Posts By John Farrell
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116ReviewsEnter the unknown—Symbaroum starter set review
Symbaroum is many things. This dark fantasy game is as terrifying as it is mysterious. It’s as expansive as it is isolating....
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1.0KReviews
Fire and acid blood—Alien: Destroyer of Worlds review
I found the Alien RPG starter set to be a worthy entry into the franchise, packing useful components into an introductory adventure...
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247Reviews
Horror comes home—Alien RPG starter set review
I was hesitant to learn that Alien was being adapted to an RPG setting until I learned of Free League’s involvement. Their...
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345Reviews
Humanity’s last stand—Faza review
With the earth burning, the skies full of hostile ships, and a coalition of enemies, you are humanity’s last hope. Hope is...
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292Reviews
Spectacular supernatural supplements—A Wicked Secret and Vaesen GM screen review
I recently found Vaesen to be a sincere yet terrifying Nordic horror game, and it has recently seen an injection of content...
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642Reviews
A haunting, tragic masterwork–Vaesen–Nordic Horror Roleplaying review
Vaesen’s Nordic Horror experience stands out among myriad monster of the week horror RPGs in almost every way that I value as...
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877Reviews
A dark and bloody pinnacle–Mork Borg review
Mork Borg receives the highest recommendation of any game I have ever reviewed. It is more than a dark fantasy low magic...
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490Reviews
Not enough game—Ring of Pain review
The line between good concept and good implementation is a fine but important one, and Ring of Pain is unfortunately on the...
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341News
Free League Halloween sale of Mork Borg and Vaesen expansions
With the recent dark apocalyptic RPG and Vaesen, a horror RPG based upon Nordic folktales. While I have yet to review these...
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402Reviews
Horror abstracted—Neverending Nightmares for Switch review
Neverending Nightmares aims to capture the unknowable horror buried in the unconscious mind, and while it doesn’t quite succeed, it does deliver...
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741NewsAshes Reborn revives Rise of the Phoenixborn, proving good things can happen in 2020
Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn was a beautiful gift that died too soon. Plaid Hat’s LCG combined ingenious mechanics centered around careful...
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1.1KReviews
Rage against the machines—Warhammer 40k Mechanicus Switch edition review
Warhammer 40k Mechanicus contains a bevy of interesting narrative and mechanical decisions, but this tactics game is also marred by questionable implementations...
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788Reviews
Age of miracle—Rational Magic Campaign Setting review
It’s the fate of most independent 5e compatible settings to get lost in the shuffle, and the time I have spent with...
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4.6KFeatures
A tribute to Hidden Frontier—Star Trek’s forgotten miracle
Deep in the eldritch rabbit hole of Star Trek fan productions, I uncovered something incredible. For a franchise with such longevity and...
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1.2KPodcast
Episode 006: Dungeons and Dragons
This week Erica Echlin and Jon Miller are joined by Mike Dunn, John Farrell, and Steven Starkey to talk about Dungeons and...
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1.2KReviews
The legacy of Verne continues—Nemo Rising: Robur the Conqueror review
Whether leagues beneath the sea or just above the clouds, Nemo Rising: Robur the Conqueror has an adventure in store. How worthwhile...
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2.0KReviews
A bluff of dragons—Three Dragon Ante Legendary Edition review
Luck, strategy, and some classic manipulation come together in Three Dragon Ante. What was once an in-game prop, modeled as a poker-style...
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1.5KReviews
Cascade failure—Countdown: Action Edition review
Keeping true to many of the 80s action films that inspired Countdown: Action Edition, Dog Might games has delivered an experience that...
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1.4KReviews
Cooperative emergency response—The Stretchers review
The Switch has proven itself a breeding ground for novelty cooperative experiences, and The Stretchers joins the fold as a creative exploration...
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1.6KReviews
Mediocre Camelot—Super Camelot Review
If you’ve ever wanted a tabletop experience/16-bit video game adaptation of Arthur’s quest for the grail, Super Camelot might be right for...
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1.8KReviews
Ashes to Ashes—Grave King and Protector of Argaia deck reviews
A mysterious necromancer and hopeful albino psychic round out Ashes’ lineup to bring an abrupt but quality ending to one of history’s...
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2.1KReviews
Double Fine falls flat–Rad Review
The gap between Rad’s potential and its reality is more saddening than the actual game. You see, this action roguelike from Double...
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1.8KReviews
The more things change–Things from the Flood review
As we grow older, the false veneer of safety and comfort begins to wear away. I praised Tales From the Loop for...
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602Announcements
Kingdom Hearts Re:Mind DLC trailer shows off new characters and possibly drive forms
Ever since Kingdom Hearts 3 left us on a massive cliffhanger, fans have been anticipating a DLC follow up. Friday at E3,...
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3.1KReviews
A legacy reborn: John Carter of Mars RPG review
On a dying world amidst alien tribes, a warrior of Earth has finally come back to reclaim his rightful place. Edgar Rice...
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1.8KReviews
The art of darkness–Overwhelm review
Overwhelm will test you. It will test your skill, your reflexes, and a little too often it will test your patience. This...
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4.5KReviews
A bright future in the dark abyss—Coriolis: the Third Horizon review
Free League Publishing seems determined to prove itself in every game genre available, and I am happy to be along for the...
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3.3KFeatures
Melding roleplay, LARP, and filmmaking, Masters of the Box is an experience like no other
In late November of 2018, the parks and fields of Tennessee bore witness to magic in the making. A team of strange...
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7.5KReviews
No heist but much to offer–Waterdeep: Dragonheist review
A crisis of identity sits at the heart of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. Is it an adventure? Is it a gazetteer of Water...
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1.2KImpressions
The many splendors of the decks of many
As gaming relies more and more on digital assets to supplement the experience, the Decks of Many are proving just how much...
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6.2KReviews
A whimper, not a bang–Outbreak: Undead 2nd Edition review
Experimentation is a healthy part of any growth, but by its nature leads to some failures. Outbreak: Undead Second edition is not...
