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Carbon Grey RPG - Foes and Factions expansion
by Nate L. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 06/20/2022 23:28:33

Useful? Yes, but at 48 pages total (inclusive of cover pages, table of contents, all the filler/spacer pages), it's not the kind of PDF that says, "I'm overflowing with stuff you don't need."

About half the book is dedicated to personas from the comics, including the 4 Grey sisters... so if you're shying away from the comics, this might not be that useful. If you're looking for a condensed read of the characters in one spot, then this might be what you're looking for. And it includes very key characters such as: The Kaiser Hind von Medeim, Queen Alena Zakarhin von Medeim (don't ask me why she's a "Queen" and not "Kaiserin"), The Lord High Marshal/Wolf General, and other characters from the comics.

If you're looking to add these figures into your stories, then you're in luck. Half the PDF is dedicated to them. The background information is probably of more use than the stats, for the most part. d6 never struck me as a game system where you hunt down the biggest enemies possible to compare stats (unlike Dungeons & Dragons).

The rest of the book?

About 10 pages of additional information on the setting, which is basically more regional information that is very very similar to the layout/presentation of the main powers in the Carbon Grey RPG book. Don't expect a lot of excess description. It's a couple pages at most on these countries, like the Turkul Empire (i.e. the Ottoman Turks of the setting). Having the info is great, especially if you want your game to detour into the Ottoman/Turkul Empire... but it's brief. It's enough to create something from, but don't expect extensive backgrounds and maps and other details.

The third part (`8 pages) is a section of general NPC stats, again similar to what you have in the main Carbon Grey RPG rulebook... but simply more of them. More stat blocks is goood. The stat blocks give you general ideas of who they are for your setting... so "Rival, Solo" Sniper instantly tells you what kind of use this stat block is for, just like the stat blocks in the main rulebook. "Rival Leader" Purge Officer, "Solo, Rival" Hitman, "Solo, Rival" Manipulative Elite, and "Solo, Rival" Peerless Ace give you some ideas of what to expect from this section. This is definitely very useful reference material.

Last is a single page with a set of 6 random Espionage adventure hooks (i.e. roll d6, get a hook). Useful but brief.

Overall, you can say this book is "useful but brief". Half of the book is stats I don't really need, but the character info is actually quite useful in fleshing out the world even if you don't intend to use the NPCs like the Kaiser in actual play. It's good setting information, but through a character lens.

The setting info about factions & world powers? It's merely okay. It doesn't expand on the formula in the main rulebook, which is very brief and gives you enough to get a sense of the world... but making the world is left up to you. (If you like the loose setting in the main book, then this is fine. If you need more direction, then don't expect it here.)

The most useful section, with stat blocks for various general NPC types? It's the shortest section of the book. I find it very useful, but it's brief.

Overall, a good book. You'll want to get it if you're interested in this game... but it's not jam-packed with stuff. It takes a clever GM to make maximum use of most of the book outside of the generic NPC stat blocks & the one Espionage table.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Carbon Grey RPG - Foes and Factions expansion
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Carbon Grey RPG - The Role Playing Game Core Rule Book
by Nate L. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 06/09/2022 23:04:18

While the game is based in a diesel-punk, manga-style Europe, the setting isn't heavily wrapped up in the story and mythology of the comics... so, unlike other licensed games where the existing story (usually a movie) hamstrings the storytelling, Carbon Grey floats on its own. (And maybe you can use the space-time surges to hand-wave all the differences you want in your timeline.) So, if you're not a huge diehard fan of the comics, that doesn't matter. The comics are pretty, but this game-setting is not hung up on it like some other licensed games.

The game itself? It definitely has a strong WEG d6 Star Wars feeling to it, but with updates and twists to the d6 formula... inspired by other d6 games, along with other RPGs. Some of it is around the mechanics, like the wild dice (which exist in other d6 games). Other additions have more of a narrative effect... like signature items (like from the ALIEN RPG) and a character's obligations to family, nation, etc. For veteran gamers who are fans of d6, there's a lot to like here. It's familiar, yet improved from the old Star Wars days... including character-level and vehicle-level conflicts.

