Once again, I am overwhelmed by the sheer variety of games and settings available to us as a hobby, and the immense quality of those offerings. When I first started as a gamer (1977, folks), it was almost all D&D, and anything else out there was black-and-white, often photocopied or printed in simplest fashion. The standard for what we see now is far-and-away amazing, gorgeous, and engaging. Great time to be a gamer!
SHADOWRUN: ANARCHY
For some, any iteration of the Shadowrun rules is a bit heavier on the crunch than they prefer. Catalyst decided to do an end-run around that problem by offering a new path into the Sixth World, featuring a much more narrative-driven, rules-light game system option.
Man. Machine. Magic.
Shadowrun. The Sixth World. Orks in pinstripe suits with uzis; mohawked dwarves jacked into vehicles racing through megasprawls at breakneck speed; humans casting fireballs at corporate-trained paracritters; elves hacking the Matrix for a datasteal of the latest tech or working to topple an upstart corp. It’s where man meets magic and machine.
Dive into a cyberpunk dystopia and become a shadowrunner, a deniable asset who does the jobs no one else can—or will—do. It’s not an easy life, but it beats selling your soul to the megacorps. You’ll break into top-secret labs, stand up to gangs bent on destruction and chaos, encounter dark spirits hiding even darker secrets, and come face to face with some of the infinite dangers the Sixth World can throw at you. And you’ll come out on top—because if you don’t, you don’t get paid.
Shadowrun: Anarchy is a new way to get into the best cyberpunk/urban fantasy action around. Based upon the rules-light and easy-to-learn Cue System, Shadowrun: Anarchy is a narrative-focused game experience that has everything you need to quickly grab some gear, load up on spells, and get to throwing the dice. With loads of characters and missions, the book makes it simple to get up and running. Immerse yourselves in the Sixth World!
AMP: YEAR THREE
Eloy Lasanta’s AMP series does something no superhero game line has ever attempted* – an engrossing, continuing story with a series of arcs that represent major changes to both the world and how the players play in it. Each AMP release advances the ever-developing world, where there were no supers until – suddenly, catastrophically – there were. Year Three is upon you now.
The War of 2017 has begun, and brings many things to the AMP universe… Heroes… Loss… even Rebirth. See what happens in the next year of people with powers changing the landscape of what it means to be human.
Includes:
(*) - I've since been properly corrected on this point, in that Matt Forbeck's Brave New World did something very similar, though not in quite the same structure.
MALIFAUX: RIPPLES OF FATE
There’s been a few efforts to make RPGs using playing cards for resolution, instead of dice. Malifaux is one of the strongest in this category, and our Monday Night Savages have had some great experiences with the system. It’s a compelling setting, as well, and the game is very much one where skirmish wargaming meets roleplaying. This product greatly expands the core experience.
Chaos has engulfed Malifaux.
The Governor-General is gone, undone by his attempts to become a Tyrant, and the Guild is reeling from the blow. As it struggles to keep the opportunistic Arcanists and dreaded Resurrectionists at bay, an ancient power reawakens deep within the Badlands, gathering the scattered Neverborn to her side in preparation for the coming war with the Tyrants… and then, the scouring of all human life from Malifaux.
Amidst the chaos, daring bandits take advantage of the Guild’s distraction to line their own pockets with Soulstones, Gremlins soar through the sky in a stolen airship, and the Ten Thunders turn to a power they can neither understand nor control in order to expand their holdings.
And through it all, a shrouded woman rides slowly through streets clogged with bodies, taking measure of the dead and recruiting the strongest as soldiers for the coming war…
Ripples of Fate expands the world of Malifaux, bringing seven new Masters into the battle between fate and mortal willpower. New models, new stories, and new scenarios provide a glimpse of how each Faction intends to capitalize upon the vacuum of power left behind in the wake of the Governor’s death.
The battle for control of Malifaux has begun.
No longer do you have to trust the fickle fate of a dice roll, in Malifaux you use cards, a Fate Deck, as you lead your Crew to victory with strategy, tactics and resource management, and if that isn’t enough, you can Cheat Fate.
Looking for scalability? Malifaux has it. Jump directly into a Scrap with 4 – 6 miniatures, ensuring a quick and brutal fight with each character having unique skills and abilities. Want to escalate it? Take it to a Brawl, bring in additional members of your faction or hire out mercenaries to do your dirty work.
TRAIL OF CTHULHU STARTER KIT
A highly respected system. Our culture’s leading expert on all things Cthulhu (Kenneth Hite). Trail of Cthulhu is one of the best presentations of the mythos and how to play within it, and now there’s a complete Starter Kit with which you can dive right in. There’s also a “Previous Purchaser” discount system embedded in the bundle (and the many others they’ve put together), so if you’ve already bought part of of what’s inside, you get a deeper price cut.
