Originally Published in Pyramid Magazine – March 2nd, 2001

As far as I can tell, Reiner Knizia doesn’t know how to design a bad game – and Lost Cities is no exception to his exemplary track record.

Although connected to the reputed theme of the game (adventurers traveling to lost cities around the globe) in only the loosest of possible fashions, the mechanics here prove to be simple, but not simplistic: To borrow the cliché, Lost Cities is easy to learn – difficult to master.

Despite the fact that it comes with a board, Lost Cities is essentially a card game: You have five different color suits (each belonging to a different environment in which a lost city is located), with each suit containing three “investment” cards and ten cards numbered from 1 to 10. Each player receives a hand of eight cards, and play proceeds in turns – with each player either playing or discarding a card, and then drawing another card in order to replace it.

Cards are played off of the board (which has five playing areas keyed to each of the five colors), with each player playing on his or her side of the board. Cards must be played in order – with investment cards coming first, and then the numerical cards in order after that. (So, in other words, if you’ve played the red seven, you cannot go back and play the red five – you can only play the red eight, nine, or ten.) When you decide to discard a card (rather than playing), you do so into one of five discard piles (keyed to each of the colors). When you draw a card you may do so from the top of any of the discard piles, or from the top of the draw pile. The game ends when the last card is drawn from the draw pile.

You score each color separately in the following manner: Total the numerical cards, subtract 20 from the resulting total, and multiply that total (whether its positive or negative) by the number of investment cards you played plus one. If you didn’t play any cards in a color (investment or numerical), however, your score for that column is 0. Then add the totals from all five colors together.

Simple, right? Right. But in the actual practice of it, Lost Cities becomes something more than you’d expect.

For example, it’s not enough to merely play cards out in a haphazard manner: You must be aware of your ability to reach the 20-point minimum required to see a return (otherwise you’re throwing your money away). You must balance the risks and advantages of additional investment in an exploration. You must keep in mind how much time you have left in the game, and attempt to manipulate that time limit to your advantage (and your opponent’s disadvantage) through your discards and draws.

And then there is the direct player interaction through the five discard piles, which takes a difficult decision and turns it into a nerve-wracking one: You must play to your strengths, subvert your opponents, and avoid your weaknesses.

The incredibly diverse array of tactical options and strategic possibilities which result from the elegantly simple mechanics of Lost Cities is a testament to Knizia’s brilliance at game design, and the strength of this game. This is a game in which you will be asked to choose between the lesser of two evils, and forced to decide between the conservative and the risky.

In addition to being a great two-player game, Lost Cities is also a visually beautiful package (although the white “map” on the superfluous playing board comes off as far too bluish, leaving you momentarily confused the first time you look at the game board). There is little doubt that this game is well worth the cost of admission, and should prove a worthy addition to your collection of games.

Style: 5
Substance: 4

Designer: Reiner Knizia
Publisher: Rio Grande Games
Price: $19.95
ISBN: 1-892081-23-7
Production Code: 687618

Lost Cities is currently available in a 6th Edition. I haven’t seen this new edition, although I know it features new art, some revised rules, and also expansion scenarios.

As I mentioned  recently in my retrospective review of Hera & Zeus, it’s been many years since I was a regular player of two-player board games, so I haven’t revisited Lost Cities recently. But you’ll still find it on my shelf.

(click for PDF)

Mothership is a sci-fi horror RPG. Think Alien, The Thing, Pitch Black, or Annihilation.

Its calling card is an old school approach wedded to red hot innovation:

• Blazing fast character creation.
• Brutal systems for Combat and Stress.
• Tons of sandbox support and tools in the Warden’s Operation Manual (the GM book).
• An overwhelming amount of adventure support, including both first party books and a deluge of third-party support.

This last point, in particular, convinced me to make Mothership the basis for my current open campaign. Not only is there a ton of adventure support, a lot of it is designed so that you can spend 15 minutes reading through it and — presto! — you’re ready to go. My expectation is that I’ll be able to rapidly build a stable of adventures that will easily let me run the game with minimal or no prep.

