SLA (read ‘Slay’) Industries was a landmark game when I first bought it many years ago and I rather regret the series of events that saw my copy deposited on the bed of the River Han in Seoul. It is with considerable joy, therefore, that I found that the original is now available as a free PDF download. Once again there is the chance to become immersed in the nasty doings of the Planet Mort, where 900 years of deception have led to the exploitation of just about everyone by the infamous SLA Industries itself and, above all, where it always seems to be gloomy and raining. This is the future as a Glasgow tenement, or at least so it always was in my imagination.

Review by John Walsh

Myriad is described a universal role-playing system and is released under a Creative Commons License which permits readers to make such use of its material as they may wish in their own games and books, so long as various fair use provisions are followed. It would be wrong to describe it as a complete game, as the author declares in the foreword, “Myriad is not a complete RPG in its own right; some assembly is required.

It is not often that a role playing game makes you think. It is also a rare occurrence when a role playing game tackles a controversial subject, with grace and understanding. Upon reading Little Fears I was happy to have my first impressions of the game shattered. At first glance Little Fears is a game simply about childhood fears, which it is, but it is also about much more.

There does seem to be a terrific appetite for new systems for governing role-playing games, despite there being more already in existence than it would be possible to play even in a very extended lifetime. If anyone really needs a new mechanism for a generic setting with a GM willing more or less to improvise action, this would be a good candidate and, being a few download, the price must be right. I would hope that the author will feel encouraged enough to put some thought into how the basic system could be used in a more fleshed out background world.

There is a lot to like about The Creep Chronicle — indeed, in many ways, it’s the PG-rated successor of Little Fears that several people were hungering for back in 2001. If you’re looking for a “kid friendly” horror RPG that still has some teeth, you need look no further than The Creep Chronicle.

Ultimately, the Dog Town system seems as though it could be very simple, unfortunately the explanation is confused and overly wordy (perhaps even purposefully intellectualized) to the point that it obfuscates, rather than elucidates, the mechanical components of the game. The rule explanations in Dog Town need a serious overhaul — less jargon, less “behind the scenes” exposition, and more black and white explanation. Dog Town needs to keep it simple, trimming some serious fat.

Dungeon Bash is obtainable via download from RPGNow.com and similar sites. A bundle of PDFs is provided for a cost of US $10, which is far from excessive. Some of the files contain D20 related material which is available elsewhere but is provided here in more user-friendly formats. Dating back to the time of Gary Gygax and Dave Arnesen, the original creators of the game, D&D rules have always combined the sensible and the nonsensical in almost equal balance. This tendency has pretty much continued as the game has grown in complexity and is perhaps inevitable when so many people have been responsible for producing officially sponsored content. Players of course contribute to the problem by gleefully ripping ideas and concepts out of their context in forcing them into their own games, generally in the hope of giving themselves an advantage in the killing-and-looting stakes. Consequently, there exists a market niche for people who can summarize and present pertinent information in a reader-friendly and comprehensive fashion.

The official Wraeththu (pronounced RAY-THOO) roleplaying game is based on a body of fiction by Storm Constantine. I should note that, prior to reviewing the product in question, my exposure to Ms. Constantine’s fiction has been exactly none. That said, after reviewing the RPG, I’m tempted to look into it. I found the game itself to be conceptually intriguing, though its execution leaves much to be desired. Something appears to have gone horribly awry between the initial spark of inspiration and the finished product.

“The planets line up, magic comes back in a torrent of confusion and mass panic, and what’s left of the general public is in chaos.” Chaos University is a tongue in cheek roleplaying game of magic and the occult published by Firewater Productions. Written by Jennifer and Daniel Schoonover, the Chaos University Student Handbook (i.e., […]

A soft-cover, perfect-bound book boasting gorgeous full color, wrap-around, Larry Elmore cover art, The Chronicles of Ramlar is a roleplaying game of high fantasy made available by White Silver Publishing, Inc. The book weighs in at a hefty 350 pages (including 19 pages of record sheets and quick references) and contains everything that you will need to run a campaign in the game’s default setting of Eranon, one of two continents on a nameless world (the titular “Ramlar” is the who created the world in question).

The most praise that I have is for the magic system. It reflects the dangerous nature of magic (as well as it’s unpredictability) and the steps needed to advance along your arcane studies. The power of spell casters is minor in the beginning, but just by looking at the math of any mid/high level spells you can tell that they will one day be capable of easily destroying hordes of enemies. In short, magic is taxing, dangerous, and a life long learning process, but well worth the effort in the end.

