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The Pirates of Drinax
Publisher: Mongoose
by Rory H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/03/2017 07:54:46

This is just jaw droppingly awesome. A mega-campaign, in full colour glory with a huge amount of player-centered flexibility, and lots of opportunity for plunder and adventure. Easy to get into. The bonus here is there is also a full sector sourcebook, and information about Aslan characters, along with another book detailing a load of new spacecraft designs. Simply a maginificant package in an excellent new era for Traveller.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
The Pirates of Drinax
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Traveller Starter Set
Publisher: Mongoose
by Rory H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/10/2017 02:38:33

An unessential purchase if you already own the Traveller Core Rules, as two-thirds of this are essentially a reprint - albeit separated into two books (Book 1 and 2). Book 3 is a pretty good campaign, based around a hostile alien species, but is sold separately if you want to save costs.

All that said, this box is very much a deluxe edition of the game, along with extra maps and the campaign. It has an excellent, full colour presentation throughout and is, arguably, the best looking Traveller product ever. The game itself is capable of sustaining compelling and diverse storylines for years. The rules here are complete, including World design, Combat, Psionics, Encounters, Trade, Spacecraft operations and a range of off-the-shelf starships and vehicles to choose from (everything in the core rules), although the rules for designing your own ships and vehicles are sold seperately in High Guard and Vehicles respectively. If you've not experienced the Traveller RPG before, you couldn't buy a better introduction.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Traveller Starter Set
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Nobilis: The Essentials, Volume 1
Publisher: Jenna Katerin Moran
by Rory H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/14/2016 17:10:19

While it seems pretentious to assess the third edition of the game on it's comparative art direction, it is probably worth noting that many people bought the previous editions as art books. This edition, albeit in full colour and visually impacting to a degree not seen in most RPGs, is mainly made up with anime or straight cartoony imagery. It just doesn't feel as classy.

The writing too seems a bit more trite in places, and while the game has always been whimsical in that way, I found the actual structure of the writing to be less directly informative on some key aspects of the game. There is a lot more emphasis in the game on collaborative character design and advice towards actual gameplay. In that regards it is a better edition. But whatever happened to the detail about flowers? In all, it's very good unless you were in love with the previous editions - in which case it's OK.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Nobilis: The Essentials, Volume 1
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Fate Core System
Publisher: Evil Hat Productions
by Rory H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/03/2016 06:53:39

FATE seems to have inspired a loyal set of pretty fanatical fans, to which I account for by very effective marketing. For me, however, I have tried but simply cannot get traction on the game's appeal. Character's are presented in a rules-lite manner, and the core mechanic is pretty simple. However, the whole book just seems to go on and on about rules, rules discussion and then some more rules discussion. I don't really see where the massive innovation in the game is, as most of the ideas have already been done in much older games if you are prepared to look for them. It's neatly packaged, supported and comes at an appealing price - but, ultimately, I just find it a boring read and a so-so game to play in or run.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Fate Core System
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2300AD: Atlas of the French Arm
Publisher: Mongoose
by Rory H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/26/2016 03:00:48

Alongside the French Arm Adventures and the Ships of the French Arm (plus the core rules), this presents enough material for running a successful 2300AD campaign for years. Of the three, this is probably the best place to start as the overview gives a good thematic grounding.

The presentation of the line continues to improve - with colour added to some illustrations and maps for the first time and the quality of the writing is good. It's an exotic setting, but well grounded in genuine hard science ideas - and this is good inspiration for those that may be jaded by the looser, more space opera elements of the default Third Imperium Traveller game. On the other hand, if you're not a hard science fan then the opposite may be more apposite - it's kinda like an 'Advanced' Traveller setting in this respect.

