Oh Cool … I was looking at the official Dropbox to see if there were any new maps. Nope!

But instead … there it was … The Lore Book!
=> The Lore Book

The first that I have seen of it … and it is really good. Remember – the full title of the game is Rogue Angels: Legacy of the Burning Suns. Burning Suns is referencing the universe that the game takes place in! The Lore Book takes a look at this universe. It includes a 3 page overview of The Assembly, a 7 page timeline with info and details about all the races that you will encounter in the Rogue Angels game PLUS 4 pages with a little background on each race or faction. Here is an example page:

If this kind of immersive material interests you, then you really need to check out the four books that Lisa  Wylie wrote! She actually wrote four sci-fi novels based in the Burning Suns universe that Emil created (with some help from her and Martin and others). I bought all four of her books already. I read the first book twice (better the second time I read it) and am half way through the 2nd book (which is even better).

If you are into the “lore” aspect … then Lisa’s four books give you something to do (um, to read) while we wait for the final game to reach each of us! And since a real sci-fi author helped Emil with the stories that are interwoven throughout the game, we can expect a real treat as this story (er, stories) unwind and unravel. Yes … along with one of my all time favorite games (Rogue Angels) we are getting over ONE THOUSAND PAGES in SIX BOOKS (called chapters). Actually, I think Emil has even raised the bar of excellence and will incorporate a SEVENTH BOOK in the game! I have only experienced way way less than half if this with the prototype that I have. And even the prototype missions were modified, expanded and extended. Emil wasn’t content that they were good … he took them from good enough to phenomenal (I know because I am playing the final version now* and can see, feel and experience that difference first hand).

Continue reading “First Look: The Lore Book” →

After a few months break it so very much fun to be playing another Rogue Angels campaign with two Heroes I have never used before AND using the updated FINAL Action Cards!! (and updated STICKERS and RELATIONSHIPS charts too).

It is hard to explain without a video (which is hard for me to do on my own since I need to play this SOLO as two Heroes) … but here is an example of a mission where I had options of attacking the enemies (should be a piece of cake, eh?) **OR** sneaking around!

I like SNEAKING AROUND!

I was able to to make all my moves in a way that the enemies DID NOT SEE ME! Including hacking open a crate! And getting into the target facility through both doors with one Hero at each door (Jastin is GREAT at this because he can move an ally 3 squares on his turn)! And finally attack them inside the facility when then noticed me! From the photo you can see how I plan out my route for my Heroes to move … and a strategy (tactics?) to use to actually get all the way inside before being noticed! I use small black plastic tiddly winks to mark the range of enemy sight so I can be careful to stay outside it!

But wait … there was one more … even more fun!!! Minor Spoiler up next:

Continue reading “I forgot how much fun this is! (minor spoilers)” →

=> Kickstarter Update #55
=> Gamefound Update #34 (should be the same)

Highlights:

Rulebook is completed! [Len just printed his own copy and had Staples spiral bind it for him:) This should be it direct from the official Dropbox=> Rulebook ver25]

The Training Manual and Lore Book are over half finished (only about 20% left to go for the Training Manual). So that is his focus at the moment!

Emil sends out a Big Thank You to everyone on the Discord Channel

Within the month the Pledge Manager should open!

Emil wants the rulebook to stand well above the average!

Here is Emil’s guide to a good rulebook:

• Clear and large visuals
• Short paragraphs divided by clear headers
• Examples with multiple rules utilized
• Sensible progression of explanations, followed by a proper index

Continue reading “Official Update 55 / 34” →

After several iterations of Chooser, I think I found two complimentary Heroes that I have not tried yet!

• Jastin
• Xalia

I removed all the other Heroes from “Chooser” and looking at these two Heroes side by side is very interesting … they seem to compliment each other quite well. Rather than duplicate special skills, they each seem to have skills that the other does NOT have. So, I am thinking that this could be a fun team to try!

Here is how my CHOOSER looks for these two Heroes (with what I consider the important aspects shaded in green)

Are you ready to try to select the Hero you would like to play as? Or if playing two player solo, ready to select two complementary Heroes? (use two copies of the chooser chart)

Print out one CHOOSER grid for each Hero you want to choose. Then just mark it up as you wish! Circle the important things. Cross out things that don’t matter to you. Add more criteria to the bottom.

When choosing, remember that you likely won’t get everything you want in any ONE Hero. What they told us at my main job (while I was working … I am retired now) can put a perspective on this! This is how we were to look at managing a project … considering THREE aspects:

1. SPEED: how quickly do we want to complete the project
2. COST: how little funds do we want to invest in the project
3. QUALITY: how well done do we want the project to be

Now … with those three criteria in mind … here is the KEY to managing a project based on those three criteria. The KEY can be summed up in just TWO WORDS:

CHOOSE TWO

You won’t be able to accomplish the project if you aim at all three aspects simultaneously! You could aim for SPEED and COST and realize that this would mean lower quality. Or you could aim for COST and QUALITY and know that this means it would take longer. You only get TWO!

With that in mind … when choosing a Hero … Choose Two (or maybe Three) criteria that are most important to you regarding your Hero. Then see which Heroes in the list meet THOSE TWO (or three) criteria and choose between them!

