A short week, if you will, as we still had some awesome folks in town (Brandon Gensemer and Evil Beagle creator Michael Surbrook) following Genghis Con, for whom I ran yet one more session of Freedom Squadron on Monday. More on that later. This week, we traverse the Seven Seas and dark forests of Davokar out into the wild outer space frontiers of the Legendary Planets and beyond into all things N.E.W..
SYMBOROUM: ADVANCED PLAYER'S GUIDE
Symbaroum, the European hit – originally produced in Swedish, now available in English – has an advanced player’s guide to expand your options and your fun.
The chanting of the cultists came drifting with the breeze.
Dorael-Ri had tracked them all the way from the settlement of Merel, at the border of Davokar. A small, human child – one of few to survive the massacre – had asked how he dared to travel the woods alone. “In Davokar you are never alone,” he had answered. “Not me, nor you, no one…”
Aided by mystical rituals Dorael had managed to follow the cold tracks, but now the enemy was close enough for his friend and servant, the owl Strigi, to take over the hunt. He raised his black sword, took a deep breath and placed the Horn Mask over his face; vengeful spirits immediately flocked around him, veiling him from the world.
The sword quivered in his hand, hungering for tainted flesh and blood.
“Soon my dear, soon,” he whispered. “For this enemy, simpler steel will do.”
He put the hallowed sword back in its scabbard and drew the shorter blade that had belonged to his sister. Soon he lunged through the forest, with Strigi soaring at his side. The first enemy fell before any of the cultists realized that the avenger had come.
___________________________________
The Advanced Player’s Guide expands on every aspect of the Player’s Guide section in the Symbaroum Core Rulebook and is equally useful for players and Game Masters. The book is brimming with new races, occupations, abilities, powers and rituals, also with lots of new equipment that will influence how the game is played. Moreover, if you take all optional rules in regard, along with its contribution to the expansion of the game world, it is hardly any doubt that the Advanced Player’s Guide is a must for everyone who cannot wait to walk further into the shadowy halls of Davokar!
Featured Content
LEGENDARY PLANET
I was simply going to pick the latest release, Legendary Planet: Confederates of the Shattered Zone, but when I realized it’s the latest in a long sword-and-planet saga for 5e, I decided it was important to point out the whole thing to you. This is especially true since this latest iteration is for 11th+ characters, so… you might want to start nearer the beginning.
A Beacon of Hope in a Shattered World
Seeking four mysterious gates that could be the key to returning to their own world, your heroes dive into the dangerous asteroid colonies of the Shattered Zone. The polluted mines and hurtling planetoids are deadly on their own, but the infighting of the Zone’s fractious factions is even more so, from the sadistic Contraptors to the fanatical soldiers of Purity, where factions and their adherents rise and fall and morality runs from gray to black. The PCs must navigate a broken world of deceit, moral compromise, and necessary sacrifices amid a grimy cybernetic dystopia, and all the while an ancient horror reaches from beyond the fourfold gates, waiting for those with the touch of destiny to come and set it free. There are secrets of the Patrons at stake, and the rewards are great, but only if the heroes can survive the deadly intrigues of the Confederates of the Shattered Zone.
Confederates of the Shattered Zone is an adventure for 11th to 14th level characters using the 5th Edition rules for the world’s most famous roleplaying game. The latest chapter in the amazing Legendary Planet Adventure Path, a spectacular sword-and-planet saga from Legendary Games blending sci-fi and fantasy, magic and machine with an exciting pulp sensibility and style. Confederates of the Shattered Zone includes not only a massive interplanetary adventure but also brand-new monsters, magic, and technology, including new character options for cybernetic augmentations, along with a full gazetteer of the Shattered Zone and its inhabitants and an ongoing fiction series. Here you will find amazing adventures that span the stars and plunder the planets in a campaign that takes your heroes to 20th level and beyond! Grab this exotic epic today and Make Your Game Legendary!
This 98-page PDF or 96-page print volume contains the following
– “Confederates of the Shattered Zone,” a 5th Edition adventure for 11th to 14th-level characters by Richard Pett
– A “Planetary Bestiary” by Richard Pett and Mike Welham, featuring the the insidious ironrot lichen, the noxious steamwerks golem, the grotesque and savage feral kyton, the colossal choke ooze, the dour void grim, and the parasitical queborrin!
– A collection of “Alien Treasures” by Richard Pett, including magic and technology like the darksphere, storm of chains, and void gondola!
– A gazetteer of the deadly Shattered Zone asteroid field and its colonies, by Richard Pett.
– A detailed look at the cybernetic auttaine race and the wide variety of technological and magical augmentations they have developed to enhance their biomechanical bodies by Patrick Renie.
