Tommy's Take on Buffy the Vampire Slayer Revised Corebook

No, a new Buffy RPG didn't come out. This is the one that came out...holy crap...eleven years ago, from Eden Studios. This is not an old review, though. Yes, this is a brand new review of an eleven year old RPG that I got when it was brand new.

Why?

Because it's badass, and you can still get copies for cover price on Amazon even though it's out of print. You can also get the PDF for $20 at RPGNow. (Disclaimer: That last one was an Affiliate link.)

Tommy's Take on Barbarians Versus... 2nd Edition

Who doesn't love Barbarians? Precis Intermedia has released the second edition of Barbarians Versus... (Vile Reptilian Invaders from Outer Space), a fairly lite and light hearted rpg about barbarians versus, well, vile reptilian invaders from outer space.

Tommy's Take on Corporia

This is an interesting book that came across my virtual table: An adventure RPG centered around Arthurian myth in a near future, corporate-driven world. I thought that seemed like an interesting combination, so when I was approached about reviewing it, I agreed, as it definitely seems like it would hit a different niche than any other Arthurian game on the market.

#RPGaDay Day 6: Favorite RPG I Never Get To Play

I'm taking "play" to mean "GM", as I rarely play and I'm okay with that...and, again, I'm giving two answers instead of one, but there's a good reason for that.



Like the TV shows, the RPGs can be taken separately or complimentary with each other (in fact, my actual favorite combo is Angel combined with The Magic Box supplement for Buffy). These RPGs hold a very special place in my heart, in part because I love the shows to death, and in part because the larger Buffyverse line holds my first RPG writing credits (including a Buffyverse related article for Eden Studios Presents vol. 2 and an additional writing credit on Angel). Three times I have attempted campaigns (one a Buffy playtest campaign, one an IRC based online game and one an Angel game), and each time they just never "clicked", even though I was super enthused and everyone said they were having a great time. I even prepared a fourth campaign, which could be best described as The Dead Zone meets Friday the 13th The Series meets Beauty & The Beast, but we never even made it to our first session. I had grown quite adept at getting the Cinematic Unisystem to do the things I wanted it to do.

I still have all the Buffy books, all the Angel playtest files, and occasionally poke around them and get ideas, but I know better than to go down that trail again *sigh*.

Actually, The Angel RPG led directly to my Savage Worlds obsession, in a funny story. I caught wind that the Angel GM screen was on clearance at a game shop and when I went in to pick it up, I saw Savage Worlds Explorer's Edition. I had traded away my original Savage Worlds rulebook (I just HATED it. The rules were bad, the characters were all the same and there was NO flavor. Yeah, I was every guy I've argued with since), but I had seen all this buzz on the internet about the Savage Worlds settings and I figured $20 for the screen I wanted (but would never use) plus the Savage Worlds rules seemed like a good enough deal...and grew hooked on Savage Worlds.

Probably one of the reasons I can't get a Buffy/Angel game going *now*.                                                                    

Tommy's Take on Buffy the Vampire Slayer Board Game

Let me preface this by saying that this review is the first review I had ever written of anything, and appeared at RPG.net over 12 years ago. Since then, I have encountered a number of board games that trump this one, but I still maintain that this game was head and shoulders above the licensed games and typical Wal-Mart shelf fare available at the time (or, y'know, now).

Enjoy my first ever review. Ever.

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Looking around a nearby game shop not long ago, I found the Buffy the Vampire Slayer board game from Hasbro. Looking it over, I wound up putting it back on the shelf due to lack of funds. A couple of months later my girlfriend picked it up for me, since she's a fan of board and card games, if not RPGs.

Man, I love her.

Tommy's Take on Colonial Gothic 2nd Edition

So I'm a pretty big fan of Deadlands, which is a bit of a distant cousin to Colonial Gothic, seeing as they are both alternate history horror games. Plus, I'm a bit of a fan of early American history, so that helps, too.

Tommy's Take on Monster of the Week

I have no problem with the Apocalypse World-inspired play, as noted by my various tremulus posts. Monster of the Week is an Apocalypse World-inspired RPG designed to emulate Badasses Who Kick Monster Butts, ala Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellboy, The Winchesters from Supernatural and so on.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: It's 201 pages and only $10 in PDF at RPGNow. It's entirely front-facing, meaning the players do all of the rolling. They have "Moves" that they do, and when doing so, they roll 2d6 plus a stat. A 10 or better is a complete success. 7-9 is a success with a hitch. 6 or less is a failure. As with all "World" type games, everyone selects a Playbook that they then customize, but there is only meant to be one of each Playbook in the game (one Chosen, one Flake, one Mundane, one Spooky, and so on). If one dies, or leaves the game, you move on to another unused Playbook, and so on.

You can put the "team" together, emulating set-ups like Buffy and the Scooby Gang, The Winchesters, government monster hunters and so on.

The basic maneuvers characters get include Act Under Pressure, Kick Some Ass, Protect Someone, Investigate a Mystery and Use Magic. The ratings used are Cool, Tough, Charm, Sharp and Weird, and are generally ranked from -1 to +3. At the start of the mystery, two Ratings are highlighted (one by the player and one by the Keeper)...using those ratings nets you experience points regardless of success or failure.

Once the characters are selected, everyone uses a couple of History tags from their Playbook to make sure they are linked to other characters. For instance, The Chosen and The Monstrous might be rivals who came to a working arrangement, The Monstrous might have lost control and nearly killed The Mundane, but backed off and the Mundane might have been introduced to monsters by The Chosen.

Basically everything is done by performing moves. If you Act Under Pressure, for instance, on a 10 or better, you succeed at what you are doing, and on a 6 or worse, you fail. 7-9, you either pay a cost, make a hard choice or accept a worse outcome. If you are trying to kick ass, on a 6 or less, you get your ass kicked. On a 7-9, you swap damage with the opponent and on a 10 or better, you inflict damage and pick an additional effect (like taking less harm). Characters can even be raised from the dead using "Big Magic".

The Playbooks include:

The Chosen - Who has a destiny and will encounter it. The Chosen can also be a combat beast.

The Expert - Isn't the frontline fighter, but the one that knows about the things the group's going to fight.

The Flake - Kind of like a Mulder.

The Initiate - Part of an order pledged to fight evil.

The Monstrous - A Monster fighting for the good guys, like a vampire or a werewolf or a demon.

The Mundane - A Xander-type that serves as the pillar for the Big Damn Heroes and occasionally lucks into stuff.

The Professional - The 9 to 5, badass monster hunters.

The Spooky - Like psychics and witches.

The Wronged - Think Dean Winchester. Someone with something to avenge.

As Hunters run out of Luck, they start to reach the end of their story, either because they die or because they bow out.

You can advance your characters as you go, like gaining a move from your Playbook, gaining a move from ANOTHER Playbook, gaining an Ally, gaining a Haven or taking a Rating improvement from your Playbook. Every five advances, however, give you bigger options, like removing spent Luck, adding a second Hunter (that you can play alongside your first, or you can swap around troupe-style), or even change your Hunter to a new type! (Maybe your Spooky loses her powers and becomes Mundane, or your Expert has his true love murdered and becomes Wronged.)