I previously shared alpha and beta versions of this cheat sheet. In addition to several minor corrections, the two big changes are adding several key reference tables (wounds, panic effects, etc.) and the full skill list. (I’d previously been relying on the official GM screen and character sheet to provide theses references, but I’m now moving towards using a custom screen featuring only my cheat sheet.)

WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED

These cheat sheets are not designed to be a quick start packet: They’re designed to be a comprehensive reference for someone who has read the rulebook and will probably prove woefully inadequate if you try to learn the game from them. (On the other hand, they can definitely assist experienced players who are teaching the game to new players.)

The Mothership cheat sheet, in particular, works very well in conjunction with the GM screen(s) for the game, which are excellent. (There’s both a standard screen and a larger deluxe screen, which each come with the respective boxed sets.)

The cheat sheets also don’t include what I refer to as “character option chunks” (for reasons discussed here). In other words, you won’t find the rules for character creation here.

HOW I USE THEM

I usually keep a copy of the cheat sheet behind my GM screen for quick reference and also provide copies for all of the players. I have two copies of the Mothership rulebook at the table, too, but my goal is to summarize all of the rules for the game. This consolidation of information eliminates book look-ups: Finding something in a dozen pages is a much faster process than paging through hundreds of pages in the rulebook.

The organization of information onto each page of the cheat sheet should, hopefully, be fairly intuitive.

PAGE 1: Basic Mechanics and Skills. (Most of the core game play loops are covered here.)

PAGE 2: Violent Encounters and the Threat System.

PAGE 3: Survival. (Most of the miscellaneous rules in the game.)

PAGE 4: Ports & Medical Care. (Stuff to do in your downtime.)

PAGE 5: Ship Stats & Space Travel. (All the rules for operating ships except for ship-to-ship combat.)

PAGE 6: Ship Repairs & Contractors. (Not a big fan of these two sharing the same sheet, but they ended up being two half-pages without good companion pieces.)

PAGE 7: Ship-to-Ship Combat.

PAGE 8: Wounds, Panic, Death Save, and Damage tables.

CRUXES

This cheat sheet has not quite reached its final form. There are still several elements I’m experimenting with. A few things to note:

First, some rules from first-party supplements have been included. These are marked in red. There are additional rules (like those for cybermods) that I suspect probably belong on this cheat sheet and may be added in the future.

Second, these sheets include my personal house rules. With the exception of the Threat system (which I’ll discuss in a moment), these are marked in blue. Some of these are original rules, others overwrite the published rules. When I release the final version of the sheets, I may or may not do a version which is strictly the published rules of the game, but for now this is my working document and what I’m using at the table. If you want to strip these house rules out on your own, here’s a copy of the Microsoft Word file I used to create the cheat sheet so that you can easily edit it:

Mothership Cheat Sheet – Microsoft Word

Note that you’ll need to track down the relevant fonts.

Third, the sheet includes the Threat system, which I first discussed in Mothership – Thinking About Combat. Based on actual play, the system as presented here has received some refinement (and I’m still tinkering with it).

For the moment, this has also resulted in the “Violent Encounters” section of the cheat sheet appearing on both the first page (paired with Basic Mechanics) and the second page (where it appears with the Threat system for a complete combat reference). Partly this is because I’m still experimenting with the Threat system. Partly because I’m still trying to figure out the final layout of the sheets. And partly so that those not interested in the Threat system can simply remove that page of the cheat sheet and still have a fully functional packet.

I previously discussed an additional crux:

Androids & Oxygen: The rules state that androids don’t consume oxygen when life support systems fail, but there are separate rules for vacuums and toxic atmospheres (which require rebreathers or oxygen supplies). Should androids be affected by exposure to vacuum or toxic atmospheres? My ruling is No.

I have not included a resolution to this particular conundrum on the sheet. In my personal campaign, we’ve been developing a wide variety of androids and I’m still figuring out if different types will have different features and, if so, how they interact with things like the Atmospheres rules and hyperspace travel.

