I pretty much never begin any week with a theme in mind for my Picks, and this week was certainly no exception. I sometimes wonder what a future historian or sociologist might make of my thought processes if they reviewed the various weeks of Picks I make. Will they find some kind of pattern I am, thus far, unaware of? Will they wonder at the utter chaos of my mind? Honestly, I just go with whatever I think might be a good idea on any given day. Still, these Friday collections amuse me as I go back and see the eclectic set of gamery goodness I share. I hope, as always, you enjoy it.
RIFTS Ultimate Edition
Relevant to current events, this is one many fans of RIFTS are excited about, and those interested in discovering more about the setting should seriously consider grabbing. It’s an update of the original 1990 book, bringing the narrative up through a couple of decades of continuity. RIFTS Ultimate Edition very solid companion to what’s about to come out via the Kickstarter.
300 years in the future, our shattered Earth is recovering from the Great Cataclysm. An event that wiped out human civilization, brought about the return of magic, and has made Earth into something both familiar and alien. Humans transform and augment their bodies with bionics, robot exoskeletons, psionic-inducing brain implants, chemicals and magic to survive.
Tears in space and time – the Rifts – are doorways to anywhere. Open one and step through it to travel anywhere on the planet in a matter of seconds. Alien and supernatural beings use them to travel across the Megaverse® to arrive on Earth. You are one of the champions, the heroes of mankind, or an explorer or truth-seeker who braves the savage wilderness and dares to face the demons, dragons, aliens and weird creatures from the Rifts.
RPCheese
“It was fun, it was cute, it would be a great game to get kids started gaming! Don’t let the art deceive you – it’s a fun game!” – Carinn Seabolt, Editor-in-Chief & Co-Founder, Evil Beagle Games
Good enough for me, and I met the guys at Conclave of Gamers, and they were a great bunch!
It’s the distant future. Humanity is no more. Intelligent rodents walk the land. Wielding sewing needle swords, lollipop hammers, magic spells, M-80s, and other weaponry, these warriors of rodentia fight for survival against deadly cats, savage lizards, and mystic owls.
Welcome to RPCheese.
This main manual contains all the material you need to create characters, deck them out in awesome gear, and embark on an adventure. Everything you need is in this book. Truly, the RPCheese main manual is one of the great achievements of man.
Sean Tait Bircher and Robin English-Bircher (of the very entertaining and savvy Wine and Savages blog) bring you a Savage Worlds adventure that features 18th Century politics, vampire masters, and some innovative mechanics to expand your thinking on what can be done with the system.
In an 18th century that never was, revolution rocks the nation of Malleus! Secret societies of rebels strike to unseat the vampire aristocracy with pen and sword, inciting long-dormant dreams of freedom in their fellow humans while driving stakes through the hearts of their oppressors. Frontiersmen, highlanders, mad scientists, occultists, slaves, and more unite to overthrow the immortal regime!
In VARGR, the heroes join the hunt for a mad killer, only to find he holds the secrets to defeat the vampires. Can they save him from the assassins hunting him? Can they save him from himself? Can they save themselves from the wrath of the vampire overlords?
VARGR requires Savage Worlds and the Savage Worlds Horror Companion to play.
Watch for The King is Dead campaign setting in the summer of 2016!
Clockwork Dreams/Shanghai Vampocalypse
Today, something a tad different, as I am going to call out not one, but two Savage Worlds settings from Savage Mojo. Honestly, the really cool piece of art that features them both inspired me to do it this way. Well, that, and the idea that with our Savage Rifts Kickstarter, you can readily incorporate every single Savage setting ever made into a single gaming experience!
Check out Clockwork Dreams and Shanghai Vampocalypse, both part of the Suzerain meta-setting!
Clockwork Dreams
For this Savage realm of Suzerain take all the classic fey folk and dunk them in a mix of steampunk shenanigans.
Enter Mechadia, a Savage realm of Suzerain where idyllic sylvan glades merge with mechanical wonders. Eleven airship pirates hide away on floating islands; begoggled goblins run amok in steam-powered brass-and steel; brownie alchemists seek formulae for new ways to harness the pulse beyond the clouds. But the trolls have become restless as they toil to keep the great gears of the land turning smoothly. Fey lords and ladies vie for rulership over the fledgling realm, and lines are being drawn in the copper dust…
The fey are gearing up for mischief. Do you have the brass to join the game?
Inside you’ll find all you need to create characters in this unique setting, a wealth of background information, a plot point campaign for Novice characters, heaps of Savage Tales, and stats for all manner of new NPCs and critters.
Shanghai Vampocalypse
Welcome to 2048 and one of the greatest cyberpunk cities in the near-future – Shanghai. The government has infected a hundred villages with a vampire virus to create the perfect super-soldiers, but the peasants revolted and a virus that was supposed to be sterile is spreading with every neck they bite.
Unless the characters can keep the mysterious scientist Doctor Wu alive for twelve hours, Shanghai will be just the first snack on the way to vampire domination of all mankind. Shanghai Vampocalypse is the first setting book for characters who reach the new Demigod rank Suzerain introduced to Savage Worlds.
