This setting combines hard SF in the vein of 2300 AD and Transhuman Space with quite an original use of the Cthulhu Mythos, this is most definitely not CthulhuTech 2.0! Interestingly for a setting with fantasy and magic the technology seems entirely plausible, no warp drives, the setting takes place in the Solar System and if you want gravity on a spaceship you need centrifugal force. It captures the look and feel of sf horror classics like Event Horizon and Aliens nicely with its claustrophobic setting. I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment

I stumbled onto CthulhTech through an event listing at GenCon a couple of years ago and fell in love with the idea sight-unseen. I bought the core book and that instant attraction was reinforced. The book is orderly, well written and lavishly illustrated. There are many pieces of quality fiction to help share the flavor of the game and setting. And I don't care.

The game itself is more attractive than the sexy way it's presented. No, really, it is. The Framewerk mechanic is a fun twist on dice pool mechanics. The skills are well thought out and the mechanics work.

Mecha and Lovecraft may not seem like a natural fit but in CthulhuTech it works brilliantly. Grau and McKay have written a rich setting and sensible history.

Now for my complaint. Man, it is HARD to run this game and keep the stories properly balanced between horror and action. What make the setting and fiction great is the tension, fear and detail, all of which are hard to maintain in actual game play. When it works, it's great. When it doesn't it's only slightly above average.

I'd say CthulhuTech is money well spent, buy this game.

Buy this, it's cheap and it is the single most complete setting I've read, and that says a lot considering how many influences are combined. It's simply awesome. Dice mechanics are unique, fair, and fluff-fitting. Plus it's like you're getting two games in one, future Call of Cthulhu and GIANT MECHS! It's awesome!

This is an excellent game setting with a great deal of background material.

At first impression I had misgivings at game designers trying to have so many influences in one game.

Yet the developers did it, and did it well with great attention to detail.

You have anime-style (re:Guyver) over the top monsters and heroes in a Lovecraftian future cyberpunk setting with mecha, magic, psychics and more. I already have every book in hardcover. I'm gradually building up my pdf library.

This is definitely a must have in my book. Even if you don't play the system, I'd get the books for the setting :)

You enjoy your sci-fi, but you also have a hankering for horror. Maybe your Delta Green campaign just didn't have heavy enough weapons for your taste. Well, someone put your Cthulhu in my Traveller, and the combo is awesome!

I really enjoying working my way thru the Chthonian Stars Core Setting for Traveller. It's not a mash-up I would have thought up on my own, but its a very good match. The books is full of short fiction, which normally I can't stand, but in this case it is very evocative of the setting and a good tool to engage the reader.

It scales down the default Traveller setting to just our (now fully colonized) solar system, and I think the change in scale works very well in making the horror more immediate.

Character generation is changed a bit from regular (Mongoose) Traveller, as many careers have been adjusted to the new setting. New space ships, which makes sense, as they are made for traversing the solar system.

We are given three short adventures, which is nice, but I would have appreciated a page or two of adventure seeds. Maybe I missed them, as flipping thru a PDF does have disadvantages over print.

Overall, I'm very excited by the Chthonian Stars Core Setting. I might find a use for my Traveller core rulebook now. If nothing else, the setting book deserves a second read thru.

Let me start with saying that I am a lover of nearly all things Cthulhu but that I have never played Traveller (in any of its incarnations). All the same I was very excited to see this release and hoped that I could use the material in a space themed CoC game. I have read a couple of the Miskatonic University imprints and liked those but found them lacking for building a campaign. After having read Chthonian Stars I find my review barely creeping into four stars (to my surprise as much as any one's). Let me clarify and say that the writing is great, the art very well done, the layout professional and easy to use. Yet...what I feel I got was a Traveller book with a little Mythos dashed in. Not the other way around. It is never fair to compare one game to another but in this case I think it is appropriate. Cthulhutech (while dismissed by some) is a science fiction setting infused with the mythos. Chthonian Stars seems to have it tacked on. Short of the fiction the Mythos doesn't even appear until nearly the end of the book. The "section" on magic is basically "make up some rules on magic that fit your game. Player characters shouldn't use magic." The horror check system seems very thin. Where in games that are horror themed (particularly Mythos games) sanity loss is an integral part. Most of the fiction from Mythos stories illustrates the erosion of the protagonist's mind. The creatures were ok but brief. A mere single page write up. For a core book that may assume you have never played a Mythos game before there seems to be many creatures missing, perfect for extraterrestrial games (Moon Beasts, Byakhee, Chthonians, Dimensional Shambler, Formless Spawn oh I could just go on and on). At the same time the inclusion of some creatures that have no fictional origin (Seethari, Terofex, Nyphelous???) and seem more like typical sci-fi baddies. Planets and moons get a scant two page write up with mostly hints of "dark goings on". In conclusion I would definitely say there is stuff I will use. It seems this idea could very cool with more development. The upcoming release of The Void may rememdy all this and thus you may want to wait for that release. If you wanted a different take on a Traveller game still confined to the Sol solar system this would probably be a direct hit. On sale the price makes this pretty good to mine for ideas, even for just a basic hard sci-fi game. For hard core Cthulhu nuts wanting a alternative to Cthulhutech wait for The Void.

