Magazine Madness 37: Interface RED Volume 3

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

—oOo—

Technically Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 3 is not a magazine. It collects some of the downloadable content made available for Cyberpunk RED, the fourth edition of R. Talsorian Games, Inc.’s Cyberpunk roleplaying game. So, its origins are not those of a magazine, but between 1990 and 1992, Prometheus Press published six issues of the magazine, Interface, which provided support for both Cyberpunk 2013 and Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. It this mantle that Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 1, Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 2, and future issues is picking up in providing support for the current edition of the roleplaying game. As a consequence of the issue collecting previously available downloadable content, there is a lot in the issue that is both immediately useful and can be prepared for play with relative ease. There is also some that is not, and may not make it into a Game Master’s campaign.

Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 3—as with the previous issue—is by James Hutt and/or J Gray and starts on a hard note, or rather, on a ‘hardened’ note. In the previous issue, two connected articles—‘Hardened Mooks: break glass in case of powergaming’ and ‘Hardened Lieutenants: break glass in case of powergaming’, provided tougher versions of the standard threats, mooks, and lieutenants. With ‘Hardened Mini Bosses’ the series with increased stats for Mini-Bosses in the core rulebook, including ‘Hardened Arasaka Assassin’, ‘Hardened Militech Veteran’, and ‘Hardened Pyro’. This is a mix of the old and the new, so should keep the Player Characters on their toes. Plus, they come with a little commentary on how to best use them.

If ‘Hardened Mini Bosses’ gives the Player Characters someone to fight, then ‘Digital Dating in the Dark Future’ gives them someone to love—and then, since almost nobody lives happily ever after, someone to fight. Romantic entanglements have always been part of Cyberpunk through its ‘Lifepath’ system of Player Character generation, and Cyberpunk RED is no different. However, what about now, because those relationships are likely to have been in the past and may be long over? To let a Player Character go dating now, the article gives a ‘Datepath’ system which enables the Game Master to determine how the match describes themselves in their dating profile, where the date will take place and what the significance of that location is—for example, if in the Watson Development, the date might have a connection with SovOil, what the date activity will be, how the date goes, and what the after date review will be. This can be rolled as is or played out, and if the latter, it means that a player gets a chance to roleplay another aspect of his character and explore another side of the game that is not necessarily all guns and combat. This is a fun addition if the playing group wants to expand the lives of their characters and would work every well for one-on-one sessions between a single player and the Game Master.

‘Salvaging Night City: A New Downtime Activity’ also gives the Player Characters more to do when away from typical adventures or missions. Although this is primarily for the Tech character type, but any character could engage in this, exploring Night City’s Hot Zone, Combat Zones, and scrapyards, not just for scrap to sell, but items to repair and use and sell. The article also goes through the possible dangers that a scavenger might face, including pollution, radiation, rival scavengers and gangs, unsafe structures, and more. This is an article that can be used to generate, with a bit of effort upon the part of the Game Master, encounters and even scenarios. Plus, like ‘Digital Dating in the Dark Future’, this activity works well for one-on-one sessions between a single player and the Game Master and also for sessions where there are only a very few Player Characters.

Cyberpunk RED is a roleplaying game that focuses on a lot of gear—equipment, weapons, cyberwear, and cyberware—and its use in play, and if there was a criticism of Cyberpunk RED, it was that it was genericised and therefore not interesting. Issues of Interface have been changing that with names and describes a wide variety of items, and Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 3 is no different. ‘Woodchipper’s Garage: Weapons That go Boom!’ is an interview with a Nomad who purchases weapons scavenged by Nomads in the Badlands and brought into Night City to fulfil the demand for the weapons that deliver a bang! This includes rocket launchers to suit all budgets and attitudes to safety standards, flare guns, flamethrowers, and odd weapons like an air cannon and harpoon launcher! ‘Midnight with the Upload: New Cyberdecks and Hardware’ provides a wide range of decks and new items of hardware, each with own benefits and effects. For example, the ‘Raven Microcyb Phoenix’ is an expensive deck that has six slots to install either Programs or Hardware and protects any programs the Netrunner uses, restoring any that were destroyed during a run, when the Netrunner jacks out. ‘Must Have Cyberware Deals’ details the new chrome that might be purchased from Mr. A-MAAAZE at Dock 13 in sunny South Night City. Want to keep that figure trim or low on rations, install an ‘Appetite Controller’, whilst ‘Lead’s Turn-On-Show-Off Nails’ is the perfect set of programmable, lighted fingernails, and if that shoe does not fit, then the ‘PerfectFit Cyberfoot’ adjusts perfectly (and if the user wants to run in heels, then these are even more perfect!). There is a certain superficiality to these entries, being as they are mostly fashion cyberware. All three of these articles come with no little flavour too. ‘Woodchipper’s Garage: Weapons That go Boom!’ is the most straightforward, primarily focusing on how the weapons that Woodchipper sells are got hold of in the interview, whilst the ‘Midnight with the Upload: New Cyberdecks and Hardware’ gives lots of commentary and feedback that suggests a certain lack of humanity with interacting with the seller and perhaps that they might be a cultist of some kind or a Netwatch Agent. Lastly, ‘Must Have Cyberware Deals’ is all about the slick sales pitch from Mr. A-MAAAZE.

‘Collecting the Random: Ideas, Thoughts, and Lists from the CP:R CREW’ is the second longest article in Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 3. It is a collection of new rules, such as complementary skill checks, and ideas that how Cyberpunk RED is played, fortunately without the need for any mechanical changes. Roles are a big focus for the article. It suggests ideas for reskinning them, like turning the Netrunner into the Thief or the Exec into the Mobster, all with simple adjustment of the flavour of the mechanics rather actually than changing the Roles. Multiclassing ideas suggest ways in which each of the Roles works with the other nine Roles. For example, the Rockerboy/Media becomes an Influencer, the Netrunner/Fixer the Information Broker, and the Lawman/Media the Psychic Detective. There are some great ideas here that again shift how a Role is played. Campaign ideas making the Player Characters ‘Guerilla Gardeners’, ‘Librarians’, and ‘Food Truck War’ participants and come with some very simple mission ideas. All of these set-ups require no little development, but they all change the focus of a campaign from a more standard set-up. ‘Cyberpunk RED Fashion’ suggests styes such as ‘Bag Lady Chic’(!) and ‘Asia Pop’. This is mostly flavour, of course, as are the article’s final ‘Twenty Random Kibble Flavors’—fizzy kibble anyone? This is just a plethora of fun ideas that a playing group can pick and choose from.

Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 3 takes an odd, even cynical turn with ‘Elflines Online the TCG: Battle for the Elflands’. Previous issues of Interface RED have explored the number virtual game world in Night City, ‘Elflines Online’. Effectively a game world within a game world, ‘Elflines Online is a hobby that a Player Character or NPC can play during his downtime, but it can become something that the players can roleplay their characters playing in the world of Cyberpunk RED, a fantasy roleplaying game in the cyberpunk roleplaying game. ‘Elflines Online the TCG: Battle for the Elflands’ does not expand to any great degree, but rather introduces a trading card game that the Player Characters can play offline and some of the cards will provide bonuses and benefits in the online game. Full rules are included so that the players can play it too, though using an ordinary deck of playing cards. Accompanying the article is a commentary that highlights the disappointment of some ‘Elflines Online’ players when ‘Elflines Online the TCG: Battle for the Elflands’ was launched and since. There is a brilliant cynicism to the whole exercise that feels as if it mirrors certain MMORPGs in the real world.

‘Spinning Your Wheels: A New Way to Ride the Edge’ adds an old technology to the streets of Night City and updates it. This is the bicycle, whose reintroduction is presented in an interview with the head of Yang’s Wheels, the city’s leading manufacturer of bicycles, skateboards, and inline skates. Their introduction brings a cheaper form of transport to both the city and Cyberpunk RED. Of course, they are cheaper to buy then a car, more manoeuvrable, and take up less space. They are all muscle-powered, so require the use of the user’s Athletics skill rather than Drive and, of course, they can be upgraded. Fit cycle armour or a gun mount to the handlebars, or even an enclosure to turn it into a trike. The article also details the type of tricks that can be performed on a bicycle, skateboard, or inline skate.

‘The 12 Days of Cybermas: A Cyberpunk RED Holiday Sequel’ returns with a Christmas carol suitable for the ‘Time of the Red’ and twelve classic pieces of cyberware from days of Cyberpunk past. Want to tear your enemies apart, then install the ChainRip, the original cyberweapon of mass destruction in your cyberarm or look really cool with one cyberoptic, then the Kiroshi MonoVision installs your cybereye in a single band. Whilst the stats update the descriptions, the illustrations feel intentionally dated.

The last and longest article in the issue is ‘Going Metal: full body conversions in Cyberpunk RED’. The article moves on from the fears from cyberpsychosis due to full body conversions to suggest that there is a culture all of its own around full body conversions. This does not stop the opening between someone who has undergone full body conversion to somebody who is about to from being just a little bit creepy. It is followed by complete guide to undergoing a full body conversion in game terms and keep as much Humanity possible, up to a maximum of fifty. Some thirteen standard full body conversions are detailed, like the ‘Cybermatrix Inc. Copernicus’ for work in space, the ‘Dynalar Brimstone’ fireproofed for fighting fire, the ‘Militech Dragoon Revised War Platform’ updated from the full body conversion so successful in 4th Corporate War, and even if the ‘Raven Microcybernetics Gemini’ if you do not want to look like a cyborg! Added to this are numerous pieces of cyberware and gear, which break down the numerous items that go into the design and construction of the earlier full body conversions. The full body conversions come with commentary from the interviewer at the start of the article. There are lots of options here, good for NPCs as well as the Player Characters who want to take a radical step and have the EuroBucks to spend! The article brings Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 3 to a close with big fully borged options.

