Are you a tired DM who never gets to play? Like miniature games, but your friends hate the competitive aspects? Or do you just have too many miniatures to count? Well, Rangers of Shadow Deep is the game for you!
Rangers of Shadow Deep is a miniatures agnostic, cooperative (or solo!), skirmish wargame (or tactical RPG!) from the pen of Joseph A. McCullough. McCullough has a proven track record designing competitive skirmish wargames with the successes of Frostgrave, Ghost Archipelago, and Stargrave. With Rangers, he’s taken those proven systems and opened them for multi-player cooperative gaming. Let’s go through the advantages.
Customizable Characters
Each player controls a single ranger and a from 1 to 7 minor characters called companions. All rangers, the kingdom’s elite, start with the same base abilities, but have a pool of build points. These points allow a starting ranger to improve their statistics, skills, acquire heroic deeds (feats), learn spells, or recruit more companions. While starting from a similar point, no two rangers will have the same capabilities, although they may share a few!
Cooperative or Solo Play
Rangers of Shadow Deep does not utilize a referee or GM. Instead, the scenario controls the starting setup, monster actions, random events, and reinforcements. Players find themselves in a race against time and growing numbers of foes to complete their goals. Victory gives the kingdoms more knowledge about their foes and pushes back their exorable advance for another day! Don’t contemplate the consequences of failure.
Scenarios are readily playable by only one ranger and his companions. Everything else stays the same as it does in cooperative play, but the ranger has more points to recruit quality companions and the space to take up to 7 of them. Perfect for a quiet afternoon or evening home alone.
Miniature Agnostic
While Modiphus is bringing out official Rangers of Shadow Deep miniatures, this game is agnostic as to manufacturer. If you’re like me, then you’ll have lots of figures from RPGs, abortive fantasy armies, skirmish games, and a pile of Cool ones from various designers. Rangers doesn’t care what you use. I find that really refreshing these days.
Simple Mechanics
Finally, Rangers of Shadow Deep uses a simple set of mechanics for skills and combat. Both use a D20. Skills, generally, involve a roll versus a set target number. Roll equal to or over to succeed, roll lower and fail. Many skill tests allow a ranger to keep trying, so if at first you don’t succeed…
Combat involves contested D20 rolls. The player rolls 2D20, one for his character and one for the enemy and adds modifiers. The high total wins the combat and hits. On a hit, subtract the armor from the total to determine damage. Most humanoids and characters will have armor from 10 to 14 and 10 or more health, so a fight may take some time.
In the case of a tie, both combatants hit and inflict damage. They might even kill each other if the result was high enough!
Campaign Play
While Rangers may be played as stand alone scenarios, the game book comes with a short 3 linked scenario adventure and a full fledged campaign. The campaign structure lets you see your ranger gain in experience, develop new capabilities, and take the fight far into Shadow Deep.
Extended play comes from repeated the included campaigns in Challenge mode which ups the difficulty and number of foes or in creating all new campaigns.
For players wanting to jump into deeper campaign play, there are a number of them up on DriveThru RPG authored by Mr. McCullough.
Join the Rangers today and push back the Shadows for tomorrow!
Be the first to comment