Tommy's Take on Arcane Kingdoms, IZ: The Package and Weird West

ARCANE KINGDOMS

Arcane Kingdoms: Seven Realms Beyond The Horizon is a budget-priced, system neutral fantasy supplement by Sword's Edge Publishing with seven kingdoms that are meant to be placed as far away lands in your fantasy game. Each kingdom lists the capital, population, form of government, imports, exports, general description, life and society, important sites, regional history and "FX Campaign", which amounts to suggestions for nonhuman races that can be used to populate the kingdoms (thematically).

The Free City of Argopolis is an incredibly civilized nation that not only utilizes a three branch system of government, but is gaining some notoriety as the inventors of the wordpress, leading - of course - to the mass production of books. The FX notes do point out that it is likely that nonhumans in Argopolis would still wind up in ghettos and the like, casting a darker note on the enlightened society.

On the surface (no pun intended), you read "The Underneath" and you think "Oh, it's The Underdark...again". Not so...think something closer to the Morlocks from the X-Men comics. This is a forgotten society of vagrants, criminals and nonhumans who live just below the surface. It could make for a very interesting juxtaposition in any civilized city that lacks the necessary police force to enforce order below. The FX section is really interesting as it suggests that kobolds could be the driving force in The Underneath, which would be pretty shocking in most fantasy games.

The Commune of Katar Val only consists of about 1,200 people, and are constructed as a true democracy. In a "history is written by the winners" kinda thing, they managed to defeat rampaging bandits and marauders, and turned them into slave labor for their assaults. Elves are recommended as the primary race, with a few suggestions for the marauders, my favorite being trolls. Imagine being a mostly human group finding an Elven commune using Troll slave labor.

The Zeharis Protectorate is the most powerful and militarized realm presented thus far. A very structured, class based society. Again, the FX Campaign notes really takes this entry to the next level, suggesting dwarves as the primary race in the Protectorate, with the smaller realms under their protection being gnomes, halflings or even humans.

The Virikar Domains are a thinly veiled collection of viking nations with a few additional political trappings. Probably my least favorite thus far, but that has more to do with how much I like the other entries than anything else.

The Thanag Tribes of the Sahelli Steppes is a tribal formation of hunter-gatherers ruled by the Tribal Elders (who are usually the more useful, not necessarily the oldest). They have harsh punishments for those who cross the tribes.

The Lordok Nation is a loosely organized alliance of bandit tribes. The author, who had remained race neutral as well as system neutral throughout this book so far, gives his intentions away here by referring to them as goblins (which he notes is the original concept). In and of themselves, the concept isn't anything special...it's the backstory, where The Lordok Nation is said to have been a dominant empire ran by a powerful king that no other society now acknowledges even existed is the real interesting hook here.

I caught a couple of minor editing issues, which is really impressive as there is no editor listed. For $2, this is a really good idea mine, as long as you don't mind that there is no art in the book (which means that the PDF is ALL text, so it's not just padded out), and a few of these entries are easily adapted into even a published campaign (like The Underneath). Probably the one that works the least, conceptually, is the Zeharis Protectorate, if only because it came into power because of being a major spice exporter, so for no one to know about them seems a little...odd.

Great value for the price.

THE PACKAGE

The Package is a six page adventure (two pages are NPC stats, but there is little art, so it is almost all text) for Interface Zero that was released by Gun Metal Games late last year. As the name implies, it's pretty much an errand job for a group of PCs, easy cash for the delivery of a basic package. Not surprisingly, a mix-up between the PCs and another courier complicates matters...with the PCs winding up in possession of some very sensitive material, and thus targeted by some Very Bad Guys.

On one hand, ensuring that the PCs fall prey to the hook may require a bit of GM fiat, the adventure definitely makes up for it by leaving the resolution entirely in the hands of the PCs, giving them multiple options in which to resolve the situation. A good adventure (with an odd editing issue, such as one line towards the end that disappears into abrupt punctuation) that sets up the situation and lets the PCs do what they will. Great stuff, especially for the price.

WEIRD WEST

So I bought the Weird West RPG out of morbid curiosity, because it seemed awfully familiar. Before I had a chance to crack into it, I heard some good word of mouth and such, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

I like the Weird West genre...obviously, being a huge Deadlands fan and all. Weird West is pretty rules-light (the PDF is 8 pages, and since one page is a big chart and another is the cover, it's really only 6), and only running $1. You have four Attributes (Fighting, Grit, Magic and Skill) and 4 points to divide among them), with a minimum of 1 in Grit (and no other restrictions). Level advancement is decided whenever the group decides, with PCs getting 1 point of Grit per level, and the rest of Attribute advancement decided by Path (Adventure, Gifted, Fighter and Magician).

