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BitsBeforeCrits

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A member registered Jun 12, 2021

Recent community posts

Hearts of Magic is a wonderful party game or oneshot system, a delightful repackaging of MF0: Firebrands.

The porting of the "three classes in conflict for a rare resource" to a fantasy universe offers a surprisingly different gameplay, with Anarchists, Bureaucrats, and the Fae behaving and interacting noticeably different from MF0's Revolutionaries, Mercenaries, and Nobles.

This clever repositioning of the classic formula is accentuated by three new games. Wizard Battle offers a spicy alternative to meeting Sword to Sword, providing rich textual prompts for psychedelic and emotionally meaningful magical combat.

An Oblique Discussion is a great social alternative, offering an opportunity to drive the plot while delighting in innuendo and misunderstanding. I'd love to see more Firebrands hacks make use of it in the future. It's a phenomenal contribution to the genre as a whole.

But the real magic at the heart of this game is Weaving a Spell Together. This minigame masterfully blends the sense of mutual sacrifice, thirsty eroticism, and psychedelic exploration of memory. It works at any time, but shines as a late game play, where characters can bring in items from previous scenes, sacrifice the lives of side characters already met, and burn their own future potential in preparation for an explosive finale.

Hearts of Magic is a great game in its own right, as well as a powerful contribution to the Firebrands hack ecosystem. Try it and see!

Superstars is a delightful take on the Firebrands framework that emphasizes racing competition over bloody conflict. By shifting the scope from the economic fate of an entire planet to individual careers, the stakes are made to feel tight, real, and personal. 

Because the game is grounded in the tight holding environment of "Famous Racers Competing" rather than a specific setting, my group is excited to return again and again in different worlds, from Podracing to Wacky Races or Biker Girl Gangs. The introduction of Backgrounds also enhances replayability, providing a wide range of Racing Fiction archetypes to choose from, supporting strong character creation even for players unfamiliar with the tropes of the genre.

The game does what it says on the tin, giving your group the tools to create engaging, dramatic racing fiction over the course of a couple hours. Play it!