Rangers of Shadow Deep vs. Sellswords & Spellslingers

[The Bibliophile]

The Second Saturday Scrum Club, the same folks who brought you last February's SCRUM CON in Washington, DC, have launched a new series on YouTube, SCRUM CLUB TV.

Here's our first episode, shot after finishing up a three-scenario session using the new solo/co-op rules, "Rangers of Shadow Deep." The discussion compares "Rangers" with another favorite system of the Scrum Club, "Sellswords & Spellslingers" Both systems are written by fan-favorite creators and fill an underserved wargaming niche, the solo/co-op game.

SCRUM CLUB TV, Ep. 1
"Rangers of Shadow Deep" vs. "Sellswords & Spellslingers"
LINK: https://miniaturescrum.blogspot.com/2019/05/scrum-club-tv-launches-plus-scrum-con.html

[The Bibliophile]

...and for the curious, here's a video report on the convention we organized last February, with Zeb Cook as the guest of honor!

https://youtu.be/bS6NuwCUMqg

[Ethelred the Almost Ready]

Thanks for that.   
I have only played 2 or 3 games of Rangers but a multitude of games of Sellswords.
I fail to see what really makes Rangers a solo or co-op  game.  The mechanisms are very similar to any adversarial game.  Having said that, there are elements that I like and I have incorporated some of these into Sellswords.  I agree with many sentiments in the video, there is some sort of blandness to the characters and events.  Sellswords manages events better with more uncertainty and surprises along the way.  Possibly the criticism around scenarios is valid and better scenarios might make Rangers more interactive/ interesting.

[The Bibliophile]

I think that the scenarios that come with Sellswords are generally more engaging and provide a better out-of-the-box experience, but I think both games have a lot of unmet potential if someone wants to put the time into creating more complex scenarios. I did just that for an adaptation of the Conan story, "Beyond the Black River," that I've run at Historicon and other cons for about a year now.

Up the Black River Without a Paddle:
https://miniaturescrum.blogspot.com/2018/06/up-black-river-without-paddle.html

Historicon recap:
https://miniaturescrum.blogspot.com/2018/07/historicon-2018-running-my-first.html

[Ethelred the Almost Ready]

I liked the comments in the video about possibly increasing how the characters interact with terrain.
I am not sure how the Sellswords activation system for monsters would work in a more constricted dungeon setting.  This may need some scenario specific rules.

[The Bibliophile]

That's how I handled it in set of rules for dungeon delving that I've been developing for the past couple of years. I created some custom dice as well as some custom card decks to generate the exploration experience. My game, though, is a head-to-head dungeon crawler in which opponents play both their own adventuring party as well as any foes encountered by the other player. The playtesting has been fun, and I think the core mechanics are mostly worked out. I imagine something similar might work for Sellswords. Andrea himself commented on the video and gives a little bit of detail about a dungeon delve variant he's currently working on.

Here are some links to mine:

My first attempt, which tried to build the game atop the Song of Blades and Heroes rules:
https://miniaturescrum.blogspot.com/2017/11/ballads-of-dungeon-delving.html

My reboot of the rules using ideas from several other sources (this is closer to what the game currently looks like):
https://miniaturescrum.blogspot.com/2018/01/dungeon-delve-crypt-of-mighty-lord-thule.html

[Jaypeel]

Awesome game report.
Quick question. Are you using the old Ares skirmish rules in the last battle report?

[The Bibliophile]

Thanks! I took inspiration from a variety of sources, but I'm definitely a fan of some of the core ARES mechanics!

[boneio]

Those rules you're making sound interesting, any plans to release?

[The Bibliophile]

Those rules you're making sound interesting, any plans to release?

Thanks! And, yep, that's the idea. Need some more playtesting to get the creature profiles balanced properly, and I have some optional rules that would replace a normal/traditional "alignment" system that I want to work out, too, that would help add an extra dimension to campaign play. When I do get ready for release, I want to have two or three adventures/scenarios in the can, too, so that folks can be guaranteed a steady stream of play opportunities without having to create anything on their own other than the adventuring parties.