In all, though, this setting is really taking shape well now. Recommended.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
2300AD: Atlas of the French Arm
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Traveller Core Rulebook
Publisher: Mongoose
by Rory H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/26/2016 00:22:02

Traveller has become such a core part of my gaming experience that criticising it is akin to trying to criticise The Beatles - there is something for everyone here. There is so much innate flexibility and gameablity contained within this book, including my absolute favourite game for character generation, world design and many simple but satisfying in-game systems. Some may grumble on cost and/or the decision to make a new edition, but the revisions generally improve game flow and the art and interior decor were much needed. The game still provides a multitude of story ideas in a lean, mean package and for my money, it's the best science fiction game in the market. Thoroughly recommended.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Traveller Core Rulebook
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Dark Streets 2nd Edition - Core Rulebook
Publisher: Cakebread & Walton
by Rory H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/17/2015 06:38:56

Considering the instability of the various RuneQuest/Legend editions, and with Chaosium due to release another RuneQuest edition next year, it was probably quite a wise move to develop the Renaissance system as it's own thing.

However, there is nothing better than an entirely self contained game and setting and this one has great potential now that it's been formatted this way. The layout and organisation is sound, with some nice illustrations of the period and the writing is clear and compelling.

It's sits nicely alongside the Clockwork and Chivalry game (also Renaissance based but set about 100 years earlier), and offers some excellent Cthuluoid scares in an 18th Century London setting. It does beg the question whether the Clockwork and Cthulhu supplement will also get a 2nd edition with a full set of rules in the future? Indeed, one wonders whether they can keep making historical settings of this ilk in maybe the 19th and 16th Centuries too? It would certainly make a fine collection!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Dark Streets 2nd Edition - Core Rulebook
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Feng Shui 2
Publisher: Atlas Games
by Rory H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/03/2015 19:06:06

Deserved of all the accolades it receives, Feng Shui was a seminal RPG of action movie violence that utilised a time-travel/alternative history conceit to be able to mesh together multiple settings into one big shoot out.

Feng Shui 2 steps up the physical presentation to a full colour edition closer to the vision of the original Daedalus Games game (before the company went belly up). The rules are also reviewed and streamlined, with some good additional sub-systems (like car chases) and an updated setting (with some sensible revisions to the future setting - including road warrior chimps..). The game runs faster than before and the setting is more open. If you haven’t experienced it before, and like the idea of action movie melodrama, you really need to give it a shot. One of the best introductory RPGs out there.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Feng Shui 2
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Werewolf: the Forsaken 2nd Edition
Publisher: Onyx Path Publishing
by Rory H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/06/2015 20:25:44

As with other NWoD titles, Werewolf is frequently judged in comparison to what came before, and this will be no exception. I largely grew up with the old Werewolf: The Apocalypse game, where the political themes (environmentalism) were much more prevalent and pervasive.

Werewolf: The Forsaken largely irons much of this out, and makes the game more directly about defending a particular territory against weird, invading, animistic spirits. In this regards, it’s actually closer to The Whispering Vault in some respects than it’s mother game. The game is also a lot more concise, focussed and flexible in effect. The previous (1st) edition of the game suffered a little insofar that there was too much fluff text. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but compared to the more emotive concepts involved in Werewolf: the Apocalypse, it felt a bit dry. You were also required to buy another book for the core rules. The second edition is punchier in delivery, with consistent artwork (mostly like the cover - in brown hues), and it’s a complete game in one.

The premise is still slightly compromised insofar that it’s game play requires that you don’t play a raging, force-of-nature, homicidal, solitary beast (as in the movies), but with this understanding it makes for a lot of good campaign play. The book squashes a lot into 320 pages, but is a tad more organised than Vampire: The Requiem while remaining highly compatible for crossovers. In all, an excellent development.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Werewolf: the Forsaken 2nd Edition
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Changeling the Dreaming 2nd Edition
Publisher: White Wolf
by Rory H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/13/2014 05:00:57

Changeling: The Dreaming was the last of the original five World Of Darkness games, and certainly by the time of the second edition the quality of the interior design (full colour), and overall visual quality of the game was breathtakingly good. It is probably the prettiest book I saw in the 1990s.

The game suffered, unfortunately, by being significantly different in tone to the previous games, in a manner similar to Mage: The Ascension - but much more pronounced. It’s far away from being gothic, now explicitly called ‘modern fantasy’ and simply doesn’t fit in well with the rest of the games in the series.

As a standalone game it works pretty well. The gameplay is a bit like a contemporary version of Shadowrun in some ways, with various gang-like antics being undertook by characters in their crypto-magical world (that only they can see). However, the fey archetypes are a little twee, some of the 'loss of childhood’ themes are a tad heavy-handed, and the Storyteller system had a few well-acknowledged clunks in it by this stage too.

