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The Last Stop Boys
Publisher: Martin Caron
by Melissa M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/29/2019 18:24:37

"The Last Stop Boys" is one of those special products which are designed for one system, but with a lot of potential for other ones as well. A supernatural intrigue working nicely in most modern systems with such themes, it tells the story of a grisly murder spawning several ghosts. They're spectres of the street youths cut before their time simply because the high and mighty of their favela found them undesirable, with no justice done as their murderers were acquitted, and angry. Very angry. Now, they're out for blood.

By default, "Boys..." had been written for the Chill game. I'm going to run it in Shadowrun 5E. The story is written well, with a lot of drama and unforced horror. Investigations are the kind of missions which take more to pull off well. They're even harder to write as premade modules, yet the author manages to do so with a lot of skill. The cast of NPCs is plentiful, each of them a solid character to drop into your game as-is or develop further. Everyone has believable motivations. The adventure is open-ended, with focus on why things are happening, without any railroading.

Something I feel worth mentioning is that "Boys..." is definitely a module for a mature group. It deals with child homicide, the victims' restless spirits seeking bloody vengeance, and the many abuses slum inhabitants suffer every day. Those are all difficult topics. Yet "Boys..." handles them with subtlety and much empathy. It is hard to believe such a well-written and well-formatted product is a freebie.

Finally, it seems the author offers excellent customer service. Initially as I downloaded "The Last Stop Boys", the file included only the cover art. A few hours after messaging Mr Caron and the PDF was made available. I look forward to converting "Boys..." into Shadowrun. It is a very fine adventure with much potential, whether in Chill or a different system. My players will certainly enjoy solving the mystery and facing off the ghost collective.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
The Last Stop Boys
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Solar Echoes Starter Kit
Publisher: Corefun Studios, LLC
by Cecilia R. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/04/2014 07:15:04

First of all, I must admit I am mainly a researcher on roleplaying games, gaming culture and surrounding topics. This is going to be helpful to explain my further decision of giving this programme the rating it deserves.

Roleplaying games as any fiction, fantasy and SF genres in particular, rely on diegesis - the creation of the universe the adventures take place in. Many RPGs use nearly the same "generic" sword and sorcery fantasy settings we all know and, after some time, grow bored of. It is mainly because of the popularity of fantasy genre in literature, film and computer games. It seems a lot of people think "If they were turned into bestsellers, I can do it too". Unfortunately, basing on the same archetypes turns them into stereotypes, thus killing the excitement of the session.

On another hand, creating a science-fiction world requires more creativity combined with knowledge of how our own world works. While most people will not mind a wizard who defies the laws of gravity, they will instantly notice something is wrong if the author makes a silly mistake when describing the ecosystem of a Sci-Fi planet. That is why I deem SF RPGs to be more demanding on the publisher's side. For me, Solar Echoes is a very good place to start one's journey to SF roleplaying.

First of all, the rules are relatively intuitive. The rule of five makes it easy to conduct calculations, which, if the rules are too complicated, can easily daunt beginner roleplayers. The basic rules of Solar Echoes are laid-out neatly and allow more flexibility than more popular systems I know. This is very positive for both the players and GMs, the latter ones being able to let their creative juices flow and reshape the game to their - and their players - liking. Sample sheets provided in the pack help imagine the playable character and fill in one's own - another good move from the publisher. There are few things more disheartening for a player than lots of rules that by no means fit into the sheet, leaving a blank page instead of a PC. Solar Echoes is not the case here, it maintains a balance between each element.

The world of Solar Echoes is well-rounded for me. It is neither overdeveloped, which lets the GMs add their own flair to sessions, nor too short. This is a pro for me, because I enjoy flexibility. Expanding the world is a great pleasure for both the GM and the players, who step by step, adventure by adventure, add their ideas to the original concept. Solar Echoes Orientation Guide finely expands the knowledge of the galaxy of Solar Echoes.

Certainly the major pro of Solar Echoes, which other competitive products lack in my humble opinion, is the focus on professions usually overlooked by GMs - thus people who, on a smaller scale than the armies, let's say, work in all kinds of third-level situations, for instance espionage and diplomacy. I prefer smaller parties with well-developed characters and their flaws. Typical archetypal warriors do not appeal to me, therefore as a rule of contradiction, Solar Echoes is a good choice when it comes to SF. I admit I have a soft spot for "protect the Balance" thing. It is really refreshing! The focus on this is shown perfectly by the rules for hacking, persuasion and diplomacy, which I value highly.

It is a well-rounded game in a highly SF setting. Definitely a good start for roleplaying for science-fiction lovers. The price is definitely attractive - too high a price can prevent the potential customer from trying the system. I admit I usually use fantasy settings, but Solar Echoes were a great choice to start doing something more SF. I am glad I took the plunge to try it. Lastly, Corefun Studios LLC offers free-to-try extensions such as Overnight Elite Pack, Solar Echoes Orientation Guide and Xenos NPC Pirate Pack, which allow the group to expand their possibilities and see if they enjoy the setting.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Solar Echoes Starter Kit
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ePIC Character image and token generator
Publisher: Sade
by Cecilia R. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/08/2014 10:17:47

First of all, I must admit I am mainly a researcher on roleplaying games, gaming culture and surrounding topics. This is going to be helpful to explain my further decision of giving this programme the rating it deserves.

In roleplaying and any kind of games, immersion - or suspension of disbelief - is a key to win the hearts of the players. Without it, even a game that covers great mechanics, well-thought plot and good marketing will go to waste. Immersion can be achieved by several techniques and methods every game master ought to be aware of. Visual aids are among most useful ones.

However, not everybody has skills - or simply time - to prepare visual references such as traditional sketches, digital pictures, renders and so on. Buying ready-made stocks of NPCs, even prepared for a specific system, is not an option for regular players. It would be the best if one had a chance to portray his of her playable character as well as NPCs so skilfully that the reference tables with all the data like skills and points would come to life. This is where ePIC comes in.

This little programme is packed full of different stock images rendered in one of leading 3D software on the market, all trimmed up to cover every bodyshape possible, every pose the user desires. It took a lot of time, effort and money to gather all kinds of outfits, hairstyles, pieces of equipment and even animal companions. I am fully aware of how difficult it was for I had the pleasure to observe Sade's work, suggest and discuss the details, even collaborate by donating a few clothes' renders - rather pathetic, I'm afraid. The user of ePIC can customise all options to suit his or her tastes - something a ready-made stock image, no matter how beautiful, cannot offer. The programme itself is fairly intuitive to learn and therefore enables use in various places, even straight on the run during a session. This makes it so handy and worth trying out.

There is an icing on the cake as well: this little gem is currently available as a freebie, whereas most generators like that are either pricey or do not exist at all. If someone wanted to make a single render of similar quality to the ones that can be generated with ePIC, he or she would need to spend a lot of money on content (3D models are very expensive), not to mention even more time and effort to learn the software and render the final piece. Even then, every shape would need to be adjusted. On another hand, ePIC utilises a TriAx weight-mapped Genesis figure allowing smooth transition between different humanoid shapes and provides several races of both genders, all varying in appearance, but maintaining the natural look of every hairstyle and clothing item included in the executable file. Be it a slender elf, stocky dwarf, fearsome orc or even an everyman human, your character is ready to be portrayed in ePIC. Sade makes new addons all the time, which expand the possibilities by offering additional stock images to be layered onto a ready picture.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
ePIC Character image and token generator
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Creator Reply:
thank you :) i also painted many addons :)
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