"Welcome to Clement Sector!

In 2210, scientists discovered a wormhole allowing travel to the opposite side of the Milky Way galaxy. Once across, exploration teams discovered worlds far more suited to human habitation than those in star systems nearer to Earth. Were they terraformed by some unknown race? Are they just a coincidence in the vast diversity of the universe?"

"Over the ensuing years humans left Earth and began to colonize these worlds. Nation-backed colonies. Corporate colonies. People who simply no longer felt compelled to remain on Earth. The best and brightest.

In 2331, the unthinkable happened. The wormhole collapsed leaving those in Clement Sector cut off from Earth. Now these new worlds and new civilizations must stand on their own.

The year is 2342. Adventure awaits!"

John Watts approached me about taking a look at a bunch of Independence Games books & The Clement Sector setting book has been on my Drivethrurpg wish list to get forever. But when you take a look at the extensive and I do mean extensive catalog of Independence Games books it can be a bit intimidating as a new Cepheus Engine rpg DM. So when DM Steve turned me onto Zozer Games Hostile. This might have been a mistake. Now in the past I've taken a look at Omer's 'These Stars Are Ours' but Clement Sector seemed a bit intimidating to me at first. Now that there's been a ton of Cepheus Engine rpg books under my belt & so many games let's take another look!

Clement Sector is humancentric and that's awesome right out of the gate! The Clement sector feels like the best Traveller 2300 rpg setting that isn't ripping that game system or setting off at all. This is a hard science fiction setting with several marked distinctions. Distinction one is the fact that the Clement Sector has a manufacturing base when the worm hole collapsed. Two the Clement Sector is its own entity & an interstellar power within its own right. 'The Clement Sector' setting is a place where your adventurers are going actually want to adventure in & there's lots of opportunity for such. The Clement Sector is really its own game setting & even system separate from the rest of the Cepheus Engine rpg universes. And this is one of the things that also works in its favor. Because if you want to use a pre Fall galactic civilization then the Clement Sector is brilliant for this. Remember that the Clement Sector book is big as in two hundred & seventy two pages big. Your PC's are going to be adventuring there for a long time! The Clement Sector is for lack of a better term a sci fi campaign setting from the edge of eternity. This is a well thought out, expansive, weird, and at its edges quite deadly science fiction campaign for the Cepheus Engine. The technology is high, the spaceships awesome, & the Earth very distant in its own way. The writing is crisp & the Cepheus Engine does an excellent job with the Clement Sector itself. John Watts does excellent design work & The Clement Sector setting is a fine example of this! Highly recommended! Thanks for reading our review! Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Want more OSR goodness?! Please subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/

Oh, beautiful for spacious skies

Skies that are colored gray, not like that of a dead channel, but from rain trying in vain to wash away the grime and evil of the streets below.

For amber waves of grain

Grain used to make “food” to feed America’s 430+ million people; and of course, the fatcats still get the first — and sometimes the only — mouthfuls.

"For purple mountains’ majesties

That the average person will never get to see, because they’re too busy with their noses to the grindstone, pleasing their corporate masters. If the skies were even clear enough, that is.

Above the fruited plain

At least those plains that haven’t been devastated by the worsening weather events brought on by climate change.

America, America

No longer exists in a recognizable form, ever since becoming a mere fascist shell of itself under the boot heel of an ascendant China."

"God shed his grace on thee

The gods now live above the masses in their mighty towers of polycarbon and glass, imposing their will through tyrannical (and compliant) politicians and legions of armored federal agents.

And crown thy good with brotherhood

There’s very little good in the world anymore and “brotherhood” is a joke. There is only destroy or be destroyed, succeed or fail...and the system is rigged to make you fail.

From sea to shining sea

Which (also thanks to climate change) comes a little closer every year, flooding once-habitable land"

"New World is a cyberpunk campaign framework based on the Traveller SRD (which is itself based on The Original Science Fiction Roleplaying Game published in the 1970s) and the Cepheus Engine SRD. Set in the middle of the 21st century in an America rendered almost unrecognizable by past events, the campaign features many of the tropes commonly expected in a cyberpunk world, along with some developed expecially for New World:

A timeline based on and extrapolated from real-life events A familiar lifepath character generation system A generous selection of cybernetic modifications, mundane equipment, and vehicles Simplified rules for computer use and cyber-combat A discussion of mid-21st century American life and culture, including a glossary of slang terms A look at the changes wrought on America and the rest of the world A system for mapping sections of the “Net (aka cyberspace) A system for determining spontaneous radicalization, one of the worst scourges of the future age And much, much more It’s a new world, just around the corner. Welcome to the future, daoren…hope you survive it!"

