Publisher: Gander Gaming
System: Unique indie RPG system
Marketplace: Currently Kickstarting
I recently had the pleasure of being contacted by Lester Burton, the creator of Grok?!, an indie role playing game I reviewed a few years ago. And one that I both used for solo play, and took as a major inspiration for my role-playing game Undeadwood: Weird West RPG.
After a few years and reaching Platinum best seller on drive-thru RPG, Lester Burton is working on a second edition of Grok?! And he was kind enough to reach out to me and ask if I would care to review it.
Part of the reason I was approached was that my previous review was a very thorough critique, and one that was used as a guideline when developing the second edition. Every growth point I listed in my original review has been addressed as a part of the development of the second edition.
The System
Grok?! Characters have three abilities scores that are expressed as a type of die. Base ability scores range from a d4 to a d10, and can be raised or lowered during play.
Any time a character needs to resolve a success or failure, they describe their intended result, and the GM designates a particular ability score. The GM then assesses any possible advantages and disadvantages up to a maximum of three each. If the advantages and disadvantages even out, the players rolls the die listed for that ability score. If there are net advantages they roll additional dice equal to the difference, and take the highest die. If there are net disadvantages, they roll a number of additional dice equal to the net number of disadvantages and take the lowest.
The result is checked against a Talisanta-style result table that includes the results "no, and...", "no", "no, but...", "yes, but...", "yes" or "yes, and..." to answer the question "Does the PC achieve the result they described?" Higher numbers get a more favourable result.
Advantages and disadvantages can include elements of the characters description (codified as "Traits"), the circumstances of the narrative. or any applicable Asset. Assets can be anything from weapons and equipment, to loyal companions, to vehicles, to magic spells or psychic powers. A character starts with seven slots for Assets, and starts play with five generated from random tables.
If the result of a roll is "No, but..." or "yes, and...", the Judge may describe an additional positive event or roll on an additional table to determine a benefit, such as a new opportunity, something that adds an advantage, the favor of an NPC, a new Asset, removing a disadvantage or accurate information.
Likewise a result of "no, and..." or "yes, but...", requires the judge to describe an additional complication or roll on a table that might include adding a negative Asset, a circumstance that creates an additional Disadvantage, an NPC's disfavour, losing or modifying an Asset, or being given inaccurate information.
Poor rolls or the narrative can change assets. For example a blaster might become a "discharged blaster" or a "poorly-focused blaster", armor might become "battered armor." In extreme circumstances, assets can be lost or destroyed.
Similarly, a character can gain negative Assets due to poor rolls. "Broken arm" or "dosed with hallucinogenic toxins" might be acquired and grant disadvantages to appropriate rolls. These can be removed with later actions such as getting field surgery or taking an antidote.
If a character is about to gain a negative Asset and has no room for one, one of their Ability Scores gains a Debilitation that reduces the die type by one step. A below to the head my reduce mental from a d6 to a d4, for example. If an ability drops below a d4, the character dies.
What I Loved
The Asset System
The asset system in Grok?! was a major inspiration for the core engine I created for my own role-playing game Undeadwood: Weird West RPG. I truly believe it is Grok?!’s greatest strength.
I was particularly glad to see that the characters' starting assets were expanded. Dividing assets into clear categories, and giving characters specific outfit, accessory, weapon, and oddity assets does a great job of turning the random assets into a big part of character generation. Letting you choose between magic, companion, and a vehicle doesn't just give us some amazing additional categories, it allows you to choose to specialize your character from the outset.
By organizing assets in this manner, it also gives us a great set of treasure and random NPC or environment tables.
Organization
The organization of the manual is a vast improvement over the original edition of Grok?! When I was comparing the two editions, I sometimes went back and forth between the manuals looking for similarities and differences. I found it very easy to find the information I needed in Grok?! 2e, while finding what I needed in the original Grok?! Could be difficult.
Layout
I appreciate that the information design of Grok?! 2e saw some incredible thought put into it. Tables are larger, easier to read, and feel less cramped. The dice roll mechanics are much more clearly spelled out with examples on the same page. There are no unfortunate turns, and some useful page references have been incorporated into the text.
Expanded Outcomes
One of the things I really appreciated is the expansion of the results table. Going from “No And…”, “Yes” and “Yes, and…” to that full range of “No, and…”, “No, but…”, “Yes, but…”, “Yes…”, and “Yes, and…” adds an incredible amount of dynamism to the game.
Exploding Dice
Grok?! had an optional rule that the highest result possible on your roll explodes. Grok?! 2e makes this a core rule, making a great improvement. The exploding dice makes an attribute with a D4 feel a lot less like a handicap. At the same time, it adds a lot more dynamism and chances for moments of incredible luck for the player characters. I think it is a really smart choice to make it a core rule of the game.
Trimming Complexity
I feel that counting multiple advantages and disadvantages both adds interest in a game, but also threatens to bog it down. Grok?! was overwhelmed by counting too many possible advantages and disadvantages. Narrowing things down to counting no more than three advantages and disadvantages rather than the original five speeds up the game.
Sample Characters
Grok?! 2e has a veritable legion of pregenerated characters. These sample characters don't just give a player an idea of the sheer range of potential characters to play, it helps build the world in a lot of interesting and subtle ways. You get a sense of the Gonzo sense of humor and the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink aesthetics o the game, and the extremely loose, narrative-focused structure of the game mechanics.
Moar Art!
One of the things I truly loved about the original Grok?! was the incredible artwork by Matias Viro. Every image in the book was exciting and inspiring. I did a couple of passes of the manual just absorbing all the artwork. Grok?! 2e truly delivers on giving more of that same intense, weird, wild art. The technique has really improved in places, and the influences of Moebius and Bosch both have really shined through.