They can get special abilities for each point of Magic, such as Shaolin Monk or Fastest Gun in the West. The book covers a number of basic weapons, damage for which is capped based on Path. There are no monsters or generic statblocks included, and the game manages to make use of everything from a d2 to a d10 as well as d20 (no d12 love).

There's a decent skeleton of a very lite system here, and the promise of more to come, and I won't compare it to Deadlands (despite the genre), but I will say that I think it falls short next to Resolute in both content and presentation, which is pretty much the standard bearer for the "Budget Priced" RPGs.

Tommy's Take on Smallville High School Yearbook

Since Smallville just ended its historic ten-year run (crossing from The WB to The CW) this past week, it seemed like as good a time as any to review the Smallville High School Yearbook. Smallville is, thus far, the most successful Superman-related TV show in history, and was turned into a pen and paper RPG last year by Margaret Weis Productions. I've caught parts of the show here and there and was never a big fan, but I'm going to give it another go on Netflix now, since the whole thing is wrapped up and all.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Smallville Yearbook is the "high school" sourcebook for the Smallville RPG, requiring the Smallville rulebook to use. It is currently available in a 130 page PDF format for $14.99, with some nice, full color production values.

MWP does a good job with the "yearbook" feel, including Lexcorp "ads", in-character "special thanks" from the Senior class and a foreword by Lois Lane. The High School Yearbook introduces a new, high-school themed Pathways chart that is compatible with the same chart in the Smallville rulebook, just geared more towards making High School a much bigger part of the game.

Additionally, the six Values (Duty, Glory, Justice, Love, Power and Truth) are re-written from a high school perspective, making it easier to relate the Values to a High School setting. New High School-themed Distinctions are also given, for both kids and adults, such as Down With The Kids (for the "cool" teachers), Teacher's Pet or License to Drive. An interesting addition is the Award Distinctions, such as Best Body, Best Smile, Cutest Couple and Most Likely To Succeed. Interestingly, these can only be given to Leads, and only one Lead can have such a Distinction at a time.

The Cliques chapter covers Cliques, Clubs and Stereotypes, and the MWP Crew wisely made this an all-purpose book and not just a "Smallville High" book. The relevant Cliques get Values, Relationships and Assets, but also get Hangouts and Hangers-On and "Depth", an extra comment or two that doesn't quite fit in anywhere else. We also get an example of turning a Clique into a Lead or Feature, specifically turning the Football Team into Lana's ex-boyfriend Whitney.

We get an *impressive* listing of every department in the school, complete with stats, and "Game Time" sidebars on how to use each club in a game (such as how the Football team might approach a Math whiz for some TV-Geometry in the decisive moments of the big game). Similar write-ups are given for various levels of the Administration as well as Clubs separated by Cliques. For instance, The Drama Club falls under "Geeks", but there are exceptions listed such as Popular Kids joining for the exposure, or the Techie and Actor stereotypes in the group not getting along.

From the Booster Club to Stoners to The Math Club, The PTO and the Administration, pretty much anything you need for a Smallville-powered High School game is laid out with Values, Assets, Relationships, Steroetypes, Exceptions, etc.

The High School Drama chapter is more of a "how-to" chapter, broken down by eras, such as playing in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s (with a shout-out to John Hughes), 90s and 2000s, as well as other TYPES of schools, like a School for Budding Wizards, an Elite Space Flight Training Academy or a Victorian Girls' Boarding School (I assume a shout-out to the BBC series HEX).

We also get (YES!) a Situation Generator for randomly rolling up situations...and yes, I'm gonna do that right now because I love random tables.

Setting: Math Olympics
Classmate: The Big Man on Campus (interesting)
Problem: Dumped (Hmmm)
Pressure: Sent Letter/E-mail/Text to Wrong Person AND Locker Won't Open
Classmate's Plan: Perform
Classmate's Vulnerability: Learning Disability
Who Else Is In Play?: Gym Teacher
The Issue: Mental Illness

Okay...so I'm not 100% sure how to handle this one. Doesn't flow quite as easily as my go with the Leverage generator did...got an idea or two for a few of the elements, but not ALL of them. Ah, well, that's the fun of random!

Next we get a listing of big, High School Events from Field Trips and Prom (and the After Party) to SATs and Senior Skip Day. This is followed by a "counselour's" examination of teenagers, with sidebars on how Smallville's ever-popular meteor rocks might affect each area of development.

The Smallville High School chapter is pretty much an exhaustive breakdown of the people and places from the TV show's early seasons, interspersed with sidebars addressing characters like Lex who aren't high school age, but don't fall into the same "adult" category as Lionel Luthor or the Kents, or taking a High School age game out into summer vacation. There's even a sidebar addressing inserting new Leads into an ongoing game, which is apparently meant to tide us over until the Watchtower Report (which covers the later seasons - where this became a bigger issue) covers it in greater detail. Lastly, we get a list of "Hangers-on"...high school themed extras.

