I played this with my friends this week and it was so easy to understand and have fun! My players had a grand time coming up with antics to beclown their vampire. What is really funny is that I was much better at RPS than I expected to be, so the vampire was possibly one of the biggest challenges I've thrown at my friends to date.
That's so great to hear, thanks! Clown Helsing was a labor of love but also a very niche game - so it's rare that I hear about anyone playing it. But if it was easy to play and you found a way to have fun playing it, I am overjoyed.
Clown Helsing is the answer to the question: what if a bunch of clowns fought a bunch of vampires?
It's 37 pages, with an honest-to-god intro fiction, relevant quotes under the chapter headings, tons of art, and a solid, readable layout.
If I had to describe Clown Helsing in a single phrase, it would be "committing to the bit."
There's no hesitation here. No thoughts for the future. Just pure dedication to clown vs dracula hinjinks.
And it works.
Clown Helsing's writing is damn good. Like the best of circus performances, even when you know exactly what's going to happen next, you're completely entertained.
Clown Helsing's premise is that vampires feed on blood, but more than that they feed on frustration and suffering. To kill a vampire, therefore, you need to do it in a way that's comedic. This anchors the game's tone to its gameplay in a way that's extremely clever if you dwell on it, but you don't have to, and Clown Helsing is very good at just keeping things light.
Mechanically, things are pretty simple but flavorful. Conflicts are resolved through Rock Paper Scissors, with ties going to the person with the most relevant ability. There's a little more to it than that, with opportunities for team attacks and some other basic strategies, but the mechanics' goal is to keep the group oriented on playing the game, and they do that with no problems.
For GMs, there's a solid section on how to run the game, including samples of play and general advice. There's also recommendations on how to worldbuild, and how to adapt the game's mechanics to focus more on specific elements. Safety tools are suggested, and sort of provided, but the game recommends searching for a more complete set on your own.
Overall, if you've been sleeping on Clown Helsing, I strongly recommend checking it out. You may want to do some tweaking to get its tone and energy into the sweet spot that matches your group's, but it's a phenomenally well-made thing, and I can't wait to tell some of my regular groups about it.
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I played this with my friends this week and it was so easy to understand and have fun! My players had a grand time coming up with antics to beclown their vampire. What is really funny is that I was much better at RPS than I expected to be, so the vampire was possibly one of the biggest challenges I've thrown at my friends to date.
That's so great to hear, thanks! Clown Helsing was a labor of love but also a very niche game - so it's rare that I hear about anyone playing it. But if it was easy to play and you found a way to have fun playing it, I am overjoyed.
Clown Helsing is the answer to the question: what if a bunch of clowns fought a bunch of vampires?
It's 37 pages, with an honest-to-god intro fiction, relevant quotes under the chapter headings, tons of art, and a solid, readable layout.
If I had to describe Clown Helsing in a single phrase, it would be "committing to the bit."
There's no hesitation here. No thoughts for the future. Just pure dedication to clown vs dracula hinjinks.
And it works.
Clown Helsing's writing is damn good. Like the best of circus performances, even when you know exactly what's going to happen next, you're completely entertained.
Clown Helsing's premise is that vampires feed on blood, but more than that they feed on frustration and suffering. To kill a vampire, therefore, you need to do it in a way that's comedic. This anchors the game's tone to its gameplay in a way that's extremely clever if you dwell on it, but you don't have to, and Clown Helsing is very good at just keeping things light.
Mechanically, things are pretty simple but flavorful. Conflicts are resolved through Rock Paper Scissors, with ties going to the person with the most relevant ability. There's a little more to it than that, with opportunities for team attacks and some other basic strategies, but the mechanics' goal is to keep the group oriented on playing the game, and they do that with no problems.
For GMs, there's a solid section on how to run the game, including samples of play and general advice. There's also recommendations on how to worldbuild, and how to adapt the game's mechanics to focus more on specific elements. Safety tools are suggested, and sort of provided, but the game recommends searching for a more complete set on your own.
Overall, if you've been sleeping on Clown Helsing, I strongly recommend checking it out. You may want to do some tweaking to get its tone and energy into the sweet spot that matches your group's, but it's a phenomenally well-made thing, and I can't wait to tell some of my regular groups about it.
Thanks, not to review a review but that was very insightful!