The "empty mag on failed shooting roll" mechanic feels like that moment where the hero pulls the trigger to hear a hollow ~click~ and realizes they're out, rather than implying that they were shooting willy-nilly for some reason.
I kinda use this thinking for all my games. After firing I make them roll a d6, and if it's a 1 the mag is empty. If it's a full-auto weapon you need to reload on 1 and 2.
I like this kind of mechanic. I get what the reviewer is saying about you could get that result and it doesn't make sense in the narrative for the hero to be empty. They should change it to "reload or clear weapon jam". The GM could just pick the one that best fits the narrative.
I kinda get it. Its one of those tropes that has no logical backing but still makes sense. I just wish it had a mechanic to simulate that "on my last mag" moment. The stress and stunts for that is awesome
It seems like the goon stat block isn’t for a single enemy, but a mob of them. Their Grit rating is for the total group, not each individual. I think, anyway. Hence the “must reload on a miss” rule: you’re taking shots at multiple foes. What I like about this is that it follows movie logic: if your mob is 20 guys, they die more quickly. If they’re fewer, they’re more of a threat. If it’s just ONE guy, it’s a mini boss or boss.
You're exactly right and I really like the way the game handles this. They give examples of goons as being anything from a gang of bikers to a couple of out of shape cops to a single guard dog. This goes for all levels of bad guys too, in the bosses category they give 88 katana-wielding lunatics and a helicopter gunship as examples, so a boss doesn't have to be just one character.
I can get the out of ammo on a miss. Heroes in action movies almost never fire a single round into an enemy, unless it’s a dramatic facedown type of thing. So the effect could be seen as a) they actually need to reload, or b) the gun jams and needs to be cleared. Both are common in the films.
Regarding "empty mag on failed roll": Note that reloading a mag is a Quick Action, which is always avaible during your Action Turn in Combat aside from whatever you'll try to attempt with your Action Roll. So in essence it's making you spend a Quick Action (and a mag) on reloading during your turn, which could otherwise be used for small stunts or activating certain Feats, and also being unable to fire back if you land a counterhit during your Reaction Roll, forcing you to get creative if you want to bank in that counter.
I’ve never played the game or read the rules,but I think a failed shoot role means the guy went to shoot but his gun just made the empty click,which is a huge trope in action movies. The character didn’t “fail,” the gun “failed.” It’s like a situation where a DM would roll the dice in other games.
I think the idea of cannon fodder having 9 hit points is that it represents a large group of mooks stopping the whole party, each one probably has 1/4th of a hit point but as a whole, 9 hp is good enough so the party stops and fights and the GM does not have to track 30 individual npcs and instead is just one big blob. As for the reload after failing, It works on the context that each "turn" is actually a whole firefight so spending 15 bullets is a little on the over-the-top side but reasonable, and the penalty is just spending a quick action or having to source another weapon from a fallen enemy, I would say it's not that out of the way for a system like this one.
Most of all, it´s 9 BASIC successes. So a single 4 of a kind could completly "kill" this cannonfooder. We played the QS and all fights and the challenge where extremly fast (2-3 rounds). Due to the Sliding-Feat of Sam, the Chase was mechanically boring. But the players did the best to push the action to the limits.
Great Video. I am a huge fan of Broken Compass and Household, I am also a huge fan of Feng Shui 2. This changes my vieew on this game from a nice to have, to a must have. I cannot help but look at this as an improvement to Action Movie ttrpgs as a whole. I hope, after the release of this one, they release some "What If" supplements for things like wuxia/xianxia, fantasy etc. If not I will have some homebrewing to do.
We played the Quickstarter and yes, you can have fun with it. The style of the adventure is simply railroading with GM tips from the 80s, partly arbitrary and partly with punishment elements if the players want to do something else. The new mechanics are okay, but in large parts not really necessary. I found the adrenaline rule for the GM, for example, narratively limiting. Our group won't need the game and will stay with BC, as the new setting also lacks any innovation. Even though some of the visuals are really cool.
Interesting. I'm wondering if you, and others, have ever checked out the Feng Shui 2e RPG. Wonderfully over-the-top action movie theme that includes some time supernatural and time travel options in the mix. Very Big Trouble In Little China style with some tongue-in-cheek humor.
I love the art and some of the concepts. I just feel like I'd rather they'd created this as a setting for Genesys or Savage Worlds. The system seems like it is trying to be rules-light but it feels more like a poker-version of the mentality FATE has, right down to forcing unusual dice mechanics and heavy reliance on tropes-as-mechanics. You really have to be into the system to make it flow.
Just saw the video now. This game looks really cool. Reminds me of a friend who asked how I liked ttrpgs if there's no gambling in them. Maybe I should get him this when it comes out lol😂
Ive read the quickstart. While I absolutely adore the art,layout,and basic rules ,some of the other mechanics seem a bit more complex and fiddly to me. I think Ill give it another read through just to see if I can absorb the rules better. Maybe Im not quite grasping something correctly. Thanks for taking a look at this Dave! My curiousity is further peaked!
