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"43AD is a gritty military-style game with a slice of dark horror running through it. Life is grim and the world of the native Britons is painted in dark and horrific colours. Britain is a place of fear and death, terrors and torments, and the Iron-Age tribes live with these horrors. Celtic priests, the druids, contain them in lakes and pits and forests. When the legions step onto British soil, they step onto a land of ancient horrors of which they (as yet) know nothing. Life, honour and warfare amongst the tribes is explained for players and GMs alike.
Characters are Roman soldiers, fighting for the emperor in a hostile land against the battle-hardened warriors of the tribes. This is the visible enemy, but beyond, should the Game Master wish to go there, lay the dark secrets of Britain, the night terrors, the death-bringing spirits of the wild, the night crawlers, the face eaters, the skinchangers and the rest of the monsters and wild things that infest Britain. "
Let me tell you a little story, ages ago when I was little and sitting taking in the sights of a history book on Roman Britian bigger then I was. There was a picture of Hydrian's Wall. And I vowed that someday I would not only visit it but understand it as well as the reasons behind it. In 2006 we did just that & connected with several family members. The thing that struck me on the English side of the wall was the weight of how much history there is there. Reading through Zozer Games 43 A.D. is full on like coming home for me. The familiar history mixed with the wyrd in 152 pages & this is a passion project for the author/designer. The amount of detail here is incredible from skill set ups for Cepheus Engine style ancient PC's to the details in weapons, civilization, to monsters the details are bold. Highlights for me include:
Spells
Monsters
Cultural information on Romans and Britons
Character write-ups that fit on a single index card
10 minute character creation
So without heistation I approached Zozer Games & we promptly sent a copy of 43 A.D. & this book is on another level. Sure there are copies of other horror themed historical rpg's sitting on my shelf. But is on another level without a doubt. This isn't to say that 43 A.D.
is completely overwhelming on its hisory or game details. Far from it, the game reads like a combination of deadly campaign, detailed rpg, & action movie waiting to happen. The combat is bloody, the system sings along in a bloody way, & this game screams to be played. The game feels like Zenobia another Paul Elliot creation where the legions of Roman meet the forces of the desert.
But 43 A.D. has the look & feel of Roman occupied Britian with a horror film twist or two thrown in. And this is a deadly little affair of a game. The PC's are strangers in a strange land & they are far from home. And this is a cold, dangerous, lonely little world to have a PC die in. And no its not depressing but its incredibly dangerous.
But is 43 A.D. worth getting?! In a word yes! This is a complete unto it's game & while other books are going smaller & smaller with Cepheus Engine rpg rules. 43 A.D. takes this notion & kicks its teeth in to give the DM & his players a complete package for ten dollars! And its up to Zozer Games quality unto itself. So in a word yes 43 A.D. is very much worth getting for three reasons, one this is a game about Roman occupied Britian done by a historian who writes history & techinical books for a living. Two the maps & cartography are gorgeous! And three the setting is not one that I'd ever want to actually live in & I say this with all due respect! The idea of being in the middle of no place squared surrounded with no modern medicine, no real way home, & surrounded by people who will take your head off? No thanks but to role play in this world from the safety of your table with 2d6 system done by Zozer games absolutely!
When it comes to the supernatural 43AD - Roleplaying in Roman Occupied Britain doesn't skimp. But instead presents a very different world to our own. This is a world where history & magick collide on three fronts. The Celtic, the Roman Empire, & the day to day lives of the Britanians who lived with both both of these powers. And also lived with the power of magick. And die by it! We have a full array of the dark forces on both the Roman & the Celtic sides Black Druids, Skinchangers, the Flayed Man, the Headless Killer, Fomorians, the undead Cauldron-Born, Face Feeders, and individuals such as Longinus (the Undead Centurion, the one who was present at Jesus' crucifixion), Scathach the Witch, and the Old Crone of Aberros all make their presence known. These entities filter through a 2d6 system that on the surface resembles the traditional Cepheus Engine & its deriatives is unique because of its legacy through the Zenobia rpg..
This is because the occult & supernatural existed side by side with the gods for both the Romans & Celtic. But these powers didn't play favorites! The Black Druids, Skinchangers, the Flayed Man, the Headless Killer, Fomorians, & many others will take any PC they can for sacifice or worse. History reflects the source & times, the history is bloody & high handed with PC's getting the worst of it. Glorious! If you want to check out what we're talking about here?! Go to Zozer games & download Zenobia's free materials today!
Note that A.D. 43 takes a vastly different take on the Cepheus Engine & does so with its own brand of style. Yes the systems are similar. But their different in two areas, application & principal. A.D. We're talking about the way armour work in this game, plus the the system for advancement, the easy way that the game handles the importance of advantages, & how magic is powered within it. All in All I think 43AD - Roleplaying in Roman Occupied Britain is a solid game in the Zozer Games line & a fine addition to any DM used to both the Cepheus Engine rpg & its lines. Paul Elliot does an incredible job with this game! Highly recommended!
Eric Fabiaschi
Swords & Stitchery blog
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"Death Stalkers of Antediluvia is a set of supplemental rules for Barbaric! and an introduction to the forth coming setting of Antediluvia.
In here you will find optional and alternate rules for Character Generation, Combat, and Magic. There are also new Races, Traits, Combat Moves, Spells, and Monsters. We attempted to write the optional rules in a modular fashion so you can use some, none, or all of them."
C. Thorin of Magic Pig Media came out with Death Stalkers of Antediluvia (Quantum) which essentially is a Swords & Sorcery campaign starter package for Cepheus Quantum. And the other day my thoughts on Cepheus Quantum leaked out. Which is that some of the products for Cepheus Quantum were a bit thin on page count. There are times when as a DM I want to feel campaign setting & become emergence in it. And fortunately Death Stalkers of Antediluvia (Quantum) this isn't one of those titles. This is a solid title for Barbaric! which is a much rules lighter version of the basic engine from Sword of Cepheus. Sword of Cepheus seems to be far easier for the D&D players to grasp in my experience. Death Stalkers of Antediluvia wears its Sword & Sorcery pedigree on its sleeve quite well. The artwork & layout is well done for an add on book & it provides the DM with everything they will need for a solid Sword & Sorcery campaign romp. It could be used with Cepheus Atom
Death Stalkers of Antediluvia provides the basic Swords & Sorcery elements needed to kick off a campaign from races, monsters, combat moves, non human races, wounds, alterations to existing spells, and new monsters like hags, Gugs, etc. Death Stalkers of Antediluvia is a nice little primer for a Sword & Sorcery campaign that can jump start a campaign from the ground up. And it does it well with the materials given. And there's enough to really kick off a campaign here that will last for years.
Eric Fabiaschi
Swords & Stitchery blog
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" At that insult Leir gave the command. The carnyxes blew, and the two armies fell upon each other. Then there was hacking and smiting; heads were broken and limbs hewn off, there was neighing and trampling of horses, and the bitter cries of men meeting violent death."
