Magazine Madness 41: Senet Issue 16

The gaming magazine is dead. After all, when was the last time that you were able to purchase a gaming magazine at your nearest newsagent? Games Workshop’s White Dwarf is of course the exception, but it has been over a decade since Dragon appeared in print. However, in more recent times, the hobby has found other means to bring the magazine format to the market. Digitally, of course, but publishers have also created their own in-house titles and sold them direct or through distribution. Another vehicle has been Kickststarter.com, which has allowed amateurs to write, create, fund, and publish titles of their own, much like the fanzines of Kickstarter’s ZineQuest. The resulting titles are not fanzines though, being longer, tackling broader subject matters, and more professional in terms of their layout and design.

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Senet is a print magazine about the craft, creativity, and community of board gaming. Bearing the tagline of “Board games are beautiful”, it is about the play and the experience of board games, it is about the creative thoughts and processes which go into each and every board game, and it is about board games as both artistry and art form. Published by Senet Magazine Limited, each issue promises previews of forthcoming, interesting titles, features which explore how and why we play, interviews with those involved in the process of creating a game, and reviews of the latest and most interesting releases. Senet is also one of the very few magazines about games to actually be available for sale on the high street.

Senet Issue 16 was published in the winter of 2024 and what the covers hints at—if, that is, the reader recognises the style of illustrator Kyle Ferrin—what the focus of the issue is, and that is, a big interview with Cole Wehrle, the designer of several popular, and critically acclaimed board games, including Root, Oath, and Arcs. If not, then the cover is not giving away very much, but then that is what the editorial is there for, and indeed it explains all. As well as the interview with Cole Wehrle, the editorial highlights the issue’s game play and theme articles. The former is that of solo play, once that the editor admits having enjoyed with a series of games, whilst the latter is all about witches and witchcraft. Not only appropriate for the time of year when the issue was published, but coincidentally, appropriate for the time of year when this review is being written (even if, unfortunately, a year late!).

As expected, ‘Behold’ begins the issue proper, highlighting some of the then forthcoming games with a preview and a hint or two of what to expect. The notable titles include Ada’s Dream and Tenby. The first is a complex game about Ada Lovelace and her program designs for Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, involving as it does dice, character cards, and a rondel. The preview is clear about the complexity of Ada’s Dream, but the subject is fascinating enough to warrant a closer look. The second is simpler, a tableau game about laying out the fronts of houses in the Welsh coastal resort of the same name, in part based on their colour, a common feature of Welsh towns with their pastel-coloured buildings. ‘Points’, the regular column of readers’ letters, contains a mix of praise for the magazine and a discussion of gaming culture. It still feels limited at just a single page and it is clear from the letters that the magazine is well liked, so it seems a shame that it cannot be expanded to build a community around the magazine via the letters page. Hopefully, this will change in the future when the page count for the magazine is increased. Similarly, ‘For Love of the Game’ continues the journey of the designer Tristian Hall towards the completion and publication of his Gloom of Kilforth—and beyond. By now, very beyond. In ‘Time to Play’ he explores what he does in in downtime away from designing and publishing games, which surprisingly, is playing games, running counter to the idea that you should never take your day job home with you by working on other projects. This though is a variety of games, including roleplaying games and games from other designers. Much of it is to spur his creativity, but he cannot avoid doing a little market research too. By this point though, the column has left its remit way behind, and it would be interesting to see another designer share his diary.

The sixteenth issue of the magazine keeps to its tried and tested format of two interviews, one with a designer and one with an artist, and two articles about games, one about specific type or game or mechanic and the other about a theme. As mentioned previously, the interview with the designer is with Cole Wehrle in Dan Thurot’s dubiously titled ‘Give It A Wehrle’. Wehrle is the designer of some very high profile titles, mostly from Leder Games, including Root, Oath, and Arcs, but also some more controversial, but arguably more interesting titles like John Company and Molly House from the company he shares with his brother, Wehrlegig Games. Here he discusses the development of Root, and then Arcs, in particular how it differs from typical Science Fiction civilisation board games that adhere to the 4X format—eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate. Surprisingly, the focus is less on Arcs, at the time his latest game, than still on Root. Nevertheless, this is a fascinating interview, one which also examines the differences between how Wehrle designs for Leder Games and his own company. It does feel as if it could have been a longer interview looking at his other designs in greater depth. Perhaps in a later issue?

