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Maybe it's a bit of nostalgia, but flicking through this PDF reminds me just how inspirational White Wolf RPGs were in the early-mid 1990s. The full colour 'graphic novel' presentation of the games' fairly unique setting is truly gorgeous to read through and although this is a scan, the rest of the book is likewise an absolute pleasure to look at and read. Can you play it? Well, the old Storyteller mechanics were desperately clunky - particularly for a game focussed as heavily as this on violence and combat. Yet people did play for years with this ruleset.
The various Werewolf tribes are largely based on stereotyped cultures, which may put some people off, and the basic premise of 10 foot tall beast men clandestinely wolfing around in packs may seem tenuous for a 'real world' setting. Yet the sheer 'awesomeness' and environmentalist passion in the book shines through regardless. There is nothing stopping anybody developing this game with a more fluid system of mechanics. On that basis, highly recommended purchase.
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These contain my favourite parts of the Kingdom and Commonwealth campaign to date, especially going to the moon! The presentation is easy on the eye and consistent with the core book, and perfectly readable on both Mac and PC. Probably the best fantasy campaign I've read since Warhammer's Enemy Within and very similar in tone. Recommended.
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Some interesting characters, but not enough to make it a book you'll enjoy reading for any great length of time. As with most Traveller books, it's a solid toolkit for designing adventures and scenarios - nothing more - but it does what it sets out to do well.
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The system, based on OpenQuest, is well polished in this supplement although the 'professional' level characters may feel a little underpowered to some. It's not a particularly crunchy set of rules either, if people are expecting this sort of thing from a RuneQuest derived ruleset, with the skill lists being relatively short and no magical abilities or the equivalent.
The game premise is pretty tight too, with 'The Company' being a (largely UK-military-style) international mercenary outfit that feels suitably 'modern' in it's plausibility. The illustrations are all taken from stock photos, which largely captures the right feel. You could run a lot of modern military missions within the scope of this game.
As a small print game, therefore it's pretty successful, although it lacks a 'hook' (supernatural or otherwise) to attract a bigger RPG audience I'd argue. You could add in supernatural elements taken from any other number of compatible BRP games, but of course this would detract from the 'real world' aspect of the original premise.
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Bigger, tighter and more miles to the gallon. This is a pretty core book for the essential Traveller experience. If you like spending times designing vehicles of all sorts (which is a staple part of the Traveller experience!) then this does everything yo'd expect of it.
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The latest of the WH40KRP line, and arguably the best, although it's still in play test form. This is probably the first game in the series that provides a decent range of character types (12), whilst also retaining a human-centric feel that is lacking in some of the other games. The Ogryn and Ratling 'specialities' add a more exotic feel to the choices, although I feel that the Ogryns look a little underpowered in the rules as they stand. Military platoons are pretty easy to motivate into action, and there are a large variety of missions that they can undertake (giving the GM a lot of room to create scenarios from) There is a good spread of iconic Xenos types to fight against (again missing from previous games) and solid vehicle rules too. The new regiment rules are interesting with the view that each character will have an additional NPC companion to contribute also - a bit like Troupe roleplaying from Ars Magica presumably. I expect the presentation will improve significantly in the full published edition, although it's a clean and functional download as it stands. The 40K universe isn't a subtle one, and military missions may well be the best way of experiencing it in game. Good stuff, and I look forward to the full version.
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So, yes, the combination of setting and mythos works in case you were wondering, and there are some pretty good adventures included in the book. You don't need the Clockwork and Chivalry book to run it, provided you have the Renaissance rules (freely downloadable), as it is self contained with a primer on the backstory of the 17th century English setting included. It possibly begs the question as to why they couldn't have just gone the whole hog and made it a standalone core-rulebook, however. The Cthulhu Mythos seems to be ubiquitous in gaming as it clearly works as a versatile backstory that can overlay any historical setting, although some may get jaded with it after a while, and yearn for something new. The quality of writing, layout and design is excellent though, and I've no doubt it will be a popular book for those fans who have already tried out it's mother game.