– A downloadable PDF art and map folio, featuring unkeyed player-friendly maps and more.
– And last but not least, “Shards of Home,” the fourth chapter in a 7-part short story by award-winning author Chris A. Jackson
For further information on the earlier adventures in the Legendary Planet Adventure Path and upcoming adventures like The Depths of Desperation and Mind Tyrants of the Merciless Moons, pick up the Legendary Planet Player’s Guide and check the Legendary Games website!
7TH SEA: PIRATE NATIONS
Behold! The reason why almost no one else dares do a pirate-themed game! The juggernaut that is the new 7th Sea swarms the seas, and now we have the Pirate Nations arrayed before us!
Let’s get the glad-rags on and drive her to sea
For a free sailor’s life for sure it ain’t free
Piracy on the Seven Seas has reached a fever pitch. The black flag poses a constant danger for merchants and navies, as unscrupulous brigands seek their fortunes. But there are more dangers afoot than pirates: beasts lurking under the waves, rumors of haunted and immortal ghost ships…and the demon named “Reis.”
This book contains material for 7th Sea: Second Edition including new Backgrounds, Advantages, Stories and Sorceries. It also includes five new Pirate Nations:
Pirate Nations also includes new setting materials for 7th Sea featuring the Devil Jonah, the dreaded Reis and Theah’s first multinational, the Atabean Trading Company. There be adventure aplenty in these lands, more than any one crew can hope to see in a lifetime.
Sail, me hearties, and treasure what good luck you find. You’ll be needing it.
Looking for the 7th Sea core rulebook? Click here.
WOIN: UNIVERSAL UPGRADES
The What’s Old Is New (WOIN) system from EN Publishing gains more and more momentum, and this sci-fi oriented release helps that along as fans gain new races, new Exploits, and more for their science-fiction gaming.
Upgrade your sci-fi game!
This essential manual for sci-fi themed What’s OLD is NEW games introduces a range of new alien races, universal exploits, and advanced rules for your WOIN game. 11 new races, nearly 30 new universal exploits, and expanded rules for aging, making the most of your REPUTATION score, and more, make this an essential handbook.
Straight from the pages of EONS, the official magazine for the WOIN roleplaying game system.
Requires the use of a What’s OLD is NEW core rulebook.
-----
So this weekend, I am running Episode XII: Shut It Down! of my ongoing Freedom Squadron: New Legends campaign. You see, I am doing with this what I originally did with my Shaintar games I ran at home and at conventions all over - every game is connected to every other via a series of linked stories. I am not doing "canned adventures;" instead, when you sit down to play with me, you get an unnamed pre-gen who you then get to make wholly your own. You get five XPs (which, in Savage Worlds, means you get a level-up) at the end of the session; from then on, you bring your character to any table I am running of this world and you get to play that character, gaining more XPs and items and such.
In other words, all my games are considered part of a "living campaign" kind of structure!
For a number of my local players, this results in a set of story arcs of which they are an integrated part (remind me to tell you about Crazy Ivan and his entirely too complicated love life).
I am proud to say my Plans & Operations rules were a huge hit at the convention and elsewhere, including some great comments from Shane Hensley! I think they may be a real game changer; one friend - Michael Satran of Imaginary Friends fame, among other projects - said he feels I've finally solved the "Heist Game Problem." While I know there are some great games out there - especially recently - that really address that more specifically, I am pretty confident P&O helps handle it as part of a larger gaming structure for Savage Worlds fans, and I am looking forward to sharing it more with all of you in the future.
OK, yeah, I guess I am blogging a lot about my own stuff while sharing other books and releases with you, but hey - more for your money, so to speak, right?
Here's another cool picture from the Freedom Squadron project - Ouroboros, leader of an ancient civilization of snake-folk who ruled the world long before homo sapiens came about. He and his figure strongly in the back story of the whole setting.
The Adventure Continues!
Note that I use affiliate links in all my posts as a way to generate additional revenue for my efforts; I make my Picks and other article choices, however, based on the desire to share a wide variety of things with you. Thank you for your support.
Sean Patrick Fannon
Writer & Game Designer: Shaintar, Star Wars, Savage Rifts, much more
Please check out my Patreon and get involved directly with my next projects!
SYMBOROUM: ADVANCED PLAYER'S GUIDE
Symbaroum, the European hit – originally produced in Swedish, now available in English – has an advanced player’s guide to expand your options and your fun.
The chanting of the cultists came drifting with the breeze.
