NEXT UP!!! Kingdom Con April 5th-7th

Here's a list of the Role-playing events, the events I'm running have not been updated on the KC Board. I'm running Judge Dredd at 2PM Friday, DCCRPG Saturday 9AM, and Interface Zero 2.0 Playtest Saturday Night 8PM. (So if you want to come down and get Savaged by one of the writers of Interface Zero 2.0...here's your chance.)

SAVAGE SATURDAY EVENT!!!

RPG Events - Kingdom Con 2013

Friday
Name of Game:   Fools Rush In
Game system:  Iron Kingdoms
Number of Players:  4
Day: Friday
Start Time: 2pm
Length: 4 hours
Description of Game: An Introductory Adventure.
Fools Rush In is a short adventure meant to introduce four players to the world and rules of the Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy Roleplaying Game.

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Game: The Forge of Fury
System: D&D 3.5 ed
Number of players: 5
Day: Friday 2pm
Length: 4
The legend of the smith Durgeddin the Black is well known in the region.  In each of the small, scattered towns you’ve passed through, you’ve heard stories of wondrous treasure hidden in long lost dwarven vaults and a pitiless war of vengeance between dwarf and orc a hundred years past.
You have come to Blasingdell, a small mining town on the northern frontier, to see if there is anything to these stories.  Your map shoes the old dwarf hold likes a few days march to the north.  Your party knows each other and came prepared for a dungeon crawl.

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Game: Traditions of Candlerote
System: Mage the Ascension (nWod)
Description: Young mages around the world come to the school of Candlerote to improve their skills as well as understand the magic of their fellow students. Every 3 months a new professor from a different Tradition teaches classes but this semester things have gotten complicated. The current professor is hiding something and there someone using the portal in the basement. It is up to this years students to figure out what is going on in this Harry Potter meets Mage the Ascension adventure.
Players: 6
Time: 8-12pm

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Game: Outbreak Undead: The Fair King Zoo...
Description:Your party approaches the Zoo. The Zoo clearly shows its age as ivy grows on the thick 20 foot high concrete walls that surround it. Some say it used to be a prison built back in the twenties. No matter what, its walls were distinctly built to keep things in. You squint through the darkness and can barely make out razor wire on the top.
It’s unclear whether or not this was always a part of the building, or if it was added during the course of events of the last several weeks. A broken sign hangs above the entrance: “Welcome to the Fair King Zoo.”
GM: Brett Laynam
Players: 4-8
Time: 8pm

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Name of Game: The Shadow of Yesterday
Game system: The Solar System (http://files.crngames.com/cc/tsoy2/solar_system.html)
Number of Players: 5
Length: 4 Hours
Time: 8pm
Description of Game: A description of TSoY in general (and if so, see the link below), or what I have in mind? I've taken inspiration from the session we played at Gamercon (homes destroyed, lives shattered, vengeance to be had) but in my own vein. These 5 characters are the survivors of a brutal attack on their tribe by the nation to the south (the Ammeni). There will be clues to be found that suggest some of their people have been taken as slaves by the invaders, giving the players a possible thread to follow to free their fellow tribesmen (if they don't take the bait I'll set the damn forest on fire, though I was going to do that anyway). Either way they should head south, though I've got contingency plans in the making if the group decides to abandon their people. Time permitting, by the end of the session we will have caught up with the attacking forces and freed the slaves taken from the tribe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shadow_of_Yesterday

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Saturday
Name of Game: "The Bandit's Cave", A "Trail of the Apprentice" Campaign Demo
Game System: Pathfinder RPG
Date: 6
Time: 2pm
Game Length: 3 hours
Number of players: 6
Description: Adventurers on the trail of stolen goods have tracked a group of orc bandits to their hideout. They must enter their hidden cave and discover what dangers wait inside. This is a family-friendly scenario for beginners and younger players of the Pathfinder RPG. It is also part of a larger campaign soon to be released by Clockwork Gnome Publishing. Pregenerated characters will be provided, but feel free to bring your own Level 1 character, as well.

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Game System: Pathfinder RPG
Date: 5
Time: 2pm
Game Length: 3 hours
Number of players: 6
Description: Adventurers on the trail of stolen goods have tracked a group of orc bandits to their hideout. They must enter their hidden mave and discover what dangers wait inside. This is a family-friendly scenario for beginners and younger players of the Pathfinder RPG. It is also part of a larger campaign soon to be released by Clockwork Gnome Publishing. Pregenerated characters will be provided, but feel free to bring your own Level 1 character, as well.

---

Name of Game:   Fools Rush In
Game system:  Iron Kingdoms
Number of Players:  4
Day: Saturday
Start Time: 2pm
Length: 4 hours
Description of Game: An Introductory Adventure. Fools Rush In is a short adventure meant to introduce four players to the world and rules of the Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy Roleplaying Game.

---

Name of Game: Project Vanguard #1
Game system: Fate Core
Number of Players: 5
Day: Saturday
Start Time 2pm
Length: 4 hours
Description of Game: The guy who did Atomic Robo: The Roleplaying Game and The Kerberos Club (Fate Edition) has designed a new version of Fate Core purpose-built for supers roleplaying. And he needs your help to playtest it! No experience with Fate Core is necessary, although a familiarity with superhero comics and tropes would be helpful. Assemble! Excelsior! 'Nuff said!

