Review & OSR Commentary AX5 Eyrie of the Dread Eye By Courtney Campbell For Adventurer, Conqueror, King Rpg & ACKS II rpg

" From the imagination of Courtney Campbell, creator of the popular OSR blog  Hack & Slash, comes a terrifying new adventure for characters level 6 to 8.

The Eye Is Opening.

Thousands of years ago, living gods named Khepri wielded powers beyond understanding. Their  bizarre magics rived a rent in reality itself. This portal  the Oculus  led to the deepest realms of Chthonic Darkness, but it was not yet fully open. Malign forces, opposed to all life, infested the Oculus, and waited. The Khepri kept vigil over the Oculus till time moved her hand. When the Khepri vanished in the Day Without Night, their Elven epigones took up the watch. In time, the Elves were conquered by the diabolic Thrassian race, and they in turn were subjugated by the Zaharans. Through the millennia, the caretakers of the Oculus studied, waited, and watched."

 AX5 Eyrie of the Dread Eye By Courtney Canpbell is one of those adventures that made me reconsider ACK's in the past. Now I recognize that AX5 is a homage to Il Dwellers of the Forbidden City. The encounters here, traps, tricks and what not within Eyrie of the Dread Eye is deep in the dye adventure that tests PC's to their limits. The reason that it does this is by making this adventure a homage to all things Lovecraftian and old school TSR. 
AX5 takes all of the dungeon and adventure elements then distills the essence down into the rpg adventure itself. And what about ACKsII? Does the adventure material & rpg systems  within AX5 differ significantly from this newest incarnation of ACKs? Not really. 
ACKs II has sigificant changes within it's wording after the entire OGL debacle. Something that other OSR companies such as Troll Lord Games for example also dealt with. 

AX5 is a location and encounter driven adventure that adds to the ACK's campaign setting. The action centers around the oculus and it's minions. This is a god within an adventure location that could potentially TPK a party of player's PC's. ACKs II plugs into that epic feel that we get from the best of the ACK's adventures. The history of the Ahuran setting proves this out. Take for example the Zaharan empire. 
The Zaharan empire was a font of corruption that spread a huge swath of Chaos across the face of the campaign setting. They also spread out the humanoid races a bringers of Chaos across the face of it.  AX5 does the job of plugging into this history and bringing it into the present of the adventurers. 
ACKs II blows the foreknowledge of this history into the present to the PC in very vivid ways. Chaos becoming a rising force within  the campaign setting is a very strong possibility especially since AX5 makes it clear that this is a reality. The PC's can stem this tide somewhat but Chaos will pop up in other places especially through the humanoid armies. Orcs and other humanoids are the tools of the Lovecraftian lords of Chaos within ACKs I & II. 

Events within AX5 bares this out & then bring home the ancient danger of the ancient gods! ACKs II brings the epicness & heroic nature of the rpg system. I don't say this lightly at all. 

Review & Commentary Shadowmercs -- A Shadowdark 1980's Action-Adventure Supplement For The Shadowdark rpg

 "You were in The War. Things went wrong.

You and your comrades were charged with a crime you didn’t commit.
Now, you and your Team are back in The World and on the run.
You and your Team make your way in life the only way you know how… you are Shadowmercs."

"You served in The War at home, in the Concrete Jungle, protecting those who could not protect themselves.
But there is a Bigger World out there. The junk that is ruining lives comes from Out There.
If you want to stop it, and make Your World a better place, you need to take the fight to Them.
You and your Team have only your guts, your guns, and your mighty martial arts¦ you are Shadowmercs."

Shadowmercs -- A Shadowdark 1980's Action-Adventure Supplement For The Shadowdark rpg is the latest offering from James Mishler, &  Jodi Moran-Mishler. Shadowmerc presents an alternative set of 1980's action & television rules. Yes these are cinematic Shadowdark rpg rules for running 80's action adventures for your players. 
The PC's in Shadowmercs are taken outta of these TV show inspired influences: 

 Shadowmercs uses modified rules for Armor Class, Hit Points, Unconsciousness, Dying, and Healing, appropriate for the Action-Hero genre;

Modern backgrounds for modern Action Heroes, with an expanded cinematic Luck Token system;

Six new classes:
The Armsman, master of gun-fu and blazing bullets;
The Brawler, master of martial arts and weapon-katas;
The Driver, master of any vehicle that moves on land, sea, or air;
The Faceman, master of manipulating people to get what they want;
The Operator, master of plans and leadership who makes a team's luck;
The Scout, master of bushcraft and survival and lots and lots of weapons!