Someone once told me that all good cyberpunk rpg's are a political statement. And this is true but not in the way that you might think! Michael Brown's New World: 2D6 Adventure in a Cyberpunk America does what some games take pages & pages to do in sixty eight pages of Cepheus Engine rpg goodness. And it does it by hitting all of the usual Cepheus Engine & Traveller notes.

And Mr.Brown lays it out in the first campaign overview; "The High Concept: The heroes are high-tech lowlifes navigating precarious existences in an authoritarian, China-influenced United States. Setting: America, in the near future (within the next 50 years.) America is a “soft” vassal state of China, now the world’s premier superpower. Social and financial breakdowns have produced a dystopian society of haves and have-nots, overseen by megacorporation executives in their mighty towers and preyed upon by organized crime and a puppet US government. However, America still views itself (and behaves) as a mover-and-shaker in global politics; the general public is unaware that the impetus for American policy often begins in the halls of Beijing. Scope: (Suggested) Local at first (one or two cities), perhaps becoming international as the party gains more power and influence and begins tackling larger and more complex adventures." Make no mistake New World: 2D6 Adventure in a Cyberpunk America isn't your usual cyberpunk style game setting. This is an America that is past its prime, seen better days, & is very dangerous. The setting is part action movie & part thinking man's cyberpunk campaign. Brown's design & writing is tight, solid, & easy to incorporate into a 2d6 campaign. Michael Brown is easily one of the least appreciated Cepheus Engine rpg designers using the 2d6 rpg platform today in my opinion. And that's a true shame. The man know what he's doing and New World: 2D6 Adventure in a Cyberpunk America shows this. New World: 2D6 Adventure in a Cyberpunk America is expansive and very well done. New World: 2D6 Adventure in a Cyberpunk America showcases the strengths of the 2d6 system with solid career paths, an extensive cyberpunk array across the board. And a very dangerous setting. In point of fact one could add in either Cepheus Atom or Mr. Brown's Afterday to show areas that have broken down in society. While you don't need either of these products they can easily slot in.

Michael Brown's New World: 2D6 Adventure in a Cyberpunk America uses its cyberpunk aesthetic to its advantage taking carefully created & crafted rules that are perfect for a short beer with pretzels game night. Or as a part of an extensive cyberpunk campaign that could last years. I highly recommend Michael Brown's New World: 2D6 Adventure in a Cyberpunk America. New World: 2D6 Adventure in a Cyberpunk America is a reliable, playable, easy to run, & fun game campaign setting. At eight dollars this is a steal for a fun & very dangerous cyberpunk rpg campaign setting to add to your Cepheus Engine rpg collection!

Thanks for reading our review Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Want more OSR & 2d6 action?? Please subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/

"Archeologists have been studying the primitive natives on the jungle world of Eniran. These natives have carved cities out of the thick jungle there. According to the native legends a god like race lives in a castle in the clouds above them. At first the archeologists thought that this was just native superstition but recently they discovered that there is, indeed, a castle floating in the clouds.

One of the archeologists offers to pay the travelers to accompany him on an expedition to this castle and find out who built it."

Joseph Mohr has been at it again & this time it's 'The Gods Left It Behind' a 'pay what you want 'Cepheus Engine rpg mission that works really well & its a dungeon crawl with a difference. Things go sideways & get complicate in this variation on a dungeon crawl really quickly.

'The Gods Left It Behind' has lots of potential especially for taking the usual dungeon crawl ideas & turning them on their head. Things get very complicated very fast in 'The Gods Left It Behind' really quick and don't let the intro fool you as a DM;

"Sonoran archeologists have been studying the planet Eniran recently. They have been spending time with the various tribes that have carved cities out of the triple canopy jungle on this world. Recently they have discovered legends about a god like race that live in a castle floating in the sky over their world. After a great deal of searching these scientists have discovered that there is, indeed, a castle like structure floating in the sky. It was very difficult to spot as the clouds on this world are often very thick. Archeologist Samuel Logan approaches the travelers about a proposition. He offers CR 100,000 for the travelers to visit Eniran, with him, to explore this castle. He wants to find out what is there, who built it and where they have gone. He also intends to try to find out how this castle is still floating in the sky after all these years. He offers a bonus of CR 10000 for every alien artifact found (and handed over to him)"

The DM could easily take 'The Gods Left It Behind' & adapt in several elements from Sword of Cepheus or even Cepheus Deluxe. This could be done to expand upon the adventure ideas within 'The Gods Left It Behind'. 'The Gods Left It Behind' presents a very short, well done, easy to read, and expand upon adventure for the Cepheus Engine rpg. This is a deadly little adventure in some regards so consider yourself warned!