A handy indexed chart and high school character sheet wrap up the book.

WHAT WORKS: Pretty much an indispensible resource for running any high school era Smallville game, not just for one actually set at Smallville high. If there is a group or department that they failed to put in the book, they gave enough examples to work it out yourself. They tossed enough cute "yearbook" touches in to get their point across, but kept it from getting annoying.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Not much, really. Top notch production values, affordable price (the $15 PDF is half off of the $30 book, which is impressive for a full color, licensed sourcebook). There aren't a lot of complaints that are actually relevant to the book (if you gripe about the High School focus, for instance, that's kinda silly given what the book IS).

CONCLUSION: You probably have some idea as to whether or not Smallville is a game you'll like or not, and if you don't, then this book isn't going to convince you otherwise. It is a nicely done take on high school storytelling in general, so you could well get some use out of it even if you're running, say, a Mutants & Masterminds high school game or even a Buffy game still set in high school. Now, if you're into the Smallville RPG and only have an interest in the "adult years", I can't give this a glowing recommendation (due to content, not presentation), but they have a whole book designed for that coming soon. Great work, must-buy for Smallville High School Games.

Tommy's Take on Pyramid of the Dragon

I've reviewed the previous Small Niche Games adventures in the past, and found their work to generally be quite good, albeit not with any kind of intention for using them with Labyrinth Lord, their intended system. Pyramid of the Dragon is the latest of these, was released right at the end of 2010, and I am just now digging into it.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: Pyramid of the Dragon has a very old school layout, and is a 37 page PDF retailing for $4.95. Small Niche Games definitely choose substance over style, with a spartan approach to visual design. Nothing bad, just nothing flashy. It is intended for 4-6 characters of 5th-7th Level, and does not profess to require any particular character types.

The author tends to make it a point to give the players freedom, be it in a sandbox format or an event format (with timed events set to go off around the PCs, depending upon their interventions). This adventure begins with the PCs witnessing a red and a black dragon doing battle (with the option of getting involved IF THEY ARE INSANE). They are soon given the opportunity to take advantage of the aftermath: picking the dead dragon's corpse clean, finding and raiding it's lair and maybe even taking out the wounded surviving dragon. If, for some reason, the PCs don't bite before then, an alternate hook is provided to draw them in, as there is a powerful artifact floating around in the aftermath of the dragon battle.

Entering the Blood Marsh, the PCs find an ancient temple that the dead dragon used as a lair the surviving dragon believes the aforementioned mystic artifact is hiding in. Interestingly, the PCs have three options for invading the temple: one of which being to strike a deal with the dragon and serving as it's agents on a raid of the temple!

Once inside the temple, we get more of a traditional dungeon crawl, and adversaries ranging from elementals to undead to scorpions. This is still only one leg of the adventure, however, providing the means to find the artifact, but not the artifact itself.

The final leg of the adventure again presents a scenario with multiple outcomes, as the PCs can  ultimately either kill the holder of the artifact or free them from its influence, building to a satisfying conclusion involving a battle against a group of the surviving dragon's followers and the opportunity to make a powerful (and not evil) ally.

There are maps where relevant, though they aren't anything fancy, and every NPC is statted out. Three new, plot relevant magic items are presented, as well as some new monsters, most notably the Froggles, a race of frogmen that serve one dragon (and are forced into helping the other).

WHAT WORKS: As with Blood Moon Rising, the author does a great job of believably putting lower level characters in a situation where they would seem to be completely out of their depth, but fit them into the situation in a completely believable way. The PCs aren't expected to kill a dragon...just whip its followers and deal with the dragon when it comes back in a few levels. As usual, there's plenty of material here for you $5.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: If you're like me and not a Labyrinth Lord guy, this one isn't as easily adaptable as the author's previous two adventures to another system. Not saying it can't be done, mind you, there's just a wider variety of monsters and such that would need to be reworked.

CONCLUSION: Small Niche Games makes the kinds of adventures I would like to play (or run) if I still played (or ran) D&D. I don't know how that stacks up with the "old school" mentality of Labyrinth Lord, but I am continually pleased with both the concepts and executions of their adventures.

A Masterbook Bestiary

My biggest complaints about the Masterbook rules and Masterbook Companion is that they lack a bestiary. Brett Bernstein, head honcho of Precis Intermedia Games (and new owner of Masterbook) took that to heart and recently posted a mini-bestiary on his website. This is a slew of largely "normal" animals, so while it still won't help if you want, say, dragons or orcs, it at least provides a non-human reference for Masterbook.

Zip on over and check out the freebie. Thanks, Brett!