Physically, Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 3 is cleanly, tidily laid out. The artwork is decent too and everything is easy to read.

Although much of it was originally available for free, with the publication of Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 3 it is nice to have it in print. All of it is useful in some ways, though ‘Elflines Online the TCG: Battle for the Elflands’ is very much less useful then the other content. Together, ‘Digital Dating in the Dark Future’ and ‘Salvaging Night City: A New Downtime Activity’ really do bring greater roleplaying opportunities to the play of Cyberpunk RED, whilst ‘Collecting the Random: Ideas, Thoughts, and Lists from the CP:R CREW’ brims with interesting ideas for both the player and the Game Master. Everything else is tech and cybergear-based, adding numerous options and greater choice to the world of Night City and beyond. Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 3 is the best issue to date and there is something for every Cyberpunk RED campaign in its pages.

Magazine Madness 34: Interface RED Volume 2

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

—oOo—

Technically Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 2 is not a magazine. It collects some of the downloadable content made available for Cyberpunk RED, the fourth edition of R. Talsorian Games, Inc.’s Cyberpunk roleplaying game. So, its origins are not those of a magazine, but between 1990 and 1992, Prometheus Press published six issues of the magazine, Interface, which provided support for both Cyberpunk 2013 and Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. It this mantle that Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 1 and future issues is picking up in providing support for the current edition of the roleplaying game. As a consequence of the issue collecting previously available downloadable content, there is a lot in the issue that is both immediately useful and can be prepared for play with relative ease. There is also some that is not, and may not make it into a Game Master’s campaign.

Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 2 starts on a hard note, or rather, on a ‘hardened’ note. James Hutt begins the anthology with two connected articles—‘Hardened Mooks: break glass in case of powergaming’ and ‘Hardened Lieutenants: break glass in case of powergaming’, both of which provide tougher versions of the standard threats, mooks and lieutenants, to provide the Player Characters with more of a challenge. The former includes stats for the bodyguard, boosterganger, road ganger, and security, whilst the latter has stats for the netrunner—anti-personnel and anti-program; reclaimer chief, including a ‘lightning’ version for lieutenant who likes to fight form the front and a ‘thunder’ version’, who prefers to support from the back; and raid and siege versions of the security officer. None of these are suitable to be used against combat-orientated Player Characters, especially the lieutenants. In addition, the Game Master can customise them further with a table of complications for the mooks and tactics for the lieutenants. Further, the second article actually lists what a hardened Player Character actually looks like, so that the Game Master has a definitive ideas as to what that also looks like! Overall, solid support for when the Player Characters are finding things a little too easy.

Infamously, Night City is the site of a nuclear weapon being detonated, as well as having subject to numerous chemical spills and the ongoing effects of climate change over the years. All of which is reflected in ‘Night City Weather: The Sky Is Crying Blood’ by J Gray and James Hutt gives advice and a set of tables that the Game Master can use to colour her depiction of Night City. The latter are organised by season and each has a one-in-six chance of the weather turning strange. When it does, this could be anything from a radioactive windstorm or blood rain to dust storm or blackout. These are extremes, of course, but virtually all of Night’s Weather is extreme, whether that is suffering from exposure in a cold snap or increased armour penalties in a heatwave to suffering as if poisoned and a foreign object critical injury during an ash storm if not wearing a filter mask or nasal filters or simply being exposed to a biotoxin during a blood storm! All of it is nasty and extreme, and all of it is going to make the Player Characters value days when the weather is not a danger. The article details new gear and clothing designed to deal with this weather, including a Militech Combat Umbrellas, which of course, is also an umbrella gun! The article is the first of two in the that further develops Night City as a place and gives it some verisimilitude, being the sort of thing that can be worked into a scenario cannot only add atmosphere, but also affect how a mission might be played.

Infamously, Night City is the site of a nuclear weapon being detonated, as well as having subject to numerous chemical spills and the ongoing effects of climate change over the years. All of which is reflected in ‘Night City Weather: The Sky Is Crying Blood’ by J Gray and James Hutt gives advice and a set of tables that the Game Master can use to colour her depiction of Night City. The latter are organised by season and each has a one-in-six chance of the weather turning strange. When it does, this could be anything from a radioactive windstorm or blood rain to dust storm or blackout. These are extremes, of course, but virtually all of Night’s Weather is extreme, whether that is suffering from exposure in a cold snap or increased armour penalties in a heatwave to suffering as if poisoned and a foreign object critical injury during an ash storm if not wearing a filter mask or nasal filters or simply being exposed to a biotoxin during a blood storm! All of it is nasty and extreme, and all of it is going to make the Player Characters value days when the weather is not a danger. The article details new gear and clothing designed to deal with this weather, including a Militech Combat Umbrellas, which of course, is also an umbrella gun! The article is the first of two in the that further develops Night City as a place and gives it some verisimilitude.

The other is ‘Cargo Containers & Cube Hotels’ by James Hutt and J Gray, which asks the question, “Where might my character living and what is it that I am getting for rent each month?” Essentially, what can a Player Character can afford and with a few extra eurobucks afterwards, what he buy to make the place a little more homely. There are tables of locations and accompanying descriptions for both habitat types and then descriptions of potential upgrades, like some wall art, a fire safe, and even a hidden compartment.

In between, ‘Jumpstart Kit Conversion Guide: JSK adventures using core rules’, by James Hutt, Mike Pondsmith, and J Gray, addresses a problem with the Cyberpunk Red Jumpstart Kit. This is that its rules do not match those of Cyberpunk RED. The article is not simple an adaptation, but rather a rebalancing of its missions and adjustments so that it can form the basis of a starting point for a campaign. It includes advice too on how to run each of the missions in the Cyberpunk Red Jumpstart Kit. It is rare that game designers get to revisit an earlier product in their roleplaying game line—especially without the publication of an entirely new edition—but the release of the original PDF article and its inclusion here in Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 2 gives them space to do so. The article is easier to use if the Game Master has not run the Cyberpunk Red Jumpstart Kit, but makes it more accessible and easier to use overall.

‘Daeric Sylar’s Guide to Elflines Online’ by James Hutt continues exploring the online world of the most popular MMO played via Braindance in Night City, Elflines Online. First described in ‘Elflines Online: A Segotari Rush Revolution Exclusive’ and ‘Elflines Online: Expansion Pack’ in Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 1, this third article includes a map of the setting and a guide to levelling up in the game and when to visit the various locations in the game, plus various monsters. The level of detail in the article feels like gilding the lily, adding extra detail to a world that feels superfluous to most Cyberpunk RED campaigns. That said, Elflines can be added as an activity in the game that NPCs and Player Characters engage in as flavour, but there is nothing to stop that the Player Characters needing to play in order to find an NPC or hidden data, or even adding fantasy roleplaying game that uses the Interlock system of Cyberpunk RED.

One of the issues with Cyberpunk RED is that its technology is often genericised and that includes its guns. This is in comparison to the weapons of Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0., in which all of the weapons are named and branded. In part, this has been offset by the release of the Black Chrome, but that does not include weapons or piece of gears from the previous versions of the roleplaying game. This was addressed in part by ‘Old Guns Never Die: A step-by-step conversion guide for bringing weapons from Cyberpunk 2020 into Cyberpunk RED’ in Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 1, and is continued in Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 2 with by James Hutt’s ‘The 12 Days of Gunmas: A Cyberpunk Red Holiday Special’. As much a parody of The Twelve Days of Christmas, the article updates some classic weapons from Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0., such as the Arasaka WAA Bullpup Assault Weapon, Militech Crusher, and Stolbovoy ST-5 Assault Rifle. Drawn from various supplements, these are a welcome addition that add weapon variety and flavour.

Lastly, the issue gets a bit weird with ‘Exotics of 2045: There’s nothing you can’t become’. Again, written by James Hutt, this details some of the options available as part of the Biotechnica’s Bioexotics programme, which for two decades has offered a range of full body sculpts and modifications, evolving into a month-long intensive ‘Zoo camp’ that requires a fixer and money beyond the cost of any surgery done, to attend. It has become highly exclusive, but can be accessed during character creation with the purchase of an Exotic Package using non-fashion/fashionware locked money. Seventeen packages are detailed, including what each package includes and its resulting Humanity Loss. They divided between major and minor Bioexotic packages. The minor include the ‘Embrace Rodentia’ rat form, ‘LagoForm’ rabbit form, and ‘Serpentise Yourself’ snake form, whilst the major include the ‘AquaForm’ whale form, ‘Bughouse’ insect form, and ‘UrsaForm’ bear form. Added to these are the FantaForms, which represent classic fantasy biosculpts, such as with the ‘Draconic FantaForm’ and the ‘Elvish FantaForm’. All of the new cyberware for these Exotic Packages is given too, like the ‘Reflex Co-Processor’ to super enhance a character’s Reflexes and a Combat Tail which act as a Heavy Melee Weapon. All of the options here push Cyberpunk RED into the realms of the fantastic to one degree or another, even to the point where with the FantaForms, the Player Characters could find themselves in the LARP equivalent of the Elflines Online! Certainly, these provide Cyberpunk RED with an anime element not as extrovertly present in the setting.

