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Dark Ages: Inquisitor
Publisher: White Wolf
by Flames R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 02/09/2014 17:53:12

“The Revenge of the Kine” would also be an adequate name for Dark Ages: Inquisitor, where ordinary mortals are called by God himself to serve their fellow man in the vocation of the secret Holy Inquisition. Hold onto your souls kids, we’re entering a medieval world tormented by the get of Satan — from demons to heretics to blood drinking witches, and we are all that stands between man, and his corruption by evil incarnate. We are the men in black. And white. And red. And the rest.

It was a good theory anyway. The horrors perpetrated in the name of God were little better than the Get of Satan is capable of. Torture, murder and mob violence are the staples of the Inquisition, which at its most extreme will stop at nothing to root out the minions of the Adversary. How could a good Christian stand by and let Satan’s minions run freely around God’s Earth? All sin may be absolved, and what is the odd transgression when you are in the practice of saving souls? What choice do you have when the legions of Hell are here, now and stealing the souls of Innocents? Trust in God, and in his Forgiveness. One of my favorite aspects of this game is that when the Inquisitor’s Conviction for his cause outstrips his faith in God (i.e. Piety- the Inquisitor path) he becomes “Callous”, effectively becoming a killing machine in the name of the Holy Inquisition. The Inquisitor gives in to the dark side of his Nature- his ‘Impulse’. Gone is any empathy for wretched souls tricked or being coerced by Satan, “Kill them all for God will know his own” is the sort of cry that comes to mind when an Inquisitor turns to the dark side of the force.

In service to the Holy Roman Church there are five Holy Orders divided (similarly to high and low Clans) into Monastic and Lay orders. These five orders are under the command of Cardinal Marzone who answers to the Pope, to God and to no one else. He and those under him are charged by the Pope with the Holy task of eradicating Satan’s evil from all of Christendom, while remaining completely unknown of (at this stage) by the common populace, including most of the Church itself. These Orders include Honorable Knight-Monks, Nuns who gain visions from God, A Noble house with a nose for the stench of evil, A broad spy network, and even an Order who actually desires to use the knowledge of Hell against its minions, but often at a terrible cost.

Steeped in ignorance as to the strengths and weaknesses of demons, and being only fragile, God-fearing mortals themselves, the Inquisitors are given mighty Blessings from God which take the form of miracles, and similarly are given Curses for being greedy in seeking power too quickly, or for having imperfect faith. Blessings from God are not bought with experience, rather they are purchased with the Holy Conviction that the Fight engenders within every inquisitor that their cause is just.

Inquisitors, while on an individual basis are not even vaguely as powerful as a Vampire, Werewolf, Mage or Fey, employ the awesome strength of the Flock. This is the one power that all of the mightiest creatures in the world fear, that of those they prey upon (in one way or another) rising up collectively against them, the herd stampeding the predator, so to speak. Inquisitors may be unable to employ unholy methods to gain hellish strength, speed or even the use of hell-spawned magic, but they have the single most powerful organization at their backs, whose members follow, out of blind faith and sheer desperation to save both their lives and souls. Having mentioned their weaknesses, some Inquisitor Blessings are truly horrific. They may create true sunlight (at a low level), and at higher levels may reflect Unholy Powers back upon the caster (including Potence!), equal the physical statistics of a foe, call down the Wrath of God, or even force ‘demons’ to join in a glorious hymn praising Almighty God, inflicting copious amounts of aggravated damage in the process. For all their anti-magic pretense they seem to be awesomely potent magic-users, to me at least. While not as versatile as a Mage, resilient as a Vampire, or combat munchkiny as a Werewolf they represent the terrifying power of the Flock, and the Flock is not happy. Inquisitors are God’s bastions of strength among the Flock, having been blessed with several abilities that set them apart from their fellow man, as well as the denizens of Hell. As with Vampires, Inquisitors have Virtues, although these have also been further refined into “Superior Virtues”- Conscience growing into Faith, Self-Control into Wisdom and Courage into Zeal. Superior virtues grant the Inquisitor resistance to unnatural powers like thralldom, memory alteration and fear effects. God has given the Inquisitors four different types of ‘Blessings’ including Orisons, Endowments, Ritae and the Holy Art.

