Tommy's Take on The API Anthology Vol. 1

This is kind of new territory for me...reviewing a fiction anthology, as opposed to an RPG product.

Hopefully it turns out better than my attempt at reviewing a video game the other day.

The API Anthology is the first anthology release by Third Eye Games for their Apocalypse Prevention Inc. setting (reviews of which can be found on my blog).

The API Anthology is a PDF clocking in at 92 pages with 9 stories featuring a few names that I recognize from the game industry and a few names that I don't...I'm cool with that: Everyone's gotta start somewhere, and I hear anthologies can be a great starting point.

The Apocalypse Prevention Inc. setting is a modern action-horror setting that is dominated largely by the very "Men in Black" type organization that hunts, captures and kills the demons that would threaten humanity. Every story in the anthology is set in this world, though not all of them necessarily revolve around the organization.

As is always the case with works featuring multiple authors, you are going to get different levels of work.

Unfortunately (or not, depending) the book begins with the weakest entry "Jezebel Sly, Private Investigator", with the titular character being beholden to working API cases after she gets involved in a supernatural incident. The story is a missing persons case with an API twist, but the authors attempts at making the main character jaded and cynical work too well...to the point that I honestly didn't like any character in the story.

"Girl Trouble" was another story that I had trouble with, for similar reasons. The heroic motivation of the protagonist never quite felt "real", and the payoff line at the end felt a bit cheesy and forced. This story, like the first, also cast API in a negative light, with the antagonist being a Burner serving as an API Agent. That said, the protagonist - an Oracle, who have bad luck effects on people around them - did have a VERY cool moment at the climax with the API agent.

"Back for Seconds" and "Fish on Dry Land" really capture the quirky, off-beat humor of the API universe, which is really not surprising with the former, as it was written by Brennan Bishop who has contributed some of the most disgusting aspects of the API universe (I'm not picking on him! He bragged about it!) and so his tale of Changelings as delicassies really hits on the black humor of the setting. "Fish on Dry Land" does a great job of portraying an overworked API unit and stars a Loch named Elvis. Both were entertaining reads, with humor intermixed with quirky drama.

"The Difference A Day Makes" features an API squad against a group of unlikely rivals with some very interesting pasts. I recognized the author, Rucht Lilavivat from White Wolf's Ravenloft line, and they did a very nice job of putting forth characters I actually wanted to read about...especially the laconic (until he needs to not be) Al. I liked both "teams" in the story, and thought it had a very nice payoff.

"Shut Up & Fish" has one of the smallest API presences in the book, but is a favorite of mine as it draws on the API Canada sourcebook, touching on The Thing Under The Ice (specifically, its effect on some poor saps who encounter it at sea).

"Failure To Communicate", ironically (or intentionally), does the best job in the book of presenting a situation from both sides: A wolf person trying to keep from losing control, and the pair of API Agents who try to stop him when he does. I particularly thought that the author did a great job of conveying the "change" in the wolf person's internal monologue.

"Loch, Stock, and Barrel" by Clint Black of Pinnacle Entertainment is probably the best offering in the book from a pure story stand point. The storytelling is tighter here than anywhere else, it hinges on a huge issue in the setting (Lochs and their difficulties reproducing) and one of the main characters undergoes a very noticeable change from the beginning of the story to the end.

That said, "The Pact" probably hit me the most with its sudden, abrupt ending. I can't say it was one I had never seen before, but the resolution surprised me with its execution, and in a good way.

The editing really needed to be tighter in a lot of places, with my eye catching typos here and there...and it seemed like there was probably an underuse of commas. In one story, I'm reasonably sure that a word got unintentionally invented. There was also an inconsistency in capitalizing the names of the demon races...for uniformity, I would have either capitalized all of them or none of them.

On a format note, I sideloaded the PDF into my Barnes & Noble nook, and the conversion process wasn't the smoothest, with my order watermark showing up at every page break (which was sometimes in the middle of the page) and one story have some odd fontal squishing going on. I'm not counting this as a knock against the anthology, mind you, just an observation...I'd love to see a release in epub format as well.

With much more good than bad, I would not be disappointed at all to see this truly just be volume 1, and for us to get volume 2 in the future. If you like API, or if you like reading action/horror fiction, it's a good buy.

Tommy's Take on Blood Moon Rising

Blood Moon Rising is the first adventure for Labyrinth Lord by Small Niche Games. I'm going to be approaching this from a little different tack: I don't play Labyrinth Lord or D&D or any of the retroclones. However, I do likes me some adventures, and good ideas can be stolen for other games.

***WARNING***

I try to go light in spoilers...BUT...it is impossible for me to leave them out completely. If you are going to be playing in this, do yourself a favor and go away.


Seriously.

***END WARNING***

Blood Moon Rising is set up as a "sandbox"/timeline type adventure for 3-6 characters of 1-3 level. Basically, the book gives you a town with NPCs and a backstory, and the timeline of events that will occur during their big festival celebrating an ancient warrior that they all revere.

From there, the PCs interact with whatever they will, until the whole thing is resolved. The action rises, as action tends to do, until the PCs should find it virtually impossible not to realize that something isn't right (in fact, there is a very nice hook on Day One to draw them deeper into events unless they are completely self absorbed).

I love adventures that give you freedom, and this one does from the beginning, not even making any assumptions about the reason the PCs are in the town, just giving you some excuses if you need the help.

The background section gives you the backstory of the village, which has mutated considerably until it has become a very...inaccurate...local legend.

The village of Garanton is pretty small, about 200 people, and utterly normal for the most part...except for the interesting little spring on the edge of town with strange healing properties...until the New Moon...then I wouldn't want to bathe in it.

The Feast of St. Garan is a five day festival celebrating this great warrior that liberated the land, and is presented in the book as a series of events in the manner and order that they will occur, should the PCs not interfere.

The fifth night of the festival is the Blood Moon, hence the name of the module.

We are first presented with the normal order of events, followed by the major events from each day. Warrior types can compete in the Honor Games over the five day period, with the possibility of a title and a sweet, sweet magic item out of the deal. There is also the possibility of Honor Duels, which can be fought using non-lethal damage, to first blood or to the death, if a heated issue spirals out of control.

On Day One, the first Honor Game is held, which is a simple test of strength...but characters can discover some helpful clues about the true nature of the festival from the rocks.

A potential hook is also set in which a local artist asks the PCs to pose for a portrait...but he's fated to go missing overnight.

Day Two likely starts with news of a local farmer's cows being slaughtered and the PCs missing their appointment with the artist, because he's gone missing.

Day two also provides a Test of Nerve in the Honor Game, which has the potential to set the PCs on a collision course with an orc tribe that has become drawn to the area. Overnight, the a farmhouse is attacked by creepy demons (who killed the cattle the night before), further escalating tensions and making the mood somber.

The Day Three Test of Steed can provide slight financial benefit for a participant, but no plot-worthy extras like the first two days.

Day three also ratchets up the tension with the first human casualties, at least one of which is not what it seems.

Day four provides the opportunity for the PCs to uncover the truth about one of the attacks, as well as a possible battle that can turn them into instant heroes. However, the growing darkness over the events are driving people away now, before the end of the festival.

Finally, on Day Five, the Honor Games will conclude and - that night - a nasty group of demons attack the village. If the PCs have stuck around, they have a chance of driving off the demons...if not, the village is slaughtered.

It sounds simple enough, but there's plenty of action and excitement for a rookie party over a few sessions.

Twenty random encounters are also present, which include large, drunken women hitting on the PCs and not taking "No" for an answer, a young warrior being hazed, a fan club for one of the PCs, the possibility of scoring a very special mount and more.

