Category: Reviews

Reviews

BEACN Mic and Create Mix – Review

Thread of Souls

Over the years, I’ve used my fair share of microphones to capture voices and pair them with videos. As soon as I sat down to write this review, I suddenly remembered, the amount of mics I’ve worked with since working in media production. There’s been lavaliers, handheld, studio, and boom microphones. All of them have their purpose but if I had to choose the best for creating content, I’d go with a studio every time.

That’s why when I first saw the BEACN Mic, I was curious to learn more. From its appearance alone, I had a good feeling about it and I’m here to say, I’m not disappointed.

Disclaimer: The BEACN Mic and BEACN Mic Create were provided by BEACN.

I cannot say enough good things about the company and thank them for allowing me to check out the equipment. Having done zero research into the gear beforehand, I jumped in cold and it was worth it.

Plug and Play

The BEACN Mic is a USB mic. Now, before anyone starts any discourse on USB mics, I won’t hear it. As a human being, I once believed XLR mics were the path all professionals should use and I swore by that. However, that is no longer the case. I’ve changed my ways like the ring light on the BEACN Mic changes colors. USB mics such as the BEACNs can be just as professional and high-quality as the XLR you find in voice actor booths across the world. Out of the box it comes with one USB cable for the mic and one for the Create that runs from the both to your computer. You don’t need a fancy external interface, but you will need BEACN’s app to run the mic and BEACN Mix Create.

I need to talk about the USB cables themselves, as they are sturdy and quite lengthy. Their size is by no means a negative, but rather a boon. Having extra cable length ensures you get the optimum reach required for your setup. Plus, you can always hide them or tie them up with zip ties. Like they’re really really long. It’s great.

BEACN Mic

The mic itself comes in a pill shape style with a changeable ring light in the center. It’s lightweight and easy to move around if you need to take it on the go or move it from room A to room B. And with the lengthy USB cable, you can move around your work area like a live reporter out on assignment. Yet, with all that moving you’d expect to get a lot of feedback or outside noise as you moved about. However, that’s not the case with the BEACN Mic.

Actual moving about noise

Noise Suppression

What really peaked interest in the mic, is how it handles noise suppression. When we first started our live streaming journey, we noticed a lot of external noises such as the computer fan, keyboard clacking, and game audio were being picked up by our mics. Having tested the BEACN Mic against the others, the sound quality vastly improved. The external noises were reduced or completely gone when using the BEACN equipment. Even without messing with anything in the app.

Ring Light

The addition of a ring light around the center of the mic is just fun. It’s a visually pleasing feature that offers entertainment to an already entertaining piece of equipment. It’s great for live streaming and adds a bit of flair and uniqueness to the streamer and the mic itself. The light can be changed 20 different colors, be a blend of two, rotate between multiple, or be configured to light up with your voice or specific audio. It’s a gimmick, but as Jeremy Clarkson said, “what’s wrong with a gimmick? That’s brilliant!”

BEACN App and Mix Create

The BEACN App is where you’ll find everything that fuels the microphone. It’s an all in one interface that gives you full control over sound quality, expander, compression, noise suppression, the color of the ring light, and other hardware you may be running. It really makes you feel like you’re in control of the audio production center at a recording booth. You know the ones, where the performer is standing in a soundproofed room behind a glass window. You’re the person making sure their audio is clear, pristine, and doesn’t peak.

You choose your own personal mix and audience mix. Basically this gives you access to where the sound is sent. You can either choose your headphones or another speaker to send the audio to and you can switch between them by moving the fader or holding down a knob on the Create for a few seconds. Whereas the audience mix is what the audience hears. You have full control of what goes out live to them versus what you hear. If you wanted to listen to your music without it going live over the air, you’re free to do just that. You’ll also be able to monitor audio levels from here to ensure they are correct.

On top of all that, you can control additional components in the app as well. Say, you’re streaming through Twitch and have a game running, music playing, and your mic audio. Once you’ve configured each into it’s own channel, you can control them through either the app or the BEACN Mix Create. The app uses faders to control audio levels for each component whereas the Create uses knobs. Both are seamless and simply, but the tactile feel of turning or clicking a knob to reduce or increase volume is a nice touch. Pun intended. If you’re running a larger more complex stream, the Create is probably more you’re style as it’s a physical addon you can set nearby your work station. Then again, both are equal in how they handle audio so it really depends on preference.