Physically, Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 2 is cleanly, tidily laid out. The artwork is decent too and everything is easy to read.

Although much of it was originally available for free, with the publication of Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 2 it is nice to have it in print. Some of its content is more useful than others, and some of it is going to find less favour with some Game Masters. The latter includes the articles on Elflines Online and the Exotic Biosculpts, whereas the ‘Cargo Containers & Cube Hotels’ and ‘Night City Weather: The Sky Is Crying Blood’ articles will add flavour and verisimilitude to a Game Master’s campaign, however they are used. Interface RED: A Collection for Cyberpunk RED Enthusiasts Volume 2 is a mixed bag in terms of content, but not quality of content. There is definitely something in its pages that every Cyberpunk RED Game Master is going to find useful.

Hope Reborn

Back in 1991, R. Talsorian Games, Inc. published Tales From The Forlorn Hope. This was not one, but three things. First, it was a special edition of the in-game magazine, Solo of Fortune, detailing a bar in Night City founded by veterans of the Central American Wars that provided a hangout, a sanctuary, and a refuge for themselves, other Solos, and Cops from 2011 onwards. Second, it was a setting supplement for Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0., one which the Edgerunners can turn into a base of operations for themselves. Third, it was an anthology of missions for Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. suitable for Edgerunners who visit the bar often or even find a home there, enabling them to interact with the regulars, many of whom are featured in the Solo of Fortune Special Edition. That though was in 2011 and a lot has happened in the decades since. What of The Forlorn Hope in 2045, in the Time of the Red?

Tales of the RED: Hope Reborn is a supplement for Cyberpunk Red: The Roleplaying Game of the Dark Future that brings the history of The Forlorn Hope up to date before presenting a whole new chapter that will involve the Edgerunners in first losing and then restoring hope and happiness. This is in the form of a six-part campaign which does two things. One is provide the means for the Edgerunners to effect change, if only at a small scale, and the other is to provide a street level campaign.

The six parts of the campaign are organised as is standard for scenarios for Cyberpunk RED. Each opens with a plot flowchart and then with a ‘Rumours’ table, which as the campaign progresses, begins to work in events that occurred previously and the Edgerunners will have been involved in, as well as hinting at what is to come. It is followed by the ‘Background’ to the scenario, which can be read out to the players, and ‘The Rest of the Story’ for the Game Master’s eyes only, as is ‘The Setting’ and ‘The Opposition’. ‘The Hook’ describes how the Edgerunners get involved, ‘Developments’ and ‘Climax’ detail the individual beats, whilst ‘Resolution’ provides options on how the scenario comes to end depending on whether or not the Edgerunners succeed or fail. ‘Downtime’ covers what the Edgerunners can do between missions and even prepare for the next one. In addition, there is general advice on running the campaign, which suggests that the Game Master looks for possible hooks in the Edgerunners’ Lifepaths, created during character generation, to tie one or more of them into The Forlorn Hope. Despite both of this explanation and advice, what Tales of the RED: Hope Reborn does lack is an overview of the campaign and an explanation of what is going on. What this means is that the Game Master does not really learn who the antagonists of the campaign are until she reads about them in the campaign itself, which makes it just a little bit more difficult to prepare. All six chapters include an indication of their running time.

What Tales of the RED: Hope Reborn does include is ‘A Tale Of Hope’ by William Moss. Told through the eyes of Aurora ‘Rory’ O’Reilly, livecasting journalist and daughter of C.J. O’Reilly, the famed Solo of Fortune journalist who wrote the original special edition, this introduces The Forlorn Hope and gives its history from its founding in 2011 to 2045 as well as its notable staff and clientele. Now only part of The Forlorn Hope is mapped at this point—and it is the only part that the campaign itself requires—so if the Game Master does want to connect the Edgerunners to the bar before the campaign itself begins, then she will need access to a copy of Tales From The Forlorn Hope.

The campaign itself opens with ‘The Angel’s Share’ by Eddy Webb. Co-owner of The Forlorn Hope, Marianne Freeman, asks the Edgerunners to help with an ‘XBD’, or ‘Extreme Brain Dance’ Dealer, who is threatening her staff and family after she kicked out of the bar for attempting to sell his wares to her customers. She wants them to put him out of business, rather than killed. It is a simple straightforward job, but when the Egderunners return, the action and the campaign switches up a gear. What they hear—and find—when they get back is that The Forlorn Hope has blown up! The Egderunners have another fight on their hands, this time to rescue those still trapped in the rubble of The Forlorn Hope. This is literally handled as a fight, which does feel odd, but it is actually topped off by an actual fight as allies of the ‘XBD’ dealer take their revenge. The rescue attempt is against the clock so the first part of campaign has a frantic feel and pace.

Although The Forlorn Hope is no more, the owners decide they will rebuild and this is the thrust of the campaign proper and asks the Edgerunners to help. This leads into a couple of fun chapters in which the Edgerunners first find a new location and then conduct a long-term reconnaissance of the neighbourhood. In ‘Real Estate Rumble’ by Paris Arrowsmith and Tracie Hearne, the Edgerunners get to work for a property dealer by the name of Jack Skorkowsky as he tries to find Marianne Freeman a suitable new site. Skorkowsky’s properties have been beset by a series of pranks and odd occurrences which are impeding work on them. If the players and their Edgerunners have played scenarios from Tales of the RED: Street Stories and Cyberpunk RED Data Pack, they will likely recognise the threat here. By the end, Jack Skorkowsky will have found a property, enabling the Edgerunners to move into the area in Linda Evans’ ‘Welcome to the Neighbourhood’ and check it out. There are some really fun little encounters here, such as having to rescue a drunken student trapped in the giant leaves of a carnivorous plant being grown as an experiment by the Biotechnica and having to be an emergency replacement team to play the local Roller Derby team. All of these embody the street level nature of the campaign and do so very well.

The preparation for the opening of The Forlorn Hope anew, begins with Melissa Wong’s ‘The Devil’s Cut’. This is a classic heist style scenario in which the Edgerunners go to work for a veteran conman in an attempt to recover some bottles of genuine alcohol, which she believes have been stolen by a special operation run by the local office of a corporation and are being auctioned off. The Edgerunners have to investigate the operation and its staff, plan the heist, infiltrate the launch party—because of course, there is a launch party—and make off with the bottles of alcohol. Lastly—or rather penultimately—‘Hope’s Calling!!!’ by Chris Spivey takes the Edgerunners through the preparation proper for the reopening of The Forlorn Hope. They are taken on by the bar as combination roadies, techies, gophers, and security going through a checklist of things that Marianne wants addressing. This includes getting the right cocktail ingredients, technical checks, and more. As they work on checking these, the Edgerunners discover that someone is actually attempting to sabotage the opening night, so it becomes a race to both undo the efforts of the saboteurs and identify who they are. As soon as they manage that, it is time for the opening night. The Edgerunners’ efforts to undo the sabotage will play an unexpectedly big role in this as the bad guys make a direct assault on The Forlorn Hope. This plays out as a cross between a massive brawl and firefight, which is essentially a make-or-break night for The Forlorn Hope. It has its own mechanic for handling this mass combat, which is kept fairly simple, with plenty of room for player input and room for them to sway the fight.

Although ‘Hope’s Calling!!!’ feels very much like the end of the campaign, it actually is not. In Frances Stewart’s ‘Ripping the Ripper’, the Edgerunners are asked to take revenge on the people who actually blew up the original The Forlorn Hope. This requires them to sneak into ‘The Hot Zone’, the geographical centre of Night City where the tactical nuclear device was detonated almost atop Arasaka Towers and triggered the events of the Time of the Red, and either set the perpetrator up or gun him down! How the Edgerunners go about it is up to the players, but they need to do it without The Forlorn Hope itself being blamed for it. It is a solid ending to the campaign.

One consequence of Tales of the RED: Hope Reborn being a street level campaign, is that the Edgerunners are kept away from the wider plot. That is, who targeted The Forlorn Hope for destruction and who wants the new bar to fail? Neither are connected and neither become apparent until the last chapters of the campaign. How much of an issue this is, really depends on the players, and how much umbrage they might feel at being sidelined from what would be the main plots—or plots—in any other campaign. Essentially, what is really going on is that Edgerunners who are better and more experienced than those of the players are dealing with them. However, the players being players are likely to want answers to those questions and so the Game Master might want to have some answers and some updates as to what is going on and the owners and staff of The Forlorn Hope have learned.

Tales of the RED: Hope Reborn comes to a close with an Appendix of new rules. They include rules for ‘Hacking Agents’, ‘Vehicle Chases’, ‘Roller Derby’, ‘Flash of Luck’, and ‘Headquarters’. The majority of these are fairly general in their application and thus have life beyond the pages of the campaign. ‘Hacking Agents’ enables Netrunners and Techs to remotely hack the devices that everyone carries in the Time of the Red, so opening up options in accessing security and information and so on as well as increasing the versatility of both Roles. ‘Vehicle Chases’ are quick and dirty rules for handling chases and complement the rules for vehicle combat in Cyberpunk RED, relying primarily on Edgerunner Drive skill. The rules cover standard manoeuvres as well as ramming and passenger actions that can help the person behind the wheel. ‘Flash of Luck’ brings a narrative element into play, letting a player spend his Edgerunner’s Luck Points to retroactively bring items and events into play to provide an advantage when the unexpected occurs and so prevent heists, infiltration, and con jobs from becoming extended planning sessions rather than actually playing them through. Playing them out as flashbacks is optional, of course, but whilst ‘Flash of Luck’ is designed to work with the heist of ‘The Devil’s Cut’, it will also work in other situations too.