Here is a good sized chart that I fit onto ONE PAGE to help you narrow down the criteria while choosing your Hero:

=> Choose Me Chooser (PDF)

Here is a reduced size image of that full sheet so you know what it will look like as you use it:

Wow … I hadn’t realized that 3/4ths of our Heroes could attack more than one enemy in one action! But, going through the stack of Action Cards, there they were … the Dirty Dozen!

1. Adryel
2. Antathys
3. Bassilus
4. Eradicator
5. Gia
6. Melithys
7. Memnon
8. Qorox
9. Sigyn
10. Talya
11. Tarira
12. Xalia

Melithys

Melithys sounds kind of reckless. She has TWO Action Cards that damage multiple characters each. And, yes, I said “characters”, not “enemies”. Her damage goes to everyone near her, including other Heroes (so take care to look around to see where the damage will go).

Leviathan Blade damages TWO characters (enemy and Hero alike) that are within a range of 2 in a diagonal or orthagonal line from you. The 2 damage can be increased by the die roll or by a red boost.

Shrapnel Grenades damage all characters in a 3×3 grid around the square where the grenade explodes. The 1 damage is unblockable (and can’t be increased by dice or boosts).

Continue reading “Dirty Dozen (12 Heroes that damage multiple enemies in one action)” →

How nice that one of our Heroes has an Action Card titled “Self Sacrifice”… placing the good of others before himself. Yes … that’s our guy: Qorox!

So in our list of Hero Groupings … I decided to make a group just for him … and am calling it ABSOLUTE ZERO (thus the last comes first in our counting order since zero comes before 1).

0. Qorox

Self-Sacrifice

Qorox – this is an EFFECT card. While it is on your cooldown track it is in effect! If an enemy is about to attack another Hero but  Qorox ALSO is a valid target, that enemy will attack Qorox instead of the other Hero! The other Hero is NOT attacked! Plus a nice side benefit to this card is that each time the card slides to the left, you gain 1 shield and 2 movement (yes, you get to move during a “not my turn” moment!)

Look over the full set of Hero Groupings:

• ZERO => Absolute Zero (Placing Others Before Self)
• ONE => Invisible One (Cloaking)
• TWO => Move Through You Two (can’t block or stop them)
• THREE => Jumping Three (Jumping Jehoshaphat)
• FIVE => Favored Five (Healing Heroes)
• SIX => Long-Range Rest Repeat (Two Turns In A Row)
• SIX => Super Six (Longest Range Weapons)
• SEVEN => Secret Seven (best Hacking Heroes)
• EIGHT => Excellent Eight (Speed Runners)
• TEN => Terrible Ten (Unblockable Attack)
• TWELVE => Dirty Dozen (Damage Multiple Enemies in One Action)

Enemies canNOT block or stop these two Heroes from moving! If an enemy is occupying a square in front of them, they just say “I will move through you!” … and they DO!

1. Xalia actually moves through the occupied enemy square
2. Melithys pushes them out of the way first, then moves through the square they used to be on!
3. Bonus: Vera (technically FLYS OVER them)

Dodge and Bolt

Xalia – She is not blocked by enemies. She does not have to sidestep to walk around them. She can just walk through the same square that they occupy, but only if she has at least TWO moves left (ie, she cannot end on the same square as an enemy). Note: she cannot walk through a square occupied by a fellow Hero or non-enemy character (only enemies)! However, she CAN end up with quite a good move (up to 7). She begins with a move of 1 square, but rolling THREE dice likely gives a substantial move since both the “move” icons AND the +1 and +2  results add to her movement! Only the “shield” icon does not add to her movement!

Continue reading “Unstoppable (Move Through You Two)” →

The REST is the KEY!

The key to using the weapon again SOON (on your next turn).

The key to SOON is the number in the top left of the Action Card. It specifies what cooldown slot the card can be placed on.

Remember: At the end of your turn you get a free rest action which slides all cards on the cooldown track slide one slot to the left and the card that was in the 1 slot slides off the track and immediately goes back into your hand.

If you play a weapon Action Card that can be placed on the 1 slot of the cooldown track, the free rest at the end of your turn brings it right back into your hand to use again the next turn. However, no weapon with a range of 5 or more can be placed in the 1 slot (so it can’t automatically be available again on your next turn).

So… how can there be Long-Range weapons that can be used two turns in a row?

Well, you get two actions on your turn. If one of your actions is to REST, all the cards on the cooldown track slide 1 slot to the left! And your free rest action at the end of your turn also slides the cards 1 to the left. Combining the free rest action with taking a rest as one of your two actions, means cards slide to the left TWICE… thus cards in slot 2 WILL slide to the left twice and immediately go back into your hand! Note: of course, the 2 slot must be empty in order for you to play the card there:)

To be included in this list of Long-Range weapons that can be used two turns in a row, the card must be able to be placed in cooldown slot 2 (so it can repeat) AND have a range of at least 5 (to be considered LONG-Range). Range 3-4 weapons are medium range weapons:)

SIX Heroes made the cut to be included in this list:

Gia, Eradicator, Memnon, Sigyn, Tarira and Xalia

If you’d like to actually use your Long-Range weapon frequently, this is your list:

CSS-701 Proton Blaster

Gia – This is an example of an Action Card that allows you to place it in any cooldown slot! That is what the X in the top right means. However, the lower the slot you place it in, the less damage it does! But, it does have a default range of 5 and thus will qualify for a two turn weapon card if you play it in slot 1 or 2.

Continue reading “Long-Range Rest Repeat” →