We have no idea who the aliens were of Eniran within 'The Gods Left It Behind' and its open for the DM to expand upon the ideas, alien life forms, artifacts, etc. within it. There's plenty of potential here for out & out campaign expansion. The adventure elements are really easy to adapt to a wide variety of Cepheus Engine genres. And this unto itself is a solid premise to expand upon the material in 'The Gods Left It Behind'. All in all I'm going to be running to be running 'The Gods Left It Behind' for my Hostile rpg campaign coming up! Thanks for reading our review Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Blog Want more OSR & 2d6 action then please subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/

" Being a SYSTEM-AGNOSTIC Role Playing supplemental treatise ON MONSTERS; which is to say a BESTIARY for your Tabletop Games of Fantasy. Styled in the manner of the Baroque Period; a Curiosity Cabinet of Creatures for enlivening the table!"

"The over 100 entries were gathered out of sundy authors, philosophers, physicians, and poets; sacred and profane. The illustrations are collages of diverse prints and emblems. From the lowly ant to the earth shattering Behemoth, the mundane dog to the alien Ch M G, this collection is a rollicking gambol through history and myth"

A Groats-worth of Grotesques* from G. Edward Patterson III, came in the mail today. This is so very cool, what A Groats-worth of Grotesques is actually is an in universe 'Monster Manual'. A Groats-worth of Grotesques is made up of creatures, monsters, & nasties done with public domain artwork. But done so in such a way as to take many Middle Ages creatures & animals with a brand new OSR spin.

A Groats-worth of Grotesques takes these familar animals & turns them on their ears! We get ants with alien 'in universe' qualities that takes the ant in a completely new direction. There's two hundred and fifty one pages of monsters & creatures. These are done in a complete OSR fashion. This means that the OSR retroclone of your choice can now feature a familiar animal with completely different spin. So you can get the drop on your players with some really nasty or normal creatures.

Ants for example make friends & enemies of other insects. These can be vary dangerous for farmers or other food stuff producers in OSR & D&D style games! This is only the start of this.

G. Edward Patterson III does an excellent job of taking these monsters in weird & different directions. This means that you can get maxium adventure or encounter utility out of the monster or creature from A Groats-worth of Grotesques.The set up is familiar & yet weird for your OSR adventures. The idea that another world or campaign setting is actually different from a creature or biological standpoint is going to keep players on their toes. The illustrations while public domain are put to excellent use. The monsters are colourful & engaging. There's a ton of stuff going on in A Groats-worth of Grotesques. These are all push overs and there's a touch of the alien about many of these familiar creatures of myth & legend.

Many of these creatures & monsters looks like they would feel right at home in a wide variety of OSR systems. Some these in my mind include Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Lion & Dragon, & even B/X Dungeons & Dragons. A Groats-worth of Grotesques is also perfect for a mythic or Middle Ages Castles & Crusades game!

So what can you actually do A Groats-worth of Grotesques?! The monsters & creatures of 'A Groats-worth of Grotesques' is perfect for setting up a Fairytale land or plane. These monsters could also be used nicely as a Jim Henson 'Labyrinth' style game setting dressing or adventure potential! Other uses spring to mind include the following.

Many of these creatures & monsters could well be used as unusual & rare monsters as magical or Fey disease vectors within old school or OSR campaigns. The idea that the monsters from 'A Groats-worth of Grotesques' could serve as the basis for a magical or Fairyland related plague for an OSR game isn't far fetched at all. So is A Groats-worth of Grotesques worth getting?! In my humble opinion, 'Oh Hell yes it is! Thanks for reading our review Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Blog Want more OSR coverage?! Please subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/

"Hot Zone – that’s the crew’s name for LS809, a burning hell-hole orbiting Gliese 9028. It’s where they need to be, the location of a missing hyperspace probe. Acting strangely, whilst plotting new hyperspace co-ordinates, the probe has crashed-landed on the Hot Zone.

Now the ICO want it back - quickly … and quietly.

But the planet won’t let them take the prize so easily. This is a truly ‘hostile’ world with some terrifying and dangerous obstacles to overcome. And … something else… wants the probe."

Hotzone is one of those unassuming little titles that's bypassed me on the Drivethrurpg shelf now like a solid 80's or 90's Sci fi VHS tape whose cover artwork is less then stellar. But whose contents shine far more then the exterior let's on. The basics first this adventure is for Zozer Games Hostile setting. But the more I learn about 2d6 Cepheus Engine driven rpg's this adventure could be easily adapted into other sci fi engines. Paul Elliot is a man who loves his details as is evident by this adventure & even the DM set up introduction shows this; "This is a recovery mission. The player characters (PCs) are the crew of an ICO (Interstellar Commerce Organization) ship called the USCS Outlander that has been given the mission to recover a crashed hyperspace probe. These large unmanned probes map out new hyperspace routes to the stars, and this one has gone awry (on purpose!) and crashed onto uninhabited planet LS809, a hot desert world that orbits Gliese 9028 – a red dwarf star." Already we've got the set up & run through for this mission an its gonna be a really nasty one. Paul Elliot's writing here is spot on walking the line from solid Hostile straight into 'B' movie Friday night rental mode. This is the perfect combo for Hostile on the whole and Hotzone proves this once again.

