Review & Commentary on The Clash of Steel Rpg By Paul Elliot

 "Clash of Steel is a dark fantasy rules set, for solo and table-top play, that evokes the grim sword and sorcery tales of Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorcock and Clark Ashton Smith. Magic is dangerous and dark, and corrupt and decadent empires struggle to retain their hold on vassal states and tribes. You play as anti-heroes, that are just as likely to rob travellers as to rescue them, they have a chequered past and seek out their own fortune or fame in a savage and uncaring world."

 Clash of Steel is a new 2D6 based, with a 10+ to succeed in any task  Sword & Sorcery rpg. The Clash of Steel rpg system  game has expanded in into a whole cloth Sword & Sorcery system. Clocking in at more then 200 pages this game hits the high marks for tapping deeply into the dark fantasy literature vein. Clash of Steel By Paul Elliot is very well done. This rpg has a very well laid out system, easy to read fonts, and professionally done book. 
This is a game that delves deeply into dark region of the genre by giving the DM & the players a fast and gritty character generation. The magic system is a fast, intuitive, and highly quick 2d6 system. The magic system is powered by demons. This makes magic a very shaky business. 
The combat system is brutal and highly dangerous indicative of the Sword & Sorcery genre. Why? Because of the fact that PC's can roll over thier actions in combat; 'Successful attacks can be ‘held-over’ to create more serious injuries in later rounds.'  Even the monsters are quick and easy with one line stat blocks so that you as the DM can add them into your adventures quickly. 

Clash of Steel does something that other rpg's including the world's most popular fantasy rpg. What Clash of Steel does is too bring both solo and group play into a quick & solid rpg system. And what we get is an engine for Sword & Sorcery adventure right outta of the box. 
The game is one that puts the DM & the players within an adventure game that is geared around both solo play. This means the player can take a PC and become engrained into a world of Sword & Sorcery. Other players are not needed! But bringing them on board & you've got a campaign that could last for many years to come. 
Clash of Steel is a solid Sword & Sorcery rpg & powerful engine for a dark fantasy rpg adventure. Grab this one because Paul Elliot has out done himself on this one. As a Sword & Sorcery rpg Clash of Steel is solid! 

The Cube By Joseph Mohr & Trey Causey's Strange Stars - Stars Without Number & Cities Without Number Session Report Part III

 The party has been let aboard the Cube but the cube is huge. To qoute ' The Cube by Joseph Mohr ; " The cube is huge. It is the size of a dreadnaught. It dwarfs the size of smaller vessels like scout ships or merchant traders." Last session the player's ship was almost blown outta of the sky. We're using a combination of Stars Without Numbers and Trey Causey's Strange Stars . This session picks rights up from where the last session left off.  The cube stopped for a meeting with the PC's but it warned them it wasn't stopping for long. 

The Cube has been making it's way through the Nicodimus sector and has been doing so for at least three hundred years. And the cube had blown two United Space Crusiers from space. This is after the wreckage our party had found. The PC's communicated with the cube using coloured lights after the party's A.I. analyazed the alien's language. 
Now the party's cybersneaks have been meeting with the cube's xenophobic A.I. in cyberspace. The A.I. let the party onto the cube but has been evasive as to what the status is on the cube's inhabitants. The PC's climbed into heavy space suits and brought thier own A.I.'s android body with them. The interior of the cube was completely alien as the outside is! There was a sense of forboding aboard the alien craft. 

The cube's interior was a mass of Jack Kirby style machinary with a foggy pea soup atmosphere. There was a psionic feeling of foreboding. The party came across several weird alien engineering bots going around doing repair work. 
The lights flickered and came back on twice in strange hues that hurt the human's eyes. 
There was old  evidence of energy fire and  carbon scoring exchanges along  the walls were the PC's were within the landing bay. The cube is massive and is highly intimidating. The party came across a huge security bot and it escorted the party into a secure trade room. 
There was a psionic illusionary alien that our party's psionic saw. It faded fast as we made our way to the alien's trade room where an atmosphere had been prepared for our party. We came across a holographic display of another alien trader who was the last visitor to the cube. This alien trader was of the same type that we had seen within the Stars Without Number rpg adventure Hard Light! 

