I ran this game at one of our local game con's. Some players created their own characters, others used the pregens included in the book. Like other super-hero-type games, OVA is front-end loaded, so a lot of the work is done during character creation. But, OVA's chargen is fun and easy-to-understand. Once characters are in-place, the game runs VERY, VERY SMOOTHLY. In fact, I think OVA has one of the best game mechanics I've ever run. Even my slow players caught on to it quickly, and commented on how much they liked it. I highly recommend OVA.

I have used this several times now in my own setting. This magic system works really, really well. It is, indeed, fast, it keeps the game moving along quickly, and it inspires player creativity. The response of players has been positive, and I am impressed by the spells which players have developed on their own.

I would recommend this as a supplement to any Cepheus Engine game which uses magic.

I had the pleasure of both playing this module, as well as running it at a local con as a DM. The story premise is quite good, and the adventure works well as either a one-shot or the lead-in to a larger campaign. The con players had a lot of fun with it.

The module is full of helpful hints. It is not wordy, but briefly explains what the DM needs to know, while at the same time providing a colorful background. The module has multiple references to the core material as well as to monsters and NPC's, so it is easy to find what is needed quickly. This is especially useful during combat.

The module begins with a more light-hearted approach to getting the PC's together before taking them to the deadlier meat of the adventure. I found this approach quite refreshing. The module designer anticipated points at which the players might "go off of the rails" and suggests flexible ways of handling these. The plot twist at the end of the module was quite good, and caught the players by surprise.

I highly recommend this module.

I fell in love with this, then suffered from a broken heart when I saw that there were only eight issues. The artwork is supurb, but what really made this series work was the premise, the characterization, the twists, and the humor. Top Cow, Stjepan Sejic, if you make more, I will buy.

I'm part of an experienced RPG group in Kazakhstan. I love the setting for this, and the game mechanic is easy and straight-forward. I enjoy crunchy games, too, but we used Zaibatsu for a 4-hour one-shot. By strategically selecting portions of the book to print, I was able to put together materials that the players could use to make their characters and play without prior knowledge of the game. PC generation took about 20 minutes. The game went great! I used the beginning mission included in the book. The players, as usual for our group, managed to completely avoid the direction they were supposed to go. But, with some ad hoc additions to the game, things went fine. I followed the designer's suggestion of keeping combat frequent and deadly. I also added new NPC's on-the-fly (I introduced the Makita assassin as a "femme fatale," and put her and her team earlier in the game, then had them have a shoot-out with the PC's for the climax). But, again, this was easy to do given the easy game mechanic. The players loved the setting and the fast-pace of the game!

Keep in mind that the game's modified Cepheus engine was easier for me than for some gamers in that I was already familiar with Traveller. The book has a few typos, but I'll address one of these on the discussion thread.

We're planning to use Zaibatsu for a local con on Saturday.

I do recommend this game!