Hotzone clocks in at twenty seven pages of high octane survival fun! This book brings to mind another Zozer games title and that's Dirtside! Dirtside isn't a title you need to run Hotzone at all! But Hotzone takes full advantage of the design & writing lessons that Mr.Elliot learned on Dirtside. In other words, the writing & design is tight in Hotzone. This is a fun but deadly little adventure where the menace is three fold the planet, the situation, and the other. The other here is just waiting for PC's to screw up so bring extra characters to this one. But is Hotzone worth the download?! In a word yes for a multiplicity of reasons. Hotzone is going to provide more then a few sessions of play. The world planet LS809, a hot desert world that orbits Gliese 9028 – a red dwarf star has some decent potential for extended play across a spectrum of Hostile adventures if the DM uses his head. Mining, exploration, and more are mixed into the adventure if the player's PC's survive. This isn't one off kill zone adventure but a highly dangerous mission on an alien planet. And its a solidly done adventure up too the quality that Zozer Games produces. Thanks for reading our review Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery blog Want more Swords & Stitchery blog Please subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/

" Starships riding fire across the sky. Heroes and villains exchanging laser fire. Desperate spacers struggling against an alien monstrosity. Vast planetary vistas, flying cities, moonscapes, mad robots, and first encounters. In short: high-action science-fiction adventure that stimulates your sense of wonder. Cepheus Deluxe puts you in the shoes of an adventurer visiting distant stars and encountering the unknown. Whether you are a seasoned player looking for a rules-light game, or a new gamer wanting to experience what science-fiction role-playing games are all about, Cepheus Deluxe opens your way forward.

Cepheus Deluxe is a set of rules for playing classic science fiction games. It includes rules on creating characters, resolving actions, fighting other creatures, and engaging in space battles, generating worlds, handling the risks of interstellar speculative trading, exploring new worlds, and many other activities. While designed for fast, action-packed play rather than an accurate simulation of reality, Cepheus Deluxe encompasses a wide variety of rules and materials for building a science-fiction universe and playing in it.

Cepheus Deluxe draws its inspiration from old-school science-fiction roleplaying games. It shares many similarities with these games. Material from older rules sets and those created with Cepheus Deluxe, the old Cepheus Light, the Cepheus Engine Core, and old-school sci-fi roleplaying games, are easily compatible with only a moderate amount of adjustment."

The other day I received my copy of Cepheus Deluxe and this is one OSR system that we've been looking forward to for sometime. Authors/designers Omer Golan-Joel, Richard Hazlewood, Josh Peters, & Robert L. S. Weaver really do actually deliver the goods here. Cepheus Deluxe is far different & far superior to other versions of the Cepheus Engine even though they are cross compatible. How is this version of the Cepheus Engine different then say Cepheus Light? Well according to the Omar Golan-Joel himself; "Double the size of Cepheus Light - including animal generation rules, robot creation rules, new and expanded ship design rules, many new vehicles, equipment, and cybernetics, and many, many optional rules to easily permit you to make the game your own. We revised all rules based on customer (and, later, playtester) feedback, to make this as playable and enjoyable as possible."

And they really have clocking in at two hundred & twenty seven pages of OSR & Cepheus Engine goodness Cepheus Deluxe covers everyithing from PC generation down to space combat in an easily understood format. The material here within Cepheus Deluxe is up to Stellagama Publishing standards & its very well done. Cepheus Deluxe has easy to read colums, nice layout, & presents a well tested system. Cepheus Deluxe travels down the same road as The Sword of Cepheus Sword was published in 2020, so it has sold quickly. It uses a streamlined and skill-based 2d6 system & so does Cepheus Deluxe. Cepheus Deluxe takes full advantage of the Cepheus Engine system in invovatlve & well thought out ways. So what can be done with Cepheus Deluxe?! Anythng! The material & rules of Cepheus Deluxe is geared for actual campaign play & it lives up to its The Sword of Cepheus pedigree. Cepheus Deluxe is geared towards adventure & campaign play. The rules are simple, reliable, & easy to digest 2d6 system goodness done with respect to the legacy of the Cepheus Engine. Very solid design & good ultility with Cepheus Deluxe as it only sells for a mere 9.99 for the pdf on Drivethrurpg. Cepheus Deluxe is an amazing addition to the Stellagama Publishing line of games continuing the amazing quality of products. For me Cepheus Deluxe is definitely worth the download! Thanks for reading our review! Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Blog For more reviews & support for 2d6 Cepheus Engine & other OSR products please subsribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/

"Cha'alt is an eldritch, gonzo, science-fantasy, post-apocalyptic campaign setting for old and new versions of D&D, retro-clones, and every OSR homage in-between.

