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Deadlands Reloaded: The Flood
Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment
by Keith (. T. A. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/14/2013 13:58:34

This review originally appeared at http://rptroll.blogspot.com/2012/04/review-deadlands-reloaded-flood.html

The Savage Troll continues its trek through Deadlands and I must admit, it's a scary journey. Those of you who read the reviews of the Player's Guide and Marshal's Handbook will be glad to know this review will ere on the side of brevity. While I believe in exhaustive reviews of rule books, adventures - such as this one - need to remain far more secretive. We don't want to give away any surprises to your posse.

Deadlands is easily the largest property in the Pinnacle Entertainment Group's product line. The 15+ year old setting has seen four RPG systems with a mountain of supplements including rule books, adventures, trail guides, and plot point campaigns. The Flood is a plot point campaign centering around the starved region of the West coast.

The campaign takes place in the 1880s and so would mesh well with other Victorian campaigns such as Rippers, Space 1889: Red Sands, or even The Kerberos Club. You could easily rip information and characters from The Flood to populate any of those settings. In fact, were I to ever run a Deadlands campaign, I suspect Ghost Rock powered ships would lead to a Space 1889-like setting with the characters encountering horrors on other planets as well.

Events Leading to The Flood

During the Quake of ‘68, California fractured as large ribbons of land dropped over fifty feet allowing the Pacific Ocean to rush in. The remaining landscape became a series of large mesas surrounded by brown, briny water flowing through canyons. The Maze, as it is now called, became a popular destination for those looking to strike it rich by mining the fundaments exposed on the new cliff faces.

Ghost Rock, the miracle mineral, is abundant in the Maze and the people and powers that make up the world are mad to have it. Ghost rock burns five times hotter and 100 times longer than coal. It’s also used in the production of Ghost Steel, which is lighter, stronger, and has a higher melting point than regular steel. On top of that, chemists and pharmaceutical makers use Ghost Rock to create all manner of potions, elixirs, and formulas for just about anything.

As the Rail Barons direct their employees to drive spikes and lay rail in order to reach the gold mine that is Ghost Rock, their soldiers and thugs fight it out in the Great Rail Wars. Greed and a thirst for power drives the Barons onwards as rail companies form the North, South, Deseret, and Shan Fan all compete to see who will reach the port city of Lost Angels first. Each company is only a few miles away from the de facto capital of California and it won’t be long before one of the biggest battles in history decides who will control the supply of Ghost Rock to the USA and/or CSA.

This is the setting for The Flood and your posse falls (literally) smack dab in the middle of it.

A Big Setting

The Flood contains a full plot point campaign centered around the Great Rail Wars, the Servitor of Famine, the Chinese Triads, Santa Anna’s undead army, and an intrepid reporter who seeks the assistance of your posse. It would be bad enough if that’s all the characters had to deal with. On top of that they must ply the dangers of the Maze which includes the effects of Famine. Food becomes a major concern on top of dodging merciless pirates, nations on the verge of war, and boom towns full of prospectors and those that prey on them.

The book has several new Edges and Hindrances and a greatly expanded selection of martial arts extras. With the city of Shan Fan and the Chinese Warlords being a major component to this supplement, the characters can expect a lot of Kung Fu action. The mafia thugs aren't the only martial artists, however. The Shaolin are present as well and work as a force for good in the area. Their hidden training ground sends out adepts to help fight the servants of the Reckoners. Mad Scientist, or New Scientist as they like to be called, should avoid this temple. The monks don't take kindly to Ghost Rock-powered devices.

The book includes all manner of waterborne vehicles. To get anywhere in the Maze you’ll need them. It also contains a nice section on Chinese fighting weapons. One word of warning, though. Due to the difficulties of getting goods into and out of the Maze, almost everything is 3-6 times more expensive than usual.

The Numbers

1 New Martial Arts Hindrance 17 Celestial Kung Fu Moves 1 New Hindrance for the non-Kung Fu types 11 New Edges 8 Martial Arts Weapons 10 New Ships 2 New Infernal Devices 27 Strange Locals

8 Plot Points in the Campaign 34 Savage Tales 12 New Critters 4 New Famine’s Servants 27 Famous Folks

That adds up to a lot of content.

