Review & Commentary On Quantum Dark Rpg By Robert Garitta,Omer Golan-Joel, & Josh Peters From Stellagama Publishing

 "Strange locations. Things humanity was not meant to know. Desperate people struggling against an unknown horror. Old crumbling buildings, with their own sinister character. Police and government will not, or are not, permitted to listen. Quantum Dark is a lightweight but complete horror ruleset pitting heroes against the horrors of the universe. It is suitable to modern gaming, from the 1920's to the 2020's, but can be easily modified to medieval or futuristic settings." 

"All that is needed to play this game are this booklet, two or more six- sided dice, writing instruments and supplies, and a dark sense of imagination."

"Quantum Dark is compatible with Stellagama Publishing's Quantum Starfarer - unleash comsic horrors upon your spacefarers! Also compatible Stellagama Publishing's with Barbaric! 2E - bring mythical horrors into your Quantum Dark campaign!" 

Quantum Dark clocks in at twenty nine pages of Quantum Cepheus Engine 2d6  horror action! This is is an rpg supplement design in full on ulitity and class. Everything in Quantum Dark is full on horror rpg design from the first page to the last. This is a complete 2d6 horror game in twenty nine pages & it has all of the tools for a lean, mean, 2d6 horror campaign game. Everything is here to begin play all you need is players. 
Stellagama knocks it out with a very machine like OSR horror game with everything needed to play from beginning PC design to monsters right on down. This is a solid little rpg and it's well designed with cutting edge layout, easy to read fonts, and tight little 2d6 Quantum engine rpg hiding under the hood. 
The rpg engine is designed & written around the winning 2d6 mechanics with solid table top ideas for horror within Quantum Dark. 
And everything here in Quantum Dark is geared for Cepheus Engine rpg family action. Want to add horror into your Barbaric! 2E Sword & Sorcery campaign? You can easily do that. Want a modern take with a more traditional 2d6 horror game? You can have that too easily. Quatum Dark adds all of those elements and more. 

The Quantum Dark rpg does exactly what it says on the tin and more. It has everything that a 2d6 game needs taken down to the wire of it's design bringing a tight and powerful 2d6 experience. Even geting Quantum Dark for the horror reference is worth it in my humble opinion. the design works on so many levels with tight writing, excellent playability, hard core ulility, and an actually useful game. So much so that I bought it myself. 

Review & Commentary On The Free Cepheus Journal issue #014 For The Cepheus Engine and other Old School 2d6 Science Fiction rpg games.

 When it comes to Cepheus Engine rpg, the Cepheus Journal is a fantastic free resource. Cepheus Engine Journal issue 014 comes down the pike right when we need it. Brett Kruger dives into the A.I. controversy in his editorial. 

Jo Jaquinta tackles one of the most requested PC career options and accessory companions  in the form of "Cats of the Far Future". Cats of the Far Future goes through the gamit of cats from ships cats to totally uplifted felines. These are fantastic options for the cat lovers among rpg players and gamers. There are a lot of us and in my Hostile and Clement sector campaigns. The cat is a frequently requested companion for a star ship. This article does a great job on the feline front. 
Shuroom Trees by Brett Kruger is another article about mega fauna with a difference; "The forests on Firaious Prime are strange and dangerous places. The dominate mega­flora are not made of wood, but of a fleshy substance that resembled mushrooms. They grew to enormous heights, easily fifty meters tall, and tower over the ground like giant umbrellas. The locals named them Agaricus Trees, but most people these days just called them Shrooms." And giant mushroom trees are perfect for a wide variety of 2d6 Science Fiction games. 

Foamcrete by Jo Jaquinta covers one of the must ubiquitus construction materials within 2d6 rpg's and it's uses. And they are many, from emergency star ship repairs to foam grenades this article covers it all. 
Then we jump to Firaious Prime by Brett Kruger & this is a back water world with a difference or two. This is actually a really useful world for adventures & dangerous thrills. Solidly done little world. 

'The Dark Guard' by Jo Jaquinta tackles a brand new faction that is far more then they seem. The 'Dark Guard' are a vigilante faction but there's far more boiling below the surface and I can see using the Dark Guard within an Earth Sector or Clement Sector campaign. Well done and well thought out article. 

Jo Jaquinta gives us another installment of the Raider's Lament fiction and there's some really sound Cepheus Engine rpg fiction inspiration. 

Timothy Collinson gives us A.I. insight using it for creating adventures and rpg background in 'Notes on the Sapphire Sea'. This is a solid article with some extremely useful advice for using A.I. for adventure creation with the Cepheus Engine rpg. 