The High Kings, Joy Chant
And so begins the seventy three pages of Warband rpg an add on book for Zozer Game's Paul Elliot whose work on Roman Britain's 43 AD rpg speaks for itself. This book covers everything about Britain's Celtics & its not pretty. This is a brutal warrior & druid affair of a game with systems covering the other side of the story;" The Roman invasion of Britain as described in 43AD is of course only one-half of the story. It is quite possible to play the game from the perspective of the tribes using all of the resources found in the main rulebook. What is needed is a revised character creation system enabling players to build tribal heroes. This book provides that." And this isn't history its something a bit more weird & wooly but its still history from a different perspective. The occupied perspective but it does it in terrifying & mature tones with all of the gore intact. And there's plenty of Roman & Britain blood splatter to go along in its 2d6 world of the Roman Empire.
There is plenty of development & while the Cepheus Quantum & other engines go smaller. This book revels in its history explaining clan, family status, honor, & much more. This is an exotic world on the edge that we living in 2021 can scarily imagine;" Information of tribal life is not duplicated from 43AD, instead other resources are included here. You will find a detailed history of the Roman invasion, allowing the Game Master to select a particular campaign or era in which to set the struggle of the tribal resistance. Also included is a mass battle system. With a few rolls of the dice the great battles of history, or of your own games, battles involving tens of thousands of warriors and legionaries, can be resolved easily. If the heroes are involved then the rules tell us what happened to them, too."
Skills, life events, etc are all here to flesh out the lives of your PC's and Warband does it in such an easy to understand & well laid out fashion that we find the world not as we want it. But it finds us asking the hard questions of our characters in quick & easy to follow succession. Paul Elliot has been designing games since the 90's and no where is this fact clearer then in Warband. Names, tribes, culture, is all here in lavish detail. Warband reads part game & part action film waiting to be sprung on players with sprawling wars with casts of hundreds. All of this comes in 2d6 action with the flick of a wrist to create your warrior or champion of your tribe. These are the warriors who challenged the legions of the Vallum Hadriani.
You can also decide what era you wish to play in & what type of guerilla warfare you want to spring on your players. The information is all here for campaign play.
Do you want a druid capable of shape shifting, magickal mayhem, or subject to the whims of the Fey or the Wryd then that's here as well. Magick is as real as the blood around these men & women. The old gods should be respected & no where is this more evident then in Warband. The world shapes the druid to be a tool of powers beyond the ken of men. These are druids that you actually want to play that have meaning beyond their magicks.
The world of 43 AD is described, clans are defined, the honor of these clans is outlined. This is a wild world, a warrior's world, & the world of Warband in detail. The author defines, shapes, and highlights his works easily in terms, conditions, & common sense rules. This is the same approach that we see in the Zenobia rpg that we here in Warband. Casual writing that makes the history work & the fantasy elements however horrifying ( believe me they are) easy to deal with. 43 AD is a world that we want to game in.
Warband takes place in a very alien world of the Roman empire where you are the resistance & from the ground up we are presented a game that is at odds with both itself & its surroundings. Warband is an rpg supplement is as much a love letter to it's subject as it as a game that you want to play. The details here are top notch. The works very well done. The layout is solid & well done. The cartography is well done & maintained.
The subsystem for creating war with both the Roman forces & the clans is well done plus it hits the high notes in spades. This is a system that can handle itself & come back for more. The history is well thought out with the system providing the DM with the tools to handle everything from one end to the bloody other. This is a book for both players & DM's who want PC's that are 'just so' for raiding cattle, taking heads, & gaining honor for the clan! Top notch & highly recommended.
Eric Fabiaschi
Sword & Stitchery Blog
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"It is well known across the Sonora sector that the planet Saresere is a frozen planet with no atmosphere. Despite these harsh conditions the Kon Lo Corporation has a small station on the world mining precious minerals. Of course....this is the story planted by the corporation to keep preying eyes from taking too close a look. Instead of miners there are scientists on this world excavating for alien artifacts and relics. They maintain a small complex of buildings on the surface of the planet. Recently all contact with these scientists has been lost."
There's something about the 2d6 science fictional goodness of Cepheus Engine rpg that draws me in like a moth to the flame. Not really nostolgia although there's a far degree of that, no there's something deeper here. And no more is this more primal then in other adaptations of the material. This is more of a 'locked room crime investigation'. And that's great for an old school Traveller or Cepheus Engine adventure.
Joseph Mohr is the little rpg engine that does, he not unlike Michael Brown & many Cepheus Engine rpg designers quietly churns out adventure after adventure. And 'The Thing in the Ice' is Mr. Mohr's latest adventure effort & 'The Thing in the Ice' nails it. Yeah its a 'pay what you want' & yes the scenario seems very familiar. And yes its only nineteen pages. But by God this is a neatly little way of handling a John Carpenter style adventure with a few twists of its own. This is a very well done short adventure but I'd run this with experienced players. There more then enough that can go wrong to wipe out an entire Cepheus Engine rpg party. This is quite like John Carpenter's The Thing from Another World but there are some shaded differences. And its with those differences where the party could potentially exploit the situation to actually move this beyond the tradition horror/dungeon adventure that takes place with paranoia aplenty. Or the 'The Thing in the Ice' could simply be used as a homage to classic novella 'Who Goes There' or the classic John Carpenter film. And that's fine.. The cartography & layout are solid,especially liked the maps in 'The Thing in the Ice'
What if 'The Thing in the Ice' happened to take place in Stella Publishing's setting 'These Stars Are Ours!? Imagine a new freed humanity PC's are called into an ice covered world & things get down right paranoid as the PC's are dealing with both investigation of the alien life form & the dire circumstances. Is the alien life form a left over Reticulan bio weapon or something else?!
And what about the other Cephues Engine rpg campaign settings such as John Watts 'Clement sector'?! Three things spring to mind here. One the sector isn't fully explored so there's more then enough room for this alien life form. The stars are still isolated, & finally the paranoia is already baked into 'The Clement Sector'. This alien life form is going to be one more alien among the stars to contend with.
Now let's talk about the fact that the Hostile rpg setting by Zozer Games comes with a similar 'John Carpenter's Thing From Anothr World' scenario baked already in the setting book. This isn't really a problem. Because 'The Thing in the Ice' is different enough to be run right along this homage & the PC's are still going to be wondering what do with the alien life form. Zozer games system is a perfect rpg contrast to what has come before.And in point of fact Zozer Games 1970s 2D6 RETRO RULES. But are going to be some or more adventure elements in 'The Thing in the Ice'
I really like 'The Thing in the Ice' the advenure tone is one that really expands in an original way to an idea that we've seen time & again over the years since the appearance of the alien life form in John W. Campbell Jr.'s short novella 'Who Goes there'
Note that 'The Thing in the Ice' is a short adventure but there's room for expansion. And that promise is there within this adventure.
However 'The Thing in the Ice' does what it sets out to do with a one shot adventure that can be added or subtracted from a campaign. The adventure provides the DM with the tools for running a one shot & does it well with plenty of opportunity for investigation as well as a real danger for even an experienced group of PC's their players. 'The Thing in the Ice' is a nice & dangerous mid tier Cepheus Engine rpg adventure!