For those who aren't as familiar with d6, this book is well laid out. It's a professional rulebook done by people who have experience writing RPG rulebooks. The content is clear and readable. There are plenty of examples, along with a solo scenario (which is a good way to demonstrate how to play a game) and other example scenarios. The PDF is well laid out.

And, back to the comic books... the art for the RPG is gorgeous, which is a hallmark of Carbon Grey. Amazing manga-style vision of Europe. The preview gives you a taste for it, and the art is consistently used throughout the book. They did a solid job incorporating the comic art, although it couldn't be too difficult with the rich artwork of the Carbon Grey series.

Criticisms? d6 requires some level of math. You have to add up the dice to get your sum total in your dice pool result. (You could solve this by using a digital dice roller... except for the wild dice, which you'd want to roll separately.) It's not a simple roll like a d20, although d20 games tend to burden you with a lot of math, anyway (like all manner of modifiers after the dice roll).

Also, while the game setting strongly suggests stories that involve things like Bloodlines (nobles being different than commoners, for instance) and Ballroom drama, the d6 rules tend to favor physical action. That's what most of the d6 writing is about, going all the way back to d6 Star Wars. Social events without massive gun-fu fights have far less support in d6... so you'll have to make that up on the fly. (Of course, this isn't just an issue with d6. Most RPGs don't say as much about drama that doesn't involve weaponry.)

Now, the game will push you towards things like family and society with your character's obligations, but d6 (and most other rules) are made with a more tactical combat focus in mind... such that even social settings become "social combat".

The only reason why I point this out here is because the setting and material should point you to some level of social drama and espionage... but even more of the material will be pushing you into combat (including so many of the character Archetypes, such as the Devil Dog (Teufel Hund), the Cavalry Scout, the Dragoon, the Trench Fighter, the Shock Trooper, the Hawk-Eyed Sharpshooter). It is a gun-fu comic, though, so some level of physical drama will be expected.

Overall... it's a beautiful book. The work is professionally done, and the updates to the venerable & imminently playable d6 system make a lot of sense. The way they incorporated the licensed material leaves you a lot of room to tell stories (unlike, say, the DUNE RPG, where it's Arrakis or bust). There area ton of archetypes, and the added bits of character should help players personalize their archetype characters even further (which seems like a good borrowed idea from the ALIEN RPG).

This is really well done. If you're not a fan of the comics, you should still find something good here. It's a good example of how a RPG book should be put together, especially a licensed one like Carbon Grey.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Carbon Grey RPG - The Role Playing Game Core Rule Book
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Carbon Grey RPG - Quickstart Guide
by Bob V. G. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/17/2021 21:46:01

This week, I soloed my way through Carbon Grey RPG Quickstart Guide. I used the Mythic Game Master Emulator as the solo engine. It is in a unique setting - a turbulent, dystopian, dieselpunk world at war. I used the five characters that are included with the adventure (this document does not include rules for creating characters). This exciting adventure quest started off with my mercenaries being sent off to kill bad guys and it turned into a tactical rescue mission (Greta and twelve children). My team started with an assortment of weapons, but only two grenades, which were used to create traps. Greta starts off being mortally wounded. Doc was able to stabilize her bleeding. She was then carried by Moon, but he died within the first few minutes. So, the end result, the fighter and spy survived along with two children. The rest of the children were captured. My team was able to wound six guards and kill five of them. Greta did not make it. Maybe you will have better luck. I did add elves to this world. You may ask why. I will say, “Why not?”.

= = This document is 80 pages long = 11 pages for the adventure, 1 map, 15 weapons, and 10 enemy stat blocks. This RPG system uses six-sided dice. The rules for the wild die and hero points are awesome.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Carbon Grey RPG - Quickstart Guide
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