Another series of encounters are present for those leaving the village, including the possibility of investigating the Tomb of St. Garan (and finding the good "saint" to be a sealed away undead Wight), as well as precisely what can happen if the PCs venture to the Demon Gate that is releasing the night demons on the village, and lays seeds for continuing adventures with much more powerful beasties trying to break through the gate (for when the PCs are higher level, of course).

The final resolution of the adventure is up the PCs, depending on what they did and how much exploration they indulged in, as they could uncover the truth about the area's history (effectively ending the annual festival), inadvertantly unleash an undead plague on the land to go with the demonic one, and allow an infernal beacon to draw all manner of evil to the area (if they don't destroy the Demon Gate).

All of the important (and semi-important) NPCs are given stats and summaries, and an appendix provided adds in a new spell (Lesser Charm Monster), as well as a pair of magic items (the Mantle and Sword of St. Garan) and two new monsters (the Night Demons and Demon Grubs).

My thoughts?

I will never run this as written...because AD&D/Labyrinth Lord/OSRIC/etc do not appeal to me.

HOWEVER...I would absolutely convert this to Savage Worlds or High Valor and use it as a potential launching point for a new campaign. For $4.95 you not only get a good sandbox adventure, you get a potential "home base" for PCs with a couple of plot hooks that could spawn into minicampaigns (or full blown epic conflicts in the case of the Demon Gate and what it's holding back) down the line.

Very cool stuff, and worth it even factoring in the necessary conversion work I'd have to do (not that High Valor or Savage Worlds would require a ton of work).

Great stuff...better than most of the modules I remember getting back in the day.

Tommy's Take on Vigilance Force, Eugenics Brigade and Crown Guard

VIGILANCE FORCE: HEROES OF WWII

Vigilance Force: Heroes of WWII is the first supplement for ICONS by Vigilance Press.

Here's the thing about ICONS: I want to like it, I really do. The whole package looks very charming. The Marvel FASERIP influence is great. The writing is just...I feel like too much got glossed over with a "Hey, if you don't like a rule, change it, champ!" approach. And in actual play, I didn't really feel like it held up.

Why am I saying all of this? Because there is some cool third party stuff coming out for ICONS, like ION Guard. Vigilance Force is the first book establishing a World War II setting for ICONS, and it is not all happy, Silver Age fun like the ICONS core leans towards. Instead, it comes across fairly hard nosed, with some very lovely, gritty art by Jon Gibbons (supplemented by art by Dan Houser which is nice, but a sharp contrast).

For $2, you get 14 pages of setting and superheroes, designed to be used as PCs for a WWII game. They do provide the Team Qualities, Challenges and Resources for those who wish to use the team rules in the ICONS rulebook.

There are some very cool characters here, my favorite being Freight Train, a super speed brick (not a combo you usually see outside of Superman). Agent Liberator is a lot like an amalgam of Captain America and The Comedian (from the Watchman) and Marauder sure seems heavily inspired by (though far from ripped off of, don't get me wrong) Wolverine.

In fact, there are very cool influences all over Vigilance Force that are nice homages and not just "serial numbers filed off".

The downsides? Unless I am just missing it, Captain Miracle has no backstory. Dan Houser contributes one piece, and it's fine, but it sticks out like a sore thumb next to Jon Gibbons. Not calling either style better than the other, just saying they clash...bad. I would have liked individual pics, instead of trying to figure out who was who in the group shot, personally. Finally, I don't run games with pregens, so for a guy like me, a team of superHEROES isn't incredibly useful. Not useLESS, just not the most useful. That said, for $2, there is some great inspiration in here.

I'd jump all over a BASH version, personally.

THE EUGENICS BRIGADE: VILLAINS OF WWII

The Eugenics Brigade are the counter balance to the Vigilance Force. In fact, they are the reason Vigilance Force was formed, and they are far more useful because villains tend to be far more useful for a GM than heroes do.

One of my gripes from Vigilance Force is present here as well, as several characters don't get any art, though there seems to be more individual art here than there was in Vigilance Force.

The first villain we get is a scantily-clad, nazi slutbomb stereotype (though she is a ballerina and not a dominatrix) named Charismatic, and thankfully she gets a picture. She has a twin sister with Luck Control powers to complete the ensemble.

Fireproof is the Nazi answer to the fiery hero Old Glory, and War Hound plays the Sabretooth to Marauder's Wolverine.

The two that impress me the most are Uberkrieger and Ubermensch, the Super Soldier and the Super Man. Underkrieger is just UGLY, with a large rifle and metallic jaws, while Ubermensch is, thankfully, not nearly as versatile as the real Superman.

There are other villains, as well as some cannon fodder such as soldiers in jetpacks, mystics and the rejects from the Eugenics program.

For $2 this offers much more bang for its back than its predecessor, due to villains simply being more useful, as noted above. Definite recommendation.

THE CROWN GUARD: HIS MAJESTY'S HEROES OF WWII

The latest in the ICONS WWII releases by Vigilance Press, The Crown Guard were the British super team that was fighting WWII before the US got involved, fending off the Eugenics Brigade.

Despite being outgunned and outmanned, the Crown Guard managed to keep Winston Churchill alive and convinced the Eugenics Brigade that they were better off attacking Russia than England.

As with Vigilance Force, this is a collection of heroes, so there is probably less utility for the average purchaser than there is with, say, a villain collection.

The PDF does include the necessary Team rules to fit the ICONS Team rules, if you wanted to run a Crown Guard game.

We get Big Ben, the prototypical giant brick.

Espirit is a French agent with phasing and invisibility, hence the name. Reminds me a lot of a random character I generated back for Marvel FASERIP who was ALSO a spy, and also had Mind Control...so I have a certain fondness for the character type.

Excalibur actually carries Excalibur, as well as a couple of other artifacts, making him a tough customer.

Grizzly is an animalistic Canadian hero, who seems a bit like a Wolverine riff taken the opposite direction from Marauder in Vigilance Force.

Illustrious is a bit of an enigma...a compulsive liar with amazing luck and an assumed name.

Ironclad is a living machine, the greatest creation of a dying scientist.

Repulse is The Crown Guard's Master of Magnetism.

Swordfish is the setting's answer to Namor/Aquaman.

Armorer is a supergenius inventor, trying to liberate his native Poland.

And last is John Bull, the only "successful" attempt at recreating the Nazi supersoldier project...leaving him with the appearance of a minotaur.

Again, like with Vigilance Force, there are a lot of obvious homages, but nothing I would call overtly ripped off. Even Swordfish feels like his own man and not like either Namor or Aquaman specifically.

There's the odd piece of art, but there is a big, group picture that you can use to suss out just who is who in the group. It's a good product in a good line...if World War II in ICONS interests you, then I recommend picking it up.

Tommy's Take on Zombie Pirates

Zombie Pirates is the first computer game release by Dust Devil Studios, which is made up of more than one name you might recognize from Pinnacle Entertainment.

Zombie Pirates is a "tower defense" game where you have a variety of pirate ships in your crew, you do battle with zombie pirate ships, and you have to shut them down as they try to make it across the screen.

The game stars "Smilin'" Jack O'Hurlihan and friends as they do battle with Gruesome George and his zombie pirates all over the map. There are 8 areas, each with their own "theme", divided up into 5 stages each, with a bonus stage unlockable after beating the five. For my part, I'm currently partway through the fifth area.

