uick-starts are means of trying out a roleplaying game before you buy. Each should provide a Game Master with sufficient background to introduce and explain the setting to her players, the rules to run the scenario included, and a set of ready-to-play, pre-generated characters that the players can pick up and understand almost as soon as they have sat down to play. The scenario itself should provide an introduction to the setting for the players as well as to the type of adventures that their characters will have and just an idea of some of the things their characters will be doing on said adventures. All of which should be packaged up in an easy-to-understand booklet whose contents, with a minimum of preparation upon the part of the Game Master, can be brought to the table and run for her gaming group in a single evening’s session—or perhaps too. And at the end of it, Game Master and players alike should ideally know whether they want to play the game again, perhaps purchasing another adventure or even the full rules for the roleplaying game.

Alternatively, if the Game Master already has the full rules for the roleplaying game for the quick-start is for, then what it provides is a sample scenario that she still run as an introduction or even as part of her campaign for the roleplaying game. The ideal quick-start should entice and intrigue a playing group, but above all effectively introduce and teach the roleplaying game, as well as showcase both rules and setting.

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What is it?
The Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game – Quickstart is the quick-start for Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game, the horror roleplaying game of occult investigation based on Hellboy, Mike Mignola’s comic book tales of horror, myth, and folklore. Originally published by Mantic, it is now published by Nightfall Games.

It includes a basic explanation of the setting, rules for action and combat, setting rules, details of the arms, armour, and equipment fielded by the Player Characters, the assignment, ‘The Sad Case of Mary Pym’, and five ready-to-play, Player Characters, or Agents.

It is a forty-six page, full colour book.

The quick-start is lightly illustrated, but Mike Mignola’s artwork is as good as you would expect. The rules are a slightly stripped down version from the core rulebook and include setting specific rules, but all are easy to grasp.

How long will it take to play?
The Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game – Quickstart and its assignment, ‘The Sad Case of Mary Pym’, is designed to be played through in one or two sessions.

What else do you need to play?
The Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game – Quickstart requires at least one twenty-sided die per player, or ideally a full set of the standard polyhedral dice.

The Game Master may want to have two sets of tokens to represent Doom and Ingenuity.

Who do you play?
The five Player Characters are agents with the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, or B.P.R.D. They include a medical doctor who has been in the field too long; an ex-cop from Vietnam; an archaeologist with psychic powers; a Russian counter-terrorist operative seconded from the FSB; and an ex-US Army chaplain. All come with simple backgrounds and full explanations of their abilities.

How is a Player Character defined?
The Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game – Quickstart, and thus Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game, is compatible with Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. A Player Character will look familiar to anyone who has played that roleplaying game or any similar roleplaying game.

How do the mechanics work?
Mechanically, the Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game – Quickstart uses the standard rules for Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. However, there are some additions to the rules to take account of B.P.R.D. fieldwork. In addition to rolling the twenty-sided die for ability checks, skill rolls, saving throws, and attack rolls, a player also rolls a ten-sided die. On a roll of one on the ten-sided die, a point of Doom is generated, whereas a roll of ten on the ten-sided die will generate a point of Ingenuity. In addition, certain events or discoveries during an investigation can generate points of Doom or Ingenuity. Ingenuity has a lot of uses. Some of these include succeeding with flair, gaining extra information, failing with style to mitigate the effect of the failure, use an ability that requires a Focus Check without the need to roll, cause a maximum roll on a damage roll to explode, and so on.

Doom does not have as many uses. Typically, it is used to inflict a fumble on a Player Character. In addition, it is possible to both fail or succeed with Doom or both fail or succeed with Ingenuity, plus an investigation can have its Ingenuity and Doom spends. ‘The Sad Case of Mary Pym’ has its own set of tables for Ingenuity and Doom spends.

How does combat work?
Combat in Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game – Quickstart, and thus Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game, uses the standard rules for Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. There are some additions to the rules to make play more cinematic in line with the comic book series. ‘This Is Gonna Hurt’ grants a Player Character a bonus attack on which his player can expend Hit Dice to increase damage and ‘Rapid Fire’ enables a Player Character to shoot at multiple targets within close proximity of each other.

How do Rituals and Psychic Powers work?
The Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game – Quickstart includes an introduction to both rituals and psychic powers. To perform a ritual, a skill check is required and then a Charisma check is required to maintain it, but the player must also roll three ten-sided dice instead of one for Doom and Ingenuity with these rolls. These count as extra successes. The rules for rituals are not as clearly presented as they could be. Three sample rituals are given, including Exorcism and The Grāmata Rite, which reverses a transformation or curse.

Psychic powers work in a similar fashion. The three sample powers include Psychometry, Psychic Invasion, and Séance.

What do you play?
‘The Sad Case of Mary Pym’ is a full haunted house investigation for B.P.R.D. which is set in the United Kingdom. The agents are called in to investigate after an estate agent reports seeing a ghost in Uxley Hall. The whole of the house is presented in damp, mouldy detail, which gets weirder and crazier the deeper the agents go and the more Doom they have accrued on the ‘Grand Conspiracy Sheet’, awakening more and more of the monsters. The adventure keeps some of its details hidden until towards the end, so the Game Master will need to give it a close read. It is primarily exploratory in nature, the Player Character actions triggering events and adding Doom to the ‘Grand Conspiracy Sheet’ which also trigger events. It is a decent investigation, pulpy in nature in keeping with the source material. Even the scenario’s map is brash and colourfully pulpy in its style.

Is there anything missing?
The Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game – Quickstart is complete. Portraits for the pre-generated Agents would have been useful, as well as for the NPCs.

Is it easy to prepare?
The core rules presented in the Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game – Quickstart are relatively easy to prepare. The Game Master will need to understand how Doom and Ingenuity work as well as rituals and psychic powers.
Is it worth it?
Yes. The Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game – Quickstart is a solid introduction to occult investigation in the world of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy and B.P.R.D. It is pulpy and grows to be over the top in keeping with the source material which the players and their agents will want to play up to.
Where can you get it?
The Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game – Quickstart is available to download here.

Ragged Hollow is a village to the west of the Kingdom, standing on the Rime River, below Mount Mourn in The Bleak Mountains further west and near Gloam Wood to the north. It is peaceful place, best known for its temple to Halcyon, god of Law, and the quality of its flax, which is turned into paper for the books printed at the temple or into cloth and oil. Villagers rarely travel more than a day’s walk except for their Halloo, the tradition of the region’s youth to travel free and adventure for a short while before returning their hometowns and villages to take up ordinary lives like their parents and older brothers and sisters. Yet in a village where nothing happens, something strange has happened! A great gold dome, murky and impervious has descended upon the Temple of Halcyon. How has this happened and what is the fate of the temple staff and the villagers inside the temple when the dome descended? Can a way in be found? What is the significance of the tolling of the temple’s bell multiple times that midnight and the following midnight? Why are the villagers beset by nightmares in the following days that forces them to remain in their homes at night?
This is the set-up for Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow, an ‘Adventure Module for Characters 1-2’ for use with Old School Essentials, the retroclone based on the 1981 revision of Basic Dungeons & Dragons by Tom Moldvay and its accompanying Expert Set by Dave Cook and Steve Marsh. Originally published as Ragged Hollow Nightmare by Dungeon Age Adventures for use with Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, this version has been expanded, adapted, and transformed by The Merry Mushmen—best known for the Old School Renaissance magazine, Knock! and the excellent A Folklore Bestiary—following a successful Kickstarter campaign. And what a transformation it is! The digest-sized scenario comes as a thick, eighty-page booklet in a wraparound card cover. The trade echoes that of classic TSR, though the artwork is more cartoonish. The cover has been purposely distressed and inside has been drawn the map of the temple, again in the style of classic Dungeons & Dragons modules. The cartoonish style of artwork continues throughout in a duotone of red and grey, depicting the ordinary nature of life in and around Ragged Hollow as well as the weirdness and horror to be found as the Player Characters explore both further afield and then closer to home. There can be no doubt that Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow is very charming little book.

Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow is designed to serve as a first adventure. Ideally, the Player Characters should be First Level and will likely to be Second or Third Level once they complete the whole adventure. Its set-up is a classic of Dungeons & Dragons-style scenarios. There is a village in peril and the Player Characters are the ones to save it. However, Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow inverts that set-up ever so slightly. In the classic set-up, the peril threatening the village will be elsewhere and the Player Characters will use the village as a base of operations in order to strike out into the surrounding wilderness, locate the source of the peril, destroy or otherwise deal with said peril, and return having saved the village. Not so in Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow. Here the peril is already present in the village, shining in gold for all to see. In addition to not having to locate the source of the peril, the Player Characters are unable to do anything about it—at least initially. Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow presents several hooks and plots that will draw the Player Characters away from Ragged Hollow to various locations nearby in the Bleak Mountains to the west, Gloam Wood to the north, and the Wailing Hills to the south. Here, the Player Characters will have various encounters, find other locations, learn hints as what is going on back in Ragged Hollow, and perhaps find the means to solve the problem. There are said to be witches in Gloam Wood, bugbears in the Bleak Mountains, cursed Dwarven ruins on Mount Mourn, and bandits threatening travellers on the roads through the Wailing Hills.

However, this inverse structure is not without its issues. The combination of a major adventuring site—in this case, that of the Temple of Halcyon—and mini-locations and adventures in Ragged Hollow and the surrounding hexes is tried and tested format. One that works very well. Normally, the players and their characters will gather up supplies and rumours and go and adventure at the scenario’s primary adventuring site where the cause of the problem is located. Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow does not do that. Instead, it expects the Player Characters to ignore the glaringly gold problem in the village in favour of undertaking minor tasks in the village such as finding out why the village well stinks or clearing a basement of vermin, then visit a ghost house on a nearby island, and so on. This begins to build a narrative chain of rumours and connections that ideally should push the Player Characters to investigate and explore further, but actually getting the Player Characters onto that narrative chain can be difficult. This is because of the initial focus in the scenario upon the Temple of Halcyon and the understandable concerns of the villagers upon the state of the temple and for well-being of those inside. Given those concerns, getting the villagers to talk about much else and start handing out rumours is counterintuitive.

In addition, the adventure includes a built-in countdown. The Player Characters will not be aware of it initially, and it takes more than a few days before it becomes obvious, but like the inverse structure of the scenario’s narrative, it is both clever and slightly problematic. It is slightly problematic because it emphasises the focus upon the gold dome when the scenario actually wants the Player Characters to be away adventuring, but clever because the negative effects of the countdown are not immediate, thus giving time for the Player Characters to investigate away from the village, and the countdown does actually reveal a way through the dome—if the Player Characters can get to it. In fact, much of the point of their exploration and excursions away from Ragged Hollow is about finding a way of getting to it, although the Player Characters will not know it.

These problems aside, there is a great deal to like about Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow. There is plenty for the Player Characters to explore and do—more so in the surrounds than in the village itself. Where the exploration of the Temple of Halcyon descends—literally as the Player Characters climb down from the bell tower—into horror and weirdness, the Player Characters will find more whimsey than horror, at least at first. There are some quite delightful encounters to be had on their travels. These include a frail old granny who everyone claims to be a witch, but will prove to be helpful and friendly and a goblin market where the vendors are keen to sell some fun things like fuzzy, woollen socks that grant resistance to cold and apples that grant simple healing, the ability to breath green fire, or cause the imbiber to fall asleep. The situations do get darker and darker, such as the encounter with the reclusive chapter who has definitely been alone in the wilderness or the bandit caves where narcotic cigars are being manufactured. Every encounter is detailed and interesting, but none of them too overwhelming in terms of size. Of the fourteen or so locations outside of Ragged Hollow, none of them would take more than a single session to play through. Travel—described in terms of time it takes to move between locations rather than distance—as well as the locations themselves can be leavened with random encounters and a gang of would be teenage ne’er do wells included to generally harass the Player Characters and be a nuisance.

In comparison though, the Temple of Halcyon will probably take several sessions to play through. The simple structure of the building—at least on the upper floors—of single corridors with doors on both sides means that it is fairly linear. What makes the location really stand out are the weirdness and the horror to be found in its halls and rooms. Walls bulge and split to spill an Experience Point-sucking Wight Leech, the faces of friends and family appear on the walls wailing and screaming in pain, murals depict wolves devouring children, and nobody can work out how long they have been trapped inside. Here the nightmares which beset the village begin to take tangible form, physically tormenting both those already trapped inside and the intruding Player Characters.

Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow is very supported and laid out. The card cover includes not just maps of the Temple of Halcyon, but also Ragged Hollow and the surrounding area. It also has tables of reasons to visit the village and random encounters in the temple. Besides the background and the various locations described in the book, there are hooks to get the Player Characters involved—it is suggested that at least one Player Character be native returning after his Halloo, a timeline and a table to track the status of the various villagers in the temple, explanations for what might happen at the end of the adventure, and appendices of new magical items and possible retainers or replacement Player Characters. There are a lot of magical items in Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow, but for the most part, they are small and quite narrow in their application like the Scribe’s Ring which lets the wearer forge any document he has seen or the Purse of Tranquillity, which shouts, “Help!” if anyone tries to steal it or cut it open.

Physically, Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow is very well presented. The writing is succinct and laid out in an easy to grasp style, whilst the artwork is entertaining throughout. If there is anything disappointing it is that the cartography of the various buildings and caves are clean, tidy, but dull. None will hinder the Game Master running Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow, but none really help their locations come to life either.

Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow is self-contained. This means that it is easy for the Game Master to drop into her own campaign world or an existing one she is already using. Similarly, although Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow is written for use with Old School Essentials, the scenario is easily adapted to the retroclone of the Game Master’s preference.

Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow is designed as a scenario suitable for new players and with its combination of low key, relatively small encounters, whimsy that ebbs away to horror, it never threatens to overwhelm those new players or their characters. This does not mean that veteran players will not enjoy its smaller scale or its combination of whimsy and horror, though they will be doubtless be quicker to pick up on the scenario’s narrative trail and appreciate its change in structure from going out to deal with an external threat to going out to find out how to deal with an internal threat. Overall, Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow is an excellent example of the classic ‘village in peril’ scenario, with a rich mix of roleplaying, exploration, and combat that combines whimsical fantasy with fear and nightmare.

Originally published in 1992, The King of Sartar stood out amongst all of the other titles that Chaosium, Inc. was publishing at the time because it was not related to Call of Cthulhu or Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos and because it was both fiction and not fiction. It was fiction because it was set within a game world, that of Chaosium, Inc.’s great fantasy world of Glorantha—the setting for RuneQuest and more recently RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha—and not fiction as it is a collection of myths and legends that are treated as being real within that world. The King of Sartar draws together a number of myths and legends that relate to Argrath, the descendant of Sartar who appeared out of nowhere to drive the occupying forces of the Lunar Empire out of Sartar and Dragon Pass, defeat them again and again, defeat the Red Emperor and the Red Goddess, and ultimately win the Hero Wars. It takes the conceit—more recently applied in Six Seasons in Sartar—that the myths and legends have been collected and examined almost a thousand years after their events have said to have taken place. Further, as revealed in the conclusion to The King of Sartar, these fragmentary, sometimes contradictory documents have been collated after a period in which knowledge of literacy was lost. As well as exploring the Argrath legends, The King of Sartar will examine Orlanthi mythology, a history of Dragon Pass and those who dwelled in and round the area, provide multiple genealogies and timelines, and more.
The King of Sartar brings together several documents. These include the Annotated Argrath’s Saga, the complete saga of Argrath’s adventures in the Hero Wars, appended by The Zine Letters; an overview of Orlanthi Mythology; The Composite History of Dragon Pass, from the Dragonkill Wars following the Empire of Earthwyrm’s Friends to Argrath’s marriage to the Queen of Saird; The Argrath Book, a compilation of material on Argrath; and Jalk’s Book, a compilation of material on the Colymar, Boldhome, and the Grazers. The more recent, annotated version adds The Lost Chapter of Fazzur Wideread. Alongside this are multiple timelines, genealogies such as those of the Kings of Sartar and Kings of Tarsh, lists that give all the gods of the Orlanthi pantheon, companions to both Argrath and Kallyr Starbrow, and more. The tone and style switches back and forth between the academic commentary of the collating author and the different voices of chroniclers recording the legends. Perhaps the most familiar here will be the sections on Orlanthi Mythology and Dragon Pass. The first presents familiar Orlanthi tales as well as the creation of Dragon Pass, his courtship of Ernalda, his enactment of the Lightbringers’ Quest for the first time, up to his confrontations with the Red Goddess, whilst the latter, supposedly one of the wedding gifts to Argrath, which presents the recorded history of the region, focusing on Sartar in particular, but also examining Tarsh and the Grazer Tribe, all the way up to Inkarne the Empress, the last great Sacred King of Argrath’s dynasty. The Lightbringers’ Quest is a subject that The King of Sartar will return to several times, noting how challenging a task it is for mortal men, even Argrath, let alone Kallyr Starbrow, who either failed or was only partially successful in her reenactment, depending upon your point of view. It does describe the various steps and tasks necessary to complete the quest, but much like the rest of the book, they are open to interpretation. Added to the annotated version is The Lost Chapter, a chronicle of Fazzur Wideread, Governor-General of Dragon Pass, a counterpoint to much of the rest of The King of Sartar, in that he is the only Lunar figure to be treated with any respect. The sympathies of the other authors throughout the book and even in The Composite History of Dragon Pass, lie with the Sartarites.

