War Rig: A Vessel RPG is a role playing game written and published by Samuel E H Yeager based on their previous game, Longship: A Vessel RPG.
The supplement is available from itch as a PDF and epub for $5, although it was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. The PDF has 11 pages with one being the front cover, one blank and one thank yous.
Chapter 1: Getting it Into Gear explains that the world has ended and the players are a group on a mobile war rig. The game is played in phases, some decided by negotiation and use of resources, some by dice. To overcome an obstacle, a six-sided dice is rolled using the most fitting stat and a result of 4 or more is a success. To succeed, a specific number of successes are needed. Each time a die is rolled, that is 1 die of that stat spent. Once the stat’s number of dice has been rolled, it cannot be used again in that encounter. Dice can be used to help others.
Chapter 2: The World Grinds You Down is on playing the name. Three to five people are needed, one of whom will be the GM. Each needs six-sided dice, and eight for each person is suggested. Characters have four stats; Strength, Speed, Grit and Brains. Six dice are rolled, any results of 1 are rerolled and the highest and lowest numbers are discarded. The four remaining values are distributed across the stats as the player sees fit.
Other stats are Wounds, which is health, Scrap, which is supplies and are used to increase the effectiveness of rolls, and Hope, which can be used to give another a success. There are six nicknames for character, which are essentially classes and give different advantages Finally, the players describe their War Rig.
Chapter 3: Days Pass covers the phases of play. Rest Phase is at the end of each session, during which characters scavenge for resources. Drive Phase is on the War Rig travelling the wilderness. Walk Phase is when the characters leave the rig. Finally, there are some words on playing.
War Rig: A Vessel RPG in Review
The PDF lacks bookmarks and, though they are not essential, would have been appreciated. Navigation could be better. The text maintains a single column format and appeared to be free of errors. There are no illustrations. Presentation is fairly poor.
This game works better than its predecessor, Longship, as it seems to be more coherent as to a system, even though it is lacking some elements seen in Longship. It would have been nice to have had a way of generating some of the post-apocalyptic setting randomly, though. It can still be used as-is. At full price, it is on the high side, given the length and content; there are better, and better presented, games available for less. War Rig: A Vessel RPG can be found on itch.
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