Role-playing can become an expensive hobby if you go down certain routes. Game companies have cottoned on to the concept of core rulebooks that provide just enough material to get you going. Once you’re in, they flash supplemental material and adventures in your direction, in the hope that you’ll bite. Sometimes, the material on offer […]
Well Met in Lankhmar: A Review of Lankhmar City of Thieves
While it might seem a simple task to create a setting supplement for a game that shifts the focus to match a book, TV show or movie, it isn’t. I mean, I’m not saying there isn’t any effort involved, but you could just slam a major synopsis down, along with some episodic notes, and that […]
Targets of Acquisition: A review for a Laundry RPG supplement
Some classic Cthulhu adventures kicked off with attendance at auctions with Unspeakable Objet D’art. These days you see this sort of thing all the time in episodes of Storage Hunters. While the setup might be familiar, the principle remains a handy one. Want your investigators to get involved? Well, what better way than a face […]
Decrypting the Cyphers: A Preview of the Cypher System Rulebook
Sitting down to read – and then review – the Cypher System Rulebook from Monte Cook Games, it had me thinking: what are gamers expecting from this core generic package that they haven’t got in their hands already? The original Numenera setting had a very specific focus and provided the first look at the Cypher […]
Another Star in the Night: A Review of River of Heaven
The pathway to the stars is paved with the bodies of the fallen. The slow drift from Earth into the cold void has not gone without hitch or sacrifice along the way. Greed, politics, ideology, nationalism – these and more have made the journey along the River of Heaven a hard one – and yet, […]
Serious Disruption: Review of Luther Arkwright: Roleplaying Across the Parallels
The multiverse holds infinite possibility and diversity. Unfortunately, some individuals don’t appreciate that chaotic state of affairs and seek to impose an oppressive and entropic order. The Disruptors want to return the multiverse to a collapsed state, as was the case in the youthful eons of existence, and to that end seek the union of […]
Apocalyptic Survey: A Review of Dee Dee’s Seattle Survival Guide
Props can be a mighty powerful tool at the gaming table. Almost anything that can draw focus, enlighten or provide some sense of reality can make all the difference. While too many props can be a distraction, a scattering of flavourful colour can really engage the table with the game. At conventions, I have found […]
Heal Thy Self: Review of the The Eighth Doctor Sourcebook
I saw a picture of Sylvester McCoy on the cover of the Doctor Who magazine yesterday. Age suits him, as do his sideburns. For some reason, by this morning, his image had reminded me of adventures past, probably because I’ve been reading Cubicle 7’s Eighth Doctor Sourcebook. While previous Sourcebooks have served up descriptions of […]
Fated by Serpentfall: A Review of The Day After Ragnarok
The Day After Ragnarok is a What-If scenario that probably didn’t come up in the early risk assessment sessions of the Second World War. When the Governments and Intelligence Services of the West knuckled down for some blue sky thinking on defeating the Nazi menace, they possibly discounted the possibility of mythical world-consuming serpents. For […]
Lurid Tales of Darkness: A Review of Vacant Ritual Assembly
When you’re designing a tabletop roleplaying campaign (or even just an adventure), you’ll always find yourself sketching or noting something that never makes it to the table. The nature of preparation often means you frankly over-egg the pudding. Even low prep GMs might find, after a while, that they have scraps of paper filled with […]
