Reviews from R’lyeh Post-Christmas Dozen 2023

Since 2001, Reviews from R’lyeh have contributed to a series of Christmas lists at Ogrecave.com—and at RPGaction.com before that, suggesting not necessarily the best board and roleplaying games of the preceding year, but the titles from the last twelve months that you might like to receive and give. Continuing the break with tradition—in that the following is just the one list and in that for reasons beyond its control, OgreCave.com is not running its own lists—Reviews from R’lyeh would once again like present its own list. Further, as is also traditional, Reviews from R’lyeh has not devolved into the need to cast about ‘Baleful Blandishments’ to all concerned or otherwise based upon the arbitrary organisation of days. So as Reviews from R’lyeh presents its annual (Post-)Christmas Dozen, I can only hope that the following list includes one of your favourites, or even better still, includes a game that you did not have and someone was happy to hide in gaudy paper and place under that dead tree for you. If not, then this is a list of what would have been good under that tree and what you should purchase yourself to read and play in the months to come.

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Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1, Hachette Partworks Ltd. (£1.99)

Definitely the cheapest entry on this list and likely the oddest, being the introduction to the world’s most popular roleplaying game that was also the first of some eighty issues of a Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition partwork. Later issues would rise in price (which is how a partwork works), but for your £1.99 you got an introduction to the game, four Player Characters, a mini-adventure, and a set of dice in an official Dungeons & Dragons tin! The adventure would provide two hours’ worth of play, set in the Forgotten Realms in the same region as the then recent campaign, Phandelver and Below – The Shattered Obelisk. It was the cheapest and simplest introduction to both roleplaying and Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, that anyone could imagine. A perfectly sized and priced taster if you will. It marked two significant events in Dungeons & Dragons history. It marked the first official gaming product for Dungeons & Dragons from the United Kingdom in decades and it marked the return of Dungeons & Dragons to the shelves of shops and newsagents since the demise of Dragon magazine over a decade ago. Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer Issue 1 literally put Dungeons & Dragons back in front of the British public on the high street and it sold thousands.

Pendragon Starter Set

Chaosium, Inc. ($29.99/£24.99)
The Pendragon Starter Set marks the return of the best treatment of Arthurian legend in any roleplaying game and the return of one the best roleplaying games ever published. Designed to introduce players to the forthcoming Pendragon, Sixth Edition, it presents ‘The Sword Campaign’, which places their characters, each a knight of realm, at the start of the reign of King Arthur and even has them witness the young squire pull the sword from the stone and be acclaimed king! As young knights in his service, they become involved in the turbulent early years of his reign as king after king, lord after lord, has to be persuaded that Arthur is the true King of the Britons. This will see them participate in tournaments, diplomatic missions, great battles, and even the affairs of Merlin, all ready to participate in the next part of The Great Pendragon Campaign, one of the greatest campaigns ever published. The rules are clearly explained, including a solo adventure, and encourage the players to have their knights embrace knightly virtues and be the best that they can be by adhering to their personality traits, which can lead to great opportunities for roleplaying and interesting consequences when they fail or adhere to the poorly regarded personality traits. The Pendragon Starter Set is a solidly packed introduction to a classic roleplaying game with books, dice, and cards enough for a gaming group to get started and play through multiple sessions of Arthurian legend and adventure.

Threat Analysis 1: Collateral
Nightfall Games ($50/£40)
Threat Analysis 1: Collateral is simply put, the bestiary and monster book for S.L.A. 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. Its core setting of Mort City is beset by threats from within and without, and it is these threats that Threat Analysis 1: Collateral examines in turn. There are Dream Entities which grow to embody and enforce the fears of the neighbourhoods whose realities they endanger, Cannibals and Carrien Pigs, Serial Killers whose exploits and murders are idolised and feared at the same time and put on primetime TV and even got their own sensational, soaraway serial killer magazine, Ex-War Criminals, and even flora and fauna such as Ganggots and Sector Mutants. All of which is lavishly presented in glorious colour. Threat Analysis 1: Collateral is fantastic monster book that not only surprises in its strangeness and its vibrancy, but also in its ability to bring the horror and the hell of Mort City to life.

Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying
Free League Publishing ($55/£39.99)
2023 also saw the return of another classic fantasy roleplaying game, but this time, from Sweden rather than the USA. This is Drakar och Demoner, Scandinavia’s first and biggest tabletop RPG, originally launched in 1982, but in 2023, published in English as Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying. It is designed for fast and easy play, fast and easy set-up, and even as the world which the Player Characters explore—the Misty Vale, a hidden mountain valley until recently overrun by orcs and goblins—presents them with grim and brutal challenges, it has room for lighter moments round the table. The core boxed set comes packed with dice, cardboard standees, rulebooks, map, battle mat, and more. Not only does it include a solo adventure, ‘Alone in the Deepfall Breach’ (so the Game Master gets to play too) and not one, not two, but eleven adventures in the Dragonbane Adventures book! These can be played individually, but best work as a complete campaign in the Misty Vale. Plus, the artwork really is great. Lastly, let’s not discount the fact that one of the Player Character species is the Mallard and one of the Classes is the Knight, so the first fight round the table is going to be over who gets to play the Duck Knight!

Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game
Marvel ($59.99/£53.99)
Roleplaying returns to the Marvel Universe for the fifth time with this gorgeous treatment of the superheroes, supervillains, and super setting of the Marvel Universe. It includes over one hundred profiles of the heroes, villains, and minions (and sometimes in betweeen) of Universe 616, from Abomination, Agatha Harkness, and Agent Phil Coulson to Venom, Vulture, and the Winter Soldier, from America Chavez, Ant-Man, and Beast to Wasp, Wolverine (both Laura Kinney and Logan), and Wong. All with an eye to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but derived from the comics rather than what is seen on screen. It gives the players a wide choice of characters to play and the Narrator a wide choice of villains to use, but the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game does not simply restrict the players and Narrator to its impressive who’s who and villains gallery of characters, but allows them to create heroes and villains of their own so that they can play out their own adventures and stories. The ‘616’ System is not quite as simple as it could be, but it is not too complex and it is thematic, and overall, the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game is a very accessible and playable version of a fan favourite superhero universe.

Black Sword Hack: Ultimate Chaos Edition
The Merry Mushmen ($35/£25)
2023 was very much a year of the old returning, even if the old cannot exactly return due to licensing issues, for the Black Sword Hack: Ultimate Chaos Edition wears its influences on its sleeve—or is that on its vambraces?—being a Swords & Sorcery roleplaying game inspired by the works of Michael Moorcock, R.E. Howard, Karl Edward Wagner, Fritz Leiber, and Jack Vance, but especially Michael Moorcock and his Eternal Champion, most notably Elric of Melniboné and Stormbringer. Using the simple mechanics of The Black Hack, Second Edition, Black Sword Hack enables a group to play out adventures tales of the constant struggle between the primal forces of the universe, to visit kingdoms of age and youth, to go to the planes beyond, and of course, enter into great pacts of a demonic, spiritual, forbidden knowledge, faerie, and twisted science nature. Mechanically, hanging over every Player Character is his or her Doom Die, which is degraded by fumbled rolls and uses of the gifts granted by the pact he has made with the forces of the multiverse. If the Doom Die is degraded too far, the Player Character becomes doomed and the multiverse comes calling for him. Backed up with lots of detail and supporting content that captures the feel and flavour of Michael Moorcock’s classic fantasy stories, the Black Sword Hack: Ultimate Chaos Edition enables the Game Master to run a campaign in his style across the multiverse without infringing upon it.

Japan – Empire of Shadows: A Call of Cthulhu sourcebook for 1920s Imperial Japan
Chaosium, Inc. ($65/£51)
Japan – Empire of Shadows: A Call of Cthulhu sourcebook for 1920s Imperial Japan does something no supplement in forty years of Call of Cthulhu has ever done and that is to open up the Japan of the Jazz Age and make it somewhere to explore, roleplay, and investigate the activities and presence of not just the Cthulhu Mythos, but the mythos and folklore of the Japanese islands. It examines the reverence for the modernity and antiquity of Japan and explores how and why an investigation of Lovecraftian cosmic horror might be conducted there, as well as looking at the role of numerous Occupations for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition and how they differ from the USA and the United Kingdom. At its heart is a set of three detailed and lengthy gazetteers, first of Tokyo, capital of Japan, then cities and locations across Japan, followed by the territories held by the Japanese empire, some of them for the very first time in roleplaying, let alone Call of Cthulhu. This is all backed by a wealth of cultural and background detail, and then woven through the three gazetteers, are three narrative or scenario threads that will take the Investigators to Nan Modal on the island of Ponape, the island of Hokkaido, and occupied Korea to face Mythos threats old and new. Japan – Empire of Shadows: A Call of Cthulhu sourcebook for 1920s Imperial Japan is an incredible piece of work and research, and both the best release on the Miskatonic Repository in 2023 and the best release for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition in 2023.

Star Trek Adventures Utopia Planitia Starfleet Sourcebook
Modiphius Entertainment ($60/£45)
As a supplement for Star Trek Adventures, the Star Trek Adventures Utopia Planitia Starfleet Sourcebook does three things. First, it provides a history of Starfleet, second, it provides a means of creating starships for both Starfleet and civilian use, and third, it details over seventy Federation and Starfleet starship classes, space stations, and small craft. In the first part, it expands the basic three  eras of Enterprise, Star Trek: The Original Series, and Star Trek: The Next Generation to include Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Picard as well as Star Trek Online. In the second part, it lets the players design the starship that they want their Starfleet characters to crew and forge a legend with and the Game Master create ships as needed for her campaign. Lastly, in the third it brings to life the design and purpose of numerous classic starship models from the fifty years of Star Trek history, allowing the players to pick one off the shelf if they wish or adapt it, or simply letting the Star Trek read up about his or her favourite starship. This is a genuinely useful and interesting supplement, whether you play Star Trek Adventures or are just a Star Trek fan. Creating starships is really easy and the book is good read too. A definite must have sourcebook for the Star Trek Adventures Game Master.

