Black Powder Chocobo's page

I ran this last weekend, and while my players had fun, I believe it has more to do with the people at my table plus my own preparations than the scenario itself. There's promise and it is definitely something different, but a couple of missing hooks to drive the players to perform correctly are missing.

I played the drill sergeant with a mix of Major Payne and Patches O'Houlihan in mentality for the insults and harsh treatment given; the players enjoyed it and the fact that several of them were either military or knowledgeable of the military helped get them enjoy playing along, even as the scenario turned south.

The biggest problem is that there's a few light clues that hint that something may be shifty (and by whom), but there's little reason to break protocol and look for the clues. This is especially important when it comes to the end of the scenario, where the lack of clues can prevent players from truly figuring out what is going on and possibly even earn the second prestige point.

They aren't listed, but giving life to the other soldiers in the unit does much to make the experience feel fuller and, in hindsight, could have been used to push the players to find more clues.

I'll give the author credit for doing a different route and hopefully with some polish, something similar can be excellent!

As a GM who was doing something similar in a current campaign, this PDF caught my eye. The PDF is well layed out, with four pages explaining the relic rules and how to balance implementing them. After that, 10 pages cover eight example relics that cover a variety of roles, so out of the box there's good ideas for most player types. The end of the PDF gives a couple of templates for ideas on creating your own relics.

Compared to what I was doing, this is well thought out, providing bonus to the relic item each level, making the item's growth meaniningful throughout its owner's career. The PDF does list its pricing system to show balance with the normal item wealth so unless you choose to do so, adding these rules in your campaign shouldn't break the bank.

I personally wish there were a few more templates for item creation (for rings and other wonderous items) and another couple of relics, but what's there does work. The only other potential gripe could be the artwork, but that's just being nitpicky (the cover is pretty stylish, though).

Overall, the PDF is a solid choice for GM's that want his/her PC to have a sense of ownership with an item or two. Well worth picking up, especially at SGG's pricing.

-BPC