Eric Fabiaschi
Swords & Stitchery blog
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So let's dive right in on this from the beginning, DM Ricky had grabbed my copy of Saving Cha'alt a day or so ago. I had bought the pdf two days ago & had it printed out. DM Steve & Ricky brought another player over Charlie to meet up. And the rest of gang filled in after six or so tonight. I have no idea who but someone started saying we ought to be riding the high Cha'alterral. An obvious take on the 60's classic Western the High Chapperal, why the Hell not run with it! A quick meeting with my fellow DM's provided me with DM Ricky saying something about using the Sanz Egra’as adventure from Saving Cha'alt. And I just ran with it, the PC's were whipped up using David Baymiller's OSR library rules for Westerns & Victorian rules. And sure I could have used Victorious or Amazing Adventures by Troll Lord games for this. But being familiar with Swords & Wizardry it was a matter of timing.
Here's the classes for the players:
Cowboy - Steve is a retired bounty hunter turned cowboy Colonial William Driskel
Detective - Allen is playing a Pinkerton on the move chasing down a bounty
Gambler - Allen's wife susie Jake Diamond gambler looking for the next score
Gunslinger - Ricky playing the Colorado Kid
Lawman - Rickie's brother Joe is playing Sheriff Sal Winston a man too old for this sh well you get the idea.
Pugilist - Joe's wife Sarah is playing Qin Lee female kung fu fighter looking her brother whose been working on the rail road.
Scout - Charlie is Decoda half American Native scout whose between jobs at the moment
Soldier - Robert is playing Jessie Monroe Buffalo soldier
The Cha'alt time lord Droz kidnaps the entire gang for a very important mission on Cha'alt. That's it that's entire set up for tonight's game session. Zapped picked up & off they go. Droz keeps everyone nice & friendly with a huge plasma blaster in their faces!
There's a few things that DM Ricky pointed out to me right away. The artwork in Saving Cha'alt has improved & so has the cartography of the pdf. The book is essentially the how to run, play, & DM Cha'alt right out of the gate with a series of unconnected adventures that can be run straight of the gate. Because that's exactly what we did tonight.
The player's PC's met with Leena with the following set up after Droz brings them to Cha'alt;"“Listen up, crud-munchers. If you’re with B.J. Security, you’re the best of the best. This mission is high-priority, indigo-clearance, so I’m only going to say this once. President Zob is making his way across the galaxy to the Sluurs who are currently at war with the Vaxxilons. President Zob has detailed files of an ultimate weapon implanted in his memory core. All you have to do is safely escort President Zob on Starship-One to the neutral zone. You’ve already been paid via access crystal, so prepare for teleportation in 5, 4, 3, 2…”
Wait a second we're Old West gunfighters & what not we're not equipped to deal with this?! What the f-- did Droz get us into!?! And off Droz went leaving behind some scant jelly babies in his wake. 'Droz you total #$% ' , was the response from the scout. Well president Zob found the PC's totally charming with Steve's cowboy pulling out a banjo & giving the president the most filth laden Western ballard ever. The rest of the party is trying to convince Leena that Droz double crossed her. After two failed rolls she didn't believe one word coming out of the party's lips.
A few words about Saving Cha'alt & that is that the book is well organized along the same lines of other books in the Cha'alt line. Venger doesn't get diaherra of the pen in Saving Cha'alt. The PC's guns didn't work aboard the president's space craft & the party only had two PC's freak out & try to shoot up the ship which didn't work. They met Arthur Fra’ayn is the most relaxed and sociable of the president's party. After introductions have been made, he’ll ask the PCs to say a little about themselves. While listening, Fra’ayn pours a tumbler of Purple Prizm for everyone. And he nodded & looked amused at the party not understanding a single Wild West reference of which there were many. The lay out is in Saving Cha'alt is solid & the page count at 110 is healthy. And he didn't believe the party that they didn't work for BJ Security! And that's when the main thruster on the president's star ship went out entirely!
And the entire star ship is gonna crash! And that's where we ended for tonight's game of
'Riding on the High Cha'alterral'. We got right into the action but how does Saving Cha'alt measure up to the rest of the Cha'alt books?! That's a solid question & here's some highlights:
Saving Cha'alt is a nice solid foundation to build a campaign from the ground up.
The adventures are not complex but there enough twist & turns to keep things moving.
The maps & cartography are solidly done & easy to use.
The artwork is far more in keeping with the themes of the other Cha'alt books.
The gonzo is there but its not beyond stupid this time & its managable for running a session from zero to go.
The independant adventures means that I don't have to struggle with an author/designer's campaign hanging to cause me as a DM to modify the whole affair together to fit an existing campaign.
All in all I think that Saving Cha'alt is really well done & everyone had fun.
Eric Fabiaschi
Swords & Stitchery Blog
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"One June morning, huge flying craft suddenly appeared in the skies above several major cities. Three days later, a voice translated into many different tongues requested peaceful contact with the people of Earth. A week after the arrival of the strange craft, the Secretary-General of the United Nations was the first human to directly contact an alien race. The V’siilir, as they called themselves, were tall reptiloids that resembled in some ways an evolved species of dinosaur. They asked nothing more than Earth’s help in restoring their dying planet.
It was several months before people noticed a spate of disappearances, and it was several months later still that people realized the ones who had disappeared had all been critical of or hostile to the V’siilir. The aliens denied any involvement and even assigned details from among their own militias to assist in the searches.
Then a private investigator managed to sneak aboard one of the giant V’siilir vessels and learned the truth: the aliens weren’t from another planet: they were from a parallel Earth where the dinosaurs never died out and evolved sapience. They planned to use their new discovery of interdimensional travel to plunder resources and soldiers.
Once the plot was revealed, battle was joined in earnest. The human race has now taken up arms and taken sides in a war to determine the future fate of Earth."
There's a ton of stuff to recommend Cepheus Engine rpg vs regular garden variety high end OSR titles. There's no kickstarters, the authors have their heart & soul in the deep end of the rpg system. One such creator is Michael Brown. Sometimes as a dungeon master your not looking for high concept BS series of monsters or alien species. This isn't the case with Mr. Brown's hobby work because you tell he's put some thought into his creations for many of his rpg titles. This brings us to Species V. If you want a mini campaign or a quick pick up campaign for Cepheus Engine or Cepheus Light?! This is the campaign for a one night stand or a full access campaign. Does this sound like the famous NBC mini series 'V' from the Eighties?! Hell yes it does! Could Michael get sued?! Nope because Michael is far smarter then that. The Devil is in the details or in this case within the advanced reptile alien's details.
The author provides a bite size campaign within two pages for a cinematic campaign. V’siilir are saurian sophonts & we get the full treatment from set up to playing options in two pages. That's right two whole pages of cinematic reptilian goodness. Where can I see using this alien species who may or may not come from another dimensional Earth nearby?! One that springs to mind is using Species V. with Cepheus Engine Lite. Build a campaign from the ground up in Eighties style nostolgia!
Crack a couple of beers call your players & away you go with Species V. But if you think that's the end of this review then your sadly mistaken. With the Eighties nosoligia there's the option of running this campaign with Shadowfall by Baggage Books. Perhaps the V’siilir are not so unknown to the puny humans of this planet after all?! Because Lovecraft was right all along! He wasn't racist he was complete Xenophobic of the things outside! The things that crawl in the dark place want to rule us all!