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| Illustration from Grok?! by Matias Viro |
Designer Commentary
Grok?! does a lot of unusual and unique things in the role of playing game space. I’m really glad that Lester Burton sat down and decided to explain the reasons for his choices. Thanks to the commentary sections Grok?! 2e isn't just an interesting game, it is also a great guide to game design, which I think should be considered one of its selling points.
Setting Expansion
Grok?! has an amazing setting: A multi-layered world where different zones give you a realm of Lovecraftian horrors, an eternal dungeon, a perilous radioactive wasteland, a bizarre magical kingdom on floating islands, and a decaying cyberpunk orbital habitat. It gives you a lot of choices of genre and environment without attempting to be a universal setting agnostic game, as games that attempt this often create a whole bunch of problems for themselves.
2e adds in a Space Opera environment, the Æther, which I feel was an inspired choice.
But what really cinched it for me -- and what made taking a 40-page role-playing game and turning it into a 240 page role-playing game worthwhile -- is going into detail about all the setting environments. Every layer comes with random tables to create locales events and regions. It gives you inspirations to draw on and a handful of adventure hooks.
This is a massive leap forward for the game, and makes it much easier to just grab and start playing on a moment's notice.
Growth Points
Aspects
I still have a little trouble when processing the explanation of Aspects. More examples embedded in the text here would be really helpful.
It would be valuable to remind players that Traits and Assets should be evaluated in order to figure out whether characters might have advantage or disadvantage.
While this is implied, making it explicit would make them feel like more concrete parts of the game and help bring the mechanics home when you are learning the game.
Order of Information on Conditions
I felt it would be really helpful when explaining debilitations and conditions on pages 45 and 46 if we were reminded right at the beginning how they are gained. I found figuring out how to adjudicate when bad things happen to a character to be one of the hardest parts to isolate when reading both editions of Grok?!
The Wasteland Mutation Table Could be a Template for More Unique Layer Design
I also appreciate how certain areas have unique tables like the mutation table on the wasteland: that adds a lot of character.
If I were able to squeeze in a few more pages, giving something unique, like a detailed starship table for the Æther, or a bizarre cybernetic modification table for the Simulacrum to give each that similar unique flavor would be a great idea.
Give us More Developer Commentary!
Because I feel that the developer commentary in the early part of the game is strong, I would have liked to have had just a little more of it in the setting section.
For example, I could tell that The Simulacrum was in many ways a tip of the hat to one of my all-time favorite RPGs, Paranoia. Suggesting that Judges have a look at some of the classic Paranoia modules out there would have been great advice. And I would have loved to hear a discussion of why the controlling AI rather than an evil mega-corporation was decided on for the flavor of cyberpunk used.
This is especially true as well for the sample adventure. I think it stands well on its own, but I would have loved to have some discussion of how it played out when it was tested.
Example of Play
Because Grok?! is such a unique role-playing game, I would have loved to have just had a four-page example of play that showed it in action. It would have been one of the first things I read and made it easier to absorb some of the concepts.
Character Sheet
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| Grok?! original Character Sheet |
Functionally, I would love for it to have a place where you could Mark when an ability score has been debilitated. I think that would be extremely useful for record keeping purposes. Likewise, having the results table would have been really useful to still have on the character sheet.
Design-wise, with all the amazing artwork that is already in Grok?! 2e I was hoping for an embellished and wild looking character sheet along the lines of the sort of character sheets you see for Numenéra or in James West's Black Pudding Zines.
Maybe something with artwork evocative of each of Grok?!’s layers descending along the margins for an extra piece of visual information?
Planetary Diagram
On pages 12 and 13 there is a truly amazing illustration of Grok?! 2e that depicts all of its layers. It includes pins with smaller illustrations to give examples of what is going on at three of the different layers. It is one of the best illustrations in the book, and I'm hesitant to offer it any criticism. But I would have liked pins for all of the layers in such an illustration.
Opportunity for More Advanced Solo Gaming
Grok?!’s core engine uses an oracle that is very similar to some of the most popular ones used in solo gaming. It was a no-brainer to add a section on solo gaming that takes advantage of this.
One of my favorite solo gaming tools is Tana Pigeon's Mythic Game Master Emulator. It's most interesting and dynamic tool is the Chaos Factor. The Chaos Factor represents the shifting control that the player characters have over the situation.
When things spiral out of control the Chaos Factor rises, when they seem to be in control the Chaos Factor lowers. The Chaos Factor alters the probability of yes/no questions, making it less likely as characters take control of the story that things will work in their favor in the future, keeping the story swinging and moving in unexpected directions.
Rather than using a d10 to check for Oracle results during solo play, as suggested, a die that shifts up and down as the characters move towards their goals and bring things more under control could create a very dynamic solo play experience.
Conclusions
I adored Grok?! from moment one. It is a real standout offering in the sea of role-playing games. And I'm enthusiastic to have a second edition to review, because it means I can draw more attention to the game.
More importantly , it takes an already excellent RPG and improves almost every element of it.
I have every intention of making sure I have a copy of Grok?! 2e available with me this summer when I travel with my kids, because I feel that the loose creative way it plays might inspire them to add something to their own imaginative play. It invites people to just start mashing things together in ways that they might not have imagined before.
I also really hope that at some point there will be a print edition of this version of the game. I would love to have that art on my shelf and it would make it easier for me to reach for it when I'm looking to just have a solo game.
Grok?! 2e is currently in the Kickstarter phase. You can back it here.
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