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I love this newest addition to my library. I had been reluctant to commit to the Icons system after reading the book. It seemed nebulous on too many details. Once I wrapped my head around it, though. It proved to be a system very ideally suited to me. It is in essence a simplified rendition of Marvel Superheroes tier system with the Aspect mechanic of the Fate system. Oh, and using an easier to acquire d6-d6 mechanic which was always my favorite equivalent to the FUDGE dice.
I still had problems with the system. The powers were too limited. Heck, they werent even listed alphabetically which really stunk. I didnt yet fully trust the range and movement systems. This book is like a patch filling in all the holes in the system. It makes Icons purr like a kitten. A lot of ideas I had been totting around from other systems, like a list of inter-related power listings from Alpha Chronicles, have been made redundant by this one book. Imagine how wonderful it is to just not have to concider and peruse three or more other books to get the feel you want from your setting or magic.
In one book is everything you need to really customize your character. If you are a FASERIP fan, this is like the 'Ultimate Powers' book. It adds a few twists to the system, twists which I at first resisted, like not having some powers be twice as expensive as others. Once you get the feel of the system, though, you start to understand. Instead of just rolling stupid powers on some list... you are developing and interweaving your abilities... almost effortlessly. The book showing you how even just with its listings which suggest possibilities and, as stated before, alphabeticaly listed for ease of use with symbols to help organize the seven different power catagories. It even has a Servent power... and listings under Summon. This is always wonderful for smoothe mechanics for making up characters on the spot.
If you are even the vaguest bit interested in the Icons system and if you have some knowledge of the basic system, this book is a wonderful read which really opens up the possibilities of this system. Of course, being a sourcebook, it doesnt cover all the basic rules like panel and page meaning and such. It assumes one has those rules in place. This book mostly just streamlines the power and stunt systems. It is much simpler than most crunchy type games, like the Hero system or even D&D. It still gives you a lot of variance, though, and a lot of options. To me, this system is an ideal hybrid of the story driven Aspects (called Qualities) with the very simple and direct 10 level mechanics. I could give no higher endorsement to a game.
I hope they keep making these kind of products, but could they vary the art a bit. Maybe in the next issues they make a remake of the Icons basic book without its power and stunt system... and just try a different tone or two from the Silver Age illustrations. They are exciting and evocative, but kind of childish sometimes. Id like it if they made a 'gritty' edition of thier next book or urban fantasy toned edition. Maybe even the same book with different tones so the rulebook can be matched with the tone of the game. Hopefullly at a reduced price, because its a reprint, of course.
I look forward to a future with even more Icons material.
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This was everything I could have wanted it to be... especially for the price.
This document is based on the Myers Briggs system of personality classification. It goes a lot further, though, in its stated purpose of instantly giving you a way to play any NPC. In only a dozen pages... no frivolous prose on the theory of "RPG characters" no pictures except the cover. Hey, in the middle of a game, would you want all that stuff in the way of you and a good personality to pop on an NPC.
Let's talk about how they did it. They use a very basic spread of different personality combinations based on a very trusted psychological tool used pervasively. I took it in a medical careers prep college course. It is all organized with simple descriptive phrases, a simple intelligence modifier, and a negative trait associated with each. It even easily adjusts for nonhuman races using Vulcans specificly as an example. This template can be shaped to reflect the races of any fantasy or science fiction. I have never seen a more useful, inexpensive, and slender tool to place in any game master's tool belt.
Lets talk RPG craft. Even experienced game masters will notice they start developing only a handful of 'archetypes' on their own. Unless you are a bit schizo, you always have your own voice in your head. Change it up as much as you can, you will notice over your own gaming career... your name isn't legion. We all have to accept our limitations. This one product will make you a personality Plastic Man. For those serious about the art of RPGs, that is a wonderful thing.
Give this product a chance. It doesn't even cost a full dollar. If you use it in one game and flesh out eight NPCs with it then you have got your money's worth at about 10 cents per NPC.
Happy gaming.
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This is an incredible product. Image the best made core and world rulebook made by the industry giants... you know the two of them. Now, imagine its been simplified down to a flexible system.... and it is FREEEEEE. Beautiful artwork, wonderful mechanics, lots of background covered. I have to say, I downloaded both of Chubby Funster's free books... and was thoroughly impressed. For free products, these are very high quality and have lots of wonderfully evocative multicolor art from multiple artists. If this is any indication of the quality of Chubby Funster's work, I cant wait to see the other 5 products he has to offer that might actually cost a few dollars.