So Shadowmercs provides about fifty seven pages of Shadowdark rpg action rules style rules & this includes a ton of modern fire arms, equipment, adventure tables, and more. All centered around a cinematic take on the Shadowdark simplified engine. 

The Shadowdark rpg of Shadowmercs looks like a great supplement. But it's not for me as a DM. 
This isn't a slight on the Shadowdark role playing game. Let me explain. I'm a Castles & Crusades rpg fanatic and enjoy that system and Shadowmercs could easily be grafted into C&C but it's already got a cinematic system in Amazing Adventures reforged. 
However, Shadowmercs fits a far more specialized niche with the A Team, James Bond, Superspy genre of Shadowdark rpg adventures. 

Shadowmercs plugs into the 99% of the Shadowdark Rpg to turn it on it's ear and get deeply into the superspy and Pulpy genre of the fiction and television to present an alternative set of rules that works. 

OSR Review & Commentary On Amazing Adventures Shadows of the Red God By Jason Vey For The Amazing Adventures Rpg

 "A Shadow Rises from the Distant Past...

During an extravagant gala in New York City attended by luminaries of the metropolis, all was going as planned. But whose plan? Mysterious forces are unleashed during the ceremony creating undead horrors that terrorize everyone in attendance. 

Shadows of the Red God presents three adventures that take the player characters on a world-spanning adventure against a dark cult, lost for millions of years, and stunningly tied to another world, a world once known as Aihrde. "

"An unusual request to track down a missing scholar takes the heroes from the Louisiana Bayou to long abandoned ruins in the deserts of Saudi Arabia crossing paths with Voodoo Queens and Nazi cultists along the way. "

"After becoming entangled in an Allied spy operation, the characters discover a plot to unearth horrific technologies from the dawn of time and plans for an invasion of some alien species. 

When their enemy escapes under mysterious circumstances, the heroes uncover a scheme to summon a strange deity from another world, another dimension, from the shadows of a distant past. It is a race against time as our heroes dash across the world, tracking a would-be prophet of the dark being known only as The Red God. "

Amazing Adventures Shadows of the Red God By Jason Vey is a great introductory adventure for Amazing Adventures rpg. This adventure is pure Pulp adventure goodness that starts in New York City and sends the PC's down into the Louisiana Bayou & into the  deserts of Saudi Arabia.  Or it can be set within  your own campaign's remote Earth's location. 

Inbetween is this the fact that your PC's go up against Vodoo Queen & finally  Nazi army officiers & soldiers. Shadows of the Red God thrusts our heroes deep into the machinations of an Allied spy operation and finally the deep horrors of the summoning of the  Red God. 

The party needs to react to the circumstances that they are brought into in Shadows of the Red God. The machinations of the Red God are chaotic, evil, and highly dangerous to Earth. 
The Red God is a god of Evil that has deep ties to  another world, a world once known as Aihrde.
Aihrde is the house campaign world of the Castles & Crusades rpg from Troll Lord Games. This ties the two games together. Amazing Adventures rpg default setting is Earth in my opinion. This isn't a bad thing because it allows the DM to pull from hundreds of years of real world history. Or at least seen through the imaginative lens of Amazing Adventures rpg. 

Amazing Adventures Shadows of the Red God By Jason Vey takes this approach and builds upon it. This is right in line with the fact that this adventure is written for PC levels ones through five. If the players are stupid thier PC's will die without a second thought. Shadow of the Red God is going to last probably maximum about 5 or 6 sessions. This is the perfect length of play without having this adventure over stay it's welcome. 

