Just got the AGRPG starter set and can't wait for our first session. We have a regular group of gamers that has been playing AHLCG since day one (in 2016!), and our group is very invested in the Arkham Horror universe, largely because of the rich storytelling and not;e characters. While this RPG is clearly entry level, the contents and scenes create an easy roll-in to the fabric and tone of the Arkham Horror. For anyone who has played Eldritch Horror, Mansions of Madness, or a couple of AHLCG campaigns, the role of GM should come easy. Those games are very story rich, and investigators often spend time narrating scenes as the games progress. No, AHRPG is not Call of Cthulhu, which is rich and complex. But, AHRPG (in spite of the some errata, lack of index, etc.) has potential some great Mythos storytelling and adventures. Let's revisit AHRPG after we start to see longer campaigns and some new character creation.
FYI, I was one of the players. The quality of the physical product is fantastic. I like the characters, but there's a WALL of text to absorb on the PC sheet. I also like the dice substitution horror mechanic -- seems fun. One can tell that this is from a board game company: lots of chotskies to manipulate: dice, tokens, props, maps, slide puzzles, etc. (Slide puzzles suck in general but adding in the gamification for figuring them out -- make a skill roll to see how many tiles you can slide -- ARRRG!!!!!) I was hopeful that this was going to be more narrative than it ended up, as I'm not a fan of CoC's (stale) BRP either. I would rate a "C." I agree that boardgame and puzzle folks who are RPG-curious may really love it. (It was still fun to play as I love learning new games and Bryce is a super fun GM.)
The system sounds kind of similar to the Year Zero Engine published by Free League, which uses similar mechanics in terms of simple & complex actions, dice pools and horror dice (the equivalent of YZE's stress dice from the Alien RPG and the Walking Dead Universe.) I don't think you can keep committing dice to a task. You pick how many you're going to use for the task and if you fail, you move to the next player. Anyway, just ordered a copy. I'm interested in testing it out on my wife who is a novice role player. I think she'll dig the board gamey aspect.
Just got the AGRPG starter set and can't wait for our first session. We have a regular group of gamers that has been playing AHLCG since day one (in 2016!), and our group is very invested in the Arkham Horror universe, largely because of the rich storytelling and not;e characters. While this RPG is clearly entry level, the contents and scenes create an easy roll-in to the fabric and tone of the Arkham Horror. For anyone who has played Eldritch Horror, Mansions of Madness, or a couple of AHLCG campaigns, the role of GM should come easy. Those games are very story rich, and investigators often spend time narrating scenes as the games progress. No, AHRPG is not Call of Cthulhu, which is rich and complex. But, AHRPG (in spite of the some errata, lack of index, etc.) has potential some great Mythos storytelling and adventures. Let's revisit AHRPG after we start to see longer campaigns and some new character creation.
FYI, I was one of the players. The quality of the physical product is fantastic. I like the characters, but there's a WALL of text to absorb on the PC sheet. I also like the dice substitution horror mechanic -- seems fun. One can tell that this is from a board game company: lots of chotskies to manipulate: dice, tokens, props, maps, slide puzzles, etc. (Slide puzzles suck in general but adding in the gamification for figuring them out -- make a skill roll to see how many tiles you can slide -- ARRRG!!!!!) I was hopeful that this was going to be more narrative than it ended up, as I'm not a fan of CoC's (stale) BRP either. I would rate a "C." I agree that boardgame and puzzle folks who are RPG-curious may really love it. (It was still fun to play as I love learning new games and Bryce is a super fun GM.)
The system sounds kind of similar to the Year Zero Engine published by Free League, which uses similar mechanics in terms of simple & complex actions, dice pools and horror dice (the equivalent of YZE's stress dice from the Alien RPG and the Walking Dead Universe.) I don't think you can keep committing dice to a task. You pick how many you're going to use for the task and if you fail, you move to the next player. Anyway, just ordered a copy. I'm interested in testing it out on my wife who is a novice role player. I think she'll dig the board gamey aspect.