I have to admit to coming to Chthonian Stars with a low expectation. I disliked a lot about the Cthulhutech line but thought that there might be a few things I could rip out of Stars. I was wrong. It's blooming brilliant. My read through (OK I admit to not having played it yet) convinced me that this was written by someone who loves both the Mythos and the Traveller universe. Reasonable ficltion, good artwork, and a whole lot of good ideas about what happens when the dark stars are almost right.

the best thing about this book is the spells and artifacts the fiction is also very well done in this novel as well.

Cthonian Stars is Cthulhu in Space. The premise is the arrival of a "Cthonian Star" which is emitting a strange energy which is awakening the slumbering Cthulhu Mythos creatures. It uses the Mongoose Traveller system, and requires that you own the Traveller Core rulebook. I always like the excellent writing and artwork in Wildfire products. Cthonian Stars is no exception.

This product would have received 5 Stars from me, except for the following issues:

The problems I have with Cthonian Stars: For one, it gives almost zero information on the colonies your characters are supposed to be investigating. With the Traveller world building rules in place, this should not have been a problem for them. Perhaps it will come out in an update. Another problem was, when I sent two questions to the creators on their website, they never responded. Both questions were setting related, and I thought, important enough to be answered. No answer. So I put Cthonian Stars away, even though I bought the Traveller Core Rulebook just to run it, and will focus my Sci-fi Horror attention elsewhere. I also tried to join the forums for this game, but was never admitted by the admins. Perhaps they are all on vacation?

The price is right, and it is nice, but do not expect support from its creators. You are on your own!

I´m completley satisfied with it. Cthulhu (-tech) goes Space Opera.

Enter a world rich and strange - even the cover art suggests this even before you read a word! But it's stranger - and scarier - that you might imagine. The opening piece of fiction sets the scene: a heady mix of warfare, implacable enemies, fighting machines... and yet at the core human beings, maybe a bit different but still real people who care, who love, who hate... and have nightmares afterwards.

Then Chapter 1 bids us Welcome. Welcome to a near-future alternate world in which giant mecha, magic, technology and unspeakable horror are melded together mixing That Which Should Not Be with hopes, harboured by all who go to war, that better times are just around the corner. It begins by explaining unfamiliar terms, both those of role-playing and those specifically for this setting. Now obscure references in the opening fiction become clear - not, alas, the sidebar text, small black text on a strident and messy dark pink background is not conducive to clarity: rather a shock in a work where excellent design is otherwise evident. Many of the references are familiar if you happen to read Lovecraft - Cthulhu himself, and many of the cults and dark gods that lurk around - and others if you care for anime and mecha in general. It moves on to detail some of the sources that inspired this game, and which in turn may also inspire players of it. Fascinating, while many games give a reference list, here there are notes about what in the game was inspired and drew upon each work mentioned.

Next comes Chapter 2: That Was Then, This Is Now presents a 'historical' timeline starting about now, and postulating a future in which what we've already read has come to pass. Political bickering is commonplace, but who would think the seeds of this alternate future were sown by a translation of an ancient German treatise that inspired a graduate student of mathematics to explore strange geometries? A seeming golden era of new technology is soon blighted by alien invasion guided by a truly weird race, the Migou, who live on Pluto and feel threatened by humanity's rapid development... so create an entire bioengineered alien 'species' to do the invading for them, complete with a fabricated backstory about where they came from and what they want. These 'Nazzadi' eventually rebel and join forces with humans, while worshippers of unspeakable deities explore rituals to bring their gods back to life and corporations seek profit and a world government arises grabbing all control from everyone else... and out of this nightmare comes the alternate reality in which the game is set. A frightenly coherent account that just could happen, did the more mystical bits have any basis in reality.

