Recently, I soloed my way through Under Western Skies: 2D6 Adventure on America's Frontier (72 pages). This is a 2d6 system – basically, it is Traveller in the wild west. For the adventure, I playtested a solo adventure by Victor Paiam. I did use a yes/maybe/no oracle because I always have questions. So, I did have a rough start. With this RPG system, your character can die during the character creation phase. My first rogue died during his first term. My second rogue died during his second term. Next, I tried a soldier. He had only been working a few weeks and then he was the victim of an accident. His eye was ruined. When he recovered from that, he went out adventuring. He died on the seventh day. My next character was Bill the agent. He was not lucky either. His wife died soon after they were married. He frequently dreamed about her. He worked for two months as an agent and was injured. He was off work for one month and then he went back at it. He died on the eleventh day trying to rescue his friend. So, my advice to you is to not play one character. Try playing with a gunfighter and a physician. Good luck!

I intend to use this as the basis for a campaign someday, my wife and I love the inspirational source, and I like the idea of a near-future setting thrust into a galactic maelstrom. Includes a scant half page of guidelines or suggestions for Character generation; a tie-in to the Mongoose edition with a Omega Base Career/Life Events table would be a nice addition - and wouldn't personnel sent from Earth receive any specific minimal training for the Lunar environment ? Detailing a vehicle or two, or the deckplans for an Eagle would have made this a 5-Star package for me.

I picked this up on a whim, looking for a filler adventure in a new Traveller game while the team's ship got some repairs. I had to do some tweaking to get it into our story and fill in a few blanks, which is more than fair for the price. Out of the five adventures we've played so far this one had the biggest impact on our table, the party had an absolute blast and made several long-running allies. Best $2 I've spent so far, sincere gratitude to Michael Brown for a great session.

Well, to be honest I am a sucker for all things post-apoc ever since I played Gamma World way back in 1985. (It is still my fav). I was looking for a 2d6-based post-apoc game so I could run at conventions as the mechanics are super-easy. Hence when I came across Afterday I had questions. To be fair, Mr. Brown said stright-up it was not a science-fantasy high flux setting.

In fact, it is much more a Twilight 2000-type book. There are no high tech items (everything is TL6 or 7) and mutants are given only a cursory page and a reference to Metamorphica.

I checked Metamorphica and the problem is it is systemless (and HUGE) so as to be more an idea book than any great help. So now I am converting the mutations list from 4th Edition Gamma World to 2d6/Cepheus Engine terms.

THAT said, Afterday has some well thought out professions, a nod to starting characters much younger due the hardships of the post-apoc world, and a robust settlement generator which makes use of good old Traveller's hexidecimal one-line of digits coding for a location. (Should be ridiculously easy to code a random generator in an Excel sheet and pop out a dozen locations).

So, is it perfect for me? No, I like mutants, and sentient animals, and robots, and plants, and lasers and crazed AI and the whole kitchen sink. But this book is a great start and for thos running a more serious game, it should world well. Keep in mind Traveller/2d6 is inherently lethal, so a more serious game would work very well. Indeed, the Pirates of Drinax series' main homework is a radioactive biohazard hellhole and I could easily see this book of use for generating adventures there. (Hopefully as that campaign progresses, the PCs will help the poor unfortunates gain the medicines, pollution processing, and survival equipment to slowly rebuild something resembling a decent life).

I also love the old TSR standbys Boot Hill and Gangbusters, and it looks like Brown made 2d6 books for those settings as well. Time to have some cowboys and G-Men time travel to a fantasy world and then onto a post-apoc one. (eyes twinkle with the possibilities).

I decided that I needed more flair for the characters so I purchased a few of these traveller supplements that they could access from the ships computer. It is a 2 pager with maps. So if they make their rolls they get the printout on the two planets in this sector. It is well written with just the right amount of info, about the types of flora, fauna and culture of the areas. As well as space ports and othe errata that makes this Starfall different from the rest.

Oh, beautiful for spacious skies

Skies that are colored gray, not like that of a dead channel, but from rain trying in vain to wash away the grime and evil of the streets below.

