"In the midst of the search, a sudden rain has hit and the ground was too hard to dig a shelter. As a result, the rain and the wind has blown them far away."

MetalMan's Review of "Buggz" by Hector Rene Segovia

The Premise:
Buggz, as the author states, is heavily influenced by the game, Army Ants. However, the author has made the setting different - far more primative - and arranged for a different set of game mechanics for the game to operate under. Players assume the roles of intelligent bugs on a humanless planet and are capable of magic.

What Ya Get:
Buggz is available in either a Microsoft Word or HTML document. As I like to take things with me, I chose to use the Word format. It weights in at twenty pages. Your page count may vary if you use the HTML version.

Cost:
Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Gratis. Free.

Appearance:
Its not bad, but its nothing spectacular either. It has some illustrations although they're nothing to write home about. Still, at least an effort was made to make it more attractive than just text on a page. Speaking of which, text is arranged in the familiar two column style for easy reading. Buggz is about average for what you would expect from a free RPG.

The Game:
I have a personal gripe with the title. I know its "kewl" to not spell things correctly like "Xtreme" but I find it extremely (note the correct spelling) annoying. Okay. On with the game...

Character creation is a simple process. Players must first choose a bug that they would like to play. Each bug has varying stats as well as dispositions based on what type of creature they are. For example, most predatory bugs, such as spiders and wasps, have fairly high stats but they are also saddled with the Social Stigma disposition - namely they eat other bugs. All bugs know three skills based on their type. The player then rolls 1d4 to determine how many other skills they can pick. Magic spells each count as a skill each.

The next thirteen pages are taken up detailing the various types of bugs. Players can be Ants, Praying Mantis, Worms, Spiders, Flies, Wasps, Centipedes, Butterflies, Dragonflies, Beetles, Gnats, Cockroaches, and Water Striders. Each main type also has several optional types along with their adjustments. For example, Players can be a junebug instead of a cockroach by changing their stat dice for Brains, adding in the ability to fly, and changing their diet. This is a nice touch as it allows for a wide variety of characters. Character creation wraps up with the spells list. Its rather small (12 spells total), but it should be okay considering the small number of skill points you get as well as the naturalistic feel to the magic spells that reflect the primitive setting of the game.

Buggz includes two sets of mechanics: one based on a d30 system and another based on a d20. I'll be using the d20 version for this review as I'd hope that everyone at least has one d20 die! If have d30 dice and you're interested in the d30 variant, I'd recommend you download and read the mechanics for it. Initiative is handled in the following way: flies go first if they make their Reflex Intuition roll (ever try to swat a fly?) and then everyone else goes in order of highest Speed rolls. Skill checks are made by rolling a d20 and adding in a difficulty modifier assigned by the GM. Rolling under the result is a success. A roll of one is always a success and a roll of 20 is always a critical failure.

Damage is always a d6 plus your Brawn. Add an addition d4 to the damage if you have a weapon. Armor is all or nothing. If you roll below your armor rating on a d20 all damage is negated. Otherwise, you take the full amount. Each successive strike that penetrates armor makes it less effective. A full night's rest, however, restores it back to full. Venomed characters also restore full health after a full night as well. The rules are finished off with a section on guidelines on how to add new bug characters to the game and how to balance their stats.

Buggz wraps up with two mini-adventures: "Long, Hard Winter" and "Lost". Both are simple games designed to get players comfortable with the rules so they're not very setting heavy. This is good as there really isn't really any implied setting other than the planet's name of Banther. This looks like it will be rectified by an announcement for "The Great Tree" which is susposed to be available by August 2001. The Great Tree seems to be important as it is one of the central points of "Lost".

Overall Impression:
Buggz has some good ideas in it. I'm not too sure how well your players might take it, however. Motivations for characters other than survival or species loyalty can get dubious at times I'd imagine as most of the conflict seems to be geared towards interspecies conflict and could get really nasty if you have a mixed-species playing group. Still, this might be a very interesting experiment for some gamers to play a fragile insect in a cruel world. Some more detailed setting information or NPCs would help flesh the setting out more as well as provide potential GMs some hooks for adventures. Buggz is a definate "reader" and one to put on the list of "games to (hopefully) watch develop."

MetalMan signing off.