Tommy's Take on Masterbook Companion

MAN how time flies...I thought it was just a month or so ago that I reviewed the re-release of Masterbook by Precis Intermedia Games...but it was already back in January. That was my first experience with Masterbook, and while I liked what I saw, I also thought it fell a little short, support-wise...enter the Masterbook Companion.

What You Need To Know: The Masterbook Companion was originally released in 1996, and this is that same book re-released. The PDF is only $6.95, and as part of Precis Intermedia's awesome Print Upgrade program, you can kick in that other $12 to get it printed. Essentially, it is 128 pages of extra material for your Masterbook game. Of course, this means that you do need the Masterbook rules in order to get much use out of this.

Chapter one begins pushing it into Supers territory by offering up Advantages such as Elasticity, Immortality and Shapeshifting. Of course, every Advantage needs a Compensation, although the Compensation options aren't nearly so dramatic.

A whole slew of new skills are also present, culled from other Worldbooks apparently. These include magical skills like Cantrip, psychic skills, Counter-Intelligence and more. A couple dozen skills spread out over nine categories, as well as a very awesome d100 chart for Useless Skills...like curling your tongue, blow REALLY big bubbles or prying off the tops of beer bottles with your teeth. The funniest entries are definitely 76 and 77...the ability to repeat the last thing said with 100% accuracy.

There is a new equipment chapter that runs all over every era and genre, providing rules on bullwhips, animal hides as armor, powered armor, large cars, and laser pistols. The important part here is that the equipment is all itemized, with relevant descriptions and rules...and then summarized into a handy table at the end of the chapter.

The Magic chapter is a hand-holding walkthrough of spell creation, specifically pointing out areas that a GM may have issues with if a player decided to take advantage of the system. I'm guessing that somewhere between the original releases of Masterbook and the Companion, a few GMs tried to pull their hair out, hence this guide. Remember my disappointment at the Fireball being the only the spell truly "spelled out"? Those concerns are addressed with a handful of new spells, covering ground such as making yourself appear to be a few feet away from where you actually are, or filling the target with fear.

The Vehicle Combat chapter starts off well enough, with a handy guide for interpreting tabletop distances to allow vehicles to remain in play easy enough, but gets a little too overcomplicated for my tastes when it starts referring to the Movement Chart, which cross-references approximate Miles Per Hour, Kilometers Per Hour, Meters Per Second, Inches Per Phase and a Speed Modifier. My eyes kinda glazed over looking at it. Some folks probably love it, but I'm good with using a slightly more abstracted system. However, this chapter does cover most vehicular combat eventualities, including vehicle hit locations, targeting drivers with attacks, crashes and so on.

The World Creation chapter covers an extensive amount of information as it walks you through the creation of a world (complete with a map). There is a humorous artifact in this chapter regarding map making, where a sidebar notes that "many" gamers have computers and can get programs to assist them. Keep in mind this is 1996...and now I'm reading that book on a computer, I can access a number of free or pay map programs, as well as purchase ready made downloadable maps.

The last chapter is one of those beauties of a "generic" system - guidelines on mixing your genres. That is, importing characters from one setting to another. This includes a nice mechanic for "cross dimensional insanity" - when someone encounters something so jarring to their sensibilities that it threatens to drive them off the rails mentally. From discussions ranging from various ways to cross dimensions, to a broad look at genres, to specific references to the Shatterzone and Bloodshadows settings, this is a pretty comprehensive treatment of the cross genre campaign, I don't feel like it properly warns that not all groups will be terribly recepetive to a cross genre campaign, ESPECIALLY if you spring it on them out of the blue.

An extensive index as well as an OpenD6/Masterbook conversion rounds out the tome.

What Works: I don't know if it is quite indispensible, but it is certainly very useful for the Masterbook GM, especially the Spell creation guidelines and examples. The Advantages also stand out, especially for someone wanting kewl powerz for their game. While I doubt I could see myself using it for a full blown supers game, power options for another genre are always a good thing. The World Creation Chapter and the Cross-Genre chapters are very extensive and advice-heavy.

What Doesn't Work: A bestiary still feels like it is missing. Sure, they may be in setting books (I don't know), but someone who picks up Masterbook and the Companion are kind of left figuring it out for themselves. Also, I appreciate the comprehensiveness of the Vehicular Combat chapter, but my eyes glazed over when I hit that Movement Chart.

Conclusion: I didn't mention the art above, because it straddles a line: None of it is particularly great, and I'm not a super big fan of full page art pieces unless they are really good, but the book is crammed so full of material that I can't say it honestly detracts from the value. For the price, it is DEFINITELY worth it for any Masterbook GM, and those with too much disposable income (they are out there) may get their money's worth out of the Cross Genre and World Building chapters, given how heavy on information and light on mechanics they are.

