5e player here, and while I won't be adopting all the rules presented, I liked the way darkvision and critical hits were handled in particular. Meanwhile having some cool dungeon hazards all together is useful for those who use a DM folder/screen (can print and keep handy) and the generator tables at hte back are really cool. Well worth picking up!

This is really terrible. Unclear rules, inability to settle on terms in the rules (is it the Narrator or the GM?), unclear examples...just a shoddy, shoddy job. There is a germ of a mechanic here, but it really needs playtesting and fleshing out. Lots of unanswered questions. There is only one example of play and it doesn't answer these questions. Don't waste your money or time on this.

tl;dr

If you're into a more old-school or freeform style that doesn't get bogged down with too many rules, Astonishing Super Heroes is an immaculately clean super hero game and is definitely worth the $5.

Overview

Astonishing Super Heroes (ASH) is a retroclone of TSR's Marvel Super Heroes (MSH) with some minor changes for the sake of streamlining and modernization.

To sum up the game in 2 sentences, ASH is a lean but comprehensive d100 game that utilizes a color-coded matrix table called the Universal Table or "Uni-Table". A Character's Abilities and Powers have "Ranks"; the better the rank, the lower the roll needed to succeed on the Uni-Table.

Using the Uni-Table will take some adjusting for new groups, but ultimately I think it adds a lot of flexibility and variable power levels without the need for a laundry list of bonus/penalty modifiers that some of ASH's contemporaries use.

After spending some time studying the differences between ASH and MSH, I believe ASH's most notable innovations include:

• A revamped experience system (AKA "Karma") that allows for a broader set of incentive goals for your character.

• Brand new Social Interaction rules for when punching isn't necessarily the answer.

Feedback

• The real star of ASH, in my humble opinion, is the superb layout. The rules are presented in a crystal clear way which makes ASH significantly more approachable than its ancestors.

• My only piece of constructive criticism is that there should be an alternate Uni-Table for folks with Red/Green color-blindness. Maybe Blue/Yellow/Red? Or White/Gray/Black? The alternate table could just exist as a downloadable resource and get a brief mention/hyperlink in the book.

Conclusion

In summary, ASH is awesome. I'm super excited to try it out and see how it runs. Great job to all and excelsior!

Tim and his team have really made something to be proud of here. If you like Supers RPGs, GET IT. This is a really fantastic product with impressive clarity and effect of presentation.

I am new to FASERIP but not new to Supers RPGs. I'll go through some of the things I appreciated:

First, Safety Tools & Session Zero are nicely documented. These are new concepts and they are covered well. In my line of work it's become clear that ethics frameworks are a really important thing to make clear when teams get together. They don't have to be a drag, and they can help everybody move beyond huge pitfalls that could easily derail a campaign.

The explanations provided are VERY clear from the start, it's really quite impressive.

The design and illustrations are evocative and pique the imagination. I found myself stopping to think out some of the story concepts they brought to mind.

Summary sections are a big win for this book. Summary sections are not often found in TTRPG books, and in this case they are very helpful. You can't miss much of what's important, and if I understand correctly, using the Summary sections to peruse the books gives new learners a +2R bonus for devouring the content.

The core gameplay mechanics are simple, but include some really interesting additional aspects providing narrative depth.

Some additional included downloads are the Uni-table PDF (a chart to see how well your actions went), the Uni-Table and System Reference, and the Spectacular Origins PDF which goes into some additional options which look really useful, such as "Narrative Character Creation" which is a concept-focused character build method in which one's Primary Abilities "can be eyeballed," which I admit I sometimes like to be acknowledged directly by RPG authors.

Random Character Creation is also in there, and if you like random table crunch, you'll really appreciate this section which has just short of 30 random tables! It looks detailed in a fun and engaging way. I look forward to the upcoming Point Buy, Archetype, and Life Path systems the author mentioned as well.

GM tools and extra profiles are also here.

"Profiles" make a lot of narrative sense and I look forward to trying them out.

The rest of the rules and provisions are also very clear. The Gear, Powers, and Talents sections provide generous and well-organized resources for gameplay.

Overall it's a generous provision that ought to please any gamer. I bought the softcover POD and it is really nice to have. I'm excited to run some tests and play the game. Thanks to Tim & the team behind this new RPG, I look forward to whatever you may have planned for the future.

For the smallest reasonable price you get the best, most concise ideas for running a fantasy rpg on the smallest possible format (a business card, unless you blow it up). The only bad thing about this game is the uncomfortable lump a d6 will make in your wallet (just kidding!).

I am a newbie GM who has only ever run 5e campaigns, both homebrew and official. This resource is wildly fun to play and gives you the framework to run an entire ruleset from one printed page. The DeScriptors RPG system is intuitive, innovative, and flexible. It seems like it would be a blast to do in larger groups (6+ people!) given that it relies heavily on a narrative that includes creative descriptions from the Players. The system's inherent Descriptor/Setback system may take some getting used to but overall the author has prepared exactly what a budding GM needs if they want to tell a story in this world.

If you are unconvinced about running the DeScriptors system, the rest of the resource can EASILY be converted to a 5e system.

• Anything Goes! seems to rely the most on roleplay and may play well for a new group that isn't in the habit of note-taking.

• The Philosopher's Stone is NOT related to a certain boy wizard... This setting looks great for horror-themed campaigns and gives GMs a chance to flex their Lovecraftian chops or go spelunking in a Tomb of Annihilation.

