DriveThruRPG.com
Browse Categories
$ to $















Back
pixel_trans.gif
Other comments left by this customer:
You must be logged in to rate this
pixel_trans.gif
Mutants & Masterminds Threat Report #12: Rez
Publisher: Green Ronin Publishing
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 03/29/2012 16:32:33

Like all of the threat reports come with a nice piece of color art of the character embedded in the PDF and a separate Hero Lab file.

Rez is the Cybertribe's infiltration specialist, able to change her appearance at will. As someone who hated her appearance, her new found freedom to be anyone, anytime. Her powers are focused on being other people, which she loves as character, and is a fascinating build for an infiltrator. Again, an interesting mostly non-combat build (at PL 10) which allows for some fun and interesting plots.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Mutants & Masterminds Threat Report #12: Rez
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
Mutants & Masterminds Threat Report #9: Motherboard
Publisher: Green Ronin Publishing
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 03/29/2012 16:12:59

Like all of the threat reports this come with a nice piece of color art of the character embedded in the PDF and a separate Hero Lab file.

Motherboard is the team leader and 'mother' of the Cybertribe, a brilliant scientist betrayed by an evil corporation and kept alive only by a life support cocoon. But her brain is alive and able to manipulate computers on a superhuman level. From their base (detailed here as well) she leads the Cybertribe in a private war against groups she considers evil, especially the corporation that tried to kill her. An excellent mastermind character with very limited combat ability (even at her PL of 12) with a morally ambiguous agenda if such appeals to a campaign.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Mutants & Masterminds Threat Report #9: Motherboard
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
Emerald City Knights Chapter 1: Life in the Aftermath
Publisher: Green Ronin Publishing
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 03/28/2012 14:45:43

For new heroes, and new game masters, this is a good starting point for a superheroic campaign. This adventure is nice as it touches on all of the primary types of scenes that can be used and provides a straightforward scenario to begin a team’s career.

Emerald City Knights, Chapter 1: The Aftermath is a 17-page PDF (15-pages if you remove the cover letter and OGL page) for the Mutants & Masterminds (3rd Edition) RPG written by Christopher McGlothlin and published by Green Ronin Publishing. This is the second part of Green Ronin’s Emerald City Knights adventure line for M&M (the first installment can be acquired free from RPGNow).

This follows the standard M&M layout, clean and easy to read with a variety of sidebars to clarify various points. Several nice full color pieces, including one that illustrates all the villains. Additionally HeroLab files for the four supervillains included.

This is a five-scene adventure arc with a mixture of action and combat scenes, a variety of people to meet and innocents to save, and ending on a cliffhanger (in the best comic tradition) that leads into the next adventure arc. The heroes are given a chance to be heroic and rescue people, meet some of the movers and shakers of Emerald City and get to fight members of F.O.E. (the Fraternal Order of Evl).

Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Emerald City Knights Chapter 1: Life in the Aftermath
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
Monk Archetypes (PFRPG)
Publisher: Rite Publishing
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 03/23/2012 19:32:21

Monk Archetypes is an excellent expansion to the options available for the monk, allowing many of the classic wushu and martial arts characters to be modeled in interesting and dynamic ways. It does come with a slight increase in complexity and resource management for the monk, but many players will find that a small price to pay for the wushu abilities made available.

Monk Archetypes is a 29-page PDF (26-pages if you remove the cover, ad and OGL page) for Pathfinder written by Frank Carr and published by Rite Publishing. This is part of Rite Publishing’s Jade Oath support.

The layout is a standard 2-column design. The art is a full color cover with a few other interior pieces that nicely support the theme. A set of bookmarks makes it easy to navigate the product but a list/chart of the new feats might have been helpful

It is broken into three major sections:

New archetypes, eight of these emphasize different aspects of the monk and range from the Contemplative, master of the sutra, to the Thaskalos, wrestler-philosopher from the distant west. The Sohei and Yamabushi are different sorts of weapon-focused monks, the sohei focusing on being part of a group, while the yamabushi master the elements. These allow a wide variety of ways to emphasize different aspects of the monk.

A new rule for those with ki pools, Ki Focus, leads into the sixty-one new feats which are almost all divided into two new types: Ki feats, which require the character to have a ki pool, and Chakra feats, which are also powered by Ki and require allocation of ki to maintain them. There are also three general feats, one of which opens ki powers to the dedicated. The Chakra feats are quite fun and will allow for some interesting tricks, they provide bonuses by locking part of a character’s ki pool into them which can then be expended for a major effect if needed.