For amber waves of grain

Grain used to make “food” to feed America’s 430+ million people; and of course, the fatcats still get the first — and sometimes the only — mouthfuls.

"For purple mountains’ majesties

That the average person will never get to see, because they’re too busy with their noses to the grindstone, pleasing their corporate masters. If the skies were even clear enough, that is.

Above the fruited plain

At least those plains that haven’t been devastated by the worsening weather events brought on by climate change.

America, America

No longer exists in a recognizable form, ever since becoming a mere fascist shell of itself under the boot heel of an ascendant China."

"God shed his grace on thee

The gods now live above the masses in their mighty towers of polycarbon and glass, imposing their will through tyrannical (and compliant) politicians and legions of armored federal agents.

And crown thy good with brotherhood

There’s very little good in the world anymore and “brotherhood” is a joke. There is only destroy or be destroyed, succeed or fail...and the system is rigged to make you fail.

From sea to shining sea

Which (also thanks to climate change) comes a little closer every year, flooding once-habitable land"

"New World is a cyberpunk campaign framework based on the Traveller SRD (which is itself based on The Original Science Fiction Roleplaying Game published in the 1970s) and the Cepheus Engine SRD. Set in the middle of the 21st century in an America rendered almost unrecognizable by past events, the campaign features many of the tropes commonly expected in a cyberpunk world, along with some developed expecially for New World:

A timeline based on and extrapolated from real-life events A familiar lifepath character generation system A generous selection of cybernetic modifications, mundane equipment, and vehicles Simplified rules for computer use and cyber-combat A discussion of mid-21st century American life and culture, including a glossary of slang terms A look at the changes wrought on America and the rest of the world A system for mapping sections of the “Net (aka cyberspace) A system for determining spontaneous radicalization, one of the worst scourges of the future age And much, much more It’s a new world, just around the corner. Welcome to the future, daoren…hope you survive it!"

Someone once told me that all good cyberpunk rpg's are a political statement. And this is true but not in the way that you might think! Michael Brown's New World: 2D6 Adventure in a Cyberpunk America does what some games take pages & pages to do in sixty eight pages of Cepheus Engine rpg goodness. And it does it by hitting all of the usual Cepheus Engine & Traveller notes.

And Mr.Brown lays it out in the first campaign overview; "The High Concept: The heroes are high-tech lowlifes navigating precarious existences in an authoritarian, China-influenced United States. Setting: America, in the near future (within the next 50 years.) America is a “soft” vassal state of China, now the world’s premier superpower. Social and financial breakdowns have produced a dystopian society of haves and have-nots, overseen by megacorporation executives in their mighty towers and preyed upon by organized crime and a puppet US government. However, America still views itself (and behaves) as a mover-and-shaker in global politics; the general public is unaware that the impetus for American policy often begins in the halls of Beijing. Scope: (Suggested) Local at first (one or two cities), perhaps becoming international as the party gains more power and influence and begins tackling larger and more complex adventures." Make no mistake New World: 2D6 Adventure in a Cyberpunk America isn't your usual cyberpunk style game setting. This is an America that is past its prime, seen better days, & is very dangerous. The setting is part action movie & part thinking man's cyberpunk campaign. Brown's design & writing is tight, solid, & easy to incorporate into a 2d6 campaign. Michael Brown is easily one of the least appreciated Cepheus Engine rpg designers using the 2d6 rpg platform today in my opinion. And that's a true shame. The man know what he's doing and New World: 2D6 Adventure in a Cyberpunk America shows this. New World: 2D6 Adventure in a Cyberpunk America is expansive and very well done. New World: 2D6 Adventure in a Cyberpunk America showcases the strengths of the 2d6 system with solid career paths, an extensive cyberpunk array across the board. And a very dangerous setting. In point of fact one could add in either Cepheus Atom or Mr. Brown's Afterday to show areas that have broken down in society. While you don't need either of these products they can easily slot in.

