Big Trouble Supplement – Sandcastle Defense by Brian Phongluangtham and Brandon Lillie is a role playing game supplement published by B Drone Games for use with Hero Kids.
The supplement is available as a 41-page PDF from DriveThruRPG for $1.99 but was purchased at a reduced price during a sale. One page is the front cover and one the front matter. The PDF comes in two versions, one a printer friendly version.
Prerequisite explains what is needed, most of them standard, including the Big Trouble Setting Guide and Rules and it’s recommended that a wet/dry erase RPG mat/board be used, along with Lego, an alarm and monsters/heroes/items form other Big Trouble supplements.
Overview explains this is a tower defence game for the Big Trouble ruleset and Background gives an overview of the original events.
Gameplay Overview explains how the game works. It’s similar to most tower defence games; players build defences and the GM sends in waves of attackers. The various game modes are gone into in detail; as well as the normal Big Trouble crafted items, there are large crafted items, which are too big to be carried by adventurers. Following this are some strategies.
The Starter Scenario can be used as part of a Big Trouble campaign. In such a case, it is set after the events of Town by the Sea and before Bigger Trouble. The scenario, including the waves, is then detailed.
Tips for Adapting to Hero Kids Fantasy RPG Play has some suggestions for adapting it to a normal Hero Kids game, as Big Trouble has some material not in the standard rules.
A page is taken up by the GM Cheat Sheet, which summarises the rules, then two for search tables and inventory, one filled. Four pages have a simple gridded map for the sand then a fifth has all four together. Four large crafted item cards are followed by four blank cards, then the various defences to place, and some matching blank miniatures. Six pages have four new monsters and their miniatures, coloured and not, and the final four pages have three new heroes, again coloured and not, and a blank card.
Big Trouble Supplement – Sandcastle Defense in Review
The PDF is well bookmarked with major and minor sections linked. Navigation is good. The text maintains a two-column landscape format and appeared to be free of errors. There are some colour illustrations, which are taken from the monster and item cards, and the cards themselves. Presentation is decent.
This is what it sets out to be; a tower defence boardgame for Hero Kids. The overall format should be familiar to anyone who has played a tower defence game, only this is more physical, with miniatures and a board. Though it can be used between two of the adventures in the Lilliput trilogy (though it might be unfortunate if the players lose) it can also be used at other times. Using other monsters and items, and adapting them to the game, there are a whole host of possible future games around. For standard Hero Kids, it could be castle defence. Perhaps the biggest problem will be coming up with new scenarios, as it could be too easy to make a game almost impossible to win. Balancing it could be tricky. Big Trouble Supplement – Sandcastle Defense is an interesting adaptation of Hero Kids and it can be found by clicking here.
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