We hope you all had a good holiday, and more importantly, we hope you got all the rpgs that were on your wishlists. If you didn't, here are 14 interesting PDF offerings (and 3 adventures) from this past week.
Cthulhu Britannica: Folklore
I’ll admit that I have never been a fan of the Cthulhu mythos or game, but I can understand why so many people are. My wife once played in a long-term Call of Cthulhu campaign run by one of the adventure designers back in the 80s and she had a blast playing in it. Call of Cthulhu has long had a reputation of being a well designed and emotive rpg. This latest supplement for the game brings the British mythos of fairies/witches/folk traditions and elder gods together in the 1920s. This mix sounds like it is a perfect fit that will provide an excellent backdrop to any Call of Cthulhu games.
Iron Bay
Mutants & Masterminds is one of the strongest offshoots of the d20 days (Pathfinder coming in first) and it continues to capture the imagination of gamers to this day. This is a 100 page setting supplement for M&M3 providing a GM locations, history and maps. If you are looking for a place to start your M&M campaign or looking to expand your own setting this might be a good PDF for you to check out.
Book of Battle
Pendragon is one of those games with a rich history of putting out good and innovative material. The game and its rules combine to provide a comprehensive look at playing a knight in King Arthur’s time with all the tropes therein. It provides for a unique approach to rpgs. This PDF looks to expand what the system can do, specifically in the area of mass combat and armies. With it you’ll be able to participate in huge battles where your characters actions matter. This seems like a natural extension to the system.
Eerie Exploits of Ranger Company X
This is part of a series that looks to give a basic outline of a genre. It is set up as the “pilot” for a TV show wherein the basic premise is established, insights into how the setting works and dangling plot points to get the audience to tune in to the next episode/adventure. This particular one is for a weird west setting. If you are looking to run such a setting or are looking for another adventurer idea, this could be for you.
Mandate Archive: Scavenger Fleets
Stars Without Number is the excellent, and free, retroclone sci-fi game from Kevin Crawford. Since first reading the game I have become a huge fan of his work. This PDF is another free offering to be used with Stars Without Number. It features a roaming fleet of ships that can be used either as NPCs for the payers to interact with or against. It also includes a history of the fleet, new ships and tables for customizing the fleet. If you are like and a fan of Stars Without Number you’ll want this and if you just like sci-fi this is something you can add to your own campaign.
The Time Traveller's Companion
I was excited when Cubicle 7 got the Doctor Who license and released a new rpg for the long running TV show; I am a huge Doctor Who fan. Their game does a pretty good job of keeping the game about exploration and character interactions and not allowing it to devolve into a hack and slash. This supplement is all about Time Lords; their history, culture, law, the physics of time travel, how a Tardis works, and new options for Time Lord characters. If you are a fan of the game or the show this looks like a read.
2300AD Tools for Frontier Living
This PDF (176 pages) for Traveller is good for both players and GMs. For the players it provides more weapons and equipment for them to use. For the GMs it provides rules for frontier settlements; it gives them sample settlements and new ships. Sounds like another solid supplement for the venerable Traveller system with a lot that can be used to fuel a campaign or adventure.
Gypsy Knights Games
Continuing the Traveller theme we have a bundle of 9 PDFs from Gypsy Knights Games for the game. They run the gamut from setting info and sectors with Hub Federation, Subsector Sourcebook: Hub, and Subsector Sourcebook: Sequoyah; plot ideas and organizations to fuel even more plots with 21 Organizations, 21 Plots III, 21 Plots: Planetside; and then three adventures called Save Our Ship, The Lost Girl, and Fled. Plenty of material to keep a Traveller, or any science fiction, campaign going for some time.
Fiasco: American Disasters
I'll admit that I have not picked up Fiasco yet; it just doesn't seem to fit my style. However, it seems to be hugely popular. This PDF has three Fiasco Playsets that can be extended into campaigns. They are Business Casual (navigating in the world of the corporation), Rainbow Mountain (a mountaintop utopia with problems all its own), Poppleton Mall (the mall...at Christmas time).
Nights of the Crusades
This bundle pack features the game Night of the Crusades. This is a game with its own system for playing in a setting close to our history. It is set in the lands of One Thousand and One Nights, mixed with the Crusades and horror. Then the system mixes in adventure Story interludes set within the role-play of the overall campaign. Sounds like a fresh approach. Included in the bundle are the core rules of the setting and system, The Tower by the Sea (an adventure fusing Sinbad and Greek myths) and Tales for Dark Roads (an idea generator for overland travel, which includes new rules for Night of the Crusades).