Amazing Adventures Shadows of the Red God is a revised adventure which means that perfectly aligns with the revised  Amazing Adventure rpg. And I think it's a great introductionary adventure for AA and will be a great spring board for an AA campaign. 

Review & Commentary On Rogue World By Perry Brulotte For The Clement & Earth Sector Rpg's

 "A rogue planet is hurtling through Hub Subsector and a scientist wants your crew to take him to the planet to study it. Will such a mission even be possible? Will it end it failure? Or will your characters fall victim to the dangers on the Rogue World?"

"Rogue World is a short adventure by Perry Brulotte which is designed to take your characters (or the included pre-generated characters) to a world which left its star long ago and is traveling through open space. It is an adventure fraught with perils once they arrive on this rogue planet. The adventure is perfect for a convention game, to be added into an existing campaign, or be the starting point for a new campaign in Clement Sector." Rogue World By Perry Brulotte is coming out on July 11 in the Independence Games store and Drivethrurpg. The guys over at Independence Games were kind enough to send me an advanced copy for review. Boy, I'm glad they did! Clocking at forty six pages this adventure takes prime advantage of both the Earth and Clement sector. Rogue World provides the DM with a solid 2d6 exo and exploration module that will both challenge and intrigue the PC's. This adventure is a fully formed exploration drop in adventure for both the Clement & Earth Sector rpg.

And Rogue World could provide the bed rock for a 2d6 campaign easily. How? There are three ways. Solidly done NPC's for the DM to pull from. Well thought out encounters, and a highly effecctive series of adventure encounters. The whole cloth leg of a campaign highlights the ancient aspect of the Earth or Clement sector.

Meaning that the Earth or Clement sector have humans as the latest tenants in a very large roster. Rogue World is well written adventure, nicely edited, & solidly done cartography. What does Rogue World provide the player's PC's?! Well plenty of adventure opportunities, NPC conflict and interactions, 2d6 action, and lots of problem solving. Rogue World also gets the PC's deeply involved in local affairs of the NPC's. Alien lifeforms in Rogue World can deeply and suddenly become very real in both the Clement & Earth sector rpg campaigns. Rogue World does all of the above in forty six pages of well thought out Clement sector weirdness. Because this adventure fits the Science Fiction Western frontier astethic in spades. Where does Rogue World fit in the larger picture of the Clement and Earth sector?! It can easily fit anywhere that the DM wants it too because this adventure fits whole cloth into a DM's campaign setting. Rogue World is a solid Clement or Earth sector adventure especially if you as DM want to slide into a campaign!

OSR Review & Commentary On 'From The Beyond' By For The Wretched Rpg or Venger Satanis's Cha'alt

 "The Dha’arma Initiative has once again experimented with things beyond their control. The once benevolent Dr. Chuuth’Nay has unleashed an evil the world of Cha’alt has not seen."

"It is contained inside a secret underground lab… for now. Can your party survive the horror From the Beyond? Or will they too, come to understand insanity as I have?"

Clocking in at forty pages plus maps 'From The Beyond' seems like the kind of gonzo adventure that mashes up Venger Satanis's Cha'alt with the Wretched Rpg and it does! Silvia Clemente of Red Room fame once again proves herself as a good OSR writer/designer with an out and out dungeon romp taking place in an underground lab on Cha'alt. 
And things have gone down hill at the old Dha’arma Initiative laboratory. The whole facility has gone to the undead and it shows! There's monsters running all over this facility and causing all kinds of mayhem. The lab is a veritable maze with the facility filled to the brim with traps and tricks. Clearing this place isn't going to be easy at all. The writing is well done, the facility is dangerous, the layout is very well done, and the font is easily readable. 
'From The Beyond' could give even the most jaded Cha'alt veteran adventurers a work out as they try to figure out what's happened at the facility. Or this adventure could be used as an introduction adventure for a group of Wretched New Flesh second edition operatives or agents to figure out what's happened to the 'From The Beyond' facility. 
I don't want to spoilt the adventure but 'From The Beyond' is a five session or less adventure with lots of twists and turns! This adventure ties the PC's into a possible gut punch for all of Cha'alt. 

