Wars RPG Released

[MongooseMatt]

Hi guys,

Wars hits your local store this week - check out the preview in our Announcements forum!

 

[Samvail1]

Excellent!

This is a superb Science Fiction game and I think people will be able to have a lot of fun with some long-term campaigning.

We certainly enjoyed the playtest.

Cheers

Sam

 

[Tegman]

I have read the preview and it looks really nice

this is one that I'll buy as soon as my local store gets it.

 

[PaulB]

I've got it... it looks darn good... I'm looking forward to seeing those Quay given a good kick by a band of bad tempered Kizen...

 

[FuryMaster]

This looks very good and I am strongly considering it for the near future...I'm gonna wait to see how well supported this is...the list of upcoming books looks real good, I particularly like the sound of the adventure books...put me down as a maybe..if i weren't running so many other Mongoose books (Starship Troopers, Conan, Jeremiah, and babylon 5) not to mention Star Wars, Stargate, and Wheel of Time...I would buy this instantly..as it is I'll keep my eyes on this...so many good games to play and run..good thing i'm somewhat of an RPG collector.

 

[Anonymous]

PaulB (or anyone else), can you give a short review? More specifically, I would like to know how many kizen powers there are, how broad a scope they have, etc. Also, how are the classes? I enjoyed the pilot class in the preview, how is the soldier? Is it similar to starwars d20's soldier, with bonus feats only, or does it have anything else?

And lastly, is there a wound pt system,as in in starwars, where a character can get killed by a single hit? If not, how deadly is combat?

Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

(I usually order my books online, and as such cannot just browse through them before hand, thus my many questions.)

 

[PaulB]

PaulB (or anyone else), can you give a short review?

I'll try and read all I can over the next couple of days or so, and get back to you (unless someone reads a lot faster and gets back to you first!).

 

[lastbesthope]

Mine is ordered at my FLGS, awaiting it with keen anticipation.

LBH

 

[Tiverb5]

I posted this on the rpgnet forums before realizing that I should have posted it here first, my bad. So here it goes:

Ive been following this rpg with some interest for awhile.

However Im curious how much additional background material there is beyond what can be found on the Decipher website. Im especially curious if there are timelines and maps of the various planets, key cities and other locations mentioned in the card game.

Also it is not clear if this is a d20, ogl, d20 Modern or trued20 ruleset, though with Mongoose I am assuming it is d20 and thus requires the Player's Handbook.

Also I was under the impression that Decipher was not supporting the Wars card game. Then again they effectively cut off the Star Trek Rpg; but that is a whole other thread. Honestly the fact that Mongoose has the rights to the rpg of this game tells me that it should get at least a couple of books worth of support and good communications from the company as to its status and future. So I am hopeful; but remain curious as to what is actually in the book.

Peace.

 

[PaulB]

However Im curious how much additional background material there is beyond what can be found on the Decipher website. Im especially curious if there are timelines and maps of the various planets, key cities and other locations mentioned in the card game.

I've only flicked through the book so far, but I've seen no maps of planets. You do get background material, presumably with a lot of emphasis on Kizen, but I haven't read much yet and I'm not familiar with the extent of info on the Decipher site.

Also it is not clear if this is a d20, ogl, d20 Modern or trued20 ruleset, though with Mongoose I am assuming it is d20 and thus requires the Player's Handbook.

OGL

Also I was under the impression that Decipher was not supporting the Wars card game.

I was of the belief that Decipher had decided to approach release of WARS at a slower pace than originally anticipated. It represents a significant property with no licensing strings attached - so I can't imagine they'd hide it away in a corner somewhere and try to forget about it. Given Decipher have some general issues they have to work through at the moment, I'd like to believe they have the presence of mind to hold back on releasing too much random product until they're settled again.

 

[lastbesthope]

Also it is not clear if this is a d20, ogl, d20 Modern or trued20 ruleset, though with Mongoose I am assuming it is d20 and thus requires the Player's Handbook.

It is my guess that it is OGL based off the d20 SRD, so you won't need the PHB. That is just a guess though but I think Mongoose are moving towards OGL and away from the WotC PHB.

LBH

 

[Mark_Gedak]

Now Available at DTRPG
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=161_302&products_id=2722&affiliate_id=6139

 

[Samvail1]

I posted this on the rpgnet forums before realizing that I should have posted it here first, my bad. So here it goes:

Ive been following this rpg with some interest for awhile.