The BEACN Mic and BEAN Mix Create are versatile tools for streamers and content creators. If you’re looking to start streaming or creating videos, the mic and interface are great additions to any stream setup.

Reviews

Subversion – A New TTRPG is Coming to Kickstarter

Thread of Souls

A new TTRPG that calls itself “Subversion” is coming to Kickstarter next month. And in this age of OGL fiasco’s and the tabletop community opening up to new systems and indie creators, its launch is very timely. Subversion is built off a custom d6 system, and promises a fantasy-sci-fi-grungy adventure that takes place in Neo Babylon. Players can fight against an oppressive systems run by faceless corporations and greedy authorities while balancing their core values that are at the heart of the game.

You are an envoy, using technology, magic, and direct action to serve and save your community in the cyberpunk fantasy world of Neo Babylon.

Subversion will allow players to choose from multiple lineages such as elf, dwarf, goblin, human, or yettin. In character creation, they will also get to choose from a variety of cultures, skills, values, and goals. Subversion uses a creative d6-based dice pool system. The better a player is at a skill, the more dice they get to role, but they only keep the highest three.

Players will be engaged by the Grit system, in which each character has a special reserve resource which they can muster to stand and fight when all looks grim. Alternatively, they can use their limited grit resource to perform amazing abilities or enhance their normal ones. Grit is gained and lost based on how characters interact with their values and impulses.

If you are the type of player who enjoys helping NPC’s and making a difference within the world you play in, Subversion promises themes of relationships, holding to ideals, community, direct action, and hope for the future.

Subversion is designed by Fragging Unicorns, known for Gangs of the Undercity and the Misspent Youth RPG. Subversion will launch on Kickstarter on February 21st.

D&D / TTRPGs, Fantasy Topics, Opinion, Reviews

Symbaroum: Thrilling adventure in a corrupted land – Review

Thread of Souls

They say untold treasure lies within the forest of Davokar. That and corrupted beasts and shadows of former adventurers. Be it you’re the one looking for an Explorer’s License, I’ll not keep you from your quest. The dark forest awaits. Good luck out there.

Symbaroum is a dark fantasy tabletop roleplaying game from Free League Publishing. It’s set in a world where adventurers venture into the vast forest known as Davokar and search for fortune and glory. Players build a character and party up with others to explore, solve mysteries, and make a name for themselves in this dangerous world.

It follows similar tabletop tropes. You build a character, choose attributes to see what you’re good and bad at, select your archetype, and venture out into the unknown. One major difference is its dice system. Instead of rolling a d20 and aiming for a high number, you’ll want to do the opposite.

Building a character comes down to choosing from three archetypes: mystic, hunter, and warrior. Each one is broken down into occupations, of which there are numerous. Occupations are your character’s background and can be wizards, rangers, knights, sorcerers, duelists, sellswords, and more. Altogether there are 15 occupations.

From there you’ll select attributes and each is linked to the roll of a d20. They are broken down into the following categories: accurate, cunning, discrete, persuasive, quick, strong, resolute, and vigilant. These are what you’ll focus on throughout each session.

Welcome to the Upside Down – the D20

One of the most interesting features of Symbaroum is found in its d20 system. It’s built in such a way that you’ll need to roll low to succeed. It’s backward from other popular games out there.

Say for instance you want to pick a lock on a door and have a discreet of 13. You’d roll a discreet check versus the lock’s modifier of -3. The modifier subtracts 3 to your discreet attribute making it a total of 10 for this one moment. You would have to roll under 10 to successfully pick the lock.

This makes attacking targets rather more engaging as well. Each enemy and player character has a target defense that impacts the d20. To successfully hit a target, the roll has to be below the target value. Yet, armor and character abilities can affect the overall number as well. So, it’s not as simple as hitting that goal number sometimes.

Shadow and Corruption – Who turned out the lights?

Symbaroum utilizes shadows as a way to build tension and show the spread of corruption. Both work in tandem with one another and make for great role-play opportunities. Each character and creature in Symbaroum has a shadow cast by light. It’s when a creature has two shadows, people should begin to worry.

