The listed asking price of the two dice sets seem to be the major cost of the Starter box. I like Free League’s original rules and boxed sets, but the IP based games seem very limited in content. Great review man!
That seems a fairly conclusive argument to look elsewhere. For the benefit of those, like myself, who are unfamiliar with the grittier alternatives you allude to, could you please list some?
I played this at a game con. Ended up with a TPK and the Deathmaster (as I called him) said most of his groups end up TPK also. reflects the walking dead Show but makes character advancement nearly impossible.
They definitely fixed the stress system from alien in this version. So at least it does that because it's the most interesting part of that game. D10s instead of D6s seems interesting. 20% percent chance instead of 16% per die would change the math slightly. I like that only one success is needed because it speeds up play a lot. (I find dicepools a little slow, but I'm a d100 roll under guy)
Spot on about the impact of gritty mechanics in a survival horror milieu. The fast and loose is great for superheroes and fantasy. But tracking details creates a synergistic stress that works well with the horror. Great review, thanks for posting it up.
Thanks for the review, I think this is fair. I was expecting less abstract rules and more crunch for the type of game. I really wanted to use the rules to port into an Aliens game I am playing (good portions of my group hate the storylines for Prometheus onward so I wanted to change the black goo in the different scenarios to a zombie virus created by one of the Company's). I think I can still do it, but its going to require more work on my part. I love the IP, but this was definitely a bit lite for the money I spent. Thanks again!
Late to the party, but thanks for the review. Looking for a zombie apocalypse RPG for my group and your excellent review tells me this probably isn't it. Anyone has any suggestions, please drop them. On a side note, I wish Free League would slow down publishing new IP based games and produce more content for the games they currently have out. Aside from the Middle-earth based games they could use some more material.
The TWD dice for this ttrpg go for about $19 USD making it a better choice to by the TWD starter set than just grabbing one black and one red dice sets. Thanks for the review. What zombie rpgs do you recommend?
I like that it's abstracted and focused more on the relationships between the humans? I think it's in keeping with TWD rather than "zombie survival" as a genre. It doesn't really break new ground at all in the zombie survival genre of game, but it does give you the multiple pressure point concerns of the TV show, where dumb things can happen to idiot people in a survival situation. All without having to count units of food or individual bullets. It is competent at its source material, which is the TV show rather than a broader genre. I think some of the elements (Zombies as environmental feature) are a novel way to look at the role of the zombies in a zombie apocalypse game... but, yeah, unless you need another way of doing zombie survival or you're a big Free League fan, this is not necessarily a must-buy. For me, I love Free League, and I think this is more the survival tone that I like (interpersonal drama rather than actual survival concerns).
anyone know of an officel Forum or discord for The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Game? We just started playing it but would like to hear aboud at few rules?
good review. There seems to be a glut of IP type rpg's out there in the tabletop universe nowadays. Many in the old days were not very good ( Indiana Jones, Hercules and Xena etc- and some good ones like CoC and James Bond espionage game , Star Wars etc ) ----- Is this the wave of the Future in TTrpg's?? Big IP games like an official Harry Potter or John Wick action rpg?? with smaller niche IP's like the Power Puff Girls or Twilight rpg and much more flooding the market?
HP is unlikely to happen, because a) Rowling was always against it and b) She's persona non-grata in many circles where she would have to be popular again.
I’m a fan of Free League but this bounced right off me. I agree with your assessment of the engine…it can seem very difficult indeed to do the simplest things. I never got to play All Flesh Must be Eaten or Outbreak: Undead back in the day, and I might have jumped at this prior to 2020, when I wasn’t so zombied-out. I considered running a Red Markets game at the time, but then the real life pandemic hit and my interest in bleak, hopeless settings where people are revealed to be the real monsters took somewhat of a nose-dive as it wasn’t fantasy anymore, if it ever was.
Yes but does it explain things like who is cutting the grass ? How about the zombies that appear out of nowhere in the middle of flat land How is it the characters get dumber the longer they live? Oh and it is all ricks fault.
I also recently let myself be scammed by Free League. Amazon was selling the Blade Runner starter set and corebook for about half price each, so I went all in. Overpaid. Between the two there's about one scenario worth of gameable information. No real ongoing play support. No real meaningful character differentiation, even. It's hilarious what the mechanical difference between a replicant and human is. Maybe I've been spoiled by games like Cities Without Number but these Free League games all feel like empty shells. Shells that are painted to look very pretty, but are very fragile to the touch. Quintessential IP games being sold off the name of the IP alone, with no effort added to actually turn them in to viable games. Avoid. Thanks for the review Grim, I'm probably done with Free League from here on out.
Bladerunner is far too lethal , lacks character creation rules for anyone other than a bladerunner, lacks gear, equipment, fun and is another game with a dumbed down detail free rules system.
Rules are too simplistic, abstract and dumbed down. It's too easy to die, the game is basically boring as hell.. very disappointing. NPC personalities and issues were good... I think I'll use those in other far more entertaining games LOL.
@@PostmortemVideo well at least you didn’t deny it lol. Was there at least one positive? Maybe the cover art? The font size? The fact that the book can possibly be used as a door stop?
I'm so glad you're using a real book and not Pdfs.
The listed asking price of the two dice sets seem to be the major cost of the Starter box. I like Free League’s original rules and boxed sets, but the IP based games seem very limited in content. Great review man!
That seems a fairly conclusive argument to look elsewhere. For the benefit of those, like myself, who are unfamiliar with the grittier alternatives you allude to, could you please list some?
I played this at a game con. Ended up with a TPK and the Deathmaster (as I called him) said most of his groups end up TPK also. reflects the walking dead Show but makes character advancement nearly impossible.