Old Gods of Appalachia
Monte Cook Games ($69.99/£59.99)
2023 was also the year of the podcast in roleplaying as several publishers turned to podcasts as inspiration for roleplaying games and roleplaying game supplements. Old Gods of Appalachia is an eldritch horror fiction podcast set in an Alternate Appalachia where man was never meant to step foot in the mountains, where there are dark and bloody things in the deep of the hollers and presences beyond mortal understanding slumber under the ground. The roleplaying game adaptation uses the Cypher System bring the hard scrabble inhabitants of the mountains and their fears and superstitions to life as they encounter the secrets, the desires, and the monsters of the Appalachians that they know should be best left alone. Theirs is a world almost like the twenties and thirties of our, but driven by hardship, horror, hope, and heart they find on their very doorsteps, in the forests, and deep in the mountains. Old Gods of Appalachia draws the players and their characters into dark world of cosmic horror, but one that is very different to that normally seen in roleplaying and one very close to home. This is an excellent adaptation of the source material whose horror feels fresh and original.

Around the World in 80 Games: A mathematician unlocks the secrets of the greatest games
Fourth Estate ($30/£22)
2023 was a good year for books about board games, so it has been hard to just choose one. Around the World in 80 Games by mathematician Marcus du Sautoy explores games from his speciality to examine how they underpin a wide range of games, some we played as children, some we play today, ranging in both complexity and from far around the world. In the process, he looks at the history of games and their backgrounds, why we play, and asks if mathematics can help us be better players. In the process, it takes in Backgammon and the Royal Game of Ur as well as Scrabble, Cluedo, and The Game Life, before coming up to date with modern classics such as Ticket to Ride and Pandemic. It even explores Dungeons & Dragons and non-games such as Mornington Crescent (though that might be getting just a bit silly and very, very British!). The result is an interesting examination of our hobby from another angle that gives a fresh perspective upon it.

Cults of RuneQuest: The Lightbringers
Chaosium, Inc. ($39.99/£33.99)
The ‘Cults of RuneQuest’ line lays the foundation for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, each entry focusing upon a particular pantheon of gods and goddesses and other beings and their associated cults. They are important because the worship of a god or goddess and membership is fundamental to the lives of almost everyone in the world of Greg Stafford’s Glorantha. It defines much of their outlook upon the world, who they ally with, who their enemies are—traditionally, whose values they embrace, and what magics and powers of the gods they can bring to any one situation and thus the play in the game. Essentially, the gods and the cults devoted to them and that the Player Characters worship and belong to, define much of who they are and what they can do, and so act in a fashion similar to the concept of character Classes in other roleplaying games. Cults of RuneQuest: The Lightbringers is the first in the series to define the gods and their roles in society, focusing upon those that performed the famous Lightbringers Quest—Orlanth, Issaries, Lhankor Mhy, Chalana Arroy, Flesh Man, Ginna Jar, and Eurmal—as well as the other gods of the Air or storm pantheon. Each entry provides not just playable details to help create and player a character dedicated to that god and his cult, but further background, myths, and information that can be used to bring the role of the god, the cult, and the Player Character’s involvement into play. Cults of RuneQuest: The Lightbringers provides a definitive and accessible treatment of the gods of the Air pantheon and the other supplements in the line, such as Cults of RuneQuest: The Earth Goddesses, are equally as good.

Lore & Legends: A Visual Celebration of the Fifth Edition of the World’s Greatest Roleplaying Game
Ten Speed Press ($50/£38)
You may not like the roleplaying game. You may not like the publisher. However, what you cannot deny is the influence and reach that Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition has had on the hobby and culture at large. As it turns ten, it is worth remembering that this edition has introduced millions of new players to the hobby, that it made the hobby an acceptable and even normal pastime when in the past it was sneered at and castigated, and that it was successful enough to get a Hollywood film made about it that respected the source material, was entertaining, and was anything other than dreadful. A sequel to the earlier and excellent Art & Arcana: A Visual History, Lore & Legends explores the development, history, and key points of the Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition in a very similar fashion, from its development via D&D Next—the in-between edition—to its release in 2014 and through to today. It is written by the same team and consequently is both a good read and a visual delight, providing perspective on the world’s most popular roleplaying game.