Orisons are the weakest of the blessings, generally performing some minor feat- e.g. turning the Inquisitors blood toxic to Vampires, enhancing ones knowledge, or reducing the need for sleep. Endowments have different facets, which are drawn upon by different Superior Virtues. Holy Ritae include everything from exorcism to creating holy armaments, while the Holy Art is similar to path magic of the Tremere, with three paths representing the three aspects of the Divine Trinity.

‘Well, what the hell do you think about it?’ you are probably asking by now. Well, I quite like Dark Ages: Inquisitor, although I am extremely annoyed that you need Dark Ages: Vampire to be able to run a game, whether you want it or not, because only it contains the core rules. A lot of the book is given to explaining how the inquisition thinks, and rightly so, it is very hard to shift from modern day thinking to such a narrow minded, contradictory and ignorant world view. It is a real culture shock shifting from a Mage or Vampire game to an Inquisitor game as the sheer ignorance of the group. Despite its power, its core concept is ‘If it ain’t us it’s the Devil’s work’ makes for a very interesting, if limiting, game. I love the fiction (there is an awful lot — more than a whole chapter) about Leopold von Murnau and the other hunters, as well as the way that the Inquisition’s view on the supernatural is explained during a story (in a very Tolkienesque manner if you ask me).

All in all, this game embodies (even if it appears otherwise) what all the WoD games historically entailed- “We may not be right, we do not have all the answers, but we are going to give life the best damned shot we can give it. We are going to act in a manner and try and protect our friends and family and ourselves, for our own purposes, enforced upon us by our own circumstances.” This way of thinking is what has led me to love White-Wolf games in the first place- the dissolution of the good vs. evil cliché, and the characters (regardless of what they happen to be) acting simply as life has shaped them to act. The concept of ‘we may not have all the answers, but we’ll give it our best shot’ is a universal one.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Dark Ages: Inquisitor
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Changeling: The Lost
Publisher: White Wolf
by Flames R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 02/09/2014 17:51:09

Changeling was the 5th game launched under the “new” version of the World of Darkness from White Wolf Game Studio. It is partially a re-imagining of Changeling: the Dreaming and a chance for White Wolf to explore myth and legend in new ways. This game deviates much more from its predecessor than Vampire: the Requiem does from Vampire: the Masquerade. Sure, there are a few familiar terms in this version of Changeling, but the game is very, very different from the Dreaming.

In Lost, the characters are victims of the True Fae, having been abducted or seduced into service of these other-worldly beings. The Fae often replace the victim with a Fetch (a Fae creation that effectively assumes the role the character would have had in the mortal world). While in Arcadia the characters fill any number of roles for their masters, servants, lovers, slaves, pawns and decorations in the endless imaginations of The Others. All of the Lost have managed somehow to escape Arcadia and returned to the world of mortals. They find however, that the world has moved on without them and they no longer really fit into their old lives anymore. Not only have usually not been missed (because of the Fetch that replaced them), but they are now not fully human anymore. Their time in the world of the Fae has altered them with magic and left the mark of the fairy world on them in fundamental ways.

Changeling: the Lost offers up a ton of setting information early on. The first chapter is full of rich detail in regards to the Fae, the life of a Changeling as a servant to these inhuman beings and the lives they attempt to lead now that they have escaped. The balance they attempt to hold between their lives as Lost and the world of the mortals around them is a constant struggle. This is an important element throughout the book, even during the mechanics portion of the game. The Changeling specific mortality Trait called Clarity, for example, is literally the Changeling’s ability to perceive the differences between the mundane and the magical (i.e. mortal and fairy). Much of this early setting information is expanded upon later in the book with the Storytelling System mechanics in later chapters.

