Diversity is the watchword of PDFs. Ever week we see such a variety of publishers (from the small one-man operation to the top companies in the rpg community) and systems (from the OSR to new systems seen for the first time this week). This week is no different in the 12 new PDFs we take a look at. Enjoy.
BLUEHOLME Prentice Rules
This OSR PDF is a recreation of the Holmes edition (or Blue Book) of 1E. It covers characters level 1-3 and includes everything a group needs to start gaming right now. And it’s for free. Yes, it is yet another retroclone, but for people still looking for the right one or just interested this may be a good fit for them.
Autorun
This is a “cyberhacking” add-on for d20 games. It purports to be fast and easy to run alongside the rest of an adventure without splitting the hacker away from the party or monopolizing the hacker’s time. If your near future game is missing this sub-set of the genre then this PDF will fill that void.
Last Stand
This new rule system and campaign setting has alien bugs invading Earth. Earth’s defenders create specialized armors from the corpses of the bugs and use them to fight the invasion. The armors each have specialized abilities unique to each type and thus act as a sort of character class. The armors can also be augmented later, much as a mech. The setting looks intriguing and the system looks like it could be fun (or at least different).
Dead Age
This fantasy horror rpg is another rule set/campaign setting. This one is about a world-wide phenomenon that caused all the dead to suddenly rise and attack the living. The world now stands embattled between the two. Players can choose to play the living or the dead. The system tries something different with combat being run by cards that reflect the unique abilities of the various classes; players secretly choose which attack to make and then compare them to see what the outcome is. Either way, it’s hard to go wrong with a fantasy world and zombies.
Houses of the Blooded: Wilderness
As a fan of John Wick’s past work, I went out of my way to pick of Houses of the Blooded. It is an rpg with an indie feel to it despite being written by one of the established designers in rpgs. It is a game of passions and obsession among the elite and is geared more for intrigue rather than mindless battle. It has garnered a lot of good press thus far. This particular PDF expands the base setting into another one. While it follows some of the same principles of the game design, it deviates in the setting, essentially providing a new and unique setting for the system.
Midgard Legends
Maybe it’s a perception thing, but it seems to me that since Kobold Publishing stopped putting out Kobold Quarterly, they have increased the number of their releases, certainly on the PDF front. This supplement for Pathfinder shows us 23 NPCs and monsters that are movers and shakers in Midgard. Included are 5 new spells and new items. Of course, these are all designed to be useful in any campaign, not just Midgard.
Heroes & Other Worlds
With all the retroclones coming out each year, it was only a matter of time before we started seeing retroclones of non-D&D systems. However, this one I am actually excited about. It mixes concepts of The Fantasy Trip (Melee and Wizard), Moldvay D&D and a smattering of GURPS. Personally, I have always liked The Fantasy Trip and an updating of it sounds like an excellent idea to me.
Also coming out this week is Blackmarsh Basic for Heroes & Other Worlds. It is a sandbox setting ripe for adventure. Blackmarsh has been released already as a free OSR PDF, but this version has been updated by the author of the Heroes & Other Worlds game and includes 2 new adventures and over 15 new monsters for the system.
Shadowrun
This week we have three new releases in PDF for Shadowrun. First up is The Way of the Samurai, a short article (19 pages) that augments street samurai with new options and gear. Sprawl Sites: High Society and Low Life (40 pages) provides 8 locations with 2 maps each along with descriptions of NPCs the runners can encounter there, security measures and plot hooks. Third is a scan of Paranormal Animals of Europe, a “monster” book from 1993. It comes with 2E stats and over 100 pictures. These all look like good additions to any Shadowrun campaign for players and GMs both.
Twin Spirit Isle
Dungeon World has made a splash in the rpg community. Already there are a number of supplements out for the new system. This is a campaign setting geared for the system, but can also be used as a generic setting. It features an island of adventure wherein the PCs can get caught between the two major factions. It comes with the setting, maps and two new classes for Dungeon World.