The other interview is with the artist, Joan Guardiet. In ‘The Explorer’, Dan Jolin talks to him about the games he has illustrated and the varied approach he takes to each. Senet always gives the space to showcase an artist’s work and this is no exception, enabling the reader to look at the different styles across several games. For example, Mazescape series of solo map exploration titles from Devir, are inspired by MC Escher and the computer game, Monument Valley, and have an angular look, whilst La Viña, also from Devir, has a delicate, intentionally ethereal look in its depiction of its various grapes and vines. Across the six games depicted it is almost a surprise to see they are all illustrated by the same artist.

In between the interviews, ‘Game of Crones’ by Alexandra Sonechkina explores the role of the witch has in board games, tracking her role as villain from early titles like Hexenhaus from 1952 and Milton Bradley Games’ Which Witch? from the seventies to more positive depictions in games such as the 2015 Kennerspiel des Jahres Winner Broom Service from Alea and KOSMOS’ Techno Witches from 2005. Common themes in witch-based games include broom races, potion making, and spell casting, but the most common is that of witches on trial, which of course, has a strong historical precedent. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 figure strongly, as in games like Façade Games’ social deduction game, Salem 1692, but Septima from Mindclash Games counters this by having the players working to solve the problem that the witches are accused of and are on trial for. Lastly, the article points out that the subject is controversial because perceptions of witchcraft differ, but suggests that more positive depictions might counter this controversy.

Matt Thrower’s ‘Party of One’ examines a style of play that has become increasingly common over the last few years as an increasing number of publishers offer extra rules for their games that allow them to be played solo. The article lists the Mage Knight Board Game, Wingspan, Dune: Imperium, Cascadia, and the Imperium series as all possessing good solo variants to what are well regarded games, but notes that the origins of solo play in board games lies in card games and puzzles which do not offer the narrative possibility that a solo board game can. Even playing board games solo can offer this as well as the means to learn the rules, and that is before you get to games that are deigned to be played solo. Here there is possibility to tell stories and have play experiences that other board games with more players would not. Overall, this is an interesting article, but it could have better highlighted games designed to be played solo rather than games with solo variants.

‘Unboxed’, Senet’s reviews section covers a wide range of games, top of which is Arcs, designed by the issue’s star interviewee, Cole Wehrle, and here awarded ‘Senet’s Top Choice’. The game is given a very good review, and it does look like a terrific game. Elsewhere there is courtly theme to the reviews with a look at both For the Queen from Darrington Press and Courtesans from Catch Up Games, but one of the more interesting titles reviewed is Hollandspiele’s Striking Flint, a game about the General Motors strike of 1936 to 1937 in Flint. Michigan. The game involves placing workers to stop actions being done and so resist the police and other strike breakers, so is described as an ‘anti-worker placement game’. The issue does not ignore more commercial fare with a review of Disney Lorcana: Gateway from Ravensburger.

As is traditional, Senet Issue 16 comes to a close with the regular end columns, ‘How to Play’ and ‘Shelf of Shame’. For ‘How to Play’, ‘How to be a Games Guru’ by Will Brasher, talks about his role as a games guru working at the games café, Chance & Counters, in Birmingham. This provides the reader with an interesting and quite detailed perspective of actually providing recommendations and helping people play games. Lastly, Banzainator of Board Games Anonymous, pulls Everdell for her ‘Shelf of Shame’. The reason why she has not played is because it was too light for her and this proves to be the case with some caveats. She would only play it again with two players rather than more.

Physically, Senet Issue 16 is shows off the board games it previews and reviews to great effect, just as you would expect. The highlight of the issue is the interview with Cole Wehrle, which definitely feels as if should be longer, but the article on witches and witchcraft as a theme is also good. This is another good issue providing solid and informative discussion of board games and their culture.

Friday Filler: Player Companion for ShadowDark

If there has to be a GM Companion for ShadowDark—and the honest truth is that there does actually have to be, since there is no official companion to ShadowDark, the retroclone inspired by both the Old School Renaissance and Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition from The Arcane Library—then there surely has to be the equivalent for the player. Well, similarly, there is, and that book is the Player Companion for ShadowDark. Like the GM Companion for ShadowDark, this is a third-party supplement for the roleplaying game which is designed to expand on the content in the core rulebook. It includes new Backgrounds, over twenty Ancestries, over thirty new Classes, plus new gemstones and metals, weapons, armour types and materials, adventuring gear galore, and plants, poisons, and traps, as well as catalysts to give spells that little bit more oomph when needed. Of course, a great deal of this volume is aimed at the player, but like the GM Companion for ShadowDark, which was aimed at the Game Master, yet still contained elements that the player could use, the Player Companion for ShadowDark contains content that the Game Master can also use. Probably more so, since the Game Master will be using the content of the Player Companion for ShadowDark to help create her world and her campaign.