The GM section does a nice job of helping you set up the villain arcs, whether you want to do a "Rising Evil" type story, hunting a nemesis, the looming apocalypse, etc. That sorta thing. There's also advice on setting up your smaller mysteries (it IS "Monster of the Week"), and even one shot games (give them less Luck and an extra advance or two). One thing you shouldn't do is be an antagonistic "Killer GM". The advice in the book specifically says to "Be a fan of the hunters"...which doesn't mean it all has to be hunky-dory and they succeed at everything all the time, it just means that you don't set out to completely hose them. Let them be awesome at what they do, let failure happen when it happens.

A handful of generic monster types are included, but a bigger bestiary would have been appreciated. The *World games are utterly hackable, so there's a chapter on making your own Playbooks in case your favorite monster hunting archetype isn't represented, or maybe you're not a fan of The Flake representing a Mulder.

WHAT WORKS: The game closest to this that I have played is tremulus, and readers of the blog know I'm a big fan of that game (and I became a bigger fan after playing it with a group of three). The "Monster of the Week" genre is awesome (I love me some Buffy, Angel, Sleepy Hollow, Supernatural, etc), and this game does a nice job of tackling the "Kick the Monsters in the Teeth" approach that tremulus does not (by design). Most of your major archetypes are covered in the initial Playbooks, and other books since then have been released (like The Exile, which is spot on for Sleepy Hollow's Ichabod Crane, or Summoned, which does a fine Hellboy).

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: I would have liked a few more monsters, maybe, though monsters are defined as much by their motivations as they are their stats, and the three monster examples are probably broad enough to give you an idea how to make your own. The "no prep" approach can be exhausting at times, if you aren't used to thinking on your feet (though players who are on board with the genre conventions and narrative flow can help that immensely). Games like this always seem like they could extra clarity, as well. I'm not a big booster of the idea of "limited edition Playbooks", which is a movement that has gained traction in the World Engine community (though I believe I have been lucky enough to get all of the available playbooks for MotW). Lastly, I am really not a big fan of the art. Just doesn't work for me.

CONCLUSION: This is actually on top of the "Would Love To Run" list for me, especially after my two games of tremulus. We tend to fall into "Action Hero" mode in our games, and Monster of the Week is less likely to punish you for that, so I think it would be a good fit for that. Clarity is an issue in the book (when everyone is naming a history tag for the other Hunters, I wasn't 100% sure how you reconcile them - do both apply? Do the players pick the one they like best? Do you just work it out? Because it's pretty easy to get conflicting results, or seems like it would be...the author clarified that you do, in fact, take both options and work it out). In short, the game engine is a blast, especially if your players are bought in on the "Fiction First" approach, and it does a good, if not perfect, job of genre emulation (Angel and Oz, for instance, would both fall under The Monstrous, making it impossible to have them both in a group at the same time). If you wanna do a Buffy/Blade/Hellboy/Sleepy Hollow/Supernatural/X-Files mash-up and you haven't decided on a system yet, this would be a very good choice.

A Look at Accursed Golems

Golems are the created beings of the Accursed world, and if you're a Ravenloft fan you're probably used to the idea of the intelligent Golem. Golems are created by The Crone and can be comprised of anything: Flesh, straw, stone, glass, etc. Here are two Golems, one made of wood and one made of stone.

I didn't use the same conceit with Golems that I did with Dhampirs, where they started from similar origins and took opposite roads. These are merely two separate Golems from the opposite ends of the Golem spectrum, organic materials and inorganic materials.

ROWAN "REDWOOD" MATTHIAS

"The Redwood", as Rowan was known as during the Bane War, was a gifted field tactician who stood firm in the face of danger, ordering his men forward and devising plans of victory. When The Crone got ahold of him, she transformed him into his namesake: A tree-like golem. Now the Redwood rallies his soldiers around him once more, convinced that his tactical genius will be enough to triumph against The Crone's forces. His tree-like visage, complete with goggles to compensate for his impaired vision, strikes a fearsome, steadfast image, surrounded by soldiers willing to lay their lives down fighting for what's right and just.

Name: Rowan “Redwood” Matthias

Witchbreed: Golems

Rank: Veteran

Agility: d6

Smarts: d10

Spirit: d8

Strength: d6

Vigor: d8

Charisma: 0

Pace: 6

Parry: 5

Toughness: 9

Acceptance/Defiance: Acceptance Level 1

Skills

Fighting d6

Guts d8

Intimidation d8

Knowledge (Battle) d12

Notice d6

Persuasion d6

Repair d6

Shooting d6

Hindrances

Arrogant

Bad Eyes

Loyal

Edges

Brawny

Command

Command Presence

Officer of the Alliance

Racial Package

  Constructed: The Golem has the Construct ability.

  Deliberate: Agility can go no higher than d6.

  Hulking: +2 Toughness.

  Weakness: +4 Damage from Fire

  Hardy

  Notice Tests -2 

Witchmark

  Witchbreed Sense

  Drawn to Those in Need

  Witchspeak

  Warning

Gear

Flintlock Pistol, Short Sword

GRANITE JACK

Jack Butler was always a big, stubborn man...but The Crone took his inner essence and manifested it in startling fashion, transforming him into a giant man of stone. Granite Jack is slow and not very bright, but he's a terrifying sight when he does move into action, preferring to eschew weapons and pummel his opponents with his bare, rocky hands. Being a Golem, he's already quick to recover from being stunned, and he's accepted the stone facet of himself, making him harder still to wound. Pray that you are on his side, because Granite Jack is a veritable juggernaut who will only become more terrifying as his strength and ability grows.

Name: Granite Jack

Witchbreed: Golems

Rank: Novice

Agility: d4

Smarts: d4

Spirit: d6

Strength: d10

Vigor: d8

Charisma: -2

Pace: 6”

Parry: 7

Toughness: 8

Acceptance/Defiance: 0

Skills

Climbing d4

Fighting d10

Guts d6

Intimidation d6

Notice d4

Survival d4

Taunt d4

Hindrances

Slow

Stubborn

Ugly

Edges

Hard to Kill

Luck

Martial Artist

True To Its Origin

Racial Package

  Constructed: The Golem has the Construct ability.

  Deliberate: Agility can go no higher than d6.

  Hulking: +2 Toughness.

  Weakness: +4 Damage from Blunt Force Damage

Witchmark

  Witchbreed Sense

  Drawn to Those in Need

Unarmed Attacks (Str+d4)

Thoughts: Granite Jack is a scary, scary bruiser. Why? Because I dumped Agility and Smarts, which makes him vulnerable to Tricks, but True To Its Origin (which may be getting excised) gives him Hardy (which prevents wounds from two Shaken results), and Construct essentially gives him Combat Reflexes (and his Spirit's d6 and can easily rise). Yeah, Fighting d10 was expensive, but he needs it as his Agility locks him out of a lot of the cool combat Edges.

Redwood was fun, inspired a bit by seeing the book carrying, glasses wearing Golem in the Accursed art...but with a twist, making him a military genius instead.

Mongrels are up next, and I'll try to make it a point to delve into Arcane Backgrounds with that one.

A Look At Accursed Dhampirs

Dhampirs are the half-vampires of the Accursed setting, created by the Blood Witch. Dhampirs are described in the Accursed Player's Guide is being agile, sure-footed and charming. I decided to play around with character generation a little bit and take a closer look at Dhampirs.

Any of the Accursed can choose to accept or defy their nature, embracing the power of their Witchmark or struggle against it. The more you embrace the Witchmark as a Dhampir, the more vampiric you become. The more you struggle against it, the more human you become (which is how it works with all of them). So I created two Accursed Dhampirs: Both have done horrible, horrible things since gaining their Witchmark...one embracing his nature and the other fighting it.