A creature with a second shadow is considered to be corrupted. This means, they have spent too much time in an area of heavy corruption, such as the forest of Davokar; they’ve messed with magic they should have stayed away from, or cast a spell. Once the corruption spreads too far, characters become supernatural beings and become part of the forest ecosystem.

The World

The lore is as vast as the forest you’ll be exploring. Corruption spread throughout the land and Queen Korinthia searched for a place for her and her people. She established the kingdom of Ambria but it is at constant war with surrounding barbarian tribes and the monsters of the forest.

Those who wish to earn a living are tasked with venturing into the forest to find treasure, fight back the hordes of monstrosities, and defend the kingdom against barbarian attacks. There’s quite a bit to do in Symbaroum and plenty of quests and sessions to build multiple campaigns around.

Symbaroum is a thrilling tabletop experience that is wildly different from other tabletop games around. It can be daunting to figure out at first, like any tabletop game, but is worth it. The d20 system is engaging and makes you think about what skills to use in order to succeed. The world is dark and full of horrific monsters and it’s built upon such wonderful lore.

There are several books available from the Player’s Guide, Core Rulebook, Starter Set, and Alberetor the Haunted Waste adventure. Free League also makes Forbidden Lands, another excellent tabletop game.

Reviews

Rescuing Lulu from Elturel

Thread of Souls

We received a free copy of Rescuing Lulu from Elturel to review. All opinions are our own.

For the last few weeks we’ve had an awesome time diving into a new Dungeon Master Guild adventure titled Rescuing Lulu From Elturel. Authored by Hunter Stardust, this 65-page multiple-session adventure fits nicely into other campaigns. It specifically works well with Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, Tyranny of Dragons, and, of course, Descent into Avernus. Note that this is not necessarily a standalone adventure, and works best with a group that is playing Nine Hells-related questlines.

Rescuing Lulu from Elturel centers around a character-driven plotline. The sweet NPC Lulu (from Descent into Avernus) is kidnapped by one of three villains of the DM’s choosing. The goal of these villains is to sacrifice Lulu. The PC’s must give chase, traversing to the city of Elturel, exploring the city to find clues, and ultimately rescuing her in a climactic showdown at a wedding.

What makes this quite unique and fun is that this is an Elturel before its fall into Avernus. There is a sense of an impending catastrophe among the cultists of Zariel that PC’s can encounter as the cult prepares to enter Avernus. As stated by the author:

. . . familiarize the PCs with the places and citizens of Elturel in order to deepen their experience (and shock!) when they return after the city falls into Avernus. This adventure transforms Elturel into a sandbox with twenty-five historical locations for PCs to explore.”

When it comes to exploration, this adventure can be as short or as long as you really want it to be. Players might want to speed things along in the rescue of Lulu, but other parties might get more invested in the city and its denizens. This opens up a variety of optional sidequests that end in fun chases, intense battles, and even magical weapons!

From an analytical standpoint, this adventure is very well-organized. It comes as a Word doc and has a comprehensive Table of Contents. The pages are easy to read and the entire thing is easy to navigate. There are great tips for running this adventure, even including what miniatures to look for if you so choose. There is also a good focus on roleplaying to create memorable encounters and emotionally-driven choices.

Rescuing Lulu from Elturel is available on Dungeon Master’s Guild for $9.99. This is an engaging and dynamic adventure and we definitely recommend it!

deranged
Reviews

Deranged: A Review of a Gothic Survival Horror Game

Thread of Souls

A dark board game with a fun and frantic energy.

We sat down to play Deranged, a gothic-style horror board game from UltraPro Entertainment and Hobby World. Let’s talk about the way the game is played, the complexity of the rules, and if it is the right fit for your board game nights!

Deranged is designed for 3-6 players and takes between 90-180 minutes to play. It is designed for ages 14+, so this isn’t pastel-colored, light-hearted family fun. It is a semi-cooperative survival game. You choose to be one of a handful of characters that has a small backstory assigned to them. All of you have ended up in a town called Wutburg. What started out as a seemingly harmless rural settlement has turned dark and deadly very quickly. Now your goal is to escape within a set time limit, or become one of the town’s feral Deranged.