A Fist Full of Spagetti by Norton Glover is a great article for 2d6 Old Western Rpg's such as Independence Games Rider, Michael Browne's Under Western Skies rpg, etc. This is a well written and highly useful article for the Old West DM whose in the mood to run a cinematic Old West Rpg. 

'What's new' rounds out the entire issue with a huge number of Cepheus Engine rpg products. 

Conclusion, this is another highly useful and absolutely necessary issue of the Cepheus Engine Journal. 

The Free Cepheus Journal issue #014 For The Cepheus Engine and other Old School 2d6 Science Fiction rpg games Is Available for Download  Right Here 

Review & Commentary On The Hostile Solo Rpg By Paul Elliot From Zozer Game

 "Hostile Solo is a stand-alone solo roleplaying game set in a grim and gritty future, inspired by movies like Outland, Alien, Dark Star, Pitch Black, Event Horizon and The Thing.  It allows a single player to create and play the roles of a group of blue-collar workers out in deep space, overcoming difficult challenges and facing unknown terrors. Although the name and the cover art suggest that the player will create only a single character, in fact the game is best played with a ‘crew’ of characters. Your crew will interact, fall-out, develop their own schemes and build bonds of friendship. Steer them through their chosen career; either asteroid mining, exploring, freight shipping and salvage, corporate troubleshooting, colony operations or US Marine interventions." 

"Both full-colour and printer-friendly versions are provided. PRINT VERSION TO FOLLOW IN SEPTEMBER, Hardback and Softback. Please check the product Discussion Forum at that time. "

Sweet mother of God, I wasn't expecting the pdf rpg package that Paul Elliot dropped on me this morning. The Hostile Solo rpg is two hundred & thirty pages of conscisely laidout and entwined 2d6 solo rpg Hostile goodness! And it rocks! Hostile Solo brings you all of the Hostile rpg action that you can handle alone! This is a great rpg and clever at what it does. Where do one begin?! At the beginning with Hostile Solo, we get all of the world of Hostile introduction we can handle from career prospects, Earth in Hostile, quick sample bites of technologies, politic, the interstellar scene, etc. In other words everything you need to turn out a PC with several quick rolls of the 2d6 dice. 

And there's something to remember that everything in Hostile Solo is designed to get you to play and this game is a love letter to the 2d6 system that gave it birth. You a  bit of everything right from the start highly sectionalize,  organized, & sampled out. So that the player ( that's you) can literally make a character from scratch as soon as you have the pdf. The layout is well done, the artwork captures the world of Hostile and the interstellar scene from work, to duty, etc. is layed out in spades. 

Hostile Solo is a working man's or blue collar interstellar world where the hazards are there right in the front of the book. You can & will die repeatily within Hostile Solo and that's alright because's it's dead easy to create a PC's and Hostile Solo does a solid job of bringing the reality of your situation to you the reader. 
Paul Elliot has an easy & breezy sense of style about his writing & game design. The man has done many products over the years & it shows. Ian Stead, Shawn, Fisher,&  Paul Elliott all handle the artwork like pro's giving a simple, effective, and forceful number of artwork pieces that showcases and yet, implies the menace of the world of Hostile. 

And while other companies are moving in weird or strange rpg directions Zozer Games continues to impress with games such as Hostile Solo. Paul Elliot does a brilliant job of showcasing his chops by giving us the next generation of his Solo rpg in the form of Hostile Solo. The fact that this game allows you as the player to take charge of your own play, destiny, and 2d6 gaming means that you can chart out a whole Hostile campaign from the inside out. And this allows the DM to pull their own adventures apart as both the player & the DM. And while this isn't revolutionary it puts the pressure back on the DM where it belongs. And the fact that the author includes a print friendly version of the game means that he wants this game played tonight! 

Hostile Solo is a game of our times designed with the asthetic to be played and used. This isn't a sit on the shelf or sidelines game. Hostile Solo is designed by the a man whose played lots & lots of 2d6 solo games and he's taken that experience into this his latest Hostile publishing project. And given the fact that it works with all of the Hostile rpg products that's an incredibly good bonus. 

So inconclusion there's lots to like about Hostile Solo and it's great value for 20.00 for what you get. Hostile Solo is a complete rpg in every sense of the world. This book is all you need to get in on the ground floor of running your own Hostile adventures tonight!  

The Hostile Solo Rpg  By Paul Elliot From Zozer Game Is Available Right Over Here. 