However Im curious how much additional background material there is beyond what can be found on the Decipher website. Im especially curious if there are timelines and maps of the various planets, key cities and other locations mentioned in the card game.

Yes, there is a lot of additional information about background and timeline. The serious information on the planets/moons/space stations of the Solar System comes in the supplement called Battlefront. Published a month or two after Wars.

Also it is not clear if this is a d20, ogl, d20 Modern or trued20 ruleset, though with Mongoose I am assuming it is d20 and thus requires the Player's Handbook.

It's OGL. You do NOT need the PHB or any other WoTC product.

Also I was under the impression that Decipher was not supporting the Wars card game. Then again they effectively cut off the Star Trek Rpg; but that is a whole other thread. Honestly the fact that Mongoose has the rights to the rpg of this game tells me that it should get at least a couple of books worth of support and good communications from the company as to its status and future. So I am hopeful; but remain curious as to what is actually in the book.

Peace.

Forget Decipher. I suppose they will wait on the popularity of the RPG. Mongoose are definately supporting the main book with at least 3 adventures (linked), a sourcebook about the Solar System (with new presige classes) and an equipment book. Compared to some games, that's a huge amount of support.

I really liked the scope and style of the game.

Cheers

Sam

 

[Anonymous]

How deadly is combat? Is unarmed combat viable? (I notcied flying kcik as a feat on the char sheet. :| )

 

[Anonymous]

How deadly is combat? Is unarmed combat viable? (I notcied flying kcik as a feat on the char sheet. :| )

I only got the book yesterday, so I'm basing this on having read it, rather than actually using it in play:

At the default setting, combat is not as deadly as Babylon 5, although there are alternative rules scattered throughout that can be used if the GM wants to make the game a little grittier.

Normally though, armour provides damage reduction, characters gain a die roll worth of hit points every level, and zero hit points is unconscious not dead.

Although weapon damage is rolled randomly, all but a small number of melee and ranged weapons can take down an unarmoured 1st level character in a round or two.

WARS does have a Massive Damage rule, but this sends the affected character into negative hit points rather than killing them outright, and the addition of Kizen powers to the mix also improves survival chances for the player characters.

One thing WARS has is the possibility of there being consequences of taking damage: limb loss, organ damage, permanent scars and the like.

As for the viability of unarmed combat, with the general availability of armour and weapons, I'd say that its best reserved for brawling (where you don't really want to seriously hurt anyone) or as a last desperate defence. I think any wannabe Kung Fu masters are going down in a hail of bullets or laser fire (unless they're Kizen supported..)

There are some nice ideas in there though. I'm putting together a Maverick campaign, although I'm going to start it a few months before the Rift opens, it just seems a shame not to have that happen in game-time if your players (like mine) have no idea at all about the setting. (And yes, the rules do support NOT starting with Kizen powers...)

 

[InfinityDoctor]

(oops...the above post was mine by the way, I didn't realise I wasn't logged in..)

Forgot to mention that WARS also uses Action Points, which should reduce the fatality rate. They won't save you from going down in combat, but they do go a long way towards stopping you meeting your maker...

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks very muchly; it sounds good and its baout time another space fantasy came along to take the monopoly from star wars. (babylon 5 is good, but it does noit have anything that resembles the force. The telepathy/tk in b5 is too weak)

Anyhow, the only thing that bothers me is that every pc gets kizen powers; I think I will limit that to one pc only per game, but I have to take a look first.

As a side note how is the starship combat? Abastract or rules based?

 

[Anonymous]

I don't think it has much chance of taking the monopoly from Star Wars, lol, especially judging by the lack of threads here!

While Kizen powers ARE available to every PC, this isn't the norm for other folks within the setting, they're still quite rare. The PCs are supposed to be special cases. The game does cater for not starting with any though.

Starship combat is highly abstract - no map, no miniatures, pure narrative. The system is based on issuing a series of orders, tactical, offensive and defensive. Its not unlike the ship to ship combat system in Decipher's CODA Star Trek game, albeit simpler.

I do have one complaint: There are a handful of ships statted in the book, but no pictures of them! I managed to find some by looking through the card lists on Decipher's website, but not all of them.

 

[InfinityDoctor]

(Aaargh! Again that was no Guest...that was me!)