---

Game: The Forge of Fury System: D&D 3.5 ed
Number of players: 5
Day: Saturday 2pm
Length: 4
The legend of the smith Durgeddin the Black is well known in the region.  In each of the small, scattered towns you’ve passed through, you’ve heard stories of wondrous treasure hidden in long lost dwarven vaults and a pitiless war of vengeance between dwarf and orc a hundred years past.
You have come to Blasingdell, a small mining town on the northern frontier, to see if there is anything to these stories.  Your map shoes the old dwarf hold likes a few days march to the north.  Your party knows each other and came prepared for a dungeon crawl.

---

Game: Young Hydra
System: Marvel Heroic Roleplay
Description: There are a lot of angry teens and college kids out there that want to make a difference and some of them have super powers. If that is you then check out Hydra, an organization that put you on the map and let you change the world.
Players: 6
Time: 8-12pm

---

Game: Tri-County Campus
Description:Being a popular College town, Tri-County is known for their rabid desire for their local sports teams. It's even worse when a local rival comes to play and it becomes a Civil War! Literally
Something is amiss in the city of Tri-County, and you will be there to spectacte it. What happens when man turns on man? What will you do?
YOUR ZOMBIE SURVIVAL PLAN WILL FAIL, without Outbreak: Undead.
GM: Ivan Van Norman
Players: 4-6
Time: 8pm

---

Name of Game: The Shadow of Yesterday
Game system: The Solar System (http://files.crngames.com/cc/tsoy2/solar_system.html)
Number of Players: 5
Length: 4 Hours
Time: 8pm
Description of Game: A description of TSoY in general (and if so, see the link below), or what I have in mind? I've taken inspiration from the session we played at Gamercon (homes destroyed, lives shattered, vengeance to be had) but in my own vein. These 5 characters are the survivors of a brutal attack on their tribe by the nation to the south (the Ammeni). There will be clues to be found that suggest some of their people have been taken as slaves by the invaders, giving the players a possible thread to follow to free their fellow tribesmen (if they don't take the bait I'll set the damn forest on fire, though I was going to do that anyway). Either way they should head south, though I've got contingency plans in the making if the group decides to abandon their people. Time permitting, by the end of the session we will have caught up with the attacking forces and freed the slaves taken from the tribe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shadow_of_Yesterday

---

Sunday

Game: The Elk and the Serpent
System: Houses of the Blooded
The heir of a serpent count is throwing a party looking for a suitable marriage and with the marriage can come great power. Is it worth to get involved or does the count have more nefarious reasons for throwing the party. Perhaps it is best to keep your head down but unfortunately your are Ven.
Players: 6
Time: 9-1pm

RPG News You Can Peruse

I missed this announcement on Tuesday, what with RPG Superstar and all.

Paizo Publishing and Gen Con Reach Multi-Year Co-Sponsorship AgreementTuesday, 10:00 AMPaizo Publishing®, LLC, publisher of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, has announced an on-going partnership with Gen Con LLC,The Best Four Days In Gaming!™ Starting with Gen Con Indy 2013, August 15-18 at the Indiana Convention Center, Paizo will become a Co-Sponsor, supporting the convention at the highest level of sponsorship available. The deal extends for three years, concluding with Gen Con Indy 2015.
Gen Con's CEO, Adrian Swartout said, "Gen Con is privileged to have such a strong partner. Adventure and storytelling games create lifelong memories, and those unforgettable experiences are what Gen Con and Paizo have committed to create together."
As part of this agreement, Paizo will increase their Exhibit Hall presence (Booth #203) by approximately 30% in 2013. Paizo also will expand their offering of supported events, hosted in the Sagamore Ballroom of the Indiana Convention Center. Paizo joins Mayfair Games as a Gen Con multi-year Co-Sponsor. Badges for this year's show will become available for attendees on January 27 at noon (Eastern) at gencon.com.
Erik Mona, Publisher at Paizo said, "Paizo's new sponsorship of the show is a reflection of Gen Con's importance to our business, to Pathfinder RPG players, and to the greater community of gamers. I haven't missed a Gen Con since my first, in 1995. And I never will. Gen Con is the best game convention in America, a giant gathering of fellow gamers, and the best gaming marketplace you could imagine. Year after year, I come for the great gaming and the new releases, but these days I also go because it's a reunion of all the friends I've made there over the years. It's the year's greatest can't-miss event."About Paizo PublishingPaizo Publishing®, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, accessories, board games, and novels. Paizo's Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game, the result of the largest open playtest in the history of tabletop gaming, is currently the best-selling tabletop roleplaying game in hobby stores. Pathfinder Adventure Path is the most popular and best-selling monthly product in the tabletop RPG industry. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. In the nine years since its founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than 50 major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.
About Gen ConGen Con, LLC produces the largest consumer hobby, fantasy, science fiction and adventure game convention in North America. Gen Con will return to the Indianapolis Convention Center on August 15-18, 2013. Acquired in 2002 by former CEO and founder of Wizards of the Coast Peter Adkison, the company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. For more information visit the website at gencon.com. For up-to-the minute details, check out http://www.facebook.com/genconindy.

Speaking of GenCon...Savage Saturday gets more furious!

Gen Con and Origins: Savaging More Than Saturday!As most of you know, Savage Saturday Night has been outrageously successful at both Origins and Gen Con—maybe a trifle too successful. This year we’ll be taking a break from Savage Saturday Nights at Origins and Gen Con to concentrate on making more Savage Worlds games available throughout both conventions.
Savage Saturday Nights have been amazing, and we’ve been thrilled with the turnout and participation. But at conventions like Origins and Gen Con, they just don’t fit well into the scheduling and planning systems. One of the drives behind Savage Saturday Nights has been to make sure folks who want to play (or try) Savage Worlds get the chance, especially since games tend to fill up in the first few hours of registration at these conventions. The popularity of Savage Saturday Night at these two shows, though, collapsed most of the Savage Worlds games together into one slot on Saturday night, which is just too limited to get more people into more Savage games.
This year, we’ll be working with the scheduling systems to get more Savage Worldsgames every day so more people have the opportunity to play and the enjoy themselves, or to try out the system for their very first time.
You’ll be seeing more information about that in the coming days. If you’re a Savage Worlds GM, we’ll have some exciting news for you. If you’re a Savage Worlds player, we think you’ll be pleased as well.

