Simple mechanics that invoke the old school 80's comics feel both in themes and game-play. I also greatly enjoyed the variable nature of character/story creation, inspiring choice and creating fantastic stories (and heroes to inhabit them) that I may not have thought of before.

If you want some kickass superhero action with a retro flair and you want to be able to play said game same evening you get the book? I don't see anyone beating Crusaders.

Well, this game was a very pleasant surprise. It's a system which tries to emulate supers rpg systems from the 80's , which it succeeds in doing with random character gen, tables and the like but it has some great little innovations which bring it right up to date. I was already going to like it because the author cites my beloved Golden Heroes as one of his touchstones, but I think the game has great merit on it's own. The author also seems determined to support this product, with several PWYW add ons already available and more to come. Would highly recommend giving this a shot if you're a fan of the genre.

Crusaders is great because it takes a very easy approach to superhero genre. Semi-random generation allows you to create characters that are close to a goal while giving a few fun surprises for someone truly unique. And the player facing mechanics are easy to mod. Great stuff.

I am a long-since confirmed superhero RPG junkie. So, yes, I was gonna give this game a shot no matter what. However, after reading through it, I immediately rolled up a 4-member super-mercenary team. Yes, the character generation is mostly random, but with a good amount of player choice mixed in. This hybrid system is implemented very simply and easily, though, as it everything else in the game. This is a rules-lite game with just enough meat on its bones, lots of customization options, and plans for tons of regular support in the very near future. Try it...you'll like it!

A very nice surprise here! CRUSADERS is a rules-lite supers RPG with much more game-supporting detail than I expected.

This game aims at emulating the bronze age of comics, but there are additional rules options for golden, silver, and dark age supers.

The space in the book is really well used. It's worth a look if you enjoy supers RPGs. The illustrations are well chosen and help a lot with the mood. The typographic style is spot-on '80s as well, very sans-serif!

If you are looking for supers w/ guns, I'd say you might want to have this on your radar: There's a specific sidebar that lets you know all guns do the same amount of damage in the game, unless you house-rule around it. The publisher's perspective is that there are more interesting things to focus on.

I do sometimes like to write up specific types of power-ammo as individual character sheets though, using the game's chargen process, so that could be a way to start here, just as an example. (Personally, fighting a bear is less interesting to me than gear, and there are animal-fighting rules in there.) So anyway...just something to be aware of.

Various example characters and author commentary on the characters' creation are included.

Other notes: The editor (GM) never rolls dice for foes. Rather, the characters roll for defense-side when it's the foe's turn. There are some exceptions listed for this, like there are with many of the rules. It's a house-rule friendly book and I don't think that should be overlooked in learning about how it works.

There are plenty of random tables for character generation for those of us who appreciate that. And at the same time, there are plenty of ways to tweak or change up what isn't working during chargen.

Victory points are included for advancement.

I look forward to exploring the details a bit more. Would love to see a POD in the future, congrats & thanks to the publisher.

The game definitely manages to emulate a comic book feel. Play is fast, streamlined and lots of fun. The rules evoke the games of the 80's (Golden Heroes, V&V, Champions, TSR's Marvel FASERIP) but are easy to learn and work really well. There is no padding. The layout is logical, easy to read and well-organised. Artwork is good.

The game allows you to play characters of power levels roughly equal to the X-Men, Marvel and DC's best street-level heroes, the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. The main level appears to be around X-Men level / Teen Titans level, unsurprisingly, as this is an 80's Supers game.

The random character generation is one of the best random generators I've seen, which allows you 'flip-flop' rolls, (e.g. a roll of 71 can also be taken as 17), and you can also choose what table of powers/skills to use after the rolls are made, if you wish. This allows truly random characters but with your own influence in the process, if you want it. It's so flexible, you can choose to play a Brick, Vigilante, Blaster etc. before you roll, and know you have enough wiggle-room to mold those random rolls to your liking. It's the first random character generator Ive seen to allow you to play the type of character you want.

You begin the game with a starting character at level 1 (or a higher one if you want), and you take your hero on a journey during which they increase in ability, training and experience. The lowest level is 1: New Face and the highest is 10: Living Legend. These levels also affect how well you are recognised and can also influence certain rolls elsewhere. Experience is gained with Victory Points, which accumulate and level-up your characters, allowing them extra points of abilities, skills or improved powers.

There is a Luck mechanic, that the GM (Editor) can use to simulate the whims of fate, which reminds me of the Marvel Saga 'Aura' reading. For example, if you are escaping a collapsing building and it's quite likely it's going to fall down at any second, the GM (Editor) rolls on the Luck table to see what happens. It's a great tool for general use and opens up more creative options. Any character with Probability powers can also influence this table, which is a neat mechanic.

Apart from the default genre setting of the 80's, other genre rules are included for Four-Colour or Gritty campaigns. Altogether, this is a wonderfully playable and fun supers game, which echoes the classic games of the 80s, but plays with an uncluttered and modern sensibility. A keeper. Five stars.

I was super (heh) surprised/excited to see this amongst the New Titles here on DriveThru - Creator Olivier Legrand’s Mazes & Minotaurs RPG is a longtime favorite of mine.

It (Crusaders) focuses on the superhero comics of the 1980s (it’s dedicated to Byrne, Claremont, & Alan Davis) and also the superhero rpgs of that era (it uses percentile dice and a bevy of random tables) but not the rules complexity (simple mechanics, lasers in on the action & heroic drama rather than real world physics/measurements).

Character Generation is a neat mix of random rolls and player choice. Any percentile roll for chargen can be flip-flopped (a 72 becomes a 27) to broaden your selections. Roll doubles (11, 22, 33, etc) - choose or create your own origin/power/etc. Each player also has a set number of options that include sacrificing a roll for a random power for one of the player’s choice (can be used once).

Heroes start at Rank 1 (new face on the scene) and progress via Victory (experience) Points to a max of Rank 10 (Living Legend). Each Rank gives a few attribute points - +1 to 2 different scores - or a new power improvement. Ranks also determine how many Hero Points your Crusader starts each session with - 1 per Rank. Hero Points allow you to flip-flop failed rolls (again, a 72 becomes a 27). Of course a 98 will very, very likely fail regardless.

All (or most) rolls are player facing. There’s a Master Challenge Table that will recall DC Heroes or MSH FASERIP (if only it was in color). In a nutshell you reference your active score (Physique, Prowess, Alertness, Psyche) vs the opposition’s score to determine the number you’ll need to roll under w/ a d100 roll to succeed.

There’s a GM/Campaign section and several Appendices including NPC supervillains (7), example heroes (4), and a nice selection of optional rules.

Anyway, it was an insta-buy for me at $4.95. 104 pages, Color cover, B/W illustrations (not bad, but some pieces seem a lot more 1990s (one dude’s got those Liefeld thigh pouches, for example) and 2000s (big mouths, bigger feet) ) interspersed throughout.

Hopefully a POD options is forthcoming