'From The Beyond' could easily be tied into the Book 3 of the Cha'alt trilogy's campaign events. The adventure easily fits within the bounds of a full on campaign as a side quest or adventure. 

But is 'From The Beyond' any good?! In a word, yes because of the fact that it can easily be adapted into your favorite OSR rpg or as a jump off point for an entire campaign centered on Cha'alt. This is an adventure that has legs. And hits the highs and lows of Cha'alt as a campaign setting easily. 

Review & Commentary On Souless Children By Kirt A. Dankmyer From Ivanhoe Unbound For The Liminaal Horror Rpg

 "Content Warning for This Game: harm to children"

"The world is a creepy place, if you scratch the surface.  Luckily, you're one of the things that go bump in the night yourself. 

If only other monsters would leave you alone.

"In Soulless Children, you play immortal dark-eyed children, escaped from Neverland and damaged by the ritual that took their soul and granted immortality. Take that, Peter Pan!"

So I came into Souless Children with zero preconcieved notions, Ivanhoe Unbound sent me the adventure or supplement. And Souless Children is  done in the style of  a continuation of Neverland & Peter Pan with some really nasty undertones. You are not playing the 'good guy' and in point of fact playing the Souless Children of the title. And these are monsters no doubt about it. This is really a bare bones supplement giving the player's just enough to bring these horrors to life. While Souless Children is rules lite, because of the nature of the supplement I'd personally run this with Silent Legions. The PC's are playing the devouring monsters and they play the investigators tracking down and possibly destroying thier old PC's. 
Souless Children only tracks in at twenty one distrubing pages but it brings home these monsters. And there's a paragraph on rpg 'safety tools' & you can easily ignore those. And yes I'm using this product outside of the the acclaimed rules-light horror game Liminal Horror. 
Be warned the material is disturbing but not mature in nature. I do think that Souless Children is well done. And with the right group this could be an excellent supplement/adventure. 
Souless Children brings options and tightness to the character generation. The idea that you are working on an incredibly dangerous monster who wants to eat the souls of it's victims. 
This is a well written supplement and it provides a very interesting take on the Black  Eyed Children urban legend. One could take a completely different approach and take the Souless Children supplement for a bit of a joy ride with the 2d6 Quantum Dark rpg. And here's where things go a bit sideways because of the fact that you as the DM & players are going  be using Quantum Dark for the PC's abilities, and actual play systems. PC generation uses a combination of Souless Children and Quantum Dark for backgrounds, histories, etc. One group of player's PC's could be the Souless Children and the other could be thier hunters. This is a situation that we've done with Game Designer's Workshop's Dark Conspiracy ages ago. 

And with a bit of work Souless Children could be the cornerstone of a horror campaign. Here the PC's might be trying to recover the sliver of innocence that thier denied all while hunting for 'food' and undead 'survival'. All of this could be against the background of retaking Neverland. 

Review & Commentary On Earth By Paul Elliot From Zozer Games For The Hostile Rpg

 " "I've spent my career exploring Hostile worlds. It didn't prepare me for Earth: the dust zones, the overcrowded megacities, the shortages of food and water... and the corporations extracting profits from everything around them. No wonder the off-world movement is so popular..."

"Earth is a worldbook for the gritty sci-fi Hostile RPG, set in 2225. Two economic collapses have reshaped the world, chaos and crime are widespread, corporations now manage many world governments, and an eco-crisis has created new deserts, flooded cities and changed the atmosphere. If uou're a military contractor, you are in luck! There is much to defend. If you're a corporate agent, then you are fighting for power and profits in the largest super-cities known to man. If you're just trying to get by in your city arcology ... god help you."

Earth has been a bit of a mystery when it comes to the Hostile RPG in our campaigns. Not so in the  new hundred page Earth campaign setting book. Earth is mapped out but Hostile Earth isn't really a campaign setting book so much as a whole cloth campaign kit. 
Earth Cyberpunk City Under Corporate Control is a great book that lives up the usual Hostile rpg standards. We've got some great layout and easy to read fonts in this book. And the setting is corporate creepy and really not a place that I want to live. Have our PC's visit well that's another story. You've got new NPC's, new factions, brand new concerns, new equipment, and more. 
Earth however is the screw around and find out planet. Earth is a scarred planet and a place that has been through two of the worst economic collapses seen! And you're supposed to be making it here. And Earth has it's charm with: 

Includes:

• Timeline
• Nation Write-ups
• The 2nd American Civil War
• Clone Hunting
• The US Police Force
• New Vehicles & Robots
• Liberty Station
• Orbital Habitats
• And more ... 

