Quite an interesting game. Might be too simple for some, but for others it's alll you really need. I was pretty skeptical that anything useful could be done 35 pages but I was just plain wrong. I won't use everything in my games, but I'll use enough to recommend it be checked out for really good minimalist design.

Another excellent tool for Traveller Referee's to make the world more interesting without having to plot the entire planet's climatology. Recommend and will use in my games. Thanks!

A great resource for the pertinent details of a starport. Not too detailed, but covers enough to make each starport different. Definitely recommend and will use myself.

An interesting take on solo RPGing, including some neat ways to make GM decisions neutrally. Recommended.

This is a short and sweet distillation of item quality in five ratings. It adds some useful variation in normal equipment that creating interesting situations. It doesn't pad out it's length and is well written. Recommended.

A lot of people have good memories of Classic Traveller being a ‘simple rules-light system’. And it is. Except due to its age it’s got a lot of D&Disms that don’t make any sense in a science fiction game. This gets rid of them and makes the game much easier and faster to play.

The whole Classic Traveller system has been streamlined and I’d recommend this book for ANY science fiction game. This is Traveller with only the good parts!

This is an excellent supplement for Traveller or any other science fiction RPG. It consists of lists and descriptions of the various types of androids used in ‘Frontier Space’.

It is essentially an NPC list of the various models of androids.

There are very few grammar/spelling errors and this is greatly appreciated.

I would have liked rules on player character androids, but that’s pretty easy to house rule.

Also there are a couple of ambiguities. For example, several androids are mentioned as having photographic memories but it doesn’t explicitly state that ALL androids have photographic memories or video recording capability. Again this can be house-ruled but I can see an argument for both yes and no.

Also, one android is mentioned as having armor, but it doesn’t state the armor type.

There are also a bunch of skills given to androids that have no definitions. These may be in other ‘Frontier Space’ products or not. They’re pretty easy to figure out, but a formal definition would be nice.

All told, this is pretty useful out of the box and I’ll be using it myself in games.

Even ‘free’ RPG supplements take time to read and evaluate, but I thought it worth mentioning that this is definitely worth your time and money!

Thanks!

I picked this up a while ago, and hadn’t had a chance to look at it until now. I really wish I had.

I’m not even done reading it yet, and it’s already the coolest game I’ve read in a while. It does the three things I find most RPG’s I read (and that’s a bit more than many) don’t do!

1) It’s a new idea that hasn’t been done before. 2) It’s well written and tailored to its idea without being “twee” about it*. 3) It makes you want to play it immediately because the things you do in it seem like fun!

“1366: A Medieval Oddity” by Graham Rose is a simple idea. You play medieval peasants in a pretty straight forward medieval world. Earth. Just peasants. Just ‘normal joes’. Of course, you’re a little bit more special than most peasants and you have an extremely interesting list of talents and oddity’s to choose from.

What stands out immediately is how professionally done it is. Not necessarily in graphic design, but in a good table of contents, very readable layout, minimal misspelling and editing mistakes and when I say minimal, I don’t mean like most PDF RPGs, “I per page” - I mean I don’t remember any.

A perfect progression between the basic history of Medieval England to how to use dice, then create characters, and their personality. All wonderfully influenced by the period itself. Using “humors” to give basic personality types, an appropriate list of period names, and appearances. Everything you need to immediately explain the game and get to it quickly, without getting bogged down in the completely unnecessary fan fiction most RPGs indulge in.

And the rest of it is filled with the kind of touches that in seem like ’extras’ nowadays but make the game instantly playable and greatly useful to GM. Four pages of period-appropriate equipment. Procedures for finding special herbs, creating diseases and the amount of detail on the Bubonic Plague that screams fun adventure! Two beginning adventures and a great list of colorful NPCs and a listing of animals and their stats. Even a ‘bad luck’ table because peasants just can’t get a break!

An example NPCs should give you an idea:

Goblyn of Deddelye, X3, Quidnunc, Motley and Bodkin talents, Brimstone oddity.

If you don’t want to play a game with that guy in it I don’t know what you’re doing in this hobby.

Top it off with a background setting. Though unfortunately with a map.

