What do you get when you cross a rules lite system, a rogue like environment, and fantasy monsters? You get Slayers, that's what! The rules are light enough that combat feels natural while it is happening, and the downtime will be enjoyable as there aren't things that bog it down with the endless minutia of finding the last hair of a skinless rabbit to obtain the final ingredient for that long sought after grimoire of unholdthinehandeth!
Slayers is a game that allows your table to delve deep into character development. This is done without the constant tracking of skills and advancements, yet it still allows everyone to feel as though progress is truly being made and is significant.
Each class brings its own unique flavor to the table as well. Whether as a blade or a gunslinger, each one has a unique mechanic that allows each one to shine in a different way. There are also more classes that are possible, and with the Creators Kit they can be brought to life!
Seriously though, grab Slayers. For the price of a fancy burger and fries, you can be out gathering intel on new districts as they appear.
EDIT: The following review is based on an older version of the game. It's at least tripled in size and content since then.
Slayers is a pen and paper rpg about monster-hunting in an infinite, self-generating city. It's also a heck of a good pick-up-and-play game, and basically perfect for one-shots or nights where a few folks don't show and you need a new game on the fly.
In length, it's 23 pages, with relatively bare layout and a little bit of art at the beginning that escalates to a lot of art by the end when you hit the monsters section.
Mechanically, however, Slayers is very solid throughout. It's a combat-driven game, with the PCs' ultimate purpose being to track down and eliminate a monster, and Slayers has a good crunch to it without getting too complicated. There's HP, but not massive amounts, and any damage feels significant. There's skills, but not a boatload, and each one feels relevant and useful. Rolls use a variety of dice, but always succeed on at least one 4+. Characters are Class-based, and there's only four Classes, but they feel *very* different and there's a lot of room for mechanical customization in each.
The setting isn't described in great detail, leaving it very open-ended, but there are a lot of GM tools, including a sample scenario, a bestiary, a GMing guide, and a single-page quick reference for the system rules.
Overall, I would strongly recommend Slayers to groups that want solid, game-y feeling mechanics in an otherwise lightweight system. And I'd recommend it especially to groups that like a focus on combat and gothic atmosphere.
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What do you get when you cross a rules lite system, a rogue like environment, and fantasy monsters? You get Slayers, that's what! The rules are light enough that combat feels natural while it is happening, and the downtime will be enjoyable as there aren't things that bog it down with the endless minutia of finding the last hair of a skinless rabbit to obtain the final ingredient for that long sought after grimoire of unholdthinehandeth!
Slayers is a game that allows your table to delve deep into character development. This is done without the constant tracking of skills and advancements, yet it still allows everyone to feel as though progress is truly being made and is significant.
Each class brings its own unique flavor to the table as well. Whether as a blade or a gunslinger, each one has a unique mechanic that allows each one to shine in a different way. There are also more classes that are possible, and with the Creators Kit they can be brought to life!
Seriously though, grab Slayers. For the price of a fancy burger and fries, you can be out gathering intel on new districts as they appear.
EDIT: The following review is based on an older version of the game. It's at least tripled in size and content since then.
Slayers is a pen and paper rpg about monster-hunting in an infinite, self-generating city. It's also a heck of a good pick-up-and-play game, and basically perfect for one-shots or nights where a few folks don't show and you need a new game on the fly.
In length, it's 23 pages, with relatively bare layout and a little bit of art at the beginning that escalates to a lot of art by the end when you hit the monsters section.
Mechanically, however, Slayers is very solid throughout. It's a combat-driven game, with the PCs' ultimate purpose being to track down and eliminate a monster, and Slayers has a good crunch to it without getting too complicated. There's HP, but not massive amounts, and any damage feels significant. There's skills, but not a boatload, and each one feels relevant and useful. Rolls use a variety of dice, but always succeed on at least one 4+. Characters are Class-based, and there's only four Classes, but they feel *very* different and there's a lot of room for mechanical customization in each.
The setting isn't described in great detail, leaving it very open-ended, but there are a lot of GM tools, including a sample scenario, a bestiary, a GMing guide, and a single-page quick reference for the system rules.
Overall, I would strongly recommend Slayers to groups that want solid, game-y feeling mechanics in an otherwise lightweight system. And I'd recommend it especially to groups that like a focus on combat and gothic atmosphere.
Hi!
I think you might be reviewing an older copy of Slayers, because the current PDF is 60 pages with a new layout and art!
But I appreciate your writeup and sharing your thoughts with the game!
Ah, darn. I'll update the review with a headline saying it's based on an older version. Thank you for catching this!
Thank you so much for the kind review, I really appreciate you taking the time!