To Live and Die in Lost Angels

Much of the action occurs in and around the city of Lost Angels. The Right Rev. Grimme is the ruler of this area and demands all city residents attend his church. Even without his edict, they would likely attend anyway. He has the only food in the area that satisfies the otherwise insatiable hunger people feel in Famine’s domain.

The book goes into great detail about the city and its surroundings. The characters even witness the creation of a Dealands ( Fear Level 6 ) during the adventure. This event will erase any doubt about the need for heroes to literally save the world. And that’s just in plot point two.

Your posse should be mindful of the Lost Angels laws. Violators are often sent to prison and never heard from again.

Shan Fan City, Here We Come

Shan Fan is Lost Angels equal in size and power and The Flood devotes a large section of the book to the city and its surroundings. It also adds a lot of flavor. Shan Fan is like the worlds largest Chinatown and the authors do a good job explaining what that means.

Like Lost Angels, Shan Fan is a city full of powerful personalities. You and your posse get to know the leaders of the Chinese mafias often coming into conflict with them. If you think this is all Kung Fu action you’re wrong. Most are gunslingers abandoning the ways of their ancestors for the favored weapons of the West.

Horrific Adventure Awaits

This book is chock full content. One of the problems I had was absorbing it all. Some things are stated in the Strange Locals that hop around in time. In some cases they are dependant on the plot point campaign so if you get confused, skip to the adventure then come back and read about each area.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Deadlands Reloaded: The Flood
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Deadlands Reloaded: The Last Sons
Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment
by Keith (. T. A. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/14/2013 13:55:54

This review originally appeared at http://rptroll.blogspot.com/2012/07/review-last-sons-deadlands-plot-point.html

Pinnacle continues their release of Deadlands’ plot point campaigns with Last Sons, adventures in War’s domain. The story picks up with The Flood left off taking your posse into the Disputed Territories of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and the Sioux Nation.

For those those of you not up to speed on the Deadlands setting, below is a little alternate history.

Come the Reckoning

Monsters once roamed and Magic was commonplace on the Earth until the North American Shamans sacrificed themselves to ensure humanity was safe from the evil spirits inhabiting the spirit realm they called the Hunting Grounds. The Old Ones, as the shamans were called, sealed the Hunting Grounds keeping the spirits, both good and bad, separated from the physical world. This left the Native Americans at a disadvantage when the technologically superior Europeans arrived to colonize the western hemisphere.

We all know the history. Some settlers preferred to take the land they wanted rather than look for another plot. The fact that land was inhabited by the natives was a problem solved with enough bullets and gunpowder. Several tribes were completely wiped out as the Europeans and their African slaves moved west.

One such tribe was the Susquehanna. A young, talented shaman named Raven saw his tribe wiped out by a band of white men. His hate for the white man never cooled. Raven found other natives and preached war and retribution against the white man and his evil ways. He drew others to his cause that lost their tribes to the white man’s expansion. They called themselves the Last Sons and moved Heaven and Earth (literally) in search of revenge.

The Last Sons passed into the Hunting Grounds and undid the Old Ones spiritual barrier. The spirits, both good and bad, were free to roam the Earth once more. The most powerful evil spirits, called the Reckoners, took on the form and function of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and sought to turn Earth into a mirror image of their home, the Deadlands.

To accomplish this task, the Reckoners spread fear across the world. The power from that emotion allows them to Terrorform sections of the physical realm into Deadlands. Once enough has been Terrorformed, they can walk the Earth and collect the fear personally.

On July 3rd, 1863 the Battle of Gettysburg was in full swing. The Last Sons emerged from the Hunting Grounds victorious and the spirits were released from their bonds. General Lee lost the battle, as he did in our history, except the dead rose from the battlefield covering his retreat. The Reckoners, especially War, knew a continued Civil War was in their best interests and so they kept either side from a decisive victory. In the world of Deadlands, USA and CSA exists with an uneasy ceasefire with large swaths of the Americas remaining as ‘Disupted Territories’. This is War’s Domain.

Return to the Old Ways

Once the spirits were released, the Native Americans had access to their nature spirits again. Shamanistic magic flowed granting the Indians powerful weapons to use against those who would take their land. They congregated in two areas.