Other new rules are designed to work with the various Jobs in the campaign and are thus quite specific. ‘Headquarters’ is designed for the long term. It enables the Edgerunners to build their own base of operation, spending Improvement Points earned as a group to add things like an Evidence Wall, Medbay, or Server Room. There is advice too on how to use The Forlorn Hope as a base of operations, Improvement Points being spent to buy ready access to the bar’s facilities rather than actually build them. The oddest rules are for ‘Roller Derby’. They detail how to play the sport which takes centre stage in the ‘Wheels on Fire’ Job from the ‘Welcome To The Neighbourhood’ chapter of the campaign. These allow the Game Master and her players to play out their Edgerunners’ participation in that Job, but they could be useful in other ways. They could be used to handle street battles or chases on skates, but they could also be used as the basis for a campaign in which the Edgerunners actually form their own Roller Derby team!

Physically, Tales of the RED: Hope Reborn is well presented and organised, although it does lack an index. For the most part, the artwork is excellent and the cartography is good.

Although it does feel a little clumsy in places in terms of its mechanics, Tales of the RED: Hope Reborn provides a really fun street level campaign that offers a good mix of roleplaying, combat, and technical challenges, a variety of really different missions and jobs that will keep the players on their toes, and ultimately the opportunity for the players and their Edgerunners to really make a difference. Tales of the RED: Hope Reborn is an impressive first campaign for Cyberpunk RED that delivers on what it promises to do.

Your Edgerunner Entry

The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit has a lot of work to do—and in more than one direction. Published by R. Talsorian Games, Inc., this is the starter set for the publisher’s Cyberpunk roleplaying game—most recently seen with Cyberpunk RED, but based on the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners animated series, which itself is based on the computer game, . So, what it has to do is introduce both fans of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Cyberpunk 2077 to roleplaying and introduce fans of Cyberpunk RED to the advanced new world of the Night City of the 2070s. The good news is that The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit at least comes with everything necessary to do that. Open up the box and the first thing is the introductory sheet, which introduces both the genre, what a tabletop roleplaying game is, an overview of what is in the box, and keywords. Underneath this is the ‘Edgerunner’s Handbook’, ‘Rulebook’, ‘The Jacket’, ‘Edgerunner Sheets’, ‘Maps’, and ‘Tokens’. There is a pair of ten-sided dice and four six-sided dice—done in the signature colours of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, chromium yellow and green—and a set of plastic stands for the stand-ups. What this gives you all together is an introduction to the genre and the setting of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Cyberpunk 2077, the rules to run the roleplaying game in this period, a complete scenario, and seven pre-generated Player Characters, all ready to play not just the scenario in The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit, but also those available to download.

If the ‘Introduction Sheet’ gets the reader started with the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit, the ‘Edgerunner’s Handbook’ is everything the reader needs to gets started on the setting. Running to forty pages, it gives a quick guide to the roleplaying game’s seven Roles, its history, the technology of the future—in particular cyberware and the Net, a guide to Night City and life in the free port on the California coast, and more. The history runs from the collapse of the USA in the 1990s through the Third and Fourth Corporate Wars and the Time of the Red to the arrival of an Arasaka supercarrier at Night City, the rise of David Martinez as an Edgerunner, and the clash of Militech and Arasaka forces once again in Night City. Effectively, what this does is bridge the decades between Cyberpunk RED and Cyberpunk 2077 and in doing so, provide the background for the latter, whether the reader is a player of the computer game wanting more background or a player of the roleplaying game wanting to discover what happens in the future in readiness to play either Cyberpunk 2077 or The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit. In addition, there are descriptions of the cast of characters from the animated series. However, there are no stats for them, and the pre-generated Edgerunners consist of entirely different characters. There is no doubt that fans of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners will probably be disappointed by this. That said, there are good reasons for this given the events of the animated series. Hopefully, R. Talsorian Games, Inc. will address this issue in a later release that explores the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners worlds of Cyberpunk 2077 in more detail.

The thirty-eight page ‘Rulebook’ in The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit covers everything needed to play its contents—and more. Mechanically, it uses the Interlock System. In general, for his Edgerunner to do anything, a player will roll a ten-sided die and add the Edgerunner’s Stat and Skill (or Role Ability) to the result in order to beat a Difficulty Value. This Difficulty Value is fifteen for an Everyday task, seventeen for a Professional task, twenty-one for Heroic, and so on. Dice can explode—rolls of ten— and enable a player to keep rolling and adding to his total as long as he keeps rolling ten, and they can also Implode—rolls of one—forces him to roll again and subtract from the total, but just the once. In combat, chases, and so on, the rolls tend to be opposed, both sides rolling and adding their character’s Stat and appropriate Skill. The Difficulty Value for ranged combat is determined primarily by range. The rules cover the effects of cover, armour, critical injuries, face-offs, and so on. This is little different from Cyberpunk RED, but there are major important differences which reflect the changes in technology between Cyberpunk RED and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Cyberpunk 2077.

In the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit, the big changes are to Netrunning and weapons. The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit lacks the space to devote to a complete set of rules for netrunning and hacking, but what it gives instead, is ‘Quickhacking’. This enables on the spot hacking by a Netrunner, but not just of local systems—vehicles, doors, terminals, and so on. No, with a Quickhack, a Netrunner can, from a short distance, hack the Neuroport that everyone in 2077 has fitted as standard. Once a Netrunner has managed to jack in and breach any Self-ICE that the target has had installed, he can then carry out Quickhacks like ‘Impair Movement’ to slow the target down, ‘Overheat’ to set him on fire, ‘Lure’ him to investigate another location, cause ‘Synapse Burnout’ for more damage, turn the target into a ‘Puppet’ so that he shoots himself or a colleague, or force a ‘System Reset’ so that he is temporarily unconscious. The trend with Cyberpunk roleplaying games is to put the Netrunner on the spot where the action is happening. The Quickhack rules do that and more, letting the Netrunner get inside a target’s head and mess with them and so be part of combat, but rely upon a skill that he specialises in rather than a gun. Difficulty Values are provided for all of these Quickhacks and more.

Weapons are suddenly interesting again in The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit. They were not in Cyberpunk RED. What The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit does is again, add the technology seen in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Cyberpunk 2077. Weapons can now be Power, Smart, or Tech Weapons. A Power Weapon increases the damage done by a Critical Injury and the wielder can ricochet shots off cover to hit targets that otherwise cannot be successfully hit. A Smart Weapon grants the wielder a bonus and allows the use of Smart Ammunition, which ignores penalties due to visual obscurement, plus if the shot misses, a reroll to hit is allowed, but at a much lower chance. A Tech Weapon comes with a scope and can be charged at the cost of a Move Action to make a single round capable of piercing thin cover and ignoring half of its protective value. Not only does the ‘Rulebook’ provide the means to adapt the weapons from Cyberpunk RED into Power, Smart, or Tech Weapons, it also includes weapons from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Cyberpunk 2077. These include the Militech M-10AF Lexington, the Arasaka HJKE-11 Yukimura, and others. There is also a selection of Cyberware included such as David’s Experimental Sandevistan as seen in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the Monowire and the Mantis Blade made famous by Cyberpunk 2077, and as the Gorilla Arm which enhances the user’s strength.

The ‘Rulebook’ does have a section called ‘The 2070s in Cyberpunk RED’ which gives all of the basics that the Game Master and her players need to adjust from Cyberpunk RED to The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit and Cyberpunk 2077. This includes some tweaks to the Roles to take account of resource accessibility, rules for Neuroports and Quickhacks, direct Netrunning, and potential sources of Humanity Loss other than installing Cyberware. The new arms and cyberware are listed here too. This is a thoroughly useful section, providing great support for fans of Cyberpunk RED coming to this new version and easing them mechanically into the changes.

The scenario in The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit is called ‘The Jacket’. The forty-page book and adventure is supported by a set of tokens for its NPCs and standees for the pre-generated Edgerunners. These are used with the three maps that are included in the adventure. These are double-sided and depict places such as a car park, a storage depot, a normal street, and others. They are overlaid with a 2 cm square grid, so they do feel a little tight. There is also a separate map of Night City. The pre-generated Edgerunners each have a four-page dossier with stats and skills on the front along with an illustration, descriptions of important cyberware and weapons on the inside pages and a quick breakdown of possible rolls that might be needed during play. They include a Solo, a Tech, a Fixer, a Medtech, a Netrunner, a Nomad, and a Rocker. What none of them have is any background. Part of preparing to play ‘The Jacket’ is the players getting together and rolling their Edgerunners’ Lifepaths to determine their backgrounds and connections. The scenario itself takes place after the events of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and is designed as follow up. The Edgerunners have formed their own crew and pick up a job that starts out in the Badlands just beyond the borders of Night City, and it begins with a fight outside a storage unit! The scenario is a MacGuffin hunt for something left over from the events of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and it will take the Edgerunners around various locations in Night City. Written using R. Talsorian Games, Inc.’s Beat Chart system and a breakdown of this is provided on the back of ‘The Jacket’. Full stats are provided for the NPCs as expected and there is advice throughout the whole adventure intended for the Game Master who is running her first game. There are some random encounters, an opportunity for downtime, run-in with both Arasaka and the NCPD, opportunities to make some allies, and of course, chases and gunfights. It is a good mix, the adventure is a solid affair that should provide two to three sessions’ worth of play.