KHALOS THE BUTCHER

Khalos gained a reputation for his rage and his brutality in The Bane War. To this day his name is cursed and though he fights the minions of The Blood Witch, he has few friends. This isolation has driven him down a dark path, and while he will never serve The Blood Witch again, fighting monsters has indeed transformed him into one. He flies into a berserker rage in combat, summons wolves to fight by his side, can consume blood to make himself stronger and cuts a horrible swath with his scythe, Bloodletter. However, his vampiric nature forces him to move under the cover of darkness, holy ground makes him incredibly uncomfortable and he must feast on blood in order to survive. His time in the Bane Wars have given him astonishing resolve and his is a great boogeyman to stalk the Blood Witch's banes...but has he crossed the point of no return?

Name: Khalos the Butcher

Witchbreed: Dhampir

Rank: Veteran (2 advances)

Agility: d10

Smarts: d6

Spirit: d8

Strength: d8

Vigor: d8

Charisma: +1

Pace: 7

Parry: 8

Toughness: 8(2)

Acceptance/Defiance: Final Stage Acceptance

Skills

Climbing d4

Fighting d10

Gambling d4

Guts d8

Intimidation d8

Notice d6

Riding d4

Streetwise d6

Tracking d8

Hindrances

Mean

Vulnerability to Holy Ground (Minor)

Wanted (Major)

Edges

Berserk

Blood Fury

Call to the Wild (Wolves)

Grand Coven Veteran

Sweep

Trademark Weapon (Bloodletter)

Racial Package

  Dark Charm (Charisma +2)

  Graceful (D6 Agility)

  Keen Senses (D6 Notice)

  Low Light Vision

  Nimble (+1 Parry)

  Wood Weakness (+4 from wood)

  Enemy (Blood Witch)

  Blood Hunger

Witchmark

  Witchbreed Sense

  Drawn to Those In Need

  Witchspeak

  Warning

  Stage 1 Acceptance (-1 to all rolls in sunlight, +1 to Pace)

  Stage 2 Acceptance (Parry increases to +2, -1 to attack rolls against Dhampir, double damage from wood, need blood to survive)

  Stage 3 Acceptance (-2 to all rolls in sunlight, need invitation to enter homes, Agility increases by one die type, Charisma +1, abilities that affect blood gain +2 against Dhampir)

Gear

Scythe (Str+d6) (Parry -1, +1 to attack rolls, Reach 1, 2 hands), Reinforced Great Coat (+2 armor)

Liam the Penitent

Whereas Khalos revels in who he is, Liam is haunted by the things he's done under the influence of the Witchmark. The horrors he has seen - and committed - have forged him into an unflappable agent against evil, one who is taking his soul back one piece at a time. Damage in combat rarely slows him down, and few things can frighten him at this point in his life. Liam knows that he is owed a horrible death for what he's done, so he seeks it without fear, only hoping to drag as many minions into damnation with him as he can.

Name: Liam the Penitent

Witchbreed: Dhampir

Rank: Heroic

Agility: d8

Smarts: d6

Spirit: d10

Strength: d8

Vigor: d8

Charisma: +2

Pace: 6”

Parry: 7

Toughness: 6

Acceptance/Defiance: Stage 2 Defiance

Skills

Fighting d8

Guts d10

Investigation d6

Knowledge (Enochian Faith) d6

Notice d6

Streetwise d6

Subterfuge d8

Taunt d8

Tracking d6

Hindrances

Death Wish

Heroic

Quirk (Sucker for a Pretty Face)

Edges

Brave

Combat Reflexes

Counterattack

Graceful Leap

Iron Will

Nerves of Steel

Penitent

Relentless

Racial Package

  Dark Charm (Charisma +2)

  Graceful (D6 Agility)

  Keen Senses (D6 Notice)

  Low Light Vision

  Wood Weakness (+4 damage from wood)

  Nimble (+1 Parry)

  Enemy (Blood Witch)

  Blood Hunger

Witchmark

  Witchbreed Sense

  Drawn to Those In Need

  Witchspeak

  Warning

  Bane Sense

  Stage 1 Defiance (Wood damage drops to +2, Dhampir loses Low Light Vision)

  Stage 2 Defiance (Notice skill is reduced 1 step, Dhampir has no Wood Weakness, gains +1 benny each session).

Gear

Longsword (str+d8)

Thoughts:  I really like the available character options. A few oddball Edges and Hindrances are missing (Bloodthirsty, No Mercy, and so on)...stuff that aren't included as part of the setting but that I'll probably add back in myself...but I made it a point to try to create these as close to Rules as Written as possible.

Anyway, that's a look at Dhampirs down. In a day or two, I'll try to sit down and stat up a pair of Golems. If this looks appealing to you, back the Kickstarter. If not, then brace yourself for a few more posts about something that probably doesn't appeal much to you! But I'll try to work some non-Accursed posts in just the same.

Note: I am not affiliated with Melior Via or their Kickstarter in any way, I just really, really like what I've read in the Player's Guide, enough that I've backed the Kickstarter myself.

Sneak Preview: The Accursed Player's Guide

So I'm going to come right out and say it: If the Player's Guide is any indication, then Melior Via has made the game I wanted to write, but never trusted myself to design.

From their press release:

The Curse is Imminent

New Savage Worlds setting launches on Kickstarter on Friday, September 13th.

Melior Via, LLC, publishers of the critically acclaimed Hope Preparatory School game setting are preparing to launch a crowd funding campaign for the creation of a new RPG setting. Accursed is a dark fantasy world, where the players take on the roles of classic movie monsters. They struggle to free the land of Morden from the dark influences of the Witches. The Accursed draw their power from their curses, while struggling against it to preserve their souls. Recognizing that the game is named Accursed, it became apparent that the project had to launch on Friday the 13th.

About the setting:

In Accursed, Hammer Horror films meet Hellboy, and Solomon Kane meets Castlevania. The game world allows players to take on the roles of characters with transformative curses, cast by the Witches of the Grand Coven. They are Dhampir (Half-vampire charming rogues), Golems (living creatures crafted from unliving materials, similar to Frankenstein’s monster), Vargr (werewolves), Mummies, Mongrels (humans with bestial limbs and other body parts grafted onto their bodies), and Revenants (the living dead). The Accursed must not only fight evil from without; each character’s Witchmark defines his curse and changes over time.

About the Creators:

Ross Watson, Jason Marker, and John Dunn have designed role-playing games for many properties, including Star Wars: Edge of the Empire, Shadowrun, Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay, Robotech, and Malifaux: Through the Breach. They have decades of experience working in the gaming industry and are very excited about bringing a new twist on dark fantasy RPGs to life. The three members of the core team are bringing their combined creativity, experience, and passion to the project.

Accursed website: http://www.AccursedRPG.com

Kickstarter Preview: http://tinyurl.com/kgjk2pz

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AccursedRpg

Twitter: https://twitter.com/accursedrpg

Melior Via, LLC website: www.meliorvia.com

Now, that sounds all well and good, but you can say anything on a press release...but they sent me a copy of the playtest draft of the Player's Guide and I've spent a few days with it. First off, the book is very pretty. Here's the cover:

Not bad.