Stay tuned here at the Pinnacle site for updates and the convention game news. Event registration for both Origins and Gen Con is now open! 

Kickstarter Update - FATE CORE & SINBAD

OK, it's the new year, I haven't updated the Kickstarters for awhile now. So without further ado.

Legends of Sinbad Kickstarter could use some more help. It's funded, 10 days remain to hit those stretch goals. $57 to get 20 monsters added to the bestiary, that triples what's in the book to begin with. Inspired by the old Ray Harryhausen movie, Gamesmiths are providing a book with complete rules for Savage Worlds, no need to own Deluxe edition or Deluxe explorer's edition. Explorer's edition. This should provide a Fast, Fun & Furious adventure!


The Legends of Sinbad Roleplaying Game provides you with several campaign and adventure ideas, dozens of new magical treasures and thrilling monsters, fully fleshed-out NPCs and organizations to serve as reoccurring antagonists, a map and information on the kingdoms and empires of the Seven Seas, as well as mysterious locations such as the City of Brass, the lost island of Lemuria, and the Fountain of Destiny!

Grab your astrolabe, sharpen your scimitar, and set sail for the Seven Seas in The Legends of Sinbad!

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Fate Core Kickstarter pushes to $200,000...

As the kickstarter for one of my favorite systems out there pushes past the halfway mark for completion, 26 days remain, and lots of Stretch Goals remain as well. Check this out: Look at how much you get for $10!!! PDFs galore, enough to run FATE in nearly every genre.








Fate Accelerated is the Basic Core system, without so many examples, kind of a cool goal, especially useful to get kids into the system.

Then at $235,000 DO: Fate of the Flying Temple, a FATE Accelerated product.



Adapting the setting of Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple to the Fate Accelerated Edition, this unlockable goal will feature tiny worlds, big hearts, young heroes, a lost temple, and trainable dragons. The PDF will be made available to all backers at $10 and up if funded.

Kickstarter - The Legends of Sinbad (Savage Worlds edition)

The Legends of Sinbad RPG Kickstarter

The new Kickstarter from Gamesmiths, LLC, after the failed Saga of Dragon Star KS. In 24 hours it has already made its initial $1000 funding goal.

Check it out!

A new sword-and-sorcery campaign setting for the Savage Worlds game system!

 

Summoned spartoi, ready to do the bidding of the sorcerer that summoned them...

 This is not a genre piece!

The Legends of Sinbad is a new sword-and-sorcery campaign set on Earth in the year 801 C.E.

Inspired by the Harryhausen Sinbad trilogy but based on real-world mythologies, histories, and legends, as well as the tales of the Arabian nights, the game is more than a Prince of Persia tale. As you can see from the map below (which is not yet complete--more cities will be added as development continues), a wide variety of cultures are represented. In this one era, you can find every RPG setting imaginable. You have the Vikings in the Norselands; feudal Europe with the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms and the Carolingian Empire; wild, druidic barbarians in the Celtic Kingdoms; a classical feel with the Eastern Roman Empire; savage nomadic hordes with the Kazar Khaganate; and Arabic with the Abassid Caliphate.

And each culture brings with it its own monsters from mythology--kraken, gray dwarves, and frost giants in the Norselands; dragons and centaurs in the Carolingian Empire; trolls and ogres in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms; brownies and banshees in the Celtic kingdoms; gorgons and hydras in the Eastern Roman Empire; and djinn in the Kingdom of the Moors; just to name a few!Of course, there is a lot more to this setting than just the above. This is just a quick note to point out that this setting is not just another Arabic genre piece, but a vibrant, versatile, and unique sword-and-sorcery campaign setting!

The campaign book will be made available in Savage Worlds, and you won't need to buy the Savage Worlds book to play! This will be a complete set!

BUT THIS IS ONLY FOR THE PDF. Part of the reason we are raising these funds is to get enough to make a print run. One of our early stretch goals will be to include print copies as add-ons!

Another stretch goal will be to add a Pathfinder version of this game, so please stay tuned!

Bedouin warriors of the Abbasid Caliphate...

BACK COVER COPY:

Welcome to the year 801 C.E. and the world of Sinbad, a period of excitement and high adventure on the Seven Seas! Journey to a time of incredible magic and danger when brave adventurers battled foul demons and exotic monsters for golden treasures and personal glory! Travel the world encountering brutal pirates, evil viziers, vile sorcerers, and cunning sultans; bargain with bound genies while exploring lost islands and forgotten kingdoms; journey into the frigid wastelands of Hyperborea, battling pre-historic creatures and savage troglodytes; hunt beastly dragons with the knights of Charlemagne’s Empire; or reave coastlands with the proud raiders of the Norselands while avoiding the grasping tentacles of hungry kraken!

In The Legends of Sinbad Roleplaying GameTM, players take on the roles of members of the same crew aboard a ship bound for uncharted waters, amazing dangers, and ancient treasures.

Exploration and discovering ancient treasures is a large part of The Legends of Sinbad!

