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Building Better Worlds is jam-packed with goodies for both players and Game Mothers with the same top-notch production values you've come to expect from Free League. The player's info only slightly expands the character options, however, the sandbox exploration campaign is excellent, and it's a welcome alternative for those GMs looking for scenarios that focus more on the exploration of new worlds. My detailed review discussing each chapter can be found here: https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/19/19191.phtml
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For those already playing The One Ring, the Lord of the Rings Roleplaying core book will not provide anything new as it's a faithful conversion of that roleplaying game to 5E. In fact, the location descriptions, introductory adventure, layout, and artwork are all the same.
However, for those wanting to bring Middle-earth to their diehard 5E group, then Lord of the Rings Roleplaying is the only game in town (that's currently available) and an outstanding one at that. There are enough changes to the 5E rules to make this feel like Lord of Rings, but not so much that 5E players will have trouble figuring it out.
See my full review here for a detailed look at the contents:
https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/19/19133.phtml
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Synopsis: The Blade Runner RPG Starter Set is another quality offering from Free League. The layout, art, and rules will all be familiar to Alien RPG enthusiasts. Packed with glossy color handouts, maps, cards, and dice, the Starter Set is a great value. The 56-page adventure/case file included is very well done, and since it's the only adventure available at this time, is truly a must-have.
For a more-detailed look at the contents and game mechanics, check out https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/19/19112.phtml
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The setting for Into the Odd is a surreal, industrial dystopia. The characters are explorers searching for riches and Arcana: strange, magical artifacts. The largest city is called Bastion and below that is a vast network of tunnels, sewers, and ancient caverns for the characters to explore. There is a Lovecraftian element hinted at behind the scenes. The book mentions star-beings and cultists who are trying to bring about a cosmic invasion, but its only mentioned, not fleshed out.
I would consider Into the Odd as very light on setting. A few paragraphs are all that is provided but the sparse words are evocative and the art goes a long way to give the reader the feel of the world, even if its not spelled out in any detail.
No map of the world is provided, nor for the great, dirty metropolis of Bastion. Based on the example of gameplay provided, and the adventures included in the book, Into the Odd is expected to play as an old-fashioned dungeon crawl with the characters simply content to explore the dark places put in front of them.
Conclusion:
Into the Odd Remastered contains a complete rules-light and setting-light game. The setting is a surreal, industrial dystopia with strange magical artifacts buried in catacombs beneath the city of Bastion. This book is for you if you want to run old-school dungeon crawls with a super light rules system and lightning-fast character creation.
More detailed discussion of the game mechanics and other goodies included (adventures, for example) at the link below:
https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/19/19108.phtml
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The short version:
Isn't this just Mork Borg in space? To be honest, yes. But that's not a bad thing! Death in Space is a rules-light, D20-based, dark sci-fi RPG with cargo holds full of tables, tools, and information to shape your campaign however you want to. The rules are simple and easily hackable and the default setting of Tenebris has plenty of dark, gritty sci-fi flavor and is interesting enough to run as-is for a campaign or two.
If you want a more detailed review describing the rules and character options, etc, check out my full review below:
https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/19/19074.phtml
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Physically, this is a beautiful book. The artwork mostly consists of monochromatic sketches which fit the weathered look of the book. As for the game mechanics, without play-testing, my first impression of the myriad, layered-on rules and fiddly bits left me wanting something simpler and more straightforward to bring to the table. However, after re-reading and slowly digesting all the game mechanics, I think the abundance of fiddly, little stats to track with their Tolkien-inspired nomenclature (Hope, Shadow, Valor, Fatigue etc.) may actually be the best way to get the players fully immersed in the Middle Earth experience. I think it's a good sign that I'm left wanting more content beyond Eriador and I'm looking forward to seeing what an official, full campaign would look like, taking full advantage of the journey, fellowship, and character progression rules.