The Sioux Nation formed to the North in the Dakotas after the Battle of Washington in 1872. Since the Union had other troubles, they decided to let the Sioux have their territory and entered into the Deadwood Creek Treaty. No one tribe or chief could unite all the Sioux so the Wicasa Yatapickas, or tribal council was formed. There are four Wicasas appointed by the tribes to speak for the Sioux Nation.

The Wicasas insisted their people keep to the old ways foregoing the white man’s technology. There are many who consider this insane and believe the Nation needs guns and other technology to survive in the white man’s world but they don’t say this loud or often unless they want to be expelled.

The Coyote Confederation formed in Oklahoma under the mysterious, hooded war chief known only as Coyote. The Confederation consists of multiple tribes and is generally on good terms with the CSA. The Old Ways aren’t as popular in the Confederation since some of the tribes still war upon one another.

The Disputed Territory

Kansas, Colorado, and the part of Oklahoma that’s not part of the Coyote Confederation make up the Disputed Territory. After the Civil War ended, both USA and CSA agreed to withdraw troops from those areas until the populace decided which country to join.

Bloody Kansas had an active guerrilla war even before the Civil War started with Confederate “Border Ruffians” from Missouri fought Unionist Jayhawkers for the hearts and minds of the Kansas settlers before the war to get the state to side with either the North or South. Far too often this battle turned into an actual shooting war between the two groups. That pattern continues during the Last Sons’ plot point campaign. Dodge City is the primary local in Bloody Kansas.

Colorado is a little different. They don’t really see the need to join either side and can take care of their own business, thank you. Both nations claim Colorado as their state but neither is in much of a position to do anything about. Things would be pretty calm if not for the Great Rail Wars.

Denver is the center point to many destinations and at least four separate rail lines are attempting to make their way out to the Ghost Rock mines in California. Colorado lies right in the path.

Another Big Piece to a Big Setting

Last Sons is another gargantuan volume in the Deadlands setting. Much like The Flood, it takes one of the Reckoner’s Domains and sets the characters against the plots and plans of that Reckoner. In this case it’s War.

Since you’re in War’s Domain, you need to understand that peace and understanding aren’t the norm. As the Marshal, you’ll have to force conflicts a bit more than usual. That Persuasion roll just might be a little harder in the Disputed Territories or the Indian Nations.

Also intolerance is everywhere. Whether you’re a white man in the Indian Nations or a Johnny Reb in a Union controlled area, you’d better expect folks of different persuasions to be unfriendly. Likewise the Disputed Territories are ground zero for the Great Rail Wars. Expect the Rail Barons heavy hands everywhere.

Whereas The Flood covered new ground for the Chinese martial artists, Last Sons covers the Native Americans. Your campaign will be greatly assisted if at least one of your characters is either an Indian or sympathetic to their cause. To that end, the book gives you several options for Indian characters and lots of information about the various Indian tribes found throughout America in the 1880s. You have your choice of the following archetypes.

Berdache - you’re a male but dress in women’s clothing and are usually an artisan. Chief - you’re the leader of a village or tribe. You’ll have the Noble hindrance. Priest - you’re a caretaker of your people and holy relics and places Medicine Man - like a priest but your specialty is courting favors from spirits and embarking on vision quests to solve problems. Scout - you’re fast, stealthy, and wise in the ways of survival. Your skills are in high demand just about everywhere in the Weird West. War Leader - Part Shaman and part Warrior you specialize in the spirit magic of battlefield victory. The Hunting Grounds are another large part of this work. Last Sons gives full stats for the spirit critters you’ll likely encounter along with setting rules particular to the dimension. Much like the Christian concept of Heaven and Hell, the World Tree can be pleasant or downright dangerous depending on where you go.

There’s another large section on the Union and Confederate Secret Service (Agents and Texas Rangers) including large sections containing new equipment. Getting that equipment is free but it’s far from easy and is often greatly depending on Rank.

The Plot Point Campaign

There are 9 plot points to the Last Sons’ campaign and, much like The Flood, Last Sons is a BIG story. It helps to have Legendary characters at the end for the last big battle but not to worry. If you’re starting out with a Novice posse there are plenty of Savage Tales to help with their advancement before the end.