Accursed is powered by Savage Worlds, which is pretty high on my list of games, as you all know. Now, monster hunting/fighting games are nothing new in Savage Worlds. This art, for instance, gives a little bit of a Rippers vibe. However, not a lot of Savage Worlds games are placing the PCs in the roles of, essentially, monsters. The Accursed are all Witchmarked, which has a different effect on the PC depending on the witch that marked him:

• Dhampirs are half-vampires who suffer from some of the flaws of vampires but are more nimble and graceful, and even have an Edge they can take that gives them a boost based off of their blood feeding.
• Golems are men who have been transformed into constructs, with all the pros and cons that entails.
• Mongrels are twisted beast men who have had animal parts bound to their bodies.
• Mummies are the loooong dead, who have risen at the beckoning of the witches, forcing them into unlife.
• Revenants are angry, driven walking dead like The Crow.
• Vargrs are the setting's own werewolves.

So, yeah, Solomon Kane meets Castlevania, as you play men turned into monsters who are fighting monsters. While the book introduces new setting rules, powers (to go along with powers sets for Alchemy and Witchcraft), where the setting REALLY sings is in the WitchMark, which is what turned the poor guy into an Accursed and is the source of his power. So far, so good, right? One of the Wowza moments for me is that the Accursed can accept or defy their witchmarks, which has a deep impact on them...they can either accept their fate and gain more power at the expense of their soul, or they can embrace their humanity but forsake their power. This level of complication is added very simply, with corresponding bonuses and penalties based off of each level of acceptance or refusal. So, yeah, you can choose to become completely mortal...but you still have dangerous and powerful enemies and you are giving up your power while still waging a war!

A couple of years back, I was envisioning a Castlevania-esque setting that I thought Savage Worlds would be well suited for, but Accursed hits a lot of the beats I wanted to see in my own setting. The Kickstarter should be live by the time you read this, but I'll be back (probably this weekend) to play around with character creation a little bit and look at the Accursed character types a bit closer...but as it stands, I'm more excited about this than I have been a new setting or game for a while, and I cannot WAIT to see what is going to be in the full book.

Tommy's Take on API Worldwide: South America

Apocalypse Prevention Inc. has had a release pattern since the core rules came out, alternating between Demon Codices and Regional Sourcebooks. We have previously taken a look at Canada and Europe…now we travel to South America!

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: The print book is $20 in black and white and the PDF is $10, with the book coming in around 96 pages. As with previous API Worldwide books, this is designed to cover a region of the world…in this case, South America.

The chapter South America Briefly details some of the challenges the API faces when operating in South America, such as the lack of cell reception, the vast stretches of uncivilized territory and the constant run-ins with organized crime (namely the drug trade, though API tends to avoid them unless the drugs are supernatural in nature). A number of sidebars are included, such as one that details a number of herbs found in The Amazon, complete with their mechanical effects on those using them.

History Lessons covers the past and the present of the API in South America. For instance, the South America division takes in less savory agents due to the limited talent pool, and a lot of problems just never get addressed due to the lack of resources. The leader of the South America API branch is a small woman who can “influence” those she speaks to, which helps her more than a bit.

Chaos vs Chaos details some of the threats the API must deal with, beginning with The Council Most High, an organization of demons who are in a bit of a cold war with API. Another threat is a rogue agent and her organization, the Interdimensional Publicity Agency (IPA), which is trying to expose the supernatural world in direct opposition to API. The Children of God are a group of vampires who are breeding their own psychotic army to take out API and rule the world. The Manchakuy are descendants of the Incans who are hunting the Spanish in South America in revenge for encroachments by the Spanish Conquistadors. The Shadow Trade is dealing out weapons and information to anyone with the money, being both a resource and detriment to API. There’s even a group of human hunters called Skinners that have become aware of the supernatural and hunting demons in the street.

Secrets of the Amazon provides mechanical crunch, such as the effects of heavy rain and mudslides, as well as hyperthermia. The Path of the Mark is introduced, providing animal-based tattoo magic, like Mark of the Monkey which can grant the user a monkey-like screech or Mark of the Serpent which can provide a python-like grip. The Path of Wealth covers both aesthetic bits like looking wealthy, as well as a creepy power called Dirty Money that borders on reality warping as it can force people to remember committing crimes that they did not! New weapons (like automatic shotguns and grenade launchers) are included, as are new toys and cybernetics. New antagonists range from anacondas and jaguars to the frightening Cherufe – a demon made of molten rock.

Four new demons are provided: Gyks (Geeks) are tech-demons. Mohans look kinda like monkeys, but they can transform into serpents and jaguars as well. Thirsts are parasitic starfish that latch onto dead human bodies and reanimate them. Tox are a blind species with venomous skin.

Two adventures are included, the first being a clash with the IPA and a scary demon that controls shadows, while the second ends in a horrifying decision that can alter the world.

WHAT WORKS: This API Worldwide book does a great job conveying the different “feel” that it has over a US-based game, doing an even better job of illustrating that then Europe or Canada did, and feeling more “complete” than the Europe book. The lack of metaplot means that you don’t have to worry about your group’s decision at the end of the second adventure being overruled by anyone.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: None of the four new demon species really jumped out at me the way previous Worldwide demon entries did.

CONCLUSION: If you’re not setting a game in South America, even as a temporary detour, I’m not sure there’s going to be enough here to make you NEED this book. That said, if you want a completely different, almost desperate, feel to your API campaign, South America is just what you’re wanting: The API South America branch is outgunned, overpowered and trying to figure out how to make it all balance. Strong recommendation if you like API and want a change of scenery. If you’re just wanting something to boost your existing game, this probably won’t do the job for you.

Tommy's Take on Wu Xing: Truth and Lies

Wu Xing alternates back and forth between regional sourcebooks and clan sourcebooks. At the beginning of the year we got the latest clan sourcebook Truth and Lies, covering the rival clans The Will of Iron and the Hidden Strands.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: You will need the Wu Xing core rules to use this, which is available in print for $20 and PDF for $10. The print book is in black and white softcover. I got mine via the Truth and Lies Kickstarter a while back.

The first chapter is an in-character “fluff” chapter directed at a new recruit to the Will of Iron, filling him in on the Clan’s purpose and methods. The Will of Iron are hardcore enforcers of the law (or their law, anyway, known as The Tao of Steel, which is broken down law by law in a sidebar, featuring such gems as “Stopping a crime is meaningless if the criminal can commit it again”, “A starving innocent is tragic, but a fat criminal is an outrage” and “To tolerate a crime today weakens the resolve to enforce the law tomorrow”). Other sidebars cover notable members of the clan, including the elderly boogeyman known as Justice’s Blade. Other cool and notable tidbits about The Will of Iron include their hidden prison known as The Repeating Prison, where they imprison criminals who should not be killed but cannot be openly detained, trapping them in casks and forcing them to relive their crimes. The structure of the clan is detailed as well, including a treatise on how The Will of Iron trains. We also get a deeper discussion of The Will of Iron feels about the other clans, though they generally find something wrong with each clan.

The Hidden Strands of Fate are shadowy manipulators to The Will of Iron’s hardcore enforcers. One of the first things we learn about the Hidden Strands is that the new inductees are selected by existing members, who manipulate the destruction of the potentials’ enemies to ensure that they survive to become Hidden Strands. We also find out (from the Hidden Strands, if they are to be believed) that they have manipulated each of the clans to ensure that they have incarnated into their current forms. Greater good and all that, I suppose. So you know, they don’t like the Will of Iron. The chapter ends with a dirty tease about just precisely what role The Hidden Strands play in the Ninja Crusade, though we don’t get to SEE it.

