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WARREN: Let's get stuck into this episode where we've got
"Mercs," "Star Wars," more projects that need your
support, a chance to win some more awesome board games, and
of course, a little bit of hobbit love.
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
WARREN: Welcome back to another episode of "On the
Table," the show which collects everything going on
in gaming and condenses it into pure awesome.
We received a ton of great feedback from you guys after
the last episode, and we're taking it on board to help us
improve the show during the course of this season.
We also have some exciting news of our own.
Beasts of War is moving from our drafty home in Northern
Ireland to our new HQ near London.
We've been feverishly packing all week, and I have been
working especially hard.
Nice box, Justin.
Careful with that phone, Lloyd.
It's delicate.
Come on, Tom, faster!
Faster!
Good work, fellas.
Woo!
This is hard work.
Anyway, we'll soon be set up in our new home at Tabletop
Nation where we'll be able to bring you all new and improved
tabletop gaming goodness.
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
WARREN: To start the show, let's take a look
at some card games.
And where better to begin than with "A Game of Thrones." When
it comes to tales of political intrigue and bloody battles,
few match the brilliant TV series--
which, coincidentally, is filmed just down the road from
where I am.
As here in Ireland, winter is always coming.
Thanks to Fantasy Flight Games, you can recreate the
struggles of power between the noble houses of Stark and
Lannister in "A Game of Thrones--
the Card Game." Two players compete against each other,
each one taking on the role of either of these powerful
houses, and playing cards representing their key members
in reaction to various developments drawn
from the plot deck.
Each house plays differently, allowing for some variety in
game tactics.
House Stark favors straight-out battle and
military strength, while Lannister goes
for political scheming.
Winter is coming, and with it comes Christmas, meaning this
could be the perfect present for any fan of the "Song of
Ice and Fire" series.
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
WARREN: One of the biggest geek events of the decade is
coming this December.
Yes, that's right, "The Hobbit--
An Unexpected Journey" is at last appearing in cinemas.
But it isn't just on the silver screen that you can
experience Bilbo's journey through Middle-earth.
There are also a plethora of different board and card games
that take you through the Misty Mountains and the forest
of Mirkwood.
One of the most exciting of these is Fantasy Flight's new
"The Hobbit Card Game," by renowned game
creator, Martin Wallace.
Boasting some interesting game mechanics, it's well worth
checking out the rules, which are now free to download from
the Fantasy Flight game site.
There really is no shortage of Middle-earth fun you can have
in the run-up to "The Hobbit," so grab your
Precious and get gaming.
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
WARREN: Have any of you folks heard of "Race for the Galaxy"
by Rio Grande Games?
No?
Well, let me enlighten you to one of the best
card games out there.
The original game saw you building a selection of
worlds, gaining victory points along the way through trading,
military occupation, and exploration.
The game also branched out into a number of different
expansions.
However, Rio Grande are now hoping to go back to basics
with a new take on "Race for the Galaxy," called "Roll for
the Galaxy." And guess what?
It contains dice.
This new version of the game is meant to be easier for
casual gamers to get into, using the dice to simulate
what your population wants on each planet you conquer, as
well as what you'd prefer them to do.
We'll see if this game will be able to live up to the
reputation of its previous incarnations, but it might
just be the perfect chance for me to enact my dreams of
galactic conquest.
We'll bring you more information on this
potentially awesome game in the near future.
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
WARREN: Now we move on to take a look at what's of interest
to all us RPG fans.
And we kick off with some news of an old classic.
Following the superb success over the past year or two with
the 20th anniversary editions of White Wolf, "Vampire--
The Requiem," and "Werewolf--
The Apocalypse," Onyx Path have decided to keep going and
a new anniversary edition of "Mage--
The Ascension" is on its way next year.
"Mage," like other World of Darkness role playing games,
plunges you deep into an alternative world where
shadows are out to get you and all those supernatural bumps
in the night?
They're very, very real.
You become a user of magic, but this isn't like the high
fantasy spell casting of Merlin or Gandalf.
Magic in the World of Darkness can tear you from the mortal
realm if you're not careful.
Of course, just because it's dangerous doesn't mean you
can't have some fun with your reality-shifting powers.
Hmmm.
Summonus hotteus womanus.
Aargh.
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
WARREN: Funded by Kickstarter earlier in the year, "Dungeon
World" by Sage Kobold is proving to be a hit with
gamers, landing itself a Golden Geek
award from RPG Geek.
"Dungeon World" is a system written with Creative Commons
in mind, where an easy rule set allows for players and
dungeon masters to work together to form an exciting
world to play in.
The focus is certainly on being inventive and using your
noggin, rather than trying to break the rules.
Creative Commons also gives gamers a chance to modify and
add to the "Dungeon World," creating new classes and
adventures for others to experience without
feeling fenced in.
