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Outgunned Adventure - RPG Review

Seth Skorkowsky

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Exploring the 1930s pulp game Outgunned Adventure. Modeled after films like Indiana Jones, The Mummy, and Tomb Raider, this RPG is meant to encourage fast combat, daring heroics, and cinematic adventure. Here are my thoughts after running a campaign of it.

Published in 2024 by Two Little Mice and distributed by Free League Publishing.

You can buy Outgunned Adventure on the Free League site: https://freeleaguepublishing.com/shop...
Pick of the PDF on DriveThru RPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/...

Or, pick up the Quickstart Rules to try it out: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/...

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Guest starring Jack the NPC

00:00 Intro
01:20 What's Needed to Play?
02:40 Characters
06:29 Game Mechanics
17:12 Combat
23:43 Adventuring
27:33 Is Outgunned Adventure Worth It?

20 Comments

@m0rtez713 3 weeks ago (edited)

I noticed the attention to detail in the skits when everytime Jack the NPC speaks holding a revolver he has less bullets on him and then switches to a mauser when he runs out.

@orvilpym 3 weeks ago

My solution to the "low stakes due to low risk to life and limb" problem (which I agree is real) is by writing adventures where the true stakes aren't to the life of the heroes, but to something else. Indiana Jones doesn't fight for his life - he must succeed to prevent the Nazis getting a war winning occult power or to stop the evil cult from enslaving and zombifying children. And in The Mummy Returns, Rick and Evelyn have to save their son. Or for the core Outgunned game - John McClane doesn't have to survive Gruber's goons with the fabulous hair, he has to save the hostages, first and foremost his wife. Surviving and beating up scores of goons is only the first baseline requirement, not the be all and end all of the adventure. To add tension and create meaningful stakes, I try to give the heroes problems they cannot solve with fists and guns alone, such as puzzles, historical research, figuring out the bad guy's plan, and if all of that fails, I never shy away from the bad guys playing unfair and taking hostages, planting hidden bombs, poisoning someone (think of the starting scene from Temple of Doom) which introduces a ticking clock and if they fail to get the antidote in time, a loved one dies. And those do not have Luck or Spotlights, and no dice rolls can save them, unless the players have jumped through the necessary (burning and spinning) hoops first.

As for Jack's final request - the Outgunned game series comes with three "Action Flicks" Supplement, each of which adds more genres to mix and mash: AF1 adds Space Opera, Wuxia, Cloak & Dagger, Superheroes, "Stranger Things" type Kids on Bikes stuff, Magical School settings, extraterrestrial monstrosities a la Alien or Predator, Ghost-bustin, action flick Vampires and Werewolves, Cyberpunk and a Multiverse. AF2 adds Space Opera with Space Magic and glowing swords, eldritch gods and monsters, the Wild West setting, Angels and Demons, Sword & Sorcery, Cop Action, DINOSAURS, the Apocalyptic Wasteland, Zombies, "Quack Tales", and adventures in virtual worlds. AF3 finally adds Pet Heroes, playing as Supervillains, Sword & Sandals, playing Shapechangers or Anthropomorphic Animal Heroes, Killer Robots, Mecha and Kaiju and Giant Robots, normal humans in a world of the Superpowered, Time Travel, Crime and Fast Cars, Sentai (covering everything from Power Rangers to Sailor Moon), and Multiverse but everyone plays a variant of the same character just from different universes.

So as you can see, fighting Dinosaurs in Pulp Adventure is just one $14 purchase on DrivethruRPG away! (Action Flicks 2... the specific one you want for that is Action Flicks 2!)

@anomaloushumanoid 3 weeks ago

One of the things I like about the Outgunned family of games is that they are very explicitly built for short campaigns, so you can start them, play them, finish them decisively and then move on to another campaign with new characters or onto a new system cleanly, instead of just this broad expectation the campaign will just go on and on until everyone is sick of it. Characters start strong enough to be fun and improve a little bit, but they don't just become these unstoppable gods with thousands of abilities to sort through.

Also the Dinosaur and Old Ones rules are in Action Flicks #2, for anyone interested.

@irhinohammer 3 weeks ago

From running Outgunned: Reroll. Reroll all the time. Do not be afraid to reroll.

@Hugh839 3 weeks ago

I really love this as a one-shot game. It's "rules light" enough that I've been able to easily use the rules in published adventures from other RPG systems. I also like how, other than the character sheet, it also has DM sheets that let you keep track of everything and is a great reference for a session. It really helped things flow.

@talscorner3696 3 weeks ago

I know the Two Little Mice crew very well (in fact, I recommended them the lady who did the English translation ^^), we've shared booths at a few cons; it's always cool to see their stuff outside of Italy!

@AubriGryphon 3 weeks ago

May I just say: I love the "If you haven't done X by the end of the session" bits of advice. That's a great way to express that you might not be getting everything you should out of the system.

@mrgunn2726 3 weeks ago

So they used Yahtzee as an RPG mechanic, interesting. One area I would have liked to have seen more discussion of was the character sheet. Professor DM and I agree, the character sheet is the first place I look when looking at a game. Fantastic review Seth, gave me a real feel for the game, I love that you bring us non-D&D content indie content. 👍

@Sir_Malcolm 3 weeks ago

I see the Seth, I do the like! What's up man? Hope you've been well.

@nextepocskills 3 weeks ago

I clocked that mothership shirt.

@Temsikpark-z6n 3 weeks ago

Having seen references to outgunned in a few previous videos (starting with I THINK it appearing as a background bit in one of your rpg philosophy videos) I've been waiting so long for the proper outgunned adventures overview. Watch out for pitfall traps...

@hartthorn 3 weeks ago

On the Spotlight, I would definitely house rule the "coin flip" only ever kicks in on your LAST Spotlight. If you have more than 1, you have to spend it. But if you only have the 1, you get those 50/50 odds of keeping it in reserve.
And something I could see as useful for future adventures they make for combat is to give the GM a couple clear scene specific attacks the bad guys might use with the specific reaction skill to defend against it. That just seems more functional because making a broad list could just as easily create a false sense that this should be the only times you use those combos. But tailored attacks when they KNOW a lot of the variables already would let them be specific without the context extending beyond the scene. Like dodging gunfire while on scaffolding that limits movement is different from general dodging.

@samwhary5498 3 weeks ago

Caught you! Managed it within 30m this time too. A new Seth vid is always a gift. Happy birthday to me~

@PeterFendrich 3 weeks ago

I backed the original outgunned on more or less a whim when it crowdfunded back in the day. I thought it looked cool but I had no real idea who I was dealing with, and so I just backed at the lowest PDF level, wanting to give some people their props, but not get in too deep.

Not getting all the bells and whistles from the ground floor? That remains the only thing I've regretted NOT buying in my life. Such a fantastic fun system.

@dockerydesigns 3 weeks ago

Jack the NPC has some excellent Trigger Discipline. Finger never in the wrong place. You are a scholar and a gentleman Jack!

@seandremel337 3 weeks ago

I know Seth has talked about streaming actual plays, but I’d still love to see Seth playing or running these games every now and then. That way, we can all see how this game plays out, as well as seeing how Seth plays as a GM for inspiration or examples of his advice in action.