As mentioned before, many of the principle characters, both good and bad, are Indians so you’ll need to coax your posse into adopting a kindly attitude toward the Red Man. If not they’re in for problems. Of course, nothing says the the journey to the land of tolerance can’t be part of the posse’s adventure.

The only odd thing to the plot point is the epilogue. While you're told you don't need to run it, it's in there and seems a little odd. The players participate in the end of Rail War II which is important to the setting but a little out of place in the overall adventure. If your posse made it through The Flood, you'll find the Rail War adventure eerily familiar.

By the Numbers

Last Sons has the following attributes for those of you just judge a product’s worth by size of its content.

337 Pages filled with More information about American Indian tribes, territory, and equipment than you ever wanted to know 1 New Hindrance 7 New Edges 1 New Power (and a very important one at that) 9 Point Campaign 36 Savage Tales 21 Strange Locals 15 Corporeal Nasties 21 Spirits (both good and bad) 5 new Human encounter types 9 Servants of War 31 Notable Folks

That’s a lot of content!

Conclusion

If you want to play an epic campaign, Last Sons is the book for you. You’ll also want to pick it up if you place an Indian or Secret Service character in Deadlands. The Savage Tales can be used in any Deadlands campaign if you’re not interested in the Last Sons Plot Point.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Deadlands Reloaded: The Last Sons
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Deadlands: Toxic Tunes Soundtrack
Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment
by Keith (. T. A. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/14/2013 13:50:35

This really isn't my cup of tea but it might be for others. Overall I'm neutral on the product. I think you can tell by the price drop others are as well. If you like western-rock then this might be for you.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Deadlands: Toxic Tunes Soundtrack
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Space 1889
Publisher: Ulisses Spiele
by Keith (. T. A. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/14/2013 13:46:55

Years ago I picked up a game book with a Victorian Era British soldier on the cover fighting off gold-skinned ape men with fin ears. The logo had "SPACE" drawn as riveted metal with a stylized "1889" below it. I picked up the blue book and read the back cover.

"Role-Playing In A More Civilized Time. Everything Jules Verne should have written. Everything H. G. Wells could have written. Everything A. Conan Doyle thought of, but never published because it was too fantastic. Everything you need for adventures of the century! The Space 1889 role-playing game covers the exciting background of Victorian science fiction: ether fliers and Martian cloud ships, the canals and ancient civilizations of the red planet, Venus' swamps and dinosaurs, the honeycombed interior of Luna, and the thrills of inventions and inventors; the driving force behind Victoria's multi-world empire!"

In the game's history, Thomas Edison invented a device called the Ether Propeller which allowed ships raised to high enough altitude to travel through space at amazing rates of speed. In the 19th century, Ether was believed to be light's medium like water for waves and air for sound. SPACE:1889 uses ether and other scientific theories from the 1800s to build a universe consistent with the mindset of the day.

Space: 1889 and its companion Sky Galleons of Mars ignited my imagination the way few settings ever have. While other science fiction RPGs sent characters to the far future, Frank Chadwick sent gamers into the past. The character combat system wasn't great but the ship-to-ship rules were first rate . The original work gave you atlases of Mars, Venus, the Moon, and Mercury along with the indigenous races for each planet. I fought the cursed Belgians from one end of Mars to the other and knew victory captaining the screw galley Texan's Pride. Now THAT was a setting!

The game has since been redone in Savage Worlds and a soon-to-be-release Ubiquity system. I can't say enough about the setting or it's creator, Frank Chadwick. Go forth, young adventurer, can conquer the skies of Mars.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Space 1889
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Introduction to Space 1889
Publisher: Ulisses Spiele
by Keith (. T. A. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/14/2013 13:43:33

If you're interested in learning about Space 1889, this is the product for you. It contains the relevant setting history along with some of the equipment found in the rule books. Give this to your players regardless of which flavor Space:1889 you plan to play - Original, Savage Worlds, or Ubiquity.

Note: This product is a scan from the original text.