Having run character creation for Mothership many times, the sheer speed at which it happens turns the limited number of rulebooks at the table into a significant choke point. I’m going to continue experimenting with how that should be handled, and probably trying to figure out which pages from the PDF need to be printed out to help everyone zip through. (I’ll report back when I know more.)

MAKING A GM SCREEN

These cheat sheets can also be used in conjunction with a modular, landscape-oriented GM screen (like the ones you can buy here or here).

Personally, I use a four-panel screen and use reverse-duplex printing in order to create sheets that I can tape together and “flip up” to reveal additional information behind them. I’m still experimenting with exactly how I want the Mothership pages arranged on my screen.

And the Dukes of Chaos reached into the flesh of the living, taking whatever their power could command turning it unto the purposes which they saw best. From such works were the Elder Brood delivered – a horde of flesh driven to pinnacles far beyond the pale boundaries of nature.

This scroll describes the creation of the essyat – one of several races “bound to the service of the Galchutt and all who would follow them”. Names such as the akop, nyogoth, solesik, and tilaxic are given as others among their ranks.

Of the essyat, the scroll says this: “From the living were claimed the heart, the throat, and the stomach. Of the rest, different purposes were rendered. Of the stomach, it was placed upon the rack of the zaug and distended into a bloated form possessed of both legs and arms. Of the heart, its four chambers were transformed by the rites of alchemy and placed within the stomach. Of the throat was fashioned a mouth of horrors.”

THE FOUR HUMOURS

“Each of the four chambers within the essyat is tempered so as to produce, according to bio-alchemical principles, one of the four classical humours: Black bile, blood, phlegm, and yellow bile. Each of these, in turn, is tempered to heighten its potency. In this fashion, the essyat may serve as the infernal, living artillery of chaos.”

The essyat are apparently capable of vomiting forth the potent humours distilled in their stomachs. Their black bile produces severe melancholy, rendering anyone struck by it incapable of action. Their blood fills victims covered in its sticky gore with ecstatic happiness. Their phlegm engenders extreme cowardice. And their yellow bile invites wild and random wrath.

THE RACK OF THE ESSYAT

Vivid (and disturbing) description is given to their odious treatment of captives: The essyat will force-feed captured enemies with gouts of humour. When their victim is bloated with blood and bile, but not yet quite dead, the essyat pops the grisly meal into its mouth and swallows it down.

There are descriptions of essyat upon the field of battle bloated and distended with the “grisly contours of those hapless souls thrust into their limitless, pliable gullets”.

ALCHEMIC ARTS

With a cooperative essyat, it is apparently quite easy to harvest great quantities of bile. Once separated from the potent conditions of the essyat’s belly, however, the potency of the bile will quickly equalize.

With supplies worth 25 gp, however, and a successful Intelligence (Alchemist’s Supplies) check (DC 15), the potency of harvested bile can be maintained as a single-use splash weapon:

• Black Bile: Subject is incapacitated, standing still and wrapped in their own morose thoughts.
• Blood: Subject is filled with joy, optimism, and good cheer. They cannot take any offensive action.
• Phlegm: The target becomes filled with cowardice and must flee as if frightened (although this is not a fear effect).
• Yellow Bile: The target is incited to violence and vengefulness. They turn on the nearest creature, friend or foe, with their most powerful attack or spell.

The primary target is affected for 1d4 rounds. A secondary target is affected for 1 round. A Wisdom save (DC 17) negates the effect in each case.

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Ships of the Fleet, Vol. 4: Venus Fleet – a supplement for Dream Pod 9’s Jovian Chronicles game – is plagued by minor inconsistencies and errors of detail. Fortunately, it is also possessed of substantial strengths, proving itself useful for tactical and roleplaying games alike. Recommended.