Just so you know, if this sounds too friendly, Ive never met or heard of Chubby Funster before today. I came across his free products, downloaded them, and became an instant fan. Please, give these products a chance, you will be glad that you did. I was in the middle of a MMORPG, when I got sucked up on this from my laptop. My character literally stood in the corner while I read this stuff... like some insolent child. Not since I downloaded C.J. whatshisnames Witchcraft have I been so entranced by a product.. and that was gritty black and white.
This review covers both of his free works, which I just downloaded and perused, Cascade Failure and Novarium. Ones an alternative to a good medival setting with a nice, simplistic system. The other is kind of a d20 post apocalyptic space opera... I know, just sounds intriguing. Check out both of them, did you notice they are both FREEEEE, and then give Chuggy Funster's products a try. I know thats where Im going after posting these two reviews up.
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This is an incredible product. Image the best made core and world rulebook made by the industry giants... you know the two of them. Now, imagine its been simplified down to a flexible system.... and it is FREEEEEE. Beautiful artwork, wonderful mechanics, lots of background covered. I have to say, I downloaded both of Chubby Funster's free books... and was thoroughly impressed. For free products, these are very high quality and have lots of wonderfully evocative multicolor art from multiple artists. If this is any indication of the quality of Chubby Funster's work, I cant wait to see the other 5 products he has to offer that might actually cost a few dollars.
Just so you know, if this sounds too friendly, Ive never met or heard of Chubby Funster before today. I came across his free products, downloaded them, and became an instant fan. Please, give these products a chance, you will be glad that you did. I was in the middle of a MMORPG, when I got sucked up on this from my laptop. My character literally stood in the corner while I read this stuff... like some insolent child. Not since I downloaded C.J. whatshisnames Witchcraft have I been so entranced by a product.. and that was gritty black and white.
This review covers both of his free works, which I just downloaded and perused, Cascade Failure and Novarium. Ones an alternative to a good medival setting with a nice, simplistic system. The other is kind of a d20 post apocalyptic space opera... I know, just sounds intriguing. Check out both of them, did you notice they are both FREEEEE, and then give Chuggy Funster's products a try. I know thats where Im going after posting these two reviews up.
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This was my first downloaded rpg. I was so proud of myself, looking it up online as well as on Wikipedia to see what I was getting myself into. I didnt end up liking it after I got into it, though. It is a wonderful idea, creating an entire world free and clear with the barest of guidelines, but in practicality, some of us like our charts and lists and such. The original CAH actually had all of that before they dumped it all for a more 'freestyling' approach.
If one can aquire the orignal CAH rules, even if they are just a guideline onto which to fall back onto when involving some aspect of the game you hadnt touched on before, I think is a good idea. I finally aquired a copy and concider such a necessary part of the flexible use of this sytem. Some of its more interesting books, such as the Fantasy Genre Companion, a wonderful book, is based on the original CAH rules. In fact, if I could speak with Cynthia and suggest one thing, it would be that they should included a file with the original game, even if it were just a printer friendly manual with no illustrations, would be wonderfully useful for many who might want to try this game.
There is much to like about this system. It is a very simplistic Heros type point based system which is genre specific to eighties style action cartoons. It has a lot of wonderful ideas and if one can work around the problems I mentioned above... such as someone who loves the idea of making up rules on the spot or doesnt mind that anything resembling a scaling system has been deleted... this is a wonderful little gem. Who wouldnt want to be a kid again and play out thier favorite Go-bots or Thundercats adventures? So pour yourself some sugary cereal and wear your favorite hero's underoos while playing this game and remember what it was like to be a kid... for an hour or so at least.
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I was very impressed with this bundled set. Everything one could need to play a political/action space opra game is here. Included in this set is artwork portraying all the different ships at least once, with more shots of the namesakes of the two products. There are large overview maps and detailed tiles which overlay in a staggering amount of patterns. d20 stats are given for some NPCs and all the space vehicles present. There are section descriptions with interesting tidbits thrown in along the way as well as keyed points with specific names for businesses, etc. Each product has a shuttle and a fighter making a total of four smaller, practical ships, the capital ship, and a huge space station. This is not a 'slacker' product and used as it it is perfect.