Because one vampire is a challenge, but eight million are an apocalypse… and a suitable challenge for demigods!
Product contains: A full color 148 page PDF including…
* All the knowledge you’ll need to run games in Shanghai 2048.
* Many new character options including new Edges, Hindrances and Powers.
* Rules for turbo-charging characters to play the campaign instantly, including hooks into the ancient local gods like Dragon of the Bund and Crane on Mountaintop.
* Ancient mystical magic meets cybertech – all manner of supernatural martial arts and high tech equipment explained in detail.
* 30 scenarios including a full plot-point campaign taking characters through Demigod rank all the way up to godhood!
Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition
In what is now known as the Chronicles of Darkness, Mage: The Awakening is considered one of the Big Three of the current era of World of Darkness product lines. This 2nd Edition version is taking the gaming world by storm.
The world is a Lie.
Humanity is cursed into a prison of Sleep, ignorant of the wonder and danger all around them. Ground down into slavery to masters they’ll never see, beset by a plague of cares to distract them from the Truth.
Magic.
You were like them, once, but now you are Awakened. You see the world beneath the Lie’s skin, and the Mysteries beckoning you into the shadows. Every day of your life, you hear the call of the supernatural, from the least ghost to the deepest cosmic enigmas.
You are a mage, one of the Wise. You see, know, and explore what others can’t imagine, from the depths of the human soul to the hidden corners of reality. Armed with your spells, driven by an addiction to Mysteries, you delve into the secrets of the world. Knowledge has a price, and the dangers are many.
This book contains:
As might be expected, most of my life is fairly consumed with the currently ongoing Savage Rifts Kickstarter. I am deeply gratified by the amazing response we're getting for it, and I truly hope everyone enjoys the final products. The core of the writing and design has been done for a while now, but we're making some additions and changes to better serve the amazing audience we've drawn together, and that's fairly involving.
Still, gonna get some gaming and geekery in this weekend. Tonight, it's Sentinels of the Multiverse (among other possibilities), featuring the new, third party Caudron sets. Tomorrow, it's "Captain America: Civil War" early, then NRW Charged tomorrow night (with, no doubt, a bit of work squeezed in the middle). Sunday? Probably a bunch more work.
Then again, look at what I do for a living. It's work, sure... but I admit, it's wonderful work to do. Thanks to all of you for making that possible.
The Adventure Continues!
~SPF
RIFTS Ultimate Edition
Relevant to current events, this is one many fans of RIFTS are excited about, and those interested in discovering more about the setting should seriously consider grabbing. It’s an update of the original 1990 book, bringing the narrative up through a couple of decades of continuity. RIFTS Ultimate Edition very solid companion to what’s about to come out via the Kickstarter.
300 years in the future, our shattered Earth is recovering from the Great Cataclysm. An event that wiped out human civilization, brought about the return of magic, and has made Earth into something both familiar and alien. Humans transform and augment their bodies with bionics, robot exoskeletons, psionic-inducing brain implants, chemicals and magic to survive.
Tears in space and time – the Rifts – are doorways to anywhere. Open one and step through it to travel anywhere on the planet in a matter of seconds. Alien and supernatural beings use them to travel across the Megaverse® to arrive on Earth. You are one of the champions, the heroes of mankind, or an explorer or truth-seeker who braves the savage wilderness and dares to face the demons, dragons, aliens and weird creatures from the Rifts.
- More than 30 unique player characters, including mutants, dragons, Crazies, Juicers, Glitter Boys, Cyber-Knights, Ley Line Walkers, Bursters, Psi-Stalkers, Mind Melters and more.
- Select super-science, psionic powers or magic as your weapons of choice.
- Magic, psionics, power armor, giant robots, and human augmentation.
- Explore a world as weird and unique as any 50 alien planets.
- Open a Rift to anywhere.
- Infinite possibilities, limited only by your imagination.™
- A complete role-playing game of science fiction and adventure.
- 376 pages of wonder.
RPCheese
“It was fun, it was cute, it would be a great game to get kids started gaming! Don’t let the art deceive you – it’s a fun game!” – Carinn Seabolt, Editor-in-Chief & Co-Founder, Evil Beagle Games
Good enough for me, and I met the guys at Conclave of Gamers, and they were a great bunch!
It’s the distant future. Humanity is no more. Intelligent rodents walk the land. Wielding sewing needle swords, lollipop hammers, magic spells, M-80s, and other weaponry, these warriors of rodentia fight for survival against deadly cats, savage lizards, and mystic owls.
Welcome to RPCheese.
This main manual contains all the material you need to create characters, deck them out in awesome gear, and embark on an adventure. Everything you need is in this book. Truly, the RPCheese main manual is one of the great achievements of man.
Sean Tait Bircher and Robin English-Bircher (of the very entertaining and savvy Wine and Savages blog) bring you a Savage Worlds adventure that features 18th Century politics, vampire masters, and some innovative mechanics to expand your thinking on what can be done with the system.
In an 18th century that never was, revolution rocks the nation of Malleus! Secret societies of rebels strike to unseat the vampire aristocracy with pen and sword, inciting long-dormant dreams of freedom in their fellow humans while driving stakes through the hearts of their oppressors. Frontiersmen, highlanders, mad scientists, occultists, slaves, and more unite to overthrow the immortal regime!
