The guys over at Rogue Games have made a couple of interesting announcements recently that are good news for fans of Sci-fi and Horror games. First up is the announcement that the sci-fi RPG Thousand Suns is available for pre-order at IPR. If you are curious about this game, take a look at the Design […]

Qin is to China’s mythological history what Legend of the Five Rings is to Japan’s. While there are superficial and stylistic similarities between the two games and they share the same broad appeal the similarities in no way mean they’re the same any more than the broad similarities between Japan and China themselves mean they’re in any way the same country.

Qin takes a more historical approach – though don’t worry, there are monsters and magic – and has a much more egalitarian and open society structure (considering the source material) than Legend of the Five Rings. Being a peasant or bandit is a much more viable option in Qin and while the social order is divinely mandated and enforced – particularly for women – the period of the setting is chaotic enough and in enough upheaval that this is no longer an issue.

Colonial Gothic Primer is a free PDF download that acts as an introduction to Rogue Games’ Colonial Gothic role playing game (RPG). It combines eighteenth century North America with a dark, secret history full of ghosts and ghouls and vile cultists. Players take on the role of colonial era individuals who are introduced to the secret history via becoming confronted with the supernatural. I imagine that the most common approach would be that of a Call of Cthulhu game with one difference, which is that the rules describe a cinematic style of play, with characters leaping from table top to table top exchanging wild blows, swinging from the chandeliers and probably employing fancy Mongolian style horse riding techniques. There is, in other words, a danger that game sessions may degenerate into knockabout comedy and the supernatural elements will turn into Scooby Doo type monsters. Players and GM will need to establish what kind of style they wish to use and how strictly they will stick to that.

I write for Victoriana, though I didn’t work on the corebook, just so you know. Though I think I’ve established myself as a fair reviewer of products by now. In fact I’m writing this review when I really should be trying to get back on with some writing for Victoriana. Bad monkey, no biscuit. Anyway… Victoriana is a steampunkish, fantasyish, politically aware RPG of an alternative Victorian setting, the height of the British Empire, seemingly limitless technology, mediums, necromancers, strict class boundaries and – most importantly of all – top hats.

Review by James “Grim” Desborough

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.

Faith and Fire also brings to the reader a sense of character through its writing. MET’s writers did a tremendous job clearly expressing how to play in the Dark Ages by using a second person voice. You will feel drawn into the medieval world as a player, before you have the chance to pick up your character sheet. While the Clan text was extremely intriguing and well-written, you will find yourself distracted by the artwork. However, the writing is straightforward, and definitely worthy of a careful read. Overall, Faith and Fire’s text was edited well, and intriguing throughout.