Michael Brown's New World: 2D6 Adventure in a Cyberpunk America uses its cyberpunk aesthetic to its advantage taking carefully created & crafted rules that are perfect for a short beer with pretzels game night. Or as a part of an extensive cyberpunk campaign that could last years. I highly recommend Michael Brown's New World: 2D6 Adventure in a Cyberpunk America. New World: 2D6 Adventure in a Cyberpunk America is a reliable, playable, easy to run, & fun game campaign setting. At eight dollars this is a steal for a fun & very dangerous cyberpunk rpg campaign setting to add to your Cepheus Engine rpg collection!

Thanks for reading our review Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Want more OSR & 2d6 action?? Please subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/

This is a great one page adventure that sets up a problem that has no official solution but allows plenty of scope for player ingenuity. I think it would work very well with the ultra-light Cepheus Quantum rules (although you can, of course, run it with any Traveller-type ruleset). However, I would like to have had a bit more information on the Aori people – I appreciate the format limits the adventure to one page but I think there was room to at least include what Tech Level they are.

(Review in english below) Une petite aventure de qualité en mode bac à sable qui a également le mérite d'être facilement placée dans une campagne. Cependant, le meneur de jeu devra lui-même tracer le plan du village car il n'est malheureusement pas fourni. Il me semble difficile de jouer cette aventure sans cette aide de jeu. Par ailleurs, il devra déterminer comment les criminels sont arrivés sur le lieu de l'aventure et quels méfaits ils ont bien pu commettre.

A quality little sandbox adventure that also has the merit of being easily placed in a campaign. Howewer, the referee will have to draw the village map himself, which unfortunately is not provided. I find it difficult to play this adventure without this game aid. Furthermore, he will have to determine how the criminals arrived at the place of the adventure and what misdeeds they might have committed.

(Review in english below) Ce supplément contient deux générateurs d'aventures que l'on utilise en lançant plusieurs D66. J'ai testé le second générateur, qui est le plus complet des deux, et j'ai obtenu des résultats intéressants qui titillent l'imagination. Globalement, nous avons là un très bon produit que je recommande sans hésiter ! Je profite de l'occasion pour poser une question à Michael Brown. Existe-t-il une page Facebook, un blog, un site internet ou que sais-je encore afin d'échanger sur tes projets passés, présents ou futurs concernant les JDR ? Je serais ravi de pouvoir échanger avec toi.

This supplement contains two adventure generators that are used by casting several D66s. I tested the second generator, which is the more complete of the two, and got some interesting results that tickle the imagination. Overall, this is a very good product that I would definitely recommend! I would like to take this opportunity to ask Michael Brown a question. Is there a Facebook page, a blog, a website or whatever to share your past, present or future RPG projects? I'd love to talk with you.

Thin content at best. 1 title page, 1 page of content, 1 license page.

And the whole thing is rotated 90 degrees for some reason making it hard to read on a monitor.

A great resource framework for referees. Thanks Michael, I can use this for my group when we start a new campaign.

"One June morning, huge flying craft suddenly appeared in the skies above several major cities. Three days later, a voice translated into many different tongues requested peaceful contact with the people of Earth. A week after the arrival of the strange craft, the Secretary-General of the United Nations was the first human to directly contact an alien race. The V’siilir, as they called themselves, were tall reptiloids that resembled in some ways an evolved species of dinosaur. They asked nothing more than Earth’s help in restoring their dying planet.

It was several months before people noticed a spate of disappearances, and it was several months later still that people realized the ones who had disappeared had all been critical of or hostile to the V’siilir. The aliens denied any involvement and even assigned details from among their own militias to assist in the searches.

Then a private investigator managed to sneak aboard one of the giant V’siilir vessels and learned the truth: the aliens weren’t from another planet: they were from a parallel Earth where the dinosaurs never died out and evolved sapience. They planned to use their new discovery of inter­dimensional travel to plunder resources and soldiers.