And what's worse is that the megacorporations from the Hostile RPG are given form and function. And they can make life on Earth very nasty and my advise is think hard before bringing your PC's home. The natives are not friendly on Earth and could be very dangerous. So is it any activities on Earth is going to be handled very carefully. The Earth sourcebook contains the closest Bladerunner style rules for PC's and thier machinations with the Earth as well as the US Police Force I've seen. And this isn't to say that there's not plenty of opportunities on Earth to turn a profit. But instead PC's are going to have to tread carefully and sieze those opportunities when they come along. 
Zozer does excellent headway with thier writing and setting the stage on Earth of the Hostile era. This is a world weary and drunk with wars that have lay siege for centuries to the blue marble. And I highly recommend Earth as a campaign setting! 

Review & Commentary On The Coner-class Trader By Michael Johnson From Independence Games

" Derided by some as the ugliest and most unreliable ship ever made, the Coner (pronounced as “Connor”) is a common sight in both Earth Sector and Clement Sector.  Despite the many downsides of the ship, the Coner has a dedicated following of people such as the Coner Owners’ Association, who love the much maligned little ship.  The 200-tonne trader is an inexpensive option for many who are willing to put in the hard work and elbow grease to keep the little ship running.  These owners often have their ship colored in loud colors, modified from stem to stern, and with all manner of personalization both within and without. "

"The Coner is often used as a “starter ship” and could easily be used by a Referee for a group of new players who need a ship with “character”.   Featuring deckplans by Independence Games’ Starship Guru Michael Johnson and art by fan-favorite Ian Stead, the Coner is presented with loving detail for a ship that is both beloved and hated throughout colonized space." 

 Are you ready for a challenge?"

Every Clement Sector, Earth Sector, Cepheus Engine, & old school Traveller rpg adventurer needs an inexpensive & yet high class trader ship! Here's where The Coner-class Trader By Michael Johnson From Independence Games  comes into play. The Coner class trader is a trader ship on a budget and it's definitely an adventurer's ship in every sense of the word. The manufacturer's history even bares this out;" In 2265, StellarTech completed the first of several significant milestones with the commencement of the construction of their first commercial starship, the Coner-class trader which was completed in record time. Even given the short design time and the number of setbacks, this versatile vessel promised enhanced efficiency and cargo capacity and the widespread advertising campaign quickly attracted the attention of free traders who plied their trade in the outer colonies and fringes of explored space. Sales were expected to be excellent, and they were, especially given StellarTech’s already excellent reputation as a component manufacturer." 
The Coner class isn't exactly the fully functional trade ship especially with the older models having some Zim drive issues. This gives Coners excellent ships for adventurers to get deeply involved with.  There's a complete room by room breakdown of the Coner. Micheal Johnson's writing is up to it's usual standard. 
In only thirty three pages we get a fully formed & integratable trader with a fully formed history, variant Coner ship types, and much more. StellarTech went bankrupt but this has left millions of Coners in service. And millions that have been modified for the dark frontiers of the Earth Sector & the Clement Sectors. 
And this also means that the chance of encountering a Coner are exceedingly high. I've got a soft spot for these boxy little jobbies of a trade ship and they are well suited to the Space Western asthetic of the Independence Games product line. I love the design and feel of these boxy little adventurers ships. Ian Stead & Michael Johnson bring a unique feel to the Coner while proving an excellent little adventurer's ship. 

