Welcome to another collection of Mini-Reviews here on Flames Rising!

This week we are going to focus on some of the cool products published by some of the sponsors of the “Favorite Horror Game Contest” and the creative games they have released. Next week will be a few more of sponsors’ products. Including amazing art and funny cards.

So sit back and enjoy this collection of zombies, cannibals, strange creatures and nightmare cities…

Noumenon

Noumenon is a role-playing game of mystery and abstraction. Players assume the roles of the Sarcophagi, strange insect-like creatures trapped within the Silhouette Rouge. During their adventures, players will encounter bizarre entities and explore strange locations. The Silhouette Rouge, Noumenon’s setting, is detailed enough to spark the imagination yet open enough to allow customization. In Noumenon, player cooperation is key. Noumenon uses a domino-based task resolution system that enables players to build upon each other’s successes.

Transcendence or damnation? The Silhouette Rouge beckons.

Noumenon is a bit of a strange game from Abstract Nova. Admittedly, I didn’t like it much at first. It was just too weird, with all of the different setting elements, odd design and dominoes?

Then, I read the book again and played a short demo. Noumenon is a game about a mystery, solving the mystery is only part of the fun, exploring the Silhouette Rouge is an adventure on its own. There is a free preview -here- that allows you to take a peek into the game. Full of cool and strange art from Jennifer Rodgers, Eric Lofgren and others…Noumenon is one of the oddest, coolest and best games I’ve seen in a long time.

Noumenon is available at Key20.com

Shadow Nations

The world has ended.

Humanity continues in its death throes. Pockets of civilization fight to regain control, taking land and power away from Daemons and nightmares.

It is the year 2299. Europe.

God’s chosen soldiers fight to loosen Hell’s grip, battling kultist minions and daemonic half-breeds. Both ancient and the naive struggle in the battle to control the Earth plane. The Roman Army and the Vatican have joined forces to regain command over the European nations. Unfortunately, corruption spreads deeps, and the other nations pledge allegiance only to themselves.

I’ve been playing Obsidian for years. A great blend of Sci-Fi and Horror gaming with potential for characters to get mixed up in just about any kind of plot you can imagine. I explored the Wastelands, wrote a LARP version of the main book and helped playtest a few products over the years.

Shadow Nations takes Obsidian and jumps to a new setting. Fans of the game finally get to explore Europe and see what happened after the portals opened. Some of my favorite elements of the previous game make the cut, others have been replaced with new character options and plenty of twisted details. The Mystics in particular have been hanged in new and interesting ways. There is a ton of potential for long-term campaigns (assuming your characters live that long). This new book from Apophis Consortium is full of stunning artwork and is a great read, the story elements alone are worth the investment.

Shadow Nations is available at RPGNow.com

Cannibal Sector 1

A Tide of Darkness

A Realm without Light

The Failure of SLA Industries

Outside the walls of Mort city is an environment that nothing should be able to survive in and yet it does, from the cannibals and carrien, to the manchines and the scavs, some of the greatest threats to SLA industries lie just outside its walls.

The latest book for SLA industries covers all the things that operatives are likely to find within CS1, the most dangerous of all the sectors.

A setting book for SLA Industries from Cubicle 7 Entertainment, CS1 is full of new material to keep things interesting. I picked this book up at GenCon last year, but honestly had not been able to sit down and read it for a while. That was a mistake. CS1 is a creepy sourcebook with all kinds of messed up locations, cannibal clans, great advice on running a horror game and other nasties to keep your game going.

Cannibal Sector 1 is available at RPGNow.com

All Tomorrow’s Zombies

“My God, these things are dead! They’re already dead!”

Noise erupted directly into Jamie’s brain from every channel of her transmitter-a cacophony of blaster fire squeals, frantic cries of terror, and inhuman groans. She screamed one name after the other into her comlink, to no avail. Suddenly, just behind, rose a wet smack. It was right on top of her . . .

Welcome to flesh-eating sci-fi. It doesn’t get more intense than this!

All Tomorrow’s Zombies is a supplement for the All Flesh Must Be Eaten roleplaying game, adding the undead to various styles of science fiction, and featuring the most dangerous zombies ever!

The long-awaited Sci-Fi book for AFMBE from Eden Studios, ATZ is full of new and updated material for the Unisystem. Information on Cybernetics, Psionics, Starships and plenty of advice on building and running your own Sci-fi settings. ATZ also offers up some ready-to-play Deadworlds with new Archetypes and lots of zombies. I combined some of the material presented in ATZ with the Spacefarers & Prairie Folk section of ESP #1 for game based on a certain short-lived show by Joss Whedon.

All Tomorrow’s Zombies is available at RPGNow.com

Don’t Rest Your Head

You can’t sleep. It started like that for all of us, back when we were garden variety insomniacs. Maybe you had nightmares (God knows we all do now), or maybe you just had problems that wouldn’t let you sleep. Hell, maybe you were just over-caffienated. But then something clicked.

That was when you took a long walk down the streets of the Mad City, stopped being a Sleeper, and started being Awake. But that click you heard wasn’t from the secret world snapping into place. It was the sound of the Nightmares flicking off the safety and pointing a gun at your head.

They can smell you. The Paper Boys are closing in, and you’d better pray you don’t become a headline. You’re chum in the water, my friend, and it’s time you got ready for it… before the clock chimes thirteen again. Now that you’re one of us, there’s just one simple rule left that must dominate your life.

Stay Awake. Don’t Rest Your Head.

A game about insomnia…something I happen to know a little about.

Don’t Rest Your Head from Evil Hat Productions has quickly become one of my all-time favorite horror games. The Mad City is a great setting with plenty of Nightmares and locations to explore (my favorite being the Bizarre Bazaar). I always think of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere when exploring Don’t Rest Your Head because of the strange locations, odd personalities and almost-but-not-quite reality feel of the setting. (and Neverwhere is listed as a source of inspiration).

Don’t Rest Your Head is available at RPGNow.com

Dousing the fire…

This Contest Edition of the Flash Fire Mini-Reviews has come to a close. Some of my favorite Horror & Dark Fantasy games are listed above, but I’d like to hear about yours. So drop by the Favorite Horror Game Contest Thread and post a comment telling us about your favorite game.

Tags | abstract nova, flash fire, obsidian, sci-fi, zombies