Friday Fantasy: Idylls of the Rat King

The silver shipments out of Silverton north to the capitol of Archbridge have suddenly ceased. Goblin bandits have been attacking the caravans laden with silver ore, killing innocent miners, and stealing cargo. Their base of operations has been identified as the old Gannu Silver Mine, abandoned almost a century ago. Perhaps the Player Characters learn off this when they stop off at the Silver Cup Inn in the village. Or they are asked to find out why a young nobleman is suffering a vile fever after the caravan he was travelling with was attacked by Goblins. Or perhaps the Player Characters are approached by the leader of the Miner’s Guild whose operations have been sabotaged and caravans raided by goblins. He believes that the Goblins are being aided by an ancient evil that was the actual cause of the mine being closed almost a century ago. Whichever way in which the Player Characters learn of the situation in Silverton, they find themselves outside the collapsed tunnel entrance to the Gannu Silver Mine with Goblin footprints all about, ready to investigate. If this set-up sounds familiar, that is because it is. It is the set-up to Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the RatKing, the very first scenario in the Dungeon Crawl Classics line for Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition, published by Goodman Games in 2003. It is also familiar because Reviews from R’lyeh only recently reviewed Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the Rat King in 2023 on its twentieth anniversary. So why review it again quite so soon? The reason is that Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the Rat King that it is being reviewed here. Instead, it is Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King that is being reviewed.

Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls ofthe Rat King is not for use with Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition, or even Goodman Games’ Dungeon Crawl Classics roleplaying game. As its full title suggests, it is instead designed for use with Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. Or rather adapted for use with Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. Intended to be played by four to six Player Characters of First to Third Level, what it does is combine the modern rules of the world’s most popular roleplaying game with the sensibilities of the Old School. However, Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King does get off to an odd start by directly quoting the opening paragraph from the original: “Remember the golden days of role playing, when adventures were underground, NPCs were there to be killed, and the finale of every dungeon was the dragon on the 20th level? Well, those days are back. Dungeon Crawl Classics feature bloody combat, intriguing dungeons, and no NPCs who aren't meant to be killed. Each adventure is 100% good, solid dungeon crawl, with the monsters you know, the traps you fear, and the secret doors you know must be there somewhere.” Of course, as an adaptation, Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King will deliver all of those elements, but it is an odd way in which to start the scenario, referring back to the original in such a direct manner, but without referring to the rules its uses. It is almost as if the publisher forgot to rewrite the opening paragraph to account for the adaptation.

However, beyond that, there is relatively little that is different from the original scenario. It still recommends the inclusion of a Player Character Rogue and a Good-aligned Cleric, as well as a Fighter with a silvered weapon. The scenario consists of a four-Level ‘Abandoned Silver Mine’ infested with Goblins and rats, but there is worse to be found the deeper that the Player Characters go. This is revealed first in a fun encounter at the end of the First Level with the Goblin Boss, who turns out to be a Wererat! To get to him though, there is the upper level of the mine to explore and plenty of stiff opposition from the Goblins to overcome. The latter due to a division in the Goblin tribe between those who are Wererats and those who are not, and those who are not, are frightened of those who are. This creates a little bit of tension in the scenario, though not necessarily something that the Player Characters are going to be aware of necessarily. What they are likely to be aware of is the number of secret chambers and vaults, given that under Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, it is easier to find secret doors, which are scattered across this and all levels of the mine. These are worth finding, not just because they might contain treasure, but because they may also contain silvered or magical weapons and useful clues to the secrets of the mine.

The encounter with the Wererat Goblin Chief is a sign of things to come. There are some entertaining encounters with the tribe’s torturer and jailer—into whose custody any Player character who is captured will end up, a Goblin sorcerer, a Gnome necromancer, a vampiress, and ultimately, the real villain behind the recent events. These last two encounters are tough, but they do present opportunities for roleplaying as opposed to rollplaying. In between, there is a whole level still being worked by miners still. Zombie miners, but miners, nonetheless.

There are some changes between Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King and the original Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the Rat King. For example, there is no daycare area or family room area for the Goblin tribe on the second level in Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King as there is in Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the Rat King. Which means there is no suggested Experience Point penalty should the Player Characters decide to slaughter the females and children of the Goblin tribe. This shifts the feel of the mine in original scenario from being the home to a Goblin tribe to this updated version in which the mine feel more like a Goblin military outpost. Also missing are the zombie badgers from the third level, but the several temples dedicated to the rat gods, Narrimunth and Nimlurun, remain. Effectively, some of the original spikiness of Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the Rat King has been scoured to take the edges off, so it is smoother, more palatable to a wider audience.

Rounding out Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King are three appendices. The first details the new monsters for the scenario. They include a Goblin Priest, Horned Giant Rat, Ogre Skeleton, and Wererat Goblin. The second details the village of Silverton. It is a one-page description of the village and its notable inhabitants. The third contains three handouts. If found during the adventure, the players and their characters will be able to learn about the secret history of the mine.

Physically, Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King is well presented and, in many ways, an improvement. The maps are a vast improvement with some actual detail, but they are small and not as easy to read as they could have been. It also needs editing in places.

Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the Rat Kingg has been republished before, most notably with its sequel, Dungeon Crawl Classics #27: Revenge of the Rat King, rewritten for use Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, First Edition, and released at Gen Con 2008. Surprisingly, the scenario was not republished on its twentieth anniversary in 2023, nor indeed updated for use with Dungeon Crawl Classics. This update, Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King is not unwelcome, but feels both slightly rushed and an odd choice in terms of roleplaying rules. That aside, Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King is a serviceable scenario now brought to a wider audience.

