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EDITED: used these cheat sheets in a one-shot and it was SUPER help for play. these CofD books aren't very well organized to find information, so this is a life saver! i highly recommend you get this!
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i have both the physical and PDF of this Corebook, and i got it out of curiousity and i will give my thoughts on the book and gameplay.
first, the physical book is pretty beefy, and the PDF is pretty long as well, i'm use to these types of books at this point, look at DCC and the 20th anniversary of OWoD books, this is normal to me.
i love the black ink art, really show chasing what kind of game you can run with this type of game. what the previous reviewers say is true: this is Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay without the Warhammer name. think Old School Essentials; it's a retro clone of B/X DnD. Zweihander is a Retroclone of WFRP, specifically 2nd edition, it also adds a lot of house rules and other modern mechanics that can make or break your game. for comparsion i have WFRP 4e, and it is pretty close minus a few changes.
i ran a one shot with this using a module from WFRP 2e, and it was a lot of fun, however i will be critical of this: it is overly detail to the point of information bleed over with fluff, or that it takes paragraphs to get to the point. i appreicate the details, but too much detail makes it a nightmare during play to find information. the PDF will help with this search, but even then there is a lot of information. i love the deadly nature of the game, and it was slightly confusing but after a few combat rounds it made so much sense. we love the skill system as well, its a d100 system, and my players are use to dnd 5e but caught on with the rolls and how the system work. the fury and chaos dies are really something especially with the exploding d6. if you get the supplemental book Main Guache, it adds more professions, cultists, daemons to make pacts with to get magic and so on. Magic is something to be feared, and my players loved the chaotic nature of it.
now the negatives, as i have mentioned, it is too detailed, too overly written which while specificity is nice, too specific gets lost on the players and DM. the pronouns is really weird, like you're selling a dark/grim dark fantasy book and setting agnoustic game, yet you mentioned the pronouns and trans being was really off putting. i don't remember where i read it, but in a book i read that while it's bad to live through those negative things, but it is good to have and overcome those negative things (for example, in my dnd game, as an urban conflict, the group encounters a pro-human gang that has a strong hatred of half elves specificially because the leader's mother was murdered by a half elf, therefore he acts out his rage by striking down those who are half elves, but has spilled over to the demi-races, and unintentionally gave pro-human individuals to act out their rage). i don't know, if you want to have a PC-Friendly fantasy game, maybe another game setting is better for that to work. this is a minor nitpick, but the pop culture references are really distracting. the dungeoneer for example is straight up says, this is Gary Gygax or another profession i can't remember made reference to Indiana Jones. gameplay wise it gets confusing to find rules and it can slow down the game due to crunch, and the vagueness of wounds to physical and mental attacks does get confusing as well.
Overall, this is like any other Retroclone: if you want to play that specific old edition, you can either use the retro clone or the official books. Zweihander as a system have other setting games that use this system really well, so if you have a homebrew or setting you want that works for the setting, Berserk, The Witcher, A Song of Ice and Fire series, it works well. it also works well for other settings that are gonzo/early renaissance period of Europe, it works out well.
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really good product to add gun powder and firearms to your dnd campaign!
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i bought the PDF of Black Chrome, and i blame my self for getting caught up in the hype of a new chrome book. new gear and lore for 2045 and the time of the red,then i started reading the book...
TL;DR - a decent book to add more gear to your campaign, however a good chunk is either unless or WAY overpriced, what's to stop a Fixer, Techie, or Nomad to get these items? not a must have as the hype would have you believe.
longer review: i bought the pdf and started to do my inital skim, looked very promising, then i sat down and begin to read the content. the pdf is really optimized to find everything you want. however that's where the positives end with this book. first outfits, youg gotta look cool for the dark future, however this section is a bit underwhelming, i was hoping some early 2077 outfits, like proto-2077 outfits before they got it down for 2077, one the red neon jacket was there, and the trench coat is pretty cool, i appriecate the Bladerunner look. then that's it, i mean the armored corpo suits are nice, but if you did the conversions already, then it's pointless. next cyberware, i was hoping for some more selections and maybe some early tech as well, but nope. under 20 items (15 items if i remember correctly) if it was quality over quanity i understand the small selection, but again, only maybe 3 items are worth it. what's up with the hand cyberware anyways? same thing maybe 1-2 useful things.
the weapons are a mixed bag. a few amount weapons are worth their investment like weapons that have 2 modes (pistol/SMG mode, Shotgun/crossbow mode), however, Gun Mart while fun in theory, why is it exotic? if it's easily made and accessible shouldn't be readily available? it's cool seeing katanas and such, but those are just 2045 versions of 2020 weapons so nothing of note there. again, a bit underwhelming.
