First Impressions - Tales from the Loop Starter Set (PDF)

It doesn't look like this in PDF...

TL;DR: Great value starter set with everything you need to get going. You will need to buy the core book if you want to go much further, but the dice and map from the set provide the equivalent of £30 in real world purchases. The introductory mystery is excellent.

I was intrigued when Fria Ligan announced a starter set for Tales from the Loop, so went to explore.

The set contains:

• An illustrated rulebook explaining how to play the game
• A complete Mystery called The Recycled Boy
• Five pre-generated characters ready for you play
• A large, full-color map of land of the Loop
• Ten engraved custom dice

The map PDF looks identical to that in the core book (£15) and assuming the dice are the same (£15) then the physical pre-order (which is £20.88 on the Fria Ligan site at the moment*) is a steal if you just have the core book. The pre-order includes PDFs, which I'm using to write this. There's no telling how sturdy the box will be or whether it will fit the hardcovers.

The rule book looks like it's a softcover staple bound but only time will tell. At 32 pages, it presents the core rules clearly in exactly the same style as the main book. I'm pretty confident that most of the pages have minimal edits and there's everything there you'd need to play. No character generation.

The scenario book is 16 pages long. It presents a completely new mystery to play, and it will probably take two sessions to complete. It is presented well and provides guidance on how to play. I found it a compelling mystery - maybe one of the best they've written -  and may offer to run it if the lockdown continues.

There are five characters, all built ready to interact with illustrations. Certainly look better than the D&D Starter Set characters.

This is a good introduction. If you bought it, and like the game then you won't feel burnt as the dice and map values more than cover the set's costs and buying the core book is the next logical step. If you didn't like it, then you've really only got some funky dice from it.

You can buy it on pre-order here.

Recommended.

*As I write this, Fria Ligan are offering a 20% discount on orders for the UK as their agents aren't shipping due to COVID-19. This means that the shipping costs are pretty much eliminated. The PDFs typically take 2 days to arrive via DTRPG.
Ironically, this was withdrawn on the day I posted this as they resumed shipping.

26 April 2020