Can I see using Species V with another 2d6 sci fi setting such as the Hostile Rpg setting?! Awesomeness abounds with this combination with the players fighting a protracted war in a near future world ruled by our reptile like overlords! The cross over potential would make Dark Horse comics jealous! Want to port over to a smaller venue?! Grab Zozer Games Out World Authority & bring a free quick start one night war!
So say you wanna take the fight to Species V?! Well grab a copy of Empire of Time by Baggage Games & beat the reptile bastards back to the stone age across space & time! Heck you can do it across multiple time periods!
Oh but I want something more complicated & more like the X Files involving Species V? Fine then go all of the way back to the Game Designers Workshop days & grab Dark Conspiracy rpg first edition. Then use the material in Species V to fill in the background for one of the reptilian aliens in the game & go forward with a kick ass game of X Files like action!
But,but, I want a far more hard core post apocalytic game with the aliens from that classic TV mini series from the Eighties?! Well then take Species V & add in classic Twilight 2000 let it boil & then really bring home a 'Walking Dead' style campaign using classic original hard core post apocalyptic rpg. Want really blow the players minds add Species V as the source behind the adventure events of Twilight Nightmares adventure 'The Rumors of Our Extinction…" But run Twilight Nightmares with Twilight 2000 first edition. You'll thank me later.
Is Species V perfect?! Hell no! Its a bite sized mini campaign homage to a classic Eighties NBC television mini series with its own twist & turns but for what I as a DM need it too do. Species V fits the bill in spades.
Eric Fabiaschi
Swords & Stitchery Blog
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"Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan is a campaign setting for use with the Warriors of the Red Planet Roleplaying Game.
New character races: Mutant, Robot, Rogue Formian, Rogue Formiankin, Lizard Folk.
Rules for Psychic Combat and Super-Science Research.
Wyrd Stones, mysterious artefacts that let you manipulate the matrix of Matter, Energy, Time and Space.
18 new creatures including Spectral Walkers and Winged Squid.
Seven strange Alien Godlings.
Campaign map with 100 detailed hexes.
The city state of Yankara.
The Vaults of Illumination, a 22 room starting dungeon."
Its been over a week since Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan crossed the gaming table & now the piper is coming due. This Sword & planet campaign setting crams in forty eight pages what has been seen in other game systems drawn out over two hundred or more pages. The fact that works with the Warriors of the Red Planet rpg & gives that rpg system an alternative setting to play in. There are so many good things about Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan where to begin?!
Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan evolved straight out of a home campaign morphed into a full on Sword & Planet adventure setting. And it brings the planetary heat straight out by giving us a straight in your face planetary setting out of the gate Xuhlan was the seat of a instellar empire. But the Fall came hard; "Then came the Cataclysm. There are few facts but many myths and legends regarding the fall of the Primordials. Most accounts are vague and they seldom agree with one another, but many speak of apocalyptic wars, entire star systems being destroyed and a plague of madness forever eclipsing the minds of those few Primordials who survived. Zeenu (or Xanu or Zano depending on which source one consults), Devourer of Stars, glorious Conqueror of the Galaxies, Eternal Hegemon of the Primordials was deposed by his subjects and imprisoned in a black hole (or went into self-imposed exile outside the common space-time continuum, again depending on the source). Mankind, brought to Xuhlan by the Primordials to satisfy some playful whim or other, fought with many other sapients from across the universe for survival in the ruins left behind by their fallen masters. Millennia passed, empires rose, only to degenerate and crumble and come crashing down into barbarism again. Nearly a thousand years ago the surface of Xuhlan was under the hegemony of the Celestial Domain, the greatest human civilisation the planet has ever seen. But as the dynasty of the Aether Lords declined the domain was torn between the competing factions of the Guild of Noetic Engineers and the Ascended Masters of Unspace until the conflict escalated out of control. The human scientists had but learned fragments of the esoteric secrets mastered by the Primordials, but the destructive capacity of their technology was enough to extinguish the majority of human lives on the planet and lay their empire in ruin."
The players start with several major races right out of the gate Mutant, Robot, Rogue Formian insect antmen, Rogue Formiankin former thralls of the insect men, Lizard Folk. Then mutations & psychic combat which is cleaned up a bit as well as being a real boon to Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan . There's superscience research as an add on system to Warriors of the Red Planet & its needed folks. There's really an orginal Dungeons & Dragons feel to Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan . Then we've got Wyrd Stones which are essentially 'infinity stones' of Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan . But these stones are more in keeping with the Pulp magazine Sword & Planet stories that inspired this setting. The Beastery is one of the best parts of Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan because you get a real nice smattering of additional monsters. And if you're into the Warriors of the Red Planet rpg's weird monsters these are some fantastic creatures.
The world of Xuhlan is straight up Pulp goodness right from the get go as you get into the hex crawl of the world setting with over a hundred encounters. The cartography is very well done. And this blends right into the city state of Yankara. And there's even a starting adventure right in Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan called The Vaults of Illumination. Theres 22 rooms & its all set ready to go play!
Is there any downsides to Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan ?! Honestly no in my humble opinion. You've got everything you need to really blow the doors in for an original B/X or original Dungeons & Dragons Sword & Planet campaign.
Gotta say that in addition to Warriors of the Red Planet Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan would also work as an excellent setting to BX Mars. All of the material in Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan can easily bolt on to BX Mars so that the players & DM have an additional world setting to play with.
And this is really one of the strengths of Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan. The fact that it can easily be adapted to any number of OSR systems. For example using Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan with Adventurer,Conqueror, King's Barbarian Conquerors of Kanahu allows the DM to bring another instellar planetary setting into their ACK's campaigns.
Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan does takes its ques from planetary romance, Pulps, & Sword & Planet Science Fantasy. The sum here is far greater then the parts as Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan stands on its own assumptions.
Eric Fabiaschi
Swords & Stitchery Blog
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"This is a supplement for use with Cepheus Engine.
Patrons of the Frontiers of Space is a list of 100 potential patrons for use with my "Frontiers of Space" published previously. These are patrons specific to the Sonora sector of space but they could easily be modified for use elsewhere."
Joseph Mohr is one of those writers & designers whom sleep is another whole cloth luxury. Every couple of weeks he comes up with a new supplement, adventure, campaign or adventure add on for either Cepheus Engine or OSRIC. Such is the case with his Patrons of the Frontiers of Space a 'pay what you want' forty three page NPC patron book for the Cepheus Engine rpg.
Basically Patrons of the Frontiers of Space is a perfectly served up patrons book in the spirit of the classic original Travellers rpg book. It gives a bunch of patrons for your adventurers & hooks to get your Cepheus Engine rpg campaign & adventures rolling. And there are lots of room for NPC double dealing & weirdness to be added into the Cepheus Engine rpg campaign setting of your choice. Patrons are one of the back bones of classic Traveller & Cepheus Engine. Mohr brings some solid choices for adventurers here.
For the Cepheus Engine rpg Patrons of the Frontiers of Space is core & key a way of turning the adventure starter of the campaign engine for the game. NPC patrons allow adventurers to have access to everything from equipment out of their range. To key NPC's as well as hiring the adventurers for situations that the partons don't want to find themselves in. Patrons of the Frontiers of Space gives a solid take & selection of just these while giving the DM excuses for getting the adventurers into situations way over their pay grades.