The cube has been travelling a very,very, long time. What other mysteries are aboard the cube!? 

Deeper OSR Commentary & Review On The New Flesh Rpg By The Red Room

 "Enter the dystopian world of New Flesh, a future-noir roleplaying game where cyberpunk meets biological horror in the neon-drenched streets of Interzone. Set in then near future, when corporate power runs unchecked, this game draws inspiration from the works of William S. Burroughs, David Cronenberg, and other masters of transgressive fiction." 

New Flesh Rpg is a very different animal from it's early incarnation aka Wretched New Flesh rpg. New Flesh strips back the occult and supernatural elements of the rpg while upping the biopunk & corporation elements. New Flesh might as well be a brand new rpg. In someways a better game. 
New Flesh lines far more up with the Darker rpg then it does with the original Wretched New Flesh including the fact that it has a wholly newly fleshed out campaign setting.. 
There are other differents between New Flesh & Wretched New Flesh according to the Red Room website; "Rules

New Flesh uses the Red System instead of the Wretched System. Unlike Wretched New Flesh Second Edition, which was primarily a setting, New Flesh is a standalone, fully-fledged game."

"Not Wretched
The Wretched factions are gone, as well as the the whole concept of Wretched characters."

"Tone and Focus
New Flesh places greater emphasis on Cronenbergian biopunk and body horror than the previous versions."

"Interzone, not Avalidad
The City is now officially named Interzone, marking a change from previous versions where Interzone was merely an outdated term. However, the name Avalidad persists as the term used by native Moroccans."

"Supernatural
New Flesh removes overt supernatural influences; for instance, Hideo Kobayashi is no longer depicted as a demonic entity. Instead, the game emphasizes themes of corporate greed and biotechnological ethical decay. Some alien entities, such as the Machinatores, are retained, maintaining a subtle otherworldly presence. Ritual Magic is no longer available, but it was replaced by Chaos Magic, which makes more sense in the Burroughsian atmosphere of the game."

"Setting Scope
This iteration expands on the world beyond Interzone, providing more detailed descriptions of other countries."

"New Art
The game features updated visuals, including: Cover and back cover art by Ibai Canables, an introductory comic by Kris Villarosa, illustrations of weapons, vehicles, and armour by Rob Necronomicon. It also includes a cool new logo, a page border and new character sheet by Terra Hitzing. Finally, the style of AI illustrations is completely different from the previous book to make it coherent with the human-made art."

"Other changes
New Flesh introduces more plot hooks and an adventure generator, the Psionic rules were revised and the AI in the game setting was updated to keep up with real world changers, among other minor things." "
These changes only scatch the surface of this Bio Noir rpg adventure game. There's more here within the New Flesh Rpg. New Flesh  includes society, technology, culture, monsters, and more. This means that while these adventure elements are familiar to Wretched New Flesh players there's a brand new game within New Flesh.  New Flesh is compariable to the Darker rpg by the Red Room. 

This rpg  has many elements within the Darker rpg. New Flesh includes a wholly streamlined combat rpg system, a new magic system within the Chaos magic system, and much more. The Interzone campaign setting is even more fleshed out campaign setting. But is the New Flesh rpg worth the 15.00 dollar price point?!
In a word, yes! The whole price includes all six hundred pages of a solid rpg with a whole Bio Noir rpg campaign. The New Flesh rpg has everything that the players & DM will need to run a campaign lasting many years. 
The DM could affectly never need another book and run a comple New Flesh rpg campaign for years to come! The Bio Noir campaign has many elements that hit all of the high adventure notes of a Noir campaign but with high bio mechanic technological element. 

Adding in the Darker rpg's underworld and demons  or its supernatural forces a DM could have a whole cloth campaign with many layers of supernatural horror. The New Flesh rpg adds another bio terror layer to such a campaign. The New Flesh rpg is a pleasure to both read and I can't wait to run it!