Second edition of Five Parsecs from Home released

[Ockman]

I just bought it and it's ...very different.

Read more here: http://fivemennormandy.blogspot.se/2017/11/five-parsecs-from-home-is-back-its-new.html

[Jagannath]

Hmmm.... bit sceptical initially. Reads like the mechanics themselves are better (though I love FiveCore for human-centric stuff), but the tables are so stripped back that they've lost a lot og the things that were so cool about them. I'm a bit disappointed that the content in 'Every Star an Opportunity' doesn't seem to be included either, I really liked that supplement.

Ho Hum - I absolutely love Squad Hammer (the other recent NWG release), not everything can be perfect - think I'll stick with my current mash up of Pulp Alley, Original 5 Parsecs and the odd game of Five Core (I like FiveCore for western style 'gunfight' situations were all that really matters is ducking in and out of cover).

[Ockman]

I wrote on Ivan's site:


At first glance, I am pretty bummed out. Everything I loved with the first edition ...gone.
Still I think it looks like a better game, although I miss the fluff, the flavour text snippets and the superfluous tables. It's not what I expected.

Everything that brought me joy in the first edition is gone. I don't know what I expected, but this wasn't it. Integrated rules with some tidying up perhaps? I loved being left with holes in the background to fill myself and implications in the descriptive texts. Even the tables themselves told a story about the world...

[Stroezie]

Bummer!
I was waiting for this one to come out, now I'm not so sure.
Do you think it would be possible to use the new mechanics with the old tables/background generator?

[Jagannath]

Yeah definitely - the tables are still there, just without any detail. You could definitely splice them together with a bit of thought.

[Oldben1]

I loved the tables but hated the combat rules.  Solo gaming is so illussive!

[Ockman]

Bummer!
I was waiting for this one to come out, now I'm not so sure.
Do you think it would be possible to use the new mechanics with the old tables/background generator?

Most tables are the same (but without flavour text), character generation lost my favorite table, Special Circumstances, which takes away a lot of the charm of character creation. It no longer feels like a game answering the question "Can killer robots find love on the fringes?"

[Malebolgia]

The mail I received intruiged me. But these remarks keep me away from buying them. I still have to try 1st edition, but going by your remarks I will stay with them.

[Ockman]

The mail I received intruiged me. But these remarks keep me away from buying them. I still have to try 1st edition, but going by your remarks I will stay with them.

I'm not sure I am being fair, though. I have been rolling crews whenever I've been bored but haven't played more than a couple of games with the first edition.

The new rules might give a better gaming experience, but that hasn't been my main focus. I have loved the sandbox that first edition gave me, it was a game that reminded me of my first encounters with roleplaying/wargaming. It was a charming set of rules, which I can't say about second edition. Still, it might be better for solo gaming.

[Jagannath]

I've had another good luck at this today and played around a bit. Rules are 'better' - not as simple as the FiveCore classic rules but they're good rules. I'm going to you around with the activation rules a bit though.

@Malebolgia - personally, I'd pick up the first edition if you can for some really, really great RPG tables but for rules I'd look at either Void Pirates or Pulp Alley.

[Malebolgia]

I'm not sure I am being fair, though. I have been rolling crews whenever I've been bored but haven't played more than a couple of games with the first edition.

The new rules might give a better gaming experience, but that hasn't been my main focus. I have loved the sandbox that first edition gave me, it was a game that reminded me of my first encounters with roleplaying/wargaming. It was a charming set of rules, which I can't say about second edition. Still, it might be better for solo gaming.

Well, I bought Five Core for the reasons you stated about first edition. I don't really care for the -gaming- experience, I already have enough rules sets which provide me with that. But not a lot of "Choose your own adventure" games and Five Core is perfect for this. So I'll stick with 1st edition for now

@Jagannath: I have Five Core and its expansion . Love it as a rules set, but I still have to get me some 15mm scenery to get the games going.

[Jagannath]

Yes it really benefits from loads of scatter terrain - it does handle 'corners' well (i.e. Peaking from corners then hiding again) so buildings and big terrain still work quite well.