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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2009457" data-attributes="member: 9860">This is not a playtest review.Judge Dredd is a 2000AD comics character brought to the roleplaying genre by Mongoose Publishing. This is the rulebook that allows you to play in the world of Judge Dredd, mainly in the 22nd-century metropolis of Mega-City One on the American eastern seaboard.Judge Dredd is a 256-page full colour hardcover book, priced at $39.95. This is somewhat expensive compared to similar size and style books, but it is a licensed product. Space is used well, with little wasted and good font size and margins. Much of the art is mono excerpts from the comic books, but there are a few superb full-page colour pieces towards the end of the book. Witing style and editing are good, with occasional minor mistakes only on the editing side.The book starts with a brief introduction for those new to d20 and a brief guide to new rules introduced in Judge Dredd, for veteran players to watch out for. Primary amongst these is the change from Armor Class to Defence Value, where armour grants Damage Reduction rather than being factored into the potential to avoid attack. Other new rules include called shots, and vehicle movement and combat. Following this is an introduction and overview of Mega-City One, a megalopolis of 400 million people over 700 miles long and 400 miles wide. Set in the 22nd-century after nuclear war, much of the land outside the cities is radioactive desert. Housing is scarce, crime is rampant, advanced technology is the norm, and aliens have landed, and now look to Mega-City One for tourist trips. Trying to hold all this together is the overworked Justice Department.Chapter 1: Characters In Mega-City One, begins by covering the one race (humans) and three classes (street judge, psi-judge, and citizen) that can be played in the basic game. Further options will become available with future releases. The book advises that a group be all judges, or all citizens rather than a mixture, as the two types can be unbalanced, particularly at lower levels - Street Judges and Psi-Judges both start at 3rd level. Psi-judges (and some citizens) can also use psychic powers (here termed psi-talent). Both Judge types max out on BAB and saves, with bonus feats being the major class features. Street judges have a d12 hit die, whilst psi-judges gain a d8. Citizens gain a d6 hit die, slow Save progression (starting at +0 for all) and slower BAB (equal to a Rogue). The only class feature is 'Prior-Lives' - 22 templates giving some basic abilities dependent on previous life experience - agitator, batter (uses a batglider), citi-def soldier (local protection group), dunk (pickpocket), failed cadet, forger, gambler, goon, inventor, jetball player, jugger driver, juve (juvenile delinquent), med-tech, mo-pad driver (mobile home), neo-luddite (anti-tech), perp runner (aid criminals to escape city), private investigator, punk (street gang member), rogue psyker (mutant with psi-talent), skysurfer (power board surfer), vigilante, and wall hopper (mutant who has gained access to the city from the radioactive deserts outside).Chapter 2: Skills, contains a number of new skills suited to the futuristic setting (computer use, drive, streetwise, and technical) and the Judge Dredd campaign (craze - a hobby that has some game influence such as batgliding and skysurfing, and psi-scan) as well as changes to standard skills (such as Wilderness Lore becomes trained only, and various new knowledges and professions).Chapter 3: Feats, gives over 40 new feats - some are general feats (such as resist arrest, sure grip, and emergency stop), whilst there are three new categories of feat - Judge Feats (e.g. improved arrest, lightning reload, nerves of steel), Psi Feats (e.g. inner strength, psychic inquisitor, psychoanalyst), and Metapsi Feats (much the same as metamagic feats).Chapter 4: Equipment, discusses money and the black market before moving on to standard Justice Department issue. Much of this equipment relates to impressive weaponry and ammunition only available to members of the Justice Department. There follows some more mundane weaponry and items, before further high-tech weaponry such as lasers, missile launchers, and bombs are covered. The section then moves on to gear suitable for following crazes such as batgliding, drugs and ends with descriptions of more mundane clothing, armour, services, and food and drink.Chapter 5: Combat, describes the Defence Value system in more detail, before going on to discuss rules for cover, armour, damage reduction effects of armour, armour piercing (ignores the DR of armour), multiple shots and critical hits, electricity damage, new rules for actions per round (when making a ranged attack with a firearm you can move both before and after the attack as standard), aiming, rapid fire, linked weapons (e.g. twin-mounted bike cannons), area of effect of explosive weapons, stray shots (this seems a bit laborious, rolling attack rolls for every citizen that might be hit by a shot that misses a perp), reloading, attacking an object, fast moving attacks (from a moving vehicle for example), and a series of called shot options with circumstance penalties, including the called shot to the groin (also known as the nut-cracker manoeuvre).Chapter 6: Vehicles And Robots, gives a fairly thorough rules system for driving, covering movement, driving conditions (including some rules of the road such as _minimum_ speeds and what happens when a jugger travelling at 200mph hits you because you're driving too slowly), various driving manoeuvres, repercussions of losing control of the vehicle, and damage to vehicles. The chapter then moves on to 20 or so vehicle descriptions after discussing some rules variations for bikes, small and medium vehicles (such as personal vehicles like powerboards), and flying vehicles. Following this are rules for customising vehicles, and various options for modifications along with costs, black market costs, and cargo space required. These include weapon turrets, rocket packs, and ejector seats.The section on robots begins by explaining that all robots are hard-wired not to break the law, and the first thing a perp robot-owner does is pay to circumvent this hardwiring, if he can afford it. Various software packages can be bought to enhance skills, BABs, and feats of the robot. 