The timeline is followed by more detailed discussion of the global New Earth Government - which is actually a quite enlightened one in which an individual is judged solely on merit, with none of the baggage about race, gender, sexuality, and the like. This moves on rapidly to an explanation of the current workings of the NEG armed forces, and next the Ashcroft Foundation and arcanotechnology - the science/magic fusion based on the works of that long-insane graduate student (who was called Ashcroft...) - are examined. Some claim the Foundation controls the government, they are at best intricately entwined. Throughout this part of the chapter, sidebar boxes contain rumours - if you can read them - which can spawn adventures or entire plotlines.

Next comes another organisation, the Engel Project. Only some half-dozen years old, its effects are already profound. Through arcane ritual and technology, they've developed the Engels - a fusion of human operator and living construct, made up of both organic and artificial mecha-like components. Due to the construct's innate aggressiveness, each human operator needs implants attuned to a specific Engel to control it adequately, else it can run amok! Then another major corporation is explored, the Chrysalis Corporation - which has the slight problem of having been infiltrated and taken over by a cult called the Children of Chaos with their own occult agenda. Using the ancient Rite of Transfiguration ordinary mortal humans are turned into shapeshifting monsters called Dhohanoids... and if that's not enough, they're opposed by the Eldritch Society who likewise wield occult powers in an attempt to get their own way! They also transform dedicated members, into what are called Tager, melded with transdimension symbionts to form what might best be regarded as a living mecha. Rounding up with a run-down of the Nazzdi, the Migou themselves and information about lifestyles and attitudes of the civilian population of Earth, the chapter presents an evocative glimpse of the world in which your character will live, a considered and detailed setting within which it is already apparent that a multitude of stories can be told.

Chapter 3: The Art of the Game begins to look at how it all works. Here is a wealth of detail about how storytelling, role-playing games are played. It's just a couple of pages, but one of the more accessible and clear descriptions of just what you are letting yourself in for that I've read in a long time!

So, onto the meat of the thing as Chapter 4: Framewerk explains the core rule mechanics that underly this game. It's a cinematic system based on d10s, with the basic concept that the higher the number, the better. Like any system, the fundemental bit is how you resolve the outcome of whatever action it is your character is trying to perform. All the rest is fine-tuning and explanation of how the resolution is reached. In Framewerk this is called a Test, which has a Degree and a Difficulty, assigned by the Storyguide (GM) based on how hard the thing the character wants to do is, and the circumstances in which the attempt is being made. You use your character's most appropriate Attribute as the Base, and then add dice equal to his expertise in whichever of his Skills is most relevant. If you have a specialisation within that Skill that is aimed at the task being attempting you may get a bonus die or two. Roll the dice and try to beat the Difficulty... but there are THREE ways you can read your dice! Take the highest single roll in the handful. Or take the number that's been rolled most often and add them together (i.e. if you rolled two 4s, you've got 8). Or you can add up the components of a 'straight' (run of consecutive numbers). Add the number you come up with - whichever method you pick - to your Base, and see if you've got over the Difficulty (but watch out for 1s, they're bad news!). There are plenty of examples to show you how it all works, and discussions of exceptions and variations, but once you've got this core concept you should be up and running.

Next, Chapter 5: Alter Ego explains how to create a character. Before you start codifying him in numbers, of course, you'll need to decide on the underlying concept: race, profession, which groups he belongs to or allegiances he might hold... which may be best discussed with other players and with the Storyguide, who may already have a plot in mind so will need characters who will fit in. But you start the creation process, once these matters have been decided, by picking your character's 'Defining Characteristics' - two things, one good (a Merit) and one not (a Flaw), that sum him up. He might be courageous but lazy, generous but irreverent... that sort of thing. Next, determine his Attributes - is he smart, strong, etc.? - the innate abilites and characteristics that he has, on a 1-10 scale using a point buy system, 35 points to divide between six Attributes. Then he needs to be kitted out with Skills, again using point-buy. So character creation is a matter of choice rather than chance. Some 'skill packages' are provided, reflecting the likely skills an individual in that trade might have, or you can pick from a comprehensive master list. A good 2-page summary is provided to lead you through the process, while the rest of the chapter looks at the fine detail. Right at the end of the process, there's a further point-buy customisation option called Cheats, where you can tweak virtually anything. Then there's a bunch of questions to help you turn the character from a sheet-full of numbers into a person ready to play. Summaries of options available and the mechanism for improving your character through play and experience are also discussed.