You can find a review of Space:1889 Red Sands at http://rptroll.blogspot.com/2010/09/review-space-1889-red-sands.html



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Introduction to Space 1889
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The Unspeakable Oath 23
Publisher: Arc Dream Publishing
by Keith (. T. A. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/14/2013 13:33:49

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” - The Dread Page of Azathoth

Shane Ivey is the purveyor of horror over at Arc Dream Publishing. He cares about the Mythos and the games run within it. This TUO 23 he picks at the overuse of mundane horror elements when the games should illustrate the cosmic horror present in the Cthulhu Mythos. Thus the beginning to another great installment of The Unspeakable Oath begins.

Following its tradition. TUO presents three one-page adventures called Tales of Terror. Each Tale has three options of how to run it. This quarterly’s offerings include a creepy little girl in a big box store (horrific enough on its own with Mythos), a funeral cut short by resurrection, and investigators being investigated.

If you're looking from something with a little more rotted flesh on it, TOU 23 also includes a 50 pages adventure (yes, 50) called Cold Dead Hand set in Russia. There’s nukes involved so you know it’s gotta be fun. It includes loads of maps, NPCs, critters, and equipment.

Other enjoyably horrific elements include short fiction, book/movie reviews, articles about odd firearms, and a new frightful painting that collects people. But those aren't the only reason to purchase Unspeakable Oath. Shane and his crew are true devotees to the Mythos. It shows on every page so if you love the Universe started by HPL, buy The Unspeakable Oath and revel in an unfair universe.

Remember, Cthulhu and all the other Great Old Ones aren't out to get us. Cthulhu doesn’t care.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
The Unspeakable Oath 23
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Wendigo Tales: Weird Wars: With Utmost Dispatch
Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment
by Keith (. T. A. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/07/2013 18:22:27

A perfectly timed release to begin breathing life into Weird War Rome. Pinnacle just finished their Kickstarter for Weird War Rome. For those of us lucky few already reading our WWR sourcebook, this adds some wonderful flavor and experience in the new setting. This adventure story begins in Cilicia with two close friends arguing over one planning on deserting. You discover quickly the story is filled with latin that draws you in as you (begin?) to build your Roman era vocabulary. While fear of fustuarium (being beaten to death) is present, it's not what is ultimately thrust upon the contubernium (eight legionaries that share a tent) sent to find their missing tent mate. The climax introduces a mysterious new band of legionaries bent on discovering and destroying the weird creatures that inhabit WWR. A fast read that should help any aspiring War Master better flavor their WWR adventures. Well Done! Strength & Honor!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Wendigo Tales: Weird Wars: With Utmost Dispatch
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Gaslight Victorian Fantasy 2nd Edition (Savage Worlds Edition)
Publisher: Battlefield Press
by Keith (. T. A. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 08/17/2013 19:43:20

As a fan of the Victorian Era, I like this 2nd edition of Gaslight for Savage Worlds. It fits in the traditional SF/Fantasy Victorian mold of Vampires, Beastmen, Wildlings, magic, and the technology that excites Vernians. It works best as a reference as it's thoroughness covers a huge range of topics within it's 80+ pages. My favorite parts were the Important Organizations & Secret Societies and the Reliquaries sections. I would love to see a Victorian "Warehouse 13" plot point campaign inspired by the previously mentioned sections. The DTRPG product description says it's a Player's Handbook, which is fair but in truth its a good bit more. The inside title page claims "A Victorian Era Fantasy Setting.." which isn't quite true at least in its current layout. I believe with some editing it could be very much closer to a true setting book. Instead of burying the "Making Heroes" on page 31, I'd suggest having a basic setting intro followed quickly by the Making Heroes section, then Worldly Goods, Setting Rules, & Magic, then....have a GM section with all the fun secret organizations, societies, reliquaries, and some basic adventures. Voila! It's a real setting. It's almost all there. There is a reference to a Campaign guide in the description of the Wildlings. I'd love to see that and revised into a(3rd?) new edition and I'd give it that 5th star. As is, it's a good fun basis for a Holmsian, Vernian, or Wellsian adventure! dmb



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Gaslight Victorian Fantasy 2nd Edition (Savage Worlds Edition)
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Creator Reply:
Thank you so much for your candid review. I appreciate your suggestions and I believe most of them can be worked into a newer version of the book. I think the reference to the "Campaign Guide" is erroneous, and left over from a previous edition and failed to be edited out. A revised version wont come out right away, but thanks to the suggestions you made it has made the "to do" list and it should be soon. Thank you again.
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Savage Worlds SciFi Weapons Cards
Publisher: DramaScape
by Keith (. T. A. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 07/31/2013 19:30:13

One of the great things about Savage Worlds is the tactile sensation of bennies, action cards, and adventure cards. This product adds to that by giving the players access to gear cards.

