12 PDFs, 4 WotC rereleases, 3 adventures and 1 noteworthy Spotlight PDF. This week's column is stacked with good releases. We have a rerelease from one of my favorite games from the past up to a preorder for one of the most prominent products of today. In between those two we'll look at some supplemnts and a lot of new systems. Again we have an excellent week for PDFs.
TORG
This rpg was one of the more innovative and expansive games when it was first released in 1990. When West End Games had to close down the game lingered and was eventually sold to a German game company. Since then they have done little with it, but they have released some as PDFs. This week two of the older supplements can be found as PDFs. Pixaud's Practical Grimoire covers magic for the fantasy setting. It adds more spells and provides a system for designing new spells. The system is actually very good and detailed; I have used it in other game systems. The second PDF is The GodNet which details computer hacking for the cyberpunk setting. Both are excellent books.
Point of Insanity Game Studio
One thing I’ve always been proud to see within our niche community is how we can come together to help others. One thing that has been ongoing for some time now are PDF charity bundles. Essentially a group or publisher bundles up a bunch of their products and gives some of the proceeds from their sales to a charity or crisis. Point of Insanity Game Studio is doing this with profits from this week’s bundle going to the Red Cross dealing with the Oklahoma natural disaster. For me personally, this is good news as I had a bunch of friends move to that area and they were directly affected by the devastating tornado.
So what do you get in this bundle? There are three products herein: TimeSPAN – A game of the near future after an alien attack from which Earth has discovered time travel. The game is about keeping Earth’s timeline safe. It features a fairly rules agnostic approach; while it provides a game system that includes classes, it also details how to integrate the concepts into other systems. Planets Systemless Setting is the second book and provides a system free setting galaxy of 6 sectors with 40 planets. These are detailed for any sci-fi space game and includes 11 new races. If you are looking for a ready to go sci-fi setting this looks like an excellent start. The third book is Action Planet. This is another sci-fi setting book wherein a planet has been bought and converted into a planet-wide film studio. Characters are actors on this planet in a non-scripted adventure. It all seems a bit surreal but could be a lot of fun.
A Week in the Life of a Lv. 1 Slime
One thing we do try to keep on an eye out for are unique rpg offerings. This one definitely fits that bill. This is a solitaire adventure wherein you play a level 1 slime. The game seems to use candy as part of its mechanics. While this is a short PDF, 8 pages, it looks to offer something truly new. And it has candy.
Cogs, Cakes & Swordsticks
This a pulp steampunk game with its own rules system. It looks to embrace the mannerisms of a Victorian setting. The game provides everything a group needs to get started with pre-made characters and a short adventure, though it possible to create your own characters. There is also the details on the setting as well. As a fan of steampunk I am interested. If you are also interested they have also released a free Preview PDF you can check out first.
Numenera Player’s Guide – Preorder
The biggest game release of the year will be Numenera. This is a preorder which will allow you to download the PDF when it is released in August. This is the Player’s Guide which is everything the players will need for the game. It includes the complete character generation rules as well as some information on the setting, enough for them to get a grasp of the world. This is the perfect book for the players to have on hand.
Noir Knights
This week Savage Mojo has released a number of free products for their Noir Knights line for Savage Worlds. Noir Knights is their pulp/1930’s/supernatural setting for their Suzerain setting of genre/world jumping. This week sees 5 free 1-page adventures for the setting. They include Chasing Rainbows (a natural portal is found in Kansas), The Mission Link (a “mystic order” causes some trouble), Oppressive Heat (a hunt for power), Knights At The Opera (voodoo trouble), and In The Name Of Science (trouble with a mad scientist). Also this week is a PDF of sample Characters. If you don’t have the game you can check it out here.
Psi-punk
This 192 page rpg is for the Fudge system of rules. It features a cyberpunk setting with a heavy dose of psionics thrown into the mix. The game itself provides character generation, equipment, a complete psionics system and a setting for all of it to play in. One of the draws of the Fudge system is its ease and fast play so this game should play just as fast. This game came out of a successful Kickstarter and has some ready-made fans already. Any fan of cyberpunk should check this out.
Jason and the Argonauts
This is not an rpg, it is not a supplement for an rpg, there are no rpg mechanics at all in it. Rather it is a study on the story of Jason and the Argonauts, the classic Greek myth. Many of the tropes of fantasy gaming comes from Greek mythology and this legend is one of the archetypical stories that has been emulated throughout our gaming history. It is a quest that involves a long journey and the many adventures that take place during that expedition; similar to every campaign ever run. Now you can take a look at the original story and mine it for ideas for your own tale of an epic journey…or as just a good read.
Engines & Empires
Labyrinth Lord has established itself as one of the more dominant retro-clones of 1E. There have been many adventures and supplements for it since it was first released. This is a setting book that mixes heroic high fantasy with the Victorian Age for that rule set. For me, this is excellent way to play 1E in a unique world of high adventure as well as introducing some new concepts and mechanics to a solid set of rules.