Little Bitter Future Collection
This bundle is for those who like post-apocalyptic settings and games. It consists of 4 lists (100 Odd Items To Loot Off Of Bodies In A Post Apocalyptic Setting, 100 Things To Discover And Take In A Near Future Wasteland, 100 More Things To Discover And Take In A Near Future Wasteland, Instant Teams For That Violent Dystopian Age Pro-Sports League) and 8 MP3 music files all with a post-apocalyptic theme to them.
The Modern Path – Heroes of the Modern World
This Pathfinder supplement seeks to create a system that allows the smooth usage of modern day tropes and concepts with one of the most popular rules systems going today. It aims to allow for versatility while using a system based on rigid classes and rules. Does it succeed? They certainly seem to think so. This is an updated book that also includes plenty of character goodness for modern day settings and two ready-made campaign settings to choose from.
Adventures
DA4 Monster & Treasure Level Four – 1E.
Ruins of the Undercity – Labyrinth Lord. Solo.
B10 White Worm of Weston – Pathfinder. Level 12.
A18 Storm’s Wake – Pathfinder. Level 12.
Spotlight: Most Interesting PDF of the Week
Only War
The rpg world of Warhammer 40k continues to expand with this latest PDF offering from Fantasy Flight Games. Only War is all about playing a solider in the Imperial Guard of the Empire. 400 pages detail everything needed to play as a new type of protagonist and adds to the multi-layers of the 40k universe. If you like Warhammer 40k this is another option for your players or the start of a new campaign.
In conjunction with the core rule book, they have released the Game Master’s Kit for Only War. This offers a screen with charts, an adventure, NPCs and more GM advice.
If Warhammer Fantasy is more your thing, Fantasy Flight Games has also released The Enemy Within adventure this week in PDF form. If it’s anything like the original, it will rock.
BLUEHOLME Prentice Rules
This OSR PDF is a recreation of the Holmes edition (or Blue Book) of 1E. It covers characters level 1-3 and includes everything a group needs to start gaming right now. And it’s for free. Yes, it is yet another retroclone, but for people still looking for the right one or just interested this may be a good fit for them.
Autorun
This is a “cyberhacking” add-on for d20 games. It purports to be fast and easy to run alongside the rest of an adventure without splitting the hacker away from the party or monopolizing the hacker’s time. If your near future game is missing this sub-set of the genre then this PDF will fill that void.
Last Stand
This new rule system and campaign setting has alien bugs invading Earth. Earth’s defenders create specialized armors from the corpses of the bugs and use them to fight the invasion. The armors each have specialized abilities unique to each type and thus act as a sort of character class. The armors can also be augmented later, much as a mech. The setting looks intriguing and the system looks like it could be fun (or at least different).
Dead Age
This fantasy horror rpg is another rule set/campaign setting. This one is about a world-wide phenomenon that caused all the dead to suddenly rise and attack the living. The world now stands embattled between the two. Players can choose to play the living or the dead. The system tries something different with combat being run by cards that reflect the unique abilities of the various classes; players secretly choose which attack to make and then compare them to see what the outcome is. Either way, it’s hard to go wrong with a fantasy world and zombies.
Houses of the Blooded: Wilderness
As a fan of John Wick’s past work, I went out of my way to pick of Houses of the Blooded. It is an rpg with an indie feel to it despite being written by one of the established designers in rpgs. It is a game of passions and obsession among the elite and is geared more for intrigue rather than mindless battle. It has garnered a lot of good press thus far. This particular PDF expands the base setting into another one. While it follows some of the same principles of the game design, it deviates in the setting, essentially providing a new and unique setting for the system.
Midgard Legends
Maybe it’s a perception thing, but it seems to me that since Kobold Publishing stopped putting out Kobold Quarterly, they have increased the number of their releases, certainly on the PDF front. This supplement for Pathfinder shows us 23 NPCs and monsters that are movers and shakers in Midgard. Included are 5 new spells and new items. Of course, these are all designed to be useful in any campaign, not just Midgard.