Friday Filler: dnup

If you like Scout, then you will like dnup. It is a card-shedding game, just like Scout, but is smaller, less complicated, easier to teach, and plays faster. It is also from the designer as Scout. The latter, published by Oink Games, was a Spiel des Jahres nominee in 2022 and won the Origins Award for Best Card Game in 2023. It is not an Oink Games title though—and not just because the components fit in the box! Another difference is that there is no semblance of theme with dnup.

dnup—short for ‘Down up’—is published by the Asmodee Group. It is designed to be played by between two and five players, aged eight and up, and can be played in fifteen minutes. The aim of game for each player is to try to empty his hand of cards. This done by playing cards from his hand as sets of the same value that are of a higher value or greater size than the ones on the table. If a player is the first to empty his hand this way in a round, he gains two letters. The next player to empty his hand, gains a single letter. The first player to be able to spell ‘dnup’ with his letters wins the game.

dnup consists of forty cards, five Player Aid cards, sixteen letter tokens, and the rules leaflet. The forty cards are marked with two different numbers. The cards can be turned over so that the upper number can always be read, but the lower number is always upside down and cannot be read as easily. The Player Aid cards show the card distribution at each player count and the actions that a player can take each round. The sixteen letter tokens are used to keep of player score.

At the start of a round, each player receives a hand of cards, the number varying depending on the number of players. A player can rearrange the cards in hand at any time. When he receives his hand; when it is not his turn; and when he picks up cards. What he cannot do is rotate his hand. What this means is that he can build sets of cards easily throughout the play of the game. On his turn, a player first discards any set he played the previous turn and takes on action. He can play a set of cards onto the table on front of him; add a card to an opponent’s set; take a set of cards from in front of an opponent; or rotate the cards in his hand. Unlike in Scout, where there is one set of cards on the table, in dnup, each player has a set in front of him. When a set is played, it must be bigger than another set already in front of another player. When it is, the lower set must be returned to its player, who must rotate the returned cards before adding them to his hand. If a player adds a card to an opponent’s hand and it increases the value of the set in comparison to another set, that lowered valued set is returned to its player’s hand. This is a key tactical move as it forces cards back into a player’s hand and they will not be same value because the cards have to be rotated. Similarly, a player can play a low set in the hope that another player will put down a better set and force him to take the cards back into his hand, and rotating them, give him cards with numbers he can use to make better sets. This adds some nice tactical options. Of course, taking cards back into a player’s hand means that he has to rotate them and he has to rearrange them. Sometimes that can be advantageous for a player, sometimes not. When it is not, a player will have to rebuild a set, but the game play is speedy enough that it does not take long.

dnup does include a two-player option. For this, each player has two play areas and can play sets into both areas. This also means that sets in a player’s play areas can conflict with each other, but it also means that a player can use it to his advantage. However, the two-player option is not quite as fun as there is not the same degree of interplay between the players. Thus, dnup plays better with multiple players.

Physically, dnup is very nicely presented. The rules are simple and clear, and the cards are attractive in bright and breezy colours.

dnup is as bright and breezy as it looks. The game is easy to teach and learn, and it plays easy too. This means that it plays well with families and younger players, but there is just enough of an edge to the game that experienced players can play it a bit more cutthroat.

Snæland Sagas #04: The Runestone of Laugardalur Valley

Much like the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition, the Jonstown Compendium for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, and The Companions of Arthur for Pendragon, Sagas of the North is a curated platform for user-made content, but for material set in Iceland the other lands that the Vikings travelled to. It enables creators to sell their own original content for use with Age of Vikings. This can be original scenarios, background material, alternate Icelandic settings, and more, but none of this content should be considered to be ‘canon’, but rather fall under ‘Your Vikings Will Vary’. This means that there is still scope for the authors to create interesting and useful content that others can bring to their Age of Vikings campaigns.

—oOo—

What is the Nature of the Saga?

The Runestone of Laugardalur Valley is a scenario for use with Age of Vikings.

It is a full colour, ten page, 1.06 MB PDF.

The layout is tidy, but it does need an edit in places.

It is part of the ‘West Fjords Tales’ series.

Where is the Saga set?

The Runestone of Laugardalur Valley takes place in the Ice Fjord Deep area in the West Fjords region. It takes place during midsummer.

Who should be the subject of this Saga?

Any type of Player Character can take part in this sage. The skills Spot Hidden, Read/Write (Runes), and Craft (Masonry) will be useful, and at least one Player Character with good Mythic skills, such as Second Sight and being able to read and cast the Runes, is recommended, but a diverse range of skills is better than focused ones.

It is written to be played by beginning Player Characters.

What does the Saga require?

The Runestone of Laugardalur Valley only requires the Age of Vikings core rulebook.

Where will the Vikings go in this Saga?

The Runestone of Laugardalur Valley is a story of betrayal and revenge from the grave, a classic subject for a Viking saga. The Player Characters are visiting the local leader, a farmer named Hallsteinn the old Hafsteinsson, at his home of Laugaból farm. As his guests, Hallsteinn relates to the Player Characters how a runestone was recently discovered erect above the valley near the barrow of Halldór, a hero who was killed by the outlaw he was tracking down to kill in revenge for killing his brother. The runestone had originally been placed there and later fell over, but no-one returned to repair it. Now Hallsteinn believes it is tainting the area, for his sheep will not graze on the side of the valley and his thralls will not walk there. Backed by a vision from his wife, Hallsteinn asks the Player Characters to accompany him to the runestone to investigate further.

The skills Spot Hidden and Read/Write (Runes) are key to revealing the dark secrets behind the situation, but other skills can help. The skill Craft (Masonry) is vital and if used early on, can resolve the situation quite quickly. If not, the consequences are likely to be deadly and more combat capable Player Characters ill be needed. If the Player Characters lack the skill, one option might be to create a fellow sailor who has the skill, if they arrived by boat. Otherwise, the Player Characters may need to flee the farm, along with the NPCs, and return with an NPC who has the skill.

