Game Geeks #122 Legends of Steel

[TheCaptainhat]

I like the pencil flip you got goin on :D

[LordSathar]

Actually Conan very rarely wore any armor until he became king of aquilonia

[AzraelCC]

Wow, your dexterity must be at about 18! Twirling that pencil so casually was awesome.

[aikighost]

Have you tried the Barbarians of Lemuria version Kurt? Its a really great game.

[danbuter]

In the real stories, Conan wore as much armor as he could. In several, he was in plate mail. FYI.

[phaedruslive]

plate-mail wasn't invented yet in REH"s timeline. a breastplate is about as heavy your going to find in hyboria.

[VoraxTranstellaris]

Apparently this is also available in an edition for the Barbarians of Lemuria rules set.

[VoraxTranstellaris]

I actually got the Barbarians of Lemuria edition recently and am really enjoying it so far. I plan to use this with Barbarians of Lemuria so getting the Savage Worlds edition wouldn't make sense.

[LazerLuger]

Thanks for the review. Our group just switched over to Savage Worlds, and I'm hoping to run a game in the Hyborian Age.

[verlox]

Kurt, thank you very much for these reviews. Because of them, me and a group of friends have gotten into TTRPGs (specifically Hellfrost).

[Orklord90]

Some wizards may use magic through rituals to summon a demonic entity or channeling the lifeforce of mortal being. Low Fantasy dosne't use much of these fantastic themes , like David Gemmel's Novels (Gemmel's novels are more like: Historical Low Fantasy, I like them a lot). but it's nearly the same with S&S when it comes to the use of magic, as in Low Fantasy.

[Orklord90]

Sword & Sorcery is exactly what you tell it is, cuz it's more like a fantasy about critics of morality. Conan the Barbarian is an (Anti-)Hero, cuz he do what he thinks is good and right. which brought up the questions about how moral he is in a certain situation. That you said about Magic is also very important in both S&S and Low Fantasy, cuz they tends to have more or less conseqences when the magicusers in the novel or game uses magic, for example:

[Orklord90]

It isn't the genre of High Fantasy taht Defines how much points or plots thier is in a fantasy world or novel! The Fantasy genre who is based around a point or a special plot is called Heroic Fantasy (which is the most popular fantasy genre), High fantasy defines who much of "fantastic themes", like how much magic there is or how much fantastic creatures like dragons and griffons, there is in a fantasy novel or game! most fantasy rpgs, novels and computer games is Heroic High Fantasy.

[AntonyPlaza]

LOL, Don't worry about it Kurt, I still call in Shain-tar as well, (and yes it does tell you in the book how to pronounce it, which is different to how its read, hence then need to explain it in the book :P )

Great Game no matter what you call it

[Ogma01]

Well, there's "Shain-tar" and then there's "Shawn-tar" which is what Kurt calls it. :-) Doesn't really matter.

[AntonyPlaza]

Well it all depends on how you pronounce the spelling of Shaintar

Theres the way its spelt in the book,

Then there is the way its meant be pronounced, (but you can only find out this different version IN the book,)

The two are different, and you can't blame people for pronouncing it the way its spelt now can you?

[Ogma01]

I don't want to keep wailing on this very dead horse, but Antony, you say "...you can only find out this different version IN the book," (the correct pronunciation). It's Kurt's (or any reviewer's) responsibility to present correct information about a product to the viewer/reader and the correct pronunciation appears at the beginning of the second paragraph of page 6: '(pronounced "Shine tar").'

I think this nitpicking comes from a lifetime of people mispronouncing my surname! :-)

[AntonyPlaza]

Sounds like you've got issues dude, lol

But it is spelt Shaintar, so you can't blame them for pronouncing it as its spelt

Poor horse

[Ogma01]

Horse... You're pulp, I'm afraid...

My ears must be broken because I keep hearing "SHAWN-tar" from Kurt, not "SHANE-tar"... Last I checked, "ai" is typically pronounced like a long "A" as in "train" or "rain".

Kurt is NOT "...pronouncing it as its spelt..." regardless of which country (or planet) you live in/on. :-)

[AntonyPlaza]

Man this is really getting old,

There must be something wrong with your ears because I hear "Shain-Tar"

maybe you are not taking his accent in too account?

I pronounce it the same way "Shain-Tar"

And I'm English, as in from England,

You know the place where they invented a language called...well you get the idea,

[Ogma01]

Dear Kurt.