Introducing: The Trail of Cthulhu Starter Kit.
Uncover mysteries in dusty libraries and bloody crime scenes. Walk the mean streets of Chicago, or hack through the jungles of the South Pacific. Battle vile cults, or recoil in terror at the alien enormities they worship. Follow the clues wherever they lead, whatever the cost in life or sanity.
But do you dare to follow… the Trail of Cthulhu?
The Trail of Cthulhu Starter Kit includes…
AFTER THE NIGHTFALL
For those seeking the “high end of the curve” in the Cypher System, Gods of the Fall is the Monte Cook release you were hoping for. Now GMs have a great starting adventure to kick things off with.
The Gods Have Fallen—Now It’s Your Turn
As fledgling deities, the player characters must undertake divine labors to fulfill their destinies. An ancient text directs them to slay a raver—a creature of profound malignancy. But there are other agendas at play, and what seems like a stepping stone to divinity may prove the characters to be all too mortal.
After the Nightfall is an adventure for the Gods of the Fall setting for the Cypher System. It can be played as a standalone adventure, or it fits neatly into the divine story arc The Night Beast Awakens from Gods of the Fall. You need both the Cypher System Rulebook and Gods of the Fall to play this adventure.
Note: The total page count of 21 pages includes the 9-page adventure, plus six double-sided pre-generated characters.
~~~
Colorado still can't decide it it's letting go of summer just yet, so there's a few days of 80s mixed with the 60s, but we can all tell that inside weather is coming in the near future. That means more dice rolling, of course.
Speaking of - I want to thank everyone who was so gracious and supportive of the Big Epic Shaintar Game last weekend. We generated well over $3500 for the Mighty T, and we ourselves were mighty with a game that featured dozens of players! The link takes you to the full 9+ hours of YouTube Live Stream that was recorded (things really get started around the 52:11 mark).
Tonight it's board games in the Silver Unicorn Pub. Tomorrow is an oddly-open day for me... which I hope to use to get outside while the weather still permits. I think I hear the mountains calling...
Sunday, we at long last return to the lands of Birthright, as Ross Watson continues running us in his excellent 5e iteration.
What kind of gaming do you have planned? What other excursions and shenanigans? Because, as always...
The Adventure Continues!
~SPF
SHADOWRUN: ANARCHY
For some, any iteration of the Shadowrun rules is a bit heavier on the crunch than they prefer. Catalyst decided to do an end-run around that problem by offering a new path into the Sixth World, featuring a much more narrative-driven, rules-light game system option.
Man. Machine. Magic.
Shadowrun. The Sixth World. Orks in pinstripe suits with uzis; mohawked dwarves jacked into vehicles racing through megasprawls at breakneck speed; humans casting fireballs at corporate-trained paracritters; elves hacking the Matrix for a datasteal of the latest tech or working to topple an upstart corp. It’s where man meets magic and machine.
Dive into a cyberpunk dystopia and become a shadowrunner, a deniable asset who does the jobs no one else can—or will—do. It’s not an easy life, but it beats selling your soul to the megacorps. You’ll break into top-secret labs, stand up to gangs bent on destruction and chaos, encounter dark spirits hiding even darker secrets, and come face to face with some of the infinite dangers the Sixth World can throw at you. And you’ll come out on top—because if you don’t, you don’t get paid.
Shadowrun: Anarchy is a new way to get into the best cyberpunk/urban fantasy action around. Based upon the rules-light and easy-to-learn Cue System, Shadowrun: Anarchy is a narrative-focused game experience that has everything you need to quickly grab some gear, load up on spells, and get to throwing the dice. With loads of characters and missions, the book makes it simple to get up and running. Immerse yourselves in the Sixth World!
AMP: YEAR THREE
Eloy Lasanta’s AMP series does something no superhero game line has ever attempted* – an engrossing, continuing story with a series of arcs that represent major changes to both the world and how the players play in it. Each AMP release advances the ever-developing world, where there were no supers until – suddenly, catastrophically – there were. Year Three is upon you now.
The War of 2017 has begun, and brings many things to the AMP universe… Heroes… Loss… even Rebirth. See what happens in the next year of people with powers changing the landscape of what it means to be human.
Includes:
- 2017 Setting Timeline
- 11 New AMP Powers
- Rules for Resistor Power Suits
- Mutation Mechanics
- New Character Type: Twice Born
(*) - I've since been properly corrected on this point, in that Matt Forbeck's Brave New World did something very similar, though not in quite the same structure.