Play a wily rogue from the Abassid Caliphate, a Grecian alchemist searching for rare ingredients for a new potion, an exiled sorcerer from the Eastern Roman Empire, a fierce barbarian raider from the frigid lands of the Norse, a vassal knight of Charlemagne sent out on a holy quest, or a treasure hunter from the Kingdom of the Moors.

Chart your own course as you travel the world, working for the good of the crew and ship while also pursuing your own private quest. New merchant mechanics encourage you to chart new trade routes while investigating rumors of magic-shrouded islands, vine-choked ruins, and lost treasures, and new ship mechanics allow you and your fellow adventurers to gain a crew of followers and customize your ship.

New merchant mechanics add a whole new realm to your roleplaying experience!

The Legends of Sinbad Roleplaying GameTM provides you with several campaign and adventure ideas, dozens of new magical treasures and thrilling monsters, fully fleshed-out NPCs and organizations to serve as reoccurring antagonists, a map and information on the kingdoms and empires of the Seven Seas, as well as mysterious locations such as the City of Brass, the lost island of Lemuria, and the Fountain of Destiny!

Grab your astrolabe, sharpen your scimitar, and set sail for the Seven Seas inThe Legends of Sinbad!

801 C.E.

Charlemagne, ruler of the Carolingian Empire.

Though dragons are not intelligent, spellcasting, flying beasts, they are still incredibly powerful, capable of breathing fire, and the plagues of the Carolingian Empire and Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms. Knights often embark on dangerous quests to destroy them.

Troglodyte from the frozen realm of Hyperborea.

A ferocious roc--a gigantic, legendary bird of prey--perches atop its nest in the craggy, windswept peaks.

Kickstarter projects of note

So lots of interesting Kickstarters are up for funding currently. I love Kickstarter, I hope to one day run a Kickstarter for Moderne Worlds of 2039. Also just found out about the Kickitforward.org which is a pledge  system for successfully Kickstarted projects to give back to the community, by kickstarting projects with a percentage of profits.

This first Kickstarter: Wild Card Creator for Savage Worlds is pledging 5% of profits to fund future kickstarter projects.



Monte Cook has a Sci-Fantasy RPG he's going to make: Numenera



Louis Porter Jr. Has reached funding levels with his Obsidian Apocalypse setting, but 18 days remain for additional funding.



An interesting concept, a PDF module that is much more (probably using layering and other adobe tools). Just wish it had an actual name.



Here's a neat one for the ICONS rpg Stark City

News - Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer's Edition

That's right, the explorer's edition is back for Savage Worlds. It's currently available for pre-order, and should be available at stores on the 13th, just in Time for GenCon!!!


Once more, the edition that gets you into the Savage Worlds system for under $10 is back. Check it out!

Earthdawn Denizen Guides - Savage Worlds/Pathfinder

So two days ago I posted that the Game Master's Guides were releasing soon (PDF available now), well I neglected to say that the Denizen Guides were already available, both Volume 1 & 2.

I know what to expect in them I'm just curious to see how everything is implemented for Savage Worlds and Pathfinder, this is a guide that could really expand race options. They give lots of background information such as the different human communities, in addition the denizen guides provide  race specific disciplines in Earthdawn so I suspect some race specific options for savage worlds and either classes or PrCs and feats for Pathfinder.

Denizens-of-Barsaive-Volume-One SW

Denizens-of-Barsaive-Volume-One Pathfinder

Denizens-of-Barsaive-Volume-Two-Savage-Worlds

Denizens-of-Barsaive-Volume-Two Pathfinder

Earthdawn Savage Worlds/Pathfinder Game Master's Guide

Preorder Your Earthdawn SW or PF Game Master's Guide Now!Preorder your copy of the Earthdawn Savage Worlds Edition Game Master's Guide or Earthdawn Pathfinder RPG Edition Game Master's Guide now!
RedBrick is proud to announce its next release for the Earthdawn Savage Worlds and Pathfinder RPG Edition game lines—the Earthdawn® Game Master's Guide!
A Land of Wondrous Beauty and Unspeakable Evil...
...When the Wizards proclaimed that the Scourge had ended, Jaro, I, and three others broke open the seals on the doors and walked outside. We hoped to find a new world brimming with life. Instead, a barren landscape stretched before us. As quick as thought, the sky grew dark with creatures, their attack nearly overwhelming us. We fought our way back to the kaer, thinking ourselves safe. We soon learned that a Horror had entered the mind of Jaro...
Explore the province of Barsaive, a land that encompasses the high mountain realms of savage troll raiders, lush green jungles that conceal long-forgotten cities, vast plains filled with strange and deadly beasts, and the life-giving waters of the mighty Serpent River. An untamed land still recovering from the depredations of the Scourge, Barsaive now teems with orks and elves, t'skrang lizard-men, and human settlers, all drawn by the promise of her breathtaking wonders.
The Earthdawn® Game Master's Guide contains a detailed tour of this troubled province; stats for dozens of new monsters that stalk her lands, including several loathsome Horrors; descriptions of over 30 common and legendary threaded magical items; rules for the vile practice of Blood Magic; and the esoteric mysteries of ancient legends and nefarious secret societies to populate your campaign!
Scheduled for a mid-June print release, the Earthdawn® Game Master's Guide is now available for preorder for a limited time at special pricing—but ONLY from the RedBrick Shop! And if you are new to these editions, the Earthdawn® Player's Guide is available as well.
Join the brave souls of Barsaive in reclaiming their realm from the remaining Horrors while protecting it from the return of the oppressive Theran Empire. Discover the world of Earthdawn®, the Age of Legend.

    Well it's mid-June, this should be coming out really soon. If you're interested pre-order now before the deadline is up....