Chapter Three delves into the mechanics. Two new Passions are introduced: Treachery (especially for the Hidden Strands) and Pursuit (generally for the Will of Iron). The Will has new Gifts (like Sentaka, which grants bonuses to hunting criminals) and Drawbacks (like being so Sadistic that they lose control when attacking their target). Strand Gifts and Drawbacks include 100-Year Thread (using silk soaked in the blood of the clan’s enemies for 100 years) and Truthful (which is a huge problem when your whole clan is a bunch of liars). New weapons include Butterfly Swords and the impressive Seven-Branched Sword as well as the terrifying Heaven Splitter.

Two new Fighting Styles are included: Deer Style (which uses sais and is a defensive style that focuses on locking up weapons and breaking them, or striking a crushing blow when attacking off of a Parry or Dodge) and Silkworm Style (using chains and designed to take opponents down quickly). The Way of the Metal provides new Wushu which lets the ninja sense metals, split metal pieces into multiple shards and ultimately summon a magnetic storm of metal. The Way of Spun Threads can increase the strength of threads, create a whirlwind that turns their threads into wicked weapons and even transforming into a wicked warrior protruding threads from their body. The Way of Heaven’s Judgment allows the ninja to attack the guilty with increased accuracy and damage (while causing the opponent to become sloppy), allow them to reduce damage taken (and turn some of it into chi that they can use in return) and even become a walking embodiment of justice.

Three new Celestial Animals are added: Spiders, Peacocks and Silver Dragons, with an example of each, including a Celestial Spider that is hunted by the Will of Iron.

The first of the new clans is called the Sons of Steel, hardnosed warriors that make the Will of Iron look like softies. In fact, the Sons of Steel are completely emotionless. They have the Way of the Iron Mind, which allows them to shut out mind-altering effects, remove emotions from other individuals and, at the height of their power, remove emotion from everyone around them.

The second clan is Veiled Ones, an offshoot of the Hidden Strands. They have the Way of Pulled Strings which allows them to see through the eyes of their puppets, make their puppets look lifelike, and even control victims directly with their wushu.

An adventure is included that involves altering the balance of power in an Empire trade city, but both the Hidden Strands and the Will of Iron insist on including members of their clans on the strike team.

WHAT WORKS: The cool new mechanics are a great addition and some of the setting elements are nice. The options for playing the Will of Iron as “not nice” as well as playing an “honest” Strand of Fate is really intriguing as well.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK: The adventure left me a little cold for some reason.

CONCLUSION: If you like Wu Xing, there’s a lot of great setting elements here to play around with (like the Repeating Prison). There are also some swell new rules like the wushu, new styles, new weapons (I do dig the Seven-Branched Sword and Heaven’s Splitter). Unless you’re playing troupe-style, your players won’t need a ton of clan options, but the Veiled Ones or the Sons of Steel could make for great antagonists. Definitely recommended for fans of Wu Xing as there are some cool elements to use even if you don’t have Will of Iron or Hidden Strands PCs in your games.

Tommy's Take on Heaven's Shadow

I’ve played the D6 system a fair bit in the past (mostly Star Wars 2^nd Edition), but I hadn’t kept up on recent developments in D6 system gaming. I got a review copy of Heaven’s Shadow from the author, John Berry, and did a bit of research on MiniSix, a streamlined (the core rules are under 40 pages) variant. But this isn’t about MiniSix, it’s about Heaven’s Shadow, so let’s jump into that.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: Published by Bedroom Wall Press, Heaven’s Shadow is currently free in PDF form, and $10 in print. It runs 84 pages and is powered by MiniSix, as noted above. The premise is that the PCs are Shadows: Assassins who serve God and are powered by their Faith to hunt down demonic beings called Nephilim, who disguise themselves as mortals. Pretty sure I’ve read the author saying it has more than a little influence from the Assassin’s Creed series as well.

The book includes everything you need to play, rules and setting. MiniSix is pretty streamlined, with only four attributes (Might, Agility, Wits and Charm), and around thirty skills governed by those four attributes (not evenly divided), like Martial Arts, Pickpocket, Demonology and Con. You get 12 dice to divide among attributes, with 7 dice to divide among your skills, and you can divide dice into 3 pips (giving +1 or +2 to an attribute or skill; +3 would make it another die larger). Every Shadow also has the Faith attribute (which uses dice from the attributes pool), as well as an Agency attribute that reflects their standing in their organization. Conviction is a pool of points reminiscent of Force Points from the Star Wars RPG, allowing the Shadows to push themselves when needed, shrug off damage, or receive “Divine Inspiration” when they aren’t clear about what to do next. Every Shadow also has to take two Complications, which provide Conviction points when encountered – and overcome – in play. Some Complications include Bounty (as in, there’s one on your head), Touched (by the profane, possibly even having demon’s blood in your veins) or Burned (your previous agency cut you off, full stop). Shadows also have four derived stats (Block, Dodge, Parry and Soak) for combat situations.

The basic rules are simple: Roll the dice pool for the appropriate action and beat a target number. If you double the target number, it’s a Double Success and you succeed spectacularly. In some situations, usually at GM fiat, you get a Stunt Die, which is largely like the Wild Die from previous D6 games, which can explode for extra success or “implode”, taking away dice from the total. Heaven’s Shadow also has a contested system for things like tailing a target, which is a series of rolls back and forth until one side holds the advantage for multiple rolls (or scores a Double Success). Simple, but effective.

The combat rules are a lot like the basic rules, with Agility being used for initiative. If you’ve played RPGs, you’ll recognize a lot of the stuff here, but my favorite part is Opportunity: If you attack and score less than half of what you need, you give the opponent the immediate opportunity for a counterattack (including Disarming them, Disabling them or performing a Takedown). Damage is compared to the opponent’s Soak value, and the remainder compared to the Wound table to determine how wounded the defender is. Successive wounds less than the existing wounds bump up the wound level. This makes “Papercuts of Death” possible, which might annoy some folks. Savage Worlds has potential for the same thing, so I’m clearly not bothered by that.

The chapter on Assassination is the crown jewel of the book. It goes into detail about using stealth for bonuses on taking out the target, as well as using various environmental effects to kill the target without making it look like an assassination (like throwing them from balconies, electrocuting them, poisoning them, drowning them, etc), as well as Planning the Hit, which tries to help justify the idea of a team of assassins, with each member of the group performing a task and every successful completion adding a die to the Plan Pool, which the triggerman can spend when it comes time to take out the target and/or escape.

They say Faith can move mountains, and Shadows can use Faith to do amazing things thanks to the “Supreme Director” (God). They are organized by difficulties: Everyone has Wordless Sight, which allows them to see Nephilim for who they are, and with a little extra effort, reveal that to others. Passing Unseen allows a Shadow to completely vanish into a crowd. Walking on Water functions exactly as it sounds. Covering Darkness plunges a building into complete and absolute darkness. Stone of David allows the assassin to throw a single, unerring stone that strikes almost as a bullet. Resurrection can raise the dead. There are many more Miracles, these are just a sampling.

Several agencies are included, all coming from the same basic source (The Order of Shadows), and all agreeing on the same overall mission (stop the Nephilim), just not agreeing on particulars (tenets of Faith, methods of operation, base of operations, and so on). Sometimes the Agencies do work together for short-term missions, and some (like ICON, which is a former government agency still operating out of Langley, Virginia,) function as unofficial branches of governing bodies in their area.