OSR Commentary On 'The Starship From Hell' For 2d6 Old School Science Fiction & Science Fantasy Campaigns

"The Starship From Hell is a system-agonistic toolkit to be used at the table during sci-fi RPG sessions. With a handful of dice, generate a starship's type, category, name, nearby phenomena, reason for distress signal, dangerous cargo, and passengers or crew members with horrific secrets."

So over the coming weekend we're getting together with friends for a private mini Con that we do every year & there's not a lot of prep time between work and whatnot. So we've got a Hostile rpg one shot coming up that's got me behind the screen again. With the time factor working against me, off of the shelf came an old friend 'The Starship From Hell'. 'The Starship From Hell' is perfectly suited for a Hostile rpg or Independant Games Earth sector oneshot and works very well as a mission generator to create one shot adventures. The encounters in the 'The Starship From Hell' may have to be tailored back a bit to conform to 2d6 style games to be a bit less lethal or not. It's going to depend upon what the DM wants to do with their campaigns. 

So why the Earth Sector rpg?! Because of the nature of the Earth sector's corporate structure which could easily take advantage of the  'The Starship From Hell' random 'Sci fi horror' tropes. The edge of the unknown frontier just like a Space Western film from the Eighties works very well as an anaology for the historical Old West feel of the Earth Sector rpg. And the unknown blackness of space works with it's hyperspacial horrors coming into the corporate spaces of Hostile. Generate your missions and then go right to play as the campaign unfolds from a roll of the dice time and again. 

And this same methodology could be used with Cepheus Deluxe easily and without a problem at all. Roll up a mission with the 'The Starship From Hell'. And off you & your players go with a fully realized campaign. 

The Starship From Hell could be used as the basis for a Sword of Cepheus rpg campaign easily as a space craft introduces weird radiations, monsters,etc. to an interstellar colony stuck in the Dark Ages tech levels. 

'The Starship From Hell' Is Available Here 

OSR Review & Commentary On The Knox-class frigate By Michael Johnson For The Earth Sector rpg, Cepheus Engine Rpg, & 2d6 Old School Science Fiction Rpg

 "Prepared for action!

The Knox-class frigate is a part of the United States Space Navy's holy trinity:  The Lexington-class cruiser, the Farragut-class destroyer, and the Knox-class frigate.  Designed by American legend Joyner Williamson, these ships have served the since 2294.  Found in both Clement Sector and Earth Sector, these ships are used by the US Space Navy, the Sophronius System Navy, and the Boone System Navy. "

"This book comes complete with full deckplans and statistics for both the Knox and the Improved Knox variant to make your use of our product simple, easy, and fun.  Though specifically designed for our Clement Sector setting, the Knox can be imported into any science fiction setting with little effort.

Climb aboard!  Adventure awaits!" 

 The Knox-class frigate By Michael Johnson For The Earth Sector rpg has a great set up for a great military ship. The Knox- class frigate has the feel of an old Iron Clad warship in the  middle of the American Civil War. Except the Knox Class Frigate is a bit of Earth military forces.  The Knox-class frigate is just about 30 pages of military starship goodness. You get history, background, military files, facts, etc. all related to the Knox-class frigate. 
The Knox- class frigate has some incredible armor, weapons, etc. all within their structure: 
 “A small, fast military starship. Frigates are typically used as escort vessels to protect in-system and interstellar lines of communication or as an auxiliary component of a strike group” Cambridge Dictionary 2300 (standard) Type: Frigate Class: Knox Country: United States of America Service Date: 2296 to present Displacement: 1000 tonnes Drive: Gravitic Thrust: 4G Complement: 60 (14 officers, 46 enlisted) Armament: Primary: 2x 50 tonne Meson Gun Bays Secondary: 2x 50 tonne Particle Beam Bays Light: Triple turret (various) Defenses: Sandcaster Point Defense Node Array Armor: Crystaliron Ships in Class: 36" 
 The Knox-class frigates are small fast escort vessels and are perfect for auxiliary strike force. The United States of America has some impressive forces with the Knox- class frigate making up some of the backbone of their forces. This book is really well done with the writing of Michael Johnson being tense & very tight. 
This book adds another piece of the Earth's puzzle of military forces. 

 The Knox-class frigate By Michael Johnson is a solid book, tightly written with some solid diagrams & plans. This ship adds another twist to the Earth's sectors & its campaign against the various pirate factions. The Knox class frigate is a vital tool in this fight. I really enjoyed The Knox-class frigate because there's so much you as the DM can do with these iconic Earth Sector ships. 

The Knox-class frigate By Michael Johnson For The Earth Sector rpg Is Available Here.