Next, Chapter 6: Skillz covers the skills available including ways in which they can be used during the game. Chapter 7: Qualities does the same service for the Assets and Drawbacks which you can choose to manipulate the points available for skill purchase during character creation. Learn how to make them a part of his behaviour and style rather than mere words on the character sheet. A good start is to come up for the reason why he has the specific asset or drawback you've chosen.

Chapter 8: The Way of the Future looks at the technological advances that have taken place and examines the sort of equipment, weapons, and tools that are available. Possibly the most dramatic development has been that of cheap energy, revolutionsing everything from transportation to manufacturing. But this isn't a just mere 'shopping list' of future tech your character can collect, it is a wide-ranging almost philosophical treatise on how such advances have changed society, and provides important resources to help in the creation of the 'alternate reality' in which your characters will exist.

All RPGs involve combat, and this one is certainly no exception! Chapter 9: Life, Death and Madness explores every aspect from conducting a brawl to healing resulting injury, as well as dealing with the consequences of illness and other natural hazards characters might encounter. A fight is handled turn by turn, with characters acting in initiative order, resolving each action they take when it is their go. Multiple actions can occur, but each character gets one before those capable of more can act again in the same round, and any character can take a defensive action against a direct attack even after he's performed all the actions he's capable of in a round (unless he's been taken by surprise, of course). Laid out it sound clunkier than it actually is once you get a few characters and try it out. There's plenty of detail here to cover most eventualities, and many of the physical activities - like climbing and running - that characters will wish to engage in. Mecha combat is handled separately, but follows the same general concepts, although they go to the repair shop rather than the hospital afterwards. As we're dealing with Things That Should Not Be in this game, there are also rules for fear and insanity. Gibber. Fortunately, psychiatric treatment is quite advanced in this future, so there is hope for characters sent round the bend by what they've encountered in the game.

Next, Chapter 10: The New War Machine gets to grips with matters mecha. Starting with the claim that the invention of mecha brought about the greatest change to warfare since the invention of gunpowder, the chapter looks at the mecha on both sides, and at the underlying components that go to make one up. The Tager are included, even though they aren't strictly speaking mecha but symbionts, as they work pretty much the same way. The components used in mecha construction are presented so that gearheads will find it easy to design their own, if they don't want to use the standard ones outlined here... and there are plenty of them!

Combat gearheads hopefully satisfied for now, Chapter 11: Blasphemous Whispers looks at the rise of magick, and the art of the sorcerer. To start with, the study and use of magick is controlled and licenced, and - as a short piece of fiction emphasises - you can get in trouble if caught dabbling without the proper authorisation. However, if you are content to operate within the rules, you can take magick courses at college and seek employment with the government or private corporations, just like those who prefer more mundane areas of study. Those who study magick are soon immersed in strange and ancient languages, multiple dimensions and long-lost dark gods. They'll find, of course, that not all rituals or magickal tomes can be obtained legally - the government maintains that those it restricts or bans are just too dangerous to let anyone have. And mostly that's true, magick is a deadly art. A collection of some of the books that you might encounter in the course of your studies is presented here in a common format... most are illegal, at least in their uncensored form. And then on to the rules for magick. It's all done by rituals, no simple handwave and a couple of words. Still there are plenty of things you can do, and a wealth of spells to acquire and learn... and a scary list of things that can go wrong during spellcasting!

Next is Chapter 12: Unspeakable Horrors. Now the Cthulhu Mythos has always been crawling with them... but in this future many such nightmares have crawled out of the pages of literature and legend and walk the earth, and this chapter contains the details the Storyguide needs to handle them when they do. Vile as they may be, some of the illustrations are quite beautiful, strangely evocative - unlike the boring mecha ones - but suffer a few layout problems sometimes obscuring parts of the text. Most of these dark creatures have allegiance to one or other faction, and there are some helpful hints for using them to good - scary - effect in your game, from the way in which you indicate their presence or describe them to the rule mechanics for engendering fear in the characters. They ought never to become everyday, commonplace, however badly you have decided your world is infested by them.