    There are options for Hard Cover, Soft Cover plus PDF Bundles.  Hopefully I can get preview copies to review soon. As you all know I wasn't super thrilled with the Pathfinder edition, but the Savage Worlds version was nearly perfect! I'm hoping with the Game Masters Guide it will tie up some of the Pathfinder loose ends. I could even hope for an alternate magic system...

News - Deadlands Hell On Earth Savage Worlds edition

Pinnacle is producing all sorts of cool stuff these days.

Besides the Dealands Noir which just got a huge Kickstarter, they're getting much closer to releasing the new Savage Worlds edition Hell on Earth: Reloaded. This is a setting which I never bought into when it was in print unfortunately...I really like what I've seen of it, as I'm a big post-apocalyptic fan, and of Deadlands, so when the two combined, I just missed it I guess, I know it was right after I got out of the Navy and I didn't have a lot of spending money...so that's why I missed out on such a great game.

Now the reloaded edition is coming...



Here's the cover art of the new edition...pretty wicked wrap-around cover...want it as a wallpaper? Check out http://www.peginc.com/shop/hell-on-earth-reloaded/

News! Pinnacle's new secret setting revealed!

NEWS FLASH!

OK, as you've seen I had just been working on my ideas for a Free RPG...well here is one of the genres I had been kicking around in my head...Noir...

I must say I'm quite excited....I've been shying away from the whole PFRPG thing lately, I guess I'm just tired of the massive amount of stuff again...prolly just a phase, but I'm really enjoying reading other games and settings. Don't get me wrong I'm still going to pick up the Advanced Races Guide, but y'know just checking out other games, I think one reason is because I love FATE so much, and learning new systems has always given me ideas for tweaks to any game. Anyway, check out the kickstarter, I'm heading over there now!

Deadlands Noir—The Secret Setting Revealed!

The year is 1935. New Orleans is one tough lady of a town. Some say her blood-red lipstick hides a heart of gold, others say it’s black as a killin’ bruise. Colorful, but a smart man don’t say nothin’ if he can avoid it—best to let the deadly secrets of the streets roll down the gutters like dirty rainwater.

This hard-boiled new setting brings the gritty history of the Deadlands world into the 1930s, giving you the shades of gray only a world of noir can deliver. Study the dangerous art of private detection in the city of New Orleans, solve whodunnits where both suspects and victims shoot back, venture into the gator-filled sludge of Louisiana’s deadly bayous, and learn just what the killer known only as “Stone” is doing in the Big Easy.

Deadlands Noir is also our first foray into Kickstarter. Even if you’re somehow not interested in the dizzying array of fabulous perks available, be sure to check out the first installment of the illustrated audio drama Hard Boiled in the Big Easy.

Since we first leaked a teaser about the new setting last Tuesday, we’ve been running a contest on our Facebook page to guess the name of the new setting. Give it a look-seefor an explanation of the various clues and whether anyone guessed it correctly.

Reviews - Interface Zero Zeeks (Savage Worlds)

Zeeks! Psionics in 2088 (Interface Zero - Savage Worlds)
Published by GunMetalGames

Once more I'm reviewing a product from my favorite line of products for Savage Worlds. This one is a must have in reality, well must have if you want to run some psionics, and what Cyberpunk is complete without some mind magic?



WANNA PLAY SOME MIND GAMES?
When Hernando Vasquez walked into the North American Coalition embassy in Madrid and torched everything just by glaring at it, everybody knew: zeeks are among us. Some people hate 'em; some people love 'em. And make no mistake about it, tomo, that means most people either want to shoot them or use them to their own ends. But then I suppose that just makes life more interesting, ne?

HAVE YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES?
Zeeks: Psionics In 2088 gives you an opportunity to explore the subculture of zeeks, either as a GM wanting to incorporate them into your game or a player wishing to play a psychic character. Whether you want to have a full-blown campaign focusing on the tumultuous world of psions, or just know what might be lurking back there in the shadows, we've got your back -everything from the Psi-Hunters who stalk zeeks to the fringe cults that worship them.
IN THIS BOOK YOU'LL FIND:

• Loads of information about psions and how they fit into the world of Interface Zero.
• Rules for creating psionic characters for Interface Zero, including new Edges, Hindrances and Powers.
• A new system for Savage Psionics, without the Power Points - and still Fast, Furious and Fun!
• More occupations for your characters, as well as new goodies from Malmart.
• Two complete Savage Tales and a half-dozen plot hooks to help bring zeeks into your game.
• Stats for new NPC friends and enemies, as well as stats for a few... other things.

This is an expansion for Savage Worlds Interface Zero, and not a stand-alone game.



Format: I'm reviewing the PDF format provided to Epic the RPG Blog for review purposes.

Page thru: Paging through this book you'll find it is full-color, and has lots of art, including several full page pieces. I right away notice new edges and hindrances. I also notice several pieces of gear, everyone needs a little bit of gear in a cyrberpunk game.

Main Review: OK we start out the book with some good story fluff. The very first piece of fiction covers what's going on in the picture on the cover. A picture is worth a thousand words, but then you get the words too. The introduction covers research and origins with a historical reference to the research both the US And USSR did during The Cold War. Love that GMG gets those details into IZ.

