Seek the Wolf in Thyself!
Cascadia Adventures 1: Save Our Ship is a new RPG Adventure from Gypsy Knights Games. After reviewing the setting book for the Clement Sector, I was very interested in running some games in the setting. Being familiar enough with the Mongoose Traveller rules, I felt I could run a few adventures in the setting rather competently. The first set of adventures is set in the Cascadia Sector, a subsector book I also reviewed.
So I really don’t play very many RPGs anymore, but with the “old school renaissance” happening I’ve found myself checking RPGs out more and more. After much “huzzahs” and “hey nonny nonnies” from my friend about Dungeon Crawl Classics or DCC, I decided to check it out for myself. When you first see the book, don’t let its size intimidate you, although I still wouldn’t recommend dropping it on your foot. The book is basically everything you need to play. It’s player’s manual, bestiary and magic tome rolled all into one. DCC definitely takes its cue from the original D&D and AD&D, but without THACO.
Earthdawn 3rd Edition Player’s Guide is a new RPG Core Player’s Guide from Redbrick Limited/FASA Games. I have had a few PDFs in my archives that were given to me to review but due to unforeseen life complications, I was not able to. I felt I owed those products a review and since I have started Gamer’s Codex, I have gone back in my archives and found a number of those products. Earthdawn 3rd Edition Player’s Guide is one of them. Since I received this, the original publisher Redbrick Limited has folded and what remained has been rolled up into a new reborn FASA Games, Inc. Ironically, this is the only original FASA property they retain. The other properties supported by Redbrick are now with FASA, including Blue Planet and Fading Suns, but slow progress is being made on those.
Basic Roleplaying: Rome, Life and Death of the Republic is a RPG Core Setting Rule Book from Alephtar Games. Rome is the longest enduring civilization in western European history and its influences, good and bad, are still felt today. Recent television shows like Rome and Spartacus have brought the brutality, sensuality and intrigue to life for us. It is no wonder that there is an attraction to role-play in that setting. I am by no means a Roman historian but this book seems to have backing of several learned individuals on the subject, so I trusted it to be historically accurate where it needed to be.
The Imperial Age: True20 Edition is a RPG Setting Sourcebook from Adamant Entertainment. I have had a few PDFs in my archives that were given to me to review but due to unforeseen life complications, I was not able to. I felt I owed those products a review, and since I have started Gamer’s Codex, I have gone back in my archives and found a number of those products. The Imperial Age: True20 Edition is one of them.
Up front, I have to confess that I am a big True20 fan. I love the basic d20 mechanic but never liked the clunkyness of the system. True20 solved all those problems for me in one simple and concise generic system. I do not want to turn this into a True20 review but in general, this book already has that in its favor.
Eclipse Phase is a Role Playing Game Core Book from Catalyst Game Labs. I have had a few PDFs in my archives that were given to me to review but due to unforeseen life complications, I was not able to. I felt I owed those products a review and since I have started Gamer’s Codex, I have gone back in my archives and found a number of those products. Eclipse Phase is one of them. Since I received this, it is apparent that the publisher has changed hands from Catalyst Labs , reverting back to Posthuman Studios. It also won the Origins Award for Best RPG of the Year in 2010 and the ENnie Awards: Gold for Best Writing, Silver for Best Cover, and Silver for Best Product in 2010. And I am finally getting a chance to review it. Sorry it took me so long. Life!
Pathfinder: Ultimate Equipment is a new RPG Supplement from Paizo Publishing. I chose to do this review a little differently. I wanted to get a wide range of opinions on the voluminous book and so I let several of my gaming group borrow the book and write a short review on it. So this review is from a gaming group’s perspective – GM and individual players. Each player has their own gaming styles and preferences but all are at least 30 years old and most are closer to or older than 40.
Subsector Sourcebook 1: Cascadia is a conglomeration of work, merging previously released work done in a PDF series called Quick Worlds with a lot of original material. Gypsy Knights continues to impress me with their quality work. This handsome book presents a series of believable systems in a 8×10 hex subsector map (a Traveller standard). These systems can be inserted into an existing Traveller campaign, used as the center of a new campaign, and even used in another system or setting with a few twists.
Much anticipation surrounded the much fabled Fading Suns 3rd edition, at least in the circles of Fading Suns fans. Unfortunately, due to many difficult situations, 3rd edition never really made it to fruition. Instead a “revised edition” was released with fewer changes to the core system and a new approach to the format of the core rulebooks.
According to the publisher, the goal of the new edition was not to make past published material obsolete but streamline the system while maintaining compatibility. I say up front, I was not the biggest fan of the Victory Point system. In so many words, it was anti-player to me. Perhaps they did not want the players rolling skills as often as I did but I wanted my players to have a sense of accomplishment and most that played the VP system did not get that out of it. My hope with any new VP system was to make it more player friendly and fun to play.
21 Plots Too is a sequel to Gypsy Knights Games’ very creative and inspiring 21 Plots. In much the same way as 21 Plots presented you with plot ideas, 21 Plots Too does as well. The supplement presents several plots around patrons encountering a party with a starship. While 21 Plots had a few fairly eccentric and unconventional plot ideas, 21 Plots Too seems to have a few more.