The game consists of four quadrants of the town that you explore. You have destinations to search, hiding spaces to run to, loot you can find, and creatures you must outrun. The game is fast-paced, despite the time it takes to complete it. Turns typically don’t take long to resolve and the pieces are ever-moving. You keep track of both your health and your sanity, so there is some “action economy” involved. What are you willing to sacrifice to get your goals? Certain actions are more powerful but they trigger the time to change. And with the game having a set time limit, you may find yourself racing to save your character.

Cthulhu Mythos - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com

The game is the most fun if you get into the roleplay element of it. This definitely is not necessary, but we had a great time embodying these characters and making their choices. At the end of our first run, two characters survived and two ended up Deranged. There was a tense moment at the end when one character had to decide whether to save himself or go out in a blaze of glory while defending others.

Deranged is beautiful to look at. The art is the right mix of fun and creepy, and the miniatures are very detailed. But if there was to be a criticism about Deranged it is that there is just too much going on. The rules read a bit complicated, and set up took us a very long time. There are too many different card stacks and it left us wishing some things, like looting items, were more streamlined so we only needed one stack instead of three. That being said, what felt overwhelmingly complex at first was actually extremely simple once you start playing.

Deranged has plenty of replayability as it has a handful of scenarios to go through. It also comes with a first-play scenario to introduce you to the game without getting overly complicated.

Do we recommend Deranged? We do! It was dark and creepy fun and by the end of our first playthrough we were scrambling in panic to save ourselves.

We give Deranged and 8 on a d10! You can purchase it via the link below.

Reviews

The Bartimaeus Trilogy – A Review

Thread of Souls

We look back at a fun and imaginative trilogy that forever impacted my love of reading.

The Bartimaeus Trilogy is a witty, engaging, and all-around fun read by author Jonathan Stroud. The books consist of The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem’s Eye, and Ptolemy’s Gate. I read these books when I was in high school, and to say that they impacted my life would be a severe understatement. Let’s dive into what they are about to see if they will be a great read for you, as well!

The Bartimaeus Trilogy follows three major characters. The talkative and clever djinni Bartimaeus, the ambitious and quiet magician Nathaniel, and the brave and strong-willed rebel Kitty. The chapters vary from each of their POV’s, making it easy to dive right into their heads and hearts. The trilogy takes us on a fantastical world of an alternative London. One where the rich and powerful magicians control others through the summoning and enslavement of spirits such as djinn, imps, powerful afreet, and more. But the people of London won’t stand for this control and domination much longer. What follows is a tale of systems of power, of corruption, of freedom, and what is means to be “human”.

One of the best parts about these books is how you get three stories rolled into one due to the varying POV’s. You get the world of backstabbing political corruption with Nathaniel. You get the world of secret rebellions and spies with Kitty. And you get the magical world of spirits and power through Bartimaeus.

I immediately fell in love with these books when I first discovered them in my old school’s library. Often I would fall asleep reading because I couldn’t put it down. To date not only is this the first book series I have fully read twice over, but I have actually read it three times and will happily continue to read for the rest of my life. The characters are complex and deep, the struggles everyone goes through are heartfelt, and even in this fantasy London there is a ring of truth to the dynamics that are explored.

The award-winning Bartimaeus Trilogy also has a fourth companion that is more of a prequel (though set hundreds of years prior to these events). It is titled the Ring of Solomon and is also a fantastic read. It features Bartimaeus, but not Nathaniel or Kitty.

You can see these books on Amazon here.

Happy reading!

Ascension Eternal
Fantasy Topics, Opinion, Reviews

Ascension: Eternal 10th-Anniversary Board Game Review

Thread of Souls

A fun, Magic the Gathering-inspired deckbuilding game

We were given a free copy of Ascension: Eternal, in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are our own. Ascension: Eternal was designed by Justin Gary, Rob Dougherty, and Brian Kibler, and is manufactured by UltraPRO.

Ascension: Eternal is a fast-paced blend of Magic the Gathering and action role-playing video game. Each game can be played in as quickly as 20 minutes with two players. Up to six can play with expansions. At first glance, it can appear overwhelming with its large abundance of cards and tokens but it’s actually rather simple in its design. Players build a deck of Heroes and Constructs to be the first to collect the most amount of tokens. It’s all about strategy and playing the battlefield.