Physically, The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit is well written and easy to read. The layout is clean and tidy, but it is lightly illustrated.

The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit has a lot to do—introduce fans of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners to roleplaying, fans of Cyberpunk 2077 to tabletop roleplaying, and fans of Cyberpunk RED to the period of Cyberpunk 2077—and the good news is that it does all of these and does them very well. The transition between Cyberpunk RED and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is nicely handled and the background included in The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit pleasingly serves everyone. It also pushes the story of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners on, exploring events which take place as a result of those from the animated series. All together, the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit is a well put together combination that serves all of the fans and provides a couple of sessions of entertaining and exciting gaming.

Your Shadow Scar Starter

In ages past, the Kotoamatsukami, the First Great Spirits of the Land, created the peaceful land known as Nakatsukuni. All was well in this land until the Great Mother Spirit Izanami died giving birth to the Spirit of Fire. Her husband, Izanagi, attempted to retrieve her spirit from Yomi No Kuni, the Afterlife, and appeared to have succeeded when given permission to return her by the Ruler of the Dead. Unfortunately, Izanami has been corrupted by the Ruler of the Dead, and she brought with her an army of twisted souls and horrible monsters and after corrupting the minds of the Yokai, Izanami set out to destroy reality. The peace was at an end and the war known as the Hundred Years of Sorrow was only won by a combined effort of Izanagi and the Kami. It was a victory won at great cost. Although Izanami was cast into the Void—or the Inbetween, via a Shadow Scar rent in the fabric of reality, her monstrous minions were scattered across the Mosaic, a vast array of worlds and realities that to this day remains unexplored. These Yokai continue to do the bidding of Izanami on these worlds, often served by human agents and cults, most of whom have no idea who they are serving or the true nature of reality that is the Mosaic. Whilst there a few worlds that fortunate enough to be free of Yokai, both their presence and their influence, there are many which are infected by both, and there are even more where the situation remains unknown. On Nakatsukuni, an organisation was established by the Kami to counter the threat of the Yokai. This is the Shadow Scar Agency, an order of Shinobi—or ninja clans—trained by the Six Great Clans of Shadow. Its task is to investigate potential signs of activity of both the Yokai and their human servants across the worlds of the Mosaic, stop such activities when discovered, and prevent the inhabitants of those worlds from learning about either the Yokai or the Mosaic. The Shadow Scar Agency still fights this Veil War today.

This is the set-up for Shadow Scar, a new roleplaying published by R. Talsorian, Inc., best known for Cyberpunk RED and Castle Falkenstein. It is a world/parallel Earth hopping setting across what Shadow Scar calls the Mosaic in which modern day Ninja, armed with high tech tools and magical artefacts, leap from one world to the next to defeat the Yokai and other minions of the corrupted Great Mother Spirit Izanami. The Player Characters—or Agents—are these Ninjas, members of the Shadow Scar Agency, a secret organisation dedicated to keeping reality safe. The Ninja must conduct their assignments in secrecy and ‘Maintain the Veil’, both to keep the civilian population safe and prevent any mystical monsters from learning of their presence and activities until they absolutely have to reveal both to the targets of their operations. It was introduced in Shadow Scar: Eyes in Darkness as part of Free RPG Day 2024, which provided a basic primer for the setting and rules as well as scenario to play and the Player Character Agents needed to play it. The scenario in Shadow Scar: Eyes in Darkness is a prequel to ‘The Mask of the Green Demon’, the scenario in Shadow Scar Starter Set, and although it is not necessary to play through ‘Eyes in Darkness’ in order to play ‘The Mask of the Green Demon’ and the contents of the Shadow Scar Starter Set, ‘Eyes in Darkness’ serves as a good build up to it.

The Shadow Scar Starter Set comes as a solid box containing three booklets, six pre-generated customisable Player Characters, a pair of maps and tokens to help play out the action of its scenario, and a set of Shadow Scar six-sided dice. Beside the dice, the first thing that you see upon opening the box is the ‘Welcome to Shadow Scar’ sheet. This is a sperate sheet tells the reader what to expect from the roleplaying game and starter, that the Player Characters will learn the ways of Ninjitsu, assassinate deadly foes, foil complicated plots, work with powerful factions, explore the Mosaic, and hunt down rogue agents, and tells the player where to go next. On the back is a glossary. Altogether, this primes the player up, ready to learn to play, and the Storyteller ready to learn to run Shadow Scar.

The first of the three books in the Shadow Scar Starter Set is the twenty-eight page ‘World Lore’ booklet. This introduces Shadow Scar Agency and expands on the on-going Veil War as well as explaining the nature of the Mosaic and the Utsushiyo and the Kakuriyo. The former is the Unveiled or Material World, whilst the latter is the Unseen or Spirit World. To most mortals, the Kakuriyo, home to spirits, Kami, and even spirits that fail to pass and become monsters, is inaccessible although it does mirror the Utsushiyo in an exaggerated way. Every world has its own Utsushiyo and Kakuriyo, but the Kami can traverse between the Kakuriyo of one world and the Kakuriyo of another. Some mortals can see into the Kakuriyo and sometimes monsters and dangers can find their way out of it. The Mosaic itself is described in broad detail, but the accompanying shows the rough relationships between just a few of the worlds within it and the links between them. Several of these worlds are described in some detail. These include the primary base of operations for the Shadow Scar Agency, Nakatsukuni, which remains an archipelago of islands—many floating—shattered by the war against Izanami and her minions. The others include ‘Steel Court’, a Grand Victorian Empire in which the Stewart Steam Turbine Engine has powered fantastical industrialisation and inventions even as revolt foments the Empire’s ‘Protectorates’; ‘5th Street’, an early twentieth century world recovering from the Great War that would seem to be utterly mundane except the masked vigilantes on the rooftops and the racial inventors working in their workshops; and ‘Refuge’, a world so blighted by the Yokai that humanity has been forced to retreat to a Lunar Colony and massive station orbiting the moon. All three locations will be visited as part of the scenario included in Shadow Scar: Eyes in Darkness. Thumbnail descriptions are given for the three worlds as well as the Shadow Scar Agency and the six Shinobi clans. These consist of the war at any cost Arashi Clan; the spiritualist Futsumashi working to pull the world back into balance; the fire-using Hibana; the espionage-focused Kuromaku; the Tantei clan which works to free Yokai from Izanami’s grasp; and the Yokai-hunting Wanami clan. These are not the only organisations detailed in ‘World Lore’. ‘The Hollow Eye Syndicate’ is a secret criminal organisation that offer a refuge to ‘nukenin’, those missing ninja who have left the Shadow Scar Agency. The Shadow Scar Agency takes a very dim view of the ‘nukenin’. Lastly, there are some details of the Yokai.

The forty-eight-page ‘System’ book is both a rules book and a bestiary for Shadow Scar. First, it breaks down a Player Character, which has three attributes, Mind, Body, and Spirit, rated between one and five. Each attribute has six associated skills, each of which is rated between one and three. He has Techniques, Mikkyo, and Quirks. Techniques are special abilities, such as ‘Nimble & Quick’, which increases an Agent’s speed, whilst Mikkyo are secret techniques taught by the shinobi clans which require an Agent to expend Ki to trigger, such as ‘Duplicates’ which enables the caster to create silent duplicates himself that he can control.

Mechanically, Shadow Scar is a dice pool system that uses six-sided dice. Every roll of a three or more is a success, whilst a roll of six is equal to two successes. If the number of successes is equal to or greater than the Difficulty Value, the task is successful. An average task has a Task Difficulty of two, Challenging has a Task Difficulty of three, Difficult has a Task Difficulty of four, and so on. Bonuses and penalties adjust the number of dice a player has to roll. To reflect that the world of Shadow Scar is pulled in two directions by different forces of nature, an Agent has access to ‘Inyo’—Japanese for Yingyang. If an Agent fails a task by a single Success, he can call upon the power of ‘Inyo’ to gain that much-needed Success. Or he can use to inflict an additional three points of damage upon a target. However, when the Agent draws upon the power of Inyo, he draws only upon one side. In response, the other side draws back and the Storyteller can draws upon the Agent’s Inyo to make him fail a task by one Success or have an enemy inflict three extra damage on the Agent. Once that has happened, the Agent has access to Inyo again. Essentially, the fortunes of each Agent swings back and forth quite literally.

Combat is an extension of the rules, with Initiative Order being determined by an Awareness Check. During a turn, each Agent can conduct two actions. Some fifteen possible actions are detailed as are the conditions and hazards that they might suffer. The hazards covered include environmental, mechanical, and magical. When an Agent is reduced to three points of Vitality or less, he suffers the Grievously Wounded Condition, and when his Vitality is reduced to zero, in combat, he can either be killed or knocked out. The latter reduces his Vitality to one rather than zero. If an Agent’s Vitality is reduced to zero or less, it is possible to become a Wandering Spirit, but an Agent equipped with a Spirit Lantern can collect and protect a Wandering Spirit. At the end of a mission, if the other Agents return with a dead Agent’s body and his Wandering Spirit in a Spirit Lantern, the Agent can be resurrected. Otherwise, a new body has to be created.