You begin with just your ship and basic skirmishers...but you can unlock other vessels (including two named vessels) and upgrades for your ships. I'm currently at three named vessels (one of which is a steampunk submarine) and a decent collection of support ships, my personal favorite being the Balefires (they shooted blessed cannonballs at ghost ships, as well as heal themselves and those around them, chain throwers (which launch large chains to slow down approaching vessels) and cherry blossoms (oriental ships that fire three rockets in succession at their targets).

The game is full of corny humor and bad puns, and that's part of the charm. The story is very lightweight, but this is a casual strategy game, not a deep RPG...and while the game is simple to play, I have sure discovered that if I just go in blindly I don't get as far as I do when I think my approach through.

As another reviewer noted, it is very easy to play 15 minutes and feel like you accomplished something...it is also very easy to start playing and find out an hour passed while you were sitting there.

The enemies start off with basic zombie ships, but also include zombie bird and sharks, ghost ships, and shipheads - giants with parts of ships chained to their heads.

The Collector's Edition has two minigames in it, Jack's Nightmares and Rum Running game, as well as dozens of achievements you can accomplish.

Finally, for a limited time, you can download Zombie Pirates by itself, or in a bundle with the Pirates of the Spanish Main RPG PDF for free, instead of the normal $25 for PotSM.

Is it fun?  I enjoy it...especially for a light, point and click strategy game. I don't have a high end computer and the game has only hiccuped once or twice, but has never stalled out or refused to work. Plus, if the game is successful, then we could see some Pinnacle licenses translated into computer games...like Deadlands, for instance. Regardless, I am looking forward to what comes next, at least until my laptop can't keep up anymore.

If you like zombie and pirates, pick it up to go ahead and kill big chunks of your free time...it's done a number on mine. Good, challenging, addictive fun.

Tommy's Take on Blades, Dungeon Dwellers & Dragons

5 MAGIC ITEMS: BLADES

Another in Misfit Studios' line of microsupplements, we get 5 magic blades. The introduction informs us that each Blade's powers should be hidden, and gives guidelines on researching them...complete with a table to roll on (there is a unique one for each blade), detailing just how much information the researcher finds. A Critical Failure means that they get it ALL wrong. This is a great concept, but stumbles just a bit in execution: If they players roll it, they will know they got a Critical Failure, and will suspect something. If the GM rolls it, they essentially lose the right to use a benny to modify the roll, which some could construe as unfair. Other than that, I love it...and I have been told by the author that a benny solution is coming soon.

Bloodletter: The first item is an intelligent longsword that actually makes those that hold it less intelligent. Being an intelligent sword, it has a Smarts and Spirit die, as well as Skills and Goals, plus special powers. The blade uses the Tests of Wills for Magic Weapons from the Fantasy Companion to try to drive its wielders insane. Crazy stuff.

Dagger of Piercing: Much as it says...this little dagger is the Ginsu of the fantasy world, though it does have limitations...

Deathsever Dagger: A dagger with cool extra bonuses against the Undead and essentially granting the Sweep Edge. However, they were designed for a VERY specific, hidden purpose.

Demonbane: Another unique blade, at first glance...but extra research can again reveal a very cool, hidden purpose.

Frostheart: This one is a bonafide artifact, with Power Points and everything. Conceptually, it's probably my least favorite of the five.

The first magic item collection from Misfit Studios for Savage Worlds is very cool for your $1.55...the plot hooks for the Demonbane and Death Severe Daggers are probably my favorite parts, honestly. Another fine entry.

MONSTER BRIEF: DUNGEON DWELLERS

The second Monster Brief by Misfit Studios takes a different tack: Rather than focusing on one monster, like the Goblin, we get some dungeon classics.

The Carnivorous Cube: A giant, man-eating gelatin cube?  Ridiculous...that'll never fly. Frankly, it's just as scary as you remember.

Mad Mouthers: Mad Mouthers are slightly less iconic than the inspiration for the Carnivorous Cube...in fact, Mad Mouthers are one of the few quasi-classics I don't think I ever used. I've gotta compare the entries for this and its D&D inspiration...'cause this is cooler than I remember.

A minotaur remix is up next, designed to focus on the minotaur in the labyrinth, taking them back to their roots. FRIGHTENING if it is allowed to get a full on charge going.

Troglodytes: My biggest memory of troglodytes are their appearance in one of the D&D arcade games, where they still emitted the musky ordery stuff (though I think it was more like poison in that game, I think).

All told, not as cool as the expanded professions, or even quite as cool as the Goblin brief, but still very nice to see some renamed D&D classics slink into Savage Worlds.

MONSTER BRIEF: DRAGONS

The third Monster Brief by Misfit Studios produces four new dragons for Savage Worlds!

The first entry is the Arcane Dragon and it is absolutely scary. In addition to being big and mean, it has Power Points, knows spells and can cast the Dispel power at will. They don't seem to be overtly good or evil, preferring to be left to their own devices to study.

Mock dragons (that's Smoke Dragon to you) are tiny, smoke spewing dragons not much larger than a housecat. Back in the day playing D&D, I had a friend who played a solo Mage, and I would totally have stuck him with a Mock Dragon. They're perfect for that sort of role in a game.

The Sand Dragon looks a whole lot like one of the Metallic dragons from D&D...Brass? Copper? I don't recall...regardless, the Sand dragon is obsessed with collecting magic (for some reason), and does not fly, instead preferring to burrow in the desert.

Finally, the Viper Dragon is another flightless dragon and is barely more than an animal in intelligence...it doesn't come across particularly malevolent, but is still a definite adversary due to its predatory nature.

I'm kind of surprised at the lack of "evil" dragons in this. The closest seems to be the Viper Dragon, with the Sand Dragon also seemingly capable of filling an antagonistic role if need be. The Mock Dragon makes for an awesome companion in a game, while the Arcane Dragon just wants to be left alone.

The variations are nice, but the product isn't brimming with plot hooks for your Savage Worlds game...however, the Mock Dragon and the four write-ups as examples in changing up dragons within the Savage Worlds rules set are still very cool.

Tommy's Take on War of the Dead Chapter One

War of the Dead Chapter One is the first leg of the War of the Dead campaign epic for Savage Worlds by Daring Entertainment.

To be clear: Chapter One is actually 13 adventures, of which there will ultimately be 52 (not counting one sheets, which Daring has begun to release). It is a modern setting, set during a zombie outbreak, and you can buy them in bits or you can buy all of Chapter One as a package.
I'm going to save you the trouble: Like Savage Worlds and zombies? Go buy the bundle. I'll even
link to it for you.

WARNING: Though I will go as light as I can on spoilers, as I always do with adventures, it is virtually impossible to do a review of substance and also go spoiler free. If you are going to be a player in War of the Dead, do yourself a favor and stay away.

SERIOUSLY.

HERE BE SPOILERS.

WEEK 1 TO 3

The PDF is layered, searchable and has a table of contents, and is copy and paste enabled. The book actually begins with important setting notes before getting into adventures. The War of the Dead is specifically inspired by the works of George Romero and Robert Kirkman, so that is the flavor of zombie horror you can expect.

The character types available are pretty much anything in a "normal" modern setting, though handy character advice is offered for you, in common archetypes and how they might be affected in the new world.

A new Benny rule is provided called Heroic Determination, which allows a PC to spend a benny and get Combat Edge for free for one round.

Four new Hindrances are present (three of which having a Major/Minor scale), such as Responsibility to Others and Guilt. A new Scavenger edge is present as well, which provides a bonus for finding food, supplies and shelter.

Several Edges are removed (relating to Powers), and some useful Knowledge skills are mentioned, along with their uses.

