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Shards of Tomorrow
Publisher: Splintered Realms Publishing
by A customer [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/05/2016 19:34:53

hards of tomorrow delivers on what it promises; a "old-school" SF RPG which contains a ruleset that should look familiar to anyone who's played the earlier editions of Dungeons and Dragons and/or the numerous clones spawned in the last decade or so. It does have a few new innovations, though--it uses a comprehensive "feat" system that resolves skill checks, saving throws and the like which is clean, easy to grasp and simple to use. It also has a Talent system which functions like the skill/feat systems found in other rpgs that can be used to flesh out a character; normally, I have some dislike for such systems because they tend to over-complicate things and restrict player creativity, but this is only two pages in length and simple enough to avoid such pitfalls. Overall, the system is one you should grasp quickly after a cursory read-through--in fact, it's the same system used in the author's previous rpg, "Saga of the Splintered Realm," so if you liked that this should be up your alley.

The ruleset is 136 pages or so in total, but it contains everything you need to play, from a bestiary of monsters to starship rules and the like, and even has a starter adventure to help you get started. It should also be noted that there are a lot of artifacts from Saga of the Splintered Realm (which was, in turn, heavily influenced by D&D). For example, undead, giants and elementals exist in this setting (and many of the alien creatures in the bestiary are also traditional D&D monsters such as Black Puddings), and one of the alien racial classes is essentially a cleric, with a spell list taken directly from the Saga of the Splintered Realm's cleric. The setting isn't described in great detail, but it seems a cruel race of alien warmongers unleashed some sort of doomsday weapon that tore a rift in the barrier between our galaxy and another dimension, which in turn allowed such supernatural horrors such as the undead to pour through and ravage the galaxy. I don't mind this in the slightest, but people who want a system not so heavily influenced by D&D should take note.

All in all, this game seems to fill the same niche as the White Star RPG does; were I to run a rules-light sci-fi RPG, I'm not sure if I would use this, White Star or Stars Without Number. (Maybe I should stop buying so many new RPGs to make these sorts of decisions easier!) I only have one criticism, which largely comes from my having read Saga of the Splintered Realm, which is that I feel this game could have been fleshed out more. As a rules-light system, obviously this is not a game that should be loaded down with numerous options and excessive mechanics that would slow down play, but even so I feel that a few more character class options would have been welcome. There are only two human character classes, one being a generic adventurer with a spaceship (a "junker") and a Jedi Knight clone. Granted, those two options, along with the various alien and synthoid classes, are certainly enough to make an interesting range of characters, but I would have liked to see a human mercenary/soldier class and a Noble/Aristocrat class (such as the one that exists in White Star) to more fully cover the common tropes that exist in science fiction media such as Star Wars. Saga of the Splintered Realm had an index that featured a few optional classes (such as the Bard and the Paladin), and I wish this game had the same. A few more pages describing the setting in order to provide additional adventure ideas would also have been nice, though there's enough mentioned for a creative game master to use as an effective springboard. As such, I feel this game really needed another 10-15 pages to earn a five-star rating, but as is it's a solid setting that should appeal to a wide variety of gaming enthusiasts.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Shards of Tomorrow
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(5E) Expanded Options #02 - Monster Lore Skill for 5th Edition Fantasy
Publisher: Fat Goblin Games
by A customer [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/30/2016 23:00:37

This supplement presents an interesting idea for determining whether or not a character knows something about a given monster type without introducing a slew of new mechanics to accomplish such. However, the mechanics are a bit inflexible and a little illogical at times; essentially, every class can add their proficiency bonus to Intelligence checks to know something relevant about a particular monster, but as the other reviewer below noted, each class is locked into knowing something about a particular type of monster. Rangers, for example, can add their bonus to checks about monstrosities, and Barbarians can for beasts. It seems a little odd, though, that a Ranger seems to have no particular knowledge about beasts or giants. In attempting to make each class have its own particular field of knowledge, monster lore ends up getting divided up in ways which seem forced and unlikely. I think it would be fine for some classes to be better than others at such and also for some overlap to occur.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
(5E) Expanded Options #02 - Monster Lore Skill for 5th Edition Fantasy
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The Age of Undying [DCC]
Publisher: Moon Dice Games
by A customer [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/26/2016 19:38:27

This is perhaps one of the rarest of game products--something which truly brings something new to the table. In the more than 30 years I've been buying RPG products, I've seen the same ideas and themes recycled over and over again (not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that, as long as it's done well), and it's fairly rare these days for me to stumble upon something really unique. This product is--it's wonderfully quirky, and even if you don't want to make full use of it (which would radically change an existing campaign setting), there's certainly an idea or two worth borrowing which makes it worth the purchase price.