Originally Published in Pyramid Magazine – August 11th, 2000

Being truly excellent is a double-edged sword: On the one hand, of course, you’re excellent – and that comes with a lot of perks. On the other hand, though, you’ve set yourself a very high standard – and a failure in the details suddenly becomes a notable offense.

Which is why I’m going to take a few moments to dwell on the failures of Ships of the Fleet, Vol. 4 – a supplement describing six Venusian ships of the line, the principles of Venusian ship design, and Venusian fleet operations. Although these failures may all be in the details, they are no less disappointing.

Why are they disappointing? Because Dream Pod 9 has excelled – with all three of their games – in providing a level of depth, breadth, and quality for their fictional worlds that almost beggars the imagination. When, for example, you not only know the broad strokes of political machination and warmongering in the solar system of the 21^st century, but also what the favorite books of the Jovian Confederation are, and how the details of shipboard life onboard a Constantinople-class vessel differ from those of a Birmingham-class – and all of this weaves together into a consummate and seamless whole – you’ve achieved something special.

You can build mighty worlds out of imaginative wonders, but the final key to the imagination lies in the details. It is there that a world will cease to be merely words on a page and, instead, become a living, breathing presence in your mind’s eye.

So, when you’ve accomplished the extraordinary task of making this happen – of bringing a world to life – it behooves you to make sure that those details continue to be consistent and believable.

Which brings us back to what makes this book disappointing.

For example, on page eight we are told that all Venusian ships are specifically made to look different from one another – part of a fleet-wide doctrine to camouflage their navy as civilian merchant vessels and, thus, hide it from the other solar powers. So why on page thirteen are we told that “these newer ships are cosmetically indistinguishable from the older ones”? And why, whenever we are shown pictures of multiple ships, these are merely cut-and-paste copies of one another (an offense made all the more notable by the fact that even the name stamped on the side of the ship has not been changed from one carbon copy to another)? And speaking of that all-too-obvious name: If you’re attempting to keep the size of your navy a secret, is it really a good idea to be printing “CVNA” (Cooperative Venusian Naval Administration) in large letters for the entire solar system to see on every single ship in your navy?

There are other examples of carelessness, as well: In the core Jovian Chronicles rulebook we were told that Venus deliberately exported only algae products and foodstuffs in order to conceal from the rest of the solar system the extent of their technical knowledge. So why is it that in this book we’re told that Venusian ships are at a particular risk from pirate attacks because their ships are almost “guaranteed” to be carrying items of value? One of the nicer elements in the book are the crew interviews – allowing you to hear first-person narratives of why shipboard life is like… but many of these interviews do not sound like Venusians, coming across as angry and egotistical rather than reserved and polite.

And so forth. There are many companies out there – companies which turn out good games – who could do these same things, and I just wouldn’t care. I probably wouldn’t even notice. But the Podsters have established a record of high quality, and I notice things in their books that I wouldn’t notice if I didn’t care so much.

Now that I’m done nitpicking the book to death, though, let’s dwell on its pleasant – and substantial – successes:

For starters, if you’re running a roleplaying campaign set onboard a Venusian ship, you should seriously consider picking up this book. The detailed ship information, interviews with crew members describing ship life, and coverage of crew structures for each type of ship, along with descriptions of shipboard procedures and naval structure are all great, hands-on material which will have immediate applicability for you.

For tactical players the most obvious application of the material in this book comes in the form of ship stats — giving you some new toys to play with. But I think that most of you will also find the information regarding Venusian deployment philosophy and tactical planning during wartime to be fascinating and useful material (although I wish there was as much detail provided for Venus as was provided for the Jovian Confederation in previous volumes).

The only problem the Ships of the Fleet books have, as a concept, is that they lack a clearly defined role for either roleplayers or tactical players. The inclusion of shipboard life and procedures makes the books potentially useful for roleplayers – but only roleplayers in campaigns with substantial time aboard ship. On the other hand, the inclusion of this material reduces the number of ships which can be covered – making the book less inclusively useful for the tactical player. Both roleplayer and tactical player receive a number of tools in these books – but it is an open question in my mind whether or not either receive enough tools to justify the price tag.