Some character advancement tips beyond Fighting and Shooting are also offered, with a general emphasis on using more than using advancement to boost combat abilities.

The GM section provides the "rules" of the zombies...such as how they will not stop coming unless their brain is destroyed, and clarifies that they neither have superhuman strength or senses. The rules also cover the effects of the enviroment and temperature on the undead, with cold causing them to freeze up and dry climates speeding up decomposition.

Virtually everyone is susceptible to infection from a zombie's bite...however, there are odd individuals who are not. This is determined by the GM and not the players, so they can't just, say, take an Edge.

There are also guidelines for stopping infection by severing limbs, with the horrific possibility of that STILL not working.

There is a "random headshot rule", and it is recommended that PCs not be allowed to call headshots until the effects of a headshot have been witnessed first hand.
Tips are also given for the use of the Survival and Tracking skills in relation to the game world.

There is lots of useful setting info here for the GM about incorporating NPCs (and Savage Worlds is system VERY well suited for a "group of survivors" type game).

Week One begins aboard the cruise ship Pinnacle (the first of many easter eggs), setting off on its maiden voyage with 3,000 people on board. In the first act, that night at sea, a Texas oilman takes ill after speaking with the PCs and is taken to the infirmary. Once he savagely attacks his wife and anyone else in the infirmary, the cruise ship turns into a cruise ship from Hell.

In Act two, the Head of Security Jason Kirkman starts taking control of the situation, and the PCs are sent to their rooms...where they soon hear cries for help from a nearby cabin, leading to another zombie encounter.

This is all meant to bring the PCs to the attention of the Head of Security, ensuring that they are central figures in the ensuing chaos. The PCs get to witness a power struggle between Kirkman, Ship's Captain Romero and the ship's owner Mr. Forthington, hinting that things are about to get even uglier.  Week one should conclude with Kirkman and the PCs on a ship rapidly going to Hell.

While things are going south here, they are also going crazy out in the world...and the cell networks are clogged up, cutting the PCs communications options down.

Week One is a good start, designed to familiarize the PCs with the situation before a fairly rapid (but not TOO fast) descent into anarchy, and they are cut off completely from the outside world.

Week 2 begins with a grisly scene of panicked passengers being attacked by the undead, with the crowd actively getting in the way if the PCs try to stop the undead.

Act two gets crazy ugly as a paramilitary team has attacked the ship out of nowhere, with the PCs stumbling into a fight between them and zombies. The immediate assumption is liable to be that they are involved with the zombies, but far from it: They are on the boat for other reasons altogether, a very nice touch as it already makes the world feel "bigger", in that not everything is tied directly into either the PCs or the zombies, but still has relevance.

In Week 3, the ship has been crippled and everything is going to Hell quickly. The adventure opens with a big set piece just designed for Savage Worlds goodness, with the PCs, Kirkman and the remaining soldiers getting to fight 28 zombies.

From there, we get to the first in what becomes a very cool recurring theme in the campaign: Encounter charts keyed to card draws. Draw a card for every PC and play through the encounters. Some very awesome encounters are present: A girl who has been bitten by her zombie mom, a man who has snapped and murdered his family and an entire deck that is completely overran by zombies being among my favorite. This all builds the paramilitary subplot to a head as we find out precisely why they are on board.

In Act Two, things calm down for the first time, as the known survivors gather together and assess the damage. An homage to the crazy religious lady from The Mist begins rattling the people, and a new encounter chart is used featuring incidents with the survivors, such as a possible suspicious interaction with the paramilitary guys, a random zombie busting in and a depressed man cutting his own throat in the room.

Week three ends with a fairly railroady beatdown of the PCs, Kirkman and the armed soldier for plot purposes...I would recommend just giving everyone a benny and moving on. I imagine they'll be okay enough with that. (Obviously, if you are wrapping up the session there, give it to them at the beginning of the next, just to be nice...they can use it.)

In fact, there are a few "cinematic moments" that kick in for the advancement of the plot...for me, at least, rather than ditching these I would just give out bennies any time the narrative took over, 'cause it is INCREDIBLY likely that the PCs will need all that they can get.

After the Week 3 section, the rest of the first book is filled with stats of the various Chapter One zombies: Shamblers, Sprinters, Newborns and Generals. Finally, all of the stats for the remaining NPCs in Chapter One, in order of appearance no less, are presented.

I really love that last bit of organization as, among other things, it lets you know that the author's not just making it all up as he goes along, since this was originally released weekly.

Overall, a very strong start to the campaign series.

WEEK 4

Week 4 begins with the big standoff with the dingbat zealot, and has one of the PC's allies flipping on them so that he can protect his family from the mob. She is convinced that the zombies only want the "sinners", but there are dead inside of the auditorium with the survivors that will help flip things on its ear.

This provides the PCs and their allies a chance to make their escape, where they discover that a) a Coast Guard ship is coming and b) their paramilitary buddies have wired the Pinnacle to explode and are not sticking around, leading to one more betrayal.

Of course, the Coast Guard ship is full of zombies, and is on a collision course with the Pinnacle.

This Week ends what is really the first Act or so of Chapter One, as the PCs and any surviving allies manage to escape the cruise ship...only to be stranded at see for two weeks.

The saga of the cruise ship Pinnacle is a great start to the War of the Dead, with a couple of early "human" breaks in the action...and I love the Encounter Charts being keyed to the card draws. I've just always dug stuff like that...I seriously love random charts, and making sense of the results.

WEEK 5

In Week 5, after two weeks at sea (thanks to a hurricane and their boat being damaged), the PCs make landfall for the first time since the game began. The first warning that something Just Isn't Right should be that the communications grid is largely dead. They make landfall at a marina, that just confirms that the whole zombie outbreak is a much larger phenomena (if the Coast Guard ship didn't clue them in, of course).

This Week also provides their first contact with NPCs after the ship, and is the first Week to focus primarily on a more human problem, rather than a zombie problem, with rampaging bikers.

This one also has a plot driven kidnap scenario that is required to set up the next Week. A little railroady, yes, but if they complain too much, give 'em two bennies this time.

The whole tone is a good change of pace after the crushing saga of the Pinnacle. I do think that the second forced abduction in five adventures was probably spaced too close together, but I also think that a group buying into the "game" won't mind TOO much, especially with a benny reward.

WEEK 6

Hopefully the PCs made nice with the elderly couple from Week 5, because they are being used as leverage by the bikers to force the PCs into working for them. The PCs get to be bait, drawing zombies away as the bikers raid a town for supplies.

This provides another cool encounter chart, including an opportunity to stock up on weapons, and two encounters featuring low flying aircraft...one of which is armed and doesn't see the PCs(!).

The PCs also get an RV in this adventure, which his a model in the Paper Dead supplement, complete with removeable roof so that you can see inside AND "zombie proof gear" to affix to the outside!

The raid allows the PCs the chance to escape...but it'll surely mean taking on the bikers.

The PCs also catch a break from a radio broadcast...directing them to a Rescue Station in Jacksonville.

The Encounters charts are always awesome, so any chance to bust those out are great. The PCs get a chance to not be whipping boys, and get a cool ride. And yes, in the Zombie Apocalypse genre, RVs are a cool ride.

WEEK 7

Now the PCs get a broader look at how the world has gone to pot in just a couple of weeks.

Another encounter chart is provided, this time with road specific encounters such as mid-road ambushes, spooked birds, a life threatening flat tire and the possible return of the biker gang the PCs just escaped from!