Creating characters in Changeling takes a little bit of work, but only because there are so many options. Starting out with the Attributes, Skills and Specialties in the core World of Darkness book is the “easy” part, the real fun begins with the Changeling specific elements that are offered.

At first glance the Seasonal Courts, which make up the political aspect of the setting are fairly straightforward. Summer Court are hotheads who have powers over Wrath and the Winter Court are “cold” and sad. This is only at first glance however, as each of the Courts have advantages and disadvantages for membership. There is plenty of information on each of the Courts and I immediately had several story ideas for my next game. Like Vampire: the Requiem, there is an option for characters to strike out on their own and not sign up with one of the courts (or in the case of vampire, not joining a Covenant). I actually found that it was easier to choose a character’s Seeming than deciding which of the Courts to align with. Basically, a Seeming tells you what kind of fae your character has become. Whether you are a creature of the night like the Darklings or a pretty little member of the Fairest or even a big bad Ogre usually depends on just why you were taken to Arcadia to begin with and what type of life your character had while they were serving the Others. While there are six different types of Seeming, each of them has a handful of Kith options to further customize your character.

Contracts are the supernatural powers the Fae and the Lost use to affect the world around them. There are a lot of them offered in this book. There are the General Contracts that all changelings have access to, there are also Contracts based on the character’s Seeming and Contracts based on specific Seasonal Courts and last, but certainly not least are the Goblin Contracts. Most Contracts work in a fairly basic World of Darkness fashion, there are five levels of power each with a cost, applicable Dice Pool and Roll Results handily laid out for the Player and Storyteller alike to reference. A great addition to this game is the Catch. Catches are neat options for the character to “get out of” paying the cost (usually Glamour and/or Willpower) of using the power. An example would be to have the token of your enemy given freely to the character.

Between the General, Seeming and Seasonal Contracts there are ton of options for players to arm their characters with and I would have been happy with that big list. The strange little Goblin Contracts are a great extra detail that really adds to the game. They are a twist on the concept of Contracts without breaking the system in any way. Instead of a path of similar powers that get more powerful with experience Goblin Contracts are individual boons that come with a cost, they are ranked depending on how powerful they are. One example is Fair entrance, which allows the character to freely enter any door (disabling alarms and/or locks), but the cost is that their own dwelling will face a similar problem when someone attempts to gain access.

There are a ton of new rules for the Storytelling System in the book, but really, no more than in any of the other core books. These new rules cover the Changeling specific elements of the setting such as Pledges, Tokens, Trifles and how to craft them in your game. There are handy side-bars throughout the book with examples and charts to make understanding the new rules easy for everyone. There are plenty of story hooks throughout these sections of the book and clever little additions to the setting. The Stingseed, for example, is a Trifle which adds extra dice penalties to the victim of bullet wound until the damage from the wound is healed. A character willing to go looking for these seeds just might have an adventure or two during the hunt, is the bonus worth the risk?

There is a lot of information offered to the Storyteller in the form of antagonists, story ideas, helpful information about Fetches and more throughout the end of the book. Types of Lost, mortals and True Fae are some of the varied antagonists offered, each with storytelling hints and stats ready to play. Goblin Markets get their own section with plenty of useful information and even a few optional rules to keep things interesting. As if Seasonal Court, Seeming and Kith were not enough options for your Changeling character, in the first Appendix of the book are Entitlements. Entitlements are Noble Orders within changeling society offering up various advantages to the character for membership in the order. Some of these advantages are supernatural, some are social and of course, there are a few disadvantages as well. There are nine Orders offered in the appendix and handy rules for creating new Orders should the Storyteller and Players wish to do so.

Appendix two is a guidebook to the Freehold of Miami. This is a ready-to-go setting with a short history of the city from the changeling point-of-view, plenty of politics between the Courts and several prominent characters. This is the same setting as the free Changeling: the Lost Demo and creepy/cool Fear-Maker’s Promise which also offer up NPCs and setting details for Storytellers’ to use if they like Miami.

