This is awesome! I REALLY like the wide array of powers that are available at level 1. So many Superhero games struggle to give enough power to beginning superheroes for them to actually feel heroic.

The Origins and the Gift/Power/Limit/Issue distinctions are particularly good.

I noticed several instances were the editing and proofreading were subpar, but it's generally easy to determine what was meant.

I particularly liked that it was built for ascending AC. Many OSR games are built so that you need to roll a 20 or higher to hit, after ADDING the opponents AC. This never made sense to me: it is far easier to do the "modern" way of comparing the attack's result to the enemy's AC. Additionally, I don't know why so many OSR games (SWN, Beyond the Wall, and others) feel like the old way of determining saving throws by rolling LOW is a good idea. I think Guardians is very wise to take the modern method (where players always want to roll high).

Cool game. Worth picking up for OSR retroclone collectors.

Here's a review I did on youtube of the POD version:

https://youtu.be/jh_SlUvMQIQ

Warriors of the Red Planet is an excellent product in every respect. Its design is clearly a tribute to both the classic Sword & Planet authors and the old D&D white box (the original set of rules), complete with wonderful black-and-white illustrations throughout by Thomas Denmark. Al Krombach's writing is clear and descriptive, and the ruleset he's created is more than sufficient to get a GM and his or her players through a campaign set in whatever Sword & Planet world you desire. The text is also simply entertaining to read in its own right. If you are looking for a ruleset that lovingly pays tribute to classic D&D and Edgar Rice Burroughs' imagination, this book is a must, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Guardians!

This is an absolute dazzler of a game that packs in more detail and flavour into its humble 97 pages than I've seen in many supers rpgs more than three times it's size.

Based on the OSR, players are encouraged to 'roll up' their traditional set of six stats (you know the ones!), picking a superheroic origin (which each grant different numbers of powers, gifts and issues) and then a class (Bruiser, Gadeteer, Super Agent & Power Wielder). From here they can choose or roll from tables of gifts (what would be considered 'perks' or 'advantages' in other supers games) and list of powers, which are all arranged into themes for convenience and inspiration. Struggling for an idea? Just make a roll and see what the dice decide. The number of powers available is very extensive; you're covered for most every idea you could conceive of including all the standard popular options. In addition to this, you'll find a selection of power advantages which tweek the way that a power works. This is the area that I thought may be lacking in such a small book, but I was happy to be proven wrong.

On top of an excellent character generation system there are ideas for supers campaigning and a selection of NPCs which could be used to get a game going straight away. Is there anything I forgot to mention? Characters also have a number of issues (disadvantages), rules for NPC creations, gadget creation rules, equipment lists and a brilliant apendix which has tables covering base design and scenario creation.

I simply can't find any fault with Guardians. It is a concise, detailed and well-written rpg that easily stands up to most other popular supers rpgs on the market. It's easy to understand and allows for creation of well-rounded characters with none of the headaches associated with point-buy systems. I'd recommend it even if you're not particularly an OSR fan. For this price you're getting a lot of mutants for your money!

I look forward to seeing more from Night Owl Workshop.

I have gone on the record, many, many times, talking about how much I love monster books. My first glimpse into D&D was way back in 1978-79 when I first saw and read the Monster Manual. Very few books have come close to that feeling of unlimited potential. So when a new monster book comes out, I have to take a look and usually grab it.

Beasties from Night Owl Workshop has something of a pedigree in my mind. The art and text are from none other than +Thomas Denmark. He is responsible for some of my favorite art during the d20 boom, in particular Citizen Games "Way of the Witch".

Beasties is an 84 page, digest sized, black and white interior book of new monsters. According to the sales text on DriveThru the book contains: 27 Monsters 6 NPC's 37 Drawings! 5 Maps 1 "Megadungeon" sample.

It certainly punches above its weight class in terms of monsters and content. All the art is by Denmark himself, as is the text with additional text by Terry Olsen.

The book is designed for "Original Fantasy Rules" but plenty of conversion notes are given for OSRIC and Basic Fantasy. There are also some conversion notes for Nite Owl Workshop's other games Colonial Troopers, Guardians and Warriors of the Red Planet.

Monsters are typically presents with stats and description on one page and the art on the next. Many of the monsters have a distinct "old school" or even pulpy feel about them. Indeed, I certainly can see many of these working great with WotRP above. There are a lot of new undead monsters to add some interesting challenges to your players too.

I love the "Flying Locust Citadel" to be honest. There are just not enough flying mega-dungeons in D&D as far as I am concerned.

Plus the entire work is released as "Open" under the OGL so that is a nice touch.

Bookmarks in the PDF would have been nice as well as a table of contents. All in all a good book for the price.

Sinderan Witches Of course, these two caught my attention right away. I'd love to hear more about "Sinder's ancient past" and how these two groups of witches came to be. I'd also love to hear how the "Sinderan Light Witch" became the evil, youth stealing witch and the "Sinderean Shadow Witch" became the good protectors of the innocent. I could build an entire tradition out of these two.

Originally posted here: http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2016/06/monstrous-monday-beasties-from-night.html

Guardians is a superhero game built on the engine of original (White Box if you will) Dungeons and Dragons.

You create a character by rolling the standard 6 attributes, then choosing an Origin (Human, Mutant, Alien, etc) and a class (Brusier, Super Agent, etc). The combination of Origin and Class determines how many Powers, Gifts (things like being a detective, or being rich, or having a gadget), Limits (vulnerabilities, inhuman appearance) and Issues (recurring enemies, vulnerable loved ones) you start with, and how many you gain as you level up. Some Powers and Gifts may be taken multiple times, to get more pwerful versions.

The game rules cover combat, hazards, and all the usual stuff. Since this is an OD&D style game, these rules are pretty fast and loose, and lots of stuff is left for the GM and Players to decide while playing. If you are looking for Champions or Mutants & Masterminds level of fdetails, you will not find them here.

Finally, the book includes a brief history of a sample superhero campaign world and several pages of sample characters.

No major editorial errors jumped out at me, though I could have just read over them if they are there.The art is sparse and mostly pictures of costumed heroes in various action poses. I liked it good enough. Layout is utilitarioan and a bit retro looking, but it did its job just fine for me. It may sound like I'm fairly cool to this book, but honestly I think this is a game that is not to be valued as an example of the graphic arts but rather as an example of a great rules light game that delivers on everything it promised.

I look forward to getting this game to the table with my players and giving it a try out.

This is a great, quick, and simple OSR space fantasy od&d game. Also, works great with White Star too, for the ultimate Scifi Space Opera OSR experience. ;)