Atomic Frontier
This is the bundle for the Frankenstein Atomic Frontier rpg. It is billed as the Patchwork Post-Apocalyptic Western Role-Playing Game, In it you play a Frankenstein Creation, a creature that survived the end of the world in an atomic holocaust and now you and your companions must make your way through it. Sounds like an interesting setting. The bundle comes with the Core rules, Folks (NPCs), and three adventures Project Osiris, Road Rage and Magnificence. We've all seen a number of post-apocalyptic rpgs out there but this one sounds unique.
Shadowrun: Montreal 2074
One of the best books created for the Shadowrun game was the Seattle Sourcebook. It provided a detailed and evocative setting book that really brought out the feeling of the setting. This supplement offers to do the same for another city setting. With information on crime, terrorists, gangs, megacorporations, and the law there are plenty of plot hooks to play with. This looks like a good place to set up a new campaign or to have the characters visit it on one of their runs.
Also, last week, Catalyst Game Labs, released the original Seattle Sourcebook as a PDF. If you never bought it when it first came out, now is your chance to get the PDF version.
ZEITGEIST: Cauldron Born
I would be remiss if I did not mention the latest adventure produced by ENWorld. If you are a subscriber to ENWorld you already have access to this 4E adventure for free, but if you are not then this is your chance to get your copy of the latest chapter in this excellent series.
Adventures
Out of Time - Trail of Cthulhu. 4 adventures.
Trouble at Hobgoblin Hill - Pathfinder. Solo.
Return to the Crimson Frontier - ICONS.
Spotlight: Most Interesting PDF of the Week
Deadlands Noir
Deadlands has been a hugely popular setting for the Savage Worlds system. This PDF moves the setting forward in time to the 1930s Depression era. The setting is much the same, only advanced in time. The Union and CSA still exist, as does the horror of the undead. Now the horror has been updated and comes with private eyes, the mafia and New Orleans. This is a full setting book with new edges, new hindrances, new powers, new rules for investigations, new monsters, and a complete Plot Point set of adventures. If you like this sort of genre then this is the Savage Worlds treatment of it.
Cthulhu Britannica: Folklore
I’ll admit that I have never been a fan of the Cthulhu mythos or game, but I can understand why so many people are. My wife once played in a long-term Call of Cthulhu campaign run by one of the adventure designers back in the 80s and she had a blast playing in it. Call of Cthulhu has long had a reputation of being a well designed and emotive rpg. This latest supplement for the game brings the British mythos of fairies/witches/folk traditions and elder gods together in the 1920s. This mix sounds like it is a perfect fit that will provide an excellent backdrop to any Call of Cthulhu games.
Iron Bay
Mutants & Masterminds is one of the strongest offshoots of the d20 days (Pathfinder coming in first) and it continues to capture the imagination of gamers to this day. This is a 100 page setting supplement for M&M3 providing a GM locations, history and maps. If you are looking for a place to start your M&M campaign or looking to expand your own setting this might be a good PDF for you to check out.
Book of Battle
Pendragon is one of those games with a rich history of putting out good and innovative material. The game and its rules combine to provide a comprehensive look at playing a knight in King Arthur’s time with all the tropes therein. It provides for a unique approach to rpgs. This PDF looks to expand what the system can do, specifically in the area of mass combat and armies. With it you’ll be able to participate in huge battles where your characters actions matter. This seems like a natural extension to the system.
Eerie Exploits of Ranger Company X
This is part of a series that looks to give a basic outline of a genre. It is set up as the “pilot” for a TV show wherein the basic premise is established, insights into how the setting works and dangling plot points to get the audience to tune in to the next episode/adventure. This particular one is for a weird west setting. If you are looking to run such a setting or are looking for another adventurer idea, this could be for you.
Mandate Archive: Scavenger Fleets
Stars Without Number is the excellent, and free, retroclone sci-fi game from Kevin Crawford. Since first reading the game I have become a huge fan of his work. This PDF is another free offering to be used with Stars Without Number. It features a roaming fleet of ships that can be used either as NPCs for the payers to interact with or against. It also includes a history of the fleet, new ships and tables for customizing the fleet. If you are like and a fan of Stars Without Number you’ll want this and if you just like sci-fi this is something you can add to your own campaign.
The Time Traveller's Companion
I was excited when Cubicle 7 got the Doctor Who license and released a new rpg for the long running TV show; I am a huge Doctor Who fan. Their game does a pretty good job of keeping the game about exploration and character interactions and not allowing it to devolve into a hack and slash. This supplement is all about Time Lords; their history, culture, law, the physics of time travel, how a Tardis works, and new options for Time Lord characters. If you are a fan of the game or the show this looks like a read.
