Thursday, January 18, 2018
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
It's Time! Open Call for 2017 BAMFSIES Gamer's Choice Nominees
Open Call for Nominees
In an effort to cast as wide a net as possible, we're asking for self-nominations of superhero RPG products this year for the BAMFSIES Gamer's Choice poll.
SO - if you have a favorite superhero RPG product that was released in the last year - or if you're the publisher of one, please reply to this post with the name of your product and the name of its publisher and we will make sure it is included in this year's poll.
Any superhero RPG product released in the last 12 months or so is eligible. Note - if your product was submitted for the 2016 Bamfises, it's not eligible for the 2017.
About the BAMFSIES
In an effort to cast as wide a net as possible, we're asking for self-nominations of superhero RPG products this year for the BAMFSIES Gamer's Choice poll.
SO - if you have a favorite superhero RPG product that was released in the last year - or if you're the publisher of one, please reply to this post with the name of your product and the name of its publisher and we will make sure it is included in this year's poll.
Any superhero RPG product released in the last 12 months or so is eligible. Note - if your product was submitted for the 2016 Bamfises, it's not eligible for the 2017.
About the BAMFSIES
Sponsored by the BAMF podcast - the BAMFSIES are a cheeky and fun RPG awards focused solely on superhero RPGs.
We’re not nearly as serious as the Ennies. We’re probably more serious than the Grammys.
There's a renaissance going on with supers RPGs right now - and it's not really reflected in mainstream RPG awards as those tend to be focused elsewhere.
.
So – the BAMFSIES aim to highlight the best in Supers RPGs. We're about celebrating and drawing attention to all the great Supers RPGs that have been released recently
We've assembling a crack team of judges from the tabletop rpg scene and we’ll be announcing the awards in a show on the BAMF Podcast in early 2018
Thursday, March 2, 2017
2016 BAMFSIES Awards are Announced!
GAMERS' CHOICE
The BAMFSIES Gamer's Choice awards were selected by the gaming public via an open poll.
This year we are announcing the runner-up as the vote totals were pretty close
The overall winner was Aaron Allston’s StrikeForce, while the close runner-up (just 10 votes difference) was Masks: A New Generation.
JUDGES AWARDS
Jacob Blackmon
Written by
Crystal Frasier, this product presents 18 new simple templates to build new
creatures and heroes for Mutants & Masterminds 3rd edition. Simply add one
of these templates to one of the NPCs, Animals, or Monsters found in the Hero's
Handbook or Gamemaster's Guide -- or the Super Powered Bestiary (shameless
plug) -- and you can have a new challenge ready for your heroes to battle. Each
of the 18 templates comes with a couple of variant powers, making for more
variations of creatures and challenges.
In addition, the
Template Tome features several NPC statistics featuring the templates in use.
From the Hadean Wolves, the Overbear, and the Seven Points Angels, a GM is sure
to find the Template Tome useful for their Mutants & Masterminds campaign.
As much fun as it is
to imagine adventures and action in our heads during a game session, there is
nothing quite like having figures on the battlemat. HeroClix has produced
superhero miniatures for several years, and the Uncanny X-men Heroclix has some
of the finest figures I have seen in years. This set of miniatures includes
characters from the X-Men comics and features these characters in both their
classic and modern costumes. One of the most fun features is the new Juggernaut
miniature, which features a removable helmet!
Whether you love
running games in established comic book universes or if you enjoy modifying
existing miniatures, I am sure mini lovers will enjoy these Heroclix.
>><<<
Steve Kenson
AARON ALLSTON’S STRIKE FORCE
AARON ALLSTON’S STRIKE FORCE
I almost didn’t
nominate what is probably the most important superhero RPG product of the year
because, in the interest of full disclosure, I wrote an essay for it.
Nevertheless, I would be remiss if I didn’t point you towards this treasure.
The original edition of Aaron Allston’s Strike Force sourcebook for Champions
was like a master-class in game-mastering and campaign-building, and this new
edition published in Aaron’s honor gives you all that, plus even more history,
campaign material, and game-mastering advice. It’s a book that deserves a place
of honor on every superhero gamer’s shelf.
This superhero RPG
from Brendan Conway takes the Apocalypse World Engine and applies it to the
lives and adventures of teen superheroes in the fictional Halcyon City. It has
great production values and a lot of energy and enthusiasm for its subject
matter, as well as embracing all of the system’s knacks for flavorful playbooks
and special moves. If you like teen heroes or the Apocalypse World Engine
games, you want to check it out. (Side note: It is apparently a staple of the
teen hero genre to feature said heroes standing over and on a defeated giant
robot, given both MASKS and the new edition of HERO HIGH for Mutants &
Masterminds simultaneously did that cover concept.)
Jacob Blackmon has a knack
for producing superhero RPG products I wish I had done first. These include the
honorable-mention Super-Powered Bestiary for Mutants & Masterminds, which
combines the best qualities of villain book and monster manual. Topping even
that, in my estimation, is Jacob’s ongoing “Legends” series, which comes in two
flavors: Iconic (for Icons Superpowered Roleplaying) and Super-Powered (for
Mutants & Masterminds). The series offers pastiches of classic comic book
characters, creating something that is at once familiar and different, such as
Myrmidon and Vespa, a male-female heroic duo with ant- and wasp-themed powers
(get it?). They’re a great resource for GMs who wonder “How would I build this
classic character?” and a lot of fun to read to boot.