The weapon and equipment renders are nice with a good level of detail. I plan to use them my next SciFi game as virtual tabletop handouts. The cards contain six characteristics of the gear including range, weight, cost, rate-of-fire, damage, and ammo. The card back has notes associated with the gear in question.

The product includes a full set of weapon descriptions to go along with the 50 cards. As a bonus they include descriptions of 11 different arms manufacturers to spice up your campaign. It also includes two blank cards for use with your own equipment.

I like the product because it isn't tied to any specific setting but rather lets you pick the weapons appropriate to your setting.

Note, I purchased only the PDF and so can't comment on the quality of the cards. http://rptroll.blogspot.com



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Savage Worlds SciFi Weapons Cards
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Dungeonlands: Fear of Life (PDF)
Publisher: Savage Mojo
by Keith (. T. A. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 07/15/2013 19:13:24

This is an illustrated Story by Matt Forbeck for Dungeonlands:Tomb of the Lich-Queen from their Kickstarter of the same name. You may remember Matt from Brave New Worlds and the formation of Pinnacle Entertainment Group with Shane Hensley to publish Deadlands. Yup, that Matt Forbeck.

The story shares how two adventurers, Lexa & Skargar, team up and descend into an ancient tomb... and discover the horror that is the Tomb of the Lich-Queen. It's a short story and doesn't spill all the beans but gives a nice introduction. The illustrations are well done. It seems to be quite a bit of art for such a short story. It's a very quick read so $1.99 might be a little high but it's only $1.99. For a full review of all the Dungeonlands: Tomb of the Lich-Queen see: https://rptroll.blogspot.com

Enjoy!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Dungeonlands: Fear of Life (PDF)
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Dungeonlands: Into The Black (Savage Worlds)
Publisher: Savage Mojo
by Keith (. T. A. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 07/15/2013 19:07:57

The Dungeonlands: Into the Black for Savage Worlds is more of a monster listing than an adventure. The work is essentially a 7 page full color teaser: the Cover, 2 pages of the encounter, and 4 pages of Suzerain adverts. Fair enough! The encounter is a great nasty Toparkil; a darkly enchanted undeadish aquatic lurker. It reminds me of the Watcher in the Water by the magic back door to Moria in Lord of the Rings with some very nasty differences. Put this critter in a deep dark pool in your dungeon and let the fearful fun ensue. And did I mention, it's free? Smartly done. I was now curious. What is Dungeonlands: Tomb of the Lich Queen? read the full review of Dungeonlands: Tomb of the Lich-Queen: http://rptroll.blogspot.com



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Dungeonlands: Into The Black (Savage Worlds)
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Mega Townscapes: Human Town
Publisher: D20 Cartographer
by Keith (. T. A. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 07/07/2012 21:57:10

The d20 Cartographer strikes again with a massive town map for use in your fantasy RPG. This huge map features a walled town with multiple shops, temples, guildhalls, barracks, and houses. There's also a bazaar for your characters to explore. You can even go inside the city walls to defend the town from invaders. The map is beautiful with rich colors and textures making it highly appealing to the eyes. You can print out the sections to make one large map or print out individual buildings for use in any town.

The true magic happens when you use the map in MapTool. First of all it comes with a set of Devin Night's villager tokens allowing you to populate your town quickly. The MapTool campaign file has two maps representing the interior and exterior of the town's buildings. As you move across the entryway the token is taken to the other map for further exploration. The level of detail on these maps is amazing. You can see the sunlight hitting the floor coming in from the windows. On top of that, the maps already have the vision blocking layer populated so your PCs have no idea what's around the next corner or in the next room.