cars and copters are cool, i love the rust buckets and future tech cars and bikes, one point: why are cars so expensive? i read the thread on it being like New York: it's cramped that you don't want or need a car. the problem with that logic is that while yes it is cramped, how is it that you're suppose to get around? not just for transportation, night city is huge, and to my understanding public transportation isn't back up. this is one of those RAW issues where, simply hand waving it just doesn't fix the problem, it only highlights it. maybe i lack the foresight to plan for the players to pay it off, but it's really jarring nonetheless.
one thing i was really disappointed were the apps, i was hoping for more apps but while all of it is essential, i feel this should of been a DLC for the Interface RED line, not for the Black Chrome.
the lore while interesting, it isn't answering the questions of who's who. it sort of does, but doesn't at the same time. some gangs are named and fixers as well, but it feels like they are missing some details. one thing that stood out that nomads, fixers, and techies, have a chart to get items, and it's one of those, what's stopping them from making the weapons? techies are already doing that already, so it's one of those what the hell moments.
overall, this book had a lot of hype and build up behind it, and its content is milquetoast at best, underwhelming at worse. i'm not a grodnard that played CP 2020 back in the day. this game can be good but the way it's written and designed and supported, i don't know if it'll last. don't want it to be like V5: convoluted, messy, and bland.
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UPDATED AND REWRITTEN:
a while back i ran a V20 chronicle so i was able to get actual play time. i will try not to get too detailed as that can be hours, but in summary, this game love is well deserved, it's fun, flexible, and my player had a blast and i am planning a chapter 2 of the chronicle soon that will have the Sabbat.
first, the POD, it is a hefty book, should of realized that when it said 500+ on the side bar, that said, it's serviceable, and my pages haven't fallen off yet. the art is really good albeit cheesy, but i look at it as that early 2000s late 1990s cheese, when everyone was being edgey AF.
next, this is a World of Darkness book, so as such, information is a pain to find, so you will want to get the pdf to save you some time in searching specifics. i do like the LARP rules and safe guards they have at the beginning of the book, this game can get dark so you want to make sure your players are safe and they're protected in that this is a game, and the ST understand Fade to Black tools and such. i appreciate that.
there are many here that say V20 is superior to V5, and here's my 2 cents on that: V20 is revised revised edition akin to 2e of Adnd, with a large metaplot. V5 tries to ground vampires to local conflicts while the metaplot is the background, meaning it focuses more on the personal horrors of being a vampire. you hear there's a war going on, but there are no specifics (or lack of clear direction if you want to get meta). to me, V5 isn't bad as it does update the game mechincally, however, what it lacks is the personality that V20 clearly has, each clan is unique with clear curses, banes, strengths, and how they operate. imo the giovanni are a clear example of how unique they are. another recent example is the Sabbat, in V20 while they're still monsters and antagonists, they have a CLEAR hierarchy and culture that was thought out, you understand the Sabbat better and maybe want to run a Sabbat Chronicle. the Sabbat believe gehenna is where the antidullvans arise and kill all vampires, but the clear difference is they plan to fight back. V5 sabbats to me, seem like vampire terrorists with no clear goal in mind. gehenna is here, so we fight everyone including themselves with no clear direction from the Regent or any other hierarchy. it's like they forgot the Code of Milan.
game play is simple, it's a d10 system, so you roll an attribute plus an ability that best fits the task, and roll. as ST i love that there's a default number for success which is 6, however, i can make it easier or harder depending on what's going on, and set a number of successes needed. it makes it much simpler to call for checks, and when someone is doing something pretty specific i am not tied down to specific checks either, i can call for different attributes and abilities that best fit the task. where it gets tricky is combat, but once you understand the rules of combat, it's VERY deadly and pretty fast paced. i thought Cyberpunk 2020 was deadly, vampires can take damage but it'll catch up to them quickly.
overall, the praise AND criticism of V20 are deserved, and i am of the mindset that there is a game system for everyone. that said, i use V20 rules for the V5 Chicago by Night setting, and it's different enough that it could be (and is) a V20 chronicle, so if you want to run Vampire, with better established lore and be more powerful, this game is for you.
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i got the POD and PDF, and they're pretty good scans.
the pdf is easy to read, and POD is really good, the maps are pretty good especially the city of greyhawk maps.
pretty good product for your own greyhawk campaign.
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this is a pretty good scan, very helpful if you're planning to run an Oriental Adventures game. the only thing that's weird is the maps, but other than that, it's a good scan.
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these maps work well for a VTT of your choice. pretty good for running Against the Cult of the Reptile God.
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the POD is pretty good, wish there was a hardcover option, but the soft cover is good enough.
the content itself adds on to the Adnd 1e collection of monsters, and it is also great for 2e as well.
highly recommend getting this book!
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the POD is pretty good. the scans are really clear and no blurring.
as the content itself, it's pretty good to give you ideas to make your own Dragon Cult. it gives some really great lore and history on how the Dragon Cult came to be, and gives campaign tools and tips to add how the CUlt gets its funds, where they would have people in a city/town, etc.
overall, great book!
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THIS IS AN UPDATE TO MY ORIGINAL REVIEW!!