The last section contains seven Major Chakra, which work like the chakra feats but are only available to the Sadhu archetype, which specializes in manipulating the chakra. They are slightly more powerful and certainly more flexible than the chakra feats allowing for considerable adaptability. A GM may wish study this section carefully before allowing its use.

Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Monk Archetypes (PFRPG)
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
The Genius Guide to Fire Magic
Publisher: Rogue Genius Games
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 03/22/2012 14:30:16

Not enough fire magic in your campaign? This genius guide aims to help you with that problem. A variety of new fire-based spells and class options for all of your magical fire needs are provided within.

The Genius Guide to: Fire Magic is a 12-page PDF (11 pages if you remove the credits/OGL page) for the Pathfinder RPG written by Owen K. C. Stephens and published by Super Genius Game. This is part of Super Genius Games’ Genius Guide line.

The layout is a screen-friendly landscape design, with cover art and 1-column on the first page and three columns on the rest. The list of spells is in traditional Pathfinder formatting and as easy to read as they ever are. The art supports the fire magic and spell-casting theme of this product in a mix of color and black and white pieces.

Fire Magic opens with a discussion about how Fire is a well used (if not iconic) in magic imagery but somehow, spellcasters always seem to be able to use more fire magic. So, more fire magic will be provided.

Fourteen new spells of first level and higher including something for most types of casters (bard, cleric, druid, inquisitor, sorcerer/wizard and witch). Naturally most of these are combat oriented spells but there are some interesting utility spells as well and the new rules for damage caused by magical steam, which are quite clever. The spells Brand of Shame, scarring the wicked for their crimes, and Wall of Glass, which summons a wall of molten glass, are two of my favorites.

Beyond the spells, fire casters are supported with: an optional Inquisitor’s judgement, a new Oracle mystery (dragonfire), new Witches’ hexes, a fiery creature template and two new metamagic feats.

Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
The Genius Guide to Fire Magic
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
Hope Prep School Freshman Handbook
Publisher: Melior Via
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 03/21/2012 18:48:54

The Hope Preparatory School Freshman Handbook is a lovely in-game artefact and a useful reference to the workings of the school. If playing a game in this setting, the Freshman handbook will add verisimilitude to the setting or if you need a super high school to visit, take a look.

Hope Preparatory School (HPS) Freshman Handbook is a 64-page PDF (61-pages if you remove the cover, OGL pages and ad) for the Mutants & Masterminds (3rd Edition) RPG written by John Dunn and published by Melior Via, LLC. This is part of the Melior Via’s Hope Preparatory School line.

HPS Freshman Handbook has mostly a traditional column layout and is digest size and easily readable. The text is annotated by three students which adds color commentary (in actual colored text). The art is full color but limited mostly to pictures of the teachers. It is very well book-marked and you can turn off layers (including the annotation) for easy printing.

HPS Freshman Handbook is exactly that, an in game artefact for students at the HPS school, a high school that caters to superhumans. This details the history of the school and its rules, information on academics (including class schedules and teachers -all of whom are superhumans-), sports, and extracurricular options (conspiracy club!). Overall, giving a solid view of the general workings of the school from the student side of things.

A short section on game rules talks about the appropriate power levels for students and rules for how school cliques impact on social skills. Lastly, the teachers are given short stat blocks.

Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Hope Prep School Freshman Handbook
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
#1 With a Bullet Point: 5 Abilities for Dragonhide Armor
Publisher: Rogue Genius Games
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 03/18/2012 21:58:49
1 With A Bullet Point: 5 Abilities for Dragonhide Armor by Supergenius Games is also just what is advertised, 5 new abilities (2 of which have multiple levels of power) that are thematically appropriate for dragonhide armor: tails, wings, breath weapons and more, all reflecting the powers of dragons the armor was created from. Quite a fun idea and well executed. So, if you need more things to do with that dragonhide.

Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
#1 With a Bullet Point: 5 Abilities for Dragonhide Armor
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
Cast of Extras 1: Town Guards
Publisher: Corvus Lunaris Ltd
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 03/18/2012 21:45:43

A Cast of Characters: Town Guards by Corvus Lunaris is exactly what is says on the tin, statblocks for five guard types ranging from village guards (CR 1/3) to Royal Guards (CR 8, though listed as CR 10), along with Captains for the two most competent sorts, Elite and Royal. Some combat tactics and roleplaying suggestion, maybe even suggested bribe levels, would have helped to flesh out the guards and moved them beyond generic opponents. On a design note, I would have liked to have seen more polearms among the guards and fewer (expensive) swords, some nonlethal weapon options would have been nice too. Still, handy to have when you need a bunch of guards to impede the player characters in some way.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Cast of Extras 1: Town Guards
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
Death Sentence
Publisher: War Games South
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 03/18/2012 20:52:29

Death Sentence, a Coffee Break Adventure by War Games South. A short one-page adventure with a nice full color map and an all too brief encounter. It is good enough for a short encounter, but only just. A second page could have added so much more (and an OGL). Not bad for something to use on the spur of the moment of for inspiration but War Games South should aim higher.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Death Sentence
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
Mage Noir
Publisher: White Wolf
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 03/17/2012 22:27:06

Mage Noir takes the mages of World of Darkness into the America of the postwar era in the US, a period of moral grays, the era of noir. Playing to mood and tone is one of the strengths of the World of Darkness and the noir era is full of such shadows and shades. If roleplaying in such a time interests you, this product is likely worth your time.

Mage Noir is an 82-page PDF (79-pages if you remove the covers and ad) for Mage: the Awakening (and the World of Darkness in general) RPG written by David Brookshaw, Matthew McFarland, John Snead and Filamena Young and published by White Wolf Publishing.

Mage Noir is mostly double column layout, except for the fiction, and is easily readable. The art is black and white as you would expect. It has basic bookmarks but lacks an index, still as this is a shortish work that is not a great hindrance to finding things.

Now, before I go any further, I should point out that I am not a Mage: the Awakening player or GM/storyteller so I am looking at it just as a 1940s/Noir reference. Mage Noir begins with fiction, moves into an introduction that defines the setting’s theme as price of awakening and its mood as cynicism, it is noir all the way. It gives a solid list of source materials from movie to music, books to games.

The other chapters are:

The Party’s Over looks at the status of American society immediately post-WW2. It gives an overview of a nation reshaped by war and trying to find its place in the post war era, a world of rapidly changing technology where the old societal certainties were breaking down.

The Power and the Glory looks at character creation. A surprising amount of this chapter is usable in any game set in the late 40s, giving things to think about when building a character of that period. A new Legacy, the Quiescent, is also introduced along with new attainments for that path.

Nice Guys Finish Last, is tied quite deeply into the Mage setting talking how about how the various magical groups have been disrupted by the postwar world and how they are trying to adapt. While tied heavily to the setting, there are many bits and hooks that could be used for other modern fantasy stories.

Stories in the Naked City, the storyteller’s part of the book, focusing on how to bring in the themes of noir into a game. Plot and setting ideas are spread out through this section waiting to be taken up.

The Weaver-West Papers, a five-part Storyteller Adventure System piece with five pre-generated characters. This serves as an introduction to the themes of noir in practice as well as providing example characters for the period. The adventure is structured with the idea that each of the five characters gets to be in the spotlight in one of the scenes.

Concluding is an appendix containing the Lamppost Cabal. Five mages complete with full character sheets, operating out of their own nightclub. They also get their own antagonist. Lastly, a blank Mage Noir character sheet is provided.

Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Mage Noir
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
The Sinking: Epicenter Rising
Publisher: 0one Games
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 03/15/2012 13:53:50

The Sinking: Epicenter Rising is straight forward introductory adventure that ties a group into a major happening in the Great City, but with a little work could easily be adapted for other cities. While rather structured, the adventure has a good internal logic and should provide a satisfying play experience for most groups.

The Sinking: Epicenter Rising, an adventure for 1st level characters is a 16-page PDF (11-pages if you remove the covers, ads and OGL page) for any the Pathfinder RPG written by Tim Hitchcock and published by 0one Roleplaying Games. This is Season 1 - Pilot of the Great City Campaign Serial.

Epicenter Rising has a traditional two column layout and is easily readable. The limited art is solid black and white work and four maps are included within the work.

