Very nice. While it is, as others have commented, essentially a modern version of Fantasy potions dressed up in Mad Science flavor text, it's still a very useful way to itroduce such effects into a low- or no-magic modern setting, or even a future one (quick yet short-lived genetic "boost" infusions are a refershing change from standard sci-combat drug tropes that turn the user into a blood-crazed berserker). This can come in handy in any pulp or steampunk campaign, as well as any comic-book superhero setting. Golden-Age supers always got their powers though serums or rays or such.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Visual presentation keeps the flavor of a WWII secret intelligence briefing, even down to the "destroy this document if necessary" fine print at the bottom of the page.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The two pieces of clip art didn't really capture the pulp flavor. While I'm sure thay were meant to represent Nazi Ubermenschen and Soviet beastmen under the effect of the serums, they looked more like 21st century World of Darkness characters.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

A decent little PDF. While I don't have the core 1948 materials, this would be useful in just about any pulp campaign, and leans closer to historical realism than other 1948 releases I've purchased like Ray Guns and Top-Secret Serums. The Dick Tracy wrist radio and the video transceiver are a little more four-color "Mad Science" oriented, but even so the technology for visual transmission wasn't that far ahead in the mid 40's.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Concise encryption/decryption system.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: There's an embarrassing printing error on page 7, where the rules for Range and Reception are printed twice.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Not a bad little PDF. While I don't have many of the core 1948 setting material, I imagine these "Mad Science" weapons will be useful in any pulp or steampunk campaign, like Pinnacle's Deadlands or Weird War II D20 lines. The links to online wav files are a particularly nice touch, with a very classic black & white serial sound to them.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The highly flavorful wav links<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The Death rays cause negative levels rather than hideous amounts of damage. Maybe it's just me, but I feel a Death Ray should cause, you know.. death, rather than just a tired feeling.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Short but not bad. It gives brief write-ups for just over a dozen archetypal sci-fi cargo types, such exotic ores and crystals and such, giving basic guidelines for typical prices, the sorts of precautions necessary to haul it, and some vague hints as to what it's used for and why people might consider it worth schlepping across the vast wastes of space. I'd be more likely to use it as a guideline for similar items in my own campaign rather than just import these commodities directly.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The idea of precautions is a nice touch, and the fact that it's universal for any game system.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: It's a little bare bones, but then it is only a dollar.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Kinda iffy about this one. There's a little bit about A.I.s as characters, a little bit about A.I.s interacting in VR/The Net/whatever your campaign calls Cyberspace, and a little bit about A.I.s interacting with real world machinery. It seems a bit odd to give them Elemental (Fire) as a type, but I confess I can't think of any alternatives beyond Construct (Incorporeal).<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Since I purchased this looking for info to use in a D20 version of StarDrive, I like that the "working copy" idea fits nicely with StarDrive's concept of the "gridshadow" for cyberspace operations.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: It's a little sparse; it seems like there should be more to say about A.I. characters. (What that might be, precisely, I can't say; but then if I had any ideas, I suppose I'd be writing my own pdf on the subject.)<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

While I usually have nothing but good things to say about Ronin Arts Future products, this one was a little off. I think the main reason it didn't quite work for me was the structure of the results of the Gather Information check to discover each rumor. In most cases, a failed GI check sends the party in the direction of the adventure, while a successful one provides them with reasons not to go on the adventure. It just seems to be a self-defeating setup to me. Mind you, with some work you could still find a way to bring the party to the plot hook, but the majority of these rumors follow the pattern of "Hey, here's a job opportunity or problem to solve./Er, no it isn't really." I still plan to use the one with the bounty hunter, though, so the product was still a useful source of GM ideas.

If Ronin Arts ever does "13 More Gravity Age Rumors", I'd recommend varying the structure a little, so that the party doesn't pick up on the fact that the first person they talk to is always wrong or lying, and the second person is always truthful and right. Sometimes it's better to let them think they've uncovered secret inside Intell with a high Gather Information roll only to send them into a more enticingly-camoflagued trap.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The bounty hunter bait-and-switch hook.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Structure where success means you don't go on the adventure.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Disappointing<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>

This is a gold mine! Out of the 100 adventure ideas offerred, I found something to adapt into my Star*Drive campaign for around 50 of them. Compare that to the Seeds: Sci-Fi series where I was lucky to find 1 idea per book that was worth expanding upon, and even then I'll still have to do most of the work. This product really is superior in that it helpfully provides 3 twists to complicate each premise, and an epilogue to kick off sequel adventures. In all cases, I found at least one twist I liked for that adventure hook, and in several cases I liked all three enough to work into the adventure as red herring subplots or further complications.

I'll probably be able to use even more seeds from this book after a few years of campaign time, when I plan to send my players out beyond the frontier into unexplored space, where the established tech level and low alien population of the initial setting will no longer cause me to reject many of the ideas that I initially did as too hard to fit in at first.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Ideas by the duffel bag, and the dry British humour in descriptions and several seed titles is always appreciated.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

I like this one. While some may want a customizable armor construction system, you really can already do that with the Polymecha series from Devil's Workshop and the Medium Mecha rules from Ronin Arts' Future product line. This is more for those who just want a few pregenerated powersuits to add to their campaign so that outfitting the villain and his thugs isn't an all-night project involving hours of computing purchase DCs and juggling open equipment slots.