The Nephilim are demonic souls in human bodies, and each are devoted to a particular sin. Each Nephilim has lived for thousands of years, and has certain abilities ties to their respective sins. Guidelines are included making your own Nephilim, as well as ten sample Nephilim, one for each of the listed sins. They range from destructive and ravenous Big Game Hunters to greedy Corporate Raiders to vile and disgusting Flesh Merchants.

The final chapter guides you, as the GM, through constructing missions for the PCs. Is the Nephilim the Power in the situation, or the Man Behind The Power? The President of the United States might be acting fishy and making destructive decisions, but it could be a Nephilim disguised as an advisor and not the President. There’s also discussion included on the consequences of the assassination. Having to kill a US Senator is likely to have more fallout (at least legally) than killing a Nephilim pornographer will. A few smple NPC statblocks are provided, as well as a series of plot hooks, like a small town falling under the sway of a pair of Nephilim pushing their respective sins on the place, a Nephilim drug dealer using his own blood to lace the drugs and a sadistic Nephilim pornographer operating in an off-shore sea fort.

WHAT WORKS: A fantastic premise, and the streamlined MiniSix seems to fit it like a glove. The Opportunity rules put that extra risk into the combat, and the miracles from the “Supreme Director” are some pretty impressive stuff, as is the Assassination chapter. The PDF is free and the print is only $10.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK: Perhaps too lean and could have used more examples. A random mission generator would have been a nice touch.

CONCLUSION: Well, the PDF is free, so if this sounds remotely interesting, you have no reason not to check it out on your own. The game allows for the cool factor of being ruthless assassins, while setting up a situation that places the assassins as the undeniable good guys, since they are taking on demons. On one hand, I appreciate just how lean it is…on the other hand, it probably could have used some beefing up in some places. There is actually no art at all inside the book, meaning that it is packed with actual game information. Despite the part in the book about the team working together on a mission, it seems like the perfect RPG to run for a solo campaign, and the system is a time-tested one that Heaven’s Shadow doesn’t push past its comfort zone (like high level Jedi or DC Superheroes tended to do). Fun concept, executed well, in a system that has stood the test of time, with a non existent barrier for entry. Definitely worth checking out.

DISCLAIMER: As noted above, I did receive an electronic review copy of Heaven's Shadow from the author, and I have provided an affiliate link to the PDF and print versions of the book at DriveThruRPG. Making a purchase via an affiliate link could provide me with compensation in the form of store credit.

NOTE: I believe the free PDF was a promotional period thing, and the price has now been adjusted up to (a still very reasonable) $5 after the posting of this review.

Tommy's Take on Storm Battalion

One of those “perks of the blog” kinda things: I sometimes get to see things before they are printed. Case in point: Storm Battalion by Brennan Bishop, powered by the Dynamic Gaming System made famous by Third Eye Games’ Apocalypse Prevention Inc., Wu Xing and Part-Time Gods.

The cover, sans trade dress.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: This game is currently on IndieGoGo, trying to muster up its production budget. Also, while I have no direct hand in the production of this RPG, the author and I have a mutual respect for one another, which has in turn led to an NPC in the book being named after me.

Storm Battalion is set in an alternate reality in which mysterious storms have broken out over Canada, diverting the development of the world’s events and continuing to keep the Americans locked in warfare with the British on the Canadian front, while the European Union is making encroachments due to the advancements of the British and the indigenous peoples of Canada are trying to push everyone out of the country that they feel is rightfully theirs. There’s also the freaky monsters that emerge from the storms and the bizarre temporal effects. Nikolas Tesla tried to harness the power of the storms, but was frustrated when his efforts were used to power military weapons, rather than providing peaceful developments.

The storms not only wreak havoc in their wake, but also warp and mutate the world around them, from people to animals to even plant life. The storms also have another horrifying effect: They raise the dead. Some folks come back as essentially mindless zombies, but others come back as The Risen – people with another chance at life, now imbued with superhuman abilities, and often drafted into military units.

It is worth noting that the game is HEAVILY focused on Canada (what with the author being Canadian and all), with extensive descriptions of the state of Canada provided, though the US, British and European militaries are also covered in the opening section of the book, as well as the Kegintagi, the indigenous peoples of Canada who are fighting for their own survival as well.

There is a section on the elements of warfare, like the abuses perpetrated on the civilian populations of battlefronts, as well as looting, resistance and so on. All valuable themes and elements that can be used, either as adventures in their own right, or complications to missions.

Additionally, there are more than four groups jockeying for control, like the 4^th Army (composed entirely of The Risen), Virtues Army (“peacemongers” who commit horrible atrocities while spreading their message) and the Blue 88s (a Jazz band who is secretly a spy ring).

Character creation, like other DGS-based games, is point-based, with players taking a pool of 70 points and creating from there. A few more choices remain before you actually spend points, like Passion (what you fight for, be it Revenge, Love, Code of Honor or what have you), Class (with choices like Medic, Infantry, Scientist and Sentient Teleautomaton, each of which provide their own bonuses, with Teleautomatons having their own Advantages and Disadvantages, too), and Country (with choices being Canadian, British, American, Kegintagi and European Union, each of which lets you purchase an aspect of character creation at half cost). Some of the more and less useful bonuses are balanced somewhat by having higher and lower morale scores accordingly (British have high Morale scores because they are fighting in fear of the Throne, not because they are necessarily braver).

Each character has six base stats (Power, Agility, Vigor, Intellect, Insight and Charm) which are used to derive stats further. Additionally, there are twenty non-combat skills and four combat skills to build your character from, and you select four of them to be directly affected by your Morale score.

If you are familiar with the other DGS games, you’ll notice that a lot of this sounds familiar (as it should). The Advantages and Disadvantages also have a lot of familiar entries, though Storm Battalion does add some nice new ones that fit the military setting, like Army Buddy (which gives you a bonus to skill checks as long as your buddy is in proximity…just hope they don’t die), Booming Voice (allowing you to be heard over firefights on the battlefield) and even Personal Airship, which is expensive but grants you just that: A personal airship, complete with a crew. Teleautomatons can also have advantages like bullet resistant armor, being Lifeless (which means they don’t scare easily or lose morale), or being able to electrocute their own body in order to zap enemies. Disadvantages include having loose screws (which makes firing weapons with recoil harder) and being squeaky (which kinda kills stealth for them).

Due to the Teslapunk nature of the game, the equipment chapter is cooler than usual, with stuff like boots that serve as conductors for anything you need powered to heated bedrolls…to much flashier stuff like earthquake generators, Clappers (electromagnetic gauntlets that allow wearers to climb metallic surfaces), Poppers (which are designed entirely to blow the batteries that other troops tend to wear), as well as a list of abandoned technology like Icarus Vests (essentially helicopter vests) and Stompers (30 foot tall robots that fell out of fashion due to being 30 feet tall).

The Risen have Kewl Powerz granted to them by the Storms known as Twists, and the Twists are generally ranked in three levels, from a basic Kewl Power to something terrifying. Take Bloat for instance. The basic function of the power allows you to twist and unlock your jaw to take a massive bite out of an opponent. At level 1, you can use this to heal. At Level 2, you can use this consumed matter to stretch your limbs. At level 3, you can actually regenerate lost limbs and organs, or even grow NEW ones (eyes in the back of your head, anyone?)!