Changeling: the Lost is a very different game than Changeling: the Dreaming. Some of the terminology may be similar but each book explores fairy tales in a different way and offer up very different types of games. Some fans will want to compare the two games, others will look at Lost as something new and original. I’m a fan of both games. Changeling: the Lost is an amazing book, full of great writing and tons of story elements.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Changeling: The Lost
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Buffy RPG Revised Corebook
Publisher: Eden Studios
by Flames R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 12/25/2013 18:46:54

This is one of the prettiest and best written game books I’ve ever had the pleasure to come across. The book is full-color, and chock full of pictures and quotes from the series. What truly makes the book stand out is the writing style. CJ Carella and his crew have written something that looks less like a rulebook, and more like a transcript of someone talking about the TV show, and how a game system for Buffy would work if he could just design one. The book is almost as funny and irreverent as the show it draws from, making this book an easy read.

Character Creation is a walk in the park. Even an inexperienced player can put together a Buffy character in about 15 minutes. There are two types of characters: Heroes and White Hats. Heroes get more points to play with in terms of attributes, skills, and qualities, and get 10 Drama Points (explained below), which cost more to buy with XP for them. White Hats aren’t as talented, but get 20 Drama Points to start, and they can buy more for half-price. This lets both the superheroes and the every-man-types to fight on the same battle field and be useful.

The key devices for Buffy characters are the Qualities and Drawbacks. Qualities are traits like the usual Merits we see in most games, but they also contain packages like Cop, Nerd, and, of course, Slayer and Watcher. These packages are a quick amalgamation of other Qualities and Drawbacks, as well as attribute and skill bonuses that help get your character where it needs to be.

Drawbacks are the other side of the coin. Only in Buffy will you find Drawbacks like Teenager and Showoff. Also, in keeping with the angst-ridden nature of the show, Love is either a Quality for those how live happily ever after, or a Drawback for its Tragic variant. Take a look at the character sheets of the Original Cast. Guess which version appears most often? Want full-write-ups of Buffy and her Scoobie Gang? The book does provide full character sheets for all the main characters up through Season Five, with a section devoted to Seasonal Adjustments so you can use earlier versions of them if you wish. Also, the book does not skimp on example characters for an entirely new cast. My personal favorite is the Slayer who was studying to get into college for a medical degree before getting Called, and though still has trouble dealing with the concept of magic, is very comfortable doing her own research. The book provides an entire cast of characters that goes along with this Slayer as a cast of its own show.

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer Core Rulebook is another game for the Unisystem rules, originally created for Eden’s Witchcraft game. This version of the Unisystem has been altered for a more cinematic feel, making it less rules-heavy and more drama oriented. Rules Lawyers won’t be happy with this, but for gaming groups that are more like improve acting troupes, this is game designed with them in mind.

The system is a basic d10 system, with the standard attributes and some fun skills (Gun Fu, Getting Medieval, Mr. Fix-It, etc). Just roll d10 and add in your stat and your skill ratings. A total more than 9 is a success, with various levels of success above that. Opposed rolls are one by who has the highest level of success. Simple, no? Average NPCs don’t even make rolls. They have Ability Scores that are simple values for the PCs to roll against to determine success. Full-on skill checks and character sheets are only for the Big Bads of the series.

The use of Drama Points allows for even normal White Hat-types to stand up and fight the good fight alongside the more powerful Heroes. They not only grant bonuses to die rolls, they can be used to get clues from the Director (this game’s version of a GM), do a quick heal to keep the character standing, or even bring the character back from the dead. Be warned though, the exact method of return is left to the Director’s discretion, and like Joss Whedon himself, she will surely come up with something unpleasant.

Probably the best feature of the game is how awards of Drama Points can be used by the Director as a kind of payment for doing unavoidable bad things to PCs. Need to have someone abducted? Pay them a Drama Point or two, depending on how much danger the character will be placed into. Oh, and Big Bads have Drama Points too, so the playing field is always level.