What will the Skalds sing of this Saga?

Playable in a single session, The Runestone of Laugardalur Valley is a short simple encounter that is readily added to an ongoing campaign. Depending upon the skills possessed and the rolls made by the Player Characters, the events of the scenario can play out quickly or the Game Master may need to improvise a little.

Miskatonic Monday #440: Fallen from the Farthest Star

Much like the Jonstown Compendium for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and The Companions of Arthur for material set in Greg Stafford’s masterpiece of Arthurian legend and romance, Pendragon, the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition is a curated platform for user-made content. 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.

—oOo—

Their arrival in Olympia, the state capital of Washington State, on Monday, August 20th 1877, begins with a bang. Or rather several bangs. As one Native American passenger alights and is distracted down a side street by another, the remaining passengers aboard the stagecoach are subject to a hail of gunfire from the surrounding buildings. Native Olympians pull out their own handguns and shoot back, and when they manage to get out of the stagecoach to look, it appears that their assailants are also Native Americans. The exchange of fire quickly fizzles out and if any of the newly arrived passengers go after the shooters, they quickly find themselves lost in the back alleys and side streets of the city, and before they know it, a gun is in the small of their backs. Within moments the passengers, captured at gun point, find themselves whisked out of the city, as is the Native American who was beckoned to from down an alley. In the chaos, one of the female passengers is spirited away by some men with Russian accents. Anyone left at stagecoach, is approached by a scruffy, oddly mannered man, apologising for the attack, explaining that the Native American attackers are Squaxin, one of many Indian tribes who have long lived in the area of the Puget Sound and some of the tribes have strange secrets. One is a very strange secret indeed. Something important is hidden nearby and they would do anything to protect it. Others have recently arrived in the city of search of the secret in order to take for themselves. The man, who introduces himself as Elwood Candy, tells the passengers that he wants to find out for himself and his employers, but will not say who those employers are, except that they are not the US government.

This is the action-packed opening to Fallen from the Farthest Star. This is also the messy opening to Fallen from the Farthest Star. The scenario is for use with Down Darker Trails: Terrors of the Mythos in the Old West, the official Old West sourcebook for use with Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition. Action-packed because it opens with a shootout, but messy because it is written as a narrative and there is a lot going on. In fact, almost too much for the Keeper to track of. The result is overwhelming, and arguably, whilst it should be overwhelming for the players and their Investigators, the same should not be case for the Keeper. Unfortunately, this is no error upon the part of the author, but rather by design. The aim is actually to split the party and for each Investigator to interact with the different factions involved in the scenario, including two different groups of Native Americans, some Russians, and the strangely singular Elwood Candy. The aim is that all together, they will have a greater understanding of the situation they find themselves in, but only if they can get together and relate what has happened to them in the meantime. What this means is that Keeper will be running longer solo narratives for her players than she might ordinarily do so for a Call of Cthulhu scenario. In several of the situations, the kidnapped Investigators will be asked if they have ‘it’. Which they do not, and further, do not know what ‘it’ is. In fact, ‘it’ turns out to multiple things, but the fact that Fallen from the Farthest Star is a multi-MacGuffin, will again, not become apparent until the Investigators are brought together and can share what happened to them. All this requires a degree of acceptance by the players. The opening and set-up for the Investigators in Fallen from the Farthest Star is anything other than a traditional one for Call of Cthulhu and to high degree, the players and their Investigators are being railroaded.

From this point, the Keeper is going to be switching back forth between the Investigators and the groups that they are with. In some cases, the Investigators are held captive, in others they have more agency, but all have opportunity to interact an NPC or NPCs and gain some information pertinent to the situation. There is chance here too, for some good roleplaying. So, what is going on? The Native Americans are guardians to an ancient mind-bending artefact called the Star Egg, that fell from the sky thousands of years ago, split into two factions who cannot agree what to do with it; the Russians are dissidents turned archaeologists and treasure hunters looking for Spanish silver; and everyone else? They answer to their own masters! The Investigators are part of a prophecy said to tell of a growing threat to the Star egg and are asked for their help. As the different factions discover more of the information they need, they will make their way upriver and inland to the site where the Star Egg is hidden. The Investigators are the catalysts here, ultimately deciding how the scenario plays out and who comes out on top. There are a couple of wildcards thrown into this mix and they may influence what happens next. Along the way, there are some entertaining scenes, including one with the ‘Greatest Thief in the World’ and revelations ahoy as to who Elwood Candy’s true masters are and what they are prepared to tell the Investigators.

Besides the NPCs and Mythos monsters, the scenario is supported with information about Olympia, its history and surrounds, plus information about the Mythos tome, El Naufragio de Nuestra Señora de Loreto, that drives part of the story, the various devices that the Investigators might get their hands on, and the alien ship itself. These are nicely detailed. There is also a timeline for the scenario; maps of both Olympia and its surrounds—for both the players and the Keeper; and floorplans for the various locations. The floorplans are period pieces and do vary in quality. The handouts include the colourfully bizarre pictograms as well as NPC pictures (some of which look not a little familiar) and details of two pistols new to Down Darker Trails. Lastly there are six pre-generated Investigators. They consist of a Hispanic gunfighter, an aspiring artist, a soldier, a Native American cowboy, and a dilettante would-be writer. The aspiring artist previously appeared in The Schoolmarm’s Ghost.

Physically, Fallen from the Farthest Star is generally well presented. However, the writing is not as clear it could have been in parts and the artwork for the pictograms cartoonishly contrasts the rest of the scenario. That said, the NPC portraits are all period photographs, as are the maps and floorplans, and they do add a degree of verisimilitude. The floorplans could have been clearer though.

