system. 5/5
Execution- Uber Goober is a small company, and small companies don't have the art resources to make large scale book full to the brim with art. This book has lots of pages with only text. That kind of hurts the overall appeal as you have major textbook problem. However, this book has more tables and lots of art to show what the authors meant for each type of ship and mech. It's better than the original book, but still a bit flawed. 4/5
Summary-This is an easy to use, short book that give you multiple ways to integrate steamtech into your world. This book isn't the most reader friendly, but there is more art than the base book for the system. If you like the quick combat style of Uber RPG: Steampunk, then this build upon that and give more flair to large scale combat. Honestly, if Ubera would add the random table of hit locations to the base Uber RPG: Steampunk I would love that system even more. If you you're looking for a good tabletop system to handle steampunk miniature combat or a way to integrate more steam machine combat in your Uber RPG: Steampunk game, this is a great book to add to your collection. 87%
Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea everyuday!
Product-Uncharted Steampunk
System- Uber RPG
Producer- Uber Goober Games
Price- ~$ 13 here http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/102911/Uncharted-Steampunk-ber-RPG-Steampunk-sourcebook
TL; DR- Marry this with the base book, and it's amazing. 83%
Basics-Need a world for your Uber RPG: Steampunk players to roam in? This is a companion book to the base Uber RPG: Steampunk game. This book provides a world to play in/destroy while still letting GM's build their own world.
Theme or Fluff- Uber Uber Goober likes to let GMs build their own world. This book, while a setting book, still let's GMs build their own world. How? Well each part of the world gets a description in the three main Steampunk styles that Uber introduces at the start of their books: steam tech focused, rebelling against society, and fantasy steampunk. Honestly, this has to be the best approach I've seen to getting the theme of your game out there. The author basically says "Here are three different worlds and their themes to play with. Choose one and go!" 5/5
Mechanics or Crunch- And here is where the book suffers. The book discusses the survival skill and gives ideas for encounters, but this book doesn't have many new mechanics in it. What is here is good, but the books main purpose is to build the world for you, got give you new toys for that world. It doesn't add to many new enemies or options, but what is here is well fleshed out. 3.5/5
Execution-PICTURES! This book has more pictures! The pictures of the continents are well done. However, much like Uber Goober's other books, there are still a ton of pages with just black text on white page. This book is, by definition, a geography/history textbook, and it suffers from many of the same problems old textbook do. That makes this much less exciting to read. A few more pictures of the peoples and scenes of different places would have really helped draw the reader in. 4/5
Summary- If this book and the core Uber RPG: Steampunk book were put together, they would add up to one amazing book. This book has all the world building and steampunk theme any player could ask for. The core book has sleek mechanics that make the game run well. This book and the core both fill the gaps the other is missing. On its own, this book is a good world book that gives the GM enough options to make the game they want happen in the world of their choosing. What this book doesn't have are many more mechanics and some more pictures to help set the stage and scenes. All together, this is good foundation for GMs to build the world they want. 83%
And now the Universal Airship Combat System
Product-Universal Airship Combat System
System- Uber RPG: Steampunk
Producer- Uber Goober Games
Price- ~$ 13 here http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/produ...ip-Combat-System-ber-RPG-Steampunk-sourcebook
TL; DR- Two books in one! 87%
Basics-Time to hit the sky! Universal Airship Combat System is a book covering the rules for airship and mecha combat in the Uber RPG system. This book covers combat in the RPG as well as giving simple rules for a tabletop miniature system.
Theme or Fluff- Back to the fluff first reviews for the Uber system. This book is not a theme book, but it gives enough options that you can fit any theme into it. Uber RPG: Steampunk doesn't have a default setting, so this book provides the mechanics to build whatever options you want into your own world. One of the saving graces for theme in this book is how damage is dealt. The system uses a 52 card deck to determine where shots hit and how it damages the ship. That kind of story elements really marries theme with mechanics as you get a short snippet on how the attack happens and some mechanical details to. As with the base Uber RPG: Steampunk, the book doesn't do much give you a world, but provides the tools to build it. The only problem with that is you, the GM and players, have to do much more heavy story lifting. 4/5
Mechanics or Crunch- While this book isn't a theme book; it is an amazing book for its mechanics. Much like Uber RPG: Steampunk, the base system is d6. The system presented here is amazingly simple and quick. Movement happens in ascending dexterity order. Slower ships move, and faster ships can react. Attacking happens simultaneously. You add up all the attack power your ship has, and then subtract the defensive powers your target has, and roll six sided dice. For each five rolled, draw a card from a deck of cards. For each six, draw two. The book has a chart detailing how the card damage and affects the ship as each suit and number focus on specific areas of the ship. Done! It's a slick and quick system that makes combat not drag as some large scare combat systems do. The book even provides mech combat if you want to climb into a steam powered mechanical walker. And rules for mech vs. airship combat! AND rules for a table top miniatures game! Honestly, this book is jam packed with a quick, easy to use, fun to execute combat system. 5/5
Execution- Uber Goober is a small company, and small companies don't have the art resources to make large scale book full to the brim with art. This book has lots of pages with only text. That kind of hurts the overall appeal as you have major textbook problem. However, this book has more tables and lots of art to show what the authors meant for each type of ship and mech. It's better than the original book, but still a bit flawed. 4/5
Summary-This is an easy to use, short book that give you multiple ways to integrate steamtech into your world. This book isn't the most reader friendly, but there is more art than the base book for the system. If you like the quick combat style of Uber RPG: Steampunk, then this build upon that and give more flair to large scale combat. Honestly, if Ubera would add the random table of hit locations to the base Uber RPG: Steampunk I would love that system even more. If you you're looking for a good tabletop system to handle steampunk miniature combat or a way to integrate more steam machine combat in your Uber RPG: Steampunk game, this is a great book to add to your collection. 87%