I felt a little overwhelmed when I first read Broken Compass, my first contact with Two Little Mice’s system. But it’s all very simple and effortless now.
Agreed. Too much math, which makes for not enough fun. I HAVE The Spy Game 5e, and the mechanics are ok, but it's hard to get past the fact that the main ingredient is their own radical politics. I don't want politics in my games whether it is "my" team or not. Was hoping this Outgunned would seem interesting but alas, not so much. Thanks for the video anyway.
It's interesting for me to see different takes on ttrpg since to me it's more restrictive in terms of potential design as compared to online games so game designers have to be creative so as to not make their game sound semantic. But same could be said for any types of games i guess in terms of originality, with the abundance rogue-lite's and souls-like genra's we have in the market.
Weapon ranges work on the principle of "how many actions do you need to close the gap". If you are at medium range, you need one full action (one turn) to get into melee range. This is very linear and as a game master you always have to have a virtual grid in your head, because it leads to a lot of questions like "How far is the car from the plane right now?". In most cases and action movies, it doesn't matter. I would largely ignore the ranges.
Basic mechanics and theme sound great but the more subsystems you described and the less I was interested. Why play this instead of Spirit of 77 or Feng Shui?
if you want an action movie exprience, you will need a narrative/action system, NOT a combat focused system. This is just not gonna work, unless the DM makes up for it, just like D&D doesnt do anything to build the story, and DM must makes up for it if you want some story.
sorry, but PBTA is the perfect system, so why are people still wasting money and time on making other games? PBTA even has an action movie world RPG called Action Movie World
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The "empty mag on failed shooting roll" mechanic feels like that moment where the hero pulls the trigger to hear a hollow ~click~ and realizes they're out, rather than implying that they were shooting willy-nilly for some reason.
I kinda use this thinking for all my games.
After firing I make them roll a d6, and if it's a 1 the mag is empty. If it's a full-auto weapon you need to reload on 1 and 2.
I like this kind of mechanic. I get what the reviewer is saying about you could get that result and it doesn't make sense in the narrative for the hero to be empty. They should change it to "reload or clear weapon jam". The GM could just pick the one that best fits the narrative.
To me, it just seems that the only way you fail is if you ran out of bullets. It leaves me with the question. How often do I miss?
I kinda get it. Its one of those tropes that has no logical backing but still makes sense. I just wish it had a mechanic to simulate that "on my last mag" moment. The stress and stunts for that is awesome
It seems like the goon stat block isn’t for a single enemy, but a mob of them. Their Grit rating is for the total group, not each individual. I think, anyway. Hence the “must reload on a miss” rule: you’re taking shots at multiple foes. What I like about this is that it follows movie logic: if your mob is 20 guys, they die more quickly. If they’re fewer, they’re more of a threat. If it’s just ONE guy, it’s a mini boss or boss.
You're exactly right and I really like the way the game handles this. They give examples of goons as being anything from a gang of bikers to a couple of out of shape cops to a single guard dog. This goes for all levels of bad guys too, in the bosses category they give 88 katana-wielding lunatics and a helicopter gunship as examples, so a boss doesn't have to be just one character.
I can get the out of ammo on a miss. Heroes in action movies almost never fire a single round into an enemy, unless it’s a dramatic facedown type of thing. So the effect could be seen as a) they actually need to reload, or b) the gun jams and needs to be cleared. Both are common in the films.
Two Little Mice games always have beautiful arts! Best of luck on the Kickstarter, Two Little Mice team!
Regarding "empty mag on failed roll": Note that reloading a mag is a Quick Action, which is always avaible during your Action Turn in Combat aside from whatever you'll try to attempt with your Action Roll. So in essence it's making you spend a Quick Action (and a mag) on reloading during your turn, which could otherwise be used for small stunts or activating certain Feats, and also being unable to fire back if you land a counterhit during your Reaction Roll, forcing you to get creative if you want to bank in that counter.
Really love that the mechanics are connected to in-story tropes. Makes for pretty fast and clear gameplay.
I’ve never played the game or read the rules,but I think a failed shoot role means the guy went to shoot but his gun just made the empty click,which is a huge trope in action movies.
The character didn’t “fail,” the gun “failed.” It’s like a situation where a DM would roll the dice in other games.
I think the idea of cannon fodder having 9 hit points is that it represents a large group of mooks stopping the whole party, each one probably has 1/4th of a hit point but as a whole, 9 hp is good enough so the party stops and fights and the GM does not have to track 30 individual npcs and instead is just one big blob.
As for the reload after failing, It works on the context that each "turn" is actually a whole firefight so spending 15 bullets is a little on the over-the-top side but reasonable, and the penalty is just spending a quick action or having to source another weapon from a fallen enemy, I would say it's not that out of the way for a system like this one.
Most of all, it´s 9 BASIC successes. So a single 4 of a kind could completly "kill" this cannonfooder.