Chapter 1: 2088 Through the Eyes of a Zeek
This chapter is told from the perspective of a zeek talking about what it's like to live as a zeek in the world of 2088. What countries it pays to be known and what countries it pays to keep the the shadows. It then drops into a section on 'zeekisms', from psychic vampires to religious stigmas clouding the view of what a seek actually is. Every zeek pretty much believes in Shangri La, a place where zeeks are welcomed with open arms, just not too many can actually agree on where it is. (Leaving that up to the GM...I like it.) That section finishes with Psiders, thought eating monsters that love to prey on zeeks. Who's a zeek? Well typically only humans, sims, androids and AIs aren't psions (though there is a direct contradiction about sims, thinking that was an extra that got missed in editing.) What flavors do zeeks come in, well, there's zeeks, freeks, peeks and tweeks. Zeeks being the catch-all term for psions. Peeks are mind readers, psychometers, and clairvoyants. Tweeks have powers that generally cause destruction, like a pyromancer, or cryomancer or any other mancer you can think of. Freeks being the bastard child of psions, they're the ones who exhibit strange powers; teleportation for example. With all these psions running around, there's going to be those who hate them, those that worship them, and those that hunt them. The final sections of Chapter 1 covers Psi-Division, Cults and orders and Hate groups.

Chapter 2: Building a Better Psychic
Best part of this book, is the new Power (psionics) system, it's very familiar but tweaked enough to really change it without making it something you really have to learn. First power points are not used to fuel powers, but as a bonus modifier to cast them, failed rolls can now inflict Fatigue, so they provide an optional rule for adding another level of Fatigue, to make Zeeks a little more durable in that regard. To have a zeek you must choose the Arcane Background (Psionics) Edge, as well as an additional minor hindrance, which doesn't count as a choice, so you can still have additional hindrances as normal.

Five new Hindrances are presented: Debt (LOVE this one, minor nets you a single purchase of up to 15k, but a 500/month upkeep, while major doubles those numbers...fail to keep your upkeep and you might just be getting a house call from your loan shark.), Shakes (which are pretty brutal unless you pay the 500creds per month for your meds.), Stress Trigger (which can cause psychic powers to go off at the wrong time), Weak Zeek (weaker starting power of 1) and Latent Talent (which requires two advances to buy off and lets the GM select your powers, though any powers you haven't had manifest randomly can still be chosen when you buy it off).

Eight new edges are presented in the Edges section, and also points out the ones that do not fit Interface Zero. It overhauls the other Powers Edges to fit the system. Freek, Peek and Tweek give you bonuses when using related powers. If you don't want to be a full blown zeek, Wild Talent gives you a single minor power. Psychic Leech is particularly nasty, causing other people within range to suffer the fatigue when the Zeek uses their powers (it's a contested roll, not automatic). Enhanced Ability allows a zeek to take a power from a higher power level, so a seasoned zeek could take a legendary power, failure costs double fatigue however. Mind over Matter lets the zeek soak fatigue with a successful spirit roll, pretty handy in a drawn out combat. Finally, PSI-Hunter grants bonuses for locating zeeks.

Seven new occupations are presented, from the Fortune Teller to the Waitress. However unlike the occupations presented in the Core rulebook, these have a bit more info included, like suggested pre-reqs. Now I'll have to go back and create the same for the other occupations, however this gives me lots of ideas for my Savage Rifts conversion work.

Some good additional information in this chapter is the Fatigue Results chart and the Oops factor table. Eight additional powers are also presented in this chapter, including such classics as astral projection, and telepathic link. Filling in some needed gaps in powers to bring that classic psion feel to Savage Worlds.

Chapter 3: Malmart 2088 Fall Update
I do love gear, I'm really looking forward to the Malmart book when its coming out, so I enjoy every bit of gear I can read in these books. N-Vogue programmable clothes are pretty epic, and I actually wonder how many years it will be before these are reality. The Lone Rider .30cal rifle is good in either single shot or burst mode. The I-Spex and disposable I-Spex are perfect for those who don't have a TAP, allowing visual interface with the Hyper-reality of 2088. Kilner Specs, Kirilian Damper, Psi Enhancer and Psi-kick fill out the rest of the Malmart update.

Chapter 4: Savage Tales...Zeek Style
Two fleshed out tales are presented in this section as well as seven short plot hooks. Lots of quick to run adventure ideas in here, should help out any game master.

Chapter 5: Friends and Foes
A couple of major players are presented first, they could have used up some additional text space to expand them. Generic Zeek, Psi Division Analyst, Psi Division Soldier, Psider, Psychic Vampire, Zeek Ganger (urban), and Zeek Ganger (wastelander) round out the 'Other Threats' in this section. 



Artwork: GunMetal makes sure great artwork is used in their book, full color with lots of setting specific flavor. There are an awful lot of full page pieces for such a small book. There are 5 full color pages, which are gorgeous pieces, very good quality, but lots of realty space.

Rating: 

of 20


Cost: $8.99 for the PDF at Drive-thru RPG. You can also purchase the print/pdf bundle from Cubicle 7 for $14.99.

Value: If you're wanting to run Psions in Interface Zero, this is not a must have as you can use the normal Arcane Power for it, but it is well worth it for a well-crafted rule addition.

Review - Earthdawn Player's Guide (Savage Worlds edition)

Earthdawn Player's Guide (Savage Worlds edition)
Author: Hank Woon

Last Month, I reviewed the Pathfinder Edition of the Earthdawn Player's Guide, and I wasn't as jazzed about it as I had hoped, as some of the design decisions took away some of the feeling of Earthdawn, specifically the spell casting aspects. I'm happy to say that the Savage Worlds edition does not lack in that aspect.

Disclaimer: Once again, this PDF was provided to Epic RPG Blog for review purposes.