For a lengthy, detailed review check out https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/19/19061.phtml
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Over the past few years, Free League has proven that they consistently produce quality, thoughtful products and The One Ring Starter Set is no exception. The writing and art combine synergistically to evoke the feel of an ancient world with thousands of years of civilized history. The addition of gear cards, unique dice, and stance cards adds a tactile element to the game that will appeal to younger players and those new to roleplaying games. However, those expecting deadly adventures outside the Shire or a variety of character types will be disappointed.
For a detailed review, please go to
www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/19/19057.phtml
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Full review here: https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/18/18421.phtml
Probably best known for their award-winning Tales From The Loop (2017), Free League continues its tradition of implementing their six-sided dice pool mechanic, dubbed Year Zero Engine. The basic resolution method is to roll a number of six-sided dice based on your character's skills and attributes, with any roll of 6 being a success. Multiple successes allow your character to do extra things, called stunts.
Characters have four attributes: Strength, Agility, Wits, and Empathy which can vary between 2 to 5 during character creation based on choice of career and allocation of starting points. A characters Health equals their Strength score. Each attribute has 3 skills associated with it. The skills and their associated attributes are fairly intuitive. For example, Close Combat is a skill under Strength, while Ranged Combat is associated with a character's Agility attribute. During character creation, players allocate a number of points to their skills, and based on their career choice, these skills levels will vary between zero and 3, at least initially. Future character advancement can bring a skill level up to 5.
There are 9 career options for characters in Alien: The Roleplaying Game. Careers include the iconic Colonial Marine and the less obvious Kid or Medic. Each career archetype comes with one key attribute (which allows a starting score of 5), 3 key skills (allows a starting score of 3), and 1 talent. The talent is chosen from a list of 3 options for each career and can be thought of as a feat which allows the character to do something outside the normal skill system. Upon character advancement, more talents can be acquired later. Starting characters are also given a selection of starting gear depending on the career chosen. It is interesting to note that android is not a career option, but the game does provide rules for synthetic player characters. Androids can have any career and can be open about their artificial nature or pretend to be human. Obviously, this secret would require some discussion with your GM as the rules are slightly different for synthetics.
While still utilizing the dice pool mechanic, the game designers have definitely ratcheted up the complexity when compared to Tales From The Loop. The biggest change is the addition of Stress Dice (also six-sided dice). As characters interact with the sci-fi/horror of the Alien universe, their Stress Level will increase; for example, by pushing rolls or seeing a Xenomorph. When a character attempts an action requiring a roll, the player will also roll a number of Stress Dice equal to their Stress Level. As with the normal dice pool, a Stress Die roll of 6 is also a success. However, a roll of 1 on a Stress Die requires a roll on the panic table to see what happens. So, the Stress Dice have two effects: one is to increase the chances of success, and the other is to provide a chance for the character to panic. Depending on the panic roll and current stress level, the character may start to tremble uncontrollably or go berserk and immediately attack the nearest person or creature. Of course, there are many other results on the panic table besides those two. I like the panic roll mechanic because even though it might take away player agency (at least temporarily), it does create interesting situations and forces the characters to really act out their fear in ways that the player might not be willing to.
The core rulebook provides dice pool game mechanics for almost all actions in the Alien world: skill rolls, armor and cover, running out of ammo and other consumables, spaceship combat, explosions, fire, decompression of a spaceship, and radiation. Initiative and critical injuries are two game mechanics that don't use the dice pool system. In this game, initiative order is handled with a simple card draw (regular playing cards could be used) and critical injuries are rolled on a table (2d6; 11 to 66) whenever a character is reduced to zero health.