Claws provides, well, claws…which can be used for melee attacks. At level 1, you can also use them to climb. At level 2, they can now shred armor, and at level 3, they emit a corrosive poison that makes them extra destructive!

There is an Unkillable Twist as well, which functions as it sounds! At Level 1, you can’t die inside a Storm. At Level 2, you cannot be killed period and at Level 3, not only are you unkillable, but you heal VERY quickly.

Two Twists also exist that allow you to influence how the Storms react, or even allow you to generate storms yourself! So, there are some nice, fun options for powers.

Morale is kind of a big thing in this game, as important to it as Yin and Yang are to Wu Xing. As Morale grows, you gain bonuses to skill rolls and at the highest levels, you can even boost the morale of others! At the lower levels you face penalties, and when your morale bottoms out, it can push your character into dark, suicidal places.

Special mention goes to the “object durability” listings, for folks hiding behind cover, which includes the durability rating of dead cows. Not sure how often that’s going to come up in play, or if it’s just the author’s twisted sense of humor, but its inclusion did make me chuckle.

Most of the rules stuff is going to be familiar to folks who play Wu Xing or API, but Storm Battalion does also include an extensive section on Storms and the effect they have on those within them, infecting them with Contamination (which is what Risen use to power their Twists). It’s not really a good idea for non-Risen to enter a storm at all, and it’s not really a good idea for ANYONE to enter a 3^rd level (Reckoning) or 4^th level (Maelstrom) storm.

The bestiary includes human opponents, provided as a base statline that is then modified by the human’s country (like Americans having more Health but basic equipment, and Canadians having a higher chance of being Risen).

Then we get into creepier options, like contaminated humans who are turned into things like Titans (giant powerhouses), Boogiemen (smaller, sneaky stalkers) and Bonesnappers (who hunt in packs and like to break the necks of their opponents). Contaminated animals include Grendels (mutated dogs), Gores (deer, moose or pretty much anything with antlers) and Threshers (mutated bears, as if regular bears weren’t scary enough).

Some introductory adventures are included, the first of which meant to be fairly loose, as it is not set in a specific geographic region, and it doesn’t assume the PCs to belong to a specific military faction, instead providing customization options depending on whether your players want to be Canadian, British, American, EU or Kegintagi. In a nutshell, a Lieutenant of the same army is reporting a growing number of his men going missing, and the PCs are sent to investigate. It’s a good starting point, as it features the horrific monsters in the setting, dealing directly with a Storm as well as running head to head with an enemy force.

The second adventure is more military and less weirdness, with the PCs having to infiltrate and stop an airship that is trying to absolutely demolish one of their bases. The two adventures provide a good cross section of the kinds of adventures Storm Battalion provides.

WHAT WORKS: The book feels complete while having room for expansion if the game proves to be a success. The equipment chapter is one of the funner equipment chapters I’ve read recently, and I really like the Twists. Like the previous games before it, Storm Battalion uses the solid base of the DGS, while making its own relevant tweaks to make the Teslapunk Military feel of the game come through.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK: The Canadian-centric setting and viewpoint is jarring to me, because I’m a Typical American that sees things from this perspective first. I like point buy well enough, but I don’t like big point pools, and due to the half-costs of certain aspects this game has, it gets into spending half-points, which I really don’t care for.

CONCLUSION: A worthy addition to the DGS family, Storm Battalion is a gonzo mish-mash in a World That Never Was, with humans simultaneously dealing with the fallout of the Storms while trying to harness their powers, both in the form of new technology and in the Risen. Naming an NPC after me also helps. My gut says that the military aspect would play beautifully in Savage Worlds, but I’m not sure the work required to make the powers fit would be worth it.

If you grumble about American-centric games, or if you like non-standard military or alternate history games, or if you just dig games where you play zombie soldiers with kewl powerz who are waging war with rival nations and freaky storms that spit out stuff that would be at home in Stephen King’s The Mist, you might oughta check this out. I’m planning on putting my money where my mouth is, just debating between PDF, print and print + t-shirt (I just feel like it would be right at home with my API, Wu Xing and Part-Time Gods t-shirts).

Apocalypse Prevention, Inc Savage Worlds Released

Of course, many of you know that I'm a fan of both Apocalypse Prevention Inc and Savage Worlds, so this should be perfect review material, right?

Normally, I would agree. In this case, I can't review it because I kinda pitched in a bit, especially with the monster conversions. This is a pretty complete book combining material from the original books that came before it, all geared for providing Fast, Furious Fun for your Savage Worlds groups.

You can read my original API review here, to get a feel for the setting, then run off and buy the book in PDF format for $9.99.

New Edges, new races, new monsters and a cool monster-hunting setting. What more do you want?

Tommy's Take on Streets of Bedlam

Jason L Blair, of Little Fears fame, recently released his first Savage Setting: Streets of Bedlam, which intentionally shortens to SoB. I like Savage Worlds, I like Blair's work, and I backed this on Kickstarter.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: The PDF is 255 pages and currently available on RPGnow...still lacking a few finishing touches before it'll get sent to the printers, where it'll seemingly retail for $30. The book is in black and white, fittingly, and drawn by Shawn Gaston. It also has much saltier language than your average Savage Worlds book.

The book is divided into five chapters plus an introduction, and requires some version of Savage Worlds (though it was written for Deluxe, but there's not a lot of hard work moving from edition to edition).

The Introduction provides an overview to the feel of the setting, citing things like Sin City, Boondock Saints and Assault on Precinct 13, and Mr. Blair also said in a chat that emulation of movies like Payback and Four Brothers was certainly possible. Again, this chapter is just a broad overview of the inspirations and source material, as well as a brief breakdown of Bedlam, which is actually two cities (Bedford and Lamrose, the former being the money of the city, the latter being the wrecked out remnants of a blue collar city). The chapter serves as a nice, brisk introduction to what Streets of Bedlam is all about.

Chapter one dives into the city itself, a neo-noirish Gotham that is split in two distinct halves by the Artifice River. In Lamrose, the prostitutes rule Bricktown, the Lamrose side of the river is dotted with crack houses, we have casinos under various management, a Little Italy and a Chinatown. On the other side of the river, Bedford is where the rich and the righteous live, with fake swamps, theatres, cathedrals and a pair of pro ball teams (football and baseball). A handy list of local slang is provided, and it's not so long or dense as to become distracting. There are Italiant, Irish and Polish, and Triad mobs in town, and the cops are little protection. A handy quick-list of businesses and street names are provided, with shoutouts to authors like Elmore Leonard and Ed Brubaker.

Chapter 2 is character creation, which is standard Savage Worlds creation...with a little twist. For one thing, you start an Archetype, a pretty specific foundation for your character (with the option of a Citizen, who is essentially a blank slate). The Archetypes have required skills, as well as free Edges and Hindrances, and then you customize from there. I rather like the descriptions for this game, being three sentences: A physical description, a social one and a mental one. An example of an Archetype is a Badge, catch-all for the cops. This one gets extra Reputation for certain actions, but you also get to choose whether you are straight or dirty, with the former giving you an enemy for crossing the wrong person and the latter providing extra money...but meaning you're in the pocket of someone. Others include Boss (as in gang bosses), Valkyries (the now militant hookers), Drifters, Hitters (Hitmen) and even Marv-like monsters, each with their own customization point even before you buy your skills and Edges.