If your looking for incredibly high standards in layout & artwork look else where Patrons of the Frontiers of Space is pure useful tool box NPC's from right out of the gate for the Cepheus Engine rpg. The layout is no frills, the material here is bare bones, & its very much exactly what it says on the tin. And that's fine.
For my purposes Patrons of the Frontiers of Space is key turn tool box fun for my campaigns for the Cepheus Engine. Can Patrons of the Frontiers of Space be used in other Cepheus Engine rpg supplement settings besides the author's original space opera Cepheus Engine campaign?! In a word, very much so, Patrons of the Frontiers of Space is designed with other use built into its DNA.
For example Stellagama Publishing's These Stars Are Ours could have all kinds of loose mid range corps working with any number of front men patrons. These can be fronts for many of the Gray's interests with the humans who are the new up & coming powers after the interstellar wars.
For Independence Games's Clement Sector books & setting are being invaded by outside forces. Patrons of the Frontiers of Space represents a threat to the established order of regular patrons. These can be NPC folks with clout in the affairs of the intergalatic world stage who are offering the adventurers opportunities for adventure or missions of all kinds.
Patrons of the Frontiers of Space for Zozer Games Hostile represents the 'outside's influence' growing because of the importation of forces far outside the circle of the current crop & influences of the corporations. Humanity in the board room & the streets are vulnerable to the mere presence of royals or some other corporate entities within the universe.
Is Patrons of the Frontiers of Space perfect?! Far from it but its lot better then it has any right to. As a 'pay what you want' adventure it lives up to its own shadow that it sets down for your campaign to use. I'm glad I downloaded Patrons of the Frontiers of Space
Eric Fabiaschi
Swords & Stitchery Blog
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"Escape pods, lifeboats, shuttles, gunboats and dropships – vital smallcraft that play an important part in the gritty American Sector setting of HOSTILE. Nearly all of the smallcraft featured in the setting are covered here, with write-ups, external views and comprehensive deckplans. Included also are two pieces of shuttle-related fiction and a bonus: 11 pages scanned in from the ICO’s Flight Handbook published in 2178!"
Gunboats & Shuttles by Paul Elliott has been sitting on the gaming table for a couple of months now. It stares at our gaming group like an angry marine waiting for its due. So after a couple monthes reading through the book. Using it & really diving into it helps to not take Gunboats & Shuttles for granted. You get a full spectrum of mid to small level ships in this book. These are not incidental & their very well done. These are working marines, roughnecks, spacers, & even cargo haulers ships. And in Gunboats & Shuttles you get a full spectrum of ships across the board:
Neumayer Escape Pod
Orchid Lifeboat
Nomad Ship’s Boat
Sabre Gunboat
Starlifter Modular Shuttle (and 10 module variations)
Halo Heavy Shuttle (all three versions)
Thunderchief Heavy Shuttle
Mustang Dropship
The layout is really well done & stats are right at the DM's or player's fingers you get a whole lotta bang for the dollar amount for Cepheus Engine and the HOSTILE setting. And these craft could potentially be applied for other Cepheus Engine settings as well with the same tech axioms. Everything in Gunboats & Shuttles is oriented towards actual use & play.
We really liked where the author took the craft giving us a very nice overview, application, & even possible game use in each entry. And this ties well into the Hostile setting as a whole. The ships here are very useful with artwork by Ian Stead, Algol, & Maxim Zhuravlevthat really makes it easy to show players yes this is what the PC is flying.
The Heavy lift shuttle is extremely useful for Roughneck or Explorer with a really nice entry. Gunboats & Shuttles brings the heat for adventurers looking for solid mission profiles. And it really feels like a Janes Weapons or vehicle books.
Gunboats & Shuttles is a great book for the DM looking to really add in a cinematic feel to their Hostile games. We get some great fake advertising & entries for Gunboats & Shuttles within the Hostile universe. And these could be used as in game player hand outs. Within this book are some excellent diagrams & maps for use with Cepheus Engine rpg games.
Gunboats & Shuttles is an excellent support book for craft that you need for both Cepheus Engine rpg as well the Hostile setting itself. The craft here are great support ships for both marine & even explorer or roughneck PC's. Gunboats & Shuttles is an excellent quality book to add to your own Cepheus Engine rpg collection.
Eric Fabiaschi
Swords & Stitchery blog
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"Explorers is a supplement for Cepheus Engine and for the gritty HOSTILE science fiction setting.
It provides all of the tools the explorer needs to tackle dangers and exotic encounters on remote worlds. Included within the book is a fully detailed survey ship, the USCS Castle Bravo; an in-depth look at both the Tharsis Armadillo All-Terrain Vehicle as well as the explorer’s habitat of choice: the Leyland-Okuda modular base series. The space suits of the HOSTILE universe are also featured, with a set of customisable options.
Finally, survey and exploration procedures are explained with advice and rules provided which will allow the referee to create a tense, unpredictable and (hopefully!) dangerous survey mission. These come with 36 uninhabited world descriptions for use in your game. "
Players & friends alerted me to the release of Zozer Games Explorers was shoved int erm came exploding into my email box by my players. The cover alone is what really grabs your attention with a creepy classic Science Fiction & 70's Alien style poster artwork feel to it. The supplemenrt dives into the 'Upstream' space mining & exploration faux industry magazine cover. But this is actually the first section of rules & organization over view. Shades of West End Star Wars rpg with the fake adds which were often used as player hand outs. This is gives a solid feel of the field of space exploration in the universe of Hostile. You get a quick arm shot of a common survey vessel & overview of the Armadillo ATV. And its very well done giving the DM a perspective on the ATV and it almost feels like you could actually drive one. And that's one of the things about Explorers as a supplement it feels very grounded in its own universe.
The module base section is very well done & we get down, dirty, & very scientific within Explorers take on living the pioneer life on the edge of galatic discovery. This section has a very much updated feel of those Eighties faux NASA books such as the Mars Mission Manual. This is life on the bleed edge of surival & space exploration. This section of Explorers gives an excellent overview of the shelters, colony pop up dwellings, and bases that are going to be used by PC's.
Next we get into some hard core space suit design & mission specific stuff with regards to the day to day workable skin of the explorer. This section is very well done & hits the high notes that Hostile does with added benefits of actually being another customizable PC section of Explorers. This is one of the best sections of the book because it allows the DM & players to work together to tie together the gear for the PC's missions.
'How To Explore' is one of the best sections of Explorers which involves planets, systems, missions parameters, planetary characteristics, & much more. This section ties in nicely with Explorers especially for instellar exploration campaign. This section goes right into The Castle Bravo survey vessel which was introduced around a decade ago to compensate for the inadequacies of its predecessor, the North Star long range scout. And this is a perfect star ship for the players PC's and its a slamming ship!
The Castle Bravo survey vessel reminds me of many of the classic original Traveller rpg ships. An actual star ship that the PC's can use for missions across the board. Its a real neat design incorporating elements of the classic 70's art Science Fiction ships with the Two Thousands bleeding edge space exploration. In many respects I really love the Castle Bravo survey ship class its really well done.