From a roleplaying perspective, The King of Sartar not only examines the coming of Argrath and his rise to power, but also his influence upon Dragon Pass and the many changes he will bring about once his role and position as king is confirmed. This has long been prophesised, but never fulfilled. Only now with the publication of RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha has the setting of Dragon Pass been advanced to the event seen as the trigger for the Hero Wars—the Dragonrise, in which the Brown Dragon rose and consumed the great and the good of the Lunar Empire’s sorcerers sent to consecrate the Temple of the reaching Moon and the Sartarite nobility who gave their loyalty to the Lunar Empire, thus curbing its ambitions to the south. Of course, there is no little debate as who exactly caused the Dragonrise, but The King of Sartar suggests that Argrath was involved or at least one of his companions, Orlaront Dragonfriend, was. For the roleplaying game though, the Dragonrise is a significant and immediate event. It is woven into the background of every Player Character. With that established, every Player Character and every Game Master’s campaign has been moved forward too, and so stands on the threshold of the forthcoming events of the Hero Wars, prophesised in the pages of The King of Sartar and promised in game terms by Chaosium, Inc.

Another aspect of The King of Sartar also plays in the future of every Game Master’s campaign. The volume’s collating commenter cannot be certain as to who the real Argrath is—the descendant of Sartar, the member of a lost clan of the Colymar tribe, the petty criminal who rose to power out of the back streets of Pavis, or all three. This gives the Game Master the freedom to decide who her Argrath will be as his role becomes ever more important and prominent in the forthcoming support for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha.

The King of Sartar is neither an essential volume that the Game Master must read to run a campaign set in Glorantha nor an easy read. Its fragmentary, often diverse subject matters, and multiple voices often leave the reader struggling to find purchase with the book. Only when the book returns to Argrath’s tale does that purchase find more solid ground, often because having one aspect of Dragon Pass or its people, The King of Sartar will return to how Argrath interacted with that. This is not to say that the other diverse subject matters are not interesting, they often are, for there is some literally fantastic worldbuilding in the pages of The King of Sartar. Of course, there is also much in the pages of The King of Sartar that will be familiar to Gloranthaphiles as much of it has been reiterated in roleplaying game after roleplaying game and supplement after supplement. That though has always been with a more authoritative voice for the Game Master’s benefit and so has been easier to read and digest, whereas The King of Sartar is without that authoritative voice by intent and is thus neither easier to read nor digest. Ultimately, The King of Sartar is not a book for the casual reader or even fan of Glorantha, but for the fan who is interested in the lore presented as legend and myth, there is much here to explore from within the setting of Glorantha itself.

Much like the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition, the Jonstown Compendium is a curated platform for user-made content, but for material set in Greg Stafford’s mythic universe of Glorantha. It enables creators to sell their own original content for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, 13th Age Glorantha, and HeroQuest Glorantha (Questworlds). This can include original scenarios, background material, cults, mythology, details of NPCs and monsters, and so on, but none of this content should be considered to be ‘canon’, but rather fall under ‘Your Glorantha Will Vary’. This means that there is still scope for the authors to create interesting and useful content that others can bring to their Glorantha-set campaigns.

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What is it?
Tiny Treasures: 2 pages of neat stuff for adventurers is a supplement for use with RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha which describes six magical items that might be found at a market, on a caravan, hidden away, or on a body.

It is a two page, full colour 471.08 KB PDF.

The layout is tidy, the artwork rough, but serviceable.

With slight effort, the items detailed can be adapted to the rules system of the Game Master’s choice.
Where is it set?The contents of Tiny Treasures: 2 pages of neat stuff for adventurers can be used anywhere.
Who do you play?
Tiny Treasures: 2 pages of neat stuff for adventurers does not require any specific character type. Worshippers of Lanbril, Humakt, Chalana Arroy, and Yemalio will find items items in this supplement to be of interest.
What do you need?
Tiny Treasures: 2 pages of neat stuff for adventurers requires RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha only. However, The Book of Red Magic and both Cults of RuneQuest: The Lightbringers and Cults of RuneQuest: The Earth Goddesses may be useful for the cult connections or significance that the items detailed in the supplement might have.
What do you get?Tiny Treasures: 2 pages of neat stuff for adventurers lives up to its claim. It is a two-page PDF which describes and illustrates six magical items. For example, the Healer’s Gourd is described as a simple clay vessel with Harmony and Fertility runes carved on it and the Thief’s Dagger is a bronze dagger with no crossguard, a matching sheath, and the handle inscribed with the Death and Illusion Runes. Water drunk from the Healer’s Gourd grants a free roll on the Degrees of Illness table in RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha to reduce the severity of the illness, whilst the Thief’s Dagger grants bonuses to attack and damage, but a bigger bonus to the Sleight skill when cutting purses and pouchstrings and the Conceal skill when attempting to hide the weapon on one’s person. All six items have a suggested retail price.

All of the items are given a simple description and explanation of its powers. Alongside the text for each one is a simple illustration.
There is already a treasure sourcebook for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha available on the Jonstown Compendium, Treasures Of Glorantha: Volume One — Dragon Pass, which is more expansive and detailed. The contents of Tiny Treasures: 2 pages of neat stuff for adventurers are more serviceable than necessarily noteworthy. Their barebones description means that they do not readily feel tied to the setting of Glorantha. Had each been given a legend or history, this might not have been the case, but the lack of legend means that the Game Master has scope to create her own entirely from scratch for each of these magical items.
Is it worth your time?Yes—Tiny Treasures: 2 pages of neat stuff for adventurers is a useful addition for the Game Master looking to add some potentially interesting artefacts or treasures to her campaign, if she is willing to develop some history or legend attached to them.No—Tiny Treasures: 2 pages of neat stuff for adventurers details items which might to be too magical for the Game Master’s Glorantha, too much like magical items from another fantasy roleplaying game, and lacks the background for each which might alleviate either issue.Maybe—Tiny Treasures: 2 pages of neat stuff for adventurers works better for a high adventure style of play such as that for 13th Age Glorantha.

Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Repository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

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Dreams of Ghaa-Xothal is that rare creature on the Miskatonic Repository—a campaign! Beginning in London in 1924, it will take the Investigators across the capital, and under it, and then into the ‘Garden of England’. From there, the Investigators will leave the shores of England to ascend the heights of the world and then far below... The campaign consists of twelve chapters and concerns the uncovering and thwarting of a grand attempt to both undermine the financial well-being of the British Empire as an act of revenge and ultimately free an alien god and enslave all of humanity. This is definitely a campaign in which King and country matter, and if the Investigators succeed, they will be summarily recognised and ignored in equal measure!
Dreams of Ghaa-Xothal is written primarily with British Investigators in mind, but comes with enough detail to cover both the historical and cultural basics the campaign requires. This includes the use and availability of firearms during the period. The campaign downplays both use if not availability, at least not without good reason, and whilst there are opportunities for combat in the earlier chapters of the scenario, in general, running away is a better option. Both because the Investigators are likely to get hurt and because his majesty’s constabulary is likely to take an exceedingly dim view of gunplay, let along crimes being committed with guns. That view is likely to be dimmer still if the perpetrators are American. The tone of the campaign is split. What the Investigators will confront in terms of the villains of the piece, their plans, and the forces at their command—both ordinary and outré—veer towards the Pulp genre. What the Investigators are expected to do, involving a lot of investigative footwork and sneaking about, veers away from the Pulp genre to the drier Purist style, but never gets that far.
In terms of Investigators, Dreams of Ghaa-Xothal has no specific demands, but Private Investigators or Inquiry Agents will be easy to get involved, as will Journalists. Ideally, there should be between two and four Investigators. Optional rules cover infections and cholera—the Investigators will find themselves venturing into the sewers beneath London multiple times, how to handle locks, interpersonal skills, Luck, and spells. Locks, in particular, are challenging, and as well as guidance for the minimal skill level required to open the many locks throughout the campaign, assigns every lock the equivalent of Hit Points to indicate how much damage has to be inflicted before it breaks. Skills are given ratings, from 05% and below and Novice to 90% and more or Master. Whilst most skills require a Regular simply be passed simply on the basis of their Skill Rating and a straightforward measure of what they know. In addition not all spells in the campaign need be learned by poring though the pages of a Mythos Tome and these specific, campaign-related spells, tend to be easier to cast than most spells are first time.
Dreams of Ghaa-Xothal begins with the parents of Mary Perkins, a promising journalist working in Fleet Street for The London Evening News, engaging the Investigators for their help. Mary has disappeared and the police believe that she has eloped with a married man who is wanted for theft from his former employer and simply closed the case. Her parents disagree, believing that Mary would never act in such a manner that would bring shame to a respectable family like themselves. The question is, was Mary investigating something that got her into trouble?
It is a classic set-up, but investigation reveals that Chinese gangsters are as equally interested in Mary’s disappearance, so it at least looks there is substance to her parents’ concerns. Further clues lead the Investigators into something deeper and far more dangerous, something that involves a very well-connected import and export business, militantly radical politics on both the Left and the Right, and an extraordinarily reclusive member of the minor aristocracy whose plans for the cult he leads will have a profound effect upon, first, the economy of the British Empire, and then the fate of the empire itself.
Much of the campaign involves mundane investigation—visiting homes and libraries, conducting interviews and research and so on, just as you would expect. Stealth, if not outright breaking and entering will also play a big role in the investigation. This is not to say that the campaign is without its extraordinary moments. Far from it. Dreams of Ghaa-Xothal has an incredible grand set-piece that almost acts as the campaign’s finale that will amaze Keeper and player alike for its audacity out of game, and the Investigators in game. Apart from the energetic tumult of terror in this scene, some of the best scenes of horror come in the ‘Garden of England’, in the village which has been subverted by the cult at the heart of the campaign’s plot and in the home of the villain of the piece. These all serve to personalise the weirdness and the horror of the campaign and nicely subvert the rural idyll into something akin to folk horror. The culmination of the campaign in far off Tibet is perhaps more weird than horrifying, though the steps needed to get there are horrifying. The campaign’s epilogue has a nasty sting in its tail, but does leave it to the Keeper to fully explore the outcome of that sting…
As written, Dreams of Ghaa-Xothal is playable and playable without too much adjustment upon the part of the Keeper. Where it has issues it is in the detail. The campaign is overwritten and there is an incredible amount detail throughout, a lot of it devoted to individual locations, many of which the Investigators will visit multiple times over the course of the campaign. Another is the campaign’s tone. The campaign itself leans towards to the pulp genre, especially in the campaign’s oh so big, grand set piece and in the amount of Cthulhu Mythos knowledge that some of the NPCs possess, but a lot of the tone of the investigation is much drier, more purist. The latter is heavily supported by the surfeit of clues and handouts that threaten to overwhelm the players let alone their Investigators. Then there is the issue of Sanity rewards and losses, the former feeling something stingy in places.
The campaign is supported with two supplements. The first collects the almost fifty or so maps that showcase the various locations throughout the campaign. Some of these are left blank for the players and the Investigators to explore and fill in, but together they help detail the eleven or so locations that appear in the campaign. In addition, there are several period maps of London where the action of the campaign will take place. The second collects the campaign’s handouts. All ninety-six of them. To be fair, neither the maps nor the handouts are of great artistic merit. The handouts are better than the maps in that department, but in general, the best that can be said of them is that they are serviceable and they convey their intended information. In fact, this is not the best that can be said of them since the Keeper can access both supplements separate the campaign itself and easily provide them for her players and their Investigators.
Physically, Dreams of Ghaa-Xothal is decently presented. It needs a slight edit in places and it is busy in others. There is, after all, a lot of information to get through. One nice touch is the number of period photographs given throughout the campaign. These not only depict London, but also every NPC who appears in the campaign. It is a pity that these are not collated into a supplement of their own like the maps and the handouts. The campaign has so many NPCs and accompanying portrait photographs that they actually deserve an album of their own, complete with space for the players to add notes of their own like a scrapbook. The photographs contrast sharply with the full colour pieces of artwork depicting starscapes and other strange vistas which dot the pages of the campaign, depicting the ‘Dreams of Ghaa-Xothal’.
Campaigns are not easy to write. Campaigns for publication on a community content programme where the easiest thing to do is pump out one one-shot after another, are really not easy to write. Then they have the problem of vying for attention amongst that sargasso of one-shots. In the face of this, the author of Dreams of Ghaa-Xothal deserves our praise for even attempting such a herculean task. The fact that he has completed it and more importantly that the resulting Dreams of Ghaa-Xothal is rich, detailed, intricate, and actually works so that another Keeper can take it and run it, deserves not just praise, but accolades of its very own. Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition has a new campaign and it has not come from either Chaosium, Inc. or a licensee, but the Miskatonic Repository, so fulfilling the ambition of that community content programme by delivering a grand campaign whose format can be traced all the way back to Shadows of Yog-Sothoth.

Far to the north stands Fort Enterprise, the northernmost outpost of the Murian Empire in Stonespear Province, on the edge of ‘Upper Mastodonia’, a region only revealed decades ago the giant glaciers that covered the area retreated. Here was the last sighting of the gallant Prince Eyraen, brave warrior son of Syantides, Sorcerer-King of Mur, who departed with his men to descend via nearby entrance into the Underworld and there below, take revenge upon a minor chaos godling known as Shaggath-Ka. Sadly, he has not returned and is presumed lost. Soldiers under the command of Fort Enterprise’s captain went after the prince, but they too failed to return and are presumed lost. Now it is the turn of the adventurers, for it is hoped that a smaller party, one better suited to stealth (or even diplomacy!), might succeed where the troops failed. Not necessarily to find the probably fallen prince, but to return a great magical artefact that he stole from his father’s treasury before he left for the north. Descending down a thousand feet long ladder, the Player Characters will follow in the prince’s wake, discovering fantastic locations such as the ‘Beetletown Welcome Centre and Dwellings’ and ‘Local Franchise Temple of Nul’, regional church of the Cult of the Mindless God and some truly fantastic encounters on the ‘Encounters & Other Random Weirdness’ on the event table, like being engulfed in a ‘Mutagenic Cloud’ and have their lips gain tentacles, getting to trade with a Slugman on a business trip, or engage in a metaphysical debate with a Woolly Neanderthal on a spirit quest.
This is the set-up for Operation Unfathomable, a high-level dungeon designed to be played by First Level Player Character. Developed from a convention scenario published in Knockspell #5 and published by the Hydra Cooperative, LLC for use with Swords & Wizardry rather than the usual Labyrinth Lord of other Hydra Cooperative, LLC titles, Operation Unfathomable would be a Judges’ Spotlight Winner in the 2018 Ennie awards and as one of the best dungeon adventures of 2018 made the Reviews from R’lyeh Post-Christmas Dozen 2018. Now Operation Unfathomable has returned and once again, you can explore the Jack Kirby-style weird and gonzo Underworld in the company of Blue or Grey Dwarves, Underworld Otters, Citizen Liches, Woolly Neanderthals, and Underworld Rangers, but this time for use with Goodman Games’ Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game. Plus, the world up above the Underworld of Operation Unfathomable—the Upper Mastodonia or the Odious Uplands—has been developed to provide a sandcrawl that the Player Characters can explore after their excursion below. All of which has been combined into one volume, Completely Unfathomable.

On one level, the Judge could take Completely Unfathomable and just run Operation Unfathomable. However, Completely Unfathomable includes everything in the original version of the scenario and the Operation Unfathomable Players’ Guide. This includes the new Classes—the Blue Dwarf, which specialises in surveying and repairing the tunnels and ancient machinery of the Underworld; the Grey Dwarf, whose hatred of Chaos godlings has transformed him into an explosives-laying anarchist; the Underworld Otter, a magically-uplifted species whose sense of frivolity and fun often gets him into trouble, including picking locks and pockets; the Woolly Neanderthal, from Mastodonia, can summon strength to kill giants and carry out great feats and can survive in the wilderness; the Citizen Lich, really, really hard to kill, unrecognised by any god, enthrals the undead, and capable of only learning the spells they knew in life; and the Underworld Ranger, trained and equipped to fight the Primal Chaos found in the Underworld. There is guidance too if the scenario is to be run as a Character Funnel and the complete ‘Operation Unfathomable’ comic strip. There are details too, where Completely Unfathomable differs from standard Dungeon Crawl Classics. Fortunately, there are only two. One is that many of the campaign’s arcane spellcasters have magics of their own, necessitating a simple table of effects for all of their spells rather than the Judge having to referring to the multiple spell tables in the Dungeon Crawl Classics rulebook. The other, perhaps more of a fundamental change, is its treatment of Law and Chaos, and the arcane and the divine. It differs from Dungeon Crawl Classics in that Chaos is an intrinsic part of the world rather than an outlook or attitude and that there are no gods. Instead, Clerics are arcane spellcasters who use religious practices and beliefs to cast their spells. This is not say that there are no Patrons in the setting of Completely Unfathomable, as there are, but they are not necessarily divine. The Judge is, of course, entirely free to ignore this.

Of course, the other way to use Completely Unfathomable is have the Player Characters travel to Upper Mastodonia via the massive caravanserais drawn by moustachioed yaks to Fort Enterprise, the heart of government in Stonespear Province. Along the way, they will see herds of mammoths and mastodons, fortified polebarges travelling down river, sabre-toothed apes watching from the forest, and the Chaos Aurora—a scintillating ribbon of light—flickering around Mount Impossible with its doughnut-shaped top. Fort Enterprise, built and governed by a former barbarian-adventurer suffering from middle-age spread, is home to a Wizard’s dormitory, a Tree of Jobs, a beer garden, and docks as well as the all-important Monster Alert Sign which indicates whether Koloko, a giant monster Man-Ape is in the vicinity and whether or not he will attack. It is updated regularly. The Player Characters may find work from the Tree of Jobs, such as putting a stop to Sephilax, the newly appeared Chaos godling before it becomes a real threat or culling the nearby lake of its dangerous kraken population. Of course, once at Fort Enterprise, the Player Characters are likely to find themselves pressganged into going after to Prince Eyraen, an effort fully detailed in Operation Unfathomable. When they return, then they can explore the wilderness spread before Fort Enterprise, that is, if the imperial authorities let them…

Fort Enterprise itself is full of details, NPCs, jobs, and rumours, all of which can be used to nudge the Player Characters to travel and explore. Once they do, they will discover a province pockmarked with generic locations—sites of dead adventurers, fossil sites, fungal blooms, and sabre-toothed ape nests—and named areas. The generic locations are supported with tables used to randomly generate what might be found there, such as the state of the bodies, what killed them, and what might be found there at sites of the dead adventurers or the simple ‘We Search the Fungal Bloom Table’ of the fungal bloom sites. The process is fast and simple, but the Judge may want to develop content of her own here as there are a lot of these sites and the content could easily be exhausted. The named areas of interest, range from the Crab Forest, the Frost Giant Forest, and the Fossil Forest to the Dominion of the Mammoth King, the Underworld Incursion, and the aforementioned Mount Impossible. All begin with a table of encounters—all very nicely detailed—before going on to describe in detail the actual individual areas of interest. Individual areas of interest are relatively small, there being no big dungeon or similarly large location in Upper Mastodonia—only under it—and none amounting to more than ten described rooms.