Mage Translation Guide
Part of the White Wolf, World of Darkness line, Mage is the magic genre book of the rules. This PDF seeks to consolidate and harmonize the various versions of the line whereby mechanics and concepts can be translated between them all. It includes the various Traditions and how they work between the editions, as well as how Paradox and other mechanics work. If you are a fan of the older versions of Mage but are looking to play the same game with the newest World of Darkness rules, this is your chance to update.
Conquest of the Universe Preview
A throwback to the early days of space opera, this science fiction rpg is based off of the Pathfinder system. This looks like a setting where swords are just as viable a weapon as a ray gun. As noted this is a preview of the game and is meant to showcase the game for those interested in participating in the current, ongoing Kickstarter for the game. The game has already met its initial goal with 25 days to go (and after only 5 days). However, even if you aren’t interested in the Kickstarter you can still check out this free preview to see if this is something you’ll want to take a look at when the game finally releases.
Black Streams: Solo Heroes
I am a huge fan of Sine Nomine Publishing and Kevin Crawford. This is his latest PDF and is designed to help DMs run a Labyrinth Lord game (or any 1E or similar game) with only the DM and one player. It shows how to use an existing module and use it without alteration. Included is an adventure specifically designed for a one-on-one game, though with the techniques included it can easily be run as a regular group game. The best part is that it is free.
WotC Classic PDFs
Monstrous Compendium - Mystara Appendix (2E)
WGA4 Vecna Lives (2E)
The Great Modron March (2E)
Dungeon Survival Guide (3E)
Adventures
B1 Return of the Rat Cult – Labyrinth Lord. Level 2-3.
Lost City of the Dwarves – d20. Solo.
The Lair of the Orc Shaman – 1E. Level 1.
Spotlight: Most Interesting PDF of the Week
Monsters of Sin Collection
Kobold Press Open Design has been running a series that showcases a new set of monsters for Pathfinder that feed off the ideas of the Seven Deadly Sins. Now they have collected this series into one PDF. It gives us 21 new monsters for your game. Even though I always like new monsters for my games, I like the idea behind this one even more so. It sounds like these will be able to challenge my players in new ways beyond a simple bashing. It also looks like the concepts herein could be used for any game that looks to do something a bit more esoteric. Imagine a game where the Seven Deadly Sins are tangible effects upon a world; a lot of role-playing can be mined from such a world.
TORG
This rpg was one of the more innovative and expansive games when it was first released in 1990. When West End Games had to close down the game lingered and was eventually sold to a German game company. Since then they have done little with it, but they have released some as PDFs. This week two of the older supplements can be found as PDFs. Pixaud's Practical Grimoire covers magic for the fantasy setting. It adds more spells and provides a system for designing new spells. The system is actually very good and detailed; I have used it in other game systems. The second PDF is The GodNet which details computer hacking for the cyberpunk setting. Both are excellent books.
Point of Insanity Game Studio
One thing I’ve always been proud to see within our niche community is how we can come together to help others. One thing that has been ongoing for some time now are PDF charity bundles. Essentially a group or publisher bundles up a bunch of their products and gives some of the proceeds from their sales to a charity or crisis. Point of Insanity Game Studio is doing this with profits from this week’s bundle going to the Red Cross dealing with the Oklahoma natural disaster. For me personally, this is good news as I had a bunch of friends move to that area and they were directly affected by the devastating tornado.
So what do you get in this bundle? There are three products herein: TimeSPAN – A game of the near future after an alien attack from which Earth has discovered time travel. The game is about keeping Earth’s timeline safe. It features a fairly rules agnostic approach; while it provides a game system that includes classes, it also details how to integrate the concepts into other systems. Planets Systemless Setting is the second book and provides a system free setting galaxy of 6 sectors with 40 planets. These are detailed for any sci-fi space game and includes 11 new races. If you are looking for a ready to go sci-fi setting this looks like an excellent start. The third book is Action Planet. This is another sci-fi setting book wherein a planet has been bought and converted into a planet-wide film studio. Characters are actors on this planet in a non-scripted adventure. It all seems a bit surreal but could be a lot of fun.
A Week in the Life of a Lv. 1 Slime
One thing we do try to keep on an eye out for are unique rpg offerings. This one definitely fits that bill. This is a solitaire adventure wherein you play a level 1 slime. The game seems to use candy as part of its mechanics. While this is a short PDF, 8 pages, it looks to offer something truly new. And it has candy.
Cogs, Cakes & Swordsticks
This a pulp steampunk game with its own rules system. It looks to embrace the mannerisms of a Victorian setting. The game provides everything a group needs to get started with pre-made characters and a short adventure, though it possible to create your own characters. There is also the details on the setting as well. As a fan of steampunk I am interested. If you are also interested they have also released a free Preview PDF you can check out first.
Numenera Player’s Guide – Preorder
The biggest game release of the year will be Numenera. This is a preorder which will allow you to download the PDF when it is released in August. This is the Player’s Guide which is everything the players will need for the game. It includes the complete character generation rules as well as some information on the setting, enough for them to get a grasp of the world. This is the perfect book for the players to have on hand.