Once the plot was revealed, battle was joined in earnest. The human race has now taken up arms and taken sides in a war to determine the future fate of Earth." There's a ton of stuff to recommend Cepheus Engine rpg vs regular garden variety high end OSR titles. There's no kickstarters, the authors have their heart & soul in the deep end of the rpg system. One such creator is Michael Brown. Sometimes as a dungeon master your not looking for high concept BS series of monsters or alien species. This isn't the case with Mr. Brown's hobby work because you tell he's put some thought into his creations for many of his rpg titles. This brings us to Species V. If you want a mini campaign or a quick pick up campaign for Cepheus Engine or Cepheus Light?! This is the campaign for a one night stand or a full access campaign. Does this sound like the famous NBC mini series 'V' from the Eighties?! Hell yes it does! Could Michael get sued?! Nope because Michael is far smarter then that. The Devil is in the details or in this case within the advanced reptile alien's details. The author provides a bite size campaign within two pages for a cinematic campaign. V’siilir are saurian sophonts & we get the full treatment from set up to playing options in two pages. That's right two whole pages of cinematic reptilian goodness. Where can I see using this alien species who may or may not come from another dimensional Earth nearby?! One that springs to mind is using Species V. with Cepheus Engine Lite. Build a campaign from the ground up in Eighties style nostolgia! Crack a couple of beers call your players & away you go with Species V. But if you think that's the end of this review then your sadly mistaken. With the Eighties nosoligia there's the option of running this campaign with Shadowfall by Baggage Books. Perhaps the V’siilir are not so unknown to the puny humans of this planet after all?! Because Lovecraft was right all along! He wasn't racist he was complete Xenophobic of the things outside! The things that crawl in the dark place want to rule us all! Can I see using Species V with another 2d6 sci fi setting such as the Hostile Rpg setting?! Awesomeness abounds with this combination with the players fighting a protracted war in a near future world ruled by our reptile like overlords! The cross over potential would make Dark Horse comics jealous! Want to port over to a smaller venue?! Grab Zozer Games Out World Authority & bring a free quick start one night war! So say you wanna take the fight to Species V?! Well grab a copy of Empire of Time by Baggage Games & beat the reptile bastards back to the stone age across space & time! Heck you can do it across multiple time periods! Oh but I want something more complicated & more like the X Files involving Species V? Fine then go all of the way back to the Game Designers Workshop days & grab Dark Conspiracy rpg first edition. Then use the material in Species V to fill in the background for one of the reptilian aliens in the game & go forward with a kick ass game of X Files like action! But,but, I want a far more hard core post apocalytic game with the aliens from that classic TV mini series from the Eighties?! Well then take Species V & add in classic Twilight 2000 let it boil & then really bring home a 'Walking Dead' style campaign using classic original hard core post apocalyptic rpg. Want really blow the players minds add Species V as the source behind the adventure events of Twilight Nightmares adventure 'The Rumors of Our Extinction…" But run Twilight Nightmares with Twilight 2000 first edition. You'll thank me later.

Is Species V perfect?! Hell no! Its a bite sized mini campaign homage to a classic Eighties NBC television mini series with its own twist & turns but for what I as a DM need it too do. Species V fits the bill in spades. Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Blog Want more OSR & Cepheus Engine Action? Subscribe To https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/

"Within the boundaries of known space are countless tech levels, legends, rumors, and oddity. The majority of it is well understood. Other things aren't as well understood, but are on the frontiers of inquiry and bleeding-edge research. Still other phenomena are constantly subjected to discussion and unscientific analysis. But Out There are things stranger still. Things lurking in the shadows. Things that elude the best minds and the finest science. Things even the most rational citizens can only deem supernatural."

"When such strangeness manifests, it sometimes must be dealt with in some fashion. There is a group of people able to do so; trained to investigate, identify, and if necessary eliminate such supernatural threats. Such a group has been operating since the dawn of the interstellar government. They call themselves the Nightstalkers. The Nightstalkers – officially designated Scout Service Subsection X – are a special clandestine branch of the Scouts, charged with investigating events and objects that many would consider within the realm of the paranormal."