Ultimately, the problem with Fallen from the Farthest Star is the writing. There is a lot of context and background up front, including some decent advice about adapting the scenario to other periods, and a detailed—likely overly detailed—history and description of Washington state, Olympia, and nearby—it throws the Keeper into the action without much thought or advice as how the set-up, let alone the rest of the scenario is going to play out.

Ultimately, the problem with Fallen from the Farthest Star is the writing. There is a lot of context and background up front, including some decent advice about adapting the scenario to other periods, and a detailed—likely overly detailed—history and description of Washington state, Olympia, and nearby—it throws the Keeper into the action without much thought as how the set-up, let alone how the rest of the scenario is going to play out. It is not until after the shootout and its aftermath is there any advice for the Keeper, who is told that the next(!) “…[S]ection of the scenario might be a little confusing.” By this point it might be too late. There is no denying the ambition of Fallen from the Farthest Star, but it really going to need an experienced Keeper to run well with its multiple moving parts, and even then, said Keeper will need to pull some parts of the narrative—the gunfight at the start of the scenario, in particular—apart and put them back together to her satisfaction to have them work effectively.

A Cyberpunk Conjuncture

The year is 2119. Following an environmental collapse precipitated by a limited nuclear exchange, humanity survives in eleven metropolises, great conglomerates encompassing whole cities and former countries, of which the largest is New Europe. Sitting in the centre of Europe, New Europe is a gigantic sprawl that takes in the former Germany, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, as well as parts of Poland, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic, its environment maintained by great atmospheric processors. New Europe is governed by Gaia, an Artificial Intelligence developed by Hansor Innovations, which dedicates itself to the safety, health, and well-being of new Europe’s citizens. This has been brought about by tighter control of food production, increased surveillance, and roboticised law enforced with limited artificial intelligence. Gaia has also accelerated technological innovation and this has led to the development of cyberware, miniaturised power sources, and the information network known as the Core. Despite the intentions of Gaia, New Europe is no utopia, but a battleground. Outside of the safe zone communes, everyone has access to firearms and the streets are a warzone, if not necessarily one of open warfare. Crime and violence are rife, whether between criminal gangs, criminal gangs and law enforcement, law enforcement and radical protest groups, radical protest groups and corporations, corporations and other corporations, and corporations and mercs. The latter are hired mercenaries—ex-military and ex-law enforcement turned Operators, Core Hackers, Bio Hackers able to tap into the Neural Frame of other users, Parameds, Cyberdocs, MilTechs, Tech Traders, Data Dealers, and so on—that take contracts that further the aims of one corporation over another. Mercs give the corporations deniable assets, enabling them to continue rivalries without the need for open warfare. Yet the strangest aspect of this dystopia is that humanity is not alone. It is only eight years since the Vampires revealed their existence in frenzy of bloodletting, but eventually some asked for acceptance and the development of an artificial blood substitute in return for an end to their preying on humanity. Whether the very human-like Vril or the monstrous Norl, most Vampires have accepted the new situation, but some have not, hunting and preying upon humanity at the fringes of New Europe. Also revealing themselves at the same time were the Ferals, often weaker and suffering from more genetic defects than humanity, but otherwise identical except for the ability to Meld with another animal, such as a dog, cat, or rat, though in more recent times, some have melded with rarer, recreated, and cloned species. Both Vampires and Ferals, as well as the roboticised law enforcement and cyberware proponents are often the targets of radical pro-human groups and protestors.

This is the set-up for The Gaia Complex – A Game of Flesh and Wires, a Cyberpunk roleplaying game of street violence, espionage, vampiric uprisings, and overzealous A.I. governance, published by Hansor Publishing. It feels like a very traditional Cyberpunk roleplaying game, though with an obvious European bias, and with the oddity of the addition of the supernatural in the form of Vampires and Ferals. Of course, this is not the first time that Vampires and Cyberpunk have been brought together. Night’s Edge, published by Dream Pod 9 and Ianus Publications in 1993, brought vampires to Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. from R. Talsorian Games Inc.. That though was an extra option, whereas here in The Gaia Complex, vampires are part of the setting and they add an element of the supernatural and horror to the fringes of that setting. In comparison, their inclusion is not as radical an addition to the Cyberpunk genre as fantasy is ShadowRun. Plus, they are not available as a Player Character options and should a vampire turn a Player Character, he becomes an NPC. It is possible to play a Feral though. They are not as physically strong as the average human, they have allied companion beasts, and their blood is actually poisonous to Vampires!

A Player Character in The Gaia Complex is Merc. He is either a Human or a Feral, and will have a Character Role. The ten Character Roles are Operator, Core Hacker, Bio Hacker, Paramed, Cyberdoc, MilTech, Mech, Tech Trader, Data Dealer, and Handler. Each Character Role sets a Player Character’s Favoured Stats, Core Skills, Starting Items, and a Trait, the latter, a special ability which kicks in under certain circumstances. For example, the Operator has the Favoured Stats of Brawn, Guts, and Reflexes; Core Skills of Firearms, Melee Weapons, Strategy, and Tracking; a Starting Item of a firearm or melee weapon; and the Trait of ‘Combat Readiness’, which grants an Operator a bonus to initiative, able to identity threats and respond to them faster. The Handler has the Favoured Stats of Allure and Perception; Core Skills of Animal Handling, Awareness, Meld, and Tracking; a Starting Item of an animal companion; and the Trait of ‘Feral Mind’, which represents the Feral’s honed mind and senses with a modifier to Awareness skill tests and the capacity to spend Grit to automatically pass a Meild skill test. The Player Character has seven stats—Brawn, Reflexes, Guts, Brains, Allure, and Perception—each rated between one and ten and each having six associated skills. Skills do not have a rating; a Player Character either has the skill or not. The seventh stat is Grit, which is a pool of points that can be spent to ensure success during play. A Player Character also a Disconnect score, which measures his biological functions versus the amount of cyberware he has installed.