2300AD Tools for Frontier Living
This PDF (176 pages) for Traveller is good for both players and GMs. For the players it provides more weapons and equipment for them to use. For the GMs it provides rules for frontier settlements; it gives them sample settlements and new ships. Sounds like another solid supplement for the venerable Traveller system with a lot that can be used to fuel a campaign or adventure.
Gypsy Knights Games
Continuing the Traveller theme we have a bundle of 9 PDFs from Gypsy Knights Games for the game. They run the gamut from setting info and sectors with Hub Federation, Subsector Sourcebook: Hub, and Subsector Sourcebook: Sequoyah; plot ideas and organizations to fuel even more plots with 21 Organizations, 21 Plots III, 21 Plots: Planetside; and then three adventures called Save Our Ship, The Lost Girl, and Fled. Plenty of material to keep a Traveller, or any science fiction, campaign going for some time.
Fiasco: American Disasters
I'll admit that I have not picked up Fiasco yet; it just doesn't seem to fit my style. However, it seems to be hugely popular. This PDF has three Fiasco Playsets that can be extended into campaigns. They are Business Casual (navigating in the world of the corporation), Rainbow Mountain (a mountaintop utopia with problems all its own), Poppleton Mall (the mall...at Christmas time).
Nights of the Crusades
This bundle pack features the game Night of the Crusades. This is a game with its own system for playing in a setting close to our history. It is set in the lands of One Thousand and One Nights, mixed with the Crusades and horror. Then the system mixes in adventure Story interludes set within the role-play of the overall campaign. Sounds like a fresh approach. Included in the bundle are the core rules of the setting and system, The Tower by the Sea (an adventure fusing Sinbad and Greek myths) and Tales for Dark Roads (an idea generator for overland travel, which includes new rules for Night of the Crusades).
Atomic Frontier
This is the bundle for the Frankenstein Atomic Frontier rpg. It is billed as the Patchwork Post-Apocalyptic Western Role-Playing Game, In it you play a Frankenstein Creation, a creature that survived the end of the world in an atomic holocaust and now you and your companions must make your way through it. Sounds like an interesting setting. The bundle comes with the Core rules, Folks (NPCs), and three adventures Project Osiris, Road Rage and Magnificence. We've all seen a number of post-apocalyptic rpgs out there but this one sounds unique.
Shadowrun: Montreal 2074
One of the best books created for the Shadowrun game was the Seattle Sourcebook. It provided a detailed and evocative setting book that really brought out the feeling of the setting. This supplement offers to do the same for another city setting. With information on crime, terrorists, gangs, megacorporations, and the law there are plenty of plot hooks to play with. This looks like a good place to set up a new campaign or to have the characters visit it on one of their runs.
Also, last week, Catalyst Game Labs, released the original Seattle Sourcebook as a PDF. If you never bought it when it first came out, now is your chance to get the PDF version.
ZEITGEIST: Cauldron Born
I would be remiss if I did not mention the latest adventure produced by ENWorld. If you are a subscriber to ENWorld you already have access to this 4E adventure for free, but if you are not then this is your chance to get your copy of the latest chapter in this excellent series.
Adventures
Out of Time - Trail of Cthulhu. 4 adventures.
Trouble at Hobgoblin Hill - Pathfinder. Solo.
Return to the Crimson Frontier - ICONS.
Spotlight: Most Interesting PDF of the Week
Deadlands Noir
Deadlands has been a hugely popular setting for the Savage Worlds system. This PDF moves the setting forward in time to the 1930s Depression era. The setting is much the same, only advanced in time. The Union and CSA still exist, as does the horror of the undead. Now the horror has been updated and comes with private eyes, the mafia and New Orleans. This is a full setting book with new edges, new hindrances, new powers, new rules for investigations, new monsters, and a complete Plot Point set of adventures. If you like this sort of genre then this is the Savage Worlds treatment of it.
New Orleans, 1935. Whoever called this “the Big Easy” sure got that one wrong. Things are tough all over. Honest work is hard to find, and even dishonest jobs are getting scarce. The one thing that’s not in short supply is trouble. From shady thugs to crooked cops to Mafia soldiers, there’s plenty of characters out there looking to give an honest Joe a hard time.
And that’s not the worst of it.
There are stories going round about things that go bump in the night. Things you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley on a darker night. And those stories aren’t just coming from rummies or saps who read that Epitaph rag.
Still, there are a few heroes left in the concrete jungle. Steely-eyed private dicks, fast-talking grifters, wild-eyed inventors, and shadowy houngans still struggle against the encroaching darkness. With enough moxie—and more than a little luck—they might just be enough to turn the tide.