There are times when as a DM you read a science fiction or Pulpy science fantasy novel & thought goes through your head,'You know there should have been a division of troops or scouts that handles that supernatural threat?!' And that's where Career: Nightstalker From Michael Brown comes in. These are the guys who bump back against the supernatural & the weird. You can easily contrast Michael Brown's style of game design against the polished & spit of someone like John Watts or Paul Elliott. Mr. Brown's style is down & dirty in the trenches where the supernatural evil lays. And that's where you'll find Career: Nightstalker folks. Because when the supernatural hits the fan then you are going to want Scout Service Subsection X on your side. Career: Nightstalker clocks in at nine pages of career path goodness & for the 2d6 science fictional goodness of Cepheus Engine rpg its got all of the high marks. Career: Nightstalker is clear,concise, & does a fantastic job of getting you a PC whose going to excel at facing down the nasties in the darkness of space or planet side.

Cepheus Engine rpg has any number of supernatural or occult style adventures lurking in the background.And if you want an example of this then let's talk about Revels of the Damned which is exactly the sort of short burst adventure that will kick off a party of Career: Nightstalker investigations with little issue & be able to morph into a short mini campaign. Here the action shifts onto a whole cloth supernatural affair happening right under the noses of the local royals;"The Pleasure Festival is a time for fun, food, revelry, and no-holds-barred hedonism. Unfortunately for the PCs and the other visitors to the Pleasure Guild, it's also a time for an ancient evil to awaken and continue a mission begun millennia ago. The result is insanity, calamity, and visions of impending doom. Can the adventurers get to the bottom of the chaos and put a stop to it? Or will they also be forced to serve a seemingly-immortal malevolence?"

Revels of the Damned has dangerous weirdness happening right at the ground level. Is this a job for the Scout Service Subsection X?! Oh Hell yes, in spades & its time to get busy tackling the dangers to the local instellar empire. Take Career: Nightstalker add in a bit of Cepheus Modern for your NPC's powers & stats then off you go on a supernatural Cepheus Engine fueled express ride to Hell!

Career: Nightstalker From Michael Brown offers a no nonsense approach to a supernatural investigative branch for the Cepheus Engine rpg. But it could be used as a far future campaign add on career path for the Dark Conspiracy rpg as well! Scout Service Subsection X has to start someplace & deep within the bowels of the governments of a torn up Earth this is the perfect start point for this organization. And in point of fact Michael Brown's Cold War: Containment does exactly this offering a beginning point for a beginning campaign history for the Scout Service Subsection X. Career: Nightstalker From Michael Brown bang home in nine pages what some games take ages to create. A nine page career path to get your player's PC's kicking supernatural ass in the darkness of space. Why? Because mankind is the warmest place to hide in the cold vacuum of space.

Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Want more OSR action? Subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/

Midgard, un monde qui pourrait être un paradis si son histoire n'avait pas été aussi tourmentée et si le bas niveau de loi n'encourageait pas le trafic d'armes. Voici un nouveau cadre d'aventure de qualité proposé par Michael Brown sur une page, comprenant une toujours utile carte du monde .

Midgard, a world that could be a paradise if its history hadn't been so tormented and if the low level of law and order didn't encourage arms trafficking. Here is a new quality adventure framework proposed by Michael Brown on one page, including an always useful world map .

Yemoja est une planète recouverte par les océans sur laquelle on trouve quelques îles. La majorité de la population vit sur l'île d'Iji. L'histoire locale est marquée par un terrible cyclone qui a balayé le port-bas il y a un siècle. Les nobles se sont alors réfugiés en orbite, abandonnant leurs concitoyens moins fortunés sur la planète. Depuis, les survivants nourrissent un fort ressentiment envers les aristocrates.

Michael Brown signe ici un bon décor de jeu, je vous recommande l'achat de ce petit PDF, d'autant qu'il contient un planisphère et une carte de l'île d'Iji.

Yemoja is a planet covered by oceans on which there are a few islands. The majority of the population lives on the island of Iji. The local history is marked by a terrible cyclone that swept through the downport a century ago. The nobles then took refuge in orbit, abandoning their less fortunate fellow citizens on the planet. Since then, the survivors have harboured strong resentment towards the aristocracy.

Michael Brown signs here a good game set, I recommend the purchase of this small PDF, especially since it contains a world map and another one of the island of Iji.