Review & Commentary On Wretched Verses Issue 11 – Vampires, Werewolves and Wretched Hunters For The Wretchedverse rpgs

 
Wretched Verse Issue 11 Released: An alternative way of introducing Vampires, Werewolves and their hunters into a Wretched game

So I grabbed  Wretched Verse Issue 11 & I was expecting a small little intro into the world of  the Wretchedverse for Vampires & Werewolves. Nope what we got was a huge forty seven page overview and alternative deep dive into the world of vampires and werewolves. And it adds in a brand new faction! The werewolf and vampire hunters are something that is going to give the player's pause and are a faction that has a wide array of wretchedverse adventure applications. Not only do you get a break down of new werewolf and vampire factions but you get internal rivalries and relationship dynamics. 
Why is this important?! Because you've got a huge amount of these factions running around in both Wretched Darkness and Wretched Époque's second edition!

Although   Wretched Verse Issue 11 could extensively be used with the modern era. Where it really shines is when combined with Wretched Époque's second edition. Here's why. The fact is the expanded evirons of Paris are the perfect staging ground for a wide variety of dust ups between the minions of the Beyond and the vampires or werewolves. The usual 'World of Darkness' style tropes are not here. Instead we get a world where the supernatural is at the throats of the monsters and vice versa. This puts a whole different spin on the historical world of Epoque.

The vile villains may not necessarily be either the vampires or werewolves of Paris. They might in point of fact be humans or worse. And believe me when I say that there's far worse in Wretched Epoque. And personally this is a highly underutilized aspect of Wretched Epoque. Because the Beyond of Paris is incredibly dangerous!

What Wretched Verse Issue 11 brings to the table are brand new takes on the usual Werewolves & vampires far more in keeping with both cinematic and folklore versions of our favoite monsters! Wretched Verse Issue 11 would also work very well for the Invisible College Rpg to help to round out the werewolves and vampires of that world as well. This means that Wretched Verse Issue 11 works very well as a well rounded

Review & Commentary On Badge Law Enforcement In The Clement Sector by John Watts For The Clement Sector Rpg & Other Cepheus Engine Rpg Campaigns

 "Welcome to the world of law enforcement! That’s something that was said at the beginning of more than one television series concerning the police, so it seems to be fitting here. Badge: Law Enforcement in Clement Sector is our answer to those types of series involving everything from movies and television series concerning police departments to novels about police and private detectives. This book will give you many of the tools you need to run a similar sort of theme in Clement Sector. "

"Existing as a sort of companion volume with Outlaw: Crime in Clement Sector and Manhunters: Bounty Hunters in Clement Sector, this book fills the void left by those books concerning the police department who may be the antagonists to someone running a campaign with those books. Alternatively, of course, the denizens of Outlaw and Manhunters may be the antagonists to a police or detective oriented campaign. In many cases, they will likely be contacts, allies, rivals, and enemies of one another in a well-rounded campaign. It should go without saying that both Outlaw and Manhunters will be very useful to the Referee seeking to get the most out of this volume. Referees will likely find GEAR: General Equipment Adventurers Require useful as well and many of the careers featured in this book also call back to Diverse Roles, our Clement Sector career catalog" 

The image of the overworked cop or sheriff in the Old West especially in the 19th century is one that we don't really think of when it comes to Independence Games Clement sector. Well, it's one that should be on our minds especially when we look deeper into the Cepheus and Clement Sector rpg. Badge Law Enforcement In The Clement Sector fills a gap in the frontier blackness of the Clement sector. John Watts does an excellent job of looking deep into the nature of a far future 2d6 Science Fiction law enforcement point and the dirty  flip side of law enforcement itself. What is it about the Clement sector?! The fact that it trips the edges of the almost Wild West like Science Fiction or is it the fact that the Clement sector is very well realized as an almost but not quite 2d6 living & breathing campaign. A campaign setting who law men & women have a beyond thankless job on the edges of the darkness.

 

 Badge Law Enforcement In The Clement Sector by John Watts has a totally different voice from other Clement Sector books. Badge leans into it's Cepheus Engine rpg roots through the lens of it's careers of law enforcement centered around it's colonial roots. And it's because the law out in the Clement sector is beyond stretched thin. The law is quite literally balanced between it's role as peace keeper and guardian of civilization. And it's this that gives Badges it's character. And namely a very tight and well done voice. And it's Badges game voice that rings through with John Watts writing and commitment to his books that shines through. Badges is a book that your going to want to use especially with both Clement Sector and other Cepheus Engine rpg books. 