Savage Worlds Characters: Deadlands Knife Throwers

While checking my site stats (which bloggers can tend to do obsessively), I saw that someone had stumbled on the site looking for "deadlands character knife thrower" or something to that effect. So the thought occurred to me to cook up a pair of very different knife throwers. One is a "living in the wild grizzly man"...the other is a show-off, quick as lightning type, from the beginning, scaled up through four ranks of Legendary.

Every Edge and Hindrance is taken from Savage Worlds Explorer's Edition and Deadlands Reloaded.

Enjoy.


GRIZZLY MOUNTAIN MAN

Agility d6
Smarts d6
Spirit d8
Strength d6
Vigor d6

Climbing d4
Fighting d6
Guts d6
Intimidation d4
Notice d6
Survival d6
Swimming d4
Throwing d6
Tracking d6

Charisma: -2
Pace: 6"
Parry: 5
Toughness: 5

Hindrances
Clueless
Illiterate
Mean

Edges
Scout
True Grit

Knives (d6+d4), Bowie Knife (d6+d4+1)

1st: Smarts d8
2nd: Survival d8, Tracking d8
3rd: Woodsman

Seasoned

1st: Throwing d8, Notice d8
2nd: Wilderness Man
3rd: Strength d8
4th: Beast Master

Veteran

1st: Vigor d8
2nd: Hard to Kill
3rd: Harder to Kill
4th: Intimidation d6, Guts d8

Heroic

1st: Nerves of Steel
2nd: Spirit d10
3rd: Guts d10, Intimidation d8
4th: Improved Nerves of Steel

Legendary

1st: Tough as Nails
2nd: Strength d10
3rd: Tracking d10
4th: Vigor d10

FLASHY KNIFE FIGHTER
Agility d8
Smarts d8
Spirit d6
Strength d4
Vigor d4

Fighting d6
Gambling d6
Guts d4
Persuasion d4
Riding d6
Streetwise d6
Taunt d6
Throwing d8

Charisma: +2
Pace: 6"
Parry: 5
Toughness: 4

Hindrances
Ailin' (Minor)
Tenderfoot
Thin Skinned

Edges
Card Sharp
Quick
Quick Draw

Throwing Knives, Nice Clothes

1st: Steady Hands
2nd: Spirit d8
3rd: Charismatic

Seasoned

1st: Marksman
2nd: Dodge
3rd: Agility d10
4th: Persuasion d6, Gambling d8

Veteran

1st: Tale Teller
2nd: Reputation
3rd: Throwing d10, Guts d6
4th: Vigor d6

Heroic

1st: Agility d12
2nd: Throwing d12, Persuasion d8
3rd: Improved Dodge
4th: Level Headed

Legendary

1st: Fast As Lightning
2nd: Smarts d10
3rd: Professional (Throwing)
4th: Expert (Throwing)

Edited for a bit of explanation: The first character is meant to be a rougher, backwoods type who is good with animals, can track, etc. You can also tone down some of those aspects and make him a legitimate threat in melee as well as knife throwing.

The second character is gonna get mocked a bit in the Weird West, especially since he doesn't carry a gun...until he's as scary with a knife as many guys are with a gun. For an alternate build, you could allow him to take some of the Duelist type Edges with knives instead of guns (think James Coburn's character from The Magnificent Seven, which was a partial inspiration for this character).

Tommy's Take on Wu Xing: The Firebrands

I have trumpeted the virtues of Wu Xing pretty loudly since its release, and I AM pretty much a fan of supplements, so there probably weren't a ton of people more excited than I was when The Firebrands was released. Currently available as a 90 page PDF for $9.99, or part of a bundle with Wu Xing for $20.94, it is the first of the Clan Books, detailing the history and activities of the Blazing Dancers and the Virtuous Body Gardeners, as well as shedding light on some new techniques and Wushu for them...and hopefully, it will be the first of many. It looks as though the plan is to "pair off" the clans, covering a couple of clans per book or so (thematically linked).

What You Need To Know: As noted, this book is all about tearing back the veil for the Blazing Dancers and the Virtuous Body Gardeners. The Blazing Dancers are the performance artists of Wu Xing, while the Virtuous Body Gardeners cover themselves in tattoos which can give them cool and freaky powers (like turning tattoos into weapons, for instance). Aside from a fiction-only prologue, the book is divided into four chapters, the first covering the Burning Dancers, the second covering the Virtuous Body Gardners, the third covering all of the new mechanical material in the book, including some new clans, and the fourth being an adventure.