Campaign vs Cinematic
One of the biggest strengths of this game are the two different modes of play: campaign and cinematic. While both game styles utilize the same game mechanics, they are very different in feel and intent. Campaign mode is self-explanatory if you have played roleplaying games like D&D: A group of players work together to advance a larger story over many play sessions, while the characters themselves advance in skill or power. Cinematic play is intended to be a one-shot or a few sessions that emulate a movie in the Alien universe. Players select from pre-generated characters that are assigned motivations and goals for that particular scenario. Character's goals will sometimes conflict and so player versus player combat is likely. As in any Alien movie, character deaths will be common and even total party kills are possible. My favorite aspect to cinematic play is that due to its one-shot nature, it is possible to have a player or two pretend to be something or someone they are not and sabotage the party. Is that pilot actually a corporate spy from Weyland-Yutani? Is our science officer a xeno-loving synthetic trying to make sure the crew is expendable?
Aliens
This book includes about 4 pages dedicated to the Engineers, but game statistics are not provided so the assumption is that characters will not be fighting the Engineers. Instead the book describes the architecture and the technology of the Engineers so the characters can stumble upon one of their colossal Juggernauts or explore their ancient temples. But what about the eponymous Aliens? All seven life stages of the Xenomorph are detailed and statted out (egg, face hugger, chestburster, etc). Nine different adult forms of Xenomorph (drone, soldier, worker, queen, etc) are provided to stalk your player's nightmares. Alien Covenant's Neomorphs are also included with 5 different stages from egg to adult. Perhaps the coolest wrinkle here is that the Xenos and Neos don't just make normal melee attacks, they have signature attacks that can be randomly determined by rolling on a table. These signature attacks do interesting things such as causing victims to drop their weapon or forcing a panic roll in addition to causing damage. And if that's not enough to keep your players on their toes, there are four other extrasolar species detailed in the corebook.
World Building
One of the strongest aspects of this book is the amount of quality material that went into describing the Alien universe. To start, the inside cover provides a map of the galaxy, color-coded by controlling faction. There is an entire chapter dedicated to describing the governments and corporations of the Alien universe, including the quasi-governmental body, the Interstellar Commerce Commission. In order to provide places for your space truckers and colonial marines to explore, this book describes 21 different star systems and some systems have multiple worlds of interest. And if that's not enough, multiple pages of tables are provided for industrious gamemasters who want to create their own star systems and planetary bodies. These tables include size, atmosphere, temperature, terrain, and colony size. To assist in sandbox-style campaign play, more tables are provided for generating job missions and complications whether your group is made up of explorers, cargo haulers, or marines. If you need a base of operations for your campaign, Novgorod Station is detailed here with maps, interior details, 5 unexpected events to spark an adventure, and 4 key NPCs to interact with. After that, a short scenario with maps is provided, called Hope's Last Day. This could be played as a cinematic prequel to Aliens, since the scenario takes place in the Hadley's Hope colony prior to Ripley's second visit to the moon LV-426.
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[minor spoilers below]
Cha’alt is a unique RPG product. It’s a campaign world, a small sandbox of interesting locations, a megadungeon, and even a dash of game system all rolled into one 218-page book (I only have the PDF). The campaign setting is a post-apocalyptic, sci-fi fantasy desert world. Think Dune meets Gamma World, with a healthy dose of Lovecraft thrown in as well. There be demons here, gargantuan sand worms, and slumbering ancient gods beneath the irradiated desert sands.
The one-page map of Cha’alt shows 12 locations to be explored, however only four are fully detailed in this product. Perhaps the rest will be left to future products from Kort’thalis Publishing, or maybe it was the author’s intent to give GMs room to create their own campaign. As it is, all of the locations have interesting descriptions with enough detail and plot hook to get any GM’s creative juices flowing so they can create their own encounters or mini-adventure. The four locations that are expanded upon in this product include: beneath the city of Kra’adumek, the giant Purple Demon Worm (yes, it’s a location), the Gamma Incel Cantina, and the Black Pyramid megadungeon.