THE AGE OF LEGEND
Before science, before history, there was an Age of Legend... For years humanity huddled in underground kaers, as the astral beings known as the Horrors ravaged the land in an orgy of terror and destruction. Now the long, dark age of the Scourge has passed, and the brave adventurers emerge to reclaim their world.
Elf, ork, t'skrang, human, and other wondrous races explore a world that teems with strange creatures and unseen dangers; a world of lost cities, or ancient, long-forgotten treasures and idescribable wonders; a world where the very earth and sky vibrate with powerful arcane energies.
The Earthdawn® Player's Guide contains what every Savage Worlds player needs to create one of these brave heroes and help rekindle the glory of days past, including new races, gear, spells, Edges, and rules for being an Adept. Join the adventure and begin roleplaying in Earthdawn, the Age of Legend!
Earthdawn® Player's Guide™
Savage Worlds Edition Core Rulebook
Published by RedBrick LLC
Format: 280 pages, 6.14" x 9.21", B+W Interior

Earthdawn® is a registered trademark of FASA Corporation. Barsaive™, The Adept’s Way™, and Earthdawn® Player’s Guide™ are trademarks of FASA Corporation. Earthdawn® First Edition Material copyright © 1993–2012 FASA Corporation. Published by RedBrick LLC under license from FASA Corporation—Made in the USA. Copyright © 2012 FASA Corporation, RedBrick LLC. All rights reserved. This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.peginc.com. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability for purpose of this product.


What you get: a 280 black and white PDF in 6.14" x 9.21" format.

Main review: One of the things I look for in a Savage Worlds book is mining ideas for my SAVAGE RIFTS conversion. This book definitely delivers in that arena. The disciplines from Earthdawn are presented as a series of Discipline edges, so there's plenty of ideas in there to mine. There are over 150 (I think I counted 188) adept edges, which are powered by karma points. It's a pretty good system it looks like, with adepts gaining two free adept edges per tier. Using karma points to power the adept edges keeps them from completely over-powered while making sure it feels like Earthdawn.

Overall the entire Earthdawn Savage Worlds edition does capture the feel of Earthdawn while maintaining the "Fast, Fun and Furious" aspect of Savage Worlds. The magic system refers to spell matrixes, though it's slightly different, as the matrix contain threads (power points). The system works fairly well as a standard Savage Worlds system. However, in my typical house-rule fashion, I would change it a little bit (instead of having 3 spells to start I would allow Smarts number of spells, but only allow 2 to be in the matrix, giving it a more Earthdawn flavor and making it have better utility. Additional matrices would be allowed as advances.

Chapter 1 & 2 are the same fluff you get in the Player's Guide for Earthdawn and Pathfinder. The story Inheritance, followed by Chapter 2's history, WHICH if you're not familiar with the World of Earthdawn, can be quite interesting. While there are Elves, Dwarves, Trolls and Orcs, they're not the exact same as other fantasy games, in fact, in Barsaive, dwarves are the most numerous race with approximately 32% being dwarf.

Chapter 3 covers character creation. This flows very similar to standard Savage Worlds character creation. Race, traits and derived stats are all very similar, though you start to see some variation in Edges, as you get TWO free adept edges, in addition to a Discipline edge; making Earthdawn characters a bit more powerful at character creation than perhaps a Seasoned character (which works with the fluff of Earthdawn, as adepts are much more advanced than non-adepts.) Next comes a list of forbidden and modified edges and hindrances. Gear comes next in character creation, using Earthdawn silver standard prices. Finally creation rounds out with background. Characters can choose from 8 races, dwarf, elf, human, obsidimen, orc, troll, windling or t'skrang. Most of those are obvious; though windlings, obsidimen and t'skrang are a bit different. Windlings being 18" tall fae that can only fly for short periods of time. Obsidimen are rock-like beings which are from various 'liferocks' around Barsaive. T'skrang are flamboyant pterodactyl headed lizard'man style race. The normal earthdawn Disciplines (read as a class for those who are unfamiliar with Earthdawn), are represented by edge choices with the 'free' discipline edge determining what discipline you start as. (as far as I can tell you can still train a second discipine in EDSW, just like in Earthdawn, of course it works a bit different in Earthdawn, as you could RAW, have every available discipline.)

Chapter 4 is more fluff from Earthdawn. This covers what it means to be an Adept. It gives lots and lots of information for each of the different disciplines. Basically, being an adept means that magic is strong enough in you that it flows through you and powers your abilities with magic. Each discipline guides your world view, an archer typically sees the world in arcs with various obstacles to overcome while a Warrior sees life as a conflict to be overcome. AThief sees everything in the world as riches to be won. Understanding what it means to be your discipline guides you on your path in life. Your discipline is more of a definition than your race.

Chapter 5 this is the edges chapter. Hank Woon went nuts in this chapter, converting most of the talents in Earthdawn into Edges! I mean there's almost 6 and a half pages of TABLES. Not descriptions, TABLES. There are 26 pages of descriptions of the edges. There are plenty of rock'n edges that can easily be lifted for conversions to other games. This book is gold if for nothing more than the massive number of edges.

Chapter 6 This is the Magic chapter, it's a fluff chapter, but it's really light, pretty much glazing over some information about thread magic, patterns and blood magic. It gives the basic ideas behind the mechanics of Magic. For actual spells you need to go to the next chapter.

Chapter 7 Spells.  This is where the Savage Worlds edition did a better job than the Pathfinder edition at 'feeling' like Earthdawn. Power Points were given a quick name change to Threads. Mechanically this has no real different effect than a name change, but thematically it makes sense. As I said before, I think I would make Matrices act as the focus for which of your many spells you have available NOW. This is an issue that Savage Worlds has, and it's one of the few things I don't like about Savage Worlds, same as I don't really like Sorcerers in Pathfinder because they lack the utility of choice. In Savage Earthdawn, you suffer even more by being limited to THREE spells. Thus making spell casters a poor choice to me, and spells like Crunch Climb a trap that locks you into a limited use spell.