Dorael-Ri had tracked them all the way from the settlement of Merel, at the border of Davokar. A small, human child – one of few to survive the massacre – had asked how he dared to travel the woods alone. “In Davokar you are never alone,” he had answered. “Not me, nor you, no one…”
Aided by mystical rituals Dorael had managed to follow the cold tracks, but now the enemy was close enough for his friend and servant, the owl Strigi, to take over the hunt. He raised his black sword, took a deep breath and placed the Horn Mask over his face; vengeful spirits immediately flocked around him, veiling him from the world.
The sword quivered in his hand, hungering for tainted flesh and blood.
“Soon my dear, soon,” he whispered. “For this enemy, simpler steel will do.”
He put the hallowed sword back in its scabbard and drew the shorter blade that had belonged to his sister. Soon he lunged through the forest, with Strigi soaring at his side. The first enemy fell before any of the cultists realized that the avenger had come.
___________________________________
The Advanced Player’s Guide expands on every aspect of the Player’s Guide section in the Symbaroum Core Rulebook and is equally useful for players and Game Masters. The book is brimming with new races, occupations, abilities, powers and rituals, also with lots of new equipment that will influence how the game is played. Moreover, if you take all optional rules in regard, along with its contribution to the expansion of the game world, it is hardly any doubt that the Advanced Player’s Guide is a must for everyone who cannot wait to walk further into the shadowy halls of Davokar!
Featured Content
- Five new playable races, in the form of Abducted Human, Dwarf, Elf, Troll and Undead.
- About twenty new occupations, out of which some are so called Professions that the characters can strive to reach – for example Inquisitor, Monster Hunter, Wrath Guard and Troll Singer.
- A system of Boons and Burdens, effective in problem solving situations and perfect for adding color to the player character.
- About fifty new Abilities and Rituals – some exclusive for members of the Professions, others only available to certain archetypes.
- Rules on the crafting of artifacts and items, along with creatable Lesser Artifacts and Mystical Qualities to infuse into the masterworks.
- Alchemical weapons in the form of explosive grenades and fire tubes, the latter either stationary or carried by members of the occupation Sapper.
LEGENDARY PLANET
I was simply going to pick the latest release, Legendary Planet: Confederates of the Shattered Zone, but when I realized it’s the latest in a long sword-and-planet saga for 5e, I decided it was important to point out the whole thing to you. This is especially true since this latest iteration is for 11th+ characters, so… you might want to start nearer the beginning.
A Beacon of Hope in a Shattered World
Seeking four mysterious gates that could be the key to returning to their own world, your heroes dive into the dangerous asteroid colonies of the Shattered Zone. The polluted mines and hurtling planetoids are deadly on their own, but the infighting of the Zone’s fractious factions is even more so, from the sadistic Contraptors to the fanatical soldiers of Purity, where factions and their adherents rise and fall and morality runs from gray to black. The PCs must navigate a broken world of deceit, moral compromise, and necessary sacrifices amid a grimy cybernetic dystopia, and all the while an ancient horror reaches from beyond the fourfold gates, waiting for those with the touch of destiny to come and set it free. There are secrets of the Patrons at stake, and the rewards are great, but only if the heroes can survive the deadly intrigues of the Confederates of the Shattered Zone.
Confederates of the Shattered Zone is an adventure for 11th to 14th level characters using the 5th Edition rules for the world’s most famous roleplaying game. The latest chapter in the amazing Legendary Planet Adventure Path, a spectacular sword-and-planet saga from Legendary Games blending sci-fi and fantasy, magic and machine with an exciting pulp sensibility and style. Confederates of the Shattered Zone includes not only a massive interplanetary adventure but also brand-new monsters, magic, and technology, including new character options for cybernetic augmentations, along with a full gazetteer of the Shattered Zone and its inhabitants and an ongoing fiction series. Here you will find amazing adventures that span the stars and plunder the planets in a campaign that takes your heroes to 20th level and beyond! Grab this exotic epic today and Make Your Game Legendary!
This 98-page PDF or 96-page print volume contains the following
– “Confederates of the Shattered Zone,” a 5th Edition adventure for 11th to 14th-level characters by Richard Pett
– A “Planetary Bestiary” by Richard Pett and Mike Welham, featuring the the insidious ironrot lichen, the noxious steamwerks golem, the grotesque and savage feral kyton, the colossal choke ooze, the dour void grim, and the parasitical queborrin!
– A collection of “Alien Treasures” by Richard Pett, including magic and technology like the darksphere, storm of chains, and void gondola!
– A gazetteer of the deadly Shattered Zone asteroid field and its colonies, by Richard Pett.
– A detailed look at the cybernetic auttaine race and the wide variety of technological and magical augmentations they have developed to enhance their biomechanical bodies by Patrick Renie.