Quick-Start Saturday: Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook

Quick-starts are a 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 two. 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 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 Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook is not as its name suggests a quick-start. Instead, it is an introduction to and preview of the rules and a then chance to provide feedback to the designers of the roleplaying game, the fifth to be based on the Marvel Universe. It includes the rules combat and action as well as the means for players to create superheroes of their own, ten superheroes from the Marvel Universe, and a short scenario.

It is a one-hundred-and twenty-page, full colour softback book.

The book is lavishly illustrated with comic book art.

The rules are clearly explained, but more complex and detailed than would be found in a quick-start.

How long will it take to play?
If the pre-generated superheroes in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook are used, its, ‘Enter; Hydra’, can be played through in one session. If the players want to create their own, another session will be required.

What else do you need to play?
The ten pre-generated superheroes in Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook consist of three six-sided dice per player, one of which should be a different colour to the other two.

Who do you play?
The six Player Characters in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook consist of the Black Panther, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Groot, Iron Man, Rocket Raccoon, Spiderman, Storm, Thor, and Wolverine.

How is a Player Character defined?
A Player Character in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook—and thus the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game—has a Rank, Archetype, scores in six abilities, Health, Focus, Karma, Power Sets and Powers, as well as a Backstory and Traits. Rank ranges in value from one and ordinary human to twenty-five. Rank 5 is equal to Daredevil, Rank 10 to Spiderman, Rank 15 to Captain America, Rank 20 to Doctor Strange, and Rank 25 to Captain Marvel. Rank determines how many points a player has to spend during character creation and the values of various secondary factors. Archetypes include Blaster, Bruiser, Genius, Polymath, Protector, and Striker, and suggest how a superhero’s powers might work. The six abilities Might, Agility, Resilience, Vigilance, Ego, and Logic, their initials spelling out ‘Marvel’. Backstory includes Origin and Profession, which grant Traits that Traits cover talents, skills, circumstances, vulnerabilities, minor superpowers, and more.

What Does a Sample Player Character Look Like?

Heaven Granado is a struggling medical student studying in New York. To make ends meet, she volunteered for program of medical trials, thinking they were new vaccines. Unfortunately, Heaven had an allergic reaction to one of the drugs and was hospitalised and had to abandon the trial. In the weeks following her recovery she discovered that she was suddenly very stretchy and resilient to damage, the first when absentmindedly reaching across a room and the second when she was hit by a car. She still does not quite know the extent of what she can do, but wants to wrap her head around it.

Real Name: Heaven Granado

Codename: Wraparound

Origins: Weird Science

Profession: Health Care Worker/Medical Student

RANK: 5

ABILIITIES – Score – Modifier – Defence

Might – 2 – +3 – 14

Agility – 2 – +5 – 16

Resilience – 3 – +6 – 17

Vigilance – 3 – +8 – 19

Ego – 4 – +9 – 20

Logic – 4 – +8 – 19

Initiative Modifier: +8 Speed: 27

Fight Damage: 3d6 Ranged Damage: 3d6+4

Health: 45 Focus: 55

Karma: 3

POWERS

Inspiration

Plasticity: Extended Reach 1, Flexible Bones 1

Tactical Mastery: Battle Plan, Change of Plan

TRAITS

Clinician, Extra Career (Student), First Aid, Mentor, Obligation: School, Poor, Prescription Pad, Quick Leaner, Weird

How do the mechanics work?
Mechanically, the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook—and thus the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game—uses the d616 System. To have his character undertake an Action Check, a player rolls three six-sided dice, adds an Action Modifier, whether from ability or a power, and if the result is equal to or higher than the Target Number—which can range between eight and forty. One of the three six-sided dice is a different colour. This is the Marvel die. If the result on the Marvel die is a one and those on the other dice is any number except one, it counts as a Fantastic Roll, triggers a triumph result, and the one on the Marvel die counts as six towards the total. The Ultimate Fantastic roll is a six on both of the standard dice a one on the Marvel die. This means the task automatically succeeds and ignores any Trouble. A roll of one on all three dice is a Botched Roll and counts as a failure.

If the Player Character has the Edge or an advantage due to a special skill, ability, or the circumstances, the player can reroll a single die and take the better result. This often to achieve a Fantastic Roll. Trouble, whether due to lack of skill or equipment, forces a player to reroll a die and take the worst result.

Heroes and villains have Karma equal to half their Rank to spend each day. karma can be spent to give a Player Character the Edge on an Action Roll. The Narrator can reward more Karma for good roleplay.

The aspect of a Fantastic Roll, derived from a roll of one on the Marvel Die and any numbers other than one on the other dice, but the roll of one on the Marvel Die still counting as a six towards the total is, mechanically, counterintuitive. However, the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game is set on the default Earth of the Marvel Universe, Earth-616, so thematically it makes sense.

How does combat work?
Combat in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook details initiative, the various types of movement, use of firearms—mostly the province of NPCs and villains, numerous conditions, and damage inflicted to objects, including ploughing through them. It covers most of the typical eventualities that might turn up in a superhero roleplaying game.

