To me, this is the best RPG there is. I discovered it circa 2015 and waited long for a spanish translation that in the end was disappointing (and so far it seems EDGE has abandoned the line, as they tend to do). So I read it all in english and oh boy, this is the richest world my characters have ever set foot in.

It is a different take on sci-fi and post-apocalyptic genre, running away from the already trodden path and avoiding clichés. This is not your typical "X but in the future" reskin we've seen so many times before, it of course draws inspiration from many sources, but noticing them feels more like a reward for the keen eye than an obvious insert. Instead of drawing from the familiar, this game runs free and builds a universe so dense that other franchises have spent decades doing for half the value. And that is probably both its greatest achievement and the biggest hurdle for getting in: just how information packed it is.

But fear not. It will demand some reading and rereading and setting your understanding against the community, but it is the most rewarding experience as a GM I've had. It's not writ for easy setup, it's not synopticized in packed tables to be consulted on a whim. It is meant to be understood and discovered, fulll of mysteries not only for the players, but also the GMs. Once you have your mind tuned to degenesis, each paragraph becomes a plot or campaing hook on its own and game prep is reduced to a minimum, once you understand this game's themes and the ambitions of the characters who move the scenes and behind the scenes, it all clicks in and you can go wherever the decisions of your players take you as a group.

The game is focused heavily on narrative development, both for the overarching metaplot and the group's plot and how it ripples from there, with plenty of examples of stories, both pedestrian and epic, to be told. The system therefore is pretty hands off and brings just the minimal tools for a table to adapt it to their needs. A D6 pool system counting successes at 4+ and using 6s as special effects triggers (more damage, special skills, better effects, etc.), it doesn't take a PhD to master and adapt to the different situations.

I said before this is a novel take on the post-apo genre, but you'll see this is apocalyptic, as the end of the world is still happening even 500 years after a swarm of asteroids set a clean slate on humanity and brought something else within them. It is an adult, gritty world where horror populates the countryside and the hearts of men, but among the many themes it delves into, the hope for mankind is at the very core. There is a plight for survival, the search for meaning in the past and in the future, the identitarian fights between opposing ideologies. There is death and there is rebirth. There are secrets buried centuries by the Eshaton that could change the tides in the blink of an eye. What will your path be?

Ahh, the sins of the fathers. The first scenairo in the official published trilogy campaign of degenesis is delicious, to say the least. A whodunnit in a small mountain village that will resonate throughout the world depending pivotally on the character's actions, it introduces the writing style of degenesis adventures.

In terms of lore, it deepens the comprehension of the anabaptist faith and familiarizes new players and GMs with the world of degenesis at its purest: the new communities that have emerged and strive to survive more than against an incomprehensible alien threat and the hostile world, against their power-hungry human peers. Politics, intrigue, action and mystery permeate this volume densely, and it has hooks and seeds for alternative content in the region other than the canonical adventure it contains to provide enough content for long.

Now, a word of advice for new adopters from a long time degenesis GM: This is not your standard adventure supplement, the written adventure is also the canonical storyline of the metaplot and follows a single path (that is picked up in the later installments). This does not mean it is a railroaded adventure that should be played as written, at all! The most precious resource is not that play by play description, but the rich NPC and location decriptions. RPGs are all about player agency, and knowing the whos and whys of the NPCs will allow any GM to adapt to the world their players make out of it. In example, last time I ran this module, my players decided to cut to the chase and went in a whole different path, so half of the scenario played very differently, but just by knowing the loyalties and priorities ofthe NPCs I could improvise and adapt. Read the adventure, it will be a pleasure and give you ideas of encounters, examples of behaviour from the NPCs and how you can put your players to the test, but do not memorize it. Have fun!

> The darkness engulfs you as you enter the derelict. A strange sheen reveals the patterns on the oblong walls of the hallways. Your footsteps echo through the chambers, then... silence

Alien RPG is the tool for fans of the universe, with enough information to run any kind of campaign within the universe, whether it includes xenomorphs or not, giving plenty of opportunities for human conflict along the book to not tire the trope. It even solves many continuity problems in the franchise (like the retro tech in posterior missions). Fluff-wise, it is a pearl. Mind you, this lore includes all of the franchise, including the polemical Prometheus cycle. But even as I personally dislike them, I find interesting to have some variety to throw in the mix.

Now for the crunch, where a modified year zero engine makes a stellar aparition with the very interesting addition of stress as central mechanic. I love stress, it grants players more chances of success but also of failure, and the scenarios crescendo into panic attacks and chaos with the few stable minds rushing to survival. Now, for the stealth mechanics, while in paper they work a marvel, I feel they drag down the pace horribly, even for a terror atmosphere of slow crawls. I ended up skipping them altogether to keep my players engaged.

I haven't tried space combat nor campaign mechanics (only played self contained scenarios with loads of PC death), but what I read seems manageable and the campaign stuff includes enough content generation to keep it fresh while the GM develops an overarching plot.

> The sun burns in the stranger's eyes > Just one tear before he dies > Black mass can't ease the pain > There's nothing here, there's nothing sane

As much as it is a cliché by now, Mork Borg is the lo-fi extreme underground metal of RPGs and those opening verses to Electric Wizard's eternal Return Trip describe it perfectly. A mysterious dark expanse filled with cults, beasts and wizardry awaits in this beautifully designed OSR. Death is aplenty and characters are as far from heroes in this decadent universe.

The system is simple enough to pick up in a few minutes and character creation is faster than microwaving a goblin's eye. Then why is it so damned good? Well, even in the one liners that fill numerous tables, the writing is extremely fertile for adventure and worldbuilding. You have little exposition here, just the major factions of a diffuse world that's damned to die by a prophecy, but when your party encounters a corpse, rolling for that will spring forth numerous possibilities. In all, the combination makes for very interesting emergent narratives.

And the layout design is just out of this world. Breaks the rules an goes full lysergic zine with the colors and typesetting in a comfortable format full of details. The lo-fi handmade art reminisces of homemade zines, mixed with collage and extreme palettes, making it a punch in your face but one you will gladly take again.

Even if just for the collector value of a such nice book it is worth every single cent. And I am of the opinion this is the way to do OSR, by infusing it with flavor to the brim.