The two clan chapters are written in character, as if part of a one sided conversation. In the Blazing Dancers chapter, the narrator has been the target of an attempted poisoning by The Grasping Shadows, but has proven immune to the poison's effect. She explains to the assassin just why the Grasping Shadows would want her dead, using it as an expository hook to explain the history of the Blazing Dancers and their role in the world as more than just "dancing fools" as any hold them to be. The narrator's baton seems to be handed off to Odoriko Minori, she explains the role that the Blazing Dancers serve inside of the Lotus Coalition, as well as expands upon the sentence or two "Clan Impressions" from the Wu Xing rulebook. We also learn about the sects within the clan, from the Tamers (animal tamers) and Bellows (fire manipulators) to The Thousand and The Hand. The latter two are particularly interesting, as they show just what the Blazing Dancers are capable of, with the former being masked agents who operate with strict autonomy and anonymity, while the latter are essentially spies and infiltrators sent blend in wherever needed (being skilled actors). The narrator switches again, and we get an overview of some of the geography relevant to the Burning Dancers, with helpful hints and plot points (never hire an unregistered guide). Finally the baton changes hands one last time, this time to the former assassin who has been lectured to through this chapter, both embracing the ideas of the Blazing Dancers while struggling against the ideals, somewhat stuck in her Grasping Shadows mindset.

The Virtuous Body Gardeners chapter is told in a similar format, with rotating narrators speaking to a new recruit. We first learn of the history of the Virtuous Body Gardners as a splinter clan broken off from the Living Chronicle (not surprising, given the propensity of each to tattoo), with the difference being that while the Living Chronicle focuses on the facts of events, the Virtuous Body Gardeners focus on the feeling and emotion behind events. The second narrator discusses in detail the kinds of body modifications undertaken by The Virtuous Body Gardeners (complete with an unsettling image of one hanging from wire hooked through rings in their body over bamboo spikes), as well as a tale about a Virtuous Body Gardener and an encounter with a spider-like oni. Next, we get another run-through of relevant geographic locations, before switching narrators to learn about the breakdown of the clan structure. There are interesting tidbits about the needles used by the Virtuous Body Gardeners, which are keyed to each clan member, with interchangeable handles so that one can perform work on another without breaking the bonds between the flesh and the needles. Sumi Rika is our narrator here, as she embelishes on the insights she provided in the Wu Xing corebook as well, expanding on the thoughts and relationships between the Virtuous Body Gardeners and the other clans.

Chapter three is all about game mechanics, providing a new Passion (Teaching) as well as Dancer and Ink specific Gifts and Drawbacks. For instance, Gifts are provided for those wishing to play a Tamer, Bellow, Thousand or Hand, or the Ink Drawback Unscarred and Unpainted, which shows them as very reluctant to embrace the clan philosophy. Seven new weapons are included, as well as the Fox and Scorpion Fighting Styles. New Wushu is provided for the Ways of Fire, Immaculate Show and Inked Skin, allowing the users to heat their palms before making attacks, produce a bright flash that momentarily holds their targets in place or unleash a barrage of chains from their very bodies. New Celestial Animals are provided in the form of Foxes, Phoenixes and Red Dragons, as well as three whole new clans: The Gracious Illustrators (with their Way of 18 Strokes Wushu), the Grey Tigers (with the Way of Bloody Claws) and the Winds of Aion (and their Way of Deadly Crescendos). The former work with the Living Chronicle and can use their Wushu from such "basic" wonders are painting a hole into a wall that they need to pass, to painting the future and making it come true. The latter are...in a word...paranoid. They are incredibly secretive, to the point that they will kill other ninja just for knowing they exist. The Winds of Aion are musicians, and if you think that just means that they just play flutes, you haven't been paying attention. They have an intense rivalry with the Dancers, to the point that they will betray the Lotus Coalition to The Empire just to strike blows against the Dancers.

Fittingly, the included adventure is designed for Dancers, Inks or (perhaps ideally) a mixed party. It is a rescue mission to retrieve a captive Ink, whose liberation has been made possible by a disgraced Dancer seeking redemption. It's a fairly straightforward infiltrate and release mission, but I give particular props to the climax, which turns into a pitched battle with a lethal swordsman ON A TIGHTROPE...this adds an extra awesome complication, because the PCs not only have to stay alive - they have to avoid knocking their adversary to the ground below and causing an extra commotion. There is also a page dedicated to providing extra material if the PCs decide to snoop around the castle instead of trying to get straight in and out. The adventure even ends with a couple of follow-up ideas.

What Works: The adventure is very well done if you don't mind a fairly linear adventure, and is keyed to the strengths of the Inks and Dancers (ESPECIALLY the Dancers). The extra information on the clans is great, from the different sects inside the Dancers (and the mechanical support in the form of Gifts) to the different types of body modifications for the Inks, and the new Wushu is some pretty great stuff. The Gracious Illustrators and the Winds of Aion are interesting extensions spinning off of the existing clan concepts, providing more options for players. The production values take a step up here with tighter editing than the core book had and a GORGEOUS cover. Having the "perspective" characters from the Wu Xing corebook as narrators in the Clan chapters was a very nice touch.