While the city of Kra’adumek is described, there are no maps, NPCs, or encounters in the city itself. Instead, a Cha’altan introductory dungeon crawl awaits the players below the city. This 17-encounter dungeon is mapped beautifully and recommended for character levels 1-3. The hook provided to get PCs into the dungeons of the Demon-Worm priesthood is a clever one: the PCs have been psionic slaves of the Demon Worm for many years, as was the rest of the city’s populace. Now that their minds are at least temporarily free, the PCs have nothing but the clothes on their backs and the knowledge that equipment, wealth, and even revenge are beneath the city in the small dungeon complex controlled by the Demon-Worm priests.
In a twist of fate, the catatonic Demon Worm itself is frozen outside the city it had enslaved with its psionic mind control. The gaping maw of the colossal, frozen worm is an entrance to the second, fully-detailed location in Cha’alt: a 23-room dungeon crawl inside the belly of the beast, literally. The encounters inside the worm are highly varied in a random, funhouse sort of way. Just to give you a taste, there is a poker game between 4 humanoids and a gaseous alien, a magic cube that forces party in-fighting, a demon who wants to make a deal, a photon torpedo waiting to be detonated, and a smooth-talking wizard trying to get laid.
The next location detailed in Cha’alt, and the only one that is not a dungeon crawl, is the Gamma Incel Cantina. This is Grand Central Station for the space-faring profiteers intent on raping Cha’alt of her only natural resource: the spice mela’anj. This seedy night club, gambling hall, and strip club offers loads of role-playing opportunities for your players, if they are so inclined. There are no fewer than 69 NPCs described in nine different mapped locations inside the cantina. And if your group needs a little nudge toward the Black Pyramid after a few hours of carousing, a mysterious, self-proclaimed Queen shows up and begs the PCs to save her sick daughter by stealing a magical orchid from the Black Pyramid. Will your players take the bait?
This leads us to the final location and crown jewel of Cha’alt: a 111-room, three-level megadungeon inside the infamous Black Pyramid. This thing is like a campaign setting unto itself. Its got its own rumor table, time dilation effects, wandering monsters, random NPCs, and new gods that only exist inside the pyramid.
Like the previous dungeon crawls, each room in the Black Pyramid presents its own unique situation, encounter, or oddity, except cranked up to 11. This is the very definition of gonzo, to wit: a madman’s playhouse with a malfunctioning execution droid, a Polynesian tiki bar inhabited by Ra’ad Zerling, a monstrous ooze creature protecting a depressed supercomputer, a room where black-robed zealots are torturing each other on camera to rid their bodies of invisible alien parasites, a room where surgeons are about to perform dissections on three young adults with psionic powers, a 1960s fallout shelter, a room full of anthropomorphic fruit that are getting all juiced up to kill, an overweight podcaster interviewing Korg the Conqueror about the Za’avek massacre. And all that weirdness is just a selection from the first 14 rooms. There are 111, folks. The creativity that went into this is staggering.
There is no over-arching metaplot inside the pyramid from what I can tell. But its not all totally random either. There are some elements that tie rooms to each other. For example, a powerful being in one area may be looking for a particular item that is located in another part of the pyramid. Also, factions in one location may be at odds with a nearby group. Its up to the players to decide whom to help and whom to fight, if either.
Overall, this product is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys sci-fi/fantasy, clever pop culture references, or desert-themed campaign worlds. And if you’re really into over-the-top, gonzo dungeons full of interesting encounters, then Cha’alt is a must-have.
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Review Summary:
Tales of the Demon Lord is well-crafted, cleverly written, and contains a variety of interesting, albeit short, adventures. The reasonable price ($10) of the PDF from Schwalb Entertainment makes it a good value for a short campaign. Tales is must-own if you play Shadow of the Demon Lord, and highly recommended if you're a fan of dark fantasy and are looking for some horror-themed story ideas to use in your campaign. With a little effort, these scenarios could easily be converted to your favorite game system.
Full, detailed review at shyberkryst.blogspot.com
http://shyberkryst.blogspot.com/2016/08/tales-of-demon-lord-review.html
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