Badge Law Enforcement In The Clement Sector by John Watts hits the quality established by the Clement Sector rpg book hard. The only other book that hits the notes that Badge does is G.E.A.R. and the Skull & Crossbones Piracy in The Clement Sector books. Both of these books slot into the back end of Badge seemlessly enabling a DM to come up with an underworld that is a part of the Clement sector landscape easily.

 Badge does this by going over the ins & outs of law enforcemet. Introducing new careers, procedures, and much more. Then easing into new equipment, weapons, vechicles, and even NPC's that can be dropped into your ongoing Clement Sector campaigns. 

What really stands out is the frontier asthetic that is one part Science Fiction Wild West and two parts Bladerunner that has the classic Clement sector spin. And it does this by taking into acount on every front it's frontier and Wild West asthetic. 

Badges hits the high points to law enforcement even up to tech level ten. And by going over almost every aspect of the law and it's dirtier underworld elements. There's no sugar coating here. John Watts hits the high points and comes back for more when it comes to the law in the Clement sector. The writing here is tight, the layout is up to Independence Games standards and there's a sense that this isn't going to be last we see of Badges. 
Could Badges be used with other Cepheus Engine settings and more. The fact is that Badges could easily be moved into a classic Traveller rpg campaign. 

 Badge Law Enforcement In The Clement Sector by John Watts For The Clement Sector Rpg & Other Cepheus Engine Rpg Campaigns Will Be Appearing soon in the Independence Games site here. 

Review & Commentary On TSRPG (Travel-Sized RPG) & The 'On the Plane of Magma' (A Fantasy Scenario for TSRPG)

 "TSRPG (Travel-Sized RPG)! This improv storytelling game designed for a storyteller and one or more players can easily be played anywhere, from the airport waiting area you are stuck in, to the overnight in some hotel where there is nothing to do (and also, of course, in your own home). "
I don't normally handle storyteller games but there are two reasons why I'm looking at this. One is the situation with the OGL & Cowards of the Coast. And two Skirmisher Publishing are good friends of mine. TSRPG (Travel-Sized RPG) is a dollar & the rules fit on one page of the pdf. The task resolution system is simple,quick, & reliable. 

And TSRPG (Travel-Sized RPG includes the rules, sample PC's, & enough to get a group of four or five players started a mini one shot. And the system for this?! The TSRPG (Travel-Sized RPG  reminds me in many ways of the Storyteller system but in a completely different direction;"
Characters are the players’ in-story representatives and have individual names and concepts associated with them. Each has two stats, Physical and Mental, and has 5 points to distribute between them. Physical, or “hard stuff,” is anything that uses the character’s body. Mental, or “soft stuff,” is anything that uses the character’s mind. Each character is also given at least one piece of equipment that can conditionally grant a +1 to either stat if it narratively fits the Challenge (and Storytellers can opt to allow them to start with two or more pieces if they think their scenario is sufficiently challenging to warrant it). Equipment can be consumable (e.g., a potion, a bandage) or permanent (e.g., a multitool, a cattle prod). Characters can also acquire additional equipment during adventures, particularly in appropriate areas (e.g., a shovel might be found in a garden shed). Challenges Challenges are any situations a character has to respond to in which the outcome is not guaranteed. These Challenges are based either on a character’s Physical prowess or their Mental faculties. Conflict with opponents (i.e., combat) is resolved as a challenge, or a series of challenges, that characters must overcome. Breathing or walking, for example, are generally not considered to be a Challenge, while weightlifting or taking the SATs generally are. Challenges are also contextual (e.g., breathing suddenly becomes a Challenge when the character is sick or under water). Challenges are what stand between the player characters and their goals. How Challenges Work To adjudicate a Challenge, the storyteller picks a random number within a difficulty range and communicates it to the players. The size of this range determines how difficult the Challenge is (e.g., 1-5 is very easy, 1-15 is average, 1-30 is extremely hard). These may be easily described as a “5-point Challenge,” etc. The player whose character is trying to overcome a Challenge must attempt to guess the Storyteller’s number, and if they guess it +/- the stat picked by the storyteller, they succeed (e.g., a Physical stat of 2 would mean that guessing anything from 3 to 7 with a target number of 5 would be a success). Otherwise they fail." 
And that's really it & as an alternative to dealing with the chit chat of 5th edition D&D 's BS TSRPG (Travel-Sized RPG is an alternative storyteller style rpg. And from here if I were the DM then I'd pivot into  “On the Plane of Magma” . This is a twelve page adventure that pits the PC's against the forces of the plane of magma. 
There's a solid adventure on the plane of magma that can be played in one session & Skirmisher has even done an expensive video here On The Plane of Magma .  “On the Plane of Magma”  has solid maps, really solid encounters, and some really solid twists & turns. 