There are some truly memorable and utterly odd encounters to be had in the Odious Uplands. In the wetlands, the Player Characters might encounter Athohta, the cat-fish god who will talk via the face at the end of her tentacle-tongue and perhaps give aid in the search for and defeat of Sephilax; a tower of enlightenment which was partially buried by stoney debris by the movement of the glaciers, being explored by a rival outfit, which happens to be home to Old man Dinosaur, the ghost of a very old tyrannosaurus rex; Crook-Ah-Ah, Man-Ape Immortal Oracle and Tattooist, who will provide help in defeating Sephilax, but only in the form of tattoos drawn on the Player Characters’ backs; a secret joint invasion by the Science Fungoids and the Nul Cult in a link to the encounters to be had underground in Operation Unfathomable; and the Inn Invisible, an out of time guest house from 1973, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, which has been turned into a retreat for the nobility and the wizards of the Murian Empire. Throughout, every location and every NPC, encountered is described in succinct, bullet point fashion, engaging presenting descriptions and details in easy to find on the page and easy to digest fashion. For the NPCs, this includes possible motivations and some samples of what they might say when encountered. These in particular, really help the Judge to portray these NPCs.

In addition to Operation Unfathomable and the Operation Unfathomable Players’ Guide, the campaign includes several thorough appendices. These provide the Judge with background information on chaos, the Underworld, and the Beetle Empire, the Temple of Nul and its cult which encourages members to replace their heads with an aerial-like implant that makes them unsurprisingly easy to control, fully detailed hirelings, and ways of replacing the Player Characters should they die. Full stats and details are given for all of the monsters that appear in the Operation Unfathomable and Odious Uplands halves of the campaign, from the Two-Headed Ape Mummy, Sabre-Toothed Ape, and the Giant Bardolph (if you were to think William Shakespeare’s Bardolph* cloned using Science Fungoid technology, then you would be wired, but right) to Vat Goons, Moustachioed Yaks, and Worm Soldiers. Numerous items of equipment, devices, and treasures are detailed, starting with the Anti-Chaos Pills the Player characters need to take to survive the Underworld, whilst new spells include Send and Receive Magic Missive, Create Newt-Man, and Hell’s Mandibles. Finally, Athohta the Catfish God, the Mammoth King, Nul the Mindless God, Sephilax, Shaggath-Ka the Worm Sultan, and others are given as Patrons, should the Player Characters want to pledge themselves to these strange, and not always benign beings…

* Bardolph the Beer Hound, Underworld Ranger, provides an ongoing commentary in Operation Unfathomable on his adventures in the Underworld. He has less or little to say about the Odious Uplands.

Physically, Completely Unfathomable is very well presented. The writing never lets up on being engaging and intriguing, constantly pulling the reader further into the setting and bringing to life the fantastic artwork which appears through the book. It is cartoonish, but heavy and imposing, adding a weight to the world described in Completely Unfathomable.

Operation Unfathomable is a great adventure, constantly veering between the weird and the baroque, never letting its weirdness tip over into silliness and always presenting the Player Characters with an Underworld that is both lived in and strange, but perfectly normal to those that live and work there. With Completely Unfathomable though, it brings the baroque Science Fantasy of Operation Unfathomable to the surface of the Odious Uplands, which have the rough primal feel of a land that has never felt the touch or influence of mankind, waiting to be explored and its secrets revealed even as explorers from below have begun their operations. The Judge is given a wealth of detail, NPCs, hooks, and more to help get started and then she had everything she needs to run a player driven campaign.

Completely Unfathomable is a very good sandcrawl campaign. It has a primeval brilliance that combines the Science Fantasy of Saturday morning cartoons with the sybaritic loucheness of the Melnibonéan empire in a wild, untamed frontier and supports its with plots, hooks, NPCs, monsters, and more aplenty. For the Dungeon Crawl Classics Judge, Completely Unfathomable is great campaign that will provide months and months of memorable Appendix N Swords & Sorcery & Science gaming.

1974 is an important year for the gaming hobby. It is the year that Dungeons & Dragons was introduced, the original RPG from which all other RPGs would ultimately be derived and the original RPG from which so many computer games would draw for their inspiration. It is fitting that the current owner of the game, Wizards of the Coast, released the new version, Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, in the year of the game’s fortieth anniversary. To celebrate this, Reviews from R’lyeh will be running a series of reviews from the hobby’s anniversary years, thus there will be reviews from 1974, from 1984, from 1994, and from 2004—the thirtieth, twentieth, and tenth anniversaries of the titles. These will be retrospectives, in each case an opportunity to re-appraise interesting titles and true classics decades on from the year of their original release.

—oOo—

It is often forgotten that Star Trek: The Role Playing Game, published by FASA in 1982 was not the first Star Trek roleplaying game. It is often forgotten that Call of Cthulhu, published by Chaosium, Inc. in 1981 was not the first licensed roleplaying game. The very first licensed roleplaying game and the very first roleplaying based on Star Trek was Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier, published by Heritage Models, Inc. by in 1978. If the first roleplaying game based on Star Trek is all but forgotten now, there is a third roleplaying game based on Star Trek which remains almost unknown which in its own way is equally as important as Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier. For if Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier is notable as the first licensed roleplaying game, then Enterprise – Role Play Game in Star Trek is notable for being the first domestic roleplaying game to be published in Japan and the first licensed roleplaying game to be published in Japan. Enterprise – Role Play Game in Star Trek was published in 1983 as a boxed set by Tsukuda Hobby, which at that time was better known for its wargames and model kits. In 1983, Enterprise – Role Play Game in Star Trek came as an eye-catching box set that included a twenty-page Rulebook, thirteen-page Adventure Book, fifteen double-sided Character Cards, two twenty-sided ten-sided dice, and one six-sided die. What is being reviewed here is not a copy of the original roleplaying game, as that would be almost impossible to obtain, but rather a translation that has been collated into a slim, fifty-eight-page hardback. The rules though, remain the same, even if the format does not.
A Player Character in Enterprise is defined by his Race, several abilities or traits—Strength, Dexterity, Intellect, Charisma, and Luck, Alignment, and one or more Special Abilities. The roleplaying game’s ‘Alien List’ includes Andorians, Talosians, Romulans, Metrons, Eugenic Superhumans, Organians, Klingons, Medusans, Melkotians, Tellarites, Zetrians, Gorns, M113 Monsters, Horta, and Vuclans. It does not say, though, which of these are suitable for use as Player Characters. All have an Alignment, one or more Special Abilities, and possible ability modifications. All five abilities range on the three to eighteen scale. Strength is both the amount of damage a Player Character can withstand and the chance he has of defeating an opponent in hand-to-hand combat; Dexterity is used to determine Initiative in combat and with the Mechanical Repair Special Ability to disable traps; Intellect determines if the Player Character has the Medical Talent or the Science Talent and can help him gain allies; Charisma to help him gain allies, but from force of personality rather than intellect; and Luck is used to avoid traps. Alignment includes Logical Good, Logical Bad, Neutral, Emotional Good, and Emotional Bad. It is easy to map the characters from Star Trek: The Original Series onto this array. The four Special Abilities are Mechanical Repair, Medical Talent (Treatment), Science Talent, and PSY Talent (ESP). Some aliens automatically have the PSY Talent (ESP), but Humans only have 10% chance of doing so. A Player Character’s chance of having the other three Special Abilities is based on their associated abilities. It is possible to create a Player Character who has multiple Special Abilities or none, depending upon whether the player rolls well or badly.
To create a character, the player selects a Race, rolls four-six-sided dice for each ability and deducts the lowest, and then rolls for each Special Ability. The process is very quick and easy. Alternatively, the player could select a member of the crew of the Enterprise. The roleplaying game comes with a double-sided Character Card for each as well as several opposing characters. Each Character Card lists the various statistics, Special Abilities, and has space for tracking hits, making notes, and so on, whilst on the front is a photograph of the character. There are fifteen Character Cards, three of which are blank for the player’s use, whilst the rest consist of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, Chapel, Rand, Commander Kang the Klingon, Stonn the Vulcan, and Subcommander Tal the Romulan.
Name: Rosana GuimarãesRace: HumanAlignment: Emotional GoodSpecial Abilities: Mechanical Repair, Science TalentStrength 10 Dexterity 13 Intellect 12Charisma 15 Luck 16Equipment: Science Tricorder, Type II Hand Phaser, Communicator, knife and three days water and food.
Mechanically, Enterprise – Role Play Game in Star Trek uses percentile dice, but that is about as standard as it gets, and not because the Game Master uses the six-sided die to determine if the Player Character senses something hidden—a door or a trap—and which Player Character an enemy targets in a fight. After that, everything else is a subsystem of its own, each straightforward in itself, but different enough to require referring to a table each time. So to find out if a Player Character discovers a trap or hidden door, the player needs to roll 30% or less, modified by his character’s Luck and to avoid a trap if triggered, is another percentile roll, the number determined by the character’s Luck after consult the ‘Avoid Trap’ table. The chance is equal to 50% if the Luck value is 13, then modified by 5% up or down depending upon the Luck value. However, consulting the ‘Bypass Lock or Trap’ table, the required number is based on Dexterity and the chance is equal to 50% if the Dexterity value is 10. Undertaking tasks such as analysing or repairing a piece of equipment or an artefact requires the Player Character to have the Mechanical Repair Special Ability and his player to roll under the device’s Repair Probability, for example, 20% for a Universal Translator. If a Player Character has the Science Special Ability, he can use a computer or tricorder without any problems. Enemy computers are assigned a percentage, which the Player Character must roll under to be able to use. There are no modifications from the abilities on any of these rolls, so effectively, a Player Character with higher stats has a higher chance of having a Special Ability, but not a better chance of using it.
Encounters with NPCs are either hostile or non-hostile. Hostile NPCs always attack. Encounters with non-hostile NPCs require an Alignment Check. The Game Master compares the Alignments of the Player Character and the NPC. This determines the attitude of the NPC, either Domination, Equality, or Deception, which is kept secret from the player. The player then guesses what the NPC’s attitude is and selects his character’s approach, either Domination, Equality, or Deception. If the player is correct in guessing the NPC’s attitude, he can make an Attitude Option roll, again, either Domination, Equality, or Deception. This is a base percentile roll modified by either the Player Character’s Charisma and Intellect, sometimes both. If successful, the NPC becomes an Ally under the player’s control, joining the party of Player Characters. If the Alignment Check fails, the NPC becomes hostile and attacks, although it is suggested to the Game Master that depending upon the scenario, if the roll is failed, an NPC can still appear to act in a friendly manner towards the Player Characters, only to betray them later or act hostile initially, only to become an Ally later.
The Alignment Check and interaction rules for NPCs are not developed enough to work effectively. There are no bonuses or penalties to determine the effect of the three approaches—Domination, Equality, and Deception—working against each other. Unless the player successfully guesses the NPC’s attitude, the results are binary—failure, if not open hostility and combat. Also, the rules state that, “Regardless of whether or not the Alignment Check is required, the GM should roll the 20‐sided dice. Otherwise, the player may be able to discern whether or not they were right or wrong about the attitude of the NPC.” At this point, it is not clear what the Game Master is rolling for. Only in the accompanying example, does it become clear that the Game Master makes the Attitude Option roll and not the player.
Once surprise and initiative has been sorted, combat begins with dividing the combatants into groups of three on each side and the Game Master the values of a six-sided die to help randomly determine who targets who. Ranged combat is based on range—determined by the weapon’s range bands and distance to the target—and the attacker’s Dexterity. The result is a percentile value that the player or Game Master must roll under. The Game Master also has the option of applying penalties if the target is dodging, lying prone, or behind cover, but there are no standard penalties given. Damage from energy weapons is deadly—a ten-sided die’s worth for a Hand Phaser’s Destruction setting and instant death for the Dematerialise setting. The Stun simply renders the target unconscious.
Hand-to-hand combat involves not so much out and out brawling as attempts by the combatants to knock each other out. The two combatants’ Strength Ability ratings are compared. If they are equal, they have a hand‐to‐hand combat value of 50%, this the chance of knocking each other out. A higher Strength than the opponent will increase the hand‐to‐hand combat value, whilst a lower Strength will decrease the hand‐to‐hand combat value. Being armed with a knife or a stone count towards the hand‐to‐hand combat value. Of the two combat systems, the ranged combat rules are better than the ones for hand-to-hand combat, which really fail to capture the knockabout nature of brawls seen on screen in Star Trek: The Original Series.
The Adventure Book contains a single scenario, ‘The Drifting Ring’. The Enterprise has been assigned to investigate an object called the ‘The Ring’. It is a ten-kilometre diameter toroidal spacecraft and it is currently heading for Klingon space. The origins of The Ring lie at the centre of the galaxy where a race realised that their worlds increasingly in danger from a series of supernovae that would destroy the systems around them. They built a huge generational spaceship, populated it with crew, passengers (mostly in cryogenic sleep), and samples from their worlds, and headed for a safer area in the galaxy. Which to be honest, sounds an awful lot like the plot or at least the set-up, of Larry Niven’s Ringworld. Aboard, the crew will find a society that has regressed due to isolation and lost knowledge, and then rebellion, resulting in the inside of the spaceship being perpetually in the dark. The location where the Player Characters beam aboard has the feel of an agrarian valley, complete with river, mountains, forest, and ruins. The area is home to three different factions which keep apart from each other, some of whom will not be hostile to the Player Characters, some will, and of course, if one of the players is roleplaying Kirk, there is a young girl who will follow unconditionally no matter what the result of the Alignment Check suggests. (That said, given that she is described as a “[B]eautiful 16 year old girl.”, the Game Master would probably want to add a year or two or three…) Much of the adventure is given over to detailing the various locations in the scenario, but the descriptions are lacking, even absent in many cases of describing what something or someone looks like.
‘The Drifting Ring’ does actually feel as if it would fit into a Star Trek setting, given that the series dealt with a number of regressed civilisations, such as in ‘The Omega Glory’ and ‘For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky’. Effectively, ‘The Ring’ is a sandcrawl, the Player Characters free to explore where they want to. It is also more scenario than mission, since there is no real mission attached to the adventure. The implied mission is that the Enterprise crew is trying to stop the flight of The Ring. How that is achieved is left up to the players and their characters to decide. Overall, ‘The Ring’ feels a bit too open, a bit too big to be contained within one episode of Star Trek: The Original Series and despite, lacking in easy to use detail.
The Adventure Book concludes with some Design Notes from the author, Tama Yutaka. Notable later as the co-editor of the Japanese version of Warlock – The Fighting Fantasy Magazine, here he states that, “I designed this STAR TREK game as a way to introduce the Role Playing Game ‐‐ currently at dizzying heights in the United States ‐‐ to Japan.” He emphasises the importance of the human, that character should be central, even given the prominence of machines in Science Fiction and Fantasy—especially Star Trek—and this is what differentiates a roleplaying game from a board game. There is tentativeness to the Design Notes, if not the roleplaying game as a whole.
So what is missing from Enterprise – Role Play Game in Star Trek? Fundamentally, two things. First, there is no background on Star Trek at all in the setting. None at all. It assumes that both Game Master and her players are familiar already with the television series to play. Second, the U.S.S. Enterprise. Or, indeed, any starships. They are completely ignored, so very much like the earlier Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier, published by Heritage Models, Inc., Enterprise – Role Play Game in Star Trek is all about the away missions and what happens on planet or aboard a space station rather than aboard ship. Similar to Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier, there is no means of character progression either, even though it is possible to create Player Characters. The combination of this lack of character progression with the limited options in terms of the Special Abilities to select from or roll for—Mechanical Repair, Medical Talent (Treatment), Science Talent, and PSY Talent (ESP)—means that characters themselves feel shallow. It does not help that with no ships involved in the roleplaying game, there are no Special Abilities related to their option, but there are no combat or interaction Special Abilities either. Perhaps a second edition might have addressed these issues and been less of a skirmish roleplaying game, something that not even FASA’s Star Trek: The Role Playing Game was able to wholly avoid.
Physically, Enterprise – Role Play Game in Star Trek was presented for 1983. Its combination of a box set containing the two books, the Character Cards, and dice would have looked attractive and caught the eye of any Star Trek fan. The translation is clear and simply presented, the Character Cards of the crew of the Enterprise and their foes and allies are decently done, and the maps are workable.
Enterprise – Role Play Game in Star Trek is very much the Star Trek: The Original Series roleplaying game, really suggesting that the players take the roles of the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise rather than create their own crewmen. Like the earlier Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier, it wants to push away from the wargaming origins of the hobby and like Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier, it does not quite do so because it never really gets away from being a skirmish game played out on maps and floorplans. Yet it has some interesting ideas, such as the emotion-versus-logic Alignment system that is very Kirk-McCoy-Spock and the Alignment Check interaction mechanic, that suggests it does want to be more than this. These remain undeveloped though and with a focus on elements of play such as the need to check for traps and hidden doors, on movement, and the like, Enterprise – Role Play Game in Star Trek remains an unsophisticated design that all too often feels as if it has been written through the lens of Dungeons & Dragons and its play style as much as Star Trek. Ultimately, what makes Enterprise – Role Play Game in Star Trek an interesting roleplaying game is not that it is a Star Trek roleplaying game, but that it is the first Japanese roleplaying game.