Creating a Player Character is a matter of selecting a Character Role and applying its bonuses, dividing twenty-five points between the stats, and picking twelve skills in addition to those granted by the Character Role. This gives him a total of sixteen skills and two of them must be Specialisations. Lastly, the Player Character receives some clothing, somewhere to live, enough food to last a week, and a budget to spend on starting equipment and cybernetics. The process is quite straightforward; the most complicated part being making the choices in terms of equipment and cybernetics.

Name: Ottilie Harsholm
Character Role: Core Hacker
Trait: Digital Life

STATS
Brawn 3 (Unarmed Combat)

Reflexes 6 (Firearms, Pilot Drone, Stealth)
Guts 5 (Gambling, Streetwise)
Brains 8 (Electronics, Hacking, Mechanical, Programming)
Allure 4 (Barter, Deceive, Persuasion)
Perception 5 (Awareness, Lock Pick, Surveillance)
Grit 4

HIT POINTS
Endurance 9 Pressure 24
Morale 10 Disconnect 78
CYBERWARE
NVI ProKL Neural Frame, NVI Flashline Neural Rig, THD Drone Remote, DrillBit Mk.2, Transplant

Mechanically, The Gaia Complex uses what it calls the 12.3 System. To have a Player Character undertake an action, the appropriate Stat is first compared against the difficulty, ranging from one for very easy to almost impossible for eleven. If the appropriate Stat is equal to, or less than, the difficulty, the Player Character automatically succeeds and no roll is required. If a roll is required, the player rolls two twelve-sided dice and compares the result against the Stat. A success is generated if the result is equal to, or less than, the Stat.

If the Player Character has the appropriate skill, only one Success is required, but if the Player Character does not have the skill, a Success is required on both dice. If the task is still difficult, the Game Master can also apply a Complexity Modifier to the roll. If the skill is marked as a specialisation, a player can reroll any single die that did not roll a twelve. Grit can be spent to reduce the result rolled, each point spent, reducing the result on both die by one for each point spent—though not if a twelve was rolled. If the test is failed and either die rolled a twelve, the result is a critical failure. This can result in the loss of Endurance or Morale, inability to undertake the task again, gaining the wrong information, equipment failing, and so on.

Combat uses the same mechanics. Initiative is a simple roll of one die plus Reflexes or Perception and during each three second Combat Round, a combatant can perform one action—either Movement, Supporting, Close Combat Attack, or Ranged Attack. Any attack action requires a successful roll, again against the appropriate Stat. However, there is a greater range of Complexity Modifiers which can apply to the actual roll. For example, in close combat, charging adds a +1 Complexity Modifier and a +2 Complexity Modifier is added if the target is actively dodging, whereas in ranged combat, an aimed shot grants a -1 Complexity Modifier, a snapshot adds a +1 Complexity Modifier, and cover adds a variable Complexity Modifier depending upon how heavy it is. Burst allows a single damage die for the gun to be rerolled, any result of an eleven becomes a twelve, whilst suppressive fire applies a -1 Complexity Modifier, all damage dice to be rerolled, and any result of ten or eleven becomes a twelve. Each weapon has its own profile in terms of damage and effect, as well as background. A Player does need to keep track of how much ammunition has been used.

In terms of Hit Points, a Player Character has both Endurance and Pressure. Endurance represents his physical health and Pressure his mental health. Weapons inflict Endurance damage, typically 3d3+1 for a handgun, whilst attacks from programs in the Core or some

vampire abilities reduce Pressure. There are serious side effects if either Endurance or Pressure are reduced to five or less and if Endurance is reduced to zero, the Player Character is dead, and if Pressure reduced to zero, the Player Character is either brain dead or insane. There are also EMP weapons that can affect electronics and cybernetics. Armour will Endurance damage by a random amount, in some cases can be stacked, and optionally, can be damaged when it stops incoming blows. Other optional rules allow for knockdowns, hit locations, bleeding, and morale. Overall, the combat system is brutal.

As a Cyberpunk roleplaying game, The Gaia Complex includes a wide range of cyberware. Cyberarms and legs with storage comparts, magnetic plates, pop-up weapons, toolmate and TASER fingers; cybereyes with X-ray scanners, UV options, and targeting systems; cyberears with improved hearing range; cyberjaws with lockjaws and sharpened canines; titanium ribs and spinal replacement; neural frames and rigs for accessing the Core, storing data safely, and operating drones remotely; and more. Bioware options add improved hearts and lungs, whilst other implants include nasal filters, chip ports, and cable jacks, and exo-skeletons have their options. Many of the items of cyberware are available from legitimate CyberDocs where the newly installed devices will be legally recorded and also from backstreet CyberDocs who install ‘Hackjob’ versions of the devices, as functional, but often clunkier and more obvious, though without it being reported to the authorities. Either way, installing any device reduces the Player Character’s Disconnect. This starts out typically at about ninety, but is reduced for each item or upgrade. When Disconnect drops below fifty, the Player Character begins to suffer deleterious effects. ‘Hackjob’ versions tend to incur a greater Disconnect loss than legitimate versions.

The treatment of Hacking in The Gaia Complex is kept surprisingly short, just four pages long. Physically, it requires a Hacking Rig, Neural Frame, or Jack sockets and leads, and access can be found all across the city. Mechanically, it uses the Hacking skill and asks the player to define the objectives and the Game Master the number of layers of security that a hacker must penetrate or bypass to find the data he wants, access the permissions he wants, or plant the data he wants. The Game Master places countermeasures, such as a Data Wall, Cortex Trap, or Watch Dog, in these layers as challenges and threats that the Hacker has to overcome. All of this is played out in abstract fashion rather than mapping it necessarily, primarily relying on roleplaying to handle the narrative. The confrontations and encounters in the Core take roughly two to three seconds each, so that a Hacking attempt can be run alongside combat, although the Hacker can only focus on the attempt and finds it difficult to communicate.