The combat system is just an extension of the skill system. Roll 1d10; get more success levels than your opponent. What you can do in combat is taken from a list of combat maneuvers, from a simple punch, to the infamous Spin Kick. Damage is off a simple equation where you just plug in your Strength rating for base damage, and then add your success levels for a bonus. The character sheet has a section to keep track of the number you add to your roll, base damage, and any little quirk a certain move might have, so once you try a move once, just jot it down, and you never need look it up again, making combat after the first couple game sessions flow smoothly and rapidly.

What really sets the combat system apart from most other games that I’ve played is how it allows for called attacks, and one-hit kills with simplicity that doesn’t unbalance the game, yet keeps the flavor of the vampire slaying intact. Decapitation, Stake Through The Heart, and Groin Shot are all standard combat maneuvers. Simply make an attack roll with a penalty, if you succeed, you calculate damage. Instead of applying it, multiply it and if this number exceeds a vampire’s Life Points, welcome to the dust pan. If not, just deal normal damage. This keeps things simple, and explains why it’s a good idea to beat on a vampire first before going for the kill shot, like they do on the TV show.

The magic system of Buffy is where the game makes its biggest departure from the original Unisystem. For those familiar with Witchcraft and Armageddon, there is no Essence. Anyone can cast ritual magic with the time and proper texts and components. Flashy, D&D-style casting and staking vampires through levitated pencils are reserved for Witches and Warlocks. In game terms, these are the people who take levels in the Sorcery Quality.

Like the rest of the system, casting is just a simple roll. Sorcery adds a bonus to it. Each spell has a power level, which is how many success levels are needed to make it work. The real fun begins is when, you do get successes, but not enough of them. Something happened. Just not what the Witch intended. Once again, we get that Joss Whedon touch, where the Director gets to exercise his twisted imagination in an exercise of a Hellmouth-tainted version of the Three-Fold Law. Magic is quite powerful in the Buffyverse, but the risk of using it can be quite high for the arrogant or unprepared.

The final chapters of the book deal with Sunnydale and how to run a Season of Episodes for your new Series. This book takes the TV show metaphor and makes it work, and is one of the best written treatises on adventure design, that I’ve seen, Buffy-related or otherwise. You also get quick NPC stats for most of the major villains of the series, as well as generic NPCs for vampire grunts and lieutenants, cops, high school students, and other creatures of the night.

The book ends with a Season Premiere episode that introduces a creature called the Djinn, which will be the running theme for adventures presented in the various Buffy books. I own all 5 supplements, and you can use these as a core for a Season with the Djinn as the Big Bad.

The Appendices gives you a quick quote file of all things Buffy, to let fledging fans have an idea of how the dialogue of a Buffy game should go in certain situations. It’s a bit of fluff, but its good fluff, and always worth a quick read even by experienced Buffy-holics just for the trip down memory lane.

This is one of the best written and well-thought-out role-playing games I have ever had the pleasure to come across. The rules are simple and cinematic. Everything positively drips with a taste of the Buffyverse (okay maybe I should rephrase that…). If you’re a gamer and a fan of the series, this is a must-have. If you’re just a fan, consider getting it just to read from time to time. You may find a new hobby. It’s great for both long-time fans and newbies alike.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Buffy RPG Revised Corebook
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Heralds of the Storm (Year of the Scarab Trilogy Book 1)
Publisher: White Wolf
by Flames R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 12/25/2013 18:41:28

What would you do if you woke up one day and discovered that everything you thought was silly superstition and nonsense was real and you were the only thing standing between evil and the rest of Humanity?

Thea Ghandour, the unlikely pot-smoking heroine who continuously laments her lack of a sex-life, and a less-than-intrepid and equally unlikely band of fellow Hunters have been trying to answer that question since they found each other. Heralds of the Storm opens on one of their self-imposed missions, just outside the lair of a vampire, one of “the greatest predators ever to walk the earth.”