The RV Plot Device dies, setting up the PCs to meet a group of survivors, including a little girl destined to play a very important role in the overall arc of the story. It's best to take advantage of the calmed down atmosphere at the moment, to make it all have a little more impact when the church the survivors are holed up in comes under attack from the biker gang *while* a...creepy...zombie outbreak occurs inside the church.

Things descend into an appropriately chaotic mess again, with zombie hordes, bikers and a unique new breed of zombie that will...unsettle some folks.

The first time I saw "zombie newborn" was in the Dawn of the Dead remake...which came out a few months after my first son was born, after a tense delivery...I nearly walked out of the movie theatre, but I think I was overly sensitive at the time. I don't think it'll bother me as much here, and one cool bit is that one of the random encounters in the previous Week can foreshadow this.

WEEK 8

Week 8 serves, ultimately, to explain just what happened to the government as the group has their first formal encounter with the military, upon arriving in Jacksonville. Before that happens, the survivors of the church are threatened with a huge internal conflict that the PCs get to take sides in.

The little girl mentioned in Week 7 is at the center of all of this controversy, as she seems to be infected, but has no wounds or the like. This is a huge point of contention for the survivors, some of who are afraid they are endangering everyone by keeping her around.

One gripe with this scenario is that twice the girl in question is placed in a horrible, life threatening situation...but has plot immunity (as she is integral to later chapters). I don't mind the plot immunity, but two life threatening situations in this adventure for someone who is in no danger seems...excessive.

WEEK 9

Week 9 has the PCs and some military in the ruins of Jacksonville, trying to find medicine for the girl...and begins with three encounters to be spread out, featuring opportunities to aid people in awful situations, with guilt effects if they choose not to.

More crazy fun from random Encounter Charts is included, this time focusing on crazy, chaotic encounters in a city in flames. They can get attacked by feral dogs, rescue a woman trapped in her car, get *shot* at and have to deal with an exploding gas main.

If they make it past the zombies and a gun weilding raiding party, they get to return to camp to find out that tensions at home base have completely erupted, resulting in the PCs having to get the Hell out of dodge with whatever allies they have left.

This is a nice "out of the frying pan, into the fire" adventure, and after two Weeks with the military, they are surprisingly not revealed to be evil, incompetent or traitors...just guys out of their depth a bit.

WEEK 10

Week 10 provides a huge, and much needed, change of pace: The PCs find an actual community of survivors...and pretty much this whole Week is decompressing, acclimating and so on. Not a ton of action going on in this Week, just a lot of slow build and plot development.

For some groups, this is might be too "slow". It is definitely not what you expect from a Savage Worlds adventure, but I submit that this is a good thing.

WEEK 11

Another week of lite-action/heavy-roleplaying as the town's Mayor is ordering the military contingent that the players found while on patrol to leave, due to them being a drain on resources. This is setting up a large fracture among the survivors, as some (including possibly the PCs) are sure to be on the side of the military, but the father of the young girl who may be infected is far more concerned with utilizing the resources of the town to help his daughter.

WEEK 12

Week 12 begins ratcheting the action back up for the finale, as the PCs find out that the Living Dead have homed in on settlement, and the town has about a day's notice of their approach. This leads to a supply run at a nearby town...and turns into a race against time as the young girl has gone missing.

This leads to a crucial choice for the PCs: They can help defend the town against the undead, which breaks into the mass combat rules...or they can abandon the town to try to rescue the girl, and unearth the secrets that the town has been hiding in the process.

WEEK 13

The adventure begins with a "surrender or die" scenario, which probably means that the PCs will be abducted for the third time since the plot began. However, some very important information is conveyed here, including the possible origin of the virus that creates zombies, as well as the reason the little girl is so important: She has been infected with the virus, and her body has been fighting off the virus ever since.

This all builds to one more apocalyptic turn of events, putting the PCs back on the road once more, and setting the stage for Chapter Two.

The WEEK 13 book ends with some teasers about what is coming in the future, as some of the past will come back to haunt the PCs.

CONCLUSION

$20 for 13 adventures and the beginning of an incredibly ambitious campaign for Savage Worlds. It definitely falls closer to the Evernight "scripted campaign" territory than it does the now-famous "Plot Point" campaigns...not saying that's a bad thing, just saying.

The author plays to the strengths of Savage Worlds throughout Chapter One, as it is one of the few systems that could pull off large set pieces with hordes of zombies and a slew of NPC allies and not really slow down. The cruise ship is strong start, forcing a clausterphobic feel right off the bat. Chapter Two is supposed to begin releasing soon, but in the meantime Daring Entertainment has begun releasing War of the Dead One Sheets, as well as optional rules inspired by FATE.

While I don't hesitate to give this a strong recommendation, I do note that there are a couple of places where the plot hammer does come down awfully heavily. There will be some groups that will chaffe at this. I think my usual group would roll with the punches, especially if I tossed them an extra benny or two for their troubles...as they can usually use them in games where the odds are LESS stacked against them, so they'd love me for them here. I think three forced kidnappings/surrenders/captures in the first Chapter was probably pushing it.

There are some pieces that are very obvious homages to various films and stories, but I think they are clearly meant to be homages and most folks will get that. The "card draw" random encounter charts absolutely rule it, though, and if I ever start writing Savage Worlds adventures, I will shamelessly steal the concept and incorporate it as often as I can because I absolutely love random tables.

Highly recommended for some Savage Worlds/zombie killing fun. I wish to Hell I'd had this a year ago when I interrupted our Savage Worlds group to try to go back to All Flesh Must Be Eaten. We wouldn't have bothered.

Tommy's Take on The Paper Dead, Kingdom of Graves and Rite NPC Deck

The Rite NPC Deck

The Rite NPC Deck is a PDF file filled with printable NPC headshots with a generic "back" sheet for NPC notes, if you want to stat them out or the like.

Most of the art is good to great, with a heavy emphasis on fantasy (veering heavily into more animalistic types than human types).

49 images are provided, which means you're paying about 12 cents a head shot (approximately), which is more than fair. The downside is that you are more likely having to fit a character to the art, but I personally find that to be a fun challenge.

Very nice product, especially if you don't known an artist or have art skills yourself.

Mythic Menagerie - Kingdom of Graves

This is an undead-themed monster mini supplement for the Pathfinder RPG. I don't play Pathfinder, but I am familiar with D&D 3/.5...that said, I luvs me some monster books, because a good concept can be translated to other games easily enough.

For $2.99, you get eight monsters over 14 pages

The first is a variation of a banshee, and I would feel silly using her just because of the name (bean chaointe).

The bloodknight is a cool vampire knight who can be compelled into one on one fights due to his twisted sense of honor.

Dark messengers are undead couriers who can ward off good or evil at will, presumably to make their jobs as deliverymen easier.

A lich tyrant is an awesome lich variant, being a king or noble who makes a dark pact to avoid death, rather than being a wizard who turns himself into a lich. They still have the phylactery vulnerability, but are a nice non-spellcasting variant on an old favorite.

Masque ghuls are shapeshifting ghuls who often pose as noblemen.

The Night Dragon is an undead dragon that spews acid and has a gaze that can rot his enemies away. Again, another very cool variant on an old favorite.

Rot giants are creepy undead giants with nearly impervious hides and the ability to devour devour the freshly dead and spew out animated skeletons.

Soul harvesters consume the souls of their prey and burn those souls off to power magic spells, or boost its attack rolls and damage.

Is it worth it? I would probably use half of these without hesitation, and the bean chaointe is the only thing I would seriously doubt myself on, though that has to do with the name and not the write-up...so I'd change the name or just give the one I used a proper name to avoid that.

Great stuff at a great price.