What Doesn't Work: I'm not a fan of large chunks of books written from an in-character perspective, and many of the voices felt so similar that I didn't realize at first that we were switching narrators on my initial read-through. The Grey Tigers are a cool concept, but just seem very out of place to me in *this* book...seeming like they would be much more at home in a book about the Recoiling Serpents or the Pack of the Black Moon. In fact, the only link I could see to the Dancers or Inks was that they count Way of the Fire among their Favored Wushu.

Conclusion: The Blazing Dancers are not one of my favorite clans, but this book does a lot to make them very cool. While there is some room for improvement, the basic template for future clan books is in place and looks great. Like any great supplement, there's nothing in here that you ABSOLUTELY NEED in order to play Wu Xing, but if you like Wu Xing, you will have a lot of cool stuff you can use, especially if you are a fan of The Blazing Dancers or Virtuous Body Gardners. Great start to the Clanbook series...I can't wait to see what's next.

The Future of the Blog

Hey folks...

As many of you saw in the last post, I have been brought on board as an editor for War of the Dead Chapter 3 by Daring Entertainment...this impacts my review schedule for a couple of reasons: 1) Obviously, I have paid special attention to War of the Dead during its first two chapters, and I won't be reviewing Chapter 3 due to my involvement and 2) while the editing is some pretty easy stuff due to the professionalism I am dealing with in this case, it is still a bit time consuming...as well, I've taken on a couple of other freelance gigs and am about to launch a webcomic with my good friend Johnnie Johnson (of Equinox Comics).

This, by necessity, affects my time and ability to continue doing reviews. However, that does not mean I am intending to stop doing reviews. I was blessed with both the ability to speed read and the ability to comprehend that which I read, which is how I maintained the volume of reviews that I did over the last year. What slows me down is that I just don't write as fast as I read. Now, my preferred solution at this time is to try to simplify my review process somewhat from the comprehensive, almost page by page breakdowns I have performed with a great many products, and see if I can't still provide the same necessary information in a more efficient (and maybe even more organized) manner.

We can only hope, right?

And hopefully, I can finally get a couple of those side project articles that I have been wanting to post on here for months finished and posted for you all to read. Here's hoping!

Thanks for your continued support and readership, and I hope I can continue to inform and maybe entertain from time to time.

T.

War of the Dead Chapter 3 Pre-Order!

War of the Dead Chapter Three is available for pre-order now from RPGnow for $14.99, which is $5 cheaper than the retail price of $19.99. In addition to all 13 weeks of War of the Dead Chapter 3, preorders will receive a set of 3D vehicle flats by Jordan Peacock, who brought us the amazing Paper Dead set.

I will not be reviewing War of the Dead Chapter 3 as I did the first two...and for good reason, a reason that has helped diminish the amount of time I spend on this blog: I was approached by Daring Entertainment to serve as the editor on War of the Dead Chapter 3, and I have accepted...and the road to Colorado is a pretty crazy one. SO, I hope you join us for the next stage in one of the coolest, and most ambitious, Savage Worlds campaigns I've seen...and take advantage of that great pre-order deal (that's $1.15 an adventure, not counting the value of the 3D vehicles)!

UPDATE: Daring Entertainment has actually taken it a step further. For a limited time, War of the Dead Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 are each available for only $14.99, and The Paper Dead is available for only $8.99! So, you have from now until Chapter 3 releases in June to take advantage of some freaking steals...and that's not even factoring in all of the cool free stuff available for War of the Dead as well. Hit the Daring Entertainment RPGNow Storefront to take advantage.

Tommy's Take on Boston: The Broken Cradle of Liberty

First off, I don't normally comment on the covers as such, but the cover to Boston: The Broken Cradle of Liberty invokes a great mish-mash of westerns with cyberpunk and post-apocalyptic coolness that it has to be given a thumbs up...and, aesthetically speaking, the book only gets better from there.

Gun Metal Games has made it a point to release some of the most functional PDFs on the market, and Boston not only maintains that tradition, but steps up the production values by several notches, complete with a gorgeous new layout scheme.

While the Interface Zero corebook focused its light on Chicago the most, this sourcebook is devoted to giving you everything you need in order to play in Boston in a $9.99 PDF from RPGnow, or in a preorder bundle from Cubicle 7.

Another great touch that must be mentioned is the side column on most of the pages: It's the transcript of a Wikileaks-like site called Declassified, in which in-universe users are commenting on the main text of the book...and the writers have NAILED messageboard banter and comments with disturbing accuracy. Given that the text is presented in a narrative fashion, this is pretty cool as it gives "two sides" on many of the situations.