You made it and you survived. In answer to the signal sent from Tau Ceti almost a century ago, you were among those who made the three decade-long first journey by mankind through interstellar space. What humanity found were the arrays, installations ranging in size from a metre across to kilometres across and performing a variety of functions—habitants, defence systems, power stations, communications relays, and many more. What they all do remains yet to be determined, but if humanity is to survive, it needs resources—which can hopefully be found in Tau Ceti’s outer system. Prospectors, known as ‘Rock Hoppers’, have been sent out, one-part miners, one-part salvagers, one-part explorers, to search for the resources mankind’s first colony needs to survive. Hopping from rock to rock, from asteroid to asteroid, every rock hopper hopes to locate that lucky strike which will set them up for life—and if not that, enough to continue operations. That was what you thought when you detected the gravitational anomaly. It could only be xeno-tech, something that help understand the installations of the array which drew humanity to the system. Only for the gravitational anomaly to spike, soaring to nine times what you first detected, collapsing the entrance to the asteroid, trapping you inside. You cannot go back the way you came. The only way to survive is to find a path forward, hopefully a route out if not answers as to what happened…
This is the set-up for Rock Hoppers, a solo journalling game of desperate exploration in the near future in another star. It is a sequel to The Long Goodbye and both are set in the same Dyson Eclipse future. Where The Long Goodbye explored the journey from the Earth to the unknown of Tau Ceti and the fear of the journey and what might be found at Tau Ceti, Rock Hoppers explores what might be found there and what it takes to survive. Where The Long Goodbye was a two-player epistolary roleplaying game, Rock Hoppers is a solo affair, one which takes it desperate tone and urgency from The Wretched, though not its horror. 
Published by LunarShadow Designs and like The Wretched before it, Rock Hoppers is a game about exploration, isolation, fear, and perseverance and potentially, survival in the face of overwhelming odds. The game requires an ordinary deck of playing cards without the Jokers, a six-sided die, a Jenga or similar tower block game, and a set of tokens. In addition, the player will require a means of recording the results of the game. It is suggested that audio or video longs work best, but a traditional journal will also work too. Rock Hoppers is a played out as a series of days, the player, as the titular rock hopper, undertaking a series of tasks each day and responding to prompts before ending the day by recording its events and his thoughts in his personal log. As in The Wretched, the rock hopper is unlikely to survive the experience. The rock hopper’s personal mining rig might become trapped in the tunnels in the asteroid or the tunnels might collapse, crushing the rock hopper—which will happen if the tower block collapses. The only way for the rock hopper to survive is to reach the cause of the gravitation anomaly and hope that it some answers…
 
The four suites correspond to different aspects of the rock hopper’s mining rig and the environment around him. Spades represent the rock hopper’s personal mining rig and the supplies it was carrying when he became trapped; Clubs detail the asteroid itself, previously mined by whomever it who built the arrays; Hearts are signals that the rock hopper will pick up from outside the asteroid; and Diamonds are the secrets to be found buried deep in the asteroid. Unlike in The Wretched, there is no sense of threat from without, no monster or alien lurking, ready to find its way into the asteroid… Instead, there is a sense of isolation and desperation, rather than of being stalked. In that isolation, there is also time for reflection for the situation that the rock hopper finds himself in and likely, if disaster strikes, on his life.
Rock Hoppers does have secrets. These are revealed only under certain circumstances. The likelihood is that the player will take several attempts to play through Rock Hoppers in order to get to them and begin to reveal the secrets of the asteroid and thus the very first secrets of the Dyson Eclipse future. 
Physically, Rock Hoppers is cleanly and tidily presented. It is not illustrated. 
Although Rock Hoppers uses the same mechanics as The Wretched, but is much more constrained and isolated in nature, primarily because there is no external force. It does take a while to play through, in the sense of multiple attempts, to reveal any secrets of the Dyson Eclipse setting, and a player may find himself going over old story prompts.

SLA Industries Species Guide 1: Shaktar – Wraithen is a supplement for SLA Industries, the roleplaying game set in a far future dystopia of corporate greed, commodification of ultraviolence, the mediatisation of murder, conspiracy, and urban horror, and serial killer sensationalism. S.L.A. Industries has its headquarters on Mort City, its rain sodden, polluted, and overly populated heart, located on the industrially stripped planet of Mort and surrounded by five Cannibal Sectors, and from here it governs the planet and the World of Progress beyond, encompassing all of known space. It is here the citizens come from far and wide to enlist in Meny to become SLA Operatives and part of the mediatised programme even as they protect SLA Industries and the World of Progress from innumerable threats from without—and some from within. Some of the most loyal of citizens who serve as Operatives are the Shaktar and the Wraithen and have been part of the Operative Programme since the start and it is both of these that the subject of the species guide for SLA Industries.

SLA Industries Species Guide 1: Shaktar – Wraithen is a slim volume that divides its content equally between the two very different species. These are the honourable warriors that are the Shaktar and the hyperactive hunters that are the Wraithen. In both cases it provides details of each species, their history and home world, culture and outlook, and connection to SLA Industries. This is supported with details of some of the species indigenous to their homeworlds, arms and armour particular to their species, and new additions to the rules. These include new skill packages and Traits for use with Player Character or NPC creation as well as Feats for cinematic action, and their outlook and attitude towards the other species who typically sign up as a SLA Operatives. Beyond this, there is extra content as such as details of the Shaktar faith and of ‘The Killbox’ in Mort City, an attraction in Little Polo—the Wraithen focused entertainment district—where a five-kilometre square area underground has been turned into a killzone watched by a live audience that only one team has so survived. Plus, there are two BPN—BluePrint News files—tasks tied to the Wraithen Liberation Front, a political movement dedicated to Wraithen life to what it once was on Polo before SLA Industries arrived, and a Hunter Sheet for ‘The Copycat Killer’, which directs the Operatives to track down a serial killer who is murdering the bird-like Nephrons in the style of a Wraithen presently arrested as the perpetrators of the crimes.

There is a sense of duality which rules throughout the supplement. Most obviously in the two very species presented in its pages. The Shaktar, stoic, valorous, honourable, and always at war with something—themselves, the pitiless nature of society, or an enemy of SLA Industries, versus the Wraithen, ultra-competitive, win-at-all-costs, casually sadistic, impulsive hunters with low attention spans. Yet even within the Shaktar, there is a duality, between the ideologies of those who follow the Shining Moons and those who follow the Shadow Moons. The Shining Moon Tribes have long been allied with SLA Industries, whereas the Shadow Moon Tribes worship the White Earth. The Shaktar embrace war and conflict, but feel the need to counter this violence by paying a debt to society, by doing good works, helping others and so on. They call this ‘The Sword and the Bowl’. When a Shaktar has no purpose, such as undertaking an ordeal, pursuing an injustice, going after the Ion Pirates—Shaktar who follow the Dark Moons, he is unbalanced and tip into its counterpart, Emptiness. This is the absence of joy, faith, and compassion and the Shaktar is in danger of slipping onto the path under the Dark Moons. Dualism plays out again and again with the Shaktar, adding depth and detail, but not so with the Wraithen. They are much more straightforward and direct, having no sense of reflection like the Shaktar do, regarding the need for faith and honour as a waste of time when one could instead be winning and being the best. The focus for them and on them is on the immediacy of what they want.
In the first half of SLA Industries Species Guide 1: Shaktar – Wraithen, the focus is on the Shaktar, reptilian humanoids of The Shining Moon Tribes and the balance in the Shaktar species. The descriptions are full of details that the Game Master can use to bring their culture to life. For example, the ‘sword’ aspect of ‘The Sword and the Bowl’ is easy to fulfil with combat and violent deeds, but the ‘bowl’ requires charitable, unselfish deeds, which need to be resolved and accepted by a Shaktarian Confessor or Priest. Here then is a roleplaying opportunity that can only be made the more interesting if the Shaktar’s squadmates have to get involved too. Ordeals—grand, self-appointed quests—drive a Shaktar’s actions too, so every Player Character Shaktar should be on one or thinking about one. The Game Master can flesh out the Player Character Shaktar’s relation with the Confessor or Priest using the accompanying description of Shaktar religion, whilst the Tribal Education packages are good for Shaktar who are native to the worlds of the Shaktar Nation, though all Shaktar trace their lineage back to the eight tribes or castes. The supplement adds Language: Shaktarian and Lore: Shaktarian, though only the Progressive dialect of the Shaktarian language can be spoken outsiders, the Dawn language bing incomprehensible and unpronounceable. New equipment includes the HonourBound armour, which can only be given as a gift to those Shaktar on an ordeal and must be worn until the ordeal is complete, Ion weapons that fire positively-charged ions, S’k’-r’n blades made from the bones of personally vanquished foes, and legendary weapons—weapons, armour, and artefacts that have lost since the Conflict Era and Green and Yellow BPNs are used to recover. Shaktar starting skill packages include Gallant, Stalwart, K’th Priest, and R’tha Champion—the latter from a religious sect of warriors dedicated to the destruction of anything connected to the White Earth. Feats include Battle Lust for Body to act before Initiative is rolled for and Shadow Blood for Bravado and a Shaktar who has family members who have fallen into Emptiness or aligned with the Shadow Moon Tribes. Can he be trusted? Rules are included for Shaktar honour codes, Lineage, Acclaim, and Blessings, enabling the Game Master to bring out more Shaktar culture in play.
By comparison, the Wraithen are shallow. What the highly competitive fast-moving apex predators are not—as the supplement makes clear is ‘comedy cat people’, ‘attractive to other species’ because they are too alien with their movement and big jaws full of teeth, or indeed, savages, honourable, stupid, or actually evil. It is a warning upfront to the Game Master and player alike on how to roleplay given how alien they are. There plenty of details also what does keep their attention span, such as the ‘Hlicks’ or ‘Hunting Flicks’ which show fast-moving prey animals hunting and culminate in a bloody kill (there is the suggestion of underground Hlicks where the target is a humanoid being hunted by skilled SLA Operatives), Wraithen focused adverts, and Little Polo, the district specifically designed to cater to Wraithen. There is some background on the Wraithen homeworld of Polo, extremely cold such that Wraiten need a bio-implant to encounter the effects of the heat on Mort, but in someways the means of getting off it and into SLA Operatives training at Meny is more interesting, SLA Industry having turned the application process for young Wraithen into a game! New skill packages include the Media Darling, the Big Game Hunter, the Saboteur, the Sneak Thief, and many more. Wraithen specific hardware includes the WWD ‘Heart Stopper’ Blade, originally designed as a filleting and flensing knife, but now used as a finesse weapon, WWD ‘Monofangs’, and FEN 313 ‘Goodnight Sweetheart’ Tranq Rifle, which can fire a range of drug-delivering darts. Some tranquilise the target—with or without leaving an aftertaste, and some like Kickoff, causes uncontrollable and indiscriminate aggression, so can be used to make a hunt all the more challenging. There is the comment that bored Wraithen are known to fire a dose of this into their squadmates because they simply bored… Besides a wide range of arms and armour—WWD ‘Ishmael’ Harpoon Launcher from hunting Ice Whales on Polo anyone?—there are a lot of new Feats, such as ‘Nine Lives’ for Body, with which they avoid a killing blow, but are knocked prone and stunned and ‘Me?’ for Bravado which enables a Wraithen to feign innocence by blaming someone else. New Traits include Double Jointed, Perfect Balance, and (really, really) Short attention Span. 

Physically, SLA Industries Species Guide 1: Shaktar – Wraithen is very well-presented, The artwork is as good as to be expected for a SLA Industries supplement, the writing is decent, and it gets away with not needing an index with its relatively short page length.
SLA Industries Species Guide 1: Shaktar – Wraithen is a good resource for the player and Game Master of SLA Industries alike. The player has extra background about his character and plenty of new character options to help him bring them into play, whilst the Game Master has content she can use to showcase both the Shaktar and the Wraithen and their culture and outlook in her campaign and provide species specific content for Shaktar and Wraithen Player Characters, both on their homeworlds and off.

With war looming – at least in Europe, the future of the world may depend upon who gets possession of a startling piece of equipment which could push the future of aviation technology—a rocket pack! Stolen to order from Howard Hughes by gangsters, they were forced to hide it in their getaway and both the one working model and the plans have ended up in possession of Cliff Secord, a stunt pilot. As he learns to fly the rocket pack, he comes to the attention of Eddie Valentine, the mobster hired to carry out the theft in the first place, and the man who hired Eddie, the matinee idol, Neville Sinclair, who also happens to be a secret Nazi! If Eddie Valentine cannot get the plans, then Sinclair’s henchman, the glowering Lothar certainly, if Lothar fails, Sinclair has a secret army of soldiers at his command. Cliff Secord must stop the plans from falling into Nazi hands—and if they do, get them back before Sinclair can travel to Germany. He has the help of his trusty mechanic, Peevy, and his girlfriend, both of whom can get places he cannot. Will Cliff keep hold of the rocket plans or will he fail and advance Nazi science in readiness for the coming conflict?

So this essentially, is the plot to the 1991 Disney film, The Rocketeer, which of course, was adapted from the brilliant comic book series by the late Dave Stevens. Both combined arty deco stylings, pulp action, and a serving of modest cheesecake with the inclusion of the Betty Page-like Jenny with the inspiration of Republic Pictures serials of the early nineteen fifties, most notably Radar Men from the Moon and Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe. (If you have not seen the film, why not? It is genuinely good fun. Actually, go watch the film instead of reading this review. I honestly do not mind. Really. I promise you will not be disappointed. In fact, I am watching it right now as I type this, so what is your excuse?) This it also turns out is the set-up for The Rocketeer – Fate of the Future. Designed by the same team behind Indiana Jones: Sands of Adventure and Jaws, The Rocketeer – Fate of the Future is a two-player, asymmetric boardgame which was published by Funko Games in 2021—the thirtieth anniversary of the film. Designed for ages twelve and up, each player in The Rocketeer – Fate of the Future controls a team of three characters who will race back and forth across Los Angeles, trade punches as much as pithy putdowns, all the while trying to ensure that by the time the zeppelin, the LZ Luxembourg, is in town, they have possession of the rocket pack plans. The game plays in forty-five minutes, but faster once you get to it is rules—though it is not that complex.

The first thing that can be said about The Rocketeer – Fate of the Future is that this is a great looking game. You know that the moment you open the box and the Rocketeer’s helmet stares at you from the back of the board. This is a lovely detail—as is the map of Los Angeles on the inside of the lid of the box. Neither add a single thing to the game except love for the source material. The game is full of such details, such as the Current Event cards being designed to look like newspaper front pages and the art deco style throughout. The artwork is excellent, fully painted rather than drawn from Dave Stevens’ own artwork or stills from the film. It is all inspired by the film and is all very, very good. If there is a downside to the components, it is the miniature figures for each of the six characters. It is easy to tell which one is which, but they are more representative than effectively depicting the characters. The other aspect of the game’s look is the lack of reference to, or iconography of, the Nazis. Although we know Sinclair to be one, that is enough to play the game and it need not be made obvious and so spoil the look of the game.

At the heart of The Rocketeer – Fate of the Future are the plans to the rocket pack. These are represented by three cards. One is the Rocket Blueprint, the other two are dummy plans. The Heroes start play with these hidden and face down. The Villains will Tussle with the Heroes to determine which of them has the Rocket Blueprints and having taken possession of them, will keep them hidden and face down. It is the Heroes turn to Tussle with the Villains Heroes to determine which of them has the Rocket Blueprints and having taken possession of them again, will keep them hidden and face down. Play will continue like this over the course of five or six rounds, the aim being not just to keep hold of the Rocket Blueprint, but acquire Finale cards. Finale cards can be earned from playing the Abilities on cards and from having the Plans at the end of each round. Finale cards reward points and the player with the most points at the end of the game—indicated by the arrival of the LZ Luxembourg in Los Angeles—wins the game.

The Rocketeer – Fate of the Future is played out a board depicting different locations from the film across Los Angeles. These include The Observatory, the setting for the film’s climax, the South Seas Club where Sinclair takes Jenny to dinner, Sinclair Mansion, 1935 Palm Terrace—home to Peevy and Cliff, Bulldog Café where Cliff takes Jenny to dinner, and Chapel Airfield, scene of much of the film’s action. These locations are marked with Icons indicating the benefits a player can gain from visiting, knocking out opponents, and being in control at the end of a round. Each Player controls the three heroes—Cliff, Jenny, and Peevy, or the three villains—Neville Sinclair, Eddie Valentine, and Lothar. As the Rocketeer, Cliff has the advantage of the rocket suit and has greater movement—which can be increased, whilst as a Nazi agent, Neville Sinclair can recruit and build a secret army of soldiers. When he ambushes any of the heroes, Eddie Valentine realises who Sinclair is working for and scarpers, but Sinclair has his army, nonetheless. It is best for the Villain player to recruit as many as he can before unleashing them. Sadly, unlike in the film, Eddy Valentine does not then fight on the Heroes’ side.
Control of each player’s three characters is done via a deck of cards. Every card has icons to indicate which character or characters the card applies to, an action or an ability that the player character choose between, and the cost of using the ability as well as a good illustration. For example, ‘Put It In Neutral’ can be used by either Cliff or Peevy. If used as an Action card, it grants a Move and a Tussle Icon and their associated actions. However, if used as an Ability, there is no cost, but the character can move to any Location and take the associated action there. The illustration shows Cliff as the Rocketeer in the back of Peevy’s pickup truck, using the power of the rocket pack to make a getaway. This illustrates one of the scenes from the film and all the cards are like this, depicting a scene from the film and so combining the film’s story and the rules in such a way that helps bring the game to life. It is really quite subtle, but if you know the film, it is just one more way in which the designers reward the players. Other rewards from the Ability options on the cards include gaining Grit or Clout, drawing a card, drawing a Finale card, revealing or hiding Plans. The Hero player can also increases Cliff’s skill and range with the rocket pack and the Villain player can recruit soldiers to his secret army and stage ambushes. Grit is possessed individually by each character and is used in Tussles and Clout is a shared resource used to activate the Abilities on many of the cards.