Ascension Eternal

Lore

For anyone who is a fan of lore – like us – there is an entire backstory to Ascension. It reads as follows:

Welcome to the world of Vigil. The barrier that protected Vigil from distant realms is collapsing. Samael, the Fallen One, has returned with an army of monsters from beyond. You are one of the legendary warriors capable of protecting Vigil from annihilation, but you cannot do it alone. Recruit mighty heroes and wield powerful constructs to aid you in battle. Each honor and defeat Samael’s forces to save the world!

How to Play

We checked out the 10th-anniversary edition of Ascension Anniversary. The massive box comes with 181 cards – all of which are stunning – and one layout mat to help you keep track of card placement. Each player starts with a deck consisting of 10 identical cards. Cards include either Runes that are used to buy new cards or Power that is used to fight monsters and cultists.

Ascension Eternal
Gamora the cat getting in on the action.

Players draw five cards and use them to gain new Heroes and Constructs or fight Monsters. The original deck grows and expands over time as players gain new Heroes and Constructs. Both cost Runes and help to defeat monsters, draw cards, or grant other boons to gain Honor tokens. Whereas Monster cards can only be defeated by Power and grant you certain abilities upon beating them.

The game ends when the last token is collected. Players then add up all their tokens and Honor points listed on their cards. The one with the most Honor is the winner.

Thoughts

It’s all about knowing what cards you have in your deck and what is out on the field. It’s a strategic game but isn’t complicated in any way. The rules are presented in an easy-to-understand and straightforward way. And the board gives a clear presentation of where cards go and how to set up the game.

There is one major thing we wish were included with the set. The addition of a simple handout for players to keep track of rules would be useful. Ascension is played similarly to Tyrants of the Underdark which does include a guide for each player. Having to pull out the rulebook each time to check what to do can slow down game time.

Ascension Eternal

Another thing is to see who plays first. It’s a pet peeve of ours. Ascension says choose randomly which is fine but there could be a more fun mechanic to see who starts. Other games use fun, quirky mechanics, like ‘the last person who ate a doughnut’ or ‘the oldest or youngest’.

Verdict

Ascension: Eternal is built for fans of Magic the Gather and Dungeons & Dragons. It may look intimidating but can be learned in a short amount of time. Each game can be played quickly as well leaving you plenty of time to play multiple games per night. The cards are beautiful and the lore is engaging and allows players to role-play out moments if they so choose.

We give Ascension: Eternal a 9 on a d10!

Dragon Age: Dark Fortress
Fantasy Topics, Opinion, Reviews

Dragon Age: Dark Fortress Review

Thread of Souls

It’s comic book Wednesday! This week we’re taking a look at Dragon Age: Dark Fortress

Written by Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir, Dark Fortress is a three-issue series packed with familiar faces and an engaging story. It follows several characters from the Dragon Age games and comics like fan-favorite Fenris. Its fast-paced action and detailed characters drive the plot and build upon previously placed lore elements to tell a truly fantastic story.

Returning to the narrative are (my favorite characters) Vaea and Ser Aaron Hawthorne – introduced in Dragon Age: Knight Errant – along with Tessa and Marius – introduced in Dragon Age: Magekiller – and Francesca the mage – introduced in Dragon Age: Deception. Yes, there are a lot of people to follow and you don’t necessarily have to read any previous material to follow along – though it helps – and I highly recommend you do so.

Story

They team up with Fenris – albeit hesitantly – as he hunts down a Tevinter mage. Something Fenris does quite often and quite well. The group is searching for a magical artifact in the possession of an Orlesian dignitary. It has the capabilities to create a powerful warrior similar to Fenris. The Qunari also join in on the action as they do in just about every situation involving mages and things get worse for everyone involved.

The story manages to tell quite a lot in a short amount of time. The villain and his motivations are developed quickly and effectively and the stakes are high. The writing is smooth and flows well with the art and all together tells a wonderful story that sets up future events. From epic backdrops to individual character portraits, everything artist Fernando Heinz Furukawa draws is stunning and full of life.