Over half of the ‘System’ book is devoted to a ‘Rogues Gallery’. This describes some sixteen or so creatures. There is a good mix of the mundane and the monstrous to the book, all of which appears in the ‘The Mask of the Green Demon’ scenario.

The six pre-generated Player Characters in the Shadow Scar Starter Set come from each of the six clans who contribute to the Shadowscar Agency. Each is done in full colour and as a folder. Each comes with an illustration, background, and history of the Player Character, full stats and abilities, and options for improving the character over the course of the adventure. It also includes a set of bullet points suggesting why a player might choose to roleplay a particular character.

The longest of three books in the Shadow Scar Starter Set is ‘The Mask of the Green Demon’. It is ideally run as a sequel to ‘Eyes in Darkness’ from Shadow Scar: Eyes in Darkness as that already gets the players and their characters involved in the scenario. Of course, it need not be, and either way, the scenario opens with the Player Characters being introduced to a fellow member of the Shadow Scar Agency prior to the briefing. This Agent Jasmine Gamble, who has been investigating a notorious Yokai and crime lord, Green Demon, whose activities and network spreads across the four known worlds that the Shadow Scar Agency has ready access to and is suspected to spread into others unknown. Her work has greatly been enhanced by a notebook that Agents recently uncovered (this is mission is detailed in ‘Eyes in Darkness’) and she has begun to decode. Her notes so far point to a Green Demon operative working in a pleasure quarter on one of the floating islands of Nakatsukuni. This set-up scene is designed to introduce Agent Gamble as she plays an important role in ‘The Mask of the Green Demon’ and ideally the Player Characters should come to like her. This needs a careful portrayal by the Storyteller to make her as likeable as she is written and to build up a relationship between her and the Player Characters.

The missions in ‘The Mask of the Green Demon’ will take the Player Characters from a pleasure house in Nakatsukuni where tensions between a pretentiously arrogant noble scion, the staff, and other patrons, helped by a mischievous kami, get in the way of capturing the target Green Demon operative all the way to Refuge in Lunar orbit where they have an opportunity to capture one of the Green Demon’s most loyal lieutenants before he is assassinated! In between, they must travel to an abandoned island infested with venomous ghost centipedes left over from the Hundred Years of Sorrow; investigate Green Demon activities on Steel Court only to discover that the Green Demon has been investigating them; and dive into an ancient, submerged, and of course, puzzle and death trap-filled Olmec temple in the Gulf of Mexico in 5th Street, which holds a magical artefact said to give access to the Hollow Earth.

‘The Mask of the Green Demon’ is a fun exciting adventure, with a good mix of action and intrigue, that also showcases both the different worlds of the Mosaic and some of the history of the roleplaying game’s setting. It also hints—just a very little—at how ruthless the Shadow Scar Agency can be. The adventure is designed to be played through in roughly five to six sessions and make use of the tokens and maps included in the box. Notably, the booklet does begin with some excellent advice for the Storyteller on how to run Shadow Scar and ‘The Mask of the Green Demon’. Much of it will be obvious to experienced Storytellers, but it is still worth reading and it is good advice for anyone running Shadow Scar Starter Set as her first game. However, what the Shadow Scar Starter Set does not do is give any advice for the players. The Storyteller has her role explained, is given tips, and then advised on how to run Shadow Scar. There is no similar advice for the player, except for the ‘Welcome to Shadow Scar’ sheet at the top of the box, which does not do as good a job.

Rounding out the Shadow Scar Starter Set is a set of maps. There are four of these, depicting various locations in the scenario. Using in conjunction with the two sheets of tokens, these are bright and colourful, done by Loke BattleMats, which previously created The Big Book of Cyberpunk Battle Mats for use with Cyberpunk RED. Lastly, there is also a ‘Reference Sheet’, which includes rules for everything up to and including the assassination manoeuvre, and ‘The Armoury’, a sheet of traits, gear details, and information about artefacts that will play a role in the adventure.

Physically, the Shadow Scar Starter Set is an attractive product with a pleasing heft and sturdiness. All three books are on thick paper and all have card covers. Similarly, the maps and tokens have a good physical presence. The artwork is excellent throughout, having an anime style that reflects the genre of the Shadow Scar setting. Particularly attractive is the piece showing players sat round playing the game itself, but there is also plenty of artwork show different scenes across the Mosaic as well. However, the Shadow Scar Starter Set does need a further edit as it feels slightly rushed in places.

Shadow Scar is both a spy and a ninja roleplaying game, a sidebar for the Storyteller noting that it is inspired by the anime series Demon Slayer and Naruto as much as it is the James Bond and Men in Black films. Mix in martial arts, magic, and the supernatural and it offers a stealth and action orientated genre mashup—all of which is on show in the Shadow Scar Starter Set. The result is that the Shadow Scar Starter Set is a very well presented, fun and exciting introduction to the Shadow Scar setting and roleplaying game.

An Interrupted Party

The Stolen Child is a short, one session scenario for Castle Falkenstein, the roleplaying game of manners and magic, faeries and fabulative fiction, action and adventure all set in an alternate nineteenth century in which Bayern (or Bavaria) leads a Second Concordant against an alliance between Baron Otto von Bismarck, the Iron Chancellor, and the Unseelie Court, the presence of Dragons and Faeries is commonplace, Prussia has failed to unite the Germanies, steampunk technology is being adopted everywhere, and fact meets fiction and fiction meets fact. Published by R. Talsorian Games, Castle Falkenstein is a highly regarded roleplaying classic that is as polite and as well-mannered a roleplaying game as ever you would want. It is not even so gauche as to use dice for its mechanics! Published by Az AVU Emberei and translated from the original Hungarian, The Stolen Child is easy to add an ongoing campaign or even use as a demonstration scenario.

In The Stolen Child, the Player Characters are invited to the birthday party of Rudolf von Dunkelberg, the son of Prince Johann of Dunkelberg, a principality so small that it can barely be found on the map. However, following an English education and training as an army officer, Rudolf von Dunkelberg has made a name for himself as a loyal and stalwart companion of the Player Characters. Hence, they are invited to his birthday party. They arrive on the day of the birthday ball—the principality being so small it does not have a railway station for its one town, also called Dunkelberg. An early morning stroll in one of the town’s parks throws them straight into the action en media res! A woman’s scream alerts them to the perfidious kidnap attempt of herself and a small boy by three men with scarves wrapped around their faces. The kidnappers make every attempt to kidnap the boy at least—and if they fail, will try again. The authorities do not seem to want to help and if the Player Characters rescue the woman, if not both the woman and the boy, she will be thankful, but initially quite close-lipped about who their kidnappers were and what they want.

Ideally, what should happen is that the boy be kidnapped and the Player Characters rescue the woman, who it turns, is his mother. After the local soldiery arrives to conduct a surprisingly cursory investigation, the woman will reveal that she is actually Irene von Drachenfels, the boy is her son, Hans, and her husband is Major August von Drachenfels, a Prussian armoured officer who is disillusioned with Bismarck’s regime and wants to escape Prussia. Of course, should he manage to defect, von Drachenfels’ knowledge of the LandFortress Works and his experience as a commander of a LandFortress, will provide Bayern and the Second Compact, with a wealth of knowledge about the Prussian military. Understandably, the Iron Chancellor does not want Major August von Drachenfels to what is effectively defect to the enemy and has despatched his own agents willing to doing anything to prevent that, including kidnapping the major’s wife and son.

Unfortunately, the scenario does have an issue in how the Player Characters get from the kidnapping scene to the next scene, no matter whether both the woman and the boy are kidnapped or just the boy. It is possible to chase the automotive vehicle that the kidnappers escape in all the way to a seemingly abandoned shoe shop at the foot of Dunkelberg mountain, but this really requires that one of the Player Characters be a Dragon and thus able to fly. If the Player Characters manage to capture one of the kidnappers, they can interrogate him or find some clues from the contents of his pockets. However, if this is not the case or if the Player Characters fail to foil the kidnap attempt, what should ideally happen is that one of the kidnappers should accidentally drop a key to the door of the shoe shop and since that has the name of the shop on it, should help get the Player Characters to the next part of the scenario.

The town of Dunkelberg and thus the shoe shop abutt the base of Dunkelberg mountain, itself famous for its mines now abandoned. The Player Characters find themselves in a case, running after the kidnappers as they run pell-mell through the mine. Their progress is potentially hampered by a Knocker Faerie who distrusts any intruders, especially after his run in with the Prussian agents. How well the Player Characters do in persuading the Knocker that they are not his enemy greatly influences the amount of time they have left when they confront the Prussians and hopefully rescue the kidnap victims.

Physically, The Stolen Child is simply presented, although there are some nice flourishes around the borders. There are a couple of pieces of period art and it is a pity as there is not more of it as adventure feels plain without more. It does need an edit in places and it does feel as if it is rushed towards the end. More information about the town of Dunkelberg would have been useful if the Player Characters deviate from the linear story of The Stolen Child, as well as extending the usefulness of the supplement. 

The Stolen Child is a simple affair. It does feel underdeveloped, or at least, not as clearly explained as it should be, though with careful preparation by the Game Master this should not be a problem. Overall, The Stolen Child is best suited as pick-up or filler scenario that the Game Master can easily slot into her campaign between longer adventures.