Explorers within seventy one pages feels like an update of Paul Elliott, & Ben Lecrone's Orbital 2100 campaign setting with huge expansion of many of the ideas, adventure elements, space suits, ships, etc..
Explorers takes the Hostile rpg setting into the outer bleeding edges of instellar space exploration. This means that its a solid drag & drop supplement right into the back end of the Hostile rpg setting. Explorers is a must add on for Roughnecks because the explorers are often the trail blazers or runners for the Rougneck's mining operations.
Because of Explorers the way that the book is set up its perfectly tuned for adding in sci fi horror elements to make the lives of the PC's wretched. All in all Explorers is a solid add on book for the DM of Cepheus Engine campaigns & yes I'm really glad that I grabbed it!
Eric Fabiaschi
Swords & Stitchery blog
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James & Jodi Mishler from Mishler Games have created an OSR sorcerer class that dips deeply into the mythology of classic Dungeons & Dragon style games with their latest Sorcerer Class for Labyrinth Lord
"The new Sorcerer Class for Labyrinth Lord includes the following:
Class Details, including Spellcasting, Sorcerous Origin, and Evoke Magic;
The following Sorcerous Origins, each with their own special abilities:
Angel-Blood
Demon-Blood
Djinn-Blood
Dragon-Blood
Efreet-Blood
Fairy-Blood
Vampire-Blood
New spells for the Dragon-Blood and Vampire-Blood sorcerers, adapted from spells included in the Dragonborn Race and Necromancer Class booklets." The Sorcerer PC Class is one of those classes you don't think your gonna need as a player or DM but then it hits you. This is a perfect class for an OSR horror game or even a science fantasy campaign.
Here the Mishler's do an excellent job of boiling down the PC sorcerer into its OSR roots & this is both its charm. And its dangers; "Sorcerers are humans who possess innate magical spell-casting powers due to ancient, inhuman family bloodlines, such as through having an angel, demon, dragon, fairy, genie, vampire, or other magically-powerful creature in their family line." Why do I say dangers?! Because sorcerers have powerful supernatural or occult parents. Parent can be very protective of their children.
Mishler's sorcerers go to twentieth level & leave lots of room for the players & DM's to have fun with the class in OSR games. The class has plenty of opportunities to take full advantage of the magic infused nature of the class; "SPELLCASTING: Sorcerers possess the ability to cast magic-user spells, but in a very different way than magic-users gain and cast spells. A sorcerer does not learn spells, scribe them in spell books, and then memorize the spells desired. Instead, a sorcerer innately knows a number of spells equal to her level plus her Charisma bonus. She then use her spell slots to cast the spells she knows in any combination desired, within her combination of known spells and available spell casting slots. For example, at 1st level Tiana the Sorceress (CHA 16, +2) knows three 1st level spells (plus one from her Sorcerous Origin), which she can cast in any combination of two spells per day using her two 1st-level spell-casting slots. At each level, when a sorcerer gains a new spell, she may choose a spell of a spell level that she can cast (including any newly-gained spell level from that character level) from the magic-user spell list. For example, Tiana the Sorceress advances from 3rd to 4th level; she may choose one new spell of 1st or 2 nd level, as she can now cast 2nd level spells."
The very nature of the sorcerer's magic makes it even more dangerous; "EVOKE MAGIC: Sorcerers do not have any proper training in the use of magic items that are normally limited to use by magic-users, however, their natural affinity with magic allows them to try to use such items that require activation. In order to do so, they must make a saving throw versus Wands (if using a wand) or Spells or Spell-Like Devices (if using any other item other than scrolls) each time they wish to use an item that requires active use. No roll is needed to use passive items that work without activation. To cast a scroll, the sorcerer must make a Charisma-based Spell Learning Probability Check (Intelligence Table II), with a penalty of 5% per level of the spell; even sorcerers who cannot read can try to use scrolls, as they can feel the magic in the scroll and simply evoke it out of the magical writing. However, there is danger in trying to evoke magic out of a magic item or scroll. If the saving throw fails with a Natural 1, or if the sorcerer rolls 96-00 when trying to use a scroll, Something Bad happens, the nature of which is at the whim of the Labyrinth Lord." I can think of at least ten or so uses for this class as the basis for an NPC villain or mid level hench villain with an occult parent whose a complete & utter bastard.
Mishler shifts from the various Angel-Blood, Demon-Blood, Djinn-Blood, Dragon-Blood, Efreet-Blood
Fairy-Blood, & Vampire-Blood. There ar new spells, advantages, explainations, class advances, & all of this fits into about twenty pages. Not bad for a compact little class with tons of D&D potential to say the least. The two stand outs for my money are the Dragon Blood & the Vampire Blood who have some real potential as possible NPC royals or henchmen for thier parents. Taking the material has been ported over into these sorcerers with spells like this; "Dragon Claw & Fang Level: 1 st level Dragon-Blood Sorcerer Duration: 1 turn per level Range: Self The sorcerer transforms her hands into dragon claws sharp as daggers, and her head into that of a dragon, complete with sharp fangs. The sorcerer may attack each round with a claw/claw/bite routine, dealing the following damage: 1st to 3 rd level 1d4/1d4/2d4, 4th to 6th level 1d4+1/1d4+1/2d6, 7th to 9th level 1d6/1d6/2d8, 10th to 12th level 1d6+1/1d6+1/2d10, 13th to 15th level 1d8/1d8/3d8, and 16th level and above 2d4/2d4/3d10. Attacks made with the claw and bite attacks are rolled on the Monster Attack Table rather than on the Magic-user Attack Table. The sorcerer can cast spells normally while her hands are claws, but other more detailed work might be troublesome."
All in all you get the essence of the sorcerer with all of the backwash of the classes origin. In no way are the Mishler's work being desparaged here. This is a great PC class with some solid bones to it!
So where can the Sorcerer class be used in old school or OSR games or settings?! The obvious answer is within Adventurer, Conqueror, King's Barbarian Conquerors of Kanahu. Half dragons check & Science Fantasy check along with Sword & Sorcery. This is a perfect class to slide in the ACK's backdoor. Then there's Castles & Crusades which this class fits right into epecially given the number of elemental or potential god like cosmic powers we've got lurking in the background of Castles & Crusades. Yes I'm talking about the Adventurer's Backpack book here as the basis for a sorcerer to work along side the classes introduced within that book.
Could the sorcerer class be used with say Lamentations of the Flame Princess!? Yes but it would require a bit of adjustment or would it?! Say using the basics of the sorcerer with some of the spells from Lamentations might be fun.. The sorcerer could be a very dangerous & unknown quatity as an NPC or as a PC. Sorcerer Class for Labyrinth Lord is well done & serves its niche within old school or even OSR games quite nicely. A very useful class in my humble opinion.
Eric Fabiaschi
Dark Corner Blog
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"The fierce, proud, and relentless commander of warriors, standing tall above her enemies and simmering with rage, Jirel bids farewell to the world of treacherous men and walks through a forbidden door into Hell itself in pursuit of freedom, justice, and revenge."