The Player Companion for ShadowDark is—like the GM Companion for ShadowDark—published by Chubby Funster. The ‘Alternative Background Table’ lists twenty options, from Agitator, Artist, and Athlete to Trader, Translator, and Wanderlust, all of which are intended to not conflict with the Classes that follow after the Ancestries. Each of the twenty-four Ancestries is given a simple description and a simple ability. For example, the Proudfoot Halfling is ‘Stealthy’ can effectively turn invisible for three Rounds once per day, whilst the Stoutheart Halfling is ‘Quick’ and gains a +3 bonus to Initiative. The Changeling is ‘Mercurial’ and can use innate illusion magic to change their facial features; the Dragonborn has ‘Fire Breath’ and can do so instead of a standard attack; and a Goblin can simply never be surprised in combat. Some, such as the Dark Elf, Deep Gnome, Dragonborn, Gray Elf, Proudfoot Halfling, Stoutheart Halfling, and Wood Elf, are all inspired by both classic fantasy and classic Dungeons & Dragons, enabling a player to select an Ancestry for his character that he might be familiar with from those sources. Others are less obviously inspired, like the Changeling and Gold Dwarf, whilst others still, including the Goblin, Hobgoblin, and Kobold, open up the possibility of roleplaying the Humanoid races of Dungeons & Dragons as Player Characters.

The primary selling point of Player Companion for ShadowDark is its thirty-six new Classes. The full thirty-six consists of Archer, Assassin, Beastmaster, Berserker, Brigand, Buccaneer, Burglar, Charlatan, Conjurer, Druid, Elementalist, Enchanter, Explorer, Gladiator, Mage, Mariner, Monk, Mystic, Necromancer, Noble, Oracle, Pugilist, Ranger, Rogue, Savage, Scholar, Scout, Shaman, Soldier, Sorcerer, Spy, Squire, Thug, Urchin, Valkyrie, and Witch. Some, like the Assassin, Druid, Ranger, and Sorcerer, draw upon classic Classes from Dungeons & Dragons for their inspiration, but in some cases, there is not a great deal of variation between these new Classes. For example, the Brigand, the Burglar, and the Rogue all have ‘Shadowed’ and ‘Thievery’. ‘Shadowed’ grants advantage on Stealth checks and a bonus when motionless, and with ‘Thievery’ on checks to disguise himself, shadow someone, find and disable traps, pickpocket, and pick locks. The main difference—mechanically—is that the Brigand has ‘Knockout’, being able to knock an unsuspecting victim unconscious with a sap; the Burglar can easily grab objects at close distance with ‘Palm’; and the Rogue has ‘Backstab’ and ‘Taking Cover’. There is the same element with the Priest and Wizard type Classes too, all sharing the same core abilities with one or maybe two other abilities.

What this highlights is that many of the Classes in the Player Companion for ShadowDark are variations upon a theme. Which may or not be a problem. Used all together, it is a case of there not being enough to differentiate between the Class types, but used judiciously, any of the Classes would work well. For example, all of the Wizard-type Classes would work together if a campaign was set around a magic college and all of the Rogue Classes would work in a big urban environment, but in another campaign, the Game Master might decide that only certain Classes within the various types work within her campaign world, suggesting perhaps, that magic works or that the gods are worshipped in a particular way.

If many of the Classes in the Player Companion for ShadowDark are variations upon a theme, this is not to say that the Class designs are bad. The Archer is simple and straightforward, good with a bow and arrow, able to target specific body parts for various effects and gains better benefits from cover; the Assassin can ‘Backstab’, is ‘Shadowed’ like the Thief-type Classes, but can use ‘Venom’ instead of ‘Thievery’; the Druid has ‘Nature Affinity’, can cast ‘Priest Spells’, and ‘Shapeshift’; and the Necromancer can ‘Command Undead’ as well as do ‘Scroll Study’ and cast ‘Wizard Spells’. In other designs, there is more originality. For example, the Noble knows extra ‘Languages’, gives Advantage on morale for his NPC allies as well as a bonus to attack rolls and initiative with his ‘Leadership’, mind-affecting spells and powers are rolled against him are made at Disadvantage due to his ‘Nobility’, and he gains greater ‘Wealth’. Otherwise, the Noble is a Fighter type, but the abilities of the Class do lend itself to some interesting roleplaying. Similarly, the Valkyrie is a Cleric type Class and can cast ‘Priest Spells’, but added to that, she is ‘Favoured’ and if she uses a luck token to deliver a killing blow, she gets it back, and she has ‘Raven’, meaning she has an unkindness of raven familiars.