My Life with Master is a self-contained role playing game of personal horror by Paul Czege of Half Meme Press. It contains innovative ideas and a workable game, albeit one which would work best with creative and probably experienced players willing to enter into a setting and help to create it themselves. The interaction between GM and players is essential both in creating the setting and in forming the style and nature of the game. As the description below will suggest, gameplay can easily veer between a type of romantic desperation with which Vampire lovers will be familiar, to Grand Guignol to something rather less serious and bizarre. Since it can be difficult to maintain an intense style over an extended period of time and because of the very structure of the game, My Life with Master is best run as a single session game or, at most, a small number of sessions building up to a well-defined ending and epilogue

Agon takes place in a mythical Greece, drawing heavily from the Iliad and the Odyssey as inspiration (along with other sources like the films Clash of the Titans and Troy). Characters take on the role of heroes serving the gods on quests throughout the land, seeking glory and fame so their names may live on throughout the ages…

Schism both builds on this game and subverts it almost completely. In Schism, there are no demons – instead, characters receive extraordinary psychic abilities that are, partly as a result of the accelerating pace of global change and its effect on the tortured human psyche, suddenly prevalent in society. Indeed, the title page uses the term ‘virulent setting.’ However, the virus of psychic abilities does not come without a price and in Schism that price tends to be psychic disorders and physical deformation. Anyone who has played (or perhaps tried to play) the Nephilim game will be familiar with at least this physical aspect. Characters in Schism progressively become more and more removed from basic humanity but have the advantage of being able to bring about powerful effects to further their own ends and those of the cabal (a kind of more or less secret organization) that they wish.

In short, Cold Space has the benefit of a setting which promotes instantly understandable motivations for action and this should at least help players and GM alike structure a campaign and anticipate what kinds of scenarios are likely to be played out. The game is not likely to promote a richer appreciation of the reality of recent history than one of basic confrontation but, then, that is not really its purpose. My immediate response is to conceive of campaigns or characters who would subvert what seem to be the premises of the historical background but then I am nearly always an outlier when it comes to these things.

Weighing in at a hefty ninety-five pages (excluding an appendix of various maps and player handouts) and retailing for a reasonable $18.99 (US), What Lurks Beyond is a fantasy horror adventure module published by Cutter’s Guild Games (best known for their Deathstalkers RPG). So, what are you getting for that investment? First the good news….

Billed as an adventure module, the product reminds more of a mini campaign, due largely to its scope and length – it is heavy on the meat. The basic plot of What Lurks Beyond is both well thought out and engaging, if somewhat hampered by the product’s presentation. And that’s it for the good news. Now for the bad news….

Written by Jason Vey, with additional material by Ross A. Isaacs, Dungeons and Zombies introduces high fantasy to the already impressive line-up of AFMBE (All Flesh Must Be Eaten) supplements. This book offers up plenty of new material for survival horror fans.

The book starts off with a short story and introduction. This sets the mood for the book and offers up some useful information on the how and why of the text. Moving right into character creation, D&Z offers a lot of new material for AFMBE fans. New Character Types, new Qualities & Drawbacks, new (and modified) Skills and more…

Epic Role Playing is a fantasy role playing game system published by Dark Matter Studios and presented in three separate volumes (the Rules Manual, Bestiary, and Book of the Arcane, respectively). Additionally, a setting designed for use with the Epic system is also available in the form of the supplementary Atlas of Eslin (Volume 1). This review deals specifically with the Epic Role Playing Besitary, while other reviews discuss other Epic core books, as well as the Atlas of Eslin setting supplement.

Dave Hargrave’s Arduin Grimoire series has been around since 1976, arguably representing the first unofficial line of third-party AD&D supplements ever. From its initial inception, the purchasing public has been deeply divided over the Arduin Grimoire series, some people hailing it as the work of a genius and others dismissing it as a set of third rate house rules. Despite this divide, the series has endured on the open market for more than twenty-nine years, undergoing multiple revisions, three printings and spawning two complete game systems of its own – love it or hate it, one can’t deny that the Arduin Grimoire series is doing something right.

This review is based on reading the game. I haven’t played it yet. It also includes no numbering system as I suffer from grade inflation.

The Mountain Witch is a roleplaying game that seems to me to be more like a module that changes each time you run it. I feel it could be a very good resource for people who can only meet a few times, want a break from a regular game, or perhaps for a pick-up game. I’m not as sure about the last, as there can be a good deal of competition in the game.