Therefore, this books comes with a reserved recommendation: If you’re a Jovian Chronicles fanatic, definitely pick it up. Otherwise, you’re only going to want this one if it has a very specific application to your campaign.

Grade: B

Writers: Wunji Lau (Writer/Designer and Lloyd Doug Jessee (Game Stats/Design)
Publisher: Dream Pod 9
Price: $20.95
Page Count: 144
ISBN: 1-896776-70-1

And they took the gifts that Nature left for them and turned those gifts to their own ends, shaping them through rites of chaos to become a teeming legion – least among their servants, but limitless in number.

This scroll describes “seething caverns of chaos, impossible in their vast expanse” and filled with “the seething terrors” that are the “least among the servitors of the Endless Sleepers”. These corrupted masses are called the Elder Brood and some are given names: Akop, tesk, marbassik spawn, tilaxic.

Attention is then paid to one of the Elder Brood in particular: “Unto the bulugon they gave the feast-lust, driving their bloated forms to obsession of corpulent excess.”

Bulugon were reptilian creatures who were gifted with an endless, insatiable appetite. This appetite fuels a limitless capacity for hate and a cruel drive for conquest. Their thick scales are stretched taut across an abdomen swelled with excess. Although bat-winged, their corpulent bodies make them clumsy fliers. (It’s actually quite remarkable that their wings can support their bulk at all.)

THE GLUTTONY

No matter how much a bulugon eats, the endless starvation in their belly continues. Their masters use their constant feeding to both grow their bloated bodies and to motivate their service, but there is no satisfaction which can be given to them.

There are many tales of lone bulugon tyrannizing isolated communities. They “enthrall those weakest of mind and will” and then seek out some isolated cave or (more blasphemously) a religious shrine. Word goes out through their newfound servitors that the devil must be fed or the community will feel its wrath. Tribute and service are demanded in the name of fear.

But its hunger cannot be satisfied. The bulugon will “feast until all the fields are bare; until all the stores are consumed; until it feeds upon starvation itself”. In just a few days, the bulugon can deplete the food reserves of the entire village. And then these malefic gluttons will turn on the locals and begin to feed on them. Horrific tales are collected here of villages reduced to grisly lotteries and bloody arenas in which desperate men and women are faced with the heinous choice of the next victim to be fed to an insatiable appetite.

THE GIFTS

Graphic depictions are given of the bulugon using their long horns to impale flying opponents, using the great bulk to send both themselves and their pinioned foe crashing to the ground.

Bulugon are also said to be able to “wreathe themselves in a mist of terror”. Although they are not very fast or agile, bulugon use this fog – and the fear which accompanies it – to disguise their approach. And then their considerable bulk – both of fat and muscle – is capable of delivering blows strong to crush plate armor.

Finally, the stomach of a bulugon possesses an acid of incredible strength. (Its enhancement is most likely the source of their appetite.) Once removed from the bulugon’s body, the acid quickly loses its strength, but the bulugon is able to spew this acid in a flesh-searing cone.

ALCHEMIC ARTS

Detailed instructions are given for extracting the acid from the belly of a recently deceased bulugon while sustaining some of its preternatural strength. With a successful Intelligence (Alchemist’s Supplies) check (DC 20), an alchemist can remove 1d6+4 vials of bulugon acid. This acid deals 6d6 acid damage, three times the damage of normal acid.

DESIGN NOTES

Like the akop, the bulugon were taken from Green Ronin’s The Book of Fiends to expand the ranks of the Elder Brood.

Another technique to note here is that each Book of the Elder Brood focuses on a different brood, but each volume also introduces the Elder Brood as a whole. (Since any one of these books might be the first one the PCs chance upon.) In several of them I list the names of other creatures within the Elder Brood, but notably each listing is incomplete and each listing is different-but-overlapping. This is a matryoshka techniques, with the players being able to slow correlate a list of the Elder Brood by comparing different sources of lore.

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