Cha'alt After Dark contains a smattering of Game Mastering advice, optional rules relating to sex, and adventures both long and short - with plenty of random tables. Be mindful that Cha'alt After Dark touches on mature themes. "

Let's be honest here, Cha'alt After Dark by Venger Satanis is a series of supplemental rules, sexual encounter random tables along with consquences, and lots of Venger Satanis DMing advice. This section is followed by three adventures sequences Manfestation which charts a crash landing on Cha'alt. Facing down Ja’areth-Syn the priest of the Great Old Ones (an NPC based on the cultlclassic 'Maelstorm The Destruction' film). The entire affair bleeds into the next adventure arch 'So beautiful So Dangous' a homage to the Seventies Sci Fi film ' Heavy Metal'. These adventure with desert encounters & more strange interconnected encounters all wtih the random tables that Venger is famous for. These mini adventures can be run upon their own or as a part of an interconnected micro campaign.

'Cha'alt After Dark' goes into its next cycle of adventure arches with the 'The Girl with the Tentacle Tattoo'. And again with get a few random tables, smatterings of Cha'alt encounters, a micro dungeon & some down & dirty dungeon crawling the Satanis Way. And lots more random encounters. 'Cha'alt After Dark' kinda interconnects with his previous module 'Saving Cha'alt'. Thing is that Venger has gotten much better at the module & adventure writing. Part of the idea here with the random tables & Cha'alt themed ideas is that the module never runs the same way twice. The fact is that 'Cha'alt After Dark' is good value. If your into Cha'alt & Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise then 'Cha'alt After Dark' is a must have for you!

Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Blog Want More OSR Goodness Please Subscribe To https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/ Thanks for reading our review

" JULY 1ST Massive update! Complete layout makeover as well as major editing. Looks better than ever, you won't want to miss this!

That's right! The 1st supplement to "Neon Lords of the Toxic Wasteland" is here! The solo rules and adventure packs quite a punch! This high octane adventure pits your favorite neon scum face to face and against the odds. Construct traps to take down those mutie scum, you're gonna need all the help you can get! If you manage to survive you can keep the action going with solo gigs. Jobs posted for "people of your particular set of skills" Ranging from a pizza delivery job to take down the president! Packed with Loads of new monsters, weapons, and traps there is sure enough packed in these 30 something pages to keep even the most grizzled neon lord happy!

So take a few shots of trash water, strap on your fanny pack, ready your slasher, and dive right in. Take on the vile mutie scum of the wasteland all alone and come back stinking filthy rich!"

Playing by yourself has been a bit of a weird aspect of role playing but a vital one. How often do we hear of one player coming into the hobby through " choose your own adventure" game books. What would happen if you as the player were thrown into the neon lit dank streets of Neon Lords of the Toxic Wastelands rpg?! 'Thirsty for More!' presents something not seen in Gonzo gaming too often, 'solo play'. There are the occasional exceptions & ' Thirsty For More' comes in a big 80's & 90's green neon blazing thirty six pages of solo play!

' Thirsty For More' slides into the NEON LORDS OF THE TOXIC WASTELAND rpg like an Eighties porche. The rules focus the various PC classes into the NEON LORDS OF THE TOXIC WASTELAND rpg for solo rpg play. Where this shines is in the free introductory adventure 'The Last Outpost on the Left Remastered.'

' Thirsty For More' adds in a the exact same game ideals & systems that we saw using the following; ""In addition to being built on top of the 'BX" rules, the core rules use an ability class points system and fortune points in which grants the player some flexibility in dire rolls. ' Thirsty For More' is only thirty six pages but it includes a Hell of a lot for thirty six pages. You basically get gobs of little missions & adventures strung together to create an adventure prelude to 'The Last Outpost on the Left Remastered.' You get everything from new monsters, weapons, etc. all under the cover of a solid Neo-Terraxx cover. This is a fine addition to Neon Lords of the Toxic Wastelands rpg! Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Want more OSR goodness Subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/

Joseph Mohr's Furnace adventureis excellent with the added benefit of a war mission & up twist in the mix. The adventure is well done with a Hellish planetary background & complications added in. Furnace is tightly paced, excellently done, and very well done with a great adventure storyline thrown in! Highly recommended! Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery blog Want more OSR action subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/

When it comes to interstellar rpg games there's one thing that's always been a pain in the afterburner. That's the fact that there's never enough equipment to satisfy every science fiction or science fantasy fan. And this was something that came across when looking over Troll Lord Games's Starship Warden rpg book. Not that there isn't enough sci fi equipment & weapons. But enough to satisfy the sci fi fanatics? What to do?! Fortunately all of the heavy lifting was taken care of by ANGRY GOLEM GAMES. And their book 'The Stars Without Number Equipment Database'.