Epicenter Rising hinges on a simple plot, the characters are hired to investigate a smuggling ring, and many ways to get the characters involved are discussed (always nice). The investigation lead to the characters visiting the sewers just in time to be trapped by an earthquake! After which the adventurers must make their way through the winding tunnels to find a way back to the surface.

While the adventure is a bit linear, it is fair for an introductory adventure and the setting is engaging, almost a classic adventure movie setting that I think many players will find fun to play through.

Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
The Sinking: Epicenter Rising
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
Shadowrun: Attitude
Publisher: Catalyst Game Labs
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 03/14/2012 22:24:07

Attitude is all about style and the world of media and celebrity in the Shadowrun future. It is a superb reference but it is almost all background and information, very much a flavor sourcebook while there are some new equipment and rules, it is focused on adding depth to the sixth world not rules to the game.

Attitude: Sixth World Swagger for Shadowrun written by Lars Blumenstein, Rusty Childers, David A. Hill Jr., Jason M. Hardy, Adam Large, Je D. McLane, Cynthia Celeste Miller, William Murray, Elizabeth V. Nold, Malik Toms, Filamena Young, Russell Zimmerman and published by Catalyst Game Labs.

Attitude is a style guide and more for the world of Shadowrun, but style ties into a lot of things in the future of the Sixth World it is quite wide ranging. The majority of the book is descriptive and written “in world” that is from the point of view of the characters in the setting as if they were data files on a discussion forum.

After a short introduction there is almost forty pages of information on the Runners’ scene including topics such as managing your reputation, useful contacts and much more. This section is extremely useful for both players and GM, giving a good look at how runners fit into the larger world as well as many good tricks of the trade.

Then it moves into entertainment: the Music scene, the Trid scene, and the BTL scenes giving information on the scenes, the major players there, and provides adventure ideas tied to these industries. Even if you do not want to run entertainment-based runs, it helps to flesh out the world to know more about these media work in Shadowrun.

Next it is sports, which is a mix of old and new, with a discussion of leagues and teams and, of course, cheating. Pirate Media, for the shadow side of news and performance, but a media that could be used by (and may be sympathetic to) runners. One of my favorite pieces of the pirate media section are the cult recreationists who obsessively recreate old shows and movies for various purposes. A section on working with celebrities, which can lead to unwanted fame for a runner, is mostly fiction but paints an interesting cautionary tale.

Be Your Own Boss, on being a team leader, and Diving Off The Edge, which is advice on making your own luck rounds out the advice for runners. A selection of the characters that are referenced earlier in the work is given more detail for use as NPCs.

Lastly, there are new styles, clothing and toys for runners and normal people of the future alike (and the only mechanics in the entire book). New toys almost always make players happy and GM get some fun toys for the NPCs as well.

Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Shadowrun: Attitude
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
City Book 1: Vor-Laran
Publisher: Gethsemane Games
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 03/04/2012 19:57:56

Vor-Laran is an interesting city, systemless and open to be adapted for any fantasy world, it does have its own character. If you have need for a city, or ideas for a city, this inexpensive product is a good resource.

Vor-Laran is an 18-page PDF systemless city resource for any fantasy RPG written by Bryan F Irving and published by Gethsemane Games.

After the introduction page Vor-Laran has a standard two column layout and is clearly readable. There is a full color map of the town at the beginning with a single piece of black and white art. There are a couple of typos in the book but nothing major.

Vor-Laran begins with a short introduction to the original setting used for the city and what some of the terminology used in the description means in that context (along with telling you to change what you need if that suits your campaign better).

It is a major city on the southern edge of a great empire, wealthy through trade and ancient status. Twenty-seven points of interest, including palace, markets, theater and college, in the city. Many of the locations come with an associated NPC. Additional information on the sewer and water system is provided (both of which are subjects that are often overlooked).

Six adventure ideas, each at least two paragraphs long, conclude the product.

It is an interesting setting, the empire is portrayed as fairly modern and progressive -at least in comparison to what proceeded it- while still having its dark sides and problems. But it can easily serve as a basis or inspiration for a city (or cities) in a campaign.

Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
City Book 1: Vor-Laran
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
Shadowrun: Runner's Toolkit
Publisher: Catalyst Game Labs
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 03/02/2012 22:46:17

Runner’s Toolkit contains a considerable number of useful tools for any Shadowrun GM. Especially for a new GM the toolkit is an excellent addition to their arsenal of tools and for any Shadowrun GM it has a considerable amount of useful information and things to make Gming easier. My only concern is the price, as it contains much less than the physical box set it is based on, it would be nice if its cost as a PDF reflected that as well.