Bio Hacking is treated in a similar fashion and length. Where Hacking involves electronically breaking into data systems and servers, Bio Hacking involves breaking into someone else’s mind, whether through the Core and into his Neural Frame or by directly jacking into the target’s systems via a port. Once inside, instead of experiencing the consensual network of neon and structure of the Core, the Bio Hacker finds himself in a void dotted with colourful nodes representing the target’s memories and the functions of his Neural Frame. It is extremely disorientating as the Bio Hacker constantly feels as if he is falling in a loop over and over, and it takes some getting used to. However, whilst in the target’s mind, the Bio Hacker can do a number of things. One is to steal desires, knowledge, memories, and secrets from the target, another is to plant thoughts, and even completely dominate the target to place them in forced servitude. As with Hacking, Bio Hacking is to be run in an abstract fashion, emphasising roleplaying with the Game Master setting up Bio Hacking Countermeasures for the Player Character to overcome.

As you would expect, The Gaia Complex includes an extensive list of arms, accessories, armour, clothing, hacking gear and accessories and programs, drones, accommodation and property, and more. Of course, it adds a range of animals for the Ferals’ Meld ability.

The non-Cyberpunk aspects of the setting of New Europe get their own sections, detailing in turn the world and cultures of the Ferals and the Vampires. Ferals have spent much of history as loners, drifters, and outsiders, and for the most part, still do in 2119. They simple lives, tend to avoid the use of cyberware, and when they do become Mercs, often follow their affinity for and love of animals to act against Sephron Corp, wanting to free the animals it clones. Feral culture continues to be street-based, the most notable organisation being the Circadian Network which operates throughout New Europe, managing a hidden surveillance and data trafficking network. Vampires, being non-human, receive more mechanical detail. What happens if someone is turned and becomes a Vampire, the special abilities that they can gain such as Deathtouch, Exsanguinate, Regeneration, Telekinesis, and Telepathy, and the rules of their survival, as well as their leading figures and corporations, like the Un-Set Corp; the vampire-operated investment firm, and Belvoit Media, a human/vampire co-run media firm specialising in urban advertisements.

There are details too, of the various corporations operating in New Europe, and in the wider world, New Europe and the other metropolises. Here there are descriptions of each of the districts of New Europe, all of the city or country sized, giving a bit of flavour and background so that the Game Master has reason to get her Player Characters there and feel enough to describe it to her players. Less useful are the descriptions of the other ten metropolises around the world since environmental effects have limited contact and travel between them for decades. Although the metropolises do feel reminiscent of the world of Judge Dredd from the pages of 2000 AD, their inclusion does give the Game Master a greater feel for the world. More useful perhaps is the information on the major corporations operating in New Europe as they provide at least a set of potential employers and targets.

There is decent, if brief, advice for the Game Master along with three data seeds—extended plot outlines—and good advice on inclusivity and safety. However, the last fifteen pages of The Gaia Complex is devoted to ‘The Truth Behind The Screen’. This gives the real history of the future of New Europe, shifting the setting in a radically unexpected direction and potentially changing what the roleplaying game setting purports to be. It includes an actual timeline that encompasses everything, which is slightly annoying because there is no timeline without those changes earlier in the book for the players’ benefit. As welcome as this new and expanded background and timeline are, it is of limited use. The problem is that there is no accompanying advice on how to use this extra timeline and background details, on how to bring it to the attention of the Player Characters, and how they might learn of it, and what they might do if they learn of it. So, at best, the Game Master can run the setting as is, as a more or less straight cyberpunk roleplaying game, but with supernatural elements, and perhaps begin work in the esoteric elements of the deeper background if she wants to and is confident enough to do so. Either that or wait for a supplement that brings it into play, because otherwise, the secret background is interesting, but just not yet relevant on the strength of the core rulebook alone.

Physically, The Gaia Complex is well presented. The artwork is excellent, but the cartography is serviceable at best and the book is slightly overwritten in parts. Every chapter is prefaced with a piece of colour fiction that helps to bring the setting to life.

The Gaia Complex – A Game of Flesh and Wires is a surprisingly light roleplaying game for the Cyberpunk genre, at least mechanically. In terms of setting, it feels very much like a standard Cyberpunk dystopia, complete with widespread violence, gangs, feuding corporations, and overbearing A.I. directed governance, though one with a European emphasis and one with a view of weirdness and horror with the inclusion of the Ferals and Vampires. The European emphasis gives it a certain freshness of a long history upended and a less traditional setting for the genre, whilst the horror and the weirdness give it an unexpected, if slight bite.

A Wick’d World

Operating in the shadows, untouched by the police, and with the utmost of professionalism, there is a world of killers. Professional assassins and hitmen, trackers and bounty hunters. Killing not because they are evil or cruel. Killing because it is their duty, because it is their skill, because it is their style, because it is their job, because it is their honour. They may be employed by one of the great families. They may be freelancers hired from one job to the next. They may belong to secret society that has long used assassination as a tool. Their world is governed by the secret and ancient organisation known as the Stone. Beneath the Stone are six families, each representing one of the major criminal organisations—the Bratva, the Camorra, the Cartel, the Mafia, the Triads, and the Yakuza—which the killers may be allied with or work for as freelancers, and which control great swathes of territory and influence the direction of whole cities and nations. They also feud with each other and that is in part why the actions of the killers are so regulated by the Stone, lest such feuds get out of hand and come to the attention of the wider world. The killers, in return for their skill that they hone constantly, live lives of luxury. They also have access to the Belmont, not just a chain of businesses that serve the world of the professional killers, but also a hotel where they can stay, relax, arrange for new contracts, and order the latest tactical gear like it was fine wine. And best of all, the Belmont is neutral ground. Of course, if a professional killer is declared a renegade by the Stone, then it is game on, and the renegade is anybody’s to hunt and kill.