Heroes & Other Worlds
With all the retroclones coming out each year, it was only a matter of time before we started seeing retroclones of non-D&D systems. However, this one I am actually excited about. It mixes concepts of The Fantasy Trip (Melee and Wizard), Moldvay D&D and a smattering of GURPS. Personally, I have always liked The Fantasy Trip and an updating of it sounds like an excellent idea to me.
Also coming out this week is Blackmarsh Basic for Heroes & Other Worlds. It is a sandbox setting ripe for adventure. Blackmarsh has been released already as a free OSR PDF, but this version has been updated by the author of the Heroes & Other Worlds game and includes 2 new adventures and over 15 new monsters for the system.
Shadowrun
This week we have three new releases in PDF for Shadowrun. First up is The Way of the Samurai, a short article (19 pages) that augments street samurai with new options and gear. Sprawl Sites: High Society and Low Life (40 pages) provides 8 locations with 2 maps each along with descriptions of NPCs the runners can encounter there, security measures and plot hooks. Third is a scan of Paranormal Animals of Europe, a “monster” book from 1993. It comes with 2E stats and over 100 pictures. These all look like good additions to any Shadowrun campaign for players and GMs both.
Twin Spirit Isle
Dungeon World has made a splash in the rpg community. Already there are a number of supplements out for the new system. This is a campaign setting geared for the system, but can also be used as a generic setting. It features an island of adventure wherein the PCs can get caught between the two major factions. It comes with the setting, maps and two new classes for Dungeon World.
Little Bitter Future Collection
This bundle is for those who like post-apocalyptic settings and games. It consists of 4 lists (100 Odd Items To Loot Off Of Bodies In A Post Apocalyptic Setting, 100 Things To Discover And Take In A Near Future Wasteland, 100 More Things To Discover And Take In A Near Future Wasteland, Instant Teams For That Violent Dystopian Age Pro-Sports League) and 8 MP3 music files all with a post-apocalyptic theme to them.
The Modern Path – Heroes of the Modern World
This Pathfinder supplement seeks to create a system that allows the smooth usage of modern day tropes and concepts with one of the most popular rules systems going today. It aims to allow for versatility while using a system based on rigid classes and rules. Does it succeed? They certainly seem to think so. This is an updated book that also includes plenty of character goodness for modern day settings and two ready-made campaign settings to choose from.
Adventures
DA4 Monster & Treasure Level Four – 1E.
Ruins of the Undercity – Labyrinth Lord. Solo.
B10 White Worm of Weston – Pathfinder. Level 12.
A18 Storm’s Wake – Pathfinder. Level 12.
Spotlight: Most Interesting PDF of the Week
Only War
The rpg world of Warhammer 40k continues to expand with this latest PDF offering from Fantasy Flight Games. Only War is all about playing a solider in the Imperial Guard of the Empire. 400 pages detail everything needed to play as a new type of protagonist and adds to the multi-layers of the 40k universe. If you like Warhammer 40k this is another option for your players or the start of a new campaign.
In conjunction with the core rule book, they have released the Game Master’s Kit for Only War. This offers a screen with charts, an adventure, NPCs and more GM advice.
If Warhammer Fantasy is more your thing, Fantasy Flight Games has also released The Enemy Within adventure this week in PDF form. If it’s anything like the original, it will rock.
Only War is a standalone Warhammer 40,000 roleplaying game experience in which players take on the roles of soldiers in the Imperial Guard, the galaxy-spanning armies of the God-Emperor. Fully compatible with FFG’s other Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay titles, this comprehensive game system explores a previously unseen side of life in the Imperium of Man.
Join the ranks of brave men and women inducted into the God-Emperor’s armies, trained to fight and sent off to far flung stars and systems to hold the line against the coming night. Despite overwhelming opposition, or perhaps because of it, these fearless soldiers are bound to each other by a code of brotherhood and honour. They are the thin line that protects the Imperium from complete and utter destruction. They are the Imperial Guard.