As the description reads, this product introduces a new set of rules that can be added to a DCC campaign in order to dramatically change the very notion of life and death. The author notes that the idea came about when a cleric in his Crawljammer campaign destroyed a precious artifact with the express purpose of tearing down the veil between life and death in accordance with a cryptic message from his deity. This took the whole table by surprise, and the author generated these rules to explain what happened next. In short, under these rules characters no longer really die as they normally would--you can track hit points if you wish, but they don't really mean anything anymore. Your character's soul can continue to occupy its body, its shell, as long as it is largely intact. Only severe damage (beheading, being cut in half, etc.) will force you to flee your ruined flesh.

Even then, you're not finished! Your soul can attempt to steal another body, probably by seizing it from its current owner, forcing this hapless individual to lie dormant in some remote corner of the brain while you pilot the body. But beware of attemting to possess a body which already has two souls like this; the presence of the third will force all three souls to merge into a psychotic killing machine!

Needless to say, this massive change also brings a number of additional alterations as well--critical hits become more deadly, spell effects change, etc. However, traditional undead still exist (if they were created before the Age of Undying is ushered in, for example), though new forms of "undying" golem-like monsters can be created via "Stitchermen," (which a PC Technomancer could become).

Finally, as noted above with the Technomancer comment, the author of this book also wrote the excellent Crawljammer magazines, so classes from that setting are supported as well by the new rules.

In short, this is a supplement loaded with creative and off-the-wall ideas that an enterprising game master can make good use of, though it will radically change your campaign! However, as the author notes, the Age of Undying could be reversed, so it could be used temporarily if one of your PCs does something drastic like shatter a priceless artifact...it's always good for a game master to have an idea like this handy when such recklessness occurs!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
The Age of Undying [DCC]
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Maiden Voyage of the Colossus (OGL/DCC)
Publisher: Purple Duck Games
by A customer [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/24/2016 23:25:14

This adventure is advertised as compatible with both DCC and the d20 OGL systems (Pathfinder, for example). However, the adventure suffers from one rather glaring problem, one which is more prominent if you wish to use it with DCC, as I did. First, very little is said about the campaign setting or integrating the adventure with other campaign worlds. There's a flying ship, and the company which owns it hires your characters to safeguard it from sabotage at the hands of a rival coorporation (which is also only scantily described). The main reason I bought this adventure is because I'm a big fan of the airship theme (I loved the Princess Ark series that ran in Dragon Magazine back in the day), but such implies a more "high magic" setting where magic is more common and can be used fairly reliably. DCC, on the other hand, is a weirder and darker setting where magic spells are closely guarded secrets that can be dangerous to both the wielder's body and soul. So, naturally, I was intrigued as to how the author would reconcile the two...but no such effort was made, which I find very disappointing. The adventure helpfully points out that you can buy the campaign setting to learn more about what exactly is going on here, and I realize this isn't supposed to be a complete setting, but a page or two where the author explains their assumptions regarding the setting where they imagine the adventure taking place in would have proved welcome. This is particularly important for game masters using published DCC modules with the assumed weird, fairly low-magic vibe to make the sudden inclusion of airships and big corporations less jarring. Certainly a seasoned game master can come up with an explanation of their own (the Crawljammer setting provides a good model for how it can be done whilst retaining the DCC "flavor"), but I buy modules like this to reduce the amount of preparation I have to do by providing good ideas and suggestions that inspire me. This adventure didn't do that, which makes me wonder if the author and publisher really considered the matter of why this adventure should be used with DCC. Second, the adventure does contain DCC conversion notes, as advertised, but it seems to me that these were an afterthought, and not well-designed. The DC numbers to accomplish most tasks in the adventure are pretty high for DCC characters, who generally only add an ability modifier of +1 or 2 to most such rolls (if they get to add anything at all, and sometimes they'll be applying a penalty of equal value), making the 15 (and higher) DCs extremely problematic (expect to fail a lot). This isn't an insurmountable problem (you can lower DCs quite easily), but it's further evidence of what I suspected above, that DCC support was an afterthought and not enough time and effort was devoted to it. That being said, the rest of the adventure is tolerable, though fairly bland. I rate content based on its usefulness to me; a 5 is something I can't wait to use, and a 1 is something I have no use for, which is unfortunately where this adventure falls for me.



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
Maiden Voyage of the Colossus (OGL/DCC)
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Dungeon Crawl Classics #84.3: Sky Masters of the Purple Planet
Publisher: Goodman Games
by A customer [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/23/2016 08:49:34

The Purple Planet box set was probably the best RPG purchase I made last year. It is exactly what it claims to be, a fantastic, exotic, lengthy adventure that you can easily base an entire campaign around. If it looks interesting to you, then I'm fairly confident you won't be disappointed. It has all the weirdness, wonder and swords and sorcery action you've likely come to expect from DCC products.