The Paper Dead

In anticipation of my upcoming review of The War of the Dead, let's take a look at The Paper Dead, the first series of paper figures for The War of the Dead.

First off, the figures can be folded trifold or bifold...and for mounted figures, you can make little slits in the vehicle and figure to slide them on. The PDF is layered, so you can "turn off" figures that you don't need to print. That's not quite as cool as Precis Intermedia's customizable sets, but I don't know of anything in the industry that matches those.

The Paper Dead offers three pages of unique zombies of all sorts...page one offering 24 completelty unique shamblers, including priests, mechanics and grocery shoppers still pushing their carts.

The next page offers another 24 shamblers, with a couple in wheelchairs and an assortment of zombie kids, as well as zombies missing their legs.

The third page of zombies offers some very creepy variants meant to be teasers for upcoming adventures such as hulking Ragers, Sprinters, Generals and very creepy zombie newborns.

Six zombie swarm templates are offered, four small, one medium and one large, when you just wanna overlay a mess of zombies.

We then get an assortment of survivors, starting with janitors, street walkers, retirees, expectant mothers and double amputee war veterans.

The next batch offers a Shaun of the Dead tribbute, a goth chick with a chainsaw, a shotgun wielding preacher, a sheriff, biker gang leader and firefighter.

The next page is filled with "generic" types, such as bikers, militia, soldiers and special ops.

Various animals are included on the next page, from horses to feral dogs and guard dogs to ferrets(!)

Motorcycles and bicycles follow.

The next page features counters for cars and the like, and then we get a scale model RV...including extra bits you can add onto the RV for a "zombie plow" and to "zombie proof" the RV!

A series of bases and door markers are included, as are special status markers for the Savage Worlds effects.

This is one of the coolest figure flats sets I have ever seen. If you are running War of the Dead, or any zombie RPG using any kind of minis, I recommend this product highly.

State of the Blog

Content-wise, this last month sucked.

Putting it bluntly.

I'm working two jobs which are devouring a lot of my time, more than they should for the return on the investment, in fact...that said, given how little money I actually make, hopefully something will come along soon that will let me go back to the "one job" category.

Because when that happens, I get to review more books, work on more comic projects, properly promote contests and look into self publishing short fiction, making me a very happy panda in general.

Going from 25 posts last month to 8 this month is unacceptable for me, and I am constantly working to rejigger my schedule and try to allow for more content. I have several promised reviews still in the queue, and *anything* I have been comped will get reviewed in some form, be it a full-blown review broadcast across the internet, part of my mini review packs or just an entry on the RPGnow website.

My next Big Review is War of the Dead Chapter One by Daring Entertainment, with a few more major projects in the queue behind it.

I have more "mini reviews" coming over the next week or so, namely more of Misfit Studios' mini releases for Savage Worlds and Vigilance Press' WWII material for ICONS.

The Realms of Cthulhu contested ended with one entry, and I blame that at least in part because of my inactivity on the blog...but Carl Hickman won, and I'll upload his scenario for Savage Worlds fans sometime in October.

Anyway, for those who have been popping back in, thanks for doing so. Hopefully October will look a lot more like August and lot less like September, content wise.

Tommy's Take on Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade

Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade was a bit of a hard sell for me, being a quasi fantasy game in an oriental mish-mash fantasy culture with a heavy anime influence...that is kind of a laundry list of things I don't like (except for the fantasy part).

And yet, while I was reading (and loving) Apocalypse Prevention Inc., the book's writer Eloy Lasanta asked me if I would be interested in checking out Wu Xing for a review...off the strength of the API series, I said yes.

Wu Xing is available in hardcopy from Studio 2 Publishing and in PDF from RPGnow. The core rules are 221 pages with simple cover design and decent amount of black and white art. Like API, you never get the feeling that art is being used to fill space and inflate page count. It uses the Dynamic Gaming System, which is fundamentally simple, with lots of cool combat crunch (making it about spot on for the genre, I think).

...IN BRIEF

The book opens with a one page summary of the game, including the ten Ninja Clans and the clanless Ronin. The whole set-up is very reminiscent of the group set-up in World of Darkness games, so there is probably going to be a hint of familiarity for folks.

WHAT IS ROLEPLAYING?

Pretty standard "what is roleplaying" section, with a little example, with a Ninja PC trying to end a fight with intimidation and not conflict.

NINJA VS THE EMPIRE

This is the setting chapter, and it is a nice setting indeed. Ninjas are kinda like superheros, using their chi to do amazing things that mere mortals cannot.

The ninja made their first public move during the Crime Rebellion, also known as The First Ninja War, when they crippled the Orime Empire in a guerrilla war.

From there ninja clans as they exist today began, and the kingdoms that arose from the fall of the Orime Empire hired the clans to do their dirty deeds, sparking the Mercenary Wars, also known as the Second Ninja War.

The War of Withered Fangs, or the Third Ninja War, occured when The Slithering Gods began slaughtering other, smaller ninja clans. This one ended when the ninja publicly aligned with kingdoms and the Izou Empire and broke the back of the Withered Fangs, which evolved into the Recoiling Serpents.

The Expansion Wars, or Fourth Ninja War, saw an end to the affiliations between the ninja and the Empire as the Empire quickly expanded into ninja lands, taking everything they could. The Emperor outlawed ninjas and public use of chi.

The Ninja Crusade, the Fifth Ninja War, is where we are at now...The Empire is hunting and killing ninja at every turn. The ninja have formed the Lotus Coalition to pool resources against The Empire.

We get an overview of the ten ninja clans, each of which have a very distinct worldviews and even martial arts, but have a built in reason to work together due to the Lotus Coalition.

Ninja used to be recruited by blood, but as time has moved on, ninja are now recruited as often as they are born. There is also a bit about the student-master relationship and how the reputation of the master can go with the student, for better or for worse.

A very informative discussion follows on how the ninja have set up hidden cities, the basic structure of clan politics and realities of clan rivalries, even with the Lotus Coalition.

We get the Lotus Coalition side of things, where they joined forces after the Empire moved to gunpowder fueled weapons and slaughtered ninja for about a year before they they joined forces. The Big Tent of the Lotus Coalition still has a lot of in fighting, and it nearly got torn apart when a groom from The Pack of the Black Moon and a bride from The Recoiling Serpents had their peace-brokering wedding spoiled when the groom was mysteriously poisoned, casting suspicion on the Recoiling Serpents.

We also get the history of the Izou Empire, and my favorite part is the Emperor himself. Emperor Izou ascended to the throne at the age of ten and quickly consolidated his power. This continued until his two sons were caught in the crossfire between two ninja clans, leaving the future Emperor dead and the surviving brother seething with rage. This led to the public ban on ninja, which lasted until an undentified clan attacked the Emperor's wife and daughter, decapitating the former and giving the latter a slow acting, lethal poison...at that point, the war expanded to any chi users and the Ninja Crusade began. The author does a great job of establishing that Emperor Izou is a bastard, but he is also justified in his rage.

We get introduced to the class system, which is very important to the setting. The classes start with Commoners, Artisans, Merchants, Warriors and Nobles...with Untouchables being those beneath Commoners, on the outskirts of the Class system.

There is a short bit about religion, which doesn't play a huge role in the game, but there is a growing religion about a single figure who is greater than any ninja or the Emperor, so that religion sure isn't too popular in the Empire.

A big section follows on the ten provinces of The Empire, with plot seeds built in for use in the game. This is followed by The Five Kingdoms, which are the remaining kingdoms that exist outside of The Empire. Both an Empire map and a World map are included, and the information in the sections provides ample information without bogging the sections down with Too Much Detail.