How do Powers work?

Powers are divided between those organised into related sets and those not. A set suggests origins and effects, and within the sets, the powers are arranged as trees which the hero can progress along as he grows in his abilities. Every power has a narrative effect, the mechanical effect handled via the Action Check.

Power Sets included in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook consist of Battlesuit, Blades, Cybernetics, Energy Control, Firearms, Martial Arts, Plasticity, Shield Bear, Spider-Powers, Super-Strength, Tactical Mastery, and Weather Control. These specifically support the pre-generated heroes included in the book.

Focus represents a superhero’s mental fortitude, but also has to be spent to activate certain powers.

What do you play?

‘Enter Hyrda (An Adventure)’ is the shortest section in Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook. It is designed for three to six characters of Ranks 10 or 15—most of the pre-generated characters in Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook are of the appropriate Ranks—who must face a squad of Hydra agents with powers remarkably similar to their own. It is specifically designed to showcase the rules, especially the combat rules, in practice. That said, it is a cliché and it is one note, good for a single session, but absolutely no more.

Is there anything missing?
Yes and no. There numerous types of powers not included, such magic, phasing, psionics, and teleportation. Beyond the ten heroes included, there are also no stats or details of actual Marvel Universe villains. Of course, space is limited in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook, but the inclusion of a villain would have been useful.

There is also no PDF version available.

Is it easy to prepare?
The core rules presented in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook are relatively easy to prepare. There is a lot of information in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook though and it is tightly packed, so it require a close read through.

It helps that it includes a good combination index and glossary and a reference sheet for Action Checks for the Narrator.

Is it worth it?
Yes and no. Yes, because it does include everything necessary to play at least a single session and even a few more should the Narrator and her players want to create their superheroes and associated villains and run a few sessions of the roleplaying game. No, because it is not readily available in PDF. This is a shame because the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game does need an introduction or quick-start and the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook would fit that bill.

Where can you get it?
The Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook is available through retail at comic book shops and on Kindle.

There is no PDF version available.

Solitaire: You Are (Not) Deadpool

After coming to comics with You Are Deadpool, the solo adventures of the ‘Merc with a Mouth’ switches to the traditional format of text paragraphs with You Are (Not) Deadpool. This is the first entry in the ‘A Marvel: Multiverse Missions Adventure Gamebook’ series published by Aconyte Books and unlike almost every other Solo Adventure book it promises not to put you at the centre of the action. As the title suggests, you do not play as Deadpool in You Are (Not) Deadpool. Instead you are an innocent bystander approached by Deadpool who identifies you as ‘Six’ and asks you to help him. In effect, whereas you are not Deadpool, the character you play could actually be YOU THE READER if you were in New York when Deadpool bounds over to you like a happy puppy. With no mention of what happened to One, Two, Three, or Four, let alone Five, you find yourself accompanying Deadpool on his mission. For the most part he follows your suggestions, where to go, what to do, acting as both sidekick and conscience, much like his best friend, Weasel, or Dopinder the taxi driver from the film. However, there are moments where you shine and Deadpool definitely handles the fights—with relish, often his own—whilst you huddle in the corner, having rolled the dice to determine the outcome.

The plot in Deadpool in You Are (Not) Deadpool is this. Daredevil gives a Deadpool a mission. Alien guns—Chitauri guns—are flooding the city and Deadpool has to find the source and stop them. The investigation will take the pair of Deadpool and Six above, below, and across New York, meeting Bob the Hydra Agent along the way, up and down the USA’s eastern seaboard because the budget does not extend as far away as Hawaii, although it does take them somewhere else… As Six, you and Deadpool will also play the worst game of Jenga in the Marvel Universe, fight a Psychic Octopus, lie about having found a sledgehammer, and a lot more besides. They might even jump book to the next entry in the series—She-Hulk goes to Murderworld!

Mechanically, You Are (Not) Deadpool is more sophisticated than the average solo adventure book. Standard six-sided dice are required, no more than three. Deadpool has three stats—MERC, MOUTH, and FOCUS, which are to do with physical, social, and mental stuff respectively. Initially, they are rated two each with the reader increasing the value of one of them by on, but they do change over the course of the adventure. They come into play whenever you want Deadpool to take an action. This typically involves rolling a single six-sided die and adding a stat to beat a target equal to five or six. This varies though. Sometimes, the reader will need to roll two or three six-sided dice and beat a higher target to see if Deadpool succeeds, and even then, this may not be enough. In certain challenging situations, the reader will need to roll another round or two other rounds to succeed. In addition, Deadpool can acquire Qualities such as GUARDS, GUARDS, RESOURCEFUL, and CHAOS, but never, ever KUMQUAT. Really. Not KUMQUAT. Not once. Each enters play with a value of one, and again, can fluctuate in play. Deadpool can also carry up to five objects, some of which, occasionally, can be used to improve his stats. Along the way, there games and puzzles too, such as decoding a lock in an underground base or playing the slot at a crummy casino in Atlantic City, and both Six and Deadpool can pick a wide array of achievements. 