After a year of play and running a couple of Red sessions myself. here is the rundown: this game is streamlined but vague and inconsistant about information and the book during play is a pain. it looks like cyberpunk, but it feels like a generic sci-fi game set in a dark future.
first positives: Netrunning is really fun! played a Netrunner and he was a blast to play, and it was simple and easy for my GM to run my character through the Net. it kept things interesting and my players kept an eye out for electronics for my Netrunner to jack into.
Combat is streamlined and it's cover mechanic is either you're in cover or not. i have mixed feelings about cover, because even when we tried partial cover it was difficult to call what worked. it is still just as deadlly but i would argue its not as deadly say, CP2020 where there's a hit location die to roll. Red has no fumble charts however for damage die rolls if you roll 2 nat 6s you do additional damage and give a critical injury. in a second game, my Nomad nearly died because of it.
alright so that's where the positives end, and i wish i could say this is the best Cyberpunk game, but it's both confusing and inconsistent with it's presentation. the book is poorly laid out, a lot of information is all over the place, and an appendice i feel will fix that issue, but there isn't one. next, combat is streamlined but it isn't as dynamic as say CP2020, and i don't want to compare to 2020 but there is a difference and you feel the difference. you have a move, minor, and standard action. the list of actions are limited which is kind of bizarre. maybe we read the rules wrong? maybe it's more dynamic? the rules aren't clear.
this is more of a personal nicpic, but a lot of the items are soo generic, there are in game world ads in the book, yet the weapons and armors aren't by a specific corporation? there is a way to convert weapons and armor from CP2020 to Red, but it kind of defeats the purpose if your current line up don't have much standing out. even the exotic weapons while brand names they're not over the top or even that exotic.
it is my theory, that they written the PDF format first before the book, because it feels like that. this game maybe with more supplements will make it better, but as it stands, it's just a cyberpunk for the 5e crowd. yes it's easier to understand, but how is it you don't have examples of specific skills and such that a GM or player can understand? too many times my gm had to stop the game to look up if a specific skill can work for a specific task, or was unsure if the chosen skill was correct. it's really weird. its not a bad game, if you enjoy it, great, but the criticism of it being a generic sci-fi game that's called Cyberpunk are valid as well.
would of run Cyberpunk Red again? maybe, if i were to run a Cyberpunk game, i probably would run a frankenstein game of Cyberpunk 2020/red game to fix some major issues. it is a good game, but if i were to recommend this or 2020, for beginners Red, then add 2020 for more unique styles and such.
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This is a unique game and setting, i ran this with a friend and later with a pair of friends.
for those that don't know, this game uses the 2d20 system, however it has been modified specificially for this game to focus more on role play and quicker game and conflicts.
the adventure itself is good, not great but good enough to give you an idea on how to run the game. if gives you a taste of how to be diplomatic, how to have dialogue conflicts, and the combat scenes are fast paced and really intense that my friends got into it really quickly. it also explains what to rule for and how to decide on your Drive which is unique to this system. you have a skill plus a focus, then there is drive which i love in this game, because the player are deciding and explaining to me, why they are using Faith as their drive to complete a skill check.
the one mechanic that is super helpful and its on me that i forget is momentum and threat. if you played any of the Modiphius games, that's one of the main mechanics of the 2d20 system, and this is probably the most heplful and easier version of this momentum system, because you need those successes and bargaining for a success with your gm is pretty funny and amazing.
overall, a good quickstart guide to test out the 2d20 version of Dune. this has made me more interested in getting the Core Rulebook and possibly running a game. the rules are simple enough to understand, the scenario isn't great, but it is good enough to run a one shot to test out this system. plus its the low price of Free so you can't beat that.
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i didn't realize the screen came with a mini adventure. not a bad thing, just didn't know.
that said, the screen is a really good scan. clear and readable.
definitely recommend.
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i am SO glad that there is a POD, sure you can get the Goodman Games version, but something about having just the thin module is just cool.
anyways, IMO, one of the best modules to run, it's a sandbox, enough content to get the ball rolling and enough things for you to add to the world and setting.
i ran this module using Pathfinder 1e and it works out really well, and while my players died due to being overran by lizardmen, they wanted to play it again.
the POD is great quality too, so i reccomend you all to get this and B1 as well.
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i had questions about this PDF so i figure i help the next person who's considering this purchase:
this is a compilation of all the mechs that were available from the Succession Wars down to Star League, there are some Variants that are available for Clan Invasion and Jihad in this, so if you want more advanced tech there you go.
these are all canon design mechs, however! if you have year specific TROs and/or Record Sheets, still hang on to those because the Late Succession War era isn't present in this PDF. i'm reffering to the 3050 TRO and Record Sheet, even though it's entering Clan Invasion, there was a brief time of a renaissance which some Lost Tech was rediscovered.
overall, i highly recommend getting this, all of the mechs record sheets in a 200+ PDF that you can print out your Lance or a specific Mech, and you're ready to go.
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