TechRaptor @ UKGE – Day 1 Overview

UKGE 2019 is in full swing and I've had a hell of a time at the expo already. Since it's only day 1 and there's just so much to talk about I thought that I could give you a quick rundown of some of the fun things that I discovered while I was there!

Shades of Vengeance

One of my first stops on the day was to visit the booth of Shades of Vengeance, the company behind the Era series of RPG's. I was impressed with the different amount of themes that the creators have managed to fit around the base system. From the zombie apocalypse of Era: Survival to the superhero fantasy of Era: The Empowered it seems like there's nothing that wouldn't suit the Era system. As if that wasn't cool enough, it seems like you can actually pair the systems together. I was specifically told about a campaign that combined superheroes and the zombie apocalypse, which just sounds like the best idea ever.

As I was leaving the stand to make my way to other pastures I was also told that the team at Shades of Vengeance also produce audio dramas, which certainly caught my attention. I am always on the lookout for good audio dramas, and it can be hard to find ones with high production value. High production values are exactly what you're likely to find in Radio Free Taranis, which is currently on Kickstarter, and is going to feature the voice talents of famed voice actor Jennifer Hale! Wow.

Chip Theory Games

Next, I stopped by Chip Theory Games, makers of Too Many Bones as well as the up-and-coming Cloudspires. Apart from giving me the coolest business card I have ever received, in the form of a poker chip, they also gave me a quick rundown of their games.

Too Many Bones is a great-looking dice building RPG, which aims to give players a full RPG-campaign experience without all of the hassles. Through the course of the game, players work together to complete their quests and make their way through a narrative. As the game progresses dice can be used to increase special stats and improve your characters.

Cloudspires is a very varied game, offering not only a 2-4 player competitive mode and 2 player co-op, but also a solo story, and wave-survival type mode. The game is actually based on MOBA and tower defense games and sees players strive to survive against an onslaught of enemies by building towers to defend their keeps. There are 4 different species in the base game, each with their own specialization such as creating flying units, or brute strengthening through enemy defenses.

Both Too Many Bones and Cloudspires look like excellent games! Hopefully, we'll get the chance to take a more in-depth look at both of them in the near future.

Quick Fire Round

D6 Dungeon is an interesting experience based around rolling dice to try and build a dungeon on a vertical grid. As you roll dice you also collect things needed to gain points, such as swords to defeat monsters, keys to open doors, and spells to affect the dice already on the board. Each round you draw a random die from the blind bag and roll it to get the desired effect. D6 Dungeon is a micro-experience which can be run in only 15 minutes, making it a perfect game to just pick up and play.

The Naruto Boruto Card Game is another super interest game I found. It's based on the hit anime series and is produced by Bandai Namco, the same people behind the Dragon Ball Z card game, as well as a number of other things. I got to demo the game and I can report that not only does it feature some awesome artwork from throughout the anime's history, but it also uses the LCG (living card game) release model. What that means is that instead of buying highly expensive singles, or tearing open booster packs, each expansion is a pre-selected set of cards, meaning that everyone is building from the same pool of cards, eliminating the ability for wealthier players to get an unfair advantage.

One of the last things I got around to doing on day 1 of UKGE 2019 was attending the Warhammer Community Preview. While I can't talk about too much of what went on in the seminar because they asked us not to spoil it for others, I can report that I asked an embarrassing question about why there wasn't already all the Gotrek and Felix content for Age of Sigmar. I also got a chance to try out Games Workshop's upcoming 'contrast' paints and can report that they work like a charm. It basically achieves the effect of using an ink wash on a miniature, all in one coat!

There was just so much packed into my first day at UKGE 2019 that I don't think I can contain it in a single article. Keep an eye out over the next few days for a write up of my time chatting with Chris from Modiphius Entertainment about their upcoming titles, and of course, come back tomorrow for another daily round-up.