1994: Castle Falkenstein

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

—oOo—

It is 1870 and the war has been won these past four years. The Battle of Königsgrätz is over. The Second Compact, an alliance of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, Sir Richard Frances Burton, Lord Kelvin, the Seelie Court led by Lord Auberon, Science Minister Jules Verne of France, the Templars and the Freemasons, led by King Ludwig of Bayern and Bayernese Aeronavy has stopped the conquest of all the Germanies by Otto von Bismarck, the Iron Chancellor of Prussia and his mighty Landfortresses, and a secret alliance of the Unseelie Host and the Steam Lords of Great Britain with their Babbage Engines. There have been many adventures since as a cold war descended upon New Europa and Bismarck, licking his wounds in Berlin, sought to reunite all of the continent, using whatever underhand means he could. He is yet to succeed though, and so there are plots to be uncovered and treachery to be foiled, as well as romances to be had, places to visit, balls to attend, duels to be fought, and adventures to take far and wide.

This then is the setting for Castle Falkenstein: High Adventures in the Steam Age, a roleplaying game of high fantasy, swashbuckling action, manners and magic, Wagnerian myth, Victorian melodrama, Anachrotech developed from the Lost Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, faerie, and fiction, that would win both the 1994 Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Rules and the Nigel D. Findley Memorial Award for the Best Role-Playing Product of 1995. Published by R. Talsorian Games, Inc., it was then a radical departure that contrasted sharpy with prevailing trends in roleplaying at the time and it was also a conceit. The early nineties were dominated in roleplaying terms by the World of Darkness series of roleplaying games published by White Wolf, such as Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and Mage: The Ascension, horror games that tended towards darkness and introspection. Castle Falkenstein did not. It was bright, exciting, and optimistic. It was also colourful—quite literally. In another departure from the then norm, Castle Falkenstein was in full colour—or at least half of it was—that presented the world of New Europa in a richly painted vibrancy that was startlingly different. The other difference between Castle Falkenstein and other roleplaying games was mechanical. It used an ordinary deck of playing cards rather than dice, because well, cards are more civilised than dice!

The conceit was that the world of New Europa, with its sorcery and faerie, Anachrotech and Babbage Engines, vile villains, dashing heroes and heroines, was real. An alternate universe into which computer game designer, Tom Olam, is kidnapped—or ‘spellnapped’—by Lord Auberon as a secret weapon to help restore Crown Prince Ludwig of Bayern to the throne, and once he finds his place in Bayern, the equivalent of Bavaria in our world, located at the end of the Inner Sea which splits much of New Europa, goes on to serve the newly restored King Ludwig the Second, the definitely not ‘mad king’, and has lots of adventures. He also finds time to introduce a roleplaying game to the aristocracy and write a cross between a novel and diary and that is what lands at the doorstep of designer Mike Pondsmith. The other conceit is that New Europa is a world where fiction meets fact. Sherlock Holmes attends concerts with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jules Verne is Science Minister of France even as Robur the Conqueror has designs upon the whole world, and Rudolf V needs rescuing in neighbouring Ruritania! This is a world where it is possible to encounter Captain Sir Harry Flashman, VC, Count Dracula, Lady Ada Lovelace, Captain John Carter, Charles Dickens, Lola Montez, the Time Traveller, and Mark Twain. In the roleplaying game, Tom Olam even describes New Europa as being, “one part Lord of the Rings and two parts Jules Verne science fiction, with a little Prisoner of Zenda thrown in for good measure”.

Castle Falkenstein was upfront about the divide in terms of organisation of the book, with the world and its background presented first in colour, followed by the rules and mechanics of the roleplaying game on the parchment-style pages of the section that followed. It said, “The best way to think of Castle Falkenstein is as a novel that allows you to write your own sequels.” Which made sense, because the means to create those sequels came after the fiction of the setting. That fiction is not so much a novel as a cross between a journal and diary in which Tom Olam relates his experiences and then describes the wider world. Since it is written as a journal, we are introduced to Tom’s situation as he experiences the world, from his immediate arrival after his ‘spellnapping’ through to the aftermath of the Battle of Königsgrätz. In between we are introduced the Lord Auberon and the Wizard, Morrolan, who cast the spell; Castle Falkenstein itself, even more fantastic castle than Neuschwanstein Castle, and Bayern beyond its walls; the companions to be in his adventures to come, including Rhyme, a mad scientist Dwarf; and the threats faced by Bayern in the form of Bismarck and the Unseelie Court allies, led by ‘The Adversary’. Castle Falkenstein does not ignore the wider world and there are some interesting divergences here such as America being divided into three nations—the USA, where sorcery saved the life of Abraham Lincoln, the Twenty Nations Confederation which formed and stopped expansion westward by the white man in 1830, and what was once California, Nevada, Washington, and Oregon are now the Bear Flag Empire ruled by the benevolent, but probably potty Emperor Norton the First. The Ottoman Empire remains the ‘sick man of New Europe’, ruled by a crafty, if insane Sultan and various sorcerously powerful Viziers, whilst China is ruled by the First Dragon Emperors, who are actually dragons! Tom also tells about some of the people he has met and places he has been, some of the Masterminds threatening the world, from Captain Nemo and Doctor Manchu to The Invisible Man and Count Iglio Cagliostro, and many of the ingenious Steamtech devices being invented in New Europa and beyond. These are three types—‘Anachrotech’ consists of Victorian versions of twentieth century devices; ‘Gadgetech’ are everyday items adapted to be powered by steam; and Infernal Devices are typically weapons, vehicles, automata, formulations, and the like, the unique creations of Mad Scientists and evil Masterminds. The Steam Age was not only in full power well before Tom Olam arrived in New Europa, the resulting devices and gadgets were more widespread and progress had been enhanced by Dwarven engineering. Access to the Lost Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci would speed it up further as well as enable Bayern to create an Aeronavy to defend itself.

Although Castle Falkenstein does not stint of the details of the weird and wonderful things to be found in New Europa, including information about the Dwarves, such as their being embarrassed about their ducks’ feet, and all the types of faerie that the adventurers might encounter, it also takes the time inform the lady or gentleman reader about the mores of polite Victorian society. This includes dressing the part, common phrases and manner of speaking, society and manners, the social order—noting that women of this ‘Neo-Victorian Age’ are emancipated, and good manners, virtue, and honour are not enough, then the etiquette of the duel. In Tom Olam’s journal, Castle Falkenstein presents a wealth of background and detail, all of it interesting, useful, and rich in flavour. What is also very good is the way in which the information is presented, all of it in quite short essays. So easily digestible, but at the same giving the Host—as the Game Master is known in Castle Falkenstein—and player alike, enough information without immediately needing another supplement. Of course, other supplements did follow, but as a rulebook, Castle Falkenstein: High Adventure in the Steam Age feels complete.

The second half of Castle Falkenstein: High Adventure in the Steam Age is titled ‘High Adventure in the Steam Age: The Great Game’. This is the roleplaying game itself, devised in what is the third conceit in Castle Falkenstein, by Tom Olam with the assistance of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and King Ludwig the Second. The aim is to present an authentic Victorian Adventure Entertainment, for each player will have his own Dramatic Character and the company will need two decks of ordinary playing cards, ideally of two different colours. One is the Fortune Deck used to determine Fate’s influence during play, whilst the Sorcery Deck does the same for magic in ‘The Great Game’. What is not needed are character sheets, or rather it is suggested that each player keep a Diary for his Dramatic Character. Not only will it be used to record the story of the Dramatic Character’s adventures, but also Offstage activities between Entertainments—as Castle Falkenstein calls adventures—and personal goals, and so on. There is good advice for the Host on running the game and the various aspects she should ideally be drawing from Victorian melodramatic fiction—fiendish plots, insidious peril, imprisonment rather than the villain killing the heroes outright, ladies being menaced by a fate worse than death, and also the archetypes to be used as members of the supporting cast. These are categorised as either Heroes, Heroines, or Villains. A Hero is either a Heroic Hero, a Tragic Hero, or a Flawed Hero, whilst a Heroine is The Innocent Heroine, The Clever Heroine, the Tragic Heroine, or the Fallen Heroine. The Villain is either Honourable or Dishonourable. The descriptions include a good example each, such as Harry Flashman as a Flawed Hero and Irene Adler as a Clever Heroine. Add to this an array of supporting cast and the Host has a good choice of archetypes to choose from when it comes creating and portraying her cast.

The Dramatic Characters of the players will either be Heroes or Heroines. Various archetypes are suggested, including the obvious Adventuress, Consulting Detective, Dashing Hussar, Explorer, Gentleman Thief, Journalist, and Writer. Less obvious are the Anarchist, Mad Scientist, and Mastermind, whilst the Brownie, Dwarf Craftsman, Faerie Lord or Lady, Pixie, and Wizard are particular to the world of New Europa. Each suggests the Suits they are strong in, such as Fencing, Marksmanship, and Fencing for the Adventuress, plus possessions, what in their diary, and why they are involved in the Entertainment. If a Brownie, Faerie Lord or Lady, or Pixie, the Dramatic Character has a Faerie Power, such as Enchantment Faerie Lord or Lady and Love Charm for the Pixie. A Dramatic Character has several Abilities, which can be skills and different aspects of the Dramatic Character. They include Athletics, Charisma, Comeliness, Connections, Courage, Fencing, Fisticuffs, Social Graces, Tinkering, and more. Faerie have Etherealness and Kindred Powers, the first their ability to change shape or walk through walls, the latter their innate ability. Each Faerie also has very limited Sorcery, and it is also available to Wizards. A rating in an ability can either be Poor, Average, Good, Great, Exceptional, or Extraordinary. Each ability falls into one of the four suits from an ordinary deck of playing cards and when cards drawn from the Fortune Deck match the ability suit, a bonus is gained.