This is the setting for World of Killers, ‘A Supplement of Assassins, Hired Guns, and Secret Societies for Outgunned’. Published by Two Little Mice, Outgunned: Cinematic Action Roleplaying Game is the cinematic action roleplaying game inspired by the classic action films of the past sixty years—Die Hard, Goldfinger, Kingsman, Ocean’s Eleven, Hot Fuzz, Lethal Weapon, and John Wick. It expands the rules for Outgunned with five new roles and a special role, nine new tropes, rules for trained dogs and both hunts and getaways, new gear, and a cinematic campaign, ready to play with four pre-generated killers. All of this is inspired by John Wick, Kill Bill, Leon, Assassin’s Creed, and Hitman. Of these, the first is important because essentially, World of Killers is unashamedly the John Wick series of films with the serial numbers filed off, and short of an actual licence, that really is no bad thing. After all, the players get to play in a very similar world to the one they have seen on screen.

Arguably, because most players of World of Killers will have seen the John Wick films, or at least be aware of them, the supplement does not need a huge amount of detail to describe its setting. The background covers the Stone, its organisation and the important roles within it, all six families who get a page each, the Belmont and the services it provides, paying particular attention to the New York Belmont, and then the Rats. The Rats live on the fringes of society and on the fringes on the fringes of the world of killers, a mixture of criminals, dropouts, derelicts, and outcasts, led by a Rat Queen in New York, and providing similar services to the Belmont—protection, gear, information, and favours. This all costs of course, and nothing more than offering a sanctuary for renegades.

The five new roles in and for the World of Killers are the Samurai, Hired Gun, Aristocrat, Dog Trainer, and Derelict. As in the core rulebook, these are templates that give options in terms of Work, Catchphrase, Flaw, and Characteristics, including attribute and skill points feats, and gear, that a player customises. They include a list of inspirations from a variety of action films as well, starting off, of course, with the John Wick franchise. If the Samurai and Hired Gun are obvious, the others less so. The Aristocrat relies on breeding, manners, and charisma; the Dog Trainer operate with a trained canine companion, which can be a tracker dog or an attack dog; and the Derelict lives on the streets and very likely has a past with the world of killers. In addition, the World of Killers gives a sixth, special role, one that combines a standard Player Character’s Role, Trope, and Job in one, and that is the Assassin. The Assassin does get more skill points to assign and three Feats instead of two. Although there is no inspirational list of films to accompany it, the illustration makes it obvious that the role is inspired by the Assassin’s Creed series of computer games. Its inclusion opens up the possibility of setting Outgunned stories in the past.

Besides new Tropes such as ‘Battle Butler’, ‘Gone Rogue’, ‘Magnificent Bastard’, and ‘Professional’, and new Feats like ‘Deflect Bullets’, ‘Elegance’, ‘Endure Pain’, ‘Gun Fu’, and ‘Sword Fighter’, World of Killers adds two new Plan B options. ‘Blade’ grants an immediate success or amazing advantage with a slash of the sword, whilst ‘Belmont’ brings the intervention of the organisation, whether its personnel or its services. Gold, particular coins, is introduced as an exclusive currency to gain access to Belmont services, equipment, and favours and services, and is earned communally for completing tasks and contracts for the Stone, the Belmont, and the families.

Although the Trained Dog is specifically for the Dog Trainer Role, it is possible for a Player Character to gain one later. The Trained Dog itself is treated as character in its own right, complete with a flaw, attributes, and Grit. Stats are given for a hunting falcon and a monkey as well as a dog. The other major addition to Outgunned are the rules for ‘Hunts’. This handles how assassinations and kills play out by tracking two numbers, ‘Need’ and ‘Kill’. ‘Need’ measures how close the Player Characters are to the target and how exposed the target is, whilst ‘Kill’ tracks the Player Characters’ position and advantage over the target. From turn to turn, the players roll and narrate how they get closer to the target, increasing their ‘Kill’ until their characters are in the position to carry out the shot. A Hunt can then turn into a chase, whether the Player Characters fail and have to go after their target, or fail or succeed and are then pursued by the target’s forces. Supported by an example, the ‘Hunt’ rules set up great set pieces full of tension and pent up violence.

Half of World of Killers is dedicated to a cinematic scenario, ‘Family Business’. It incudes four pre-generated Player Characters, a Hired Gun, an Aristocrat, a Dog Trainer, and a Samurai. They are asked for help by the manager of New York’s Belmont, an old friend or someone whom they are indebted to, who has let two renegades slip out of his grasp. The Stone has given him twenty-four hours to make up for his error. The hunt for the two renegades—who turn out be star-crossed lovers and killers—takes the Player Characters to a showdown on a cruise and back to New York where they discover that the Stone has already taken away their own friend to be judged at a Tribunal. This is not how things are normally conducted, so the Player Characters’ suspicions should have been aroused and they will want to investigate. As they do so, they run the risk of being declared renegade, must face the Stone’s own forces and those of some of the families, travel around the world from New York to Rome to Tokyo, and unmask a conspiracy that could upset the balance between the six families. It is a highly entertaining scenario that takes the Player Characters from the highs to the lows of the world of killers and back again. There are some great set scenes and the players get to try out the ‘Hunt’ rules more than once. The five-shot scenario will probably take several sessions to play through and very nicely showcases the setting.