You Are (Not) Deadpool is well written, with lots of in jokes and nods to Geek culture (especially Lovecraftian Geek culture), but beyond the cover, it does lack illustrations bar entry ending silhouette clipart. As a consequence of being all text, You Are (Not) Deadpool lacks that dual sense of wondering what situation a piece of artwork illustrates and how to get there via the numbered paragraphs, but on the other hand, it does retain much more of sense of mystery.

In the comics and the films, Deadpool is known for breaking the fourth wall (and the Marvel Universe if truth be told), but in You Are (Not) Deadpool he never does that. There is the interaction between Deadpool and Six throughout, but since you as Six are directing Deadpool’s actions, there is a gap between the two, as if you are directing or roleplaying the actions of someone who is directing or roleplaying the actions of someone else. In this case, Deadpool. It might not be breaking the fourth wall, but it is breaking the immediacy of the roleplaying if you think about it. So do not do that. It would spoil the fun.

You Are (Not) Deadpool has three hundred entries, so there is lot to explore and multiple plot threads to follow and investigate, plus some tough challenges, puzzles, and fights to overcome. Deadpool is definitely going to need more than the one run at this—unless he/you/Six are really lucky, and if all three of you fail, then at least Deadpool can come heal and comeback. As for Six? Just cross out his name wherever it appears in the quest and write Seven (or Eight or Nine or…) instead. No one will notice. 

Not quite the traditional Solo Adventure Book—but than what did you expect, this is Deadpool, after all, You Are (Not) Deadpool is an entertaining often ridiculous romp alongside the infamous ‘Merc with the Mouth’.

Solitaire: You Are Deadpool

The solo adventure book is no stranger to the comic book. In the nineteen eighties, Diceman was a five-issue series from Fleetway which published stories involving characters from its sister publication, 2000 AD, including Judge Dredd, Nemesis the Warlock, Sláine, Rogue Trooper, Torquemada, and ABC Warriors. Diceman also ventured into political satire with the comic strip ‘You are Ronald Reagan in: Twilight’s Last Gleaming’ and Fleetway would continue this theme with the separate solo adventure book, You are Maggie Thatcher: a dole-playing game in nineteen eighty-seven. Marvel Comics satirised the solo adventure book format with a comic book mini-series all of its own and with the only character it could—the fourth wall breaking, genre busting, Marvel Universe killing Deadpool. In You Are Deadpool, Al Ewing—who has also written for 2000 AD—and Salva Espin and Paco Diaz let you take the ‘Merc with a Mouth’ on another romp through Marvel’s back catalogue after a job goes wrong, and in the process pokes fun at some key moments of Silver Age, Bronze Age, and Modern Age comics across the history of Marvel Comics.

The set-up is simple and one which you can ignore or dive straight into the action. The Tomorrow Man hires Deadpool to steal a Time-Travel Helmet stolen from the Time Variance Authority by the Roxxon corporation and stored in a high-security facility. All Deadpool has to do is get in, steal the helmet, and get out again. Nothing could be simpler. Except, it goes all wrong and Deadpool gets flung back in time. Each of the five issues, or chapters, of You Are Deadpool is set in a different time period. For example, in chapter two, Deadpool lands in nineteen sixties New York where the storylines see him become a beatnik poet and pop artist—complete with de rigueur beret, and potentially be at the birthplace of both the Fantastic Four and the Incredible Hulk! In the third chapter, he dumped in the swamps of the nineteen seventies where he encounters Man-Thing, Dracula and a host of classic monsters, as well as a certain Richard Milhouse Nixon turned antihero in spandex! In chapter four, Deadpool returns to New York, but not of the nineteen sixties, but the nineteen eighties where he up against Kingpin alongside Daredevil and the Punisher, all before doing a quick run through history and back again in chapter five.

You Are Deadpool is no mere ‘Choose You Own Adventure’ book. It includes rules and mechanics. As explained at the being of the first chapter by Deadpool himself directly to the reader—because Deadpool is of course going to break the fourth wall—along with author (though not of this comic, though there is a Warhammer fantasy Battles gag in there at his expense. Twice), Kieron Gillen, Deadpool has two stats, Badness and Sadness. These start at zero and as he progresses through the story, he gains points of Badness for acts of violence and being a badass, and points of Sadness for learning things which make him feel down. These do not have any effect on the mechanics per se, but depending upon which one is higher than the other, they will direct the reader down one path or another. Combat is handled by rolls of six-sided dice. If Deadpool and the reader roll higher than equal to their opponent’s roll, he beats him. Otherwise, Deadpool and the reader lose. The reader rolls two six-sided dice for Deadpool, whilst also rolling one, two, or three dice for his opponents. Typical security guards might only have the one die, but the Incredible Hulk rolls a total of four six-sided dice! Unlike other solo adventure books, the character of Deadpool has an advantage—a healing ability which means that he cannot actually die. Which means he can take a lot of damage, recover, and the reader can keep playing. Well, mostly. There are paths down which Deadpool can go and which do end the adventure.