Beyond the Ancestries and Classes, the Player Companion for ShadowDark focuses on equipment. ‘Gemstones and Metals’ describes thirty gemstones and metallic trade bars that can be found as treasure and/or traded, whilst the twenty-five weapons gives more choices in combat, many of them of with their unique features. For example, the bastard does more damage if wielded two-handed, the bearded axe and the javelin can be thrown and inflicts different damage if thrown, whilst the dagger can also be thrown, but the wielder can choose whether to use his Strength or Dexterity depending on the bonus. Conversely, ‘Armour’ does not give its various types of protection unique features. The exceptions are the helmet, which grants the wearer Advantage when resisting concussion, blasts, sonic attacks, falling debris, or similar dangers, and the large shield kite, which improve Armour Class when wielded on horseback. There are guidelines for the effects of adamantine, bronze, and mithril armour though.

This is followed by a huge section on ‘Adventuring Gear’ which describes one hundred items that a Player Character might have in his backpack, from acid, an air bladder, and alcohol to a whistle, wooden stakes, and writing ink. It is an exhaustive and quite detailed list. Similarly, ‘Plants and Poisons’ describes twenty-five beans, compounds, flowers, fungi, herbs, roots, and venoms that have a variety of effects, not just poisoning. From arsenic and belladonna to tamarind and wolfsbane, the entries are even more detailed than those given in the ‘Adventuring Gear’ section. This is all useful information, whether for the Assassin or Druid Classes, for alchemists, and of course, for evil NPCs. ‘Traps’ describes six devices that a Player Character could buy and set, such as a flash trap that blinds or a sticky trap that hinders. It gives a cost, which suggests that they can be purchased off the shelf, which might be case in a Game Master’s campaign world. For another Game Master’s campaign world, guidelines on building such traps would have been more useful.

Lastly, the Player Companion for ShadowDark describes something completely different—‘Spell Catalysts’. These are things—seeds, berries, resins, petals, roots, bark, flowers, metals, wood, spices, glass, honey, bone, leaves, and more—that when used in conjunction with a particular spell, enhances its effects. For example, a handful of leaves from the mint plant when held casting Levitate enables the caster to move horizontally without needing to push himself off another surface or if the caster holds an olive when casting Magic Missile, the missiles inflict extra damage and can knock a target to the ground! All eighty-five of these, from achiote and anise to wool and wormwood, empower the spellcaster in some way, though limited in each case. The Player Character can buy multiple catalysts at a time, but on the downside, each catalyst takes up a gear slot and can be expensive. For example, it might only cost five silver pieces to purchase the olives for the Magic Missile catalyst, but the silk for the Passwall catalyst is eighty-five gold! Thus this option is not necessarily going to overpower a game, especially if the cost and encumbrance rules are applied, but when it counts, it will give the caster that little bit more of an edge.

Physically, like its forebear, the GM Companion for ShadowDark, the Player Companion for ShadowDark is a decent looking book. The layout is clean and tidy, the artwork is decent, and the book is well written.

Where the GM Companion for ShadowDark is a really useful book for ShadowDark and definitely a book that the Game Master for ShadowDark should have, the Player Companion for ShadowDark is not. This is not to say that none of its content is useful, but rather to say that its content can be useful. The Player Companion for ShadowDark is very much a book that the Game Master will need to pack and choose from, rather than simply use wholesale. She needs to ask herself if she wants every one of its Ancestries and Classes in her game, especially since some of the Classes are really variations rather than whole new Classes. Of course, she can simply decide what she wants for her own setting, but including all of them can lead to too much choice. The rest of the book—the adventuring gear, the arms and armour, the poisons, and the spell catalysts—all add a lot of detail, and whilst well done, again, the Game Master has to ask herself if she wants that degree of detail in her game. There is some useful and interesting content in its pages, but ultimately, the Player Companion for ShadowDark is about choice and giving options, more so for the Game Master than its title suggests.