If your expecting oogles of sci fi artwork & fantastic equipment illustrations there's none of that. And that's fine for this sci fi rpg fan because we're interested in stats, suits, armor, weapons, & all kinds of mayhem inducing devices. And that's exactly what we get here! There are solid stats on, ' Armors, Ranged Weapons, Melee Weapons, Heavy Weapons, Ammunition's, Communications, Computing & Accessories, Field Equipment, Pharmaceuticals, Tools and Medical, Batteries and Generators, Vehicles, Drones, Droids, Cyberware and Misc. Equipment.' All of this comes in solid sixty two pages of ultra violence goodness that your PC's are gonna wanna use. 'The Stars Without Number Equipment Database' isn't sit on shelf equipment & weapons but actual fighting & solidly made stuff that you can equip your PC's with or better yet your NPC's! There's enough in sixty two pages to get a full on adventuring group equipped & ready to start kicking alien or human behind. And its well done. The book is well laid out & very much up to ANGRY GOLEM GAMES standards.

The Stars Without Number Equipment Database' is sheer OSR & it's ready to go for those games easily. And this is something we find time & again ready to go for each of these weapons. The Stars Without Number Equipment Database' will easily work with OSR games such as Mutant Future or Stars Without Number Revised. 'The Stars Without Number Equipment Database' is a solid book which does exactly what it says on the tin & title. That is it gives you gobs of weapons, armor, & equipment for your OSR sci fi games & it does it well.

Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Blog Want more OSR Reviews Please Subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/

Will be keeping an eye out for those updates! Thanks!

"The Gladius Battalion is a general-purpose military company, contracted to provide training for local forces, security for rear areas, important installations, checkpoints, convoy escorts, as well as bodyguards for key personnel or VIPs. They are normally hired by groups and organizations who don't want to tie up their own personnel, whose loyalty is presumed to be without question, on the more dull and mundane military security jobs; freeing up larger numbers of their own personnel for the more specialized and important missions.'

"Units like the Gladius Battalion, are found everywhere, doing everyday mundane but essential security tasks, rather than the exciting "strike from space!" operations so beloved of the entertainment channels."

There are times when a DM needs a good set of mercenary NPC's & this is one of those times. Fortunately Moon Toad Publishing is there to step into the breech with 'The Gladius Battalion Handbook' By Ian Stead, Tim Price, & Ade Stewart for Cepheus Engine rpg or the Classic Traveller rpg. 'The Gladius Battalion Handbook' book has everything you need on a mercenary unit to employ as hired help or hindrance for your Cepheus Engine powered adventurers! While Drivethrurpg has their big Christmas in July sale 'The Gladius Battalion Handbook' wasn't in the sale instead this came up through our MeWe & Facebook Cepheus Engine rpg groups. There are plenty of other excellent Cepheus Engine rpg powered game supplements such as Michael Brown's offerings, Independence Games , & many more including Stellagama Publishing.

So we leap back into 'The Gladius Battalion Handbook' and right away we get history, background, & more of this mercenary organization. There's something of the Hammer's Slammer's series or H. Beam Piper's Space Viking's influence in 'The Gladius Battalion Handbook' . That's not a bad thing at all because it speaks to the science fictional roots of the product.

We get treated to the inner workings of 'The Gladius Battalion' and their strengths, weaknesses, equipment. The book reads like a brochure for a real mercenary out fit & not one that we'd want to tangle with. 'The Gladius Battalion' isn't necessarily the bad guys but these are the guys that you send in to handle H. Beam Piper's Space Vikings because the local interstellar warlord & his forces can't handle the military might of the invaders. Need a palace rebellion put down? Call in the 'The Gladius Battalion' to handle the rebels. Because in 30 pages you get everything you need to present, polish, & handle your own take for your came of the 'The Gladius Battalion'. Everything is professionally presented up to & including Moon Toad Publishing's usual spec's & easy to read material.

Be warned 'The Gladius Battalion' isn't a push over organization by any means. These are professional soldiers & mercenaries capable of taking on experienced groups of adventurers. So you can use these forces sparingly or even to get your own adventurers out of trouble. Or maybe the PC's are even vets who mustered out of the 'The Gladius Battalion'.

The bottom line is 'The Gladius Battalion Handbook' By Ian Stead, Tim Price, & Ade Stewart for Cepheus Engine rpg or the Classic Traveller rpg worth it?! In my humble opinion? Yes there's tons of uses for a gun ho, sharp, & well versed mercenary outfit for a science fiction campaign. Bare in mind that I bought this product with my own hard earned money not that Moon Toad Publishing wouldn't have given me a complementary copy. No I grabbed 'The Gladius Battalion Handbook' because its going to fix a nice little hole that's sitting in our own on going Cepheus Engine rpg campaign.

Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Blog Want More OSR & Cepheus Engine Goodness? Subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com

There's a possible cure in the Sanora sector as Joseph Mohr's Rumble In The Jungle adventure provides one possible cure & or treatment. The trick is surviving Mr.Mohr's pay what you want adventure?! Mohr in twenty six pages neatly wraps up a solid adventure and its easy to use for Cepheus Engine or other OSR games. Joseph Mohr has been one of the leading light in the Cepheus Engine rpg community. He cranks out easy to adapt rpg adventures & this is a great one.

"A Myriad of Magic Items is a collection of new and unusual magic items designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, but readily useable with any Old School RPG.

A Myriad of Magic Items contains a total of 80 new magic items."

The latest book to come our way has been James Mishler Games A Myriad of Magic Items the latest in a string of very solidly done quality OSR supplements. A Myriad of Magic Items is by the husband & wife team of James Mishler, & Jodi Moran-Mishler for the Labyrinth Lord retroclone.

The OSR twist up is the fact that in 'A Myriad of Magic Items' each magic item is for a specific D&D style class. This is that we've seen in other old school game supplements before & goes all of the way back to David A. Hargrave's Arduin rpg supplements for original Dungeons & Dragons. Here the Mishler's take A Myriad of Magic Items to its logical conclusion. Each magic item hooks into the character class & its done very well. This idea is also done in many of Castles & Crusades rpg supplements especially Troll Lord Games Castles & Crusades Mystical Companions for C&C. Where the occult familiar matches the capacity of its master's class's hand & specialty.

'A Myriad of Magic Items' takes this idea to its logical conclusion with the lost & elusive treasures lost to their original owners. Now these items wait in treasure chests & other monster haunted ruins across your campaign world. Take for example the Shifter's cloak a Barbarian themed item ;"SHIFTER’S CLOAK: A shifter’s cloak is an enchanted cloak that enables a barbarian, berserker, or ranger, along with all their equipment, to transform into animal form. While in the animal form the wearer retains their intelligence and personality and possesses their normal Hit Dice and Hit Points, but have the animals’ Armor Class, attacks as a Monster of their Hit Dice (if better than their normal attacks), and attacks using the animal’s natural attack forms. The wearer can change back and forth as often as desired, remaining in the animal form as long as desired. 1 in 6 of these items allows the wearer to speak while in animal form. The types of animals vary widely, depending on the type of animals valued by a barbarian culture, and might include bears, boars, crows, eagles, falcons, foxes, horses, hyenas, lions, otters, panthers, salmon, seals, sharks, snakes, swans, tigers, wolverines, and/or wolves, among others (though a cloak only allows shifting into one type). 1 in 12 of these items is cursed, such that the third time transforming into the animal form, the wearer remains stuck in that form, losing their own personality as per a polymorph other spell, until the application of a remove curse spell. Anyone other than a barbarian, berserker, or ranger who dons a shifter’s cloak is cursed as above." The Shifter's Cloak offers all kinds of possible adventures hooks for the enterprising DM especially for one whose got a Sword & Sorcery themed campaign setting in play. This is a sample of the quality that the Mishler's continue to bring to the table. A Myriad of Magic Items brings this & many other treasures to the table in thirty two pages of OSR goodness. They cover many of the major classes in Labyrinth Lord including: Assassins Barbarians (and Berserkers) Bards Clerics Druids Dwarves Elves Fighters Gnomes Halflings Illusionists Magic-users Monks Necromancers Paladins Rangers Runemasters Sorcerers Thieves Many of these treasures found in 'A Myriad of Magic Items' could be in point fact be used as the central adventure focus & added as a campaign goal. This would work as the treasure being a familial focus for an old school campaign for royalty or as the deciding force behind a crown or adventure goal. Is 'A Myriad of Magic Items' worth the download?! Oh most certainly given the following the flexibility of the treasures presented, the originality of the Mishler's vision, & their application within old school & OSR games. Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Blog Want more OSR action? Subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/

" Few monsters are as popular or versatile as the vampire. It’s popularity and presence in the public mind has grown ever larger in every artistic genre from fiction and poetry, to movies and comics, and to roleplaying games."