In VARGR, the heroes join the hunt for a mad killer, only to find he holds the secrets to defeat the vampires. Can they save him from the assassins hunting him? Can they save him from himself? Can they save themselves from the wrath of the vampire overlords?
VARGR requires Savage Worlds and the Savage Worlds Horror Companion to play.
Watch for The King is Dead campaign setting in the summer of 2016!
Clockwork Dreams/Shanghai Vampocalypse
Today, something a tad different, as I am going to call out not one, but two Savage Worlds settings from Savage Mojo. Honestly, the really cool piece of art that features them both inspired me to do it this way. Well, that, and the idea that with our Savage Rifts Kickstarter, you can readily incorporate every single Savage setting ever made into a single gaming experience!
Check out Clockwork Dreams and Shanghai Vampocalypse, both part of the Suzerain meta-setting!
Clockwork Dreams
For this Savage realm of Suzerain take all the classic fey folk and dunk them in a mix of steampunk shenanigans.
Enter Mechadia, a Savage realm of Suzerain where idyllic sylvan glades merge with mechanical wonders. Eleven airship pirates hide away on floating islands; begoggled goblins run amok in steam-powered brass-and steel; brownie alchemists seek formulae for new ways to harness the pulse beyond the clouds. But the trolls have become restless as they toil to keep the great gears of the land turning smoothly. Fey lords and ladies vie for rulership over the fledgling realm, and lines are being drawn in the copper dust…
The fey are gearing up for mischief. Do you have the brass to join the game?
Inside you’ll find all you need to create characters in this unique setting, a wealth of background information, a plot point campaign for Novice characters, heaps of Savage Tales, and stats for all manner of new NPCs and critters.
Shanghai Vampocalypse
Welcome to 2048 and one of the greatest cyberpunk cities in the near-future – Shanghai. The government has infected a hundred villages with a vampire virus to create the perfect super-soldiers, but the peasants revolted and a virus that was supposed to be sterile is spreading with every neck they bite.
Unless the characters can keep the mysterious scientist Doctor Wu alive for twelve hours, Shanghai will be just the first snack on the way to vampire domination of all mankind. Shanghai Vampocalypse is the first setting book for characters who reach the new Demigod rank Suzerain introduced to Savage Worlds.
Because one vampire is a challenge, but eight million are an apocalypse… and a suitable challenge for demigods!
Product contains: A full color 148 page PDF including…
* All the knowledge you’ll need to run games in Shanghai 2048.
* Many new character options including new Edges, Hindrances and Powers.
* Rules for turbo-charging characters to play the campaign instantly, including hooks into the ancient local gods like Dragon of the Bund and Crane on Mountaintop.
* Ancient mystical magic meets cybertech – all manner of supernatural martial arts and high tech equipment explained in detail.
* 30 scenarios including a full plot-point campaign taking characters through Demigod rank all the way up to godhood!
Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition
In what is now known as the Chronicles of Darkness, Mage: The Awakening is considered one of the Big Three of the current era of World of Darkness product lines. This 2nd Edition version is taking the gaming world by storm.
The world is a Lie.
Humanity is cursed into a prison of Sleep, ignorant of the wonder and danger all around them. Ground down into slavery to masters they’ll never see, beset by a plague of cares to distract them from the Truth.
Magic.
You were like them, once, but now you are Awakened. You see the world beneath the Lie’s skin, and the Mysteries beckoning you into the shadows. Every day of your life, you hear the call of the supernatural, from the least ghost to the deepest cosmic enigmas.
You are a mage, one of the Wise. You see, know, and explore what others can’t imagine, from the depths of the human soul to the hidden corners of reality. Armed with your spells, driven by an addiction to Mysteries, you delve into the secrets of the world. Knowledge has a price, and the dangers are many.
This book contains:
- The complete guide to playing a mage in the Chronicles of Darkness.
- Reimagined Paths, Orders, and powers to create your Awakened characters and their allies, including an updated version of the most comprehensive free-form magic system in gaming.
- Five example settings across the world, from Los Angeles to Salamanca, each with a central Mystery.
- A brand-new look at all the strange places of the Fallen World, from the Lower Depths to the Emanation Realms, and what mages might find within.
As might be expected, most of my life is fairly consumed with the currently ongoing Savage Rifts Kickstarter. I am deeply gratified by the amazing response we're getting for it, and I truly hope everyone enjoys the final products. The core of the writing and design has been done for a while now, but we're making some additions and changes to better serve the amazing audience we've drawn together, and that's fairly involving.
Still, gonna get some gaming and geekery in this weekend. Tonight, it's Sentinels of the Multiverse (among other possibilities), featuring the new, third party Caudron sets. Tomorrow, it's "Captain America: Civil War" early, then NRW Charged tomorrow night (with, no doubt, a bit of work squeezed in the middle). Sunday? Probably a bunch more work.
Then again, look at what I do for a living. It's work, sure... but I admit, it's wonderful work to do. Thanks to all of you for making that possible.
The Adventure Continues!
~SPF