Is TSRPG (Travel-Sized RPG a replacement for the fifth edition of the world's most popular fantasy rpg?! No but is it a fun rpg storytelling system? Yes it is but this isn't the game for me as an OSR player & DM. “On the Plane of Magma” is a great little one shot for the DM to run with the TSRPG. However that being said this isn't a game I'll be running anytime soon. 

Review & Commentary On The Player's Companion By James M. Spahn From Gallant Games For The Swords & Wizardry Rpg (and other old-school fantasy role-playing games)

" With the Player's Companion for Swords & Wizardry (and other old-school fantasy role-playing games), you're never out of options. This 35 page supplement offers new optional rules to expand your Swords & Wizardry campaign! "

• Expanded attribute limits which allow for player characters to go beyond the limits of mere mortals
• Two new optional Attributes: Appearance & Luck
• New class abilities for every class featured in the Swords & Wizardry Complete rulebook
• Two new classes: The dark Anti-Paladin and the learned Bard
• Three new non-human player character races: the deadly dark elf, whimsical gnome and brutal half-orc
• Optional attribute modifiers for non-human characters
• Eleven new weapons
• Five new types of armor
• Two new shields
• Thrity-five new magic items" 
  
  

There is only one reason why I grabbed The Player's Companion By James M. Spahn From Gallant Games For The  Swords & Wizardry Rpg (and other old-school fantasy role-playing games). And that is because I'm going to be running a White Star Galaxy Edition game set within the Washington sector. And the reason for grabbing the Player's Companion is because I truly don't trust the situation with Cowards of Coast  & the OGL. Further more the research that I've done into  The Player's Companion By James M. Spahn indicates that it's a wise investiment. For White Star the 'Anti Paladin' is a must; "Anti-Paladins are unholy warriors dedicated to the forces of Chaos. Whether they've sold their soul for power, made a dark pact with infernal masters, or simply relish in blood and carnage, they are blackhearted warriors beyond redemption. They are the classic “black knight,” who seeks to destroy and dominate the world. They are completely dedicated to the destruction of the forces of Law and go forth in hopes of ruling the world through tyranny and at the point of a sword." And if that doesn't sound like an NPC class that can give a group of star knights a run for their money I don't know what will. And given the range of the class plus it's benefits this is a villainous class with some clout to it. 
The writing, layout, and even the artwork within the The Player's Companion is top notch. All of the highnotes are hit with customizations & credits within the The Player's Companion for Swords & Wizardry. We get another variation on ye old faithful Bard class with enough zip to get these tellers of tales & ancient knowledge out of the time of legend. And then there's new races such as the Dark Elves, Gnomes, and even a half orc for your assassinations.. Then there's a brand new equipment & weapons chapter covering everything from a Cestus to Tower shields is covered. Then we've got a nice selection of magic items & more. So is   The Player's Companion worth the price of admission?! If your a Swords & Wizardry player or DM? In a word .yes! The Player's Companin is a catch up all title for all manner of Swords & Wizardry material that you drop down into your campaign or added in as needed! 
  The Player's Companion By James M. Spahn From Gallant Games For The  Swords & Wizardry Rpg (and other old-school fantasy role-playing games)
is available here