Chapter 8 Gear. Well it's a gear chapter, so of course there's gear in it, including the many cool items from Earthdawn that make it unique like the Tri-spear and Troll sword. Now I don't think it's perfect, for some reason dwarf swords actually give dwarves a bonus to parry, and only trolls can wield a troll sword one-handed, not obsidimen. I'm happy to see several things make it into this edition. Hawk Hatchets were always one of my favorite weapons in Earthdawn, so I'm quite pleased to see they made the cut. I'm also very glad to see that 'Mystic Armor' ratings made it. One of the other things that makes this version FEEL right. A minor issue in this edition is the lack of stacking armor. But with the smaller armor values it makes sense that stacking would cause issues. I would still allow armor to stack, taking the better value from the combined set. For example, wearing Fernweave over Chainmail would give +2 Physical/+4 Mystic armor. Another very Earthdawn set of items are blood charms, minor magic items that have many varied uses; Hank did another great job converting these items to keep the feel of them.

Chapter 9 covers religion, it covers the 12 passions, including the 3 passions who went mad during the Scourge. Now the difference between Passions and gods, is the fact that all the passions were once mortals. So they're more looked to as examples to strive towards. Questors are hinted at, but no edges are given for player Questors. Typically all the passions are given attention, but Questors actually strive toward the ideals of a single Passion and are typically rewarded with additional powers that they tap into with their magic.

Chapter 10 is about Barsaive, This is where the game takes place. Barsaive is Europe during the Age of Legends. It's a quick overview which is fine, as most players will be leaving their kaers (magically sealed underground cities) or citadels (magically sealed surface cities) and exploring the area around them at first, so you don't need too much information about the World, except that it's scary and for some reason the Horrors are not all gone. For some reason the magic levels which were supposed to drop back to nothing stabilized at a level high enough to sustain many horrible creatures, but also great challenges to make a legend for yourself with.

Available in PDF format from Drivethru RPG for $17.99 currently.

Family Rating: Rated T (violence and scary monsters)

Artwork: The book contains lots of the original artwork from the FASA edition, which keeps it feeling like Earthdawn.

Overall Rating:  This is a solid product with very few minor issues in this reviewer's opinion.

of 20   EPIC!

Review - Savage Worlds Deluxe

Here we go, I picked up the Deluxe edition of Savage Worlds a while back. So here's the review.

Savage Worlds Deluxe Edition
Produced by Studio 2 publishing under license from Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Savage Worlds is a Fast! Furious! and Fun! rules system for any genre of roleplaying game. Create your own setting, convert an existing one, or pick up one of our amazing worlds like Deadlands, Slipstream, or Weird War II.The rules give players plenty of depth to create their characters and keep bookkeeping to a minimum for the game master. If you're looking for a game that's fast and easy to set up, run, and play, Savage Worlds is for you! 

Savage Worlds Deluxe is the newest edition, providing an update to the third printing of Savage Worlds Explorer's Edition. It includes rules updates, new rules material, new art, more examples, an expanded Setting Rules section, Designer Notes to give you an insight into the development, and much more. It does not, however, invalidate prior printings of the rules, which you can continue enjoy.

This is a hardcover printed book. Full color, full-size (8.5" x 11" pages), 160 pages.

What you get: You get a 160 page full color full-sized hard-bound book.

Main Review: There are pros and cons to this edition. Full-size books are good at attracting attention, and can actually make neophytes excited when they look at the book. Con, the $29.99 price tag versus the $9.99 price tag. Larger format and higher page counts give lots of room to add more stuff. Much of the Explorer Edition Review remains valid, the rule set really only has some minor tweaks, but is effectively the same system with some streamlined changes, especially the removal of the "guts" skill. 

If you're already familiar with Savage Worlds I'm sure you've already made your decision about the Deluxe edition. If you're new to the system just know that the game is Fast, Fun & Furious. The system can cover nearly any genre, but tends to break-down if you want truly powerful games. (Savage Suzeraine has rules covering higher power games, but even those rules can't cover mega-powerful combat, for that you need the Superpowers Companion.)

With the extra space in the book, they added an archetypes section, which lets new players pick an archetype and roll. New race options for characters, including a build your own race section, similar to what many other systems already had. 

Cost: $29.99 Print edition. $19.99 PDF @ Drive-thru

Value: I really feel that Pinnacle took a step in the wrong direction by driving the price-point so much higher. If Paizo can set the bar for a 500+ page book that retails for $49.99 at $9.99 for the PDF, Pinnacle should as well. If the price is too high people won't buy it, they'll steal it, because they're already feeling ripped off. I hope they return a smaller book for $9.99. Perhaps a Deluxe Explorer's Guide...There's enough new info in the books to justify the print copy, I can't bring myself to get a PDF of a book I have if it's too expensive. 

Artwork: Savage Worlds was already know for reusing artwork, this manual comes with lots of new art though. Pretty nice artwork, though it does have some reprints, which is fine because they work with the system. 

Family Rating: PG, for visual content (some artwork is mildly graphic)

Overall: 

of 20

It's good, but the wrong size.

Note: I will be adding additional content to this review as I continue to read the book, and note the changes. 

Comprehensive list of changes: (in work):

Guts skill removed in base

More races added

Race creation rules added

Chase rules added

Dramatic Tasks skill checks

Interludes added

Edges expanded to be more comprehensive

Optional rules by setting included