I finally got to play 3:16 at gamewang the other weekend. I have been a fan of the game since I first read 3:16 as a Ronnies entry back in 2005, when I had no idea who Gregor Hutton was.
Ah happier days. ;)
I was really hoping 316 would deliver the kind of die alien slime action I’ve been hankering for. Fortunately I was not disappointed!
We had the man himself Mr Hutton GMing with John, Rich, Shevaun, Brian and yours truly playing. Now the game kicked off about
This game plays fast – we were ready to go in about 15 minutes. Rich had opted for a high non-fighting ability so became the sergeant. The corporal role was between me and Shevy – we’d both opted for 7 fighting ability. Now this is my only concern with the game – the PC with the best FA gets the E-cannon, which means it’s really hard for anyone else to get a look in for most kills. Of course had I won the die roll for the E-cannon this would doubtless be the game’s best feature…
Anyway play was great, I really like that you don’t need much of a character concept at the games outset. All I had was that trooper Torres desperately wanted to be a pilot. Amusingly he failed his roll for every landing we made and always puked.
First planet was fun, we got lucky - the dinosaur aliens had a pretty low Fighting Ability, though their Impair skill still made for a challenge. I love how combat works – so simple - so much fun rolling for kills! Good work Gregor, you’ve totally cracked it.
We were all so psyched after the first mission that we just had to get another one in – especially since Shevy and Brian both got promoted.
Second planet was a bit more bad ass, fighting giant mud worms. Things looked a bit shaky a few times but with teamwork, two E-cannons and the power of golfing we won through without taking any casualties. And Wilson got promoted, leaving old Torres as the only PC trooper. It’s gonna be a long road to get into pilot school…
Great game G, I think it’s the best system I’ve seen since DitV!
JoE
E-cannon
Submitted by Gregor Hutton on Mon, 21/07/2008 - 11:45.
Well, the e-cannon is a quirky one. I wanted someone to have it from the get-go....
If you get two or more folks with the same highest NFA then one gets to be Sarge and the other gets the E-cannon. The person with the highest FA gets the E-cannon only if there is a clear Sergeant. (And I like the idea that in the case of a clear Sergeant the E-cannon ends up with someone who at least knows how to use it!)
I think the different weapons mix it up and it puts people into wanting to get the Threat Tokens off before the E-cannon dude gets to make hay. And other times you really want the E-cannon to take away a Threat Token or, more awkwardly in a moral way for the E-cannon guy, everyone want him to Cancel rather than kill.
It's also worth noting that the GM advice is to put the PCs at Close or Far range, at which the E-cannon does 0 Kills. In testing I found it was sometimes the case that the Threat Tokens were gobbled up before the E-cannon could get to its best range.
If a party picks up a Flame-Gun and Rocketpod then they have all the ranges covered, so you pick your poison.
I have to say your dice were cursed though, Joe. But I do see hope for Torres. If someone gets a Drop Ship maybe they'll designate him pilot?! Or maybe not.
Oh, I liked the way that after fucking up the first Dominance Roll everyone just left the Sergeant to oversee the Ambush attempts. Good tactics, if they work. :-)
First Game on Skype Last Night
Submitted by epocalypse on Sat, 30/08/2008 - 09:16.
We hit our first game on Skype last night. It was brilliant. We could have played all night. This is possibly the best pick up game ever, and Lucy at Black Lion has my hardcopy reserved.
Wherever theres somebody fightin for a place to stand,
Or a decent job or a helpin hand.
Wherever somebodys strugglin to be free,
Look in their eyes mom, you'll see me.