– A downloadable PDF art and map folio, featuring unkeyed player-friendly maps and more.
– And last but not least, “Shards of Home,” the fourth chapter in a 7-part short story by award-winning author Chris A. Jackson
For further information on the earlier adventures in the Legendary Planet Adventure Path and upcoming adventures like The Depths of Desperation and Mind Tyrants of the Merciless Moons, pick up the Legendary Planet Player’s Guide and check the Legendary Games website!
7TH SEA: PIRATE NATIONS
Behold! The reason why almost no one else dares do a pirate-themed game! The juggernaut that is the new 7th Sea swarms the seas, and now we have the Pirate Nations arrayed before us!
Let’s get the glad-rags on and drive her to sea
For a free sailor’s life for sure it ain’t free
Piracy on the Seven Seas has reached a fever pitch. The black flag poses a constant danger for merchants and navies, as unscrupulous brigands seek their fortunes. But there are more dangers afoot than pirates: beasts lurking under the waves, rumors of haunted and immortal ghost ships…and the demon named “Reis.”
This book contains material for 7th Sea: Second Edition including new Backgrounds, Advantages, Stories and Sorceries. It also includes five new Pirate Nations:
- Numa, the land where legends were born and never left
- La Bucca, the once-prison island turned headquarters for international intrigue
- The Atabean Islands, where the ghosts of Rahuri ancestors sail alongside native peoples
- Aragosta, home of the Brotherhood of the Coast and a pirate paradise
- Jaragua, self-liberated slave colony and home of a new Sorcery called Kap Sevi
Pirate Nations also includes new setting materials for 7th Sea featuring the Devil Jonah, the dreaded Reis and Theah’s first multinational, the Atabean Trading Company. There be adventure aplenty in these lands, more than any one crew can hope to see in a lifetime.
Sail, me hearties, and treasure what good luck you find. You’ll be needing it.
Looking for the 7th Sea core rulebook? Click here.
WOIN: UNIVERSAL UPGRADES
The What’s Old Is New (WOIN) system from EN Publishing gains more and more momentum, and this sci-fi oriented release helps that along as fans gain new races, new Exploits, and more for their science-fiction gaming.
Upgrade your sci-fi game!
This essential manual for sci-fi themed What’s OLD is NEW games introduces a range of new alien races, universal exploits, and advanced rules for your WOIN game. 11 new races, nearly 30 new universal exploits, and expanded rules for aging, making the most of your REPUTATION score, and more, make this an essential handbook.
Straight from the pages of EONS, the official magazine for the WOIN roleplaying game system.
Requires the use of a What’s OLD is NEW core rulebook.
-----
So this weekend, I am running Episode XII: Shut It Down! of my ongoing Freedom Squadron: New Legends campaign. You see, I am doing with this what I originally did with my Shaintar games I ran at home and at conventions all over - every game is connected to every other via a series of linked stories. I am not doing "canned adventures;" instead, when you sit down to play with me, you get an unnamed pre-gen who you then get to make wholly your own. You get five XPs (which, in Savage Worlds, means you get a level-up) at the end of the session; from then on, you bring your character to any table I am running of this world and you get to play that character, gaining more XPs and items and such.
In other words, all my games are considered part of a "living campaign" kind of structure!
For a number of my local players, this results in a set of story arcs of which they are an integrated part (remind me to tell you about Crazy Ivan and his entirely too complicated love life).
I am proud to say my Plans & Operations rules were a huge hit at the convention and elsewhere, including some great comments from Shane Hensley! I think they may be a real game changer; one friend - Michael Satran of Imaginary Friends fame, among other projects - said he feels I've finally solved the "Heist Game Problem." While I know there are some great games out there - especially recently - that really address that more specifically, I am pretty confident P&O helps handle it as part of a larger gaming structure for Savage Worlds fans, and I am looking forward to sharing it more with all of you in the future.
OK, yeah, I guess I am blogging a lot about my own stuff while sharing other books and releases with you, but hey - more for your money, so to speak, right?
Here's another cool picture from the Freedom Squadron project - Ouroboros, leader of an ancient civilization of snake-folk who ruled the world long before homo sapiens came about. He and his figure strongly in the back story of the whole setting.
The Adventure Continues!
Note that I use affiliate links in all my posts as a way to generate additional revenue for my efforts; I make my Picks and other article choices, however, based on the desire to share a wide variety of things with you. Thank you for your support.
Sean Patrick Fannon
Writer & Game Designer: Shaintar, Star Wars, Savage Rifts, much more
Please check out my Patreon and get involved directly with my next projects!