While several of the armors shown would fit in a Space Opera, Cyberpunk, or even Post-Apocalyptic setting, there are several, notably the Tin Man, Centurion, and Long Rifle suits that just scream "Comic Book Superhero/Supervillain." The arts style of the individual armor illustrations and the Stand-In minis at the end also reinforce the Comic-book feel. Not that that's a bad thing, I'm looking to participate in a D20 Marvel Supers campaign soon and these would be perfect additions.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Nice versatility of potential settings. Space Opera, Cyberpunk, Post-Apocalypse, Anime-Inspired, Near-Future Technothriller, and Pulp/Comic Book all have something they can use here.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Art, while pretty nifty designs, doesn't always match the feel of the background given for some of the suits. I.e., the Marauder suit is presented as a mass-produced military shock troopers' armor, but is illustrated as a skull-studded horror from Doctor Demonicus's closet.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Some nifty goodies for Stealth mecha in this installment. The reverse-joint leapfrog legs are a always fun, as fellow players of Armored Core will attest, and I like the Battle Harness granting extra equipment slots on a temporary basis.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The purple cover is a little unsightly, it made me think that my printer was low on color ink when I printed it. The switch to dark blue on subsequent products was a good choice.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Another fine Ronin Arts D20 Future supplement. Several nice items grab my attention in this outing, notably "turtle"-type quadruped mecha trading the boost in speed gained from a four-legged chassis for improved durability, and Immense-Size mecha which tower over Colossal opponents. Also keen are specialized superstructure types that allow for an increase to base speed or an extra equipment slot due to their lightness or comppactness.

I do feel I should point out an embarrassing typo, though: The item which surely must be intended as "Winch" is consistently referred to as a "Wench." I can't help but picture a big tough battlemech with a buxom Medieval serving maid, flagon of ale in each hand, perched on its shoulder.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Not too bad. The Gralliks strike me as a generic store-brand version of the Rodians from Star Wars, given their passing similarities in appearance and their propensity for being involved in bounty hunting, smuggling, and related criminal endeavors. Stat-wise, the Grallik aren't too dis-similar from ordinary humans, and the only thing that makes them really alien is their atmospheric dependency on argon. They may not be the flashiest aliens, but they serve nicely as background characters in any spaceport dive in whatever setting you choose to place them.

I'd be interested in seeing what else Dark Quest Games has brewing for its Cyclopedia Galactica.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Sharp graphic layout and visual presentation.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Pretty good. I like the wide range of base animal types from wich the Beastmen are derived, as it saves me the trouble of of trying to adapt further genetically engineered moreaus for my D20 Future campaign from the rules in Savage Species for Anthropomorphic animals, which did not fit well. In Beastmen, just add a simple bonus to one attribute, one skill, and a few free mutations & drawbacks, and your good to go. Many of the mutations referenced are new and included in the file, but there a few from the Darwin's World main book, which I reckon I'll have to get now. Since I'm planning a Space Opera campaign, the post-apocalyptic themed prestige class and sample NPCs weren't as much use to me, but I suppose they'd be handy to you if that's what you're looking for.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Quick & Easy rules to create animal-human hybrids.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: I would have preferred if all mutations referenced were printed with the document, but I understand that most people who get it will probably already have the core book and would be annoyed at such reprinting.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

This is a mixed bag. While I like the idea of traits and flaws enough to use them in the D20 Future campaign I'm preparing, I had hoped that this might have a little more new material. There's a smettering of new Conspiracy, Occult, and Psionic based traits and flaws, but the vast majority is simply cut and pasted from Unearthed Arcana. Frell, I already did that myself. There is a new section on Disadvantages, several of which seem to D20 updatings of flaws from Alternity, with a variable scale indicating the proper XP reward for roleplaying the disadvantage, but there's no immediate benefit to taking them. I think It might work better if those with a fixed drawback value were simply regular flaws that net you a free feat, or if the variable levels of drawback granted a corresponding number of bonus skill points or such. Variable-value disadvantages are really better suited to games where characters are built with points so bigger disadvantages let you buyt bigger advantages, like GURPS or Alternity. It may need a little more tweaking to make it D20, but that's just my opinion.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The half-dozen or so Conspiracy/Occult/Psionic traits and flaws.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Too much reprinting of previously WotC-published material, not enough new content, but I suppose it's a viable alternative to buying the full Unearthed Arcana hardcover if you just want to have traits & flaws in D20 Modern/Future.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

A mixed bag, but generally useful. Some ideas, such as the damaged freighter require little work from the time-pressed GM to make them into mini-adventures. Others, such as the sensor ghost, are better used as elements added to another adventure.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Love the freighter stats and deckplans. I can't ever get enough deckplans.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

A bit weak for my purposes. Many of the seeds offered seem more like pitches for sci-fi short stories or campaign settings than inter-relatable adventure hooks. Too many caused me to think, well, that's an unusual world to grow up in, but what do my players have to do about it? This flaw is shared by Sci-Fi Seeds I through III.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: I did find one I could adapt to my campaign, so I got some use out of this product.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Tone is uneven. Near-future cerebral SF ideas like memory implantation as a way of childrearing are jammed up aginst kooky stuff like vampires from the edge of the universe. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Disappointing<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>