I love your videos.

Looking forward to more.

Thanks.

[venusboys3]

I don't get why everyone complains about what Kurt chooses to review... it's his show... he's not getting paid... he's not beholden to anyone.

I don't see where he's claimed to be comprehensive or authoritative... he's just one guy talking about the games he reads.

If you think something else needs reviewing go buy a copy and make your own friggin Youtube review.

[saintjst7]

Great review Kury, but can we get to some diffrent material. You used to tackle alot of diffrent obscure games, and i'd like to see the show go back in that direction.

[ZwittyD]

YAY more Savage Worlds...

[TheEvilDM]

Thanks for the review Kurt. I'm glad you enjoyed Legends of Steel. A lot of time went into it and its nice to see that folks are enjoying it enough to recommend.

[MoyashiMaru]

First off, I enjoy the reviews. I think Mr. Wiegel distills the the point and purpose of the product he presents into easily digestible five minute segments. Might want to change his shirt more often, tho...

I would like to hear his thoughts on some of the Monographs coming out of Chaosium for CoC/BRP, Maybe the DRYH supplement Don't Lose your Mind, Retro-clones, and maybe his take on the Ennies.

[plypox]

Can Kurt rewiew any Alderac products like, L5r and Burning Sands RPG?

[colossalmistake]

I like savage worlds a lot, and I enjoy hearing about new supplements for the system, especially if there something I might not have been tipped off too otherwise.

BUT. . . . .

I also think the Savage worlds reviews have been a little thick as of late and would appreciate some more variety.

[pugknowspro]

Sorry there won't be any new episodes for a couple weeks or so.

Rob

[bluenile1000]

for gods sake how many savage world games can you review this show should just be called internet advertising for savage worlds

[walt776]

Need some fire to take care of all the trolls in here...

[sureshot73A]

What trolls? Besdies one or two instances of name calling it's been pretty tame. How is saying that he reviews SW stuff to often trolling? When he started he had a variety. With at the very least talking about the game. Now it's just a gushfest for SW. I get that he likes SW. He needs imo to review other games. It's pretty bad when even hardcore SW fans post that he needs to review other games. I'm going to see how this goes and if it's SW again next week I'm not going to bother even watching it

[vinkeveen2]

dont lie to yourself dude. OC you'll watch it. :P you'll just be a bit more disapointed.

I agree. on the SW topic though.

Wish he would review some more WOD or mayby some idies.

[sureshot73A]

No i am not lying to myself. I have collected rpgs for a long time before Kurt wigel started doing his reviews. Bought too many without asking for any feedback or watching and/or reading any reviews. Kurt makes for interesting viewing. He is not something I need to enjoymy hobby.

[sureshot73A]

I would not go so far as to call him a tool. Though his reviews are too one sided. As you say nothing can be that good and so far I have seen him say nothing really negative about SW. Which is fine except it makes his reviews imo too biased in favor of what he likes. Which turn them more into blogs about a game rather then a review about the game, To me a proper review is supposed to say what is good and bad about a product. Not just tell me buy this I like it. Greatst thing since sliced bread.

[WayfinderX]

As much as I love SW, I can give you a negative about the system; it's not for everyone.

The more I run SW games, the more I realize that there are some people who love to tinker, some people who want to get into the engineering complexity of things and want to wheel and deal and handle money. There are some who crave lots of complexity in games for a variety of reasons (mostly, I think, to use the rules to full advantage). So SW isn't really for those players unless somehow provided.

[sureshot73A]

He does say that he is a fan of Savage worlds so while you may not like it you cannot fault him for his SW reviews. Though at this point they are becoming excessive. Their are many other rpgs on the market right now. Time to review those. As another poster said he needs to get out of his comfort zone. Or at the very least acknowledge that he has been doing to many reviews about SW.

[gumm4umm4]

Nice pencil-twizzling, Kurt!

[nozzer2002]

surpise,surprise another SW review...

[blades187]

keep reviewing good games, plain and simple, no matter the system, the system is irrelevant, if one doesn't like the system one could always create a custom converter. Games like this tap into the root of what sets this genre apart from the MMO's, which sad to say are influencing the flagship franchise DnD far too much.

[OriginalNeomoon]

Any chance you could do a review of Supernatural?