Along the way, Deadpool can pick and hold three a total of three items to store in his inventory, anything from a doughnut, yo-yo, and shuriken to a deck of playing cards, a teapot, and a Rubic’s Cube—and more. Some of these will prove useful in Deadpool’s adventure. Interspersed in the storylines are several mini-games, including a simple ‘roll and move’ board game and a roll your own slam poetry poem. At the end of You Are Deadpool is checklist of achievements, which the reader can chose to tick off or not.

Structurally, You Are Deadpool consists of five chapters. Chapters one and five form the beginning and the end, whilst chapters two, three, and four can be played in any order. Either amusingly or not, at the end of chapter one, the reader is directed to chapter two or chapter three. This is not an issue and therefore not amusing if reading the collected You Are Deadpool, but of course, You Are Deadpool was released as a five-part mini-series of comics, issue by issue, month by month. So when You Are Deadpool #1 was published, the reader had to wait a month for You Are Deadpool #2 or two months for You Are Deadpool #3 to continue playing. Depending upon the ratings of Deadpool’s Badness and Sadness scores of course. Very droll.

Each issue or chapter itself, consists of between eighty and one hundred panels. Not all are non-sequential as you would expect for a solo adventure book. Certain series of panels can be read sequentially, just as you would any other comic or graphic novel, but for the most part, the panels are placed in non-sequential order. There is one consequence of You Are Deadpool being done as a comic book though. When reading or playing a solo adventure book, it is not uncommon to look at the illustrations as you flick past them to another paragraph and wonder what they depict and how you get there. In You Are Deadpool this is exacerbated because it consists of nothing but illustrations or comic panels…

Physically, You Are Deadpool is adroitly done. The artwork varies from chapter to chapter, so the second chapter, set in the nineteen sixties has a very pop art style. In between, the graphic novel collects the mini-series’ variant covers, including the ‘You Are Deadpool: The Antiheroic Role-playing Comic’, a parody which fans of TSR, Inc.’s Marvel Super Heroes will enjoy and a parody of Errol Otis’ cover to the B/X edition of Basic Dungeons & Dragons. At the end of You Are Deadpool, the author provides the story maps for each of the five chapters.

You Are Deadpool works as both a solo adventure book and a Deadpool story, but unlike most solo adventure books, it does not have much in the way of replay value—even with the achievement list at the end of the collection. This is primarily due to everything in each of the chapters’ different paths being drawn and thus on show—the blocks of text in standard solo adventure books being easy for the eye to gloss over, the panels of this comic strip not so much. So there are fewer surprises and hidden details, though the authors and artists do work hard to hide some. Nevertheless, You Are Deadpool is an entertaining and fun, if light parody of the solo adventure book, as well as the Marvel Universe.

Magazine Madness 7: Parallel Worlds #22

 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 Kickstarter.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.

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Parallel Worlds feels a little old-fashioned. By which Reviews from R’lyeh means that it supports the gaming hobby with content for a variety of games. So an issue might include new monsters, spells, treasures, reviews of newly released titles, scenarios, discussions of how to play, painting guides, and the like… That is how it has been all the way back to the earliest days of The Dragon and White Dwarf magazines. By which Reviews from R’lyeh means that it can be purchased, if not from your local newsagent, then from your local games store. Just like The Dragon and White Dwarf magazines could be back in the day. However, Parallel Worlds, published by Parallel Publishing can also be purchased in digital format, because it is very much not back in the day. 

Parallel Worlds #22 promises, as with previous issues, ‘The Best in Escapism’. It offers a mix of scenarios and support for various roleplaying games as well as interviews with creators and reviews of a number of books and games. Once past the editorial from Chris Cunliffe—less interesting than that in the previous issue—Parallel Worlds #22 opens with an interview with Science Fiction author, Peter Hamilton. Short but informative, this only focuses on his new book. A longer piece might have explored more of his previous works, which would have been interesting. Other media is thrown under the spotlight in Sam Long’s Thinkpiece, ‘The Pay-off’. Subtitled, ‘When character arcs… aren’t’, this both celebrates the adroit handling of pay-offs in the stories of films, in particular, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and laments their poor handling in a number of films and television series. This also includes the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the author includes the work of Zack Snyder and the DC Extended Universe too. The series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, is placed under a similar spotlight in ‘Let’s talk about…’ by Ben Potts, Chris Cunliffe, and Sam Long. Both it and ‘The Pay-off’—which covers Wandavision—are good pieces, but do rely very much upon the reader having watched either and thus have access to Disney+. Not everyone will have and so spoilers abound.