8 robot examples are given, along with a few options for modification including the aforementioned lawbreaker module.Chapter 7: Psi-Talent, describes the rules for manifesting psychic powers and describes 34 psychic powers from 0-level Daze to 9th-level Metafaculty (subject cannot hide name or location). Each power has a level, manifesttation time, range, target/area, duration, and power point cost, and a saving throw and power resistance comment where applicable (power resistance works much like spell resistance). Not owning the Psionics Handbook, I can't tell you whether this is the same system used in that book, but since I think Psionics are unofficial SRD, I presume it is. A future release will give more detail on this area.Chapter 8: The Justice Department, covers Mega-City One's law enforcement agency, and looks at the organisation of the department (various divisions (including special divisions such as Psi Division and SJS, who 'judge the judges') and hierarchy). It then goes on to describe life as a judge including discussion on arrests, holding posts, sentencing (various codes and sections give a detailed overview of the law in Mega-City One and the consequences of breaking it), and back up and resources (including detail on some of the back-up units from Fire Squads through Riot Squads to Weather Control). The next section furthers the information on vehicles from Chapter 6 and equipment from Chapter 4, by giving various vehicles and equipment available only to the Justice Department. The section ends with information on penalties for crimes perpetrated by Judges themselves, usually involving hard labour for twenty years on some god-forsaken planet. In the next section, various prestige classes are given (for standard Judges only - Psi Judges will get their own Prestige classes in another book):* Med-Judge - specialises in healing wounded judges* Tek-Judge - vehicle specialist* SJS Judge - 'jusges the Judges'* Wally Squad Judge - undercover copThe chapter finishes with some sample justice department characters, such as an average judge from one of the prestige classes.Chapter 9: Life On The Streets, is the equivalent of Chapter 8 for Citizens. It begins by covering street gangs, before moving on to a number of prestige classes:* Assassin* Bat Burglar - like a cat burglar, but uses a bat glider to gain entry into high-level apartment blocks.* Blitzer - violent mob killer, explodes if surrenders* Bodyguard* Citi-Def Officer - leader of localised armed forces in city* Demolitionist* Hunters Club Member - expert hunter, both of mutants outside the city, and sometimes citizens, judges, and even each other within the city.* Nark - informer* Superhero - citizens who dress up in capes, use the latest in technology, and try to fight crime.* Supersurf Chapmpion - expert skysurferChapter 10: A Tour Of Mega-City One, describes the different sectors of the city. It covers the under-city (old New York), government of Mega-City One, and various 'habitats', from cardboard cities to luxy-blocks and including 'The Jungle' - an area restricted to genetically-modified semi-intelligent apes. Various landmarks are then described - the ruined Statue of Liberty and its replacement Statue Of Justice, and amusingly the White Cliffs Of Dover, imported from Brit-Cit and now one of Mega-City One's top tourist attractions. Other issues such as transportation, entertainment (including illegal gambling, secret smoking parlours and technological dream inducers), crazes & fashions (such as boinging (jumping around in a big plastic bubble) and 'ugly' where people have cosmetic surgery to make them ugly), and food and drink (including illegal access to fatty foods). Nine different organisations are described including apocalypse cults and pro-democracy movements. Disease, fire, and radiation are also discussed (radiation is treated much the same as a contact disease) along with a brief overview of medical technology and medical organisations. The remainder of the chapter is dedicated to locations beyond Mega-City One, with a paragraph or two on twenty locations from Brit-Cit (England) to Hondo City (Japan), and finishes with brief sections on space colonies and aliens (who are also treated as aliens in terms of the illegal immigrant meaning of the word).Chapter 11: Creeps, is the 'Monster Manual' for Judge Dredd, though only 13 monsters are detailed. After some basic information on NPC character creation, the following creatures are detailed:* Ape - genetically-enhanced chimpanzees, gorillas, and orang-utans.* Dinosaur - cloned dinosaurs from ancient DNA - this covers Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus, and Velociraptor.* Dog Vulture - mutant animals* Fatty - immensely fat humans, who eat for a living* Futsie - normal citizens who suddenly freak out due to stress* Gila-Munja - mutated assassins* Klegg - alien mercenaries that look like 16 foot tall crocodiles* Klegghound - crocodile-like hounds used by Kleggs* Mutant - this is a template, with various mutations that can be applied, from cosmetic through physical to mental.* Mutant Rats* Sewer-Gators - mutant alligators* Troggy - mutatnt sub-humans living in old New York beneath Mega-City One and adapted to its lightless world.* WerewolfChapter 12: Campaigns In Mega-City One, gives GM advice on portraying Mega-City One, dealing with locations and maps, issues surrounding all-judge campaigns, all-citizen campaigns, and some campaign variants such as Psi-Squad, Vigilantes, mutabts and intelligent apes. After a brief section on informers and experience point awards, there are some campaign ideas for judge and perp campaigns and some information on forthcoming supplements for the Judge Dredd d20 game.The appendices include a timeline for Mega-City One, a glossary, designer notes, an index, an index of tables and separate character sheets for judges and citizens.Conclusion:Though I knew little or nothing about the Judge Dredd setting before reading this book, I felt it really gave a detailed and fascinating overview of the setting for even rookies like me. Though necessarily lacking detail on some areas (aliens, psi-talent, creatures, for example), these areas will be covered by forthcoming supplements. You may consider this either as a boon or a burden. There is ceratinly enough here (and more) to begin creating your own adventures in the setting, and it is particularly throrough with weapons and equipment. The new rules (such as Defence Value and Called Shots) seem to work well at first glance but would need thorough playtesting to give a definite positive reaction.All in all, very impressive stuff and likely to be a must-buy for Dredd fans. Still has some interesting concepts for those running post-apocalyptic (possibly sci-fi) campaigns - probably of limited use or interest to those whose focus is entirely on fantasy.</blockquote>

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