The Runner’s Toolkit for Shadowrun written by a cast of thousands and published by Catalyst Game Labs.

The Runner’s Toolkit consists of several parts (each its own PDF):

Anatomy of a Shadowrun, a 30-page guide to a shadowrun told in fiction and then the same told in game terms, complete with the rolls used and page references for the skills used. This is a useful example for new players and GMs (and reminder for experienced ones) of how things can play out during a run.

12 Full Color Cheat Sheets for the major actions of the game (magic, combat, hacking and even character creation) including the stats and skills used, page references and a walkthrough of the sequence of the event. These are extremely helpful for those new to the system. Though a printer friendly version of these would have been appreciated.

47 pages of compiled tables from Arsenal, Augmentation, Street Magic and Unwired (plus the main book) everything gathered and organized in one place with page references for which book the full item listing is in for easy detail lookup.

Contacts - Adventures - Sprawl Sites, which contain what it says: A wide variety of contacts, from club owner to snitch, taxi driver to bodyguard, all useful and as they are statted out you can use them for instant NPCs. Adventures, which include a set of nice adventure frames and a random adventure generation. Sprawl Sites, four well detailed maps for potential runs. These should be excellent resources for any campaign.

Pre-generated Auxiliary Character Kit System (PACKS) is an alternate character creation system using modular packs to quickly assemble characters. This provides a useful set of tools for rapidly constructing both player characters and NPCs.

On the Run, a complete adventure aimed specifically for new players and GM. It is a solid introduction to the world of Shadowrun with ancient tech, rockers, magic, gangs, and betrayal all playing a role in the adventure. It is designed to be easy to run for a new GM with advice and page numbers for the rules/situations encountered.

Everything is well put together and useful for a GM and most will find them quite useful to have to hand when running a game. I know I have.

Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Shadowrun: Runner's Toolkit
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
Villains and Vigilantes: Opponents Unlimited
Publisher: Fantasy Games Unlimited
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 02/25/2012 14:17:50

Opponents Unlimited is a collection of supervillains, lone villains and groups, most of which are very offbeat or even outright zany. For colorful and unusual characters, it is worth a look.

Opponents Unlimited is a 33-page PDF (31-pages after you remove the covers) for the Villains & Vigilantes RPG written by Stephen Jones and published by Fantasy Games Unlimited. This is a scan of the original physical book, while a clean scan it makes the product a large file and unsearchable, both of which are inconvenient.

Opponents Unlimited has mostly a traditional two column layout. Each character has a black and white illustration (done by Jeff Dee one of the co-creators of V&V), there are several interior maps and two sheets of full color counters.

Opponents Unlimited is a collection of supervillains (and more) for V&V. It starts with a table of 24 encounters, paragraph long adventure seeds, and statistics for the Prankster (a trickster hero) and rouge robots and komodo dragons which show up in some of the other encounters.

Next are seven solo villains (well, one is neither hero nor villain) several of which, including an organ-legger and an alien cyborg who intend to kidnap children to use as raw material for future cyborg, could be quite dark but others which are rather light hearted.

The organizations continue the light-hearted theme with:

*B.A.D. (the Brotherhood of Amoral Dudes) lead by Auntie Phil and containing such members as Cosmic Zoom (a size-shifter with a sword) and Swarmmaster.

*The Amazing Floop Brothers, a family team of supervillains.

*V.I.L.E. (Villains In Larcenous Enterprise) who are a little more serious but only a little.

Each of these three include a mapped HQ.

There is also the Tarot Master, three Tarot Card-themed supervillains backed a group of suit-themed agents.

Each of the characters is given a fairly short description but enough to build from and often implies scenario ideas. But it is a product from the early days of RPGs and shows that to some extent. The characters are all a bit strange, as the random nature of character generation for V&V shows through, but it should be easy enough to convert them to another system.

Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Villains and Vigilantes: Opponents Unlimited
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
Displaying 226 to 240 (of 513 reviews) Result Pages: [<< Prev]  ... 10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18 ...  [Next >>] 
pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif Back pixel_trans.gif
0 items
 Gift Certificates