So last night it was a night with an old friend, that friend happened to be C.L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry in paperback. She was created in '34 by C.L.Moore as a reaction to the Sword & Sorcery tales of the Pulp magazine era. Reading through the stacks of Amazon book reviews is like reading through a laundry list of a comic book or Pulp letters column. The Amazon break down from one of their reviewers hits the high marks; "C. L. Moore created Jirel, ruler of Joiry, in reaction to the beefy total-testosterone blood-and-thunder tales of '30s pulp magazines, but Jirel is no anti-Conan. She's a good Catholic girl, stubbornly purposeful, relentless in pursuit of enemies or vengeance, hard-boiled and a little stupid, and cannot be distracted by mere physical attractiveness. Indeed, in Jirel's world, beauty = decadence = corruption. Were these stories written today, inevitably Jirel would have a lot of hot sex, but as they were first published in Weird Tales between 1934-1939, sexual attraction is mostly only vividly implied. No loss. Jirel's journeys through unnatural landscapes and her battles with supernatural opponents are still wonderful to read, and though newcomers Red Sonja and Xena are more famous now, Jirel rules as the archetypal, indomitable redheaded swordswoman in chain mail and greaves, swinging her "great two-edged sword.""
The idea that a Sword & Sorcery character not only rules her own domain but that the supernatural won't leave her alone is something seldom seen. She's a warrior & a more then a bit fallible. This makes her far more relatable to the reader then some of today's characters. She's very much in a similar spirit to some of Clark Ashton Smith's characters in a sense. The ironic play of the setting, the masterful use of the English language, and the sly character development all built around C.L. Moore's weaving of the stories.
And what does any of this have to do with Omer Golan-Joel new Cepheus Engine rpg powered supplement Barbaric! ? Everything really. Barbaric! is the Sword & Sorcery add on book that has the very essence to run a Sword & Sorcery based rpg 2d6 Sword & Sorcery based campaign from the ground up. This means that C.L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry world & setting could easily be adapted into a Barbaric! campaign. Or Robert E.Howard's works, mixed in Clark Ashton Smith, etc. all of the Appendix N writers are grist for the Barbaric! mill. This book clocks in at fifty seven pages of good solid layout, a readable product, & the quality we've come to expect from Stellagama Publishing.
If you want your own Conan wanna be slithering through the darkness, the barbarian hordes tearing down the sorcerer's tower, etc. within Cepheus Engine then Barbaric! is the supplement for you! Omer Golan-Joel does an excellent job of boiling down every Sword & Sorcery & Pulpy goodness of his take on Cepheus Engine rpg system weirdness in Barbaric!. We've seen this before in Sword of Cepheus.
The difference between Sword of Cepheus & Barbaric! is day & night because of how & where Omar places the life paths, the humancentric elements, the Sword & Sorcery elements vs all of the High Fantasy flavor. This is 2d6 Conan like Sword & Sorcery play vs 2d6 High Fantasy, sure they have elements in common but you know the difference when you see it, read it, & play it. Barbaric! hits the high notes of 2d6 Sword & Sorcery play for the its publishing. Cepheus Atom could be used to plug into a whole new world of post apocalyptical goodness.
For bringing to life C.L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry into Barbaric! there are several reasons why it would work. Jirel of Joiry has all of the 'journey of a hero' elements in place, but what happens to her world when she's gone?! Surely there were adventurers looking for her?! Even on a quest for vengence nothing happens in a vacuum. This is where Barbaric! could come into play. The PC's are generated to go on a quest to find her & encounters with the supernatural result from there. Simple & easy to do a 2d6 campaign from there. Moore's Jirel stories include the following:
"Black God's Kiss" (October 1934)
"Black God's Shadow" (December 1934)
"Jirel Meets Magic" (July 1935)
"The Dark Land" (January 1936)
"Quest of the Starstone" (November 1937), with Henry Kuttner
"Hellsgarde" (April 1939)
For grabbing the Jirel of Joiry stories cheaply the Paizo's
Black God's Kiss (Trade Paperback) is the best source in print at the moment.
Eric Fabiaschi
Swords & Stitchery blog
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"The cultists had it all wrong. What if the stars came right and no-one even noticed? Shadowfall takes you to a 1984 where the governments of the world reached an accomodation with some of the universe's horrors and set a watch for the rest, at the cost of giving up what was once best about humanity. Freedom, pity, tolerance -- they've all been traded for security and paranoia, and the powers-that-be admire and even emulate their amoral allies. Intelligence and military ops run amuck and it is not at all a good time to stand out,"
Baggage Books is one of those outfits that recently came to our attention through being in the middle of the Cepheus Engine Rpg community. So what is Shadowfall? Its basically the meet point between Cepheus Engine & H.P. Lovecraft's mythos in a modern dark alley of club X Files. The Cthlhu mythos have not been quiet in the modern world of 2021. Instead they've been very busy putting themselves into the modern world. Your PC's are the agents, fighters, supernatural surivors trying to deal with the modern problems of the Lovecraftian races, gods, etc. on Earth. The cults of these horrors have not been idle folks. They've been on the move full force & Shadowfall feels like a mounting war campaign setting for the Cepheus Engine rpg. Clocking in at 92 pages there's more then enough here to kick off such a campaign. The advantage here is the added benefit of Cepheus Engine rpg extensive system background. The layout & page design is standard Cepheus Engine rpg supplemental book stuff. The font is servicable, the layout solidly done for Shadowfall. This is both an investigative or straight to the point Lovecraftian Mythos horror campagin setting in the making.
Shadowfall as a straight up Lovecraftian Mythos horror campagin setting is dark & brutal. The shadowy masters are there but they have their own hidden agendas. The Lovecraftian material is well done, hits the high notes, and brings home some its own feel within Shadowfall. Carrer paths are solidly done. Shadowfall could easily stand completely & utterly on its own as a Cepheus Engine rpg horror setting with its own Lovecraftian spin.
Shadowfall has its own internal take on the mythos, its histories, the conspiracy theory like shadowy Lovecraftian alien races,cults, etc. slightly different then say the venerable Call of Cthlhu rpg.Shadowfall is a modern game setting with some highly dangerous forces just waiting to snuff out PC's. And what's really enjoyable is that its a self contained alternative Nineteen Eighty Four campaign setting. And yes there's mention of Ronald Ragan, Margret Thatcher, all of the usual suspects. But here the Mythos looms large in the background colouring everything with its Lovecraftian taint.
Shadowfall is a queer beast because it fills a niche within the Cepheus Engine rpg genre that being cosmic horror with its own spin the usual Lovecraftian stories, & material. That's really nicely done making Shadowfall valuable for that reason alone. Now add in the interstellar expansiveness of the Cepheus Engine rpg or original Traveller rpg. Suddenly the interstellar scene becomes very interesting indeed.
Shadowfall in point of fact could be used with other Cepheus Engine products such as Micheal Brown's Dossier series of adventures, careers,etc. and whole new campaign vistas open up for the DM to exploit.
Shadowfall has lots of adventure generation potential for the Cepheus Engine rpg. Paul Drye does an excllent job with his writing bring out the best in some of his adventure seeds, giving possible campaign hooks, and bring the Eighties awesomeness into focus in Shadowfall. For a fiver I think Shadowfall is a real bargain with lots of potential.
