Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2010272" data-attributes="member: 9860">This is not a playtest review.Factory is a resource offering magical computers, robots and implanted hardware, from Perpetrated Press.Factory is a 192-page mono softcover product costing $24.95. Margins and fonts are fairly average, and there is little white space. Art comes in a variety of styles, including cartoonish, comic-book style and the conceptual style of Drew Johnson and grimmer work of Scott Drouin. The art matches the nature of the text and clarifies it well. The writing style is engaging and evocative - "The battlefields of advanced technomagic worlds thunder to the lumbering, soaring, skimming, and rolling cacophony of robotic soldiers." Editing is average, with regular mistakes that occasionally interfere with comprehension - e.g. "…the only way that an ethereotic creature can alleviate some of its physical pain is by slaying corporeal creatures and. They usually start with the surgeon."Introduction, Balance Issues, And CampaignsThe book begins with a short fantasy history of magical constructs, from the first golems through to the advances of an industrial society to 'today's' futuristic robots, computers and implants. The concepts within the book are obviously best suited to a futuristic setting (e.g. Dragonstar from Fantasy Flight Games), and one whose discoveries and advancements are based on magic rather than technology. However, a few genre concepts are discussed, including the possibilities of downgrading the concepts introduced in the book to medieval fantasy golems, or conversion to a world without magic. Costs throughout the book are expressed in credits, but should be easily translated to other monetary units.Skills, Feats And SpellsFour new skills (Computer Use, Craft (Computer Hardware), Pilot (Exosuit), and Repair) and seven feats (mainly Item Creation feats that allow the crafting of magical hardware) are offered, as well as eighteen new spells mainly referring to corruption and repair of magical computer systems and other magical hardware.ComputersThe next section deals with magical computers in a fair amount of depth, taking a look at their nature, history, uses, type (includes such things as comlinks, power settings on firearms, etc.), programs (including Eldritch Mail (e-mail) which travels via the Astral Plane - now there's wireless connection!!), and hardware. Tables are provided showing all this stuff, along with their costs, Purchase DCs for d20 Modern, and Item Creation information. The concept of scrollpads and spellpads are also discussed (like scrolls and spellbooks) along with security information (presented a bit like traps) for protecting magical computers and ways of sidestepping or defeating these security traps (with DCs, time required, critical failures, and the possibility of retries for various manoeuvres). An example computer system is provided to show how these aspects interact.RobotsRobots in Factory are similar to golems, except they are made from technologically advanced materials, are computer-enhanced, and are animated by an elemental spirit. A sidebar details the various robot qualities - immunities, agelessness, no cross-class skills, bonuses to Knowledge skills, etc. A table shows stats for robots from fine to colossal (it seems a bit strange to me that medium-size robots should have a Strength of 10 (I always linked robots with super-strength compared to 'mankind') and an AC of 10 - doesn't that metallic casing give them some advantage over flesh and blood mortals? However, the chapter continues with ways to upgrade these basic stats by purchasing a variety of software and hardware additions to the basic robot. Thirteen pages of tables list these possible upgrades, their costs (including modifiers to size) or Purchase DCs (for d20 Modern) and Item Creation information. Several example robots are offered, including labour robots, police robots, venom assassin robot, and zoomer delivery robot, as well as a range of assault robots.Powered ExosuitsThis short chapter looks at exosuits, advanced armoured suits powered by bound elemental spirits. The wearer is termed the 'pilot', and the suits are as much designed for environmental protection as for battle. Again, tables show the stats and example of various exosuits (such as the Intimidator, the Extreme Environments Exosuit, and the X-Loader) are given, along with information on possible upgrades.PC RobotsThis chapter offers a range of options for players wanting to take on a robot PC. A selection of basic models are presented along with a range of upgrades available to a player to modify the base model. An ECL is then applied once base model, classes and upgrades have been applied. Examples include companion, domestic, industrial, and military robots with such upgrades as bioscanner, organic skin, sonic drill, or internal compass. A detailed example of robot character creation is given at the end of the chapter, along with the character sheet.DweoneticsDweoware is magical hardware designed for implantation to enhance normal functioning in a flesh and blood species. The process of dweoware creation is similar to magic item creation except the wearer pays the XP cost, the dweoware becomes one with the body of the wearer, and it can only be used by the wearer. The operation to implant the dweoware is a magical process that involves making the dweoware ethereal in order to place it in the wearer's body before being made corporeal again. Various rules for the operation and the complications that can occur are given, which includes results for critical failures and successes, for which I couldn't find a definition in the book. A further section lists the various types of implants available such as chameleon skin, extra arm, muscle graft, and universal translator. A less dangerous option is the dweonetic interface socket - a socket that can interface with a wide number of enhancement chips and other hardware, whilst only requiring one operation for implantation. Further implants are also discussed such as radiators (weapons that emit energy) and vision enhancements (which allows the reading of auras, including magical auras). Ten pages of tables give stats for the various dweoware implants available.Templates Three templates are given, along with sample creatures for each:* Dweoborg - when dweoware takes over the body and mind of the wearer, it forms its own psychotic personality, often becoming villainous criminal masterminds. A dweoborg minotaur is given as an example.* Ethereotic Creature - when an implantation operation goes horribly wrong, the victim can sometimes become permanently ethereal - and also terminally insane. An ethereotic otyugh is given as the example.* Robotic Creature - this is a robotic duplicate of a creature. A robotic great red wyrm is given as the example.EquipmentThis chapter mainly contains a variety of chips that can be used via a dweonetic interface socket to enhance abilities and skills, or cause problems to the wearer if forcibly connected (such as fear coercion and doom coercion chips). Further tables give the stats for this equipment.WeaponsThirty magical firearms and three rockets excerpted from Perpetrated Press' 'Arsenal' make up the contents of this chapter. These can be attached to robots to improve their firepower. Weapon stat tables are included at the end of the chapter.D20 Modern ConversionThis 3-page chapter contains notes and advice for converting the information in Factory for use with d20 Modern, and in particular takes a look at massive damage, magic (FX) item creation, wealth and purchase DCs, and d20 Modern PC Robots.The book ends with a 6-page index, an ad for Arsenal, the OGL, and 8 pages of character sheets including a PC Robot design sheet, and a powered exosuit record sheet.Conclusion:Factory is an imaginative book full of interesting concepts and weird ideas. It is ideal for a Cyberpunk or futuristic campaign where magic is influential (e.g. Dragonstar). Despite the advice at the beginning, I see this as more difficult to integrate with a medieval fantasy setting and cannot really recommend it for this purpose. For anyone wanting to make robots and hardware implants a part of their campaign, Factory should be an excellent resource.</blockquote>

Verification