[kaosdevice]

Can we take a break from Savage Worlds stuff and look at something else? This SW stuff is getting a bit stale.

[Jeffrywith1e]

Do you think you could subtitle your shows- I mean this episode could be called GAME GEEKS #122: Legends of Steel (and Sword and Sorcery settings). Like the title of Dr. Strangelove (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb). I like it when things have two titles like that.

[YoksterMan]

This review was a great intro to what's so great about the S&S genre. Nice one Kurt!

[unquietsoul]

Another useful review, thanks Kurt.

Do you have plans to cover some of the more Indie Games?

Also, I'd like to see reviews of some of the 'crunchy' games out there that are coming out with new editions, Like the 6th Edition of Hero Games/Champions, Shadowrun, etc. Some of us have gaming groups that don't do well with the middle ground complexity or 'light' mechanics games.

[pugknowspro]

Yes we do, lots of them, time has been a issue lately, that's why we'll be taking a couple weeks off to catch up.

Rob

[walt776]

Sigh... what a bunch of whiners many commentators here are. One, Kurt typically does stretches of reviews concerning the same system (unisystem or BRP ring a bell?). Two, he is reviewing content more than system: What does this game bring to the table? What does it have to offer you? Even if you don't like Savage Worlds, maybe you will want to pick it up for ideas. Hell, I own several d20 books, not because I will ever play that dumb system, but because I like what I can pull from them.

[walt776]

Not being a fan of high fantasy, I would say what really sets S&S apart is its grittiness, lack of clearly defined morality, and low-key sorcery (i.e. You don't have wizards running around flinging fire balls; magic is much more exotic and subtle.)

And yes, chain bikinis.

I really don't like Tolkien-inspired games because Tolkien took a lot of the magic out of the creatures he portrayed, turning them into just people. I'd rather play a game with dwarves and elves as portrayed in myth.

[MadWritter]

Disney and Pixar called. They want their lines back. You stolen Mr. Incredible's opening lines from "The Incredible".

[pridday88]

Thanks for another great review Kurt. However, I do have to agree with some of the other commenters that it would be nice if you'd mix in some non-SW products as well.

[vinomaniac]

"What am I, the maid!?" Excellent line!! lol

[nutherefurlong]

This is my kind of fantasy :) Well, one of my kinds, but I find this angle endlessly appealing :)

Conan in the books wore all kinds of armor, though :)

[theBeorn]

holy crap. talk about don't giving a damn about what your AUDIENCE wants. i think we need another RPG reviewer. Anyone with ideas?

I could do it, if you're willing to listen to a non native english speaker. i have quite a few books of my own though.

[Caladors]

Nice incredibles reference.

Thanks for the vid.

Have fun and keep gamin'.

[pspboy7]

Yeah, I'm sorry to say this Kurt, I love your reviews and all that, but lets mix them up a notch. I'm sure Savage Worlds is a great system, but after awhile, one likes to hear another tune. Some older systems would be cool, or something a little non cliche or less known perhaps?

[Ogma01]

Ok, Kurt, 'Savage Worlds' is my favorite RPG system and I own pretty much everything for it, but even I have to agree with others here that unless you want to change the name of your show to The Savage Worlds Review, you really need to mix it up now.

[Vampir5]

so true...

[Caladors]

Accually I disagree, I am a pathfinder man because I was a 3.5 man and my players know it.

But if someone in my area knew savage worlds I would be interested.

You know why?

Because it's different.

There is a legion of fans of wizards of the coast, white wolf and now to a much less degree Pazio.

I don't even know who makes savage worlds..

Not because I am lazy because no one plays it here, like I mean no one in my whole city.

I get to hear about something different and one day, maybe

[Kapelannew]

Enough with savage world...please....

[kytodd]

Hey Kurt, you mentioned the 'Sexy Armor' edge, and whether or not Conan wore much. In most of Howard's stories, Conan wore whatever clothing/armor was appropriate for either the region he was in or the army/mercenary group he was involved with.

[MhicWombat]

Hmm, more Savage Worlds. Maybe it would be nice to have a comparative review, say on other low fantasy/S&S style games, just to mix it up a bit. I think you need to venture a bit more outside your SW comfort zone.

[kytodd]

Another great review Kurt. I love this genre and as a matter of fact, most of the games that our group played in the 70s and early 80s were this type of game using the AD&D 1st edition rules.

[Broyale26]

1st