Goodman Games has released three modules to date in further support of the setting, and this is my favorite. The party is immediately dropped into the action when a band of airship pirates ambush them with exotic weaponry. This leads the party to chase the survivors to their base, a sprawling affair which will require a great deal of cunning and resourcefulness on the party's part to overcome. Will they boldly storm the place (not recommended!), sneak in, use subterfuge or possibly even start a slave revolt? All of this and more is possible.

Furthermore, although the adventure is short and to the point, the existence of said pirates on the Purple Planet certainly creates a wonderful springboard for further adventures. I imagine most game masters who read this adventure will have no trouble coming up with numerous additional adventures to follow up on the party's actions, and given the evocative atmosphere the setting engenders such inspiration will not be hard to come by!

One final note: although I'm sure resourceful and creative game masters can find ways to use this adventure in existing campaign settings, I strongly recommend you pick up the Perils of the Purple Planet adventure to make the fullest use of it--I am confident you won't regret it.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Dungeon Crawl Classics #84.3: Sky Masters of the Purple Planet
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White Star Companion [Swords & Wizardry]
Publisher: Gallant Knight Games
by A customer [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/25/2016 19:19:14

If you liked White Star, then you can't go wrong with this supplement. It contains a wealth of information highly useful to virtually any kind of campaign--the new vehicles, including hovertanks and striders (much like AT-STs from Star Wars), are in particular a welcome addition. There is also a simple, functional skill system that adds depth to characters without over-complicating them. Finally, there is a section on Serials, where you can roll to find out about your character's background, which does affect your ability scores (and, yes, Traveller fans, you can die on a bad die roll!)

That being said, one of the things I like about White Star is its simplicity, and I think some of the new material adds little to the game, and amounts to new options for the sake of new options. Some of the seven new character classes, such as the Bounty Hunter, Deep Space Explorer and Two-Fisted Technician, are broadly useful, but the others are odd or very niche (one of them allows you to play an 8-15 Mech as a character; that may appeal to some gamers, but seems unworkable and goofy to me). Second, some of the new creatures seem slapstick amd silly ("Space Ducks?") Again, some might like that; I don't, and would have preferred something more useful.

However, the amount of useful content vastly outweighs that which I don't find useful, and as such I would recommend this product for virtually any kind of White Star Campaign.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
White Star Companion [Swords & Wizardry]
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Have Death Ray, Will Travel
Publisher: Magic Pig Media
by A customer [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/18/2016 01:00:32

This supplement provides a fully fleshed-out campaign setting for the White Star RPG, though it can certainly be used with other games with a little conversion work. The setting, as described, has a very retro-sci-fi feel to it, obviously inspired by Flash Gordon and the like, and is set within our own solar system without FTL technology (though, given the flavor, as you can guess Venus is inhabited by a psychic race, Mars by a red-skinned warrior race, etc.)

As a campaign setting, it is quite useful, and can accomodate a wide variety of play styles--Star Marshals in space, Buck Rogers space opera, and so on. It also contains two new character classes, the Gunslinger and the Scientist (both of which seem well done to me), and even a bonus adventure to get you started. All in all, if you want to run a White Star game but don't know where to start and find the described flavor of this product up your alley, you can't go wrong in purchasing it.

That being said, the product has one large flaw I feel I must mention, namely the fact that it was written in a very amateurish style. There are many errors, and while most seem to be typos (indicating a lack of good editing), there are also awkwardly written and short, choppy sentences which make it clear the writer needs more polish as well. To be quite blunt, I find this unacceptable, and it reflects what I see as a problem with many small RPG publishers, namely that while they may have good ideas they don't put enough effort into producing what looks like a professionally written and edited product.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Have Death Ray, Will Travel
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The Graveyard at Lus
Publisher: InfiniBadger Press
by A customer [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/18/2016 00:39:53

This is a very useful product for virtually any science-fiction game, though since it was designed in particular for the White Star RPG those who use different systems may have to do some conversion work on their own.

Most of the product is a series of tables for generating starship "graveyards," (i.e., the debris left over from starship battles). This immediately provides an interesting campaign idea for a game where the PCs are salvagers, and campaigns utilizing other themes can also benefit greatly from this material--a wrecked fleet of starships provides the perfect "dungeon in space," and gamemasters will receive a wealth of information regarding the creatures and hazards contained within such an environment.

As such, I consider it an excellent supplement. It is full of ideas and material than an enterprising game master can make use of, and as an added bonus contains new starships, starship modifications and alien species. It is, by far, the best supplement for the White Star RPG that I have seen, and with a little work it will work well with other systems, too.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
The Graveyard at Lus
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