"They can be physically hideous, or they can be as beautiful as angels. They can be soulless monsters, or they can victims of a curse they wish to be liberated from. When it comes to vampires, only your imagination limits you, because the genre standards for them are fluid and many. Some might even say there are no standards for how to properly portray a vampire in fiction"

Monster, Monster: Vampires By Ed Fedory, Andrew Pavlides, Steve Miller From NUELOW Games clocks in at forty pages for Fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. But actually Monster, Monster: Vampires has the usual NUELOW Games Skywald publishing monster comic book story. This is followed by several different types of vampires in monster camps such as this lovely; "Feral Vampire Medium undead, Chaotic Evil Armor Class 17 (natural armor, shield) Hit Points 97 (13d8 +39) Speed 30 ft. Str 20 (+5) Dex 16 (+3) Con 16 (+3) Int 12 (+1) Wis 16 (+3) Cha 12 (+1) Saving Throws Strength+8, Wis+6 Skills Intimidation +6, perception+6, stealth+6, survival+6 Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-magical weapons Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, stunned Senses Darkvision 120’, passive Perception 16 Languages Common Challenge 8 (3900 xp)" There are some really well written individual species of undead here that are just waiting to suck the life out of even a modern group of adventurers. This makes this exceptionally perfect for Amazing Adventures fifth edition.

And while there's vampires actually in AA, these variants allow the DM to present quite a bit of variety & a bit of mystery for example this lovely ripe for creation or conversion into an NPC; "Demonic Vampire Medium undead, Chaotic Evil Armor Class 17 (natural armor, shield) Hit Points 97 (13d8 +39) Speed 30 ft. Str 20 (+5) Dex 16 (+3) Con 16 (+3) Int 12 (+1) Wis 16 (+3) Cha 12 (+1) Saving Throws Strength+8, Wis+6 Skills Intimidation +6, Perception +6, Stealth +6, Survival +6 Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non magical weapons Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, stunned Senses Darkvision 120’, passive Perception 16 Languages Common Challenge 8 (3900 xp)"

And thus we get even more vampire varieties but its the set up, proper monster ecology, & we even get some NPC's to throw into your fifth edition games. But these are perfectly complicated enough to add into a modernish Pulp game. Take for example Black Anne please! She's perfectly suited for a modern game; "For decades, Black Anne and her cult of witches terrorized remote northern islands. While coven members came and went—claimed by old age, sacrifice to the dark powers they drew power from, or the weapons of righteous adventurers, Anne avoided death’s icy grip. She was a favored servant of a god of ultimate evil, and she maintained her your through evil rites that involved bathing in the blood of children." And we get more loveliness as time goes on. Is this new or wholly innovative?! No but that's not the point here. Monster, Monster: Vampires is perfect for the DM with no time that wants to inject a good dose of vampire blood into their own home campaigns. Thanks for reading our review Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Blog Want More Pulpy Goodness Please Subscribe To https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/

" …We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…"

Winston Churchill

"Take the role of brave soldier, mysterious occultist, internally focused psionics or ingenious gadgeteer and fight dark menace of Axis with its dark secrets and experiments."

So over the course of the last two weeks there's been one or two Quantum Engine products that have been teased. One of these hit all of the high notes for me & that's World at Weird War II By Nicolas Kaczmarczyk. This is a high end beer & pretzels World War II game with an occult & weird war bent. The World at Weird War II game that works on the Quantum Engine convention; "The Quantum Engine uses common six-sided dice. We note each die you need to roll as a “D”. For example, “2D” means “roll two six-sided dice and add the results together”. In this game, “DM” means Dice Modifier, a number you add or subtract from a dice roll. For example, “2D, DM-2” means “roll two dice, add the results together, and then subtract 2 from the total”. This is often written as “2D-2”. The amount by which your total throw exceeds or misses the target number is called the Effect. If you roll a total of 11 on 8+ throw, your Effect is 11 – 8 = 3; alternately, if you throw a 4, your Effect is 4 – 8 = -4. D66 is a special die roll, in which you throw two dice, and count one as the “ones” and one as the “tens”." So that's it. From there the engine is hung with a bunch of the high end WWII conventions & the author knows how to bring in the weirdness. This is a solid system to hang the weirdness & war driven occult themes of the game. And it does it well. Highlights for World at Weird War II include: The mass combat rules & how the game handles the mass battle scenes. The cinematic feel of the rpg & the war film aesthetic World at Weird War II makes its occult, super science, & even its paranormal skills unique & not repetitive.
There's just enough to get the players & the DM started! And there's tanks & mecha thrown into the mix as well! World at Weird War II does in fifty two pages what most games of this type take hours of slogging through. This is a weird war primer rpg game & its easily combined with the other Quantum Engine rpg systems on the Cepheus Engine rpg market. There's various cinematic nods & easier eggs scattered throughout World at Weird War II for the veteran cinephiles out there. Is this a good game?! Hell yes & is it perfectly suited for the Cepheus Engine rpg fanatics out there?! Yes it is! And the price at four dollars hits the sweet spot! You can play as the Allies or the Germans and have an alternative historical outcome all in one go! All in all highly recommended! Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery blog Want More OSR Action?! Please Subscribe to swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com Thanks for Reading Our Review