CLANS

This is the overview of the ten clans, plus the Ronin. The set-up is very similar to how clans, tribes, etc, are treated in World of Darkness games, with the overview and stereotype of each clan, the clan's thoughts on the other clans, the Ronin, the Lotus Coalition and The Empire, plus clan specific character creation information.

The Bamboo Herbalists: The Bamboo Herbalists are healers, but they are far from stodgy, cleric types...they are thrill seeking adventurers, to a fault. However, they are imbued with a resistance against disease and poison.

Blazing Dancers: Blazing Dancers are often not taken as seriously as the other clans, due to being performers at heart. However, they are very much ninja like the other clans, capable of their own deadliness. They can muster minor magical effects to use to enhance their performances.

Grasping Shadows: These guys are what most people commonly think of when they think of ninjas: Assassins appearing from the shadows and killing their targets. The begin with extra levels in the "core" ninja skills, but REALLY do not play well with the other clans.

Hidden Strands of Fate: Dirty, dirty manipulators who are very likely playing EVERYONE for fools. They often have hidden objectives within missions and will order their members to sabotage Lotus Coalition missions. They can actually physically manipulate common threads with chi, playing on their nicknames.

Living Chronicle: The Living Chronicle tattoo history on their bodies, and their dead are preserved as a record of what has happened. Knowing that they are a living part of history provides them extra resistance against fear, but they don't relate well with people.

Pack of the Blood Moon: Exceedingly loyal, each member of the Pack has an animal companion that it shares a spiritual link with...to the point that any powers they use extend to the animal as well.

The Recoiling Serpents: They have an inherent, extreme amount of flexibility...but an extremely overdeveloped sense of vengeance.

The Virtuous Body Gardeners: These guys broke off from The Living Chronicle and tattoo themselves heavily. However, they can use chi to manifest their tattoos in unique ways. In fact, they can incorporate minor objects into the tattoos! However, they stand out like sore thumbs.

The Wardens of Equilibrium: Every Warden has a partner whose chi is opposite their own. They are obsessed with balance to the point that they will change sides in a conflict if it becomes unbalanced.

Will of Iron: These guys are obsessessed with justice, holding it above anything, even turning on allies who do wrong. Being metaphorically unyielding as metal, they can become attuned to metal (such as swords), and cannot be disarmed if they made the weapon themselves.

Ronin: Ronin can mix and match skills, powers and fighting styles, but lack the resources and power base of clan members.

My main comment on this section is that the comments from each representative clan member about the other clans was at first very jarring and very "western"...to the point that it almost bugged me. But as I'm not a huge fan of the source material, it probably made it easier for me to accept it all.

CHARACTER BUILDING

Character building is point based, being very similar to Apocalypse Prevention, Inc. However, some bits are necessarily different.

You start by selecting your Concept, Passion, Element and Clan. Concept and Passion function largely as they do in API, while Element helps determine your starting Chi and Clan has a huge impact on you, as it dictates the Fighting Styles and Wushu (special powers) available to you.


The Passions either mirror the API passions or come close, but the Elements are a new bit. The chi users are tied to an element that holds sway over them, informing their actions, and when their chi is out of balance or depleted, the element influences them further. Earth-natured characters are heavily focused on balannce, Fire-balanced characters tend to be energetic leaders, Metal-balanced characters are firm, rigid and focused on justice, Water-focused are intelligent and cautious and Wood-natured are both kind and resilient. It also helps determmine your chi, which is used too power your wushu (Wu Xing's name for kewl powers).

Chi comes in both Yin and Yang varieties, which can fuel wushu or provide a number of effects each, depending on the type of chi. You can also absorb too much chi, which can explode if not expelled fast enough.

The API stats of Power, Agility, Vigor, Intellect, Insight and Charm present here as well, with 30 points divided among them. All ninjas get a rank each in Legerdemain, Discipline, Stealth, Survival and their Primary Fighting Style before their 30 skill points kick in.

The Fighting Styles have charts full of modifiers...but also have special techniquest that the players can learn. Every style has an area that it is weak in and one that it is strong in, as well as a weapon that it favors.

The styles are Bear (these guys can seriously take a hit, and can unleash frightening roars), Crane (they strike early and often, but for less overall damage), Crocodile (slower, stronger attacks), Dragon (skilled at fighting multiple opponents at once), Eagle (they try to keep their distance), Hawk (focused on striking very quickly), Horse (they try to outlast their opponents with pure stamina), Monkey (more unorthodox attacks), Snake (focusing on coiled, measured strikes), Tiger (heavy on damage, but not energy efficient) and Wildcat (heavy strikes, but a lot of openings).

Ronin get 12 Bonus Points to spend on Gifts, everyone else gets 10. Many of the API Gifts and Drawbacks are here, but there are several new ones that are specific to Wu Xing, including determining your class.

A very handy reference guide is included, with a summary of all the steps in character creation and page number references for everything that didn't fit on the two pages. A sample character, built step by step, is included...complete with character sheet.

WUSHU

This is the Kewl Powerz chapter. Some powers can be powered by any kind of chi...some require either Yin or Yang specifically. A character's clan provides a bonus to the clan's favored Wushu, and the character's Element can provide bonuses or penalties in circumstances where other elements are involved.

There are ten general Wushu and ten clan specific Wushu. The general Wushus include The Ways of Beasts, Earth, Fire, Metal, Movement, Survival, the Unseen, the Warrior, Waterr and Wood. The Clan Specific Wushu are the Ways of Balanced Scales, Caring Hands, Ebony Clutches, Great Serpents, Heaven's Judgement, the Immaculate Show, Inked Skin, Kept Lore, Spun Threads and Twin Beasts.

Every Way begins with minor effects which grow in power and effect. The Way of Beasts, for instance, begin with using Yang to enhance the ninjas eye sight and culminates in being able to transform into an animal. The Way of Fire can be used to cauterize a ninja's wounds and stop bleeding...or breathe fire. The Way of Metal can provide some very cool, Magneto-esque effects. The Way of Movement starts with running up walls, moves to running THROUGH walls and ends in teleportation.

The Wardens of Equilibrium can destroy chi, the Bamboo Herbalists can actually raise the dead, the Grasping Shadows can bind a target's shadow (semiparalyzing the target), Recoiling Serpents can shed their skin (healing surface injuries in the process), the Will of Iron can create diviine weapons of judgement that only harm their target (and harm them BADLY), the Blazing Dancers can learn an opponent's moves for a fight (including their Wushu if they sacrifice chi), the Virtuous Body Gardeners can draw weapons from their tattoos, the Living Chronicle can place the memories of themselves (or someone else) into a blank book, the Hidden Strands of Fate can manipulate their vocal cords to alter their voices and the Pack of the Blood Moon can atually merge their bodies with their canine companions!

That is just a sampling of the effects brought on by the Clan Specific Wushu. There are also guidelines for PCs altering Wushu, combining aspects of Wushu and even creating Wushu from scratch.

EQUIPMENT AND COMBAT

Wu Xing uses a very lite wealth system: You compare your Class ranking to the Cost of items, and if it is equal to, or better, and you could reasonably access the item, it's yours. Starting equipment is not limited to Class, but by character concept.

All of the weapons are given a brief description, as well as the armor. The armor of the Empire is bulletproof, which can be a nice surprise if a ninja takes away a gun and turns it on one of the Emperor's warriors.