MALIFAUX: RIPPLES OF FATE
There’s been a few efforts to make RPGs using playing cards for resolution, instead of dice. Malifaux is one of the strongest in this category, and our Monday Night Savages have had some great experiences with the system. It’s a compelling setting, as well, and the game is very much one where skirmish wargaming meets roleplaying. This product greatly expands the core experience.
Chaos has engulfed Malifaux.
The Governor-General is gone, undone by his attempts to become a Tyrant, and the Guild is reeling from the blow. As it struggles to keep the opportunistic Arcanists and dreaded Resurrectionists at bay, an ancient power reawakens deep within the Badlands, gathering the scattered Neverborn to her side in preparation for the coming war with the Tyrants… and then, the scouring of all human life from Malifaux.
Amidst the chaos, daring bandits take advantage of the Guild’s distraction to line their own pockets with Soulstones, Gremlins soar through the sky in a stolen airship, and the Ten Thunders turn to a power they can neither understand nor control in order to expand their holdings.
And through it all, a shrouded woman rides slowly through streets clogged with bodies, taking measure of the dead and recruiting the strongest as soldiers for the coming war…
Ripples of Fate expands the world of Malifaux, bringing seven new Masters into the battle between fate and mortal willpower. New models, new stories, and new scenarios provide a glimpse of how each Faction intends to capitalize upon the vacuum of power left behind in the wake of the Governor’s death.
The battle for control of Malifaux has begun.
No longer do you have to trust the fickle fate of a dice roll, in Malifaux you use cards, a Fate Deck, as you lead your Crew to victory with strategy, tactics and resource management, and if that isn’t enough, you can Cheat Fate.
Looking for scalability? Malifaux has it. Jump directly into a Scrap with 4 – 6 miniatures, ensuring a quick and brutal fight with each character having unique skills and abilities. Want to escalate it? Take it to a Brawl, bring in additional members of your faction or hire out mercenaries to do your dirty work.
TRAIL OF CTHULHU STARTER KIT
A highly respected system. Our culture’s leading expert on all things Cthulhu (Kenneth Hite). Trail of Cthulhu is one of the best presentations of the mythos and how to play within it, and now there’s a complete Starter Kit with which you can dive right in. There’s also a “Previous Purchaser” discount system embedded in the bundle (and the many others they’ve put together), so if you’ve already bought part of of what’s inside, you get a deeper price cut.
Introducing: The Trail of Cthulhu Starter Kit.
Uncover mysteries in dusty libraries and bloody crime scenes. Walk the mean streets of Chicago, or hack through the jungles of the South Pacific. Battle vile cults, or recoil in terror at the alien enormities they worship. Follow the clues wherever they lead, whatever the cost in life or sanity.
But do you dare to follow… the Trail of Cthulhu?
The Trail of Cthulhu Starter Kit includes…
- Trail of Cthulhu
- Four Shadows: Music for Trail of Cthulhu
- Trail of Cthulhu: Arkham Detective Tales Extended Edition
- Trail of Cthulhu: Rough Magicks
- Trail of Cthulhu: Stunning Eldritch Tales
AFTER THE NIGHTFALL
For those seeking the “high end of the curve” in the Cypher System, Gods of the Fall is the Monte Cook release you were hoping for. Now GMs have a great starting adventure to kick things off with.
The Gods Have Fallen—Now It’s Your Turn
As fledgling deities, the player characters must undertake divine labors to fulfill their destinies. An ancient text directs them to slay a raver—a creature of profound malignancy. But there are other agendas at play, and what seems like a stepping stone to divinity may prove the characters to be all too mortal.
After the Nightfall is an adventure for the Gods of the Fall setting for the Cypher System. It can be played as a standalone adventure, or it fits neatly into the divine story arc The Night Beast Awakens from Gods of the Fall. You need both the Cypher System Rulebook and Gods of the Fall to play this adventure.
Note: The total page count of 21 pages includes the 9-page adventure, plus six double-sided pre-generated characters.
~~~
Colorado still can't decide it it's letting go of summer just yet, so there's a few days of 80s mixed with the 60s, but we can all tell that inside weather is coming in the near future. That means more dice rolling, of course.
Speaking of - I want to thank everyone who was so gracious and supportive of the Big Epic Shaintar Game last weekend. We generated well over $3500 for the Mighty T, and we ourselves were mighty with a game that featured dozens of players! The link takes you to the full 9+ hours of YouTube Live Stream that was recorded (things really get started around the 52:11 mark).
Tonight it's board games in the Silver Unicorn Pub. Tomorrow is an oddly-open day for me... which I hope to use to get outside while the weather still permits. I think I hear the mountains calling...
Sunday, we at long last return to the lands of Birthright, as Ross Watson continues running us in his excellent 5e iteration.
What kind of gaming do you have planned? What other excursions and shenanigans? Because, as always...
The Adventure Continues!
~SPF
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