Thanks for a great game! I can’t wait for the Kickstarter!

• The best way I have of explaining this is all the prehistoric/caveman games that try to use rocks or hand gestures as a substitute for dice because ‘its a caveman game and that’s the way they would play an RPG!’. Except that’s pretty stupid because if cavemen played RPGs they could just as easily use dice!

I just got finished reading “Sherwood | A Game of Outlaws & Arcana”. I’m a very big fan of the Robin Hood tales. Before finding Sherwood I purchased “Shadows of Sherwood” by Kekla Magoon for reading pleasure and it joins a huge collection of Robin Hood books (including “No Good Deed” by Kara Connolly and “Robin Hood vs the Plague Undead” by James Black, both highly recommended!), RPGs (“Darkwood”, “OneDice Robin Hood” and “Furry Outlaws” in hard-copy), television shows (DVDs for both “Rocket Robin Hood” and “The New Adventures of Robin Hood”) and even miniature games (“Outlaws of Sherwood”)! And I have always wanted to run a Robin Hood style campaign so Sherwood for free was a no brainer.

So obviously, “Sherwood” as a pretty easy sell to me. But instead of just going ‘on the pile’ of Robin Hood RPGs I decided that this one was good enough to play.

So keep that in mind, that while I have some criticisms, it’s definitely going to be my next campaign.

First it’s a nice looking game, well laid out and very readable. There is not a lot of artwork in it - almost none - but the layout, font choice and Robin Hood related quotes definitely made up for it.

Both the use of the F* word in the first chapter and the admonition on Gender and Sexuality seemed a little gratuitous to me, these seem to be standard issue on a lot of “modern”, “indie” kids games.

And it definitely feels like an “indie” game. The rules are very fast and loose and there is quite a bit of hand waving throughout.

But there is just enough system that I think it can be played - how much house-ruling you’d want to do comes down to individual taste (as it should be). Alot of games like this need the GM to entirely write the game before they can be played. So this one stood right on the outer edge of not enough. There are only four attributes - Endurance, Luck, Willpower and Wits. They are all capable of being “spent” to accomplish certain effects. Presumably the attributes will stay reduced until ’healed’ in the ‘downtime’ process. There’s a bit more ‘presumptions’ to come.

Then you pick from a small selection of Background Abilities, and a larger section of Careers from which you will choose which table to roll on to get skills and/or Attribute boosts. The selection of careers is particularly interesting and flavorful and well suited to the genre.

All characters are also assumed to have “Troubles” from a table which are not ‘disadvantages’ so much as they are good story elements. Again, each player will have to do some writing to fill in the blanks, but they do get an additional skill level for their trouble.

Players are also told they have two “Connections” to PCs or NPCs. What is done with these are another thing GMs will have presume.

Money is replaced by “Resources” and while enough suggestions are given on how to use it is another area where the GM is given a very light hand. Legend is another point resource representing the outlaw groups reputation and is spent on things such as favors from local villagers to perhaps hide them or provide an alibi. Another thing somewhat left to the GM to determine.

These both are also used as ‘experience’ points.

Finally the PC group must have a “Mission” and “Code” which is defined by the group and used ...however they wish.

Encumbrance is given a very light weight ‘slot’ treatment and weapons, armor and equipment is given one light page with a few Resource cost suggestions.

The rules define Skill Checks and Saving Throws along with Advantages and Disadvantages. Succeeding in a skill requires rolling two six-sided dice and achieving an 8 or more. Jack of all Trades talent might help here. Roll High. Saving Throws roll under an attribute. Roll Low. Spending Luck might help here.

This and the way Careers are structured make me view this as a rather Traveller take on Robin Hood. Why not just use Cepheus? Well it doesn’t bother me, but your mileage may vary.

Combat has another ‘indie’ twist in that initiative is “conversational” (or argumentative) and that either opponents dont roll dice and whether a PC is hit in combat is dependent on their own Skill Roll or..... something else happens and the GM just has to figure it out. This is the most likely place where I think LOTS of house rules will be needed, but again it seems par for the course with modern indie games nowadays.