By The Numbers

28 Tokens 12 Highly detailed buildings with Vision Blocking and Fog of War 2 MapTool campaign files, one with the entire town on one map and another with a map per building 100+ object png files to use for set dressing on any other map you care to draw

The Savage Troll considers this town map a must have for any MapTool fantasy games. You simply can't beat the price for all that's in this product.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Mega Townscapes: Human Town
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DEADLANDS: The Devil's Six Gun
Publisher: Visionary Comics
by Keith (. T. A. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/26/2012 22:39:35

The Devil’s Six Gun tells the story of inventor Copernicus Blackburne. He's hired by reclusive inventor Samuel Tygean who wants a gun that will 'kill the devil, himself'. Tygean introduces the young inventor to Ghost Rock and soon the supernatural element has Blackburne's mind racing with ideas for new devices. Contained within its pages is probably the best display of the slow madness caused by Ghost Rock along with the horrible end suffered by most Mad Scientist.

Along the way Blackburne travels to Salt Lake City where we infer that Tygean wants a weapon to kill Darius Hellstromme, another major character in the Deadlands universe. To do that, he wants Blackburne to recreate his Protean Pistol using Ghost Rock derivatives. The problem is getting Blackburne to focus on weapons. Tygean discovers a method of getting Blackburne to focus but it involves robbing the scientiest of everything he loves.

The book suffers from too many words containing back story and setting information. There's a great deal of history without much in the way of dialog. I think the real issue is that the design team decided to tell the story rather than show it. The artwork is, at times, masterful producing full page illustrations of the Ghostrock-inspired discoveries of Copernicus Blackburne. That strength should have been used to more effectively show rather than tell.

If you want a glimpse at your Mad Scientist’s future, give The Devil’s Six Gun a read. The game artifact is the stats for the Gun itself. This special pistol does more and more damage with each new hit but drives the user slowly insane.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
DEADLANDS: The Devil's Six Gun
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DEADLANDS: Black Water
Publisher: Visionary Comics
by Keith (. T. A. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/26/2012 22:37:51

Synopsis - A wealthy gentleman named Mr. Harmon Rappaport is haunted by dreams of a woman who saved his life during the Civil War. He and his bodyguard, Ian Fairfax, travel from New York to the the Great California Maze in search of Rapport's savior.

Along the way they hire Lyle Crumbfine to guide them through the dangers of the Maze. Harmon stares at the sky a great deal seeing the image his obsession so Lyle and Ian carry most of the story. Other characters in the story exists for the sole purpose of showing the dangers of the Great Maze. While they're all colorful in their own way, I would suggest red shirts for each since that's the role they play.

The ending is a bit abrupt. It could have done with a few more panels of fight scenes between the antagonist and our heroes. The story could also have done with fewer panels devoted to the horrors of the Maze then used the space depicting the final fight scene.

Deadlands fans will enjoy the depiction of the Great Maze. If your posse heads in that direction, this would be a good comic to pass around. The work includes full stats for Maze guide Lyle Crumbfine to add to your game as an NPC. I enjoyed the story, characters, and art but wished the story was stretched into a multi-comic series since it covers a lot of ground very quickly.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
DEADLANDS: Black Water
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Deadlands: The Kid: Origins
Publisher: Visionary Comics
by Keith (. T. A. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/26/2012 22:36:36

The Kid is my second favorite comic in this series. The writing is clever with surprises that make you go ‘oh yeah’. I love it when a reveal that makes you go back and reread it from a new point of few. All the elements that make comics fun to read came together in The Kid.

The Kid revolves around Billy the Kid placed in the Deadlands setting. This highlights one of the things that attracts me to Deadlands, real historical figures reimagined in a new setting. In this case, Billy is a monster hunter with some special talents.

In the story, a pack of werewolves attack Billy's family as they travel West for a better life. An old Indian Shaman saves Billy and trains him in the art of defeating supernatural evil inside the Hunting Grounds. Billy returns on a mission to avenge his family. The Kid offers a great view of the Hunting Grounds and Indian shamanism woven into a clever tale.

Much like Death was Silent, this work strikes the right balance between telling the story with words and art. Clever writing and great art place this in the ‘must read’ category for Deadlands fans. I can’t wait for future tales with The Kid. I only hope he meets up with the Cooper Brothers someday.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Deadlands: The Kid: Origins
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