The Other OSR: Buried in the Bahamas

The skies darken as the storm clouds gather and the winds begin to whirl. The Tarrantula is caught in a hurricane and as her pirate crew tries to ride out the worst of the storm, up and down the swells as tall as her masts, a wicked galleon bears down upon her. A ship with hull of bones and torn black sails, flames roaring from the eyes of the skulls mounted on her aft, and then there is her crew. Black skeletons. They leap upon the crew of The Tarrantula and as battle swirls across her deck, one of the crew screams out, “Land!”. This is the beginning of Buried in the Bahamas: An Introductory Adventure for Pirate Borg. Specifically, it is designed to serve as an introductory adventure for not just for the players, but also the Game Master, one that can be run as the beginning of an ongoing campaign or as one-shot scenario that can be shortened to run as a one-shot, suitable for convention play. It begins with a linear introduction that will introduce the players and their characters to the setting and the rules—including how combat and the Devil’s Luck work—before throwing ashore and into a situation where they have more freedom of action. With this agency, they can sail the seas of the Dark Caribbean, fight zombies and sharks, and go in search of treasure!

Buried in the Bahamas: An Introductory Adventure for Pirate Borg is published by Limithron. As an adventure for Pirate Borg, it takes place in the Dark Caribbean, a sea of tropical islands marked with European towns and fortresses and ruins of civilisations long gone, of shipwrecks with rich cargoes and even richer treasures, and of the Scourge. The Scourge made the dead walk once again, ghosts return to haunt the living, and monsters lurk ready to smash the foothold that the Europeans have established in the region. The governors and the viceroys, representatives of kings and queens, have forced to adapt and rule with no contact from home following the Scourge and even take advantage of the situation, especially since the discovery of abilities and addictive nature of ASH, the ash of the burned and ground undead.

Buried in the Bahamas: An Introductory Adventure for Pirate Borg is based upon Mörk Borg, the Swedish pre-apocalypse Old School Renaissance style roleplaying game designed by Ockult Örtmästare Games and Stockholm Kartell and also published by Free League Publishing. As an introductory scenario, it presents the Game Master and her players with a simple set-up and outlines the step-by-step process that will take everyone from an introduction to Pirate Borg and the Dark Caribbean through character creation and into the game and the scenario. This is intentionally tight at the beginning, with a battle scene that begins en media res and so throws them into the action, enables the players to establish their characters and get used to the rules, but as the scenario progresses, it opens up and the players and their characters have greater freedom of action.

The layout of Buried in the Bahamas is also designed with this in mind. The initial battle scene is all presented on a double page spread, including its set-up, guidance for the Game Master, what the players and their characters have to do, and the monsters and NPCs detailed the margins. The next scene is laid out in similar fashion, but presents more options in terms of what the Player Characters can do on the island they have been shipwrecked on. The island is tiny, but there is still room to explore and direct the other survivors, whether that is to build shelter or a raft to get off the island. What will drive the Player Characters to leave the island is not just survival, but the treasure map they were handed by the late captain of The Tarantula.

It is possession of this treasure map that will drive the second half of the scenario, pushing the Player Characters to sail to the other two islands nearby where the entrance to the cave where the treasure is hidden may be found. These islands are larger and far more detailed, enabling the Player Characters to spend time in a shanty town, dive on a wreck, and explore zombie-infested ruins. Ultimately, the Player Characters will discover the entrance to the Cave of Seven Skulls where the treasure has been hidden. The cave leads to a tomb complex, one that the Player Characters will have an advantage in exploring if their backgrounds are academic, archaeological, or linguistic in nature, but even so, this is a potentially deadly complex, but the rewards are high in terms of both coin and magic.

The Game Master can run Buried in the Bahamas as written and it will provide multiple sessions’ worth of play and potentially, lead into a longer campaign. Alternatively, the middle section of the scenario, where the Player Characters explore the larger of three islands in the scenario as a mini-hexcrawl, can be cut and the scenario run in fewer sessions, or even a single session. Throughout the scenario, there is advice for the Game Master and references to the core rules for Pirate Borg. The advice for the Game Master is stronger at the start of the scenario and that is appropriate, since this start is designed to ease both her and her players and their characters into the setting and the game.

Physically, Buried in the Bahamas is very well laid out. Almost everything is clearly presented and easy to read. The thing that is not, is the actual advice for the Game Master as it is given in a pale grey text on a white background making it difficult to read. Otherwise, the maps for the scenario are all nicely done and the artwork is reasonable.

Experienced players will enjoy it and get into its set-up and play faster, but Buried in the Bahamas: An Introductory Adventure for Pirate Borg is a really good beginning scenario for Pirate Borg. It is not only flexible in how it is used, but it effectively helps the Game Master guide her players into the world of the Dark Caribbean and the play of Pirate Borg.