BOSTON IN A NUTSHELL

Pretty much what it sounds like. In addition to a detailed discussion of just how crapsack Boston is, with the corrupt police, "hostile sectors", and so on, you get the Declassified truth about just how crappy it is. If the oppressive martial law state doesn't get you, the terrorist dissidents just might...(well, unless you're a Wild Card, of course).

Worth noting: Game stats show up in Declassified, including Cabbies...why Cabbies? Well, they ARE heavily armed.

The various neighborhoods are broken down, with an overview of each (such as the affluent Beacon Hill and the affordable, and liveable, South Boston) as well as the specific locations in each that are most likely to be of use to PCs and GMS. They tend to strike the right balance between giving you plenty of information set the stage and bring Boston to life, without over detailing the setting. Again, the sidebar provides relevant NPC stats, from specific people (A South Boston mob boss) to relevant generic types.

Next we are treated to the major organizations (as well as the underground's relevant thoughts on them), such as the Atlantica Federal Government, the Atlantica Police Force, "freedom fighters" (or terrorists, depending on where you stand) The Scions of Liberty, and so on.

CHARACTERS IN BOSTON

A few new Edges and Hindrances are given, my favorite being Off The Grid, which means you don't exist in the system. However, you can still have alternate IDs that DO. A pair of new occupations (Fisherman and Pharmacy Tech) round out the section.

MALMART UPDATES

The Interface Zero equipment catalog gets an update complete with a humorous Malmart Spambot in the Declassified sidebar.

Amy's Surplus has armor and outfits, while What The Dickens has Victorian themed clothing for those needing some "theme" with their cyberpunk.

New weapons (I like the exploding satchel, myself) are also included, and some vehicles ranging from armored taxis to LAV-Loaders (for the more industrial types). Also, there are hilariously overpriced hair implants, which prompts a great exchange in Declassified by one user who is opting to stick with their stylist, while another tries to convince them that it's totally worth it if the company continues to provide proper support for the implants.

CITY TRAPPINGS

Originally, Trappings were mostly just flavor text in Savage Worlds, but at the complaints of even some diehard players, they began to take on a life of their own, adding small, relevant modifiers to a situation. Boston takes it a step further by adding Trappings to the Boston neighborhoods, while establishing a system that can be used with any city setting.

For instance, someone entering a shop on Beacon Hill (which has the Fat Cats trapping) will wind up paying more for their goods if they don't look like they already have money. (Yeah, it sounds like a silly contradiction, but it happens).

Ten trappings are given in this book, pretty much covering most of the neighborhood types you're liable to find in Boston. A simple, but cool, system that I'd like to see more of (and not just in a cyberpunk setting).

THE GANGS OF BOSTON

The sidebar has some premade gangs and relevant NPCs (like the Chinese gang The Crazy 88s and the Hybrid pack called Full Moon) but ALSO has some charts and guidelines for generating your own gangs (including a gang name generator). There are five different types of gangs (Punk, Hoodlum, Thug, Racketeer, Guardian and Degenerate) with a list of common activities they are likely to be involved in. There's even a location chart for generating bounties that replaces the Chicago specific chart from the Interface Zero book.

ADVENTURES AND PLOT HOOKS

Boston includes two adventures, the first being a freelance job for the Boston Museum of American Literature, attempting to secure some documents important to American history from a very exclusive location on Beacon Hill. As is common for IZ adventures, if the team takes the job, they are given free reign to scout out the situation and decide how to proceed, but of course, it can't go COMPLETELY painless...there just wouldn't be any tension in that.

The second one involves the group being hired to investigate a blackmail situation in which the victim is having an affair behind his wife's back...with a member of a rival company. It doesn't feel quite as developed as the first one, but has a very interesting hook to it.

The book ends with half a dozen short plot hooks, from tracking a serial killer to a race track offering big payouts to a seeming stalker situation that is much more to a tagalong reporter to a contract involving taking out a new gang to preventing the destruction of the Boston Sea Wall.

THOUGHTS

Page for page, this may actually be the strongest entry in the Interface Zero line thus far, and at the least it is a very promising template for future city books. While some may balk at $10 for 60 pages, none of it feels wasted, with the Declassified stuff being a hilarious diversion when it's not shedding light on the information presented in the main text.

While there isn't a ton of mechanical stuff present, which may be a downer for some, the mechancs that are present are well placed, and I especially love the City Trappings. This is also the "prettiest" IZ book to date, with the new layout looking amazing. The content impressed me enough that I didn't mind the full-page art pieces (there weren't many, but they were there and they did do a good job of setting the tone).

That said, for those wanting tons of mechanical support (say new Edges and Hindrances), there aren't enough here to buy the book for those alone and, as noted, the second adventure definitely feels like it requires a bit more development for the GM than most of the adventures do, but these are minor gripes. Boston: The Broken Cradle of Liberty, does a great job of bringing the city to life for Interface Zero GMs and players.