Damage is also given similar treatment and it appears that that there is no written way for PCs to die if the GM doesn’t want them to. There is also a fast recovery mechanism.

Downtime is what passes as experience and the type of healing, skill acquisition, research or resource gain is chosen.

There is also a magic system which is definitely one of the high points, that while not as strictly defined definitely has more meat on the bone while at the same time matching nicely with the genre - though I’m not real sure I remember Pyromancy coming up in any tales. But a nicely done system with lots of variety for those who want to add magic to their own games. Something which I have seen in Robin Hood tales.

A small set of NPCs are given the indie treatment of having a much smaller set of attributes - basically hit points, armor and attitudes.

Two one page adventures follow along with a set of inspiration books, tv shows and films.

So what do I think? I think it’s well done. It’s good points largely overcome its weaknesses and its style I can definitely work with to run and play the kind of Robin Hood style games I’d like to.

It’s not for inexperienced GMs at all. There is zero to negative hand-holding for new players. Another common indie trait.

As long as you know what your getting - an outline of a good game - and are prepared to fill-in-the-blanks yourself I can definitely recommend this game. I hope there is more forthcoming.

Not a "5" as in this is the last set of rules you'll ever need for the subject, but a 5 in the sense that it does what it says on the tin in an elegant and simple way. Much in the flavor of Mothership but a clever say to rule on social situations.

It could use with some expansion, but it's a great framework as it is.

Highly recommend.

2 pages. No map. A tavern. A potion shop. Move along. Nothing to see here. Overpriced.

I’ve played and enjoyed Wild West RPGs and hope to do so again. I own a ridiculous amount of western role-playing games for someone who’s never run one (Ace & Eights, Western Hero, Coyote Trails, Boot Hill, GURPS Old West, Westhedge, etc.) so it took me a long time to finally buy Wild West Cinema.

And boy I’m glad I did. This has to be not only the best Western RPG I’ve ever read but also the best RPG rule set that Spectrum Games has (and I have nearly every one of those as well).

And thank god they didn’t try to find some awkward way to use poker cards because…”It’s a Western!”.

Slightly irked that there aren’t more (than 1) of the Western Archetypes that are female, though of course, there is no reason you couldn’t play a female Drifter, Gunslinger, Indian Outcast, Outlaw and even Preacher Man. Still I think there’s a Soiled Dove or Homestead Protector archetype that could have added to the fun.

Some great writing and the dip into “Alternity” style character definitions is well done and an very appropriate.

Even the skill definitions were interesting to read! Including an insightful treatise on how to deal with ‘charisma’ in relation to role-playing.

So in addition to being a fine rule set (not perfect, it has some too-fiddly bits, but very few), it’s also a blast to read. I couldn’t recommend it more highly.

The NPC example list is staggeringly good and complete and ought to be emulated by every RPG.

In so many other ways it’s an amazingly well written description of how RPGs should be played and GM’d. It’s a template I’ll use for all my games.

Top if off with a clever and fun starting adventure that includes a ‘home base’ location and the game practically plays itself.

Pound for pound this is the best Western Game I own and if they had a hard-copy version I would buy it instantly. This is a game I could run tomorrow with as close to zero preparation as any game — granted westerns are easier than most - but these rules make a breeze.

I’ve got to say this is the best RPG system put out by Spectrum Games - and that’s saying something! (I have most of them!)

Absolutely excellent overview of 10 fantasy villages. Avoids many of the flaws of other products like this - no "Oh, look! Demigorgon is tending bar!", "The outhouse is a portal to the Elemental Plane of Air", etc.

Just nice normal villages with interesting stories, people, placing and personalities that won't disrupt anyone's campaign with gonzo stuff.

The maps are simple, but well done and nicely generic in that they will fit in any type of terrain without requiring weird terrain additions to someones already existing map (another flaw in other products like this).

I'll definitely keep an eye out for more of this quality. Thanks!

Wonderul, fun, cheesy, great art. Storytelling is a little disjointed sometimes and the hero is the hottest, dumbest hero I've seen in a while, but great fun - everything a comic should be.

I can't add any more than the first review. There is stuff here I will use in my games, and that's as high praise as I can give.