Introduced by a spectactular piece of chase/combat fiction, next is Chapter 13: Vehicular Homicide. Technological advances have revolutionised vehicle design, or at least, the way in which they are powered. You still have a range of transport devices from motorcycles and cars through trucks, bulk personnel carriers and the like, as well as those vehicles designed for war, though: and there are details of a sufficient selection to fill the roads of your world given here. Many merge ground and air capabilities, and weapons and armour are common additions.

It may seem that everything about the world has been described in considerable detail already, yet Chapter 14: Parting the Veil is marked for the Storyguide alone and launches off into the secret history of the world. The stuff that's gone before is the 'common knowledge' of the times, but not completely accurate... and despire conspiracy theorists, some of it isn't actually known to anyone: well, unless they're the Storyguide! So here's the low-down, who the various players are (especially the really powerful ones classed as 'gods'), secret places, other dimensions and eldritch power are all discussed. One delight is a rationale for why stars have so much significance for ritualists and astrologers... apparently they serve as rips or portals between the dimensions, as well as being the balls of burning gases which science describes. The sources and inspiration for this 'world view' are a cunning blend of Lovecraft, the Hebrew Kabbalah and Gnostic beliefs, and the authors wisely state that it's fiction and not intended to reflect reality or disrespect any other religious beliefs.

This leads neatly on to Chapter 15: The Honoured Guide. Some of the advice herein is relevant whatever game you GM, and other bits are specifically honed towards running CthulhuTech in particular. There's a handy checklist of what a GM needs to do before, during and between game sessions, which encapsulates what you're taking on neatly. Advice on focussing on the player-characters is followed by quite detailed - and useful - material on crafting good stories from the structural point of view: it's easy to have a neat plotline, but can be harder to deliver it in a manner that will engage your players over several weeks or months. Ways of handling this structure in the heroic/mythic style and methods of involving themes from the diverse inspirations for this game are covered, it's quite a fascinating read - and shows that blending anime and eldritch horror CAN work if you think about it the right way. There are many different stories to tell, depending on what areas you and your group want to explore, and there are plenty of suggestions to get you started (and to make me reach for the plotbook even before I finish writing this review!). There's also hints about designing and running the Supporting Cast (NPCs) and awarding experience to your players and overseeing character advancement. This is followed by Chapter 16: The Population - a ready-made bunch of NPCs all ready to go.

Introduced by a 'news report' (which incorporates some of the preceding bits of fiction) Chapter 17: War, Fear and Vendetta presents a couple of ready-made scenarios to get your game going, as well as some story seeds to spark ideas for your own adventures. The first is called Death and Victory and sends mecha pilot characters on a quest to retrieve an artefact of arcane power. There's plenty of opportunity for role-play as well as combat, including a neat way to ensure that players are comfortable with mecha combat before getting to the meat of the adventure. The format is crisp, with key points clearly given and significant individuals and events laid out, yet loose enough to allow the Storyguide to take the framework and run with it. However, unlike the rest of the book, this section could do with some proofreading, it's littered with annoying grammatical errors. For those preferring a game based around the Eldritch Society and its search for the unknown, rather than mecha, the second adventure Hot Merchantise is provided. Again brawling and interaction are reasonably balanced as the characters search for another arcane artefact, and this adventure is open-ended enough to serve as the beginning of an extended campaign. Both are set in the Pacific Northwest region - if like me you don't know it, Google Maps are your friend. Each story hook is designed for a different type of game, so whatever you fancy there should be something for you (or some scope to help you decide your preferences).

Stylishly-presented and with great internal consistency, this game is ripe with possibilities for all manner of play styles in a dark future, and is especially recommended if you like gothic horror in a modern setting with a spot of wild anime action, perhaps an unlikely mix but one which works surprisingly well.

Ancient Enemies is one of the must have very soon book, like Mortal remains. The core book is to vague in how stuff are, some like it like that and ac tually think Ctech is better by only using core and vade mecum, good for them. me I like the add ons very much. Some think the dhoanoids are a bit to generic evil, but that suits the faction, its hard not to see them as the bad guy. Eldritch gets a very nice overview, and must say that I love the imagry of their inner sanctums. Metamorphosis is good, though the "roleplaying" requierments is a bit over the top with the exp cost, but it seems fun, when that time comes I shal see what my players think of it.

This book was much needed. I'm really not a gear head, but for some games a good detailed book is a must have. A few mistakes in the book as Migou heavy armor is 3/3 and not 2/2 as its medium one. And the only downer is that it reference things as after damnation view. Please, keep the meta only in the story books. otyherwise a very good en enjoyful equipment book with a nice turn on sorcery.