Don’t read Heralds looking for an introductory romp through the world of the Mummies, no matter what the back-cover blurb says. The story revolves around the conflict and manipulation between the Van Helsing Brigade (as Thea calls the group of Hunters), walking dead man Maxwell Carpenter and their mutual enemy, leaving the Mummy aspect largely unexplored and completely unexplained. Intentional? Probably. The story ends without closure; it was obviously written with the trilogy idea already in place. Heralds will make more sense to readers who are already at least passingly familiar with White Wolf’s World of Darkness, especially from the Vampire angle. Some of the more noticeable leaps of logic are easily resolved by reference to the wider setting but require previous knowledge of that setting to make sense. The idea of the Masquerade from Vampire — that any notice of the supernatural by the mortals is a threat to the existence of the vampires and should therefore be concealed — is the obvious answer to Thea’s question “And why would they cover up something about us?.” Without that background, the reader is simply left with half an answer and the question never comes up again.

One of the most entertaining aspects of the Hunter group is that they could be lifted from any random gaming table. They are the epitome of the typical dysfunctional player-character gaming group; they can’t get along with each other but they still usually manage to accomplish what they set their minds to (after much arguing). While these characters are accessible to the reader precisely because of their familiarity, that same familiarity allows them to slip in and out of two dimensional predictability. The text of Heralds stretches to be overly colloquial in an attempt to portray the Hunters as normal everyday folks, leaving awkwardly wordy spots in an otherwise well-written story. The attempt to portray the Hunters as Jane and Joe Average is admirable, but not very accurate. These are, for the most part, not just normal people. Like most player-character groups, they are normal people with funky powers pitting their funky powers against the funky powers of other supernaturals in a vain attempt to save the world. The continuous recourse to traditional methods, such as Internet searches and camera surveillance and the fact that they at times fail do far more to paint the characters in an everday light, successfully keeping the Hunters from becoming a Buffy-verse rip-off.

All in all, Heralds of the Storm is superb game fiction — and an excellent first novel for Andrew Bates. If you’ve got some background in the World of Darkness and you’re just looking to relax for a couple hours, this is one you definitely need to pick up. If you have no experience with Vampire, Hunter or Wraith, however, you should come back to this one later. The story itself is highly readable and will make perfect sense, but some of the auxiliary details will be lost if this is your introduction to the World of Darkness.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Heralds of the Storm (Year of the Scarab Trilogy Book 1)
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Dark Ages Clan Novel 10: Gangrel
Publisher: Crossroad Press Publishing
by Flames R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 12/25/2013 18:40:01

Jürgens armies under the sign of the Black Cross march out to conquer the east. Against them stand the vile Tzimisce ruled by the Voivode of all Voivodes: Count Vladimir Rustovitch.

But not only those stand in the way of Jürgens men, between their home and the Voivodat lies Livonia, a fierce, primal territory ruled by Quarakh the Untamed and his horde of Gangrel. By his side there is Deverra, High-Priest of Telyavel and Tremere renegade. Jürgen sends out Alexander of Paris to propose a pact or slay Quarakh. But Alexander has different plans. With Quarakhs help he is about to subdue first the Tzimisce and Jürgen, then march against Paris to claim what is rightfully his. When Quarakh declares he is not interested Alexander decides to kill the barbarian, but has no knowledge of Deverra and her liege Telyavel what will give Quarakh a great advantage.

A really interesting novel, especially the difference between the fierce and wild Gangrel and the “civilized” Ventrue conquerors. The description of Quarakh’s customs and leadership is incredible as are the conflicts between the warring parties.

A glimmer in a dark age this novel brings on the fourth storyline, the conquering of Livonia and is a great base for the following novels.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Dark Ages Clan Novel 10: Gangrel
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Dept. of Monsterology Issue 1 Digital
Publisher: Renegade Arts Entertainment
by Flames R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 12/18/2013 06:55:16

Looking at the cover of “Dept. of Monsterology” from Renegade Arts Entertainment, I knew right off the bat that it had potential. The color palette is minimal and bleak, with plenty of blackness and shadows mixed in to compliment the mysterious tone of the comic. Artwork wise, it’s vast in scope while being minimalistic, reminding me of other horror comic favorites of mine, such as “Hellboy” and “Caballistics, Inc.”, the latter is appropriate as they both have the same script writer in Gordon Rennie. His dialogue is interesting and amusing, emitting at least a little bit of a “Joss Whedon” vibe to it. Other inspirations could be felt in varying degrees within its 32 pages as well, including H.P. Lovecraft, Tomb Raider, Indiana Jones, and even a pinch of Bio-Shock was thrown in for good measure.