Noir Knights
This week Savage Mojo has released a number of free products for their Noir Knights line for Savage Worlds. Noir Knights is their pulp/1930’s/supernatural setting for their Suzerain setting of genre/world jumping. This week sees 5 free 1-page adventures for the setting. They include Chasing Rainbows (a natural portal is found in Kansas), The Mission Link (a “mystic order” causes some trouble), Oppressive Heat (a hunt for power), Knights At The Opera (voodoo trouble), and In The Name Of Science (trouble with a mad scientist). Also this week is a PDF of sample Characters. If you don’t have the game you can check it out here.
Psi-punk
This 192 page rpg is for the Fudge system of rules. It features a cyberpunk setting with a heavy dose of psionics thrown into the mix. The game itself provides character generation, equipment, a complete psionics system and a setting for all of it to play in. One of the draws of the Fudge system is its ease and fast play so this game should play just as fast. This game came out of a successful Kickstarter and has some ready-made fans already. Any fan of cyberpunk should check this out.
Jason and the Argonauts
This is not an rpg, it is not a supplement for an rpg, there are no rpg mechanics at all in it. Rather it is a study on the story of Jason and the Argonauts, the classic Greek myth. Many of the tropes of fantasy gaming comes from Greek mythology and this legend is one of the archetypical stories that has been emulated throughout our gaming history. It is a quest that involves a long journey and the many adventures that take place during that expedition; similar to every campaign ever run. Now you can take a look at the original story and mine it for ideas for your own tale of an epic journey…or as just a good read.
Engines & Empires
Labyrinth Lord has established itself as one of the more dominant retro-clones of 1E. There have been many adventures and supplements for it since it was first released. This is a setting book that mixes heroic high fantasy with the Victorian Age for that rule set. For me, this is excellent way to play 1E in a unique world of high adventure as well as introducing some new concepts and mechanics to a solid set of rules.
Mage Translation Guide
Part of the White Wolf, World of Darkness line, Mage is the magic genre book of the rules. This PDF seeks to consolidate and harmonize the various versions of the line whereby mechanics and concepts can be translated between them all. It includes the various Traditions and how they work between the editions, as well as how Paradox and other mechanics work. If you are a fan of the older versions of Mage but are looking to play the same game with the newest World of Darkness rules, this is your chance to update.
Conquest of the Universe Preview
A throwback to the early days of space opera, this science fiction rpg is based off of the Pathfinder system. This looks like a setting where swords are just as viable a weapon as a ray gun. As noted this is a preview of the game and is meant to showcase the game for those interested in participating in the current, ongoing Kickstarter for the game. The game has already met its initial goal with 25 days to go (and after only 5 days). However, even if you aren’t interested in the Kickstarter you can still check out this free preview to see if this is something you’ll want to take a look at when the game finally releases.
Black Streams: Solo Heroes
I am a huge fan of Sine Nomine Publishing and Kevin Crawford. This is his latest PDF and is designed to help DMs run a Labyrinth Lord game (or any 1E or similar game) with only the DM and one player. It shows how to use an existing module and use it without alteration. Included is an adventure specifically designed for a one-on-one game, though with the techniques included it can easily be run as a regular group game. The best part is that it is free.
WotC Classic PDFs
Monstrous Compendium - Mystara Appendix (2E)
WGA4 Vecna Lives (2E)
The Great Modron March (2E)
Dungeon Survival Guide (3E)
Adventures
B1 Return of the Rat Cult – Labyrinth Lord. Level 2-3.
Lost City of the Dwarves – d20. Solo.
The Lair of the Orc Shaman – 1E. Level 1.
Spotlight: Most Interesting PDF of the Week
Monsters of Sin Collection
Kobold Press Open Design has been running a series that showcases a new set of monsters for Pathfinder that feed off the ideas of the Seven Deadly Sins. Now they have collected this series into one PDF. It gives us 21 new monsters for your game. Even though I always like new monsters for my games, I like the idea behind this one even more so. It sounds like these will be able to challenge my players in new ways beyond a simple bashing. It also looks like the concepts herein could be used for any game that looks to do something a bit more esoteric. Imagine a game where the Seven Deadly Sins are tangible effects upon a world; a lot of role-playing can be mined from such a world.
Heroes, beware the temptation of sin, for the smallest weakness can humble the mighty.
Only seven sins are vile enough to be called deadly. Each spawns unique and startling monsters in this volume…
The Monsters of Sin Collection for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game includes
The Monsters of Sin Collection is suitable for multiple levels of play and can be used in any existing setting and campaign, or combined to create a campaign of Sin. Go beyond ordinary monsters, and challenge your champions with threats to mind, body, and spirit.
- 21 new monsters thematically tied to one of the seven deadly sins,
- 7 templates to bring that sin out in monsters and NPCs,
- complete notes on using sin in any fantasy world,
- 7 Embodiments of Sin to challenge the greatest heroes!