We played the QS and all fights and the challenge where extremly fast (2-3 rounds). Due to the Sliding-Feat of Sam, the Chase was mechanically boring. But the players did the best to push the action to the limits.
Two Little Mice is an epic source of inspiration. I play Savage Worlds and D&D mostly but I get some awesome ideas from this game
ngl I'm actually really digging hearing this. This kind of ttrpg might be the one up my alley lol. Appreciate you for letting us know about it.
I guess I know which system I’ll use for a John Wick game :)
Feng Shui has been my go to for action movie RPGs for many years, but I’m very interested in this.
Great Video. I am a huge fan of Broken Compass and Household, I am also a huge fan of Feng Shui 2. This changes my vieew on this game from a nice to have, to a must have. I cannot help but look at this as an improvement to Action Movie ttrpgs as a whole. I hope, after the release of this one, they release some "What If" supplements for things like wuxia/xianxia, fantasy etc. If not I will have some homebrewing to do.
the kickstarted page shows that this is exactly what will happen.
Yep, a slew of mini supplements just like that are already unlocked in the stretch goals.
This sounds like fun, and yeah, chases should never last too long.
I wonder how this game compares to Feng Shui or Wushu, which also cover very similar themes (though Feng Shui has its own setting).
This looks FUN. I think I'll have to try the quickstart with my group.
We played the Quickstarter and yes, you can have fun with it. The style of the adventure is simply railroading with GM tips from the 80s, partly arbitrary and partly with punishment elements if the players want to do something else.
The new mechanics are okay, but in large parts not really necessary. I found the adrenaline rule for the GM, for example, narratively limiting.
Our group won't need the game and will stay with BC, as the new setting also lacks any innovation. Even though some of the visuals are really cool.
Interesting. I'm wondering if you, and others, have ever checked out the Feng Shui 2e RPG. Wonderfully over-the-top action movie theme that includes some time supernatural and time travel options in the mix. Very Big Trouble In Little China style with some tongue-in-cheek humor.
I've definitely checked it out.
Have you ever checked out Justice Velocity? It's got the same vibe as this but it's less complicated.
I love the art and some of the concepts. I just feel like I'd rather they'd created this as a setting for Genesys or Savage Worlds. The system seems like it is trying to be rules-light but it feels more like a poker-version of the mentality FATE has, right down to forcing unusual dice mechanics and heavy reliance on tropes-as-mechanics. You really have to be into the system to make it flow.
I love Broken Compass and Household so I'm all in for this too.
Just saw the video now. This game looks really cool. Reminds me of a friend who asked how I liked ttrpgs if there's no gambling in them. Maybe I should get him this when it comes out lol😂
Ive read the quickstart. While I absolutely adore the art,layout,and basic rules ,some of the other mechanics seem a bit more complex and fiddly to me. I think Ill give it another read through just to see if I can absorb the rules better. Maybe Im not quite grasping something correctly. Thanks for taking a look at this Dave! My curiousity is further peaked!
I felt a little overwhelmed when I first read Broken Compass, my first contact with Two Little Mice’s system. But it’s all very simple and effortless now.
Agreed. Too much math, which makes for not enough fun. I HAVE The Spy Game 5e, and the mechanics are ok, but it's hard to get past the fact that the main ingredient is their own radical politics. I don't want politics in my games whether it is "my" team or not. Was hoping this Outgunned would seem interesting but alas, not so much. Thanks for the video anyway.
Nice Preview.
This was based on the Dimension 20 campaign, right?
It's interesting for me to see different takes on ttrpg since to me it's more restrictive in terms of potential design as compared to online games so game designers have to be creative so as to not make their game sound semantic. But same could be said for any types of games i guess in terms of originality, with the abundance rogue-lite's and souls-like genra's we have in the market.
How does movement work in the game? I see range bands and distance in feet on equipment, but didn't see rules on character movement.
Actually I didn’t see movement rules in the QS.
@@DaveThaumavore Thanks. I was wondering if it's called something else in here.
Weapon ranges work on the principle of "how many actions do you need to close the gap". If you are at medium range, you need one full action (one turn) to get into melee range.
This is very linear and as a game master you always have to have a virtual grid in your head, because it leads to a lot of questions like "How far is the car from the plane right now?". In most cases and action movies, it doesn't matter. I would largely ignore the ranges.
as always super review.
this looks amazing.. Damn it, Dave.
Aiight I'm all in on this!
Great review, Dave. Thanks.
Awesome!
Basic mechanics and theme sound great but the more subsystems you described and the less I was interested.
Why play this instead of Spirit of 77 or Feng Shui?
if you want an action movie exprience, you will need a narrative/action system, NOT a combat focused system. This is just not gonna work, unless the DM makes up for it, just like D&D doesnt do anything to build the story, and DM must makes up for it if you want some story.
yeah this is a complicated system
sorry, but PBTA is the perfect system, so why are people still wasting money and time on making other games? PBTA even has an action movie world RPG called Action Movie World