The game consists of several rounds. At the beginning of each round, a Current Event card will be draw, which adds a random event and determines how far the Luxembourg travels this round. Then, using a hand of seven cards, each player will take it in turn to active his three characters, have them move, Tussle with the enemy. A player can use as many cards as he wants or he can for each character. Once a character has been activated and moved, he cannot do so again that turn. At the end of the round, rewards are earned for having the Plans and from each location controlled. Tussles are simple. The Action part of a card has a Tussle icon on it. This represents the character’s strength in the Tussle and it can be increased by adding the character’s Grit tokens. The defending player can block the attack by discarding cards which have the Shield icon on them and card’s which have the defending character’s Icon on them. This also costs Grit. The character with the higher Tussle Strength will win the Tussle. Only the defending character can be knocked out in a Tussle, which if his side has the Plans, will also reveal if he has the Rocket Blueprint or the dummy plans. A Tussle can—and will often—end with a standoff, with blows exchanged, Grit expended, and no knockout. This though does make a defending character weak if the acting player still have characters to move. Once both players have moved all three of their characters, the round is over, rewards are awarded, and a new round is set-up. Once the Luxembourg arrives in Los Angeles, a final round is played and the game ends. Players total their points from the Finale cards—typically two or three points per card, though some have zero points and others have conditional rewards such as a bonus for Grit in play or controlling a location—and the player with highest total wins.

The Rocketeer – Fate of the Future does feel a little long in its game play and though designed to be asymmetrical, does favour the Heroes more than the Villains. The Heroes have more chances to gain Finale cards and their mechanics are simpler, whereas the Villains have the Secret Army, which is a bit fiddlier and a different sub-mechanic for the Villain player to have to contend with. Plus, when the Secret Army does come into play, it cannot possess the Rocket Blueprint, meaning that if in the Villains’ hands, either Neville Sinclair or Lothar has it, making it easier to track down and get back. The aspect of winning via the Finale cards means that neither player quite knows who is winning until the very end unless one player has managed to get many more than the other. So, it can be difficult to work out how you are progressing in the game.

The Rocketeer – Fate of the Future is a clever design which really takes advantage of its source material to turn it into a good game. The game play is fairly simple, tactical rather than strategic—a player needing to get the best out of his hand of cards in a round rather than long term planning, and thematic. In fact, highly thematic! If you are a fan of The Rocketeer, then The Rocketeer – Fate of the Future is definitely the game for you. The Rocketeer – Fate of the Future definitely looks the part—or the film, and who wouldn’t want to sock Neville Sinclair where it counts?

The gaming magazine is dead. After all, when was the last time that you were able to purchase a gaming magazine at your nearest newsagent? Games Workshop’s White Dwarf is of course the exception, but it has been over a decade since Dragon appeared in print. However, in more recent times, the hobby has found other means to bring the magazine format to the market. Digitally, of course, but publishers have also created their own in-house titles and sold them direct or through distribution. Another vehicle has been Kickststarter.com, which has allowed amateurs to write, create, fund, and publish titles of their own, much like the fanzines of Kickstarter’s ZineQuest. The resulting titles are not fanzines though, being longer, tackling broader subject matters, and more professional in terms of their layout and design.

—oOo—
The first thing you notice about Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1 is the dice. Of course, you are meant to. A set of black polyhedral dice with red lettering in a silver tin on a red cardboard background. It stands out. After all, what gamer does not like a set of dice? And they are nice dice. They sit on the front of the first issue of Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer, a partwork from Hachette Partworks Ltd. A partwork is an ongoing series of magazine-like issues that together form a completed set of a collection or a reference work. In the case of Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer, it is designed to introduce the reader to the world and the play of Dungeons & Dragons, specifically, Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. With the tag line, ‘Learn – Play – Explore’, over the course of multiple issues the reader will learn about Dungeons & Dragons, how it is played and what options it offers, the worlds it opens up to explore, and support this with content that can be brought to the table and played. Over the course of eighty issues, it will create a complete reference work for Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, provide scenarios and adventures that can be played, and support it with dice, miniatures, and more.
Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1 does not come with the dice. There the first issue of the magazine, there is the ‘Introduction to Combat’, there are four ready-to-play character sheets, and there is advertising. The main item is Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1. Future issues of the partwork will include secretions dedicated to the seven gameplay elements—‘Sage Advice’, ‘Character Creation’, ‘The Dungeon Master’, ‘Spellcasting’, ‘Combat’, ‘Encounters’, and ‘Lore’—of Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, but Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1 concentrates on ‘Sage Advice’, ‘Character Creation’, and ‘Lore’. This starts with the basics of play, ‘The World of D&D’, ‘The Structure of Play’, and more… Notably, in ‘The World of D&D’ it mentions several worlds, including Dark Sun and Ravenloft, but notes that the Forgotten Realms is where all of the adventures to come in Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer will be set. It mentions the origins of the roleplaying game too and its creators, alongside a photograph of the original Dungeons & Dragons. Then it explains the ‘Structure of Play’, how the dice work and the concept of Difficulty Classes, the role of the Dungeon Master, and then it breaks down the elements of a Player Character, including Species and Class, equipment, and more. This includes the backgrounds for the four pre-generated Player Characters included in Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1. There is advice too, throughout. Some of this is done in ‘Top Tip’ boxes, split between those for the Dungeon Master and those for the player. For example, a ‘DM Tip Top’ gives advice on how to present an NPC using a one sentence description and motivation, whilst a player ‘Top Tip’ suggests that he think about not just his character’s best qualities and abilities, but also his worst, in particular, as a means to aid in roleplaying the character. Elsewhere the advice is more general, covering aspects such as the Session Zero, the lack of necessity to know all of the rules to play and run the game, and rolling the dice behind the screen. The latter is perhaps the most controversial piece in Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1 suggesting as it does that the Dungeon Master use a screen to anonymise her dice results in order to prevent an unnecessary party death if she is rolling particularly well.
Is this good advice? Well, yes and no. Yes, because you do not want the players to necessarily fail on their first encounter or exposure to Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition and because if they do, there is no real advice as to what to do next in the pages of Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1 in the event of Player Character death. Yes, because the publisher wants the Dungeon Master and her players to remain interested in Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth edition, and thus, Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer. Yet no because it is not entirely fair on the game itself which relies on the randomness of the dice rolls and the possibility of death is part of the game itself. It will be interesting to see how this issue is addressed in future issues.
The ’Lore’ section in Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1 describes the town of Phandalin, the location for the scenario from the original Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set and also the more recent release from Wizards of the Coast, Phandelver and Below – The Shattered Obelisk. It gives a one-page introduction to the town in readiness for the ‘New & Exclusive Adventure’ in Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1, which is more of a detailed Encounter rather than a full adventure. It is, nevertheless, described as ‘Adventure 1 – 1 King of the Hill’, so that suggested that there is more of the adventure to come. ‘King under the Hill’ is set in the Stonehill Inn in Phandalin. It is intended to be played in one or two hours and involves a mix of combat and exploration with a little roleplaying thrown in. It is clearly explained, involves just the two linked monsters, and as with the rest of the magazine, there are DM Top Tips throughout such as describing particular feature of one of the monsters and reminding the Dungeon Master should describing the scene for her players and asking them what they want to do next. It is all clearly presented and easy to read from the page. In addition, the events of ‘King under the Hill’ are tied into Phandelver and Below – The Shattered Obelisk so that a Dungeon Master could add this encounter to that campaign if she wanted.
In comparison to the rest of Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1, the included bonus ‘Introduction to Combat’ booklet is digest sized and has wire hoops to help it sit in the binders designed for the partwork. In eight pages, the booklet takes the reader through ‘The Rules of Engagement’, covering surprise, establishing positions, initiative, actions such as attacking, casting spells, helping, hiding, and more, before explaining Hit Points and damage and its effects. Then, in the ‘Combat Example’ it gives an example of combat using the pre-generated Player Characters included with Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1 and the scenario, ‘King under the Hill’. It is designed to show how a round or two of combat could play out rather than should.
The four Player Characters in Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1 have their own sheet each. They include a Human Rogue with the Charlatan background, a Hill Dwarf Cleric with the Acolyte background, a Wood Elf with Outlander background, and a Halfling Wizard with the Sage background. They are done on standard Dungeons & Dragons character sheets and are completely filled with all of the details needed to play, including a range of spells for both the Cleric and Wizard. They lack background on the sheets though, but otherwise they are fine.
Then, of course, there is the advertising, all pushing the reader to subscribe to future issues of Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer. The simplest of this is a request to the reader’s nearest newsagent to reserve forthcoming copies, but the more complex highlights the Special Subscription Offer and the free gifts that the reader will receive if he decides to subscribe. These include more dice, a dice tray, binders for issues of Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer, and so. Perhaps the most ridiculous of these the ‘Dice Jail’, a wooden mini-dice jail into which a player can temporarily imprison dice because they have been rolling badly. The six-page flyer is a mixture of the informative and the advertising, providing a good overview of Dungeons & Dragons at the actual table with a photograph also used in the first issue of Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer. It includes a quick and dirty overview of the seven gameplay elements— ‘Sage Advice’, ‘Character Creation’, ‘The Dungeon Master’, ‘Spellcasting’, ‘Combat’, ‘Encounters’, and ‘Lore’—and just some of the extras that will accompany future issues. It all feels unrelenting and over the top, but its inclusion is understandable.
Penultimately, consider this. Bar the Dungeons & Dragons Annual, it is difficult to identify anything to have been published for the current edition of Dungeons & Dragons, let alone prior editions, in the United Kingdom since the days of TSR (UK) and the mid-eighties. Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1 might very well be the first in several decades, and unlike the Dungeons & Dragons Annual, what Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1 does is show the reader what the roleplaying game is like and how it is played, rather than simply telling him.
Ultimately, there is the cost to consider with Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer. There is no denying that Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1 is inexpensive, but that is how the partwork concept works. The first issue or two is inexpensive to draw the purchaser in, its contents designed to entice him to buy further issues or even subscribe. However, as the subject of a partwork, Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer is going to be different to other partworks, which traditionally collect a series of figurines or the parts of a big model. Dungeons & Dragons already exists as a complete game in its own right and a gamer need not collect any of Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer to start playing. He can just buy the core rules or purchase a starter set. What Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer offers as an alternative is a gentler introduction to the roleplaying game, released in easily digestible and playable issue. Plus of course, the gifts that come with the issues. It is eighty issues though and that though does come to a grand total of £770. It is as they say a definite investment in Dungeons & Dragons.
Physically, Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1 is very well presented, in full colour using the Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition trade dress and lots and lots of Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition artwork. So, the production values are high, colourful, and the writing is supported with lots of ‘Top Tip’ sections. The result is that Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1 is physically engaging. The core of it though, differs from a traditional magazine. Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1 and the pre-generated Player Characters are glued together and designed to split and store in the partwork’s binders.
There is no denying that Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1 is great value for money. The set of Dungeons & Dragons dice with the tin is worth the price alone, and that may well be the only reason that some purchasers buy it. But if you have never played Dungeons & Dragons then not only do you get your own set of dice, but you also get something that is easy to sit down and digest, prepare, and then explain and run in the space of an evening. By the end of session, both Dungeon Master and her players should have a good idea of how the roleplaying game is played and know whether they want to continue with Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 2—or even leap to the full Dungeons & Dragons experience. Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1 is quite possibly the most cost-effective introduction to Dungeons & Dragons to have been released to the general public.

Quick-starts are means of trying out a roleplaying game before you buy. Each should provide a Game Master with sufficient background to introduce and explain the setting to her players, the rules to run the scenario included, and a set of ready-to-play, pre-generated characters that the players can pick up and understand almost as soon as they have sat down to play. The scenario itself should provide an introduction to the setting for the players as well as to the type of adventures that their characters will have and just an idea of some of the things their characters will be doing on said adventures. All of which should be packaged up in an easy-to-understand booklet whose contents, with a minimum of preparation upon the part of the Game Master, can be brought to the table and run for her gaming group in a single evening’s session—or perhaps too. And at the end of it, Game Master and players alike should ideally know whether they want to play the game again, perhaps purchasing another adventure or even the full rules for the roleplaying game.

Alternatively, if the Game Master already has the full rules for the roleplaying game for the quick-start is for, then what it provides is a sample scenario that she still run as an introduction or even as part of her campaign for the roleplaying game. The ideal quick-start should entice and intrigue a playing group, but above all effectively introduce and teach the roleplaying game, as well as showcase both rules and setting.

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What is it?The Gaia Complex – Quick Start is the quick-start for The Gaia Complex – A Game of Flesh and Wires, the Science Fiction, Cyberpunk roleplaying game published by Hansor Publishing.

It includes an extensive explanation of the setting, rules for actions and combat, details of the arms, armour, and equipment fielded by the Player Characters, two ‘Data Seeds’ (or scenario outlines and hooks), and five ready-to-play, Player Characters, or Agents.

It is a fifty-two page, full colour PDF.

The quick-start is lightly illustrated, but the artwork is decent. The rules are a slightly stripped down version from the core rulebook, but do include examples of the rules which speed the learning of the game.

How long will it take to play?
The Gaia Complex – Quick Start and its two ‘Data Seeds’ are designed to be played through in two or so sessions.

What else do you need to play?
The Gaia Complex – Quick Start requires two twelve-sided dice and three three-sided (or six-sided) dice per player.

Who do you play?
The five Player Characters a Human Operator, an ex-cop, made redundant, turned mercenary, a Human technician and drone operator, Human Operator, an ex-gang member and corporate enforcer, a Feral with his partner dog, and a Human Hacker.

How is a Player Character defined?
An Agent has seven stats—Brawn, Reflexes, Guts, Brains, Allure, Perception, and Grit. Stats are rated between one and ten. There are multiple skills. These do not have a value. A Player Character either has them or does not have them and his proficiency in them is determined by their associated stat. Endurance represents his physical health and Pressure his mental health.

How do the mechanics work?
Mechanically, The Gaia Complex uses two twelve-sided dice to determine the outcome of a skill attempt. A roll equal to or below the skill’s associated stat, after any modifiers for complexity, counts as a success, on either die. If both succeed, the Player Character will succeed at the skill attempt, whether he has the skill or not. If both roll higher than the modified stat value, the attempt is a failure, and if both are equal to twelve, it is a critical failure. If the stat value is below the difficulty rating of the skill test, the player has to roll the dice, but if higher, his character automatically succeeds. A specialisation in a skill allows the reroll of a single die if the result was not a twelve. Grit can be spent by the player to modify the die result.

How does combat work?
Combat in The Gaia Complex uses the same mechanics. It includes support actions such as ‘Jack Into a Hacking Rig’, ‘Perform a Hacking Action’, ‘Perform a Drone Action’, and ‘Meld – Feral Only’ which fit the setting. The range of other options are what you would expect for a modern modern game with firearms, included aimed shot, snapshot, and burst fire. Burst fire enables the attacker to reroll a single damage die. Combat is deadly, with Endurance reduced to zero indicating death, whilst Pressure reduced to zero, either from a Vampire special ability or the effects of a program in the Core.

In addition to the rules for combat, there are rules for drone use and access and hacking The Core, a virtual space akin to Cyberspace. Hacking usually targets secret data stores and other locations below the extensive data archives of The Core. It requires a hacking Rig and Jacking in and in combat, a hacking Player Character can only do one action per round. Out of combat, hacking is handled in narrative fashion rather than rolling for every encounter. Several dangerous countermeasures are detailed to ward off any hacking attempt.

How do Vampire and Feral abilities work?
A Feral can Meld with a ‘partnered’ animal, which requires the use of the Meld skill. This enables him to imprint his consciousness into the animal and see through its eyes and act as if he is the animal. Damage suffered by the animal is suffered as Pressure damage by the Feral.

Vampires are not included in The Gaia Complex – Quick Start.

What do you play?
The setting for The Gaia Complex – Quick Start is the year 2119. Following the Resource War of 2039 and the damage done to the environment, humanity was forced to retreat into sealed metropolises. New Europe, which covers most of the European continent is the largest. in addition to the development of atmospheric processing and other meteorological protective technology, cyberware was developed and spread, true A.I.s came online, including in new Europe, Gaia. Her technological developments would revolutionise society, including heavy surveillance and increasingly, robotic law enforcement. The streets exploded into guerilla warfare as a resistance, augmented by cyberware, arose against the surveillance and law enforcement as hackers attempted to stop the influence of the A.I.s. In between horrors out myth have swept onto the streets—vampires! Eventually, a synthetic blood source was developed as food for the vampires, but that does not stop vampire gangs in search of real from being a problem. Another species are the Feral, which are capable of melding with the consciousness of an animal, which are mostly biogenetic closes in 2119.

The Gaia Complex – Quick Start includes two of what it calls a ‘Data Seed’. This is not a scenario as such, but rather an expanded hook that includes an idea, one or more suggested scenes, and more. In ‘The Raid’, the Player Characters are hires to infiltrate and steal a file called ‘Hivemind’ from a research facility in Bruss (old Brussels). The three suggested scenes describe the research facility and what might be found inside and below it, followed by a difficult escape. The second ‘Data Seed’, ‘The Hack’, the Player Characters are hired to kill a mercenary hacker. Its suggested scenes involve the Player Characters hunting down the hacker and confronting him in his base.

Is there anything missing?
The Gaia Complex – Quick Start is complete.

Is it easy to prepare?
The core rules presented in The Gaia Complex – Quick Start are relatively easy to prepare. However, the Game Master will need to do some extra preparation in order to have either ‘Data Seed’ ready to play.
Is it worth it?
Yes and no. Anyone wanting something that can be run with relatively little preparation, including a read-to-play scenario is advised to look elsewhere as each ‘Data Seed’ in The Gaia Complex – Quick Start requires more preparation than a standard scenario would. So, no. However, a Game Master happy to undertake that preparation or run either ‘Data Seed’ from the given information will have no issue with The Gaia Complex – Quick Start. So, yes.
Where can you get it?
The Gaia Complex – Quick Start is available to download here.