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Dark Heresy has probably been around long enough for the gaming community to recognize the setting, and the rules are a pretty straightforward percentile affair, with customizable archetypes being used for character generation. The art looks quite impressive, and it's got a very large page count for it's background. I do feel that there isn't enough support for a GM to run it without supplements, however, and actually feel that some of the editing (in terms of what to include) could have been organized better. Moreover, later 40K games have formatted themselves better, and are a lot more streamlined in the presentation of their rules. The file itself is enormous, which can lead to some technical issues in downloading. Although the basic premise is eminently workable, it currently ranks as the weakest of the 40KRP game line because of these reasons - and certainly deserves an updated edition, in my view.
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If anybody knows about the seminal history of RuneQuest, and realize the work and passion that has gone into the making of this version of it, it's an instant download. Best fantasy system ever designed in my view, and that isn't (just) fanboy hyperbole. If you are interested in realistic simulation, anthropological verisimilitude and anything to do with classic myth creation, then this game has a lot to offer. The cover is nice too, and the interior layout is very clean and readable, and all the bells and whistles in search engines and the like. Plenty of support to, as you can utilize all the old RQ, RQ2, Legend and to a degree BRP supplements with it with no difficulty whatsoever.
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If you were a fan of the first two editions of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, then you'll love this. The OpenQuest based rules are well modeled to the genre, and this really is a meaty, well laid out book. There is a rich vein of British black humor, some thoughtful magic systems (Alchemy, Witchcraft and Clockwork inventions), and the society of the setting is well illustrated through a multitude of Career choices, and political factions. The history of the English Civil war is also well researched, although I must stress this is very much a fantasy setting, rather than a pure historical game. With some good adventures in the back to get going, and a set of Campaign supplements that are on a par with Warhammer's Enemy Within campaign, there is a lot of fun to be had in this game. I only wish they could have called it something a bit more dramatic sounding.....like Warhammer, f'rinstance....
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For just $1 you can buy into a near enough complete version (you'll probably want the Monsters book too) of one of the most flexible, intuitive and dynamic systems on the market. 'Nuff Said.
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Call of Cthulhu is a brilliant and influential RPG, as almost any gamer ought to know, and it remains as playable and adaptable to different eras as ever. The interior layout is nice and mysteriously atmospheric, and the writing style appealing if you like academia and conciseness over flowery prose (which I do). The original short story is also included, which is worth noting - and some of the artwork is excellent.
There are some glaring editorial issues, however - one of the pages (a full page piece of art) is missing, the title fonts are askew towards then end of the book and the character sheets are the missing lines need to be functional. All of these aspects are correct in the extra pdf copy provided from the original book (and don't really affect the game or the writing in any way), but this copy is a bit faded and disjointed as those pdfs usually are. Could do with an editorial update, in short.
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Creator Reply: |
This PDF for CALL OF CTHULHU was re-processed for better appearance and functionality. Thanks -- Chaosium. |
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Shadowrun takes the biscuit for being the stupidest concept ever for a RPG setting (Cyberpunk with ELVES! to paraphrase a well known sci-fi author). Yet, the quality of production, art, and it's sheer playability have kept this game and IP going strong for decades - even when the cyberpunk fad itself has faded. It deserves it's classic status, and this is a really gorgeous book, with clear dice pool rules and lots of setting material. Highly recommended for even casual or skeptical fans.
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A much cleaner layout than the previous edition and great to see the write-ups for the 11th Doctor characters. The new character sheet layout is excellent too. For an intro game, or just for fans of the show (which I am), it's near enough perfect.
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The appearance could have been improved with more art, etc, and there are some glaring editorial errors throughout (equations being mistyped, etc). Yet, all this said, this is an indispensable Traveller book and setting for any gamer who wants to get into a hard science, near future setting. The 'French Empire' conceit seems a little counterintuitive to me, but it's well grounded out in the future timeline explanations and the science of the game is generally pretty solid. Personally, I think the RPG world needs a strong 2300AD setting to ground out BladeRunner/Firefly type stories - and its great to see this game line return, regardless of anything else. I would hope they revisit the editing of the game before too long, however. Incidentally, my new Mac has the cover in white borders rather than black - what's up with that?
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