It’s certainly worth a look - especially if you like sumptuous fantasy art - and it does play well with the right group. It will always be a slightly flawed masterpiece in my thoughts though.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Changeling the Dreaming 2nd Edition
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Basic Character Generation 2d6 SF SRD
Publisher: Universal Machine Publications
by Rory H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/10/2014 04:14:46

This product is basically a copy of two pages of Mongoose’s Traveller game. Nothing new to see, pretty much useless on it’s own, and flatly it seems that somebody is attempting to make a bit of easy profit out of an open system SRD.



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
Basic Character Generation 2d6 SF SRD
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Creator Reply:
There are no rules for generating characteristic scores in the Traveller SRD; this product fills that gap. There is nothing to say that SRDs have to be free - the Pathfinder core rulebook is not free yet that is a SRD/OGC; Mongoose publishing\'s own Legend series are all SRDs/OGC and they are not free either.
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There are no rules for generating characteristic scores in the Traveller SRD; this product fills that gap. There is nothing to say that SRDs have to be free - the Pathfinder core rulebook is not free yet that is a SRD/OGC; Mongoose publishing\'s own Legend series are all SRDs/OGC and they are not free either.
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Rocket Age - Core Rulebook
Publisher: Why Not Games
by Rory H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/28/2014 00:56:36

This is pretty much a perfect game for what it sets out to do. It emulates the pulp/planetary romance genre with a real warmth and enthusiasm, whilst building on a simple system and rich setting within which there is a huge variety of options for gameplay. If you find traditional sci-fi games a bit too involved, complex and serious in tone, then this may well be the antidote. The system is completely compatible with the Doctor Who range also, and the production standards (especially the layout) is topnotch. As stated, a perfect game.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Rocket Age  - Core Rulebook
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CT-TTB-The Traveller Book
Publisher: Far Future Enterprises - Traveller
by Rory H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/10/2014 06:05:17

Some of the ideas and technology within the book has dated, and it could do with more character options to match the variety of later versions. However, all this said, as an example of concise efficacy and innovation, the game remains a true classic.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
CT-TTB-The Traveller Book
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Wraith the Oblivion (2nd Edition)
Publisher: White Wolf
by Rory H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/09/2014 03:57:44

White Wolf’s biggest artistic and critical success, but also a commercial flop. The central (death) concept is very taken with thematic Jungian ideas such as archetypes, complexes and individuation, whilst being very easy to play out ghost stories where the ghosts play the antagonists (such as in The Others or The Sixth Sense).

The rules are largely the same as with previous WoD games, but the central mechanic revolves around the conflict between the persona of the PCs and their (dark side) Shadows, normally played out by other players. The impact of this is to provide a cathartic aspect to the game, which was a very original idea which influenced other games thereafter.

There is some sloppiness in editing (unbelievably Willpower is overlooked for a trait description in both first and second editions), but the interior layout, grayscale art and design are very easy on the eye. The general depth of the setting material and quality of writing are still the main reasons to buy this book. Timeless.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Wraith the Oblivion (2nd Edition)
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Project Paradigm
Publisher: Most Improbable Publications
by Rory H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/11/2013 15:59:31

Clearly owes a bit to White Wolf's Mage: The Ascension in it's premise, although it develops the idea in different ways. The similarity lies in the notion of paradigms and consensual reality, along with affiliation groups (7) that espouse differing philosophies about reality and what to do with it.

The layout is attractive, and the manga style art (which is very good) gives it something of a Matrix/Kill Bill feel as much as anything else. The system mechanics work easily enough, with lots of examples provided. Again the core mechanic is similar to White Wolf's dice pools, although it is stripped down a lot. Notably the combat system operates on a playing card-based action system which is novel, while the 'paradigm push' is a lot more open-ended than Mage's Spheres of Magic(k).

Basically, this is a great game for those who liked the premise of Mage, but felt that it was out of ill-suited to the broader World of Darkness setting. In some regards, it can be seen as the equivalent of Lords of Gossamer and Shadow to the original Amber, except for Mage instead.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Project Paradigm
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