Dragon Age

Characters

What is so fascinating about the Dragon Age series as a whole is how it treats its characters. While they are capable warriors and magic practitioners they each feel real and have their own motivations. The comics get to dive into them more so than the games as well. Dark Fortress sheds more light on Fenris even though Dragon Age 2 told a lot of his story. The writers do a fantastic job at showing his emotions through the way he acts and speaks. It’s something they do well with each one of the characters.

Each character also gets a moment to shine throughout the short three-arc story. Vaea shows off her rogue skills, the charismatic Ser Aaron distracts and outwits opponents, and Francesca learns to utilize her magic and grow more powerful. These details are typically something you see in a lengthy game or movie but the comics do it just as well if not better.

It’s more than a story about fighting evil and stopping the villain. Dragon Age has always been about character development and it’s nice to see it carried out throughout the comics. You really get to feel and understand each person.

Dragon Age: Dark Fortress is highly recommended for fantasy fans! It is thrilling, beautiful, and tells a great story with an even better cast of characters. We give it a 10 on a d10.

loners
Reviews

“Loners”: a Dwarven Fantasy Book Review

Thread of Souls

A fun, D&D- inspired book that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

We were given a free copy of Loners, both ebook and audiobook format, in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are our own. Loners is authored by DB Bray and Wahida Clark, and the audiobook is narrated by Walt Allen.

Loners is a book that knows its niche well. And that is Dungeons & Dragons fans. Any fans of fantasy in general will have their eye turned by this book, especially due to the great cover, but for D&D players it will truly shine. It’s fun, comical, grand, and has strokes of darker themes and moments without breaking too long from the lighter, fast-paced tone of the story.

The summary for Loners is:

Jari Rockjaw just wants a quiet life and a homestead to call his own. He has been a bounty hunter in Labrys for over one hundred years. And it’s getting old. Battle after battle, allies lost and gained, he now wants to smoke his pipe in the solitude far from the human cities he despises. An option to do so comes his way when the king of Ekepia asks for a favor. Jari is tasked with destroying the most evil dwarf ever to walk the world!

With Jari’s best mates at his side, they team up for one last mission . . . a mission that will be nearly impossible to pull off. But just like everything else in life….if the juice is worth the squeeze, YOU take the risk. The only question, Jari must ask himself is . . . Is retirement really worth dying for?

The characters that really shine in this work are Jari and Betha. Jari is pragmatic, kind, and easily likeable. Betha is a breath of fresh air in the world of fantasy as a female minotaur who does not get sexualized. It is really their friendship and dedication to one another that is the beating heart of the story.

Driven by a fast pace, we follow Jari, Betha, and their adventuring party across the lands. There are a variety of characters encountered, and it is nice to see dwarven characters included that aren’t automatically all miners or forgers. The world building when it comes to the minotaur culture is really great, and it feels as if you step into an undiscovered world altogether.

The narration on the audiobook is very pleasing to listen to. Walt Allen has a great tone that easily evokes imagery. At just over nine hours, it is not a long listen and is great for readers who want a fun summer read rather than those looking for a longer fantasy series.

All in all, we give Loners a 9 on a d10!

It is available on Amazon in ebook, audiobook, hardback, and paperback.

You can find them on Twitter:

DB Bray- Writer #resist (@DB__Bray) / Twitter

Wahida Clark (@WahidaClark) / Twitter

Walt Allen: ALLY – BLM, LGBTQIA+ (@WaltAllenVoice) / Twitter

Forbidden Lands
D&D / TTRPGs, Fantasy Topics, Opinion, Reviews

Forbidden Lands Tabletop RPG Review

Thread of Souls

A land torn asunder by war, famine, and corruption. Through many years of hardship, the people step from their homes to discover a new life. The once mysterious Blood Mist slowly evaporates from the earth, and demons linger throughout the mountains. This is the world of the Forbidden Lands.

A dwarf minstrel, elf fighter, goblin sorcerer, and human peddler approach a small quaint village by the river. A guard gazes lazily at them as they pass by the fortified wooden gate. These aren’t typical adventurers, they are rogues and raiders trying to make a living in a dangerous world.