The first issue is predominately a roll call of who’s who in the series being told in parallel stories while dropping hints of what’s to come in future issues (4 issues are planned). The cast is made up of two teams: Team Challenger and Team Carnacki. I don’t want to ruin the surprises of what the team members are and can do, but I will say that Challenger is more physical oriented while Carnacki is more mental. Both teams have some very interesting and varied characters and I’m interested in reading more about them, and what they can do.

The story arcs introduces the reader to the abysmally dark depths of the ocean (where ancient monsters and long lost cities roam), and the resurfacing of a long forgotten ancient Chinese evil. I suspect that more supernatural elements and an antagonist group or rivals will appear in future issues. While I wish there were more pages to this issue, there were just enough to get my attention and to keep me wanting to come back for more.

I have to keep this review short this time around, but I hope to read more issues in the future, and as I do I’ll be glad to review the Dept. of Monsterology in greater detail and depth.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Dept. of Monsterology Issue 1 Digital
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Spirit of the Century Presents: Dinocalypse Now
Publisher: Evil Hat Productions, LLC
by Flames R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/27/2013 14:04:07

So you have this gorilla who wants to rule the world with his army of sentient ape-men, right? Plus, there’s a portal open to another time, and dinosaurs are coming through it – nobody’s sure who’s controlling them, but they aren’t acting purely on instinct. Then there’s the fact that many of the members of the Century Club – a group of two-fisted do-gooders who fight for truth and justice – with Chapter Houses all over the world – have disappeared, and you have the makings of a fantastic romp through pulp action in the classic tradition.

Dinocalypse Now is written by Chuck Wendig, the prolific author who contributed to the majority of work White Wolf Publishing has done in the last decade. Chuck has also written quite a bit on his own, both fiction and non-fiction titles, including his own book Blackbirds, as well as contributing stories to Tales of the Far West and Haunted: 11 Tales Of Ghostly Horror In the interest of full disclosure, I also have a story in the Haunted anthology, so I’m less than unbiased on that point.

When the story of Dinocalypse Now begins, we see new York City in approximately the mid- to late-1930s. Members of the Century Club, a group of people from across all social and economic strata, are being rounded up by persons unknown. The Century Club, despite being outwardly designed as a social club whose members must have a birthday of numerological significance, also harbors more than its fair share of adventurers, scientists and vigilantes.

As the few remaining members of the Century Club piece things together, they realize they’re up against a globe-spanning conspiracy that is part of an invasion from beyond time itself. Dinosaurs begin circling the skies and roaming the streets of New York City; weird, otherworldly gates have opened on remote islands just off the coasts of the world’s continents. It’s an apocalyptic situation, and the threat seems to have materialized out of thin air. Can the remaining Centurions get to the bottom of it and stop this horrific plot from reaching its earth-shattering conclusion?

Dinocalypse Now is based on the world of the RPG Spirit of the Century published by Evil Hat Productions. It’s interesting to see Evil Hat producing fiction to support the line; classic pulp tales like this are the inspiration for Spirit of the Century in the first place, so it makes sense that things should come full circle with Evil Hat publishing a fiction line.

I liked this story a great deal; it’s fast-paced and full of action. The characters are believable and sympathetic; I liked them from the start and cared about what happened to them from page 1. The only negative I found – which may be a positive aspect for a great many readers – was the rapid turn-over of chapters. Most chapters are only a couple of pages in length before cutting to the next scene featuring other members of the cast. In this post-MTV age of rapid jump-cuts, it’s probably a really picky criticism, but I found myself wanting more story from one group at a time. The timing of the events in the story is fairly critical, however, making these rapid jumps important and necessary.