As well as contributing to Free RPG Day every year Goodman Games also has its own ‘Dungeon Crawl Classics Day’, which sadly, can be a very North American event. The day is notable not only for the events and the range of adventures being played for Goodman Games’ roleplaying games, but also for the scenarios it releases specifically to be played on the day. For ‘Dungeon Crawl Classics Day 2020’—the very first, which took place on Saturday, May 16th, 2020, the publisher released two items. The first was DCC Day #1: Shadow of the Beakmen, a single scenario for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game. The second was the DCC Day 2020 Adventure Pack, which not only provided support for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game and Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game – Triumph & Technology Won by Mutants & Magic, but also for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar Boxed Set, with a scenario for each. This format has been has been followed for each subsequent DCC Day, that is, a single scenario and an anthology containing two or three scenarios, all of them short, relatively easy to run and add to an ongoing campaign, or even use as a one-shot of convention game.
DCC Day 2020 Adventure Pack is actually longer than most scenario releases for either Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game, Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game – Triumph & Technology Won by Mutants & Magic, or the Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar Boxed Set! The trilogy opens with ‘Expedition to Algol’, a scenario for First Level Player Characters for Dungeon Crawl Classics. The Player Characters are engaged by the wizard Bartakus-Thrum to participate in an experiment which will see them transported to another planet. Fortunately, the experiment is a complete success and the Player Characters find themselves under the intense heat and light and humidity of an alien world and its three suns—two yellow and one green—in a city of several thousand lizard-men being besieged by another several thousand cat-men. Unfortunately, the Player Characters have no way of getting back home, so as it turns out, the experiment is not actually a complete success. Their situation though, is not quite as dire as it sounds. Their arrival has been foretold and the Hall of Tests awaits them…
The Hall of Tests consists of a hollow tower which descends deeper into the ground and is dominated by a giant statute of a humanoid with three eyes. It has a number of rooms leading off the main tower that the Player Characters will work their way down, exploring and examining its techno-magical features. In the long-abandoned complex, the Player Characters will discover the source of the animal-men outside the tower and of course, in doing so, will transform themselves, some of the secrets of the thoroughly Lawful Evil Space Wasps which once ruled this world and their technology, a very helpful purple arm, and even a way home! The most fun part of this, at least for the Judge, is going to be portraying the arm. Ultimately, the Player Characters can find a way home, but if they are in any way transformed, will they want to? If they decide to stay, the Judge will find further information about the world of Algol in Dungeon Crawl Classics #84: Peril on the Purple Planet and of course, ‘Expedition to Algol’ can be used as an introduction to that campaign setting. ‘Expedition to Algol’ is an excellent scenario, whether used as a one-shot or introduction.
‘The Heist’ is the second adventure in the DCC Day 2020 Adventure Pack. This is for Third Level Player Characters and is written for use with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar Boxed Set. As small-time crooks—thieves, burglars, and cutpurses—the Player Characters all know that the treasure hoard of the merchant-lord Duke Oraso is only bettered by the Overlord of Lankhmar himself. The most famous of his fabulous treasures are the Stars of Lankhmar, three enormous jewels that the duke has pledged to the Gods of Lankhmar, though not yet delivered. Whilst many a thief has sworn an oath into his cups to steal such treasures, none have succeeded, but when news comes that Duke Oraso will throw open the gates of his city manse and host a grand fête for all the nobles of the city, the opportunity to burgle one of the richest men in the city and do it under his very nose, is not to be missed. With this set-up, ‘The Heist’ is one-part grand soirée, one-part mystery play, and one-part dungeon, and all together, a grand affair.
The Player Characters will need to procure disguises and decide how they want to get into the duke’s manse and then begin their search of it—above and below ground—for the duke’s treasure vault. There are lots of opportunities for sneaking around, roleplaying (especially with dissolute members of the nobility), and larceny, all under the watchful gaze of the duke’s guards and his assistant, the Vizier. For the most part, the Player Characters are free to move around as they want, though their disguises will work better in some areas of the Manse than other, and there are a number of timed events throughout the evening. The Player Characters only really have to be present for grand finale to the duke’s mystery play. The scenario includes a full map of the Manse, both above and below ground, a table of rumours and gossip, timeline, a big table of nobles in attendance whom the Player Characters can mingle and hobnob with, a smaller table of treasures to purloin, and a quick-sheet of rules from the Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar Boxed Set for easy reference or if the Judge is running the scenario using just Dungeon Crawl Classics. The only thing missing perhaps is a table of possible relationships between the nobles attending the fête and more item descriptions of the things that the Player Characters can steal to add flavour and verisimilitude rather than just monetary value.
‘The Heist’ is a grand affair and at twenty-four pages in length, not just the longest scenario in the DCC Day 2020 Adventure Pack, but its highlight. This is a great scenario, very well supported, with plenty of options in terms of how the Player Characters approach what could be a very Oceans 11-style heist. However, it is far too big and far too detailed to be really run as a one-shot or convention scenario as suggested, and given how good the scenario is, what is it still doing hidden away in the pages of the DCC Day 2020 Adventure Pack and not being more readily available for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar Judge? Hopefully, if there is an anthology of scenarios for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar Boxed Set, this one will be included. It deserves a reprint and to be better known to Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar Judges.
The third and final scenario is ‘Ruins of Future Past’. Designed for Player Characters of First Level, this is for use with Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game – Triumph & Technology Won by Mutants & Magic. It begins with the Player Characters stumbling into a temporal rift and being sent swirling back in time to find themselves in a stone complex inhabited by an annoyed out of time ‘ghost’, and full of weirdness such as edible mushrooms seeking human comfort that sprout from the walls, a puppet show performed by skeletons, a library arranged as a perpetual spiral of book piles, and a thing of wax stretched so membranously thin it covers a whole room. This is the partially abandoned workshop of Ram’Gan, a wizard who specialises in the magic of time and considers himself to be a ‘chronoartist’ and much of the contents of the workshop consists of incomplete or failed experiments from his ‘art’. Located in a former temple to a minor pharaoh, ‘Ruins of Future Past’ concludes with a confrontation with one or more temporal echoes of Ram’Gan, such as ‘Primordial Ram’Gan the Vicious’ or ‘Black Powder Ram’Gan the Leadslinger’ and the discovery of a ‘time tunnel’. This can be used to get the Player Characters home or alternatively, thrown through time to their next adventure.
Although there are some technological treasures to be found at the end of the adventure, ‘Ruins of Future Past’ is only nominally a scenario for Mutant Crawl Classics. Of course, it pulls the Player Characters from Terra A.D. and out of time, but what they end up in feels like and is written as a dungeon more suitable for Dungeon Crawl Classics than Mutant Crawl Classics. The fact that the scenario is not written from the point of view of the Mutant Player Character and that the author suggests that it is “equally suitable for equivalent-level Dungeon Crawl Classics characters” lends itself to the suggestion that this was a Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure quickly repurposed to Mutant Crawl Classics with mentions of Terra A.D. at the beginning and end of the scenario. That said, as a Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure, ‘Ruins of Future Past’ delivers all of the Swords & Sorcery weirdness you would expect of a Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure and as a Mutant Crawl Classics adventure it works as a ‘fish out of water’—or ‘mutants out of time’—scenario. In either, its ‘thrown out of time’ start makes it easy to drop into a campaign and if the Judge wanted to start a time travel campaign using either Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game – Triumph & Technology Won by Mutants & Magic or the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game, this would be a good jumping off point.
Physically, the DCC Day 2020 Adventure Pack is as decently presented as you would expect from Goodman Games. The adventures are well-written, the artwork decent, and the cartography excellent.
Of course, the DCC Day 2020 Adventure Pack was a bargain when it was released for DCC Day back in 2020. After all, it was free! Plus, all three scenarios are playable, with one scenario—‘Expedition to Algol’—being good and one scenario—‘The Heist’—being really good. In fact, ‘The Heist’ is a must have scenario for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar Judge, making the DCC Day 2020 Adventure Pack a worthwhile purchase for that alone. In which case, the other two adventures are a bonus.

The very latest entry in the Ticket to Ride franchise is Ticket to Ride: Berlin. Like those other Ticket to Ride games, it is another card-drawing, route-claiming board game based around transport links and like those other Ticket to Ride games, it uses the same mechanics. Thus the players will draw Transportation cards and then use them to claim Routes and by claiming Routes, link the two locations marked on Destination Tickets, the aim being to gain as many points as possible by claiming Routes and completing Destination Tickets, whilst avoiding losing by failing to complete Destination Tickets. Yet rather than being another big box game like the original Ticket to Ride, Ticket to Ride: Europe, or Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries, it takes its cue from Ticket to Ride: New York, Ticket to Ride: London, Ticket to Ride: Amsterdam, and Ticket to Ride: San Francisco. Part of the ‘City’ series for Ticket to Ride, it is thus a smaller game designed for fewer players with a shorter playing time, a game based around a city rather than a country or a continent. The entries in the series are also notably different in terms of theme and period.
Published by Days of Wonder and designed for play by two to four players, aged eight and up, Ticket to Ride: Berlin is easy to learn, can be played out of the box in five minutes, and played through in less than twenty minutes. As with the other entries in the Ticket to Ride ‘City’ series, Ticket to Ride: Berlin sees the players race across the city attempting to connect its various tourist hotspots. All of entries in the ‘City’ series are both set in their respective and have a them representative of their city. Thus, Ticket to Ride: New York had the players racing across Manhattan in the nineteen fifties via taxis; Ticket to Ride: London had the players racing across London in the nineteen sixties aboard the classic double-decker buses; Ticket to Ride: Amsterdam took the series back to the seventeenth century and had the players fulfilling Contracts by delivering goods across the Dutch port by horse and cart and claiming Merchandise Bonus if they take the right route; and Ticket to Ride: San Francisco continued the lack of trains in the series by having the players travel around ‘The City by the Bay’ aboard its icon form of transportation—the cable car! In Ticket to Ride: Berlin, the players can travel from the Teirgarten to Check-Point Charlie, from Charlottenburger Tor to Alexander-Platzfrom, from the Reichstag to the Zoo, either by the trams that crisscross the city or the underground which encircles it—or both!
Inside the small box can be found a small rectangular board which depicts the centre of Berlin, from Moabit, Charlottenburger Tor, and Kurfüstendamm in the west to Alexander-platz, Humbodt Forum, and Morotz-Platz in the east. The board has a scoring track at its eastern end, running from one to fifty, instead of being placed around the edge. There are Streetcar and Subway Car pieces in four colours (as opposed to the trains of standard Ticket to Ride), the Transportation cards drawn and used to claim routes between destinations, and the Destination Tickets indicating which two Destinations need to be connected to be completed. Both the Streetcar and the Subway Car pieces are nicely sculpted, the Streetcar pieces having a more rounded feel, as opposed to the square, more train-like Subway Car pieces. Each player begins play with eleven Streetcar pieces and five Subway Car pieces. The Transportation cards come in the standard colours for Ticket to Ride, but are illustrated with a different form of transport for each colour. So black is illustrated with a river cruise boat, blue with a taxi, green with a streetcar, purple with a bus, red with a train, orange with a subway car, and the wild card with a bicycle. This really makes the cards stand out and easier to view for anyone who suffers from colour blindness and the range of transport options give the game a greener feel. Similarly, the Destination Tickets are bright, colourful, and easy to read. As expected, the rules leaflet is clearly written, easy to understand, and the opening pages show how to set up the game. It can be read through in mere minutes and play started all but immediately.
In comparison to the boards in the other entries in the ‘City’ series, the one Ticket to Ride: Berlin is more functional than attractive. The various routes are laid out in strong coloours over a light tan streetmap of the city. It is not an unattractive board, but there is an austerity to it. Most routes are one, two, or three spaces in length, though there are three routes four spaces long, all of them grey in colour meaning that any colour can be used to claim them. The major difference with the board is that is that it is ringed by an underground system. Each only has space for one Subway Car piece, but the number of dots alongside the single space indicate the number of Transportation cards which have to be played to claim that route. These are either one, two or three Transportation cards. The board has two Route Scoring Tables, one for claiming the Streetcar routes and one for the Subway routes. In general, a player will score more points for claiming a Subway route than a Streetcar route. However, a player only has five Subway Car pieces to place as opposed to eleven Streetcar pieces.
Play in Ticket to Ride: Berlin is the same as standard Ticket to Ride. Each player starts the game with some Destination Tickets and some Transportation cards. On his turn, a player can take one of three actions. Either draw two Transportation cards; draw two Destination Tickets and either keep one or two, but must keep one; or claim a route between two connected Locations. To claim a route, a player must expend a number of cards equal to its length, either matching the colour of the route or a mix of matching colour cards and the multi-coloured cards, which essentially act as wild cards. Some routes are marked in grey and so can use any set of colours or multi-coloured cards. If the route is a Streetcar route, the player places a number of Streetcar pieces on it equal to its length. If it is subway route, he places just the single Subway Car piece on it, though he still has to expend the indicated number of Transportation cards.

In fact, Ticket to Ride: Berlin feels so much like standard Ticket to Ride that it is not immediately obvious what makes it different from either standard Ticket to Ride or the other entries in the ‘City’ series, each of which has a strong theme and an extra mechanic. For example, in Ticket to Ride: San Francisco, the players also collect Tourist Tokens. In Ticket to Ride: Berlin, the difference is the subway network which rings the city. A player only has five Subway car pieces to place, so they are a limited resource, but when played, they tend to score more points and they tend to connect routes that are harder to connect via the Streetcar pieces. Most Destinations in the centre of the board lie just a single route’s length from the beginning and end of a Subway route. Thus, for the longer Destination Tickets, a player will likely be wanting to claim the Subway routes to get around the board, whilst claiming routes into the city using the Streetcar pieces. It is an underplayed difference in comparison to titles in the ‘City’ series and to Ticket to Ride in general.

What Ticket to Ride: Berlin is reminiscent of is the Ticket to Ride Map Collection Vol. 7: Japan + Italy and its Japan map. This introduced the ‘Bullet Train’ route, which when claimed using the indicated number of Transportation cards, only used a single Bullet Train piece to indicate that it had been claimed. The Subway routes in Ticket to Ride: Berlin work in a similar fashion, although unlike on the Japan map, they are not shared by all of the players and nobody is penalised for not building any Subway routes.

Physically, Ticket to Ride: Berlin is very nicely produced. Everything is produced to the high standard you would expect for a Ticket to Ride game.

Like Ticket to Ride: New York, Ticket to Ride: London, Ticket to Ride: Amsterdam, and Ticket to Ride: San Francisco, what Ticket to Ride: Berlin offers is all of the play of Ticket to Ride in a smaller, faster playing version, that is easy to learn and easy to transport. The balance in the game lies between claiming two different types of route, one that feels faster and goes further, as well as scoring more when claimed, but the player is limited to claiming five of this type in total, the other shorter, more flexible, with more pieces to put down and claim routes, but not scoring quite as much. This is more demanding than the other ‘City’ series titles and in combination with the fact that Ticket to Ride: Berlin is not as strongly thematic as the rest of the ‘City’ series, the result is that Ticket to Ride: Berlin feels austere in comparison. Of course, Ticket to Ride: Berlin still offers the same quick, competitive play of Ticket to Ride, but loses theme in favour of slightly more thoughtful play.

Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Repository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

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Name: The Timeless TerrorPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Marco Danili

Setting: ArkhamProduct: Scenario
What You Get: Thirteen page, 1.17 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: All aboard the Groundhog Day Night Train! Plot Hook: A train ride. A MacGuffin. A murder. A train ride. A MacGuffin. A train ride. A MacGuffin. A train ride. A MacGuffin. A train ride. A MacGuffin. Doom.
Plot Support: Staging advice, twelve NPCs, one floorplan, and one Mythos monster.Production Values: Tidy
Pros# Big structured puzzle of a scenario# Easy to adapt to other time periods# Works well with fewer Investigators# One-shot or easy to add as in-between scenario# Siderodromophobia# Chronophobia# Cleithrophobia
Cons# Needs a good edit# NPC reactions underwritten# No handouts# No Sanity-loss for the alive-dead-alive murder victim?
Conclusion# Trapped on a terror twister train time-teaser# Chronological conundrum mystery that needs development in places, but otherwise a serviceable one-shot

Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Repository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

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Name: On AirPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Quico Vicens-Picatto

Setting: ArkhamProduct: Scenario
What You Get: Fourteen page, 449.09 KB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Coast to Coast AM meets H.P. Lovecraft Plot Hook: The truth is out... side
Plot Support: Staging advice, five pre-generated ‘Investigators’, forty-six NPCs, and one Mythos monster.Production Values: Tidy
Pros# Experience the Mythos at telephone call’s length# Heavily structured plot# Strong roleplaying situation# Innovative and intriguing set-up# Excellent art# Homichlophobia# Radiophobia# Ichthyophobia
Cons# Needs a strong edit# Keeper has a lot—really, a ‘lot’—of NPCs to portray# Heavily structured plot# Reactive rather than investigative# Potential for underwhelming climax# Format needs reworking to be easier to use
Conclusion# Intriguing set-up leads to vicarious encounters with the Mythos# Lack of investigation means scenario relies on reaction and roleplaying in call-in show radio play

If there is revolution and repression above, there is freedom below. Freedom to be who you are. Freedom of expression. Except freedom from desire. Except freedom from your heart’s desire. Or is that what your desire from the Heart… or the Heart desires from you? No-one knows what the Heart is—inquisitive god-cocoon, time-travelling alien terraformer, unknowable world-engine, the land of the dead, the root of all magic, faith, and the occult across the world, or the manifestation of all the sins committed and considered in the Spire far above. In the mile-high tower of the Spire, the Aelfir—the High Elves—enjoy lives of extreme luxury, waited upon by the Destra—the Drow—whom they have subjugated and continue to oppress the criminal revolutionaries that would rise up and overthrow through them. In the City Beneath, where heretical churches have found the freedom to worship their forbidden gods and organised crime to operate the drug farms that supply the needs of the Spire above, the Aelfir find themselves free of conformity, the Destra free of repression. They are joined by Gnolls and Humans. The former are hyena-headed people from the far south, renowned for their demonology-driven mechanoccultism technology, those in the City Beneath free to be close to the Spire despite the cold war between the Aelfir and the Gnolls. The latter are renowned for their interest in the past, retro-engineers and tomb robbers who have developed their rediscovered technology into an arms industry, those in the City Beneath, free to delve and explore as is their wont. Some simply live in the City Beneath, but others are Delvers, driven to survive and delve deep below the Spire and the City Beneath. Here they will the remnants of the Vermissian, the great public transport network that would have bound the Spire and the City Beneath together. Then caves and tunnels, first of stone and rock, then of bone and teeth. The archaeological remainders of lost civilisations. Pockets where science and the occult are what they once were or are somewhere else. Realms lit by the stars of another world. Lost worlds home to mythic predators. The closer the delver gets to the Heart, the more the unreal the City Beneath becomes… In between are landmarks, perhaps points in the darkness where sanctuary can be found, more likely danger and death, but they are always stable points by which delvers can navigate ever closer to the Heart, a “rip in the holes between worlds”, and what drives them deeper…

This is the setting for Heart: The City Beneath, a roleplaying game that explores the horror, tragedies, and consequences of delving too deep into dungeons. Published by Rowan, Rook, and Decard Ltd. following a successful Kickstarter campaign, it would win multiple Ennie awards in 2012, including for Best Writing, Best Setting, and Best Layout. It is both a sequel and a companion roleplaying game to the publisher’s Spire: The City Must Fall. If Spire is punk anarchy and revolution, Heart is the wild frontier and a desire to know what is out there, if that is, the wild frontier is the equivalent of a mega-dungeon and the desire to know what is out there, is the yearning to know what calls to you far below. As a dungeon-delving roleplaying game, it puts the desires and wants of the Player Characters first and foremost, shifting from the simulationist play style of the dungeon-delving roleplaying game to a narrative play style, focusing on story, and the repercussions of the Player Character actions with the Game Master expected to undertake a minimal approach to preparation beyond a location—or Landmark—or two and the elements of their characters that the players want to explore. This shift does not mean that there is any less scope for action and heroism, but rather there is more freedom to interpret and describe how it happens. Although Heart has the feel of a mega-dungeon, or at least, a dungeon frontier, it is really designed to played in short campaigns, roughly ten sessions or so. This does not mean that Heart: The City Beneath is a ‘one-and-done’ roleplaying game, that is, once the Game Master and her players and their characters have delved deep into its bowels, everything that it offers has been played. Heart: The City Beneath offers numerous options within the types of Player Characters it includes and numerous sample Landmarks, as well as a handful of campaign ideas beyond the simple delve, that give it a high replay factor.

A Player Character in Heart: The City Beneath has an Ancestry, a Calling, and a Class. Together, these will determine his Skills, Domains, and Knacks, as well as Abilities. He also has Resistances. Ancestry—either Aelfir, Drow, Gnoll, or Human—does not provide any mechanical benefit, but suggests backgrounds and reasons why the Player Character is in the City Beneath, along with trinkets he has with him. A Calling, either Adventure, Enlightenment, Forced, Heartsong, or Penitent, develops the reason further. The Adventure indicates that the Player Character is looking for excitement, Enlightenment for secrets and answers, Forced that the Player Character is not in the City Beneath by choice, Heartsong that he is somehow connected to the Heart, and Penitent that he is making amends for betraying the trust of the organisation he belongs to. Each Calling gives a Core Ability, some questions to answer that explain why the Player Character is in the City Beneath, and a list of Beats to choose from. These consist of Minor, Major, and Zenith Beats, and the higher the tier of the Beat selected, the longer it takes to complete. A beat is used to signal to the Game Master what the player would like to see his character do in the next session or so. For example, a Minor Beat for the Adventure Calling could be ‘Defeat a powerful foe one-on-one’ or ‘Kick someone off a tall structure (they really deserved it)’. Of course, this forewarns the player as to what could happen in the forthcoming session and the Game Master is going to be enabling it, but not only does completing it grant the Player Character an Advancement within his Class, but it also gives the player a roleplaying and storytelling opportunity in both anticipating and completing it!

Heart: The City Beneath has nine Classes. Each provides a Resource, some equipment, and two core abilities as well as a list of Minor, Major, and Zenith Abilities. A Player Character will begin player with three Minor Abilities and a Major Ability, and will earn more through fulfilling the Beats from his Calling. Zenith Abilities mark the Player Character’s apotheosis, and their use the end of the Player Character’s story when used as they transform the City Beneath around him. The Cleaver is a hunter whose body warps in reaction to wilderness beyond the City Beneath and consume his prey to fuel his untamed powers. The Deadwalker is caught between life and death, having already died once, is never alone from that first death, and can walk between the worlds of the living and the dead. The Deep Apiarist has become a living hive for bees and together, they help him manipulate the magics of chaos and order. The Heretic is a member of the Church of the Moon, driven out of the city Above when the Aelfir first invaded. The Hound is a mercenary who draws upon the reputation and will of a lost regiment which was sent to a pacify the Heart sometime in the past. The Incarnadine was driven into debt so catastrophically deep that Incarne, the Crimson God of Debt, marked as her own, still paying off the debt, but drawing on its divine power too. The Junk Mage is a pioneering wizard who has become addicted to the dreams and thoughts of the godlike things slumbering in the City Beneath and is driven near to madness by both the knowing and the wanting to know. Wearing unique suits of armour scavenged from the wrecks of trains leftover from the creation of the Vermissian, the Vermissian Knight guards and patrol the transport network, as well as explore the routes the network takes deeper into the City Beneath. The Witch carries a blood disease, each of a different lineage, but all from the heart itself, and uses both blood and disease in ways feared and loved.

A Player Character will have Skills, Domains, Knacks, and Resistances. The skills are Compel, Delve, Discern, Endure, Evade, Hunt, Kill, Mend, and Sneak. The eight Domains, which represent experience of an environment or a knowledge of some kind, are Cursed, Desolate, Occult, Religion, Technology, Warren, and Wild. A Player Character either has a Skill or a Domain, or he does not, but if he has a Skill or Domain twice, it becomes a Knack, which means he can roll with Mastery. There are five Resistances—Blood, Echo (representing warping influence on body and mind of the Heart), Mind, Fortune, and Supplies—and these track the amount of Stress the Player Character is suffering in that aspect. Suffer too much Stress and there is the chance of Fallout, consequences which can have temporary or permanent effect on the Player Character.

To create a character, a player selects an Ancestry, a Calling, and a Class. He answers the questions posed by each and then from each Class selects three Minor Abilities and one Major Ability. Our sample character is Redeye. She was a healer serving in the Gnollish military captured by the Aelfir of the Spire. Escaping into the City below following a prison breakout, she fell ill, thinking she was going to die… Then she heard a song and when she awoke knew it was her blood infected. Now it sings to her. She misses being under the moon and being to run under the stars. She dreams of the moon running with blood and believes that the Heart is strongest where diseases touches—for good or ill. Her fellow delver, Urwain, a Vermissian Knight recently recovered from Gnollish Scrofula, which is known to kill a human, so she thinks him strong enough to lead him to the heart. When she blinks, her eyes turn blood red, but then drain back to her normal colour.

Redeye
Ancestry: Gnoll Calling Heartsong Class Witch
Skills: Compel, Discern, Kill, Mend
Domains: Occult
Abilities: Crucible, True Form, The Old Blood, Witch-Spit, Heart-Wise, Crimson Mirror
Resistances: Blood, Echo (Protection +1), Mind, Fortune, and Supplies
Resource: Tattered Finery (D6 haven)
Equipment: Spyglass built by her lover, painted dog skull, ink-blotted dream journal with maps of the places seen in your dreams, Sacred Blade (Kill D6, Bloodbound)
Beats: Let your curiosity lead you into danger, terrify or intrigue an NPC with your obsession.

Mechanically, Heart: The City Beneath uses dice pools of ten-sided dice. Whenever a character wants to undertake an action, his player rolls a ten-sided die. To this, he can add another die for a relevant Skill, relevant, Domain, and Mastery—the lack from a Knack. Once the dice have been rolled, the player removes the highest die if the task is Risky, two if it is Dangerous. The highest die is counted. The result ranges from Critical failure to Critical success, and the Player Character can fail and suffer Stress, succeed and suffer Stress, succeed without Stress, succeed dramatically and increase the Stress inflicted on an NPC or opponent. The amount of Stress suffered by either the Player Character or opponent will vary. It can be from an Ability, a weapon, the environment, or generally how close the Player Character to the Heart. This is measured by Tier, and the higher the Tier, the closer to the Heart and the greater the Stress die rolled. Stress is marked off against the appropriate Resistance and at the end of situation, the Game Master rolls to see if the Player Character suffers Fallout, which the actual consequences of the Stress, which itself only has a narrative effective. For example, a Minor Blood Fallout could be Bleeding or Spitting Teeth, but Minor Echo Fallout could be Buboes on the skin or a Strange Appetite. Blood, Mind, and Supplies Stress is easier to remove than Echo or Fortune. NPCs only have the one Resistance, also called Resistance, meaning there is less mechanical complexity and nuance to them, leaving the Game Master and her players to narrate the effects of Stress and then Fallout upon them.

Combat in Heart: The City Beneath uses the same mechanics. It primarily uses a combination of the Kill skill plus the Domain where the fight is taking place and Blood as the primary Resistance used. This will vary depending on the situation. Notably, it only has optional rules for initiative, included if the players are used to turn-based combat. Instead, combat, including initiative, is handled on narrative basis, as in, does this narratively make sense? Combat in Heart: The City Beneath runs to a single page and even that is impressively comprehensive for a narrative roleplaying game!

Beyond the rules, there is excellent advice for running Heart: The City Beneath, whether as your first roleplaying game, your first storytelling game, or simply the first time running Heart: The City Beneath. The specific advice includes the fact that the Player Characters can change the world, that the Game Master need no longer plan, drop the idea of balanced encounters because no fight is ever fair—though here is some advice if the fight is too hard (or too easy), she should ask questions of the players and give them and their characters what they want—typically tailored to each Calling with the Beats, and so on. It handles the adjustment to the storytelling style fairly well, though it often feels as if it wants to scream out, “Yes, we know you’ve played Dungeons & Dragons. This is like that, but different, and really intense, okay?”

Two fifths of Heart: The City Beneath is devoted to describing the nature of the City Beneath. Although it discusses the main society to be found near the surface, its main focus are the Delves that the Player Characters or Delvers will be undertaking. A Delve consists of a journey between two or more Landmarks, in general the deeper the Delve, from Tier 0 down to Tier 3 and beyond. A Delve has its own route, a Tier, one or more Domains, its own Stress that will be suffered if a Player Character fails an action whilst there, possible events that can occur there, and a Resistance which must be worn down via collective action upon the part of the Player Characters. This typically means using equipment, such as rope to climb down cliffs and crevasses, a compass marked with a fifth cardinal direction—‘H’, a crowbar, and so on. The nearest equivalent are the journey rules in The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings and Forbidden Lands – Raiders & Rogues in a Cursed World and they are tough. There is even the possibility that the Player Characters suffer so much Stress and subsequent Fallout that it is not actually worth continuing on the Delve. Some Abilities and having the right equipment can alleviate that, but it may be less frustrating for the players if Delves are handled in this fashion when it is narratively important. Perhaps if the Player Characters have used part of a Delve before, to have them learned its dangers, and so be better prepared? In that way, their experience comes into play and deeper Delves can still be dangerous.

A Landmark has a Domain, a Tier, it can be a Haunt where resources can be exchanged to remove Stress or downgrade Fallout, but it will have its own Stress that will be suffered if a Player Character fails an action whilst there, resources to be found, harvested, or stolen, and potential plots to involve the Player Characters. Heart: The City Beneath describes some forty or so Landmarks, starting with Derelictus, the City Between, the link on Tier 0 between the City Above and the City Below, followed by the God of Corpses, worshipped via its Seven Sacred Ailments which the physickers are more interested in than the patients and which a sect wants to see resurrected; Redcap Grove, a stain of fungal growth over the ruins of a cathedral, home to criminally mad druids from it is possible to purchase hallucinogens; Grin Station, a decrepit folly of an amusement park, which seems to be regenerating; and the Hoard, a vast, predatory library that seeks out books and knowledge, its librarians under the mind control of a maggoty dragon larvae at its centre. Beyond the Landmarks, there are Fractures, including Eight Heavens—each a different afterlife, and time and space seeming to bend this way and that, until finally, there is the Heart itself. If the Player Characters can reach it… There are numerous suggestions as to what the Heart is, all of them true, all of them false. Getting there though, seems beside the point. The journey seems to matter more, and the Landmarks are all brilliant and the Game Master is going to want to use all of them! Fortunately, she need not do so. Heart: The City Beneath suggests mapping the locations of the Landmarks out on a superhex of hexes roughly seven or eight hexes across. Each ring of hexes out from the centre represents a higher Tier, the hexes being populated through play as the Player Characters extend themselves out in Delves. It is very unlikely that a single play through of Heart: The City Beneath would use all of the given Landmarks and many are worth using more than once, as the various monstrous and legendary creatures given in the bestiary. Thus, whether the Game Master is running Heart: The City Beneath as one-shot Delve, a standard Delve campaign, or perhaps having the Player Characters operating or defending a haven, there is still plenty of content for the Game Master to use.

Physically, Heart: The City Beneath is stunning. The book is well written and well presented, but Felix Miall’s artwork really brings the dark, desperate feel of the City Beneath to life, often bruised and bloody, if not brooding, and if you look for it—just like the Player Characters—also wondrous and wonderful.

Heart: The City Beneath is the antidote to the dungeon-delving roleplaying game, to the first style of roleplaying game we knew. It provides a nonet of fascinating Player Character options that twist and change who we expect to be dungeon-delving and maps their progress through what they want and what their players want to see told as part of their story. They are desperate despite the danger, heedless of the horror, careless as to the consequences, and despite the grim dark nature of the City Beneath, they are heroes—at least in their own eyes. Heart: The City Beneath brings a fantastically decrepit and dangerous world to life and lets the players and their characters drive their delving ever deeper, hoping for divine divulgement, more likely to their doom, but always intense and dramatic from start to finish.

Before the advent of the internet, the magazine was the focus of the hobby’s attention, a platform in whose pages could be news, reviews, and content for the roleplaying game of each reader’s choice, as well as a classified section and a letters page where the issues of day—or at least month—could be raised and discussed in chronically lengthy manner. In this way, such magazines as White Dwarf, Imagine, Dragon, and many others since, came to be our community’s focal point and sounding board, especially a magazine that was long running. Yet depending upon when you entered the hobby and picked up your first issue of a roleplaying magazine, you could have missed a mere handful of issues or many. Which would have left you wondering what was in those prior issues. Today, tracking down back issues to find out and complete a magazine’s run is much easier than it was then, but many publishers offered another solution—the ‘Best of…’ magazine. This was a compilation of curated articles and support, containing the best content to have appeared in the magazine’s pages.

1980 got the format off to a good start with both The Best of White Dwarf Scenarios and The Best of White Dwarf Articles from Games Workshop as well as the Best of Dragon from TSR, Inc. Both publishers would release further volumes of all three series, and TSR, Inc. would also reprint its volumes. Other publishers have published similar volumes and in more recent times, creators in the Old School Renaissance have begun to collate and collect content despite the relative youth of that movement. This includes The Gongfarmer’s Almanac which has collected community content for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game since 2015 and Populated Hexes Monthly Year One which collected the content from the Populated Hexes Monthly fanzine. The ‘Best of…’ series of reviews will look at these and many of the curated and compiled titles from the last four decades of roleplaying.