The fun part is seeing what it can be used as. The tiles can be arranged or even whole section maps recycled as bad guy bases or shoot out scenes at water reclamation centers or whatever one can imagine. Everything is well organized and after flipping through the PDFs a few times, it all makes sence. This is a good product and I know I am echoing what almost everyone else says about this company, but darn it, its true. If you play SciFi games, purchase this product. Its worth this price just obtaining all the detailed and interesting maps. Whenever a game doesnt go the way you want it and the players start waundering off the reservation, its nice to have someplace to go. This gives you all of the setting one could need in a station, a city, some corridor in some starship, whatever.
Ki Ryn Studios puts a full days work in thier products. This isnt some space filler and a few line drawings on a computer like what Ive gotten with products about as expensive as this one. This is a lot of detail and organization and preparation all brought together and placed under your fingertips. If you read all of the comments, none of them say anything bad. I dont remember reading one negative comment about any of the Future Armada products, because believe me I checked on them. This is the only bundle of thier products, buy it, check out what they can do. You will be crooning thier praises in the comments section yourself.
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I have read some kind of mean reviews this guy has gotten, and hes always replied politely. I have my eye on other UKG products, but the first one I was able to get was this one, the Fighters book. I have to say it was an interesting selection of six different fighters. A couple of them looked so much alike... it was like father and son, but each had a dedicated purpose from scouting to bombing. There was a lot of thought in the presentation of each modle... with a few paragraphs on its role, the full stats, and a picture or two. Each had an evokative look and there was some interesting new abilities added on. The best part of it is the price. For half the price of a big mac meal I have six fights... excellent for the Buck Roger's style storyline I had on my mind.
Now for the price, I was very satisfied. If some misspellings were present (some people were wierding over it in other reviews), I didnt notice them. The illustrations were slick. I have a slight murmurs which I will convey, but if you could cover this, it would only be bonus in future issues. For the price I paid, I cant expect too much more. I would like it if there was some indication of what is what in some of the fighters. Like a compartments outline with a few key numbers. Look up the numbers and see where the fuel is, the payload, the engine, etc. I know these are fighters and there isnt room in the ship for the pilot to step somewhere and have a cigarette and emote... but when the plasma's flying having some idea where a critical hit occurs would be nice.
I will have to ask that you continue to place such wonderfully crafted and themed products out here for us to use. I am trying to get the UK Ship Bundle 3 pretty soon to really fatten up my starship collection. Your products seem to be perfect for my Space Opra and cannot wait to see what else I can add to my ranks. You do good work. As long as whoever is reviewing your stuff sees the words 'Future' and 'd20' in the chat box, they seem to agree.
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This was a fun product to read and concider as a form of 'flavor crystals' for an otherwise same-old d20 space opra. A little bit of everything can be found here from planets full of soul-sucking yet beautiful green women to a race of robots bent on conquering all biological life a la BSG to a 'blade of the cosmos' laser sword which uses the mind to open and represents the authority of Galaxy Command. A lot of fun PC races are offered, including some exotic and villianous ones. Anything found from an old Star Trek or Lost in Space episode can be found here including a race of sentient humanoids born from stars and a paradise of near immortals whose evils and diseases were extracted and left to develop into a cruel space slime. Like I said, almost anything can happen here, as anyone who remembers retro-sci fi should have tatooed to their cerebrum by now. (An example Im pulling out of my own half-remembered recollections is an episode of Lost in Space where the vedgetables try to judge cowardly Dr. Smith for eating his greens.)
Now I have to say a few things about what weaknesses I might have noticed about the product. Although this was very imaginative and interesting, it spent a lot of time talking about what a laundry list of other Otherverse products would work with this system. Come on, the book declares itself to be a single book campagn setting. Im invested in the system mechanics already, uses d20 Modern and Future, and bought an entire bundle, and theres more I need to get to make full use of this product? There is reallly no organization to this book. There are no chapters, no index, no way to find anything you find useful right then unless you print the page or something. The art work was uneven and amaturish at times, but this added a nostalgic touch concidering the theme. One more minor point of contention, the final product of this bundle, the planetary champion, is a waste. Just delete it and put it out of our misery. It details how to make an undefeatable superman-like type of... whatever. I dont see the use of this in a seveties flavored future, why have this superman run around and take away all the character's hardearned mojo... and since its sooo undefeatable, its not like it makes a very fun villian either. Its like this was a file just lying around that they stapled to the end just to make some use of it. I guess its there to smack around the Starchildren if they get out of line or something.