Side note Shadowfall makes an excellent Dark Conspiracy rpg addition book as a supplement to add in the Lovecraftian mythos to the DC game universe with no problem at all. Five outta of five for a solid campaign setting book.
Eric Fabiaschi
Swords & Stitchery Blog
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"This source booklet for Labyrinth Lord provides the method for magic-users to create a Miraculous Hut, in the same vein as the infamous crone-witch, Baba Yaga:
This source booklet provides the following details:
Baba Yaga’s Miraculous Transformation
Stage I Miraculous Hut: Dangerous Chicken
Stage II Miraculous Hut: Vicious Chicken
Stage III Miraculous Hut: Tiny Hut
Stage IV Miraculous Hut: Grand Hut
Extra-Dimensional Rooms, Connections, & Hallways
Stage V+ Miraculous Hut: Palatial Hut
The Heart of the Hut
Embedding Magical Features Through Spells
Magnificent Manor Variant
Stone Tower Variant
Note: The creation and improvement of a Miraculous Hut is a Chaotic and Evil Act! Not suitable for most player characters!"
A couple of days ago James Mishler, & Jodi Moran-Mishler sent us a copy of Baba Yaga's Miraculous Transformation. This is one of those titles that clocks in at a whopping twenty four pages of Labyrinth Lord witchy goodness. This is not a book that's intended for PC's at all instead this is a book that's clearly intended for NPC of the Baba Yaga's witch tradition. This is an evil book without any doubt about it. Not in the Lamentations of the Flame Princess sense but it could clearly be used for that retrclone system. Let's clear up something right away, Baba Yaga's Miraculous Transformation isn't a copy of S5 The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga (2e). This is the book that creates the hut folks. That's right!
Baba Yaga's Miraculous Transformation dives into the spells, rites, dark powers, & Hellish magick going on's behind the creation of a chicken legged house. And its rather nasty folks. The writing & lay out in Baba Yaga's Miraculous Transformation are well done. The intent is clear & crisp for the creation of a lair & the powers behind it for an NPC villain that can grow & change with the PC's as they level up or new heroes come along. Baba Yaga's Miraculous Transformation is well done & very dangerous as all Hell! This really is perfect for a Slavic mythological themed game or even a Ravenloft style game with little issue.
You've got your spells, the evil bargains, the human sacrifice, & all of the styles that this style of horror comes in. So from Bovia throughout the realms of horror the player's PC's could be encountering variations of the Baba Yaga's Miraculous Transformation huts, mansions, stone towers,etc.
But the view behind the screen that fuels this is rather nasty & this is also where Baba Yaga's Miraculous Transformation giving options at the table top level for all kinds of bases & operations that these places of dark magic could be used. And its this fact that I can see using this book as an add on to a complete Castles & Crusades Codex Slavorum campaign setting possibly mixed with Ravenloft. That's how flexible Baba Yaga's Miraculous Transformation is in my opinion.
We can even see using this book with Tim Brannan's Daughters of Darkness: The Mara Witch for Basic Era Games to give a really nasty spin on a high level B/X witch NPC with little issue. And this could be spun into an on going NPC villain for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea.
There is a ton to unpack & lots of unrealized gaming potential within Baba Yaga's Miraculous Transformation. This for me is a five outta of five because the Mishler's hit it out of the park with this one. Well done & very useful to the DM whose got a yen for this style of gaming. Baba Yaga's Miraculous Transformation fills that itch for me and its a very well done supplement.
Eric Fabiaschi
Swords & Stitchery blog
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"Within the boundaries of known space are countless tech levels, legends, rumors, and oddity. The majority of it is well understood. Other things aren't as well understood, but are on the frontiers of inquiry and bleeding-edge research. Still other phenomena are constantly subjected to discussion and unscientific analysis. But Out There are things stranger still. Things lurking in the shadows. Things that elude the best minds and the finest science. Things even the most rational citizens can only deem supernatural."
"When such strangeness manifests, it sometimes must be dealt with in some fashion. There is a group of people able to do so; trained to investigate, identify, and if necessary eliminate such supernatural threats. Such a group has been operating since the dawn of the interstellar government. They call themselves the Nightstalkers. The Nightstalkers – officially designated Scout Service Subsection X – are a special clandestine branch of the Scouts, charged with investigating events and objects that many would consider within the realm of the paranormal."
There are times when as a DM you read a science fiction or Pulpy science fantasy novel & thought goes through your head,'You know there should have been a division of troops or scouts that handles that supernatural threat?!' And that's where Career: Nightstalker From Michael Brown comes in. These are the guys who bump back against the supernatural & the weird. You can easily contrast Michael Brown's style of game design against the polished & spit of someone like John Watts or Paul Elliott. Mr. Brown's style is down & dirty in the trenches where the supernatural evil lays. And that's where you'll find Career: Nightstalker folks. Because when the supernatural hits the fan then you are going to want Scout Service Subsection X on your side. Career: Nightstalker clocks in at nine pages of career path goodness & for the 2d6 science fictional goodness of Cepheus Engine rpg its got all of the high marks. Career: Nightstalker is clear,concise, & does a fantastic job of getting you a PC whose going to excel at facing down the nasties in the darkness of space or planet side.
Cepheus Engine rpg has any number of supernatural or occult style adventures lurking in the background.And if you want an example of this then let's talk about Revels of the Damned which is exactly the sort of short burst adventure that will kick off a party of Career: Nightstalker investigations with little issue & be able to morph into a short mini campaign. Here the action shifts onto a whole cloth supernatural affair happening right under the noses of the local royals;"The Pleasure Festival is a time for fun, food, revelry, and no-holds-barred hedonism. Unfortunately for the PCs and the other visitors to the Pleasure Guild, it's also a time for an ancient evil to awaken and continue a mission begun millennia ago. The result is insanity, calamity, and visions of impending doom. Can the adventurers get to the bottom of the chaos and put a stop to it? Or will they also be forced to serve a seemingly-immortal malevolence?"
Revels of the Damned has dangerous weirdness happening right at the ground level. Is this a job for the Scout Service Subsection X?! Oh Hell yes, in spades & its time to get busy tackling the dangers to the local instellar empire. Take Career: Nightstalker add in a bit of Cepheus Modern for your NPC's powers & stats then off you go on a supernatural Cepheus Engine fueled express ride to Hell!
Career: Nightstalker From Michael Brown offers a no nonsense approach to a supernatural investigative branch for the Cepheus Engine rpg. But it could be used as a far future campaign add on career path for the Dark Conspiracy rpg as well! Scout Service Subsection X has to start someplace & deep within the bowels of the governments of a torn up Earth this is the perfect start point for this organization. And in point of fact Michael Brown's Cold War: Containment does exactly this offering a beginning point for a beginning campaign history for the Scout Service Subsection X.
Career: Nightstalker From Michael Brown bang home in nine pages what some games take ages to create. A nine page career path to get your player's PC's kicking supernatural ass in the darkness of space. Why? Because mankind is the warmest place to hide in the cold vacuum of space.
Eric Fabiaschi
Swords & Stitchery
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