To create a Dramatic Character, a player selects an archetype, and then chooses one Ability he is Great at, four he is Good at, and one he is Poor at. He also answers a lot of questions about who the Dramatic Character is, filling in background and also deciding upon ambitions. Most Dramatic Characters will be men and women of good character, but some are also Dragons, Dwarves and Faeries. In their natural form, a Dragon is large, but fragile, being designed for flight, and naturally knows the spell Firecast, but it costs Health to cast. It is also exhausting for the Dragon to switch between his Human and natural forms. A Dwarf is immune to fire and highly resistant to magic, can only be male (Dwarves mate with other Faerie), gain a bonus to Tinkering when working metal, and begin play without a name. Earning a name is an important motivation for a Dwarf. A Faerie is subject to the Rule of Iron and iron and steel can irritate or even hurt him, and although cannot use Sorcerer, will have an innate ability according to the Faerie type.

Mrs. Harold McKinnon

Demimondaine

Abilities: Charisma [GR] • Comeliness [GD] • Connections [GD] • Courage [GD] • Fencing [AV] • Perception [AV] • Physique [PR] •Social Graces [GD]

Health 5 pts

Mechanically, Castle Falkenstein: High Adventure in the Steam Age uses a Fortune Deck, represented by an ordinary deck of playing cards. The players share one, whilst the Host has one of her own for the actions of her villains and other members of the supporting. To have his Dramatic Character undertake a Heroic Feat, all a player has to do is compare the difficulty of the task with the Ability required. If it is equal to, or greater than the difficulty of the task, the Dramatic Character at least partially succeeds. For example, to sway a mob requires a Charisma of Great, whilst leaping a yawning chasm of an Athletics of Good. Thus, Mrs. Harold McKinnon, with her Charisma of Great will sway the mob, but with an Athletics that is just Average—the default for any skills not selected—will need to rely upon the cards from the Fortune Deck to succeed or do better.

The cards have a face and a suit. The numbered cards have their straight value, whilst a Jack has a value of eleven, a Queen a value of twelve, a King a value of thirteen, and an Ace a value of fourteen. A Joker is worth fifteen points and when played, the player gets to choose the suit for that action. Similarly, the Ability Ratings also have a value, ranging from two for Poor and four for Average to ten for Exceptional and twelve for Extraordinary. The aim is to ensure that the combined value of the cards played and the Ability is equal to, or greater than, the difficulty of the Heroic Feat. A player has four cards in his hand and can play as many cards as he wants. However, if the suit of a card played does not match the suit of the Heroic Feat, it is only worth a single point, but if it does match, then the full value is used. The Clubs suit is for physical actions, the Diamonds suit is for mental and intellectual activities, the Hearts suit covers emotional and romantic feats, and Spades suit is used for social and status-related situations. The comparison of the total value of the Dramatic Character’s Ability and the cards played will determine how well the Dramatic Character. Results include Fumble, Failure, Partial Success, Full Success, and High Success. The total needs to be equal to the value of the Heroic Feat for the Dramatic Character to gain a Partial Success, equal to half the value of the Heroic Feat again for it to be a Total Success, and so on.

Combat is an extension of this, using either the Fencing, Fisticuffs, or Marksmanship Abilities, and are played out as contests with the quality of the outcome determining the amount of damage inflicted. The rules for duelling are more complex and do take some getting used to in comparison to the standard rules. Duels are fought over several Rounds with each Round consisting of three Exchanges, each Exchange a single clash of blades. Each duellist has a hand of six cards—two black, two red, and two face cards. Black cards are used for defence, red cards for attacks, and face cards for rests. On an Exchange, each duellist selects and plays two cards and both cards are compared. A defence card will automatically stop an attack card, but a rest card will not. So, there is tension built into duels as each participant knows what cards the other has played and it can get quite tactical and even cinematic once the terrain is taken into account. There is a good example of a duel to help the Host grasp the rules.

Combat does scale up once the great war machines come into play. For the most part it will be kept personal, and one way in which it is kept personal is no killing blows. The Dramatic Characters are by nature heroes and heroines and do not simply engage in wanton killing. Thus, in combat a Dramatic Character will wound someone or knock him unconscious, but not kill. Killing someone is a deliberate act and the intent has to be clearly stated rather than being accidental.

Sorcery requires an Ability of at least Good to cast spells. A spell can either be researched or learned at a magical college or society, and every spell has a Thaumic Energy Requirement. This is fulfilled by drawing cards from the Sorcery Deck, which represents the amount of Thaumic energy in the surrounding area. The Sorcery Deck can be depleted, indicating that all of the Thaumic energy is also depleted, but when a spell’s Thaumic Energy Requirement is met it can be cast. This works like a standard Heroic Feat, the difficulty set by the spell itself. Spells have aspects, which match the suits in the Sorcery Deck—Clubs for elemental magic, Diamonds for material magic, Hearts for emotional and mental magic, and Spades for spiritual and dimensional magic. There are guidelines too for magical artefacts and sorcerous duels. Lastly, there are rules for inventing and building Steamtech devices, a short adventure, some scenario hooks, and a bibliography.

Physically, Castle Falkenstein: High Adventure in the Steam Age is a book of two halves. It is well written and an engaging read, but the appearance of the two halves differs radically. The first half, the background, is gorgeous. In 1994 it looked amazing and it still looks good today. The second half, the rules section, works as a notebook, but is plain and even unattractive. It could also be better organised, so that the various sections are not interrupted by advice for the Host.

—oOo—

Castle Falkenstein: High Adventure in the Steam Age was reviewed by E. Ken Fox in ‘Closer Look: Reviews of Games and Related Products’ in Shadis Issue #116 (November/December 1994). He was highly complimentary, starting by calling it, “… [O]ne of the most exciting games in the industry today” and praising the look of the book, “With its incredible artwork and layout the book fairly transports you into the realms of the world, while not taking away from the exchange of information. While some may find it difficult working within the boundaries of this format. I personally find it an exhilarating change to what has become the Standard Format.” Finally, he concluded by describing it as a “A sure-fire system with a fantastic world of adventure: isn't that just what we all have been looking for?”

As a ‘Pyramid Pick’ in Pyramid Number 10 (November/December ’94), Scott Haring was equally as praiseworthy of Castle Falkenstein, saying, “This is not a game of sullen anti-heroes, angst and moral dilemmas; this is a grand game of world-spanning plots, pure heroes and diabolical villains. [Designer Mike] Pondsmith has done a great job of setting the stage for grand dramatic battles between good and evil without once letting it descend into melodrama or parody. This is a game that believes in itself and its premise 100%, but without drowning in pretentiousness or self-importance.” His conclusion was that, “Castle Falkenstein is a breath of fresh air in roleplaying, a game where real heroes matter and don’t have to apologize. The book is physically gorgeous, the game mechanics fit the tone of the game world like a glove, the writing is wonderful, and the game world is enchanting.”

In the issue’s ‘Feature Review’ of Castle Falkenstein in White Wolf Inphobia #51 (January 1995), Rich Warren asked, “It’s high adventure in the Victorian age with a mixture of magic and technology. They’ve all been tried before, so what makes them work now?” He awarded the roleplaying game four out of five and said, “The game’s mechanics are simple but unique; it can take a while to adjust.”

In Dragon No. 214 (February 1995), in ‘When dungeons won’t do; Alternative fantasy RPGs’ for ‘Role-Playing Reviews’, Rick Swan reviewed Castle Falkenstein alongside ARIA and the ARIA Worlds Book, awarding a rating of six out of six and stating that with Castle Falkenstein that, “… [T]his is about as good as it gets.” He described the setting of the roleplaying game by saying that “… [T]is isn’t Victorian London per se, but an alternative reality that’s one part fact, ten parts fun house; it’s as if Pondsmith tossed a history text, a copy of Alice in Wonderland, and a Monty Python video cassette into a blender. New Europa, the game world, is a crazy quilt of steam-age technology and social anarchy.”

Castle Falkenstein: High Adventure in the Steam Age was voted in at number forty-five in ‘The Top 50 Roleplaying Games’ in Arcane Issue 14 (December 1996). Editor Paul Pettengale said, “Castle Falkenstein is one of those games that people tend to either love or hate. It has a unique atmosphere, combining alternate history, Celtic mythology, steampunk and a somewhat whimsical, fairy-tale feel. Likewise, the rulebook itself is quite different from many, being laid out as a novel, with important information pulled out in sidebars, and the rules coming later. This reflects the main thrust of the system, which is heavily geared towards roleplaying and storytelling over game mechanics and numbers, and drops dice in favour of a couple of packs of playing cards.”

—oOo—

Castle Falkenstein: High Adventures in the Steam Age is a marvel of its age—optimistic, fun, and exciting—and like any classic, it still stands up not just as a superb design, but an innovative one as well. Its choice of mechanics are not only civilised, but they give a player choice and agency as to his Dramatic Character’s actions too. Above all, Castle Falkenstein: High Adventures in the Steam Age is a tremendous fabulation of fantastic Victorian fiction, Ruritanian romance, and swashbuckling Steam Age action.