• Ethanol Pop is a flexible setting that can be run as a happy mix of Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Eberron, Dishonored, and Bioshock mixed together with heavy steampunk elements. But why stop at dirigibles? Why not add some Studio Ghibli-type aeroplanes or even Eberron's Lightning Rail? Loads of variety in this setting and it seems to be the most amenable to younger players and anyone that likes lighthearted settings. Philosopher's Stone might run the exact opposite, where it's grounded heavily in reality and it works better for a grimdark narrative...

• The section "Hunters Guild of the Ancient Lands" seems to draw inspiration from Monster Hunter, Final Fantasy, Dark Souls, and other high-fantasy/high-magic worlds. This is the section that can be used as a quick-and-dirty template for a campaign but there are SO many great qualities about this setting that I can't get into them all here, like the Monster trait list. If there's one setting that you would purchase this resource for, it's THIS ONE!!

  • My favorite setting happened to be Cloudreach. Floating sky islands FTW.
• Supermax! is an interesting take on the superhuman genre that mixes preternatural feats of arcane mastery with an opportunity to become this universe's Iron Ch- I mean Titanium Chef! Now that we live in a post-Endgame MCU, this is a great opportunity to run your own Avengers-styled game.

All in all, 5/5 excellent resource. Easy to read, well-formatted, no glaring grammatical issues.

My only suggestions! If you do run a game using this resource, try to keep a crib sheet of ALL the Sample Characters listed in this resource (eg. using the Catgirl Pirate or her attributes from Anything Goes! in the Hunters Guild Setting) for your players. They may need a little help in picking their descriptors - having a word bank handout can help with that.

Also the DeScriptors setting relies heavily on the Descriptor/Setback system. A brand-new GM might not know how to weave "Insightful", "Wise", "Old", or "Magical" into their narrative if they've never used a system that strictly defined those attributes. But it certainly gives smarter players an edge! This system will definitely test your players' improv skills as much as it tests yours.

Happy Hunting!

When Tim was looking for reviewers over on the ol Twitter, Sebs actually connected us and when he described The Darkness Beneath Dalentown I got very excited. I'm usually not big into dungeon crawls, but this had such an OSR vibe to it that I really dove in and loved the feel of the encounters and narrative. I thought the pacing was good and the mini-bestiary at the back on oozes and jellies and slimes was fantastic.

However, I do think there are some things holding this adventure back from its full potential, and they are mostly design choices. I really think that it was benefiting from its OSR feel early in the book, but the addition of color maps and art threw it for a loop and completely ruined that feel for me. The font choice also feels very clinical and off-putting, not really honing in on that grungy fantasy feel. And I really would stress some sort of background - whether it be a color or the traditional parchment feel - to make this book complete.

Overall, The Darkness Beneath Dalentown is an adventure designed for OSR lovers and first-time players, but once you open the pages it falls short. Sure, the adventure itself is a really great pulpy dungeon-crawl with suspense, intrigue, and drama - but the lack of visual and design cohesion really stopped it in its tracks for me. I think with some hefty design updates, this will turn into an overall fantastic piece.

Comics, Clerics, & Controllers d20 Roll: 10

When I first looked at this, I got a bit concerned that I’d struggle with what to say about it. In a nutshell, DeScriptors isn’t for the gamer who likes a lot of crunchy mechanics or excessive tracking. However, it is perfect for those who favor an emphasis on improvisation (comedic or otherwise), narrative, and sitting down to play a game without pouring through several source books for a handful of unique ideas. If that’s you, grab this game and get started. You can play this with a pencil and a notepad and nothing more. If you have an eidetic memory, you wouldn’t even need that much.

Read more: https://www.nonzerosumgames.com/descriptors-a-word-game-micro-rpg/

This ticks all the boxes for me. I love adventures that foreground a specific kind of monster. In this case, it's oozes, and pretty much all the oozes are here.

The location also works for me. The author encourages you to locate downturn in your own setting (which, as someone who runs a homebrew world, I really appreciate), but on the other hand, the town is developed enough that I don't feel like I need to rebuild.

The adventure hook is intriguing, and includes a previous adventuring party who tried (and failed) to clear the dungeon. The survivors of this party are still milling about town as NPCs, and provide ample opportunity for the players to get information through role-playing. It occurs to me that this failed party could also be a teaching tool. If your players are not used to old-school gaming, they could learn a lot from the previous party's mistakes.

And while subterranean ruins full of oozes would be worth the cover price in and of itself, the module's main villain is a more complex and intelligent, with a great backstory and motivation, bringing in the Faceless Lord of Oozes himself. And while the demon lord (rightly) doesn't make a direct appearance, this adventure could easily lead into direct conflict with him later, at a suitably high level of play.

And to add further complications, there are two other factions at work in the dungeon, making it possible for the players to choose sides, gain allies, play groups against each other, or just die fighting a war on three fronts.

Particularly exciting is the optional mechanic for stocking the abandoned library with potentially valuable, powerful, or dangerous books. Left entirely to the DM's option, this section can be used to reward players for through searching, punish them for pointless dallying (some of the books are cursed, and searching provokes Random Encounter rolls), or a little of both.

If this module has a flaw, it's that the maps were created using Dungeonographer, and show the aesthetic limitations of that system. But I use that program myself, so I can't really fault the author there. Also, the bulk of the oozes were taken from Tome of Horrors Complete, and it might have been nice to see some completely original monsters.

Basically, if you love oozes and sewers and diseased rats, this is a short, tight, but well structured module you can easily drop into your existing campaign and even use as a springboard for further encounters with slimes and the demon lord who rules them.ThisThis ticks all the boxes for me. I love adventures that foreground a certain type of monster, in this case, oozes. And this adventure uses pretty much all of them.