If Skortched Urf were to get a copy of this commentary somehow, I would have to say a few things. #1) Awesome product. Please keep up the wonderful work with more Galaxy Command-type products, but #2) please lose the the add on d20 superman class and other such balogna (also known as meat fillers). Just because a genre is as broad as cheesey sci fi doesnt mean you can just dump anything into it. You still have to respect it the next morning after playing it. Suddenly everything will taste like chicken if you start mixing in a Joker or Toyman-themed stellar conqueror or have to duel a Sword of Thudara wielding cat-like alien. #3)Well, I think that will cover it. As long as you keep giving us such fun products.
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I had almost given up ever using the rules for Cartoon Action Hour. They were too vague... too campy. Then I find this book.
CAH had a lot of potential, but it needed more structure or something to be very useful to me. This book, and I hope to see others like it, puts this into the system. It has literally dozens of races, professions, variations of weapons, varations of vehicles and seige engines, everything one could need to play out anything from He-Man to King Arthur, Gremlins to Willow.
This book has very little art, just a dazzling array of figurine shots and pensil drawings splashed across every few pages. The content is kind of generic, but its intended to act as the 'bare bones' of anyones fantasy story... wherever... whenever. The statistics and depth of this book, though, were enough to support almost anything I could imagine. Whats more important, even though the cover doesnt look like much, the pages between were thoroughly entertaining and thus easy to absorb. I can even forgive that the book quotes directly from the first CAH, and I have only the Second Season edition. (Thats why they left us conversion notes in the back of the book.)
In conclusion, to me a wonderful product. In future editions, some changes to the art, like toning down the illuminated page borders and changing that rediculous cover, would be appreciated. Oh, and the book ominously has 'Volume I' stamped across the cover, Id really like to see where else they take this. Maybe an awesome Future Genre or Modern Epic would be useful for a dilitant like me. Ill probably end up buying the real vesion, though I am a bit cash low right now. This product is worth the $17.
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This was a lot of fluff and empty space. There was barely anything in there of use. I thought it would be a nice way to have intelligent power words for characters to say, but it just didnt have what I needed. It was a large waste of time and should have been sold to me for about a quarter of its price. Not satisfied.
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It is seven pages of a ninety-three page book. It is great for a few neat names to toss around, but isnt what it promises to be. It isn't a way to make any name you need on the fly in imaginary land. Perhaps the full length, non-free version would be, if it were offered here. Whatever. Hardly worth the price, even for it being free.
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I thought this was an interesting premesis for an RPG. Think of it as a one book World of Darkness. Which is great if your a WoD burnout like me. If you like the idea of anything from American Indian totems to Fairies to various Undead to Asura from Indian mythology all crossing paths and having a common destiny, culture, and source, give this book a chance.
Even if your not a Live Action Role Player, it is interesting to the knowlegable reader and offers depth to games like Shadowrun or even World of Darkness, which if were completely fair has been fleecing us with thier sourcebooks-of-the-moth. Everything within this PDF is thought provoking and philosophical, which is a main strength for this kind of product. I was very satisfied with my purchase of this product, I think you will be too.
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This is a fun sourcebook which is easily incorporated into most game systems. It is ecclectic and humorous and yet very flexible and rule-lite, making it a good fit for almost any setting involving New York City, fantasy, and with pariah-like themes (Shadowrun and World of Darkness come immediately to mind). I cant stop reading this thing and I bought it along with five other cheap modules just to see whats up. For two dollars, this is a wonderful find, the only thing I bought that was really worth much more than I paid for it. If you like a quirky setting/sourcebook where mole people and mad scientists and people lost in time can comingle and get into trouble, dont pass up this one. It is probably the most intersting book you will never hear about.
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I am in love with Strands of Fate. Its game mechanics center around the story with a unique Fate point and Aspect mechanics. It is presented in a single book covering everything with an intuitive, simplistic system. With this book tucked under your arm, you can easily run scenarios with anything with any genre. One could even explore a 'Sliders' style alternate reality storyline and bounce the genre of your game with each session. You can easily cobble a zombie appocalypse, a techno-distopia, or a fantasy spell-slinger campaign all with only at most an hours worth of reading and jotting a few notes.
I have been roleplaying since the eighties and can say I have only noted a few giants in this realm. First there was D&D, then WoD blew that away, and now SoF has handed both of these industry giants their walking papers. The price listed for the digital copy is very fair especially once you note the size of this core rulebook at 461 well organized and tabled pages. Easily this is the highest quality download I have bought from RPG Now. I challenge you to find anything else on this or any other site which is as all inclusive, inexpensive, and creativity inspiring as this product. I just dont think such a unicorn exists.
Discover your destiny with Strands of Fate.
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