Another strength that has driven the backing of "Dungeon
World" and made it so popular is the ease with which you can
take adventure modules from other systems and add them to
this system.
Might we see some Gygaxian favorites
coming out of the woodwork?
Mmm.
"Dungeon World" Tomb of Horror style, anyone?
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
WARREN: Once again, we return to my favorite three sci-fi
movies ever.
-Uh, Warren?
[ZAP]
WARREN: Until now, the main way to play "Star Wars" as a
role playing game was to pick up the books from Wizards of
the Coast or head to a different system and modify it
to fit the universe.
Well, Fantasy Flight Games are changing all that with their
own take on "Star Wars" in pen-and-paper form.
Welcome to the "Edge of Empire," folks.
Unlike previous versions of "Star Wars," this takes you
away from the core planets and out onto, well, the edge of
the Empire.
Here you will encounter the *** and villainy hiding away
from the forces of Darth Vader.
And maybe even a dashing rogue or two, just hoping to make a
swift credit.
The game focuses away from the powers of the Force and Jedi
in particular, giving the world of "Star Wars" a
grittier feeling while still being that grand space opera
we've all come to know and love.
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
WARREN: It's giveaway time.
This time, we have yet another great prize for you guys, but
first let's see who last episode's winner is.
Yep, ninjabreadman1993.
Congratulations, mate, and we hope you enjoy your three
brand new games.
Wayland Games is shipping them to you now, and incidentally,
yes, this is my real accent.
Troll moment.
For the rest of you, do not despair, for in this episode
you could be in with a chance of winning
three more great games.
Now with the move, we didn't have a lot of time to get
prizes together, so we decided to send you three games that
we know are great because Wheaton says they are.
So all you have to do is drop us a comment here on YouTube
and you could be in with chance of playing "Gloom,
"Elder Sign," and "Ticket to Ride," courtesy of our buddies
over at Wayland Games.
If you don't know what these games are like, then you can
check them out here, on an episode of Tabletop.
And remember, this competition is open to all gamers on
Planet Earth.
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
WARREN: Now we get to all those cool new war gaming
minis, and we thought we'd start by looking at a
completely new game.
Have you heard of "Thon?" No, not "thong." "Thon." It's a
new sci-fi miniatures game that has us intrigued, mainly
because the miniatures and concept art are looking so
damn awesome.
The game is touted as being fast-paced and details the
struggle between the Thonians--
that wasn't even funny the first time, guys--
and the Sons of Ord in the depths of space.
What's also interesting is it appears to be three games in
one, with a competitive versus system, a narrative RPG
element, and a casual masked play system
between groups of gamers.
What all of this is going to translate into is anybody's
guess, but as long as I get to shoot things and blow [BLEEP]
up, I'm happy.
[SIGH].
God.
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
WARREN: In war gaming, we've seen many versions of the
future, but few are as strange and twisted as the world of
"Eden," the post-apocalyptic war game from Taban
Miniatures.
This November sees a bunch of new minis make an appearance,
with everything from the Twisted Flesh Master to the
Ominous Blue Hero.
What is it about post-apocalypse that makes
everyone dress weird and become a total psycho?
[TECHNO MUSIC PLAYING]
WARREN: Uh, yeah.
Taban have also set up an Indiegogo campaign in order to
bring out a new hardcover version of the book.
And it's already funded by 200%, so it's probably worth
checking out.
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
WARREN: The fantastic miniatures game "Mercs" has
now got an entirely free-to-download campaign up
on their website, allowing you to take your team into the
heart of the action and build a story through their
victories and, indeed, their defeats.
Set over a number of ruins, this new campaign system
allows you to take control of areas on the map, buy new
soldiers, equip and upgrade them, then head out onto the
battlefield and fight for victory points to see who can
be crowned the mightiest corporation of them all.
The guys at Mercs Minis also sent us over some
work-in-progress shots of both their new CCC Breacher and
KemVar Shock Trooper.
Maybe as you play through the campaign, you'll generate
enough cash to hire one of these dudes.
With a new campaign, great looking models, and eight
factions to choose from, be sure to check out the free
quick start rules, and consider
signing up to be a Merc.
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
WARREN: Well, guys and gals, that's it for another episode
of "On the Table." Catch us again in two weeks with more
great gaming news.
In the meantime, remember that if you're hankering for more
gaming-related stuff, discussions, and tips, you can
find us over at beastsofwar.com and
geekandsundry.com, as well as on Facebook and Twitter, and
even Pinterest.
Remember, if you ever come across anything you think the
world deserves to know about, be sure to submit it to us
here and your name could appear in the show credits.
In the meantime, well, we'll be off searching for more
goodies to bring to you.
So until then, you have been watching "On the Table."
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]