The scenario is supported by several handouts, actually portraits of all of the Player Characters and NPCs, not handouts in the traditional sense, since Outgunned is not an investigative roleplaying game. The scenario is expertly presented though with scenes detailed on the lefthand page and advice for the Game Master on the right. This format makes the scenario easy to run from the page. There are some sequel suggestions too in addition to some scenario ideas given earlier in the book.

Physically, World of Killers is, like Outgunned, a good looking book. The artwork is excellent and the layout clean and tidy, and easy to read.

If you are a fan of Outgunned, then you are going to want World of Killers, and if you are a fan of the John Wick films, you are going to want World of Killers. As an action film roleplaying game, Outgunned is great for one-shots, but World of Killers gives it a setting, a structure, and a franchise that the players can return to again and again.

Screen Shot XVI

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 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.

The Pendragon Gamemaster Screen Pack is for Pendragon, Sixth Edition. It includes the ‘Pendragon Gamemaster Screen’, the ‘Gamemaster Resources’ book, the ‘Gamemaster Gazetteer’ book, and the poster map of ‘Britain in the time of King Arthur’. The ‘Pendragon Gamemaster Screen’ is a sturdy, three-panel affair in landscape format. On the front it depicts two knights on horseback clashing under the Grail. On the back, the various tables are clearly laid out and each come with page references to the books they are taken from. The centre panel is the most useful, since it includes a list of ‘Combat Action’, ‘Mounted Lance Charge Fumble Table’, ‘Follow-Up Actions’, and of course, the ‘Combat Action Resolution Results’ table, which is probably the most likely referred to table in the roleplaying game. On the right-hand panel, the tables are for the ‘Passion Crisis Outcomes’, ‘Unopposed Passion Roll Results’, ‘’Winter Phase Procedure’, ‘Emergency Dismounts’ table, ‘Ageing’ and ‘Characteristic Lost’ tables, and lastly, the ‘Beginning Knight Skill Values’. The latter arguably less useful than the other tables and it is the same on the left-hand panel. Here the ‘Skill Modifiers for Challenges’ is going to be the most referenced up in the far left corner, whilst the ‘Hunting Vs. Avoidance Results’, ‘Intoxication Results’, ‘Favour Value Synopsis’, ‘Mounted Charge Opportunity’, ‘Battle Sizes’, ‘Glory Distribution Amongst Knights’, ‘Combat Glory’, and ‘Feast Event Cards by APP’ tables arguably less so. This is not to say that their inclusion is anything other than useful, and overall, the ‘Pendragon Gamemaster Screen’ is handy. Unlike other roleplaying games, Pendragon, Sixth Edition is not one that relies heavily on tables, but the most important and regularly consulted tables are included here.

The ‘Gamemaster Resources’ is thirty-six pages and designed to do three things. The first of these is to provide a means of generating a more detailed family history, specifically for Player-knights in the default starting location for Pendragon, Sixth Edition. This, of course, is Salisbury, and the ‘Salisbury Family History’ helps a player create a history for his knight’s family, specifically his great-grandfather, grandfather, and father, going all the way up from 437 CE to 508 CE, covering in turn the Tyrant and Uprising Period, Aurelius Ambrosius Period, Uther Period, and the Anarchy. Rolling for the great-grandfather is short and simple; the grandfather’s death is rolled for first and then the player works year-by-year up to the year when it happens; and then the father is rolled for as normal. There is a lot of detail and information to note down, though there is an alternative quick method provided too. The other thing that the narrative does with the ‘Salisbury Family History’ is entwine the Player-knight’s family history with the Counts of Salisbury—Robyn, Roderick, and Robert. The process is detailed and lengthy and probably best done as part of the preparation for play.

The second thing is ‘Finding Spouses’. With this, the Player-Knights can gain the hand of a wife. Several ways are suggested, including questing for a wife, taking a war bride, having it arranged, and more. The wife is determined randomly, her qualities and status heaving influenced by the Player-Knight’s status, favours, gifts, loyalty, and a Courtesy check. There are rules too, for creating husbands for female Player-Knights, but the results are not quite as interesting or as detailed. Lastly, ‘A Mighty Host: Random Knight Generator’ is a means to create NPC knights. This covers everything, including age, Glory, status, outfits, traits, skills, roles, motivations, and more.

The second book is the sixty-four page ‘Gamemaster Gazetteer’. This provides a guide to the places, regions, and landmarks of Britain and a little further away. Whether a settlement, forest, or river, every location is broken down into categories for ‘First Glance’, ‘About This Place’, and ‘Further Investigation’. It covers Cornwall, Cambria, Cumbria, Logres, and the North, but also Brittany, Ireland, and the Continent. The latter includes Aquitaine, Burgundy, Île de France, and Occitania. There is detail sufficient in each entry to help the Game Master bring each location to life and the map excerpts are helpful, though if there is a downside, it is that there is no pronunciation guide.

The Pendragon Gamemaster Screen Pack includes two maps. One is the poster size map of ‘Britain in the time of King Arthur’ seen elsewhere for the line. It is this map that excerpts have been taken from for the ‘Gamemaster Gazetteer’. The other map is of the Hundreds of Salisbury County. It is found on the back of the ‘Gamemaster Gazetteer’ and gives the thirty or so administrative subdivisions of the County of Salisbury.

Physically, the Pendragon Gamemaster Screen Pack is sturdy and well produced. The artwork is good and the cartography characterful. It does need a slight edit in places.

The Pendragon Gamemaster Screen Pack gives great support for the Pendragon Game Master and her campaign. Whilst its contents will help set up a campaign with expanded Player-Knight creation guidelines, the majority of its contents will support that campaign in the long term, both at the table and in preparation.