HIDDEN, Generic Adventures: Cyberpunk & Tech Noir by J. Pingo Lindstrom

This is the first in a series of Generic Adventures by J. Pingo Lindstrom and PenguinComics.com. And, I must say, they started with a bang. Hidden is Terminator in a Cyberpunk world. The Heroes are hired to seek out someone’s daughter. And then it get’s complicated. Written to be playable with any system, they use simple power/ability descriptors: Low, Medium and Strong, which works better than I thought it would. Unfortunately, the organization of the adventure is a bit clunky. Information in characters, their responses, and important details are split up into several different places, making it hard to keep track who’s who, and what they all know.

For story I’d give it 5 stars Organization, 3 stars

Overall, I’ll give it 4 stars.

~I’m Lord Skudley, and that’s my opinion.

ROLF: Pirates vs. Fairies

This is a Battle Royal style game. You take on one of 8 characters and battle it out with other characters. Not what I was expecting. But, now I need to look at the ROLF rules, It looks as if it would be a good time filler.

~I’m Lord Skudley, and that’s my opinion.

ROLF: Cap'n Jack on the Isle of Pirate's Doom

This is a Battle Royal style game. You take on one of 8 characters and battle it out with other characters. Not what I was expecting. But, now I need to look at the ROLF rules, It looks as if it would be a good time filler.

~I’m Lord Skudley, and that’s my opinion.

BYO Pirate Quest Collaborative Adventure Design I’ll start by saying, this isn’t what I expected. But that’s what I get for not reading the entire description. That said, this is a booklet of tracking sheets, each giving you a set of descriptors for ship stats, for both Hero ships and NPC ships, Monsters, ports, and islands. It is interspersed with rule suggestions, dice charts for weather & events. All in all it’s a handy little booklet, but mostly geared for B.Y.O. Dungeon rules.

~I’m Lord Skudley, and that’s my opinion.

100 Seaside Warehouse Finds by Dave Woodrum

I’m a sucker for a list of things. I just can’t resist. Anytime I see a “Big List of (Insert Your Idea Here) for Your Game” I just have to buy it.

100 Seaside Warehouse Finds, Second Looting is one of those lists.

If your ship full of pirates want to raid a plantation, or you just need building stacked with loot, Dave offers a good cross selection of cargo, gear, and other paraphernalia. From fancy clothes to trophies, weapons to wines this list has quite a selection.

~I’m Lord Skudley, and that’s my opinion.

As a Don Quixote fan, I was intrigued by this. Other than the cover the book is black and white. The art is reminiscent of some of Ralf Bakshi's works. However, the story is, or rather the author’s take on the best-known part of the Quixote legend, is juvenile. All and all it would make for a good coloring book. But for a free product, it is worth a download.

I absolutly love this product. IP Pro is one of the handiest tools I've used as a GM.

This does indeed containn 12 Urban encounter seeds. A great resource when you need a quick adventure.

The Fall of Man Book 2

At the end of Book 1, the Heroes ate left with more questions than answers and must travel elsewhere to solve the mystery. Lulled by the idea of a quick journey to their next destination, the Heroes are attacked. Book 2 begins the adventure with an action sequence that can take place on land or sea. Leaving the Heroes with some answers and a bit of foreshadowing.

The Fall of Man, Book 2 is set up in three parts including raiders, dancing, a masquerade, intrigue, puzzles, a kidnaping and murder. Like Book 1, this is more of a cerebral adventure, there is a battle and a chase scene, but the adventure centers around mystery and diplomacy.

In the end, the Heroes now have more answers, and a much bigger and daunting task ahead.

Once again, the author adds good suggestions on how things could play out, inclusion of the Secret Societies and a well-known 7th Sea prince. Tobie’s use of artwork, artifacts, cyphers and clues just adds more emersion to the story, In fact I had to ask my wife to help me find the hidden image in one of the pieces of art, but don’t worry, once you see it it’s quite obvious and you can’t unsee it.

Another good read, and a lot of fun.

I've been wrestling with 7th Sea 2e for a long time now. I finally threw in the towel and started to adapt the R&K rules, it didn't look too hard at first, but then it started to get more complicated as I delved into weapons, Dramatic sequences...

Then I discovered this: Duellist Academy, and it adapted the two systems wonderfully! And he even wrote an adaptation of the Dramatic risks: Sharper than Any Blade, well done.

For others looking to "fix the system" these two are awesome!

Ship battles are at the heart of every piratical adventure, and many swashbuckling ones as well. Bloody Misadventures seeks to expand and enhance these rules, and succeeds in doing so. It starts with a quick explanation on the why and how, then goes into a little more detail on ship classes and size. The core of this expansion is broken down into four sections: RUN OUT THE GUNS, Ship-to-Ship Engagements. The author starts by laying out the nuances of sea battles by defining ranges, supporting roles, the crew and the anatomy of a ship. But the Maneuvers section is where the wind meets the sails (and the section I have used the most)! The breakdown of types of maneuvers, both complex and basic, give both flavor and action. These are a much-needed addition to the ship rules outlined in the core books. The rest of this section covers the effects of battles on the ship and crew. With a nice selection opportunities and consequences. SHIP HO! Chases on the High Seas. Sea chases can be boring… I must admit, I’ve only dabbled with these rules. But the author has made some valuable points on how to make the chase an adventure rather than a long drawn out series of actions. THE PRIZE! The Spoils of Battle. LISTS! I’m a sucker for a list of things. Anytime I see a “Big List of (Insert Your Idea Here) for Your Game” I get all giddy. Cargo, wealth, passengers, livestock and some more things to plunder from your adversaries, and a ship too… TROUBLED WATERS! Danger on the High Seas. I have used these rules almost as much as the maneuvers rules. Storms, tides, and even forts (did I forget to mention that monsters are listed in the “SHIP HO!” section?).