Ben Potts engineers a crossover between gaming and other media with ‘The New D&D Movie – What We Want To see’. This looks at the forthcoming Dungeons & Dragons film and speculates what traps it needs to avoid and suggests what it needs to include to really shine as a film adaptation of the world’s greatest roleplaying game. So of course, no chainmail bikinis, racial stereotypes, love story, or planar travel, but definitely split the party, include iconic monsters, keep it medieval, and more. It is of course, tongue in cheek, but there is no doubt that we want to see a Dungeons & Dragons film which puts the previous ones behind us and very much to shame.

In terms of gaming, Parallel Worlds #22 continues its support for the roleplaying games Black Void and Chivalry & Sorcery. For the former, there is a preview for the forthcoming supplement, Under Nebulous Skies, which showcases a new character background, the Djinn-Kin. This is all decently detailed, with some variation built in, and presented in a way that it could be added to the game straight off, and comes with an excellent illustration. For the latter, the designer of Chivalry & Sorcery, Stephen Turner, presents ‘Leganti, the Capital of Solda’. This details the ‘City of the Silver’ and its long history, its layout and districts. It is a serviceable description in just a few pages and a reasonable addition to a Chivalry & Sorcery campaign.

In terms of gaming, the most interesting article in the issue is ‘We Played… Cyberpunk RED’, R. Talsorian Games, Inc.’s 2045-set iteration of 1990’s Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. (developed from the earlier Cyberpunk 2013). It provides an overview of the setting and the campaign run by Angus McNicholl, one built around the Night City Police Department, for his three players. All four participants are given space to give their opinion on both the campaign and Cyberpunk RED as a game system, their opinions on the former wholly positive, whilst on the latter, their opinions are less effusive and more nuanced. In general, they agreed that the rules and combat system of Cyberpunk RED’s Interlock System were playable, they also said that the game had too many attributes and too many skills, and that perhaps the system was not as gritty as they were expecting. Overall though, the combination of the game set-up and feedback is engaging and informative.

The world of Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls receives not one, but two articles in Parallel Worlds #22. The first, by Thomas Turnball-Ross, ‘The Worlds of the Elder Scrolls’ examines the setting as a whole through the many computer games which have been set there over the years, whilst the second, ‘Skyrim in 2021’ by Ant Jones examines the ground-breaking computer roleplaying game and asks if ten years on, it is still worth playing despite its flaws. The issue with the first article is that it lacks a degree of context and whilst it is liberally illustrated, it is just with images from the various computer games. It would have been better if covers from the various computer games had been used as illustrations and a timeline included. The second article benefits from a better focus and actually makes this player want to go back and play again.

Reviews in the issue cover the Swords & Sorcery roleplaying game, Beyond the Black Sea, the Civilisation-style time travel Science Fiction board game, Anachrony, the novel Rachel’s Story (author Leigh Russell was interviewed in Parallel Worlds #21), and Byrony Pearce’s novel, Raising Hell. These are decent, though as with the earlier article on computer games, the covers of the items being reviewed could have been shown. Lastly, the issue is rounded out with ‘No Kisses Goodnight’, an enjoyable piece of fiction by Toshiya Kamei.

Physically, Parallel Worlds #22 is professionally presented and written. The layout is clean, strong, and easy to look at, and in general is easy to read. The previous issue, Parallel Worlds #21, did feel as if it needed more gaming content that would appeal to a wider audience, the focus on Black Void and Chivalry & Sorcery, perhaps a bit too narrow. Especially given that the magazine is sold in gaming stores. ‘We Played… Cyberpunk RED’ does expand it a little, just not enough. Similarly, the handful of reviews does not feel enough either, whether of roleplaying games or novels. Again, more of those might increase the appeal to a wider audience.

Parallel Worlds #22 is an enjoyable read, but two articles involving the Marvel Cinematic Universe and two articles involving The Elder Scrolls is two too much in either case. Certainly the second article in either case could have been bumped to Parallel Worlds #23. The best gaming article in the issue is ‘We Played… Cyberpunk RED’ and surely that could have been paired with something else, a review, a scenario… It seems as if the magazine missed an opportunity there to bring the reader further into that roleplaying game and perhaps set up a regular format, that of, ‘We Played…’ with content the reader can use. What this means is that as before, there are a few good articles within the issue and it needs to build on those to bring readers back to it on a regular basis rather than their simply checking out an issue to see if there might be something good in its pages, because ultimately, Parallel Worlds #22 just has its fingers in too many worlds to really get a handle on them and its gaming content is neither mainstream nor interesting enough for the reader to be either useful or adaptable.

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An Unboxing in the Nook video of Parallel Worlds #22 is available here.