They definitely fixed the stress system from alien in this version. So at least it does that because it's the most interesting part of that game.
D10s instead of D6s seems interesting. 20% percent chance instead of 16% per die would change the math slightly. I like that only one success is needed because it speeds up play a lot. (I find dicepools a little slow, but I'm a d100 roll under guy)
Spot on about the impact of gritty mechanics in a survival horror milieu. The fast and loose is great for superheroes and fantasy. But tracking details creates a synergistic stress that works well with the horror. Great review, thanks for posting it up.
Thanks for the review, I think this is fair. I was expecting less abstract rules and more crunch for the type of game. I really wanted to use the rules to port into an Aliens game I am playing (good portions of my group hate the storylines for Prometheus onward so I wanted to change the black goo in the different scenarios to a zombie virus created by one of the Company's). I think I can still do it, but its going to require more work on my part. I love the IP, but this was definitely a bit lite for the money I spent. Thanks again!
Brilliant review. You know your material and have convincingly persuaded me to hold off on this one.
Thank you, friend. Subscribed.
Welcome aboard!
Late to the party, but thanks for the review. Looking for a zombie apocalypse RPG for my group and your excellent review tells me this probably isn't it. Anyone has any suggestions, please drop them. On a side note, I wish Free League would slow down publishing new IP based games and produce more content for the games they currently have out. Aside from the Middle-earth based games they could use some more material.
The TWD dice for this ttrpg go for about $19 USD making it a better choice to by the TWD starter set than just grabbing one black and one red dice sets. Thanks for the review.
What zombie rpgs do you recommend?
Blood!, Wightchester, the Zombicide RPG.
I like that it's abstracted and focused more on the relationships between the humans? I think it's in keeping with TWD rather than "zombie survival" as a genre.
It doesn't really break new ground at all in the zombie survival genre of game, but it does give you the multiple pressure point concerns of the TV show, where dumb things can happen to idiot people in a survival situation. All without having to count units of food or individual bullets.
It is competent at its source material, which is the TV show rather than a broader genre. I think some of the elements (Zombies as environmental feature) are a novel way to look at the role of the zombies in a zombie apocalypse game... but, yeah, unless you need another way of doing zombie survival or you're a big Free League fan, this is not necessarily a must-buy. For me, I love Free League, and I think this is more the survival tone that I like (interpersonal drama rather than actual survival concerns).
I feel like Wick's 'Shotgun Diaries' did that better, and even easier as a system.
anyone know of an officel Forum or discord for The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Game? We just started playing it but would like to hear aboud at few rules?
I'm afraid I don't know of any.
@@PostmortemVideo Ok but thx for the answer :)
good review. There seems to be a glut of IP type rpg's out there in the tabletop universe nowadays. Many in the old days were not very good ( Indiana Jones, Hercules and Xena etc- and some good ones like CoC and James Bond espionage game , Star Wars etc ) ----- Is this the wave of the Future in TTrpg's?? Big IP games like an official Harry Potter or John Wick action rpg?? with smaller niche IP's like the Power Puff Girls or Twilight rpg and much more flooding the market?
As long as they are good as Alien I won't be complaining.
HP is unlikely to happen, because a) Rowling was always against it and b) She's persona non-grata in many circles where she would have to be popular again.
I'd love a James Bond/James Bond jr. Game
Multiplayer and solo.
I’m a fan of Free League but this bounced right off me. I agree with your assessment of the engine…it can seem very difficult indeed to do the simplest things. I never got to play All Flesh Must be Eaten or Outbreak: Undead back in the day, and I might have jumped at this prior to 2020, when I wasn’t so zombied-out. I considered running a Red Markets game at the time, but then the real life pandemic hit and my interest in bleak, hopeless settings where people are revealed to be the real monsters took somewhat of a nose-dive as it wasn’t fantasy anymore, if it ever was.
Those maps look like the same scale as Twilight 2000 4th edition.
Yes but does it explain things like who is cutting the grass ?
How about the zombies that appear out of nowhere in the middle of flat land
How is it the characters get dumber the longer they live?
Oh and it is all ricks fault.
I wonder if you get bonus xp for ignoring your children during the zombie apocalypse.
@@fwbean119 its on the bingo card
Wightchester kicks this games @ss...
Why would anyone play a walking dead rpg over any other zombie or post apoc game?
Brand loyalty?
100% this game is terrible! Bladerunner sucks as well, so I'm pretty much done with these guys LOL Their games are god awful.
Why does free league keep running for 2nd place in the simple olympics?!?!
I also recently let myself be scammed by Free League. Amazon was selling the Blade Runner starter set and corebook for about half price each, so I went all in. Overpaid. Between the two there's about one scenario worth of gameable information. No real ongoing play support. No real meaningful character differentiation, even. It's hilarious what the mechanical difference between a replicant and human is.
Maybe I've been spoiled by games like Cities Without Number but these Free League games all feel like empty shells. Shells that are painted to look very pretty, but are very fragile to the touch. Quintessential IP games being sold off the name of the IP alone, with no effort added to actually turn them in to viable games. Avoid.
Thanks for the review Grim, I'm probably done with Free League from here on out.
Bladerunner is far too lethal , lacks character creation rules for anyone other than a bladerunner, lacks gear, equipment, fun and is another game with a dumbed down detail free rules system.
Rules are too simplistic, abstract and dumbed down. It's too easy to die, the game is basically boring as hell.. very disappointing. NPC personalities and issues were good... I think I'll use those in other far more entertaining games LOL.
19 minutes of moaning…..
And yet you take the time to leave a comment, moaning. Curious.
@@PostmortemVideo well at least you didn’t deny it lol. Was there at least one positive? Maybe the cover art? The font size? The fact that the book can possibly be used as a door stop?