Chapter 3 gets into the rules changes, providing suggestions for Setting Rules and adding in new Skills, Edges and Hindrances. Some of the Skills are expected, like Interrogation, and others are interesting, but odd, like Eyes of G*d, which allows you to tell whether or not someone is a very bad guy. Edges include things like Street Cred and Sucker-Proof, which provide well explained bonuses, as well as one (Heart on Your Sleeve) that reads like it should be a Hindrance and a couple of Edges that are described, but either have no - or poorly explained - mechanical benefits (like Protected or Entourage). Hindrances include Infamous, Priors (you have a record) and Trigger Happy (where guns are your first solution). Rep is explained here, a stat similar to Charisma, which can fall under three spheres: Public, Underworld and Authority. Interrogation rules are present, as well as an interesting system for Investigations, using card draws to determine the crime, the clean-up and the escape, complete with an example. There's also a Dramatic Damage table, which is basically just flavor, and a system for Roles, which include things like Hero, Sidekick, Love Interest and Plot Device, and can change each session. Each role gains a couple of new effects it can spend bennies on (like Sidekicks pumping a hero's ego up). There's also a bit of a GM section here, pushing for you to jump into the middle of the action and keep it hot, before providing a selection of common story/mission/adventure types (like the ever famous Man on a Mission).

Chapter four is a huge listing of NPCs, made up primarly of Kickstarter backers, like intrepid reporter Shane Hensley, Underworld icon Gareth-Michael Skarka, and drug pusher Nathan Reed. The first 14 of these are tied directly to the archetypes to serve an iconic function. The rest of the Kickstarter backers are named, with mini bios, to fill out the city, with a nice selection of attribute arrays and skill sets provided to mix and match stock NPC stats on the fly.

Chapter 5 gets into the GMing proper, starting with an outline for neo-noir adventures for folks to follow. This leads into an interesting variation on the Plot Point Campaign, with the characters starting off at the scene of a murder, and allowing them to follow up on the clues and plot threads they choose, directing you to scenes in an almost Choose Your Own Adventure-like manner, rather than the more structured Plot Point Campaign set-up. In true Neo-Noir fashion, the whole thing takes many twists and turns and has the potential to end in a way that burns the characters even as they deal with the murderer. Interesting arrangement for the PPC, and not in a bad way. A handful of "Orphan Stories" follow, essentially overgrown plot seeds.

The PDF ends with a note from the author, a placeholder where the index will be, a quick reference sheet, an Episode tracker sheet, an Investigation sheet and a character sheet.

WHAT WORKS: The writing is very crisp without getting at all cute. Nothing is hard to read here. The art sets the scene incredibly well. I love the Archetypes set-up for character creation, especially since there's still so much room for flexibility, and the Plot Point Campaign structure is a welcome change of pace. The city is a wonderful mish-mash of Neo-Noir tropes, giving you everything you need to play around, providing landmarks without roadmaps so everything is where you need it to be.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Heart on Your Sleeve is either the worst Edge ever, or a misplaced Hindrance. Entourage and Protected could also use mechanical support. Bookmarks in a PDF are always great, and they don't exist here. I'm one of the few Kickstarter members who isn't a character in the city, because I'm not a fan of "vanity rewards". It takes me out of the setting seeing Shane Hensley or Gareth-Michael Skarka as NPCs in the setting, though I understand why vanity awards are present in KIckstarters.

CONCLUSION: I think Jason L. Blair has done a fantastic job of crafting a unique Savage Worlds experience while retaining the Fast, Furious, Fun feel the game exudes. Great new additions to the rules, a big sandbox to play around in and promises of more to come. Streets of Bedlam is the "over the top" cousin to Wellstone City, serving a similar niche in an ultraviolent and extreme manner. My biggest disappointment is that I didn't have the extra at the time to kick in for the print copy. Recommended if you love Sin City or crazy Mel Gibson revenge movies, and I love both.

My fellow blogger Darren G. Miller, who is present in the game as an NPC, offered up his thoughts over at Geekcentricity.

Tommy's Take on Average Joes

Bedrock Games has done a nice job with Terror Network in the past, covering multiple facets of terrorism, but their newest supplement takes an interesting approach: Normal folks versus terrorists.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: Average Joes is a 77 page PDF, available on RPGNow for $4.99. It is a combination sourcebook/module, placing - er - average joes in the War on Terror. The PDF is bookmarked and searchable, and lacks a really flashy layout, though it does pack a lot of information per page.

Compared to Terror Network agents, Average Joes are at a pretty big disadvantage, lacking skill points, resources, contacts...heck, most of them won't even have weapons, at least at first. What they DO get are Civilian Careers and an Attachment, which can be as much of a hindrance as a help. Interesting shift in dynamic.

The scenarios chapter notes that most of the time, an Average Joe will be wrapped up in terrorist situations against their will, and are likely in way over their heads. However, a couple of rules tips are provided to tweak it more cinematically, so you can play "Average Joes Save The Day" and not "Average Joes Get Lucky And Call The Cops". A number of scenarios are presented, with the first being my favorite: A rock band's airbus is mistaken for Air Force One and the band (the PCs) must stop these terrorists before they kill again. Over the top, cheesy fun, yes? There are also a couple of campaign ideas, such as the PCs going all vigilante in their area.

I do so love the Bedrock Games adventures, in large part because of the flexibility they provide. This book does include an adventure, in which a group of eco-terrorists take over a mall while the PCs are there shopping. We get a complete terrorist organization with backstory and bankrolling figure, eco-terrorists known as the Sacred Heart of the Earth. The adventure is a Timeline adventure, with the PCs having the ability to move about the mall and disrupt the actions of the terrorists. The terrorists are on a schedule, too, so the PCs have just over two hours in which to stay alive. The map of the mall shows the likely locations of the terrorists, and a random roll table is provided to set the locations of the PCs at the time of the attack. A good chunk of the map is dedicated to the Areas of Interest and how things might change in a given location (like a terrorist being encountered at Bo's Booze Barn completely plastered). There is also a gun store, in case the PCs hope to even the odds (and you know they do).

The endgame is in the hands of the PCs, even if the Swat Team invades the mall (their success or failure is set up, inadvertantly or not, by the PCs). The wrap-up is open ended as well, being used as a springboard for future adventures, leading to the terrorists seeking revenge, your preference.

The final chapter is a listing of NPCs, from generic stats for the terrorists, to hostages, to the leadership of the organization and local police, as well as specific hostages. Everyone gets a character sheet, bio and relevant notes, like tweaking one of the hostages to either make her a damsel in distress or a brave woman standing up to threats.

WHAT WORKS: A great idea for Terror Network, putting normal schmoes up against the terrorists...and Bedrock Games should be commended again, for showing that terrorism comes in multiple forms. As usual, the adventure is well done, setting up a situation that will play out eepending on the PCs actions.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: The layout isn't anything splashy (but then, the price is only $5) and playing an Average Joe alongside standard Terror Network characters isn't terribly balanced.

CONCLUSION: Another great expansion of the Terror Network series, hitting on normal folks having to stand up to terror themselves. A slew of campaign and scenario examples are there to help you out, as well as a fine full-fledged adventure. There are even a couple of option to tweak it to a more cineamtic style, for that Die Hard feel. Is it a complete blow-away, MUST HAVE product? No...but it is a swell, well-written spin on Terror Network without only minor gripes on my end.