—oOo—
Bernpyle is a fanzine dedicated to Mausritter – Sword-and-Whiskers roleplaying, the rules-light fantasy adventure microclone in which the very big and very dangerous world is explored from a mouse eye’s point of view. This is our world, but one in which the mice are anthropomorphic and can talk, as can other species. Beyond the walls of their home, the world is one of opportunity and adventure, fraught with hazards natural and unnatural, those untouched by mankind and those imposed by mankind. Using the base mechanics from Into the Odd, mice in Mausritter need to be brave, resourceful and clever, as well as lucky if they are to survive. Funded via a Kickstarter campaign, Bernpyle YEAR ONE collects the most interesting, the most popular, and the best content from first six issues. This includes a regional hexcrawl complete with eight adventure sites and locations, a selection of alternative mechanics inspired by a range of Old School Renaissance adjacent roleplaying games and even a non-Old School Renaissance, new weapons, spells and magic items, two playable species, and more.
Bernpyle: Year One opens with ‘The Earldom of Bernpyle’, a hexcrawl of nineteen sub-hexes. At its heart is the large settlement of Bernpyle, once home to rats, but now home to twelve hundred mice and a minor kingdom where mice reside in some safety and trade is booming. To the west, the woods of the Feylands are home to the Faerie Queen and her people, once at war with the earldom, but now there is a tentative peace between them. To the east is the road that humans built through Cobblefence Park and The Great Spine mountain range. The earl hopes to find a way through the mountains to expand his economic reach into the grasslands on the other side. ‘The Earldom of Bernpyle’ includes a map of the region; a description, but no map of Bernpyle itself; a list of the factions present—including their resources and goals; and stats for all factions, notably The Six, the cavalier mice and their bird mounts, who aid the earl. This though, is only the start, as Bernpyle: Year One expands greatly upon the simple hexcrawl.
The major content starts with two big adventures. ‘A Grizzly Revelation at Badger Burrow’ is set in a series of caves and human-dug mine beneath The Great Spine mountains. A renowned wizard and teacher, a star-faced mole named Suetonius, known to live there, as is a tribe of shrews. However, when the mice venture into the caves, they discover not one tribe of shrews, but two—and they are at war. A religious schism has divided them and the tribes meet daily to battle each other in the caves. The scenario is one of exploration and diplomacy more than combat, with mice choosing the latter option likely to find themselves dead quite quickly. Various outcomes are covered, but to get to the best of them, the mice will need to solve difficult situation. If ‘A Grizzly Revelation at Badger Burrow’ is classic dungeon adventure, then ‘Murky Mysteries of Mice in Marshes’ is traditional hexcrawl—or rather diamond crawl, since it consists of a single hex divided into twelve equal, diamond-shaped segments. The hamlet/town (the fanzine is not quite sure) of Coypu sits on the edge of the Froschsumpf Marshes in the Feylands. The mayor is known for his extensive whisky collection, but has not been heard from recently. Could the swamp’s frogs under their tyrant Mudlord Swelcheeks have something to do with this? The resulting scenario is a boggy bayou horror-tinged affair with some revolting villains.
In addition to the stats for the monsters, NPCs, and treasures to be found in both scenarios, Bernpyle: Year One includes a description of ‘The Missing Wand of Suetonius the Wise’, whom the mice will probably have met in the first scenario. The wand is given quite a good list of its abilities, but an even longer list of magical maladies that can befall the user if he miscasts. There are descriptions, illustrations, and floorplans of the border towers surrounding Bernpyle, each previously used by humans to play something called ‘disc golf’. In ‘Traversing the Feylands’, the author takes inspiration from The Gardens of Ynn to turn the region into layers that the mice will in effect descend as they delve deeper into the forest. This is complicated by the fact that locations within the forest can move, so if the mice may not necessarily being going up or down but both during their delve. The idea is supported by a number of tables which the Game Master will use as prompts.
Separate to the ‘The Earldom of Bernpyle’, ‘A Not So Stille Nacht’ is included as one of the fanzine’s more popular pieces. It is a one-shot, in which the mice are celebrating Christmas at the North Pole when Belsnickel the barn cat and his Pixie allies invade Santa’s polar home. It is as twee as you would expect it to be and if your playing group is partial to that sort of thing, is a passable Christmas one-shot. ‘MausTrap’ is more interesting in that it takes the concept of the Character Funnel from the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game and applies it to Mausritter, only with a crueller touch. The mice are ordinary mice in debt, and to clear that debt they are being sent down a dungeon to return with enough pips’ worth of treasure to repay said debt. Each player has four mice and if any survive, they become First level and can begin play as normal. Tables are provided of occupations and occupational possessions, and the possible nature of their debts. ‘Rodents and Recreations’ adds a set of classic Dungeons & Dragons-style alternative backgrounds, such as wizard, assassin, and barbarian. They are primarily designed for creating mice on the go for one-shots, being ready-to-play packages that can be applied to a player’s mouse.
Other rules cover ‘Foraging Whilst in Human settlements’, whilst ‘Mouserules of Combat’ adds a ‘to hit’ roll where there is none in Mausritter with the intention of keeping players coming to Mausritter from Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, and mounted combat and movement is added with ‘Mauspanzer – A ‘tacti-cool’ brief for Warband Scale Mounts’. The rules cover finding or buying them, and using them in combat, which is only becomes possible after a mount has acquired a Prestige Level or two. ‘Scars’ gives a table of injuries and effects for whenever a mouse is reduced to zero hit points. They include ‘Battle Worn’, ‘Shaken’, ‘Jostled’, ‘Haunted’, and more. ‘Time and Resource tracking in the Veins’ is inspired by Veins of the Earth and adds rules to make Mausritter even harder when delving into deep into the underground. This does run counter to the light nature of Mausritter, but if the Game Master and her group are happy with that, their dungeon delves are going to be tough indeed. Alongside this, there are new spells in ‘Magic from Mayfield’ with a botanical theme, such as Petal Strike and Thorn Bramble, thistles turned into weapons, and even #’A Weapon from Maukbörg’, a big crossbow.
‘Songvogel – A Maus’ Field Guide to Songbirds and other perching avian’ introduces the Songbird as a playable race, all small, and all hailing from Harmony Glade. There are just three Backgrounds—Soldier, Porter, and Companion. The Soldier gets armour, the Porter can carry more with his Traveller’s Duffle, and the Companion has a Saddle and Bridle, enabling a mouse to ride on his back. Songbirds do not have hands, so cannot use weapons. Instead, they use their beak attack and talon strikes. ‘Make a Fienkrieger’ provides another playable race, Fae Warriors whose love of Mauskind have led them to become Faerie Outcasts. The creation involves rolling for Former Occupation, Physical Look, Wing Type, Colour, and Weapon of Choice. Instead of spell tablets, the Fae have Tattoos, for example, Blood Dart, which lets a mouse or fae shoot a projectile out of his skin and Maus’ Paw, which grants the user a spectral paw with which manipulate objects at a distance. Rounding out Bernpyle YEAR ONE is ‘For Mouse, for Home, for Bernpyle!’, which lists all of the releases for Mausritter and even though Bernpyle YEAR ONE was published in 2022, there are a lot!

Physically, Bernpyle YEAR ONE is well presented. The artwork is excellent and the maps clear and easy to use. One issue is that the book does refer to other locations and content from other issues of Bernpyle, so in places the Game Master will need to locate other issues.

Bernpyle YEAR ONE is a lovely little book. It is really divided into the two halves—one devoted to Bernpyle as a location and the other a Mausritter miscellany. In truth, the Bernpyle is better than the rest, being more focused and useable, easier to bring to the table. It is a pity that more of Bernpyle was not included. Bernpyle YEAR ONE has something for every Mausritter Game Master, something to play, something to try, and all nicely packaged.

The Wretched is lost. The crew of the intergalactic salvage ship is all dead, bar one. Adrift between stars with its engines having failed and a hostile alien lifeform having stalked and killed most of the crew, you made one last, brave stand. You drove the alien off the ship, flushing it out via an airlock. You hoped that this would kill it. It did not. Having seen it kill your friends and family aboard, it now scrabbles and skitters across the hull of the ship, searching for a way in, for a way to reach its last victim aboard ship—you. Unfortunately, you cannot truly escape it, but you can hold on and hold out for rescue. Someone out there has to find you. First, you have to keep life support going long enough to repair and activate the distress beacon, and then hope that someone will respond, all whilst fending off the predations of the alien lurking on the other side of the ship’s hull.
This is the set-up for The Wretched, a Science Fiction journalling game published by Loot the Room. Clearly and self-confessedly inspired by Alien and similar films, The Wretched is a game about isolation, fear, and perseverance and potentially, survival in the face of overwhelming odds. The game requires an ordinary deck of playing cards without the Jokers, a six-sided die, a Jenga or similar tower block game, and a set of tokens. In addition, the player will require a means of recording the results of the game. It is suggested that audio or video longs work best, and they are in keeping with the genre. A traditional journal will also work too. The Wretched is a played out as a series of days, the player, actually the flight engineer of The Wretched, undertaking a series of tasks each day and responding to prompts before ending the day by recording its events and his thoughts in his personal log. The odds are that the lone crewman is unlikely to survive, either due to catastrophic failure of the ship’s systems—which will happen if the tower block collapses or the alien finding him. There are multiple ways in which the crewman can fail and die, but only two ways to survive. Either repair and turn on the beacon and then survive long enough for a rescue vessel to come or to repair the ship’s engines and blast out of the situation he is in, leaving the alien behind.

The four suites correspond to different aspects of the ship and its environment. Hearts represents ship’s systems—life support, water purification, and the like; Diamonds are its physical structure—hull, opening and closing doors; Clubs are the crew—remnants of their presence such as their rent bodies and their tools and possessions; and Spades are the Creature—physically present or simply knowing that it is out there… Whilst the presence of the Creature veers between ominous and terrifying, the most horrifying of encounters are to be had with the crew, or rather with what they have left behind, both of themselves and their belongings, as well as memories of them. Here is where the sense of loss and perhaps the nature of sacrifices made in order for the player to survive, come to the fore. The player will have between one and six encounters like this each day, the player taking notes in readiness to record the details in his journal or log. Some end with the instruction to remove a block from the tower block game. Several have already been removed at start of play, so the structural integrity of the ship is imperilled from the outset. It is, however, unlikely that the player will go a turn without having to remove a single block.

Physically, The Wretched is cleanly and tidily presented. It is lightly illustrated, but the artwork is excellent.

The is a fantastic economy of emotion to The Wretched. Like every Journalling game, its tension builds and builds, exacerbated by the looming presence of both the alien and the possibility of the tower block game’s collapse—and thus the end of the game. Yet this is made better—or is that worse?—when the player’s reports and thoughts are recorded rather than simply noted down. Recording the daily logs as either audio or video adds intimacy and emotion to the play through, that is far more difficult to capture on paper. If there is an issue with The Wretched, it is that there are limited options to play more than once, but that experience is going to be fraught, frightening, and claustrophobically intimate.

How do you like your GM Screen?

The GM Screen is a essentially a reference sheet, comprised of several card sheets that fold out and can be stood up to serve another purpose, that is, to hide the GM's notes and dice rolls. On the inside, the side facing the GM are listed all of the tables that the GM might want or need at a glance without the need to have to leaf quickly through the core rulebook. On the outside, facing the players, can be found either more tables for their benefit or representative artwork for the game itself. This is both the basic function and the basic format of the screen, neither of which has changed all that much over the years. Beyond the basic format, much has changed though.

To begin with the general format has split, between portrait and landscape formats. The result of the landscape format is a lower screen, and if not a sturdier screen, than at least one that is less prone to being knocked over. Another change has been in the weight of card used to construct the screen. Exile Studios pioneered a new sturdier and durable screen when its printers took two covers from the Hollow Earth Expedition core rule book and literally turned them into the game’s screen. This marked a change from the earlier and flimsier screens that had been done in too light a cardstock, and several publishers have followed suit.

Once you have decided upon your screen format, the next question is what you have put with it. Do you include a poster or poster map, such as Chaosium, Inc.’s last screen for Call of Cthulhu, Sixth Edition or Margaret Weis Productions’ Serenity and BattleStar Galactica Roleplaying Games? Or a reference work like that included with Chessex Games’ Sholari Reference Pack for SkyRealms of Jorune or the GM Resource Book for Pelgrane Press’ Trail of Cthulhu? Perhaps Or scenarios such as ‘Blackwater Creek’ and ‘Missed Dues’ from the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Screen for use with Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition? Or even better, a book of background and scenarios as well as the screen, maps, and forms, like that of the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack also published by Chaosium, Inc. In the past, the heavier and sturdier the screen, the more likely it is that the screen will be sold unaccompanied, such as those published by Cubicle Seven Entertainment for the Starblazer Adventures: The Rock & Roll Space Opera Adventure Game and Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space RPG. That though is no longer the case and stronger and sturdier GM Screens are the norm today.
So how do I like my GM Screen?

I like my Screen to come with something. Not a poster or poster map, but a scenario, which is one reason why I like ‘Descent into Darkness’ from the Game Master’s Screen and Adventure for Legends of the Five Rings Fourth Edition and ‘A Bann Too Many’, the scenario that comes in the Dragon Age Game Master's Kit for Green Ronin Publishing’s Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Set 1: For Characters Level 1 to 5. I also like my screen to come with some reference material, something that adds to the game. Which is why I am fond of both the Sholari Reference Pack for SkyRealms of Jorune as well as the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack. It is also why I like the Loremaster’s Screen and Rivendell Compendium for The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying, the adaptation of The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings to be compatible with Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition.
The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Loremaster’s Screen and Rivendell Compendium is not new, or rather, it is not entirely new. Just as The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying is adaptation of The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Loremaster’s Screen and Rivendell Compendium is an adaptation of the similarly named The One Ring Loremaster’s Screen & Rivendell Compendium. Similarly, it consists of two items. The first is the Loremaster’s Screen. A three-panel affair in landscape format, it is not a GM Screen for Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition in general, but rather just for the specific rules and mechanics of The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying. It opens on the far left with the spot rules for magical success, encumbrance, and resting, before moving onto the three major mechanical and narrative elements of the roleplaying game. The first of these is for Shadow, the insidious influence and effect of Sauron and his minions, as well as certain baleful locations that are best left unexplored. It identifies four sources of Shadow—Dread, Greed, Misdeeds, and Sorcery—and lists various examples and the possible Shadow Points that might be gained through exposure to such sources or committing such misdeeds. The centre panel is primarily devoted to the Council Sequence, taking the Loremaster through the procedure from set-up and Introduction to the End of the Council via Interaction. The accompany table lists useful Ability checks at both the Introduction and Interaction stages as well as possible Experience Point rewards if the Player-heroes are successful—and in some cases, even if they are not! A little bit of the centre panel and all of righthand panel covers the Travelling Company. The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying is a roleplaying game where travel—just as in Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings—really matters and plays a big role. The Loremaster’s Screen summarises the roles for any Journey—Guide, Hunter, Look-out, and Scout, the length of a Journey, and Events and Event Resolution that may occur on that Journey. It gives the Ability checks for each role and provides a list of possible events as well as the Experience Point results for conducting a Journey through a Perilous Area. Across the Loremaster’s Screen the spot rules and tables include page references for the full rules in The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying. Overall, the Loremaster’s Screen is clear, simple, and easy to read, and very serviceable. The front or player-facing side depicts a small fellowship deep in the wilderness about to be assailed by a band of Orcs. It is a nicely tense piece, but different in style to that of The One Ring Loremaster’s Screen & Rivendell Compendium.
The second item is the ‘Rivendell Compendium’. This is a short supplement which details Imladris, the Last Homely House, home to its master, Elrond Halfelven, for thousands of years. His magic has kept this Hidden Valley safe in all that time and protects it still, either making difficult for anyone to find the entrance or actively blocking access. A map is given of Rivendell, though only the floorplans of the ground floor of Elrond’s mansion is given. There are multiple levels of vaults below and storeys above which are not mapped out here, and though that is disappointing, it is unlikely that the Player-heroes will have ready access to them. They are described in broad detail though, so the Loremaster can develop something from this as necessary; more detail being given to particular locations. Not all of the locations are included on the given floorplan. For example, the library is described in the text, but not marked on the floorplan. Ultimately, both the floorplan and the descriptions need to be taken as a guide—good guide—to Elrond’s home.

Also found Rivendell are many Elven folk. The many here include Elrond Halfelven himself, his daughter, Arwen Undómiel, Glorfindel, the great Prince of the Elves, and others. Elrond is described in the most detail, primarily because he is a source of wisdom and a potential Patron for the Player-heroes. In particular, he favours those with the Scholar and Warden Callings, and can be consulted for advice when it comes to making journeys and on particular marvellous artefacts and wondrous items that may have come into the Player-heroes’ possession. Along with the description are spot rules for how to find the entrance to the Hidden Valley, making music in Rivendell which grants Advantage on Charisma (Performance) checks, the moment when the Player-heroes first see Arwen Undómiel and gain Inspiration from her presence and grace, while an Elven character will lose Shadow due to her sorrow, and more. These add to the magic of Rivendell and bring elements of the setting into play.
Lastly, the High Elves of Rivendell are added as a new Culture. They are based in Rivendell as it is one of their last refuges. Their inclusion means that along with the Elves of Lindon, members of the Firstborn who rarely leave the Grey Havens, there are two Elven Cultures available in The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying. The Virtues include ‘Artificer of Eregion’, ‘Beauty of the Stars’, ‘Night of the Firstborn’, and ‘Skill of the Eldar’. ‘Artificer of Eregion’ is for the Elves who have studied the ancient crafts of the Elven-smiths of Eregion, and how can Hand-craft metal arms and armour to grant them an enchanted reward or even a ring or jewel to make it a wondrous item. An Elf who possesses the ‘Beauty of the Stars’ have such poise and grace that he has a surprisingly charismatic effect on non-Elves and Wizards; one of the ‘Night of the Firstborn’ possesses the will with which to deny the influence of the Enemy; and an Elf with the ‘Skill of the Eldar’ has a skill that others see as bordering on magical. Of the four, ‘Artificer of Eregion’ is the most interesting and feels like it bring something markedly different into a campaign.

The ‘Rivendell Compendium’ expands The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying eastwards—if only a little. It provides a potential sanctuary and patron for the Player-heroes as they explore and journey in that direction, although there remains much to be explored in Eriador, the focus of the new roleplaying game. Devotees of the earlier edition of The One Ring—The One Ring: Adventures over the Edge of the Wild Roleplaying Game—may find there is some repetition between the new ‘Rivendell Compendium’ and the earlier Rivendell supplement, but that is inevitable given that they are covering the same subject. In fact, the earlier Rivendell supplement is notable for how many of its elements found their way into The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings such as the Eye of Mordor and the rules for treasure, and consequently, The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying.

Physically, the ‘Rivendell Compendium’ is again done in the same style as The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying. The book is nicely presented and easy to read and understand. The only real downsides to the ‘Rivendell Compendium’ are that as a slim book it is easier to lose and perhaps some of this may be repeated in a fuller supplement devoted to Eriador later on.

The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Loremaster’s Screen and Rivendell Compendium is exactly as it should be, a useful tool to have in front of the Loremaster during play, whilst the ‘Rivendell Compendium’ adds to the setting of The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying with material that the Loremaster can really make use of as her Player-heroes’ explorations take them to further edges of Eriador. Overall, this makes The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Loremaster’s Screen and Rivendell Compendium a solid, useful package, one that a group playing The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying should get plenty of use out of.