This lushly-presented - and free - set of Quick Start Rules serves as an elegant introduction to CthulhuTech, providing all you need to run an introductory game to see if it is something that will appeal to you and your group. Interestingly, the copyright notice allows free distribution of the document, so unlike many such products you can pass copies out yourself legally rather than sending interested parties off to download their own copies.

The work opens with an Introduction that explains the setting - an alternate reality near-future version of this world, that came about when a doctoral student began experimenting with multi-dimensional mathematics, leading to the blend of magic and technology called arcanotechnology. Oh, and she went mad in the process! Amongst the benefits of arcanotechnology, it also attracted the attention of an alien race called the Migou, who live on Pluto... who decided that those pesky humans were now becoming a threat and must be dealt with. Not having many warlike skills of their own, they created a race of genetically-engineered human-like beings, who were doing quite well until the realisation of how similar they were to human beings hit them and they rebelled against their Migou masters. Unfortunately by then the Migou had developed martial powers of their own... and of course, there's a whole lot of other stuff going on as well, occult lore about dark gods who by some timely (or is that untimely?) freak of celestial mechanics have chosen now to wake up and take an interest. And everyone is fighting for the future that they would like to see, for their own survival.

The next part is Playing the Game. Here we learn that the intent is to provide a complete alternate reality in which a multitude of games can be played, from out-and-out warfare using armoured battlesuits - mecha - to clandestine conspiracies in the shadows, using magic or psychic powers or stealth or violence to accomplish your aims. Each book published will have complete adventures and plot hooks to enable you to weave the tales that you and your group want to tell. However, there is mention of an overarching metaplot that will be developed over time: but it is something that you can use as a central part of your game, have as background, or ignore completely.

Next is an introduction to Framewerk, the core rule mechanic for CthulhuTech. It's quite straightforward, using a number of d10s rolled against a Difficulty in a Test whenever your character tries to do something that might go wrong (and when the outcome has plot significance), the higher your roll the better. The number of d10s you roll depends on the character's relevant Attributes (raw abilities) and Skills, chosen as appropriate for the task to hand. The 'Storyguide' (Game Master) determines the Difficulty. But then it gets interesting: there are different ways of determining your result! You can take the highest number rolled out of all the dice, you can add all dice that roll the same number together, or you can use a 'straight' (consecutive numbers) and add them. Then compare your result with the Difficulty... hoping there weren't any ones in your rolls, as they tend to lead to Bad Things... There's a bit more to it even here, and plenty more in the Core Rulebook, but this gives some idea.

Right, having grasped that, and decided who's going to be the Storyguide, everyone else needs a character. A brief run down of races and professions available is given, as well as an explanation of attributes and skills: then there's an outline of how combat works. It's turn-based, with characters determining initiative to decide order, then saying what they want to do and rolling as appropriate. This section winds up with a few notes on other activities like climbing, wounds and healing... and what happened when a character gets scared! And scared he will get: there are many things out there that can send you crazy, never mind just terrify you!

The rest of the book is an adventure, complete with four pre-generated characters to play in it. There is plenty of contextual information so that the Storyguide can understand what is going on even if he hasn't read any other CthulhuTech material, and the characters are supposed to at least begin pretty much in the dark! They have a mission to carry out, which needless to say doesn't go quite to plan... with plenty of atmosphere and detail to make this new alternate reality come to life, as well as giving the players opportunity to try out the Framewerk system as they use different skills and abilities to complete their mission. Stealth, observation, chases, investigation, negotiation and brawling will be covered, a good workout to build understanding of how the game works, while the climax of the adventure is a ritual that must be stopped... Classic stuff that whets the appetite for more.

Each character comes complete with detailed background and an explanation of his particular skills as well as a character sheet. The opposition is also given in detail. And all illustrated and laid out in the distinctive style of the game line, a feast for the eye as well!

Overall it's a good introduction to both game system and setting, and if it doesn't leave you wanting more - well, at least you know this game isn't for you. Me, I'll reach for the next book...

This beautifully illustrated 50-page Quick-Start download contains setting background, rules of play, character generation rules and pregenerated characters, and an adventure. Not bad for free download! You can take advantage of the PDF format by printing out the appropriate sections for your players, while keeping the GM-only information for yourself.