Steven Trustrum
Instead of voting for a single product, I'm
tossing my vote in for a product line. The "Awesome Powers" series
for BASH, by Basic Action Games, keeps delivering. I'm a fan of the system
overall because it strikes the right balance between crunch and lite for me. It
is adaptable yet recognizable in its mechanics, and "Awesome Powers"
continues to expand on the core system by delivering valuable, useful powers
time and again. The artwork is also a happy mix between the hyper-realism you'd
expect of a top-notch comic book and the simplicity of the Warner Brothers DC
cartoon series, such as "Batman" and "Justice League
Unlimited." Overall, I've yet to be disappointed with this series.
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Voting is open for the 2016 Bamfsies Gamers' Choice Poll
Go here and made your voice heard. Also - please help us spread the word
Friday, August 5, 2016
Open Call for Nominations for 3rd (2016) Annual BAMFSIES
In an effort to cast as wide a net as possible, we're asking for self-nominations of superhero RPG products this year for the BAMFSIES Gamer's Choice poll.
SO - if you have a favorite RPG that was released in the last year - or if you're the publisher of one, please reply to this post with the name of your product and the name of its publisher and we will make sure it is included in this year's poll.
About the BAMFSIES
SO - if you have a favorite RPG that was released in the last year - or if you're the publisher of one, please reply to this post with the name of your product and the name of its publisher and we will make sure it is included in this year's poll.
About the BAMFSIES
The BAMFSIES are a cheeky and fun RPG awards focused solely on superhero RPGs.
We’re not nearly as serious as the Ennies. We’re probably more serious than the Grammys.
There's a renaissance going on with supers RPGs right now - and it's not really reflected in mainstream RPG awards as those tend to be focused elsewhere.
.
So – the BAMFSIES aim to highlight the best in Supers RPGs. We're about celebrating and drawing attention to all the great Supers RPGs that have been released recently
We've assembled a crack team of judges from the tabletop rpg scene and we’ll be announcing the awards in a show on the BAMF Podcast in January
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
2015 BAMFSIES AWARDS ANNOUNCED
With a whopping 31% of the vote, Worlds in Peril is the 2015 Bamfsie Gamer's Choice pick.
Chris Helton says: Worlds In Peril is the game that opened up my eyes to the potential of the Apocalypse Engine rules. Well written, and with great production values, this game sucked me in and made me want to play it.
Sean Patrick Fannon says: A prequel for the fascinating story of villains forced to fight overpowering aliens for the sake of the Earth, this one calls back to great sources like "Escape from New York" and the Batman storyline, No Man's Land.
Tommy Brownell says: The follow-up to AMP: Year One, Year Two advanced the timeline past the world-altering events of Year One, and set up an almost Days of Future Past-like situation in which AMPs were hunted by militarized police forces and enslaved AMPs who tracked them in the streets. New factions rose up, and the setting continued to fill with secrets. Hints of mysticism even appeared in the timeline of this one. A worthy continuation of Year One, the world of Year Two seems more gameable than Year One does, as the factions jockey for position. Normal humans (Saps) also became playable for the first time, and the Kickstarter unlocked the first factions books, which provide additional world details and powers.
Sean Patrick Fannon says: Some games do work well with a metaplot, and the AMP series from Third Eye is one of them. The ongoing continuity is used to introduce new developments - including powers, factions, and stories - for a supers campaign that examines what happens when folks first start getting paranormal abilities.
Best "Return to My Childhood" Products - Cartoon Action Hour, Series 3
Sean Patrick Fannon says: With new products like FLAG Force, Galactic Heroes, Wasteland, and Hexslinger, Spectrum continues to line up multiple cereal-binge worthy games that make every action hero a superhero. Can't want to see someone link them all together into one Super Saturday Spectacular Event ... thing!
Sean Patrick Fannon says: No one loves supers more than Michael Surbrook, and he delivered a powerful product that faithfully recreates some of the greatest myths and legends of American folklore for multiple supers games.
Best Callback to Old School Supers - G-Core Line
Sean Patrick Fannon says: There are a lot of retroclones for FASERIP out there, but Dilly Green's been putting out a lot of good, solid, new material for the Old School Game that so many still adore.
Steve Trustrum says: I've always been a fan of Green Lantern, Nova, and Rom, so a book that covers super-hero adventures in space already has a thumbs up from me. Inside is an extended measurement table for covering cosmic scales, as well as new rules for cosmic / godly beings, as well as notes for bring other powers onto the cosmic stage. As much as I appreciate these aspects, it is the book's crunch -- suggestions on running cosmic games, the problems characters face while doing so, and how to run a cosmic series -- that really make it stand out.
Sean Patrick Fannon says: Gorgeous, as all of their books for Mutants & Masterminds are, and this one delivers on something that fans have been waiting for over a fairly long period of time.
Sean Patrick Fannon says: Seriously, a new product, in constant flow, and each one expands on the core ICONS game experience. Clever idea, excellent execution.
Best Constant Source of Super Stuff - TIED: Rogue Genius Games and Vigilance Press
Sean Patrick Fannon says: Both are constantly putting out villains and other source material for systems like ICONS and M&M, with new products at least every month, and sometimes weekly.
We laughed, we cried, we became very attached to our characters (I don't often see players burning through their bennies to help an NPC repeatedly reroll a Vigor roll to keep from dying, but I saw it in this game...and the player in question wound up having to fight his archnemesis without powers or bennies right after). Like I said, my favorite campaign that I have ran, and one of my favorite purchases of all time and truly, in my opinion, worthy of a Hall of Fame selection.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
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