Forbidden Lands is a tabletop role-playing game from Free League Publishing. It’s a twist on other popular RPG titles where the players aren’t necessarily the heroes of the campaign, but instead are simply trying to survive any way they can.

The mythos and lore of Forbidden Lands is well thought out and detailed. The gods brought their people to a new land and discovered it wasn’t as peaceful as they had hoped. Wars erupted and fighting spread throughout the world. Then a terrible mist appeared and killed everything it touched. Eventually, the mist vanished but the world was changed and portions of it still linger throughout waiting to be discovered by would-be adventures hoping to become a legend.

Legends

Speaking of legends, Legends are how the players learn about the world and its people. They are also a way for them to gain experience. Instead of a player not knowing who an NPC is, the game masters might have the characters hear about a legend from NPCs, maps, or notes they find during their adventure. Or before they encounter an area of the person, they roll a die to find out what they know.

Stronghold

Another aspect of Forbidden Lands is the Stronghold. Over time the characters will have made a name for themselves and if they live long enough, they will gain access to their own stronghold. The Forbidden Lands are dangerous and full of deadly creatures, and the characters will need a place to rest. Strongholds are a home base for characters to regroup and restock after returning from an adventure.

However, they are not always safe. The rules contain several random encounters to use when the characters are resting inside their stronghold. Peace is hard to come by in this world and that’s what makes it exciting.

Cultures and Kin

Forbidden Lands contains many cultures called Kin. They range from Human, Elf, Half-Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, Orc, Wolfkin, Goblin. Each one can then choose a profession or class ranging from Druid, Fighter, Hunter, Minstrel, Peddler, Rider, Rogue, or Sorcerer.

There are also skills and abilities based on Attributes. Your character’s physical and mental capabilities are measured in attributes. They are broken down into four categories: Strength, Agility, Wits, and Empathy.

Player Characters

Dark Secret. Akin to Dungeons & Dragons Flaws are Dark Secrets. A Dark Secret is something you did in the past that you don’t want anyone else to know about. It is one of the most valuable resources the game master can pull from when deciding future plot points for your character.

Consumables. In Forbidden Lands, keeping track of consumable items such as food, water, and arrows is an important aspect of exploring. These are tracked by a d6, d8, and d12. Once eating a ration or loosing an arrow, you roll the specific dice and if a 1 or 2 appears you lower the dice to the lower amount – d12 to d10 and so on. After rolling a 1 or 2 on a d6, you run out of whatever it is you used and have to buy more.

It’s actually an engaging way to keep track of your items. Instead of worrying about how many arrows or bolts you have in a given day, you just roll the dice to decide.

Reputation. Being recognized in the Forbidden Lands is something to keep track of as well. Whether you successfully looted an ancient crypt or angered the village leader, your name could get out and reach the ears of powerful people.

This mechanic works by having the player with the highest reputation roll a d6 when they reach a town or interact with an NPC. A 6 means you have made a name for yourself and that person or town knows you, however, if it’s good or bad is up to the deeds you have done. This also works in reverse and the players can roll d6 to determine if they’ve heard of an NPC.

It Takes a d6

Instead of relying on a d20 like D&D, Forbidden Lands can be played entirely with a d6. Weapons and gear have attributes of their own you add or subtract from skills and attacks. You roll to attack and for skills but the damage is calculated by characters four Attributes. You can also go one step further and push any roll for added success or failure.

If you fail a roll and choose to push it you add dice according to certain skills and abilities and roll again. But failing could result in an even worse result than the original roll. While success means you achieve an even cooler result and perhaps do more damage.

Verdict

Forbidden Lands is one of the most innovative and engaging TTRPGs around. It’s fast-paced and full of history. Exploring feels rewarding and interacting with NPCs and adventure sites is intriguing and exciting. The whole thing can even be played at random without any planning so both the game master and players aren’t aware of what’s going to happen. Forbidden Lands is built for storytellers and fantasy lovers who enjoy diving into the unknown and uncovering new mysteries.

Forbidden Lands is recommended for fantasy fans! It is thrilling, detailed, and full of wonderful and dreadful encounters We give it a 9 on a d10.

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We received a free copy of Forbidden Lands in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are our own.