Wu Xing uses the same combat system as API, implementing the Counts system, where characters can take multiple actions per round based off of the speed of their attacks. If you like combat with a lot of options, the Wu Xing system is going to be right up your alley. It provides a ton of choices, without a huge amount of crunch.

Most major (and minor) situations are covered by the rules, including some loose guidelines for combat in unusual situations such as fighting on rooftops or even treetops.

Making traps is also covered in this chapter, as ninja sure do like to use traps. They can even use chi powered traps, and guidelines are given for the different types of traps.

The chapter ends with a combat sample that runs through the paces, showing combat tracking system.

The combat system is crunchy in the sense that it provides a ton of options, though tracking Health, Stamina and Chi might get to be a bit much for some people. Personally, I think it just pushes the border, with the payoff exceeding the work, especially in small scale combats (1 on 1 or other small conflicts).

ANTAGONISTS

This chapter covers the important, useful stat blocks in the game, starting with animals. Townsfolk, town guards and local vigilantes are up next. The Empire's soldiers, engineers, Golden Lions and executioners are included. Various ninja stat blocks are provided, and then the book veers into spirit animals...celestial animals, both lesser and greater, that the ninja can bond with, as well as oni - big, bad demons.

My primary complaint with this chapter is that it could use a bit more description regarding oni. A single "average" oni is present, but a few more examples would have been preferable.

STORYTELLING

This is, essentially, the GMing chapter. It encourages you to make sure that you are making the players the centerpiece of the story, and provides a list of the anime inspirations. I've heard of several of the anime, but I don't think I've seen any of them, except in passing. There are several campaign types provided, with plot hooks to work off of.

The book ends with several reference pieces, starting with a glossary, then an index, the Fighting Style charts, a single page character sheet, blank combat tracker and three page character sheet.

CONCLUSION

I don't really like anime. I don't really like martial arts movies. There should be no compelling reason for me to enjoy the game...and yet, it is just FILLED with "cool". The setting should be incredibly one note, with Ninjas vs Empire, but there is still a ton of room to play around with. The world is large, with plenty of room open for you to detail it yourself. Several mysteries are set up, but are meant to be answered by GMs as their campaigns dictate, not to be filled in by future supplements, an approach similar to that of Apocalypse Prevention, Inc...there is no metaplot dictating the direction of the Ninja Crusade, which I consider a plus.

There are some issues, however. The editing was a bit suspect on this one, with notable issues in the first chapter (especially with homonyms, such as the "Forth Ninja War"). More examples for oni could have been great as well.

The book is in black and white, but as manga is typically in black and white, I don't consider that a style issue, and virtually every page is two columns of text, so the 221 pages are FILLED. With two RPGs produced so far, Third Eye Games has rapidly moved into my top tier of favored publishers this year and Eloy Lasanta seems to have a knack for creating settings that I just want to dive into and play in that is matched, to me, only by the Pinnacle crew.

I have reviewed a lot of games this year, and I would be hard pressed to find one I recommend more than Wu Xing. I can't WAIT to see more, from Wu Xing and from Third Eye Games in general.

Tommy's Take on Druids, Goblins and Unkindness

Expanded Professions: The Druid

Holy smokes...now this is what I'm talking about. Misfit Studios officially tosses their hat into the Savage Worlds ring with a tiny supplement...of awesome. For $1.55 you can download a three page PDF that adds a Druid Professional Edge and then...expands it. What this product really is, is nine Edges starting with Druid and then allowing access to a number of special features and abilities,including a new Legendary Edge that allows the Druid to tap into the senses of all the animals in the surrounding area.

Yeah.

Another Edge piggybacks off of the Beast Master Edge and allows the Druid to impart cool abilities on their animal companion, or even boost the animal's stats. Yet another Edge allows the Druid to be powered by the land, complete with a table you can use to modify the Druid's power points with depending on where they are actually AT (a desert bumps the Druid's points down -4, while a jungle rockets them up a whopping +6, for instance).

Some people will say "too many edges" and "use what's already there"! I say "Holy crap, I wanna play a Druid, at least until some more of these come out...what's that? 'Champion' just came out? I need to pick that up..."

I am obviously very much a fan of this concept. The addition of more Edges (that have a reason for existing) can help dispel that notion that Savage Worlds "ends" at Legendary...and this supplement has a neat trick or two rolled into Edges that some might have tried to place into the Powers system.

If future releases hold up with this one...and I kinda hate Druids, so there you go...Misfit should have a bright future as a licensee.

Monster Brief: Goblins

Like the Expanded Professions, the Monster Briefs are short PDFs at $1.55, taking a given subject matter and "blowing it up" a bit.

In this case, we get an expanded focus on Goblins, complete with a couple of variations. The product is a mild letdown from the awesomeness that is the Expanded Professions, but still very cool. First up, we get introduced to the Beast Wrangler, a goblin that trains various animals for chaos and violence. This entry is mostly hampered by a reference to giant rats from the Pulp GM's Toolkit, an earlier Savage Worlds product that is now a bit on the obscure side due to the push for the various Companions (though the Pulp Toolkit is still available).

Goblin Lords are actually kind of impressive...having enough going for them statistically to be a threat, especially to lower ranked characters, even before you realize that they are also going to be surrounded by a whole tribe.

Goblin Wolf Riders are fairly self explanatory, and include vargrs, which are like dire wolves but big and mean.

The Monster Brief concludes with Ragefur mushrooms, a *very* scary mushroom that can send goblins into a furious berserker rage before possibly killing them...and then it does BAD stuff to non Goblins that eat it.

You know, its just not quite as cool or as useful as the first Expanded Profession, but this first Monster Brief is still a very encouraging sign as to what could be coming down the pike.

Unkindness

Unkindness caught a bit of infamy as Blackwyrm Games kind of jumped the gun when it was released, beating the August 1st "start date" for ICONS Licensees by a couple of months. This led to Adamant Entertainment initially pulling the license, but later reinstating it.

Unkindness is, in theory, a dual statted adventure for Hero/Champions and ICONS. In reality, It is a Hero/Champions adventure in which they decided to add some ICONS stat blocks in the back of the book. Any references in the adventure to rules are Champions rules, including a chart for attempting a knowledge skill check, which is only published in Champions terms and has no ICONS equivalents posted whatsoever. Literally, the ICONS support is limited to statblocks for the villain (The Raven King), his minions and a pair of important NPCs.

Is it super hard to convert the adventure to ICONS? Not really...but that's not the point. There shouldn't be any conversion work to do when there is an ICONS logo on the front of the book. If there were a BASH Logo on the front of the book, I would expect all rules to also be given in a BASH equivalent as well.

Does that mean the book is all bad?  Not as such, no. The adventure is interesting, featuring an ancient, mythological artifact and a series of robberies (that are connected and not in the usual ways) and a villain who both gets to be brough down decisively AND has room to come back in a far less contrived manner than your typical villain. In fact, no less than 27 system generic plot seeds are provided, giving you ample material to work with if you wanted to make The Raven King a recurring nemesis. It is worth noting that there is a revelation/subplot in the adventure involving (non-sexual) child abuse that pushes this adventure into more adult territory than your typical superhero entry (and I mean actual adult...not "boobs and guns" adult).

The art is pretty weak and this is one case where I think the coloring hurts it. It appears to have been colored by marker, and while the art isn't the strongest anyway, a better coloring job could have helped cover some of the deficiencies.

Even still, my single biggest complaint with the book is how, approaching it from an ICONS perspective, it feels very much like stat blocks were added in for the hopeful sales boost, but this was released as very much a Hero product otherwise. Disappointing, as more of an honest effort to serve both audiences advertised would have raised my opinion of the product considerably.