The supplement is peppered with good story examples and finished off with a “Game Master Reference”.

Well worth the price.

~I’m Lord Skudley, and that’s my opinion.

Dance on the Edge of the Rapier I originally wrote this review in April 28, 2005

Between these colorful covers you will find a complete set of rules and a campaign for a Live Action game, four adventures, over 100 plot hooks, and a time-line that brings us up another five years! And I must point out it is all duel stats {both R&K, and d20}! As I have said before, I played in this LARP at the 2003 SoCal GenCon. It was awesome. The point system they use to control the "action" in the game is simple and effective. It uses a combination of stats and "hero points" {a rough equivalent of Drama Dice} you can raise your abilities with the hero points and you can earn more for daring deeds {a side note for those who play in Skudley's Saturday game; at GenCon they used the same tokens for their Hero Points as I do in my game. Hmmm, great minds...}. The adventure, "Giovanni Villanova's Grand Ball", is not a simple affair. The players are "guests" or "gate crashers" at the birthday celebration for Giovanni Villanova. Of course, where the Villanovas are, intrigue, foul play, dirty politics and dastardly deeds follow. This adventure plays like an elaborate session of "Host a Mystery". It requires a large group, several GMs, the appropriate setting, and plenty of preparation.

The four adventures follow in chapter two. "The Tower of Faith" is set in Eisen in the year 1668. A plot involving the death of the Hierophant, a Montaigne officer, a cardinal, and love... Great plot if you are running a 7th Sea Hero campaign, but most d20 players lean toward the "dark side" and the scenario needs a bit of tweaking to work there. However, this adventure does offer chase rules and an encounter table! Something missing from the Swashbuckling Adventures Book, and this alone is worth the price of admission. "Four `n Twenty Black Birds" is, by far, the best of the four. This adventure takes a page from the popular television series "24 Hours" and inserts the Villanovas, a Vestin or two, a jeweled rose, and love, to make a daring adventure that spans a time of twenty-four hours. And here is the kicker, it's written so that the game time and play time coincide to make an adventure that lasts twenty-four hours {I don't know about you, but as a GM I could get at least three to four sessions out of that}. My only complaint is that this adventure needs a cast list that defines the rolls at a glance; I had to take notes to keep up! "Fischler's Rescue" takes us to the small town of Seeufer in Eisen and involves the town Eisenfürst {Eisen for "mayor"}, his advisor, Heinzelmännchen {Eisen gnomes}, Kobolds, and love {it's a Swashbuckley thing; think of all the Swashbuckling movies you've ever seen, yep, love}. I enjoyed the plot, and it has a good background story, a GM could use it as filler and to give the players some new contacts in Eisen. In the last adventure "Adventure in Puerto Grande" we find ourselves in the Midnight Archipelago. This escapade involves an opera house, a fire, pirates and {you guessed it} revenge. This venture comes in a close second. It works for both Light Heroes and Dark ones, no tweaking necessary.

Chapter three offers us plot seeds and adventure hooks, in fact that's the title of chapter three: Plot Seeds and Adventure Hooks. The first offering is more of an adventure sapling than a plot seed. In fact, it offers a story to follow and several asides to fill in the blanks. The rest of the chapter is dedicated to ideas for adventures in all the lands of Théah and several of the secret societies. More ideas than found in villain's bag of tricks.

And finally, we come to the additions to the timeline 1670-1675 and more. My oh my, what they do to Avalon, the church... Best not to say, I don't want to spoil it for you. I am, though, quite intrigued...

50 Unexpected Events

I’m a sucker for a list of things. I just can’t resist. Anytime I see a “Big List of (Insert Your Idea Here) for Your Game” I just have to buy it. And this one caught my eye.

50 Unexpected Events

It’s a fun set of strange, exciting and odds things to throw at the Heroes. I especially like # 5) “People are talk…” you know I can’t tell you what they are talking about, but it will definitely find its way into my game. I also like #10 but who doesn’t like… and # 43 will find its way into my games. I plan on using some of these events in other games and settings as well…

~I’m Lord Skudley, and that’s my opinion.

50 Family Foibles I’m a sucker for a list of things. I just can’t resist. Anytime I see a “Big List of (Insert Your Idea Here) for Your Game” I just have to buy it.

50 Family Foibles is one of those lists.

Families can be frustrating and fun! As a GM I love to use them for and against the players. And I plan to use these for all their worth. Some honorable mention: 8, but I’m allergic… 31 this one just makes me giggle, and 37 Yep, that’s happened to me.

I plan on using some of these events in other games and settings as well…

~I’m Lord Skudley, and that’s my opinion.

50 Story Starters

I’m a sucker for a list of things. I just can’t resist. Anytime I see a “Big List of (Insert Your Idea Here) for Your Game” I just have to buy it.

So, I purchased 50 Story Starters.

It offers a good start for the Heroes’ Stories. I like 9, 34 (I ran something like this in 7th Sea 1st Edition) and 45… Reminds me of another story. These work as plot devises as well. I plan on using some of these events in other games and settings as well…

~I’m Lord Skudley, and that’s my opinion.