That perhaps is the key phrase to remember from this review; I wanted more. Wendig is a wonderful storyteller and writer, and his tale sucked me in from the beginning.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Spirit of the Century Presents: Dinocalypse Now
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Machine
Publisher: Apex Book Company
by Flames R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/27/2013 14:02:10

Story:

A young woman, Celia, undergoes a procedure to have her mental self – memories, thoughts, and her “soul” – transferred to a mechanical replica of her physical self while her body is put in stasis until a cure for her rare condition can be found. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of controversy surrounding the issue of these bodies. And her wife, Rivka, a very religious woman, chooses to leave her at the most difficult time in her life.

Pelland does an excellent job of weaving current political, religious and philosophical issues throughout the story without beating the writer over the head with the message(s). At the core, it is the story of Celia, a woman that must find her own way after the world has turned its back on her through no fault of her own.

Characters:

Celia is well-written, and you instantly empathize with her and her situation. The irony is not lost on her that at one point in history her marriage was deemed an abomination by some. Now her wife takes a similar stance with machine bodies, abandoning her without warning. Celia is left to fend for herself in a world she no longer understands against strangers filled with hate.

But for some she is a cause, a means to an end. For others, she is nothing more than a thing. Celia must find her own way to understand who and what she is, and what that means. Having her life turned upside down leads her on a dark journey of mutilation and crime. When it’s all said and done, what part of her self will remain?

All of the characters are well-written, and the story moves along at a realistic pace.

Shockers:

There are some very interesting shockers, and I won’t spoil it for future readers by revealing those moments.

Recommend:

Yes. An excellent book, well worth reading and adding to the collection.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Machine
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Kolchak Tales: Ghost Stories (B)
Publisher: Moonstone
by Flames R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/27/2013 13:58:22

Carl Kolchak, hard-bitten reporter of the supernatural from the TV series “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” of the 1970s returns to action courtesy of an ongoing series of comic books and graphic novels from Moonstone Books. This time, Carl’s been fired by the owner of the newspaper that used to employ him, and he must find another way to make ends meet. He’s approached by a young couple, Otto and Mo Brerhahrer, who are ghost hunters in their spare time, and Kolchak can hardly say no, particularly when they offer to buy him lunch.

Through three related vignettes, the reader learns more about Kolchak, and why he has such a close connection to the supernatural. The first, titled “Fifteen Minutes,” find Kolchak at his wits end regarding where his next meal is coming from. He decides to get in touch with a young couple he met at a recent funeral – their interest in the supernatural seemed fortuitous, and at the time they had expressed an interest in hiring him to do some writing work for them. As it turns out, the offer wasn’t completely genuine but it was sincere, and Kolchak is intrigued.

In the second story, “Blood,” Kolchak is attempting to network with other reporters at a press conference to find work. The company holding forth, Windsor Chemical, is being investigated for illegal dumping. Abandoning the networking effort as a lost cause, Kolchak heads home; later that night, a mysterious and beautiful woman visits him, wanting to hire him to investigate the circumstances surrounding Windsor Chemicals. What Kolchak finds is murder, and more deaths to come.

In story number three, “A Clue To The Truth,” Kolchak is sent by Otto Brerhahrer – a ghost hunter from the first tale – to interview a local expert on the supernatural in order to give himself a better background understanding of ghosts. Kolchak finds himself losing track of the time during his lengthy conversation with Doctor Robert M. Carter; he finally excuses himself hours after he arrived, thanking Dr. Carter profusely for being such an engaging conversationalist. When he meets with Otto the next morning, Otto has news that shocks Kolchak to the core.

This is an entertaining series of tales, and I found myself at the end wishing there was more to read and enjoy.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Kolchak Tales: Ghost Stories (B)
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Z-Girl and the 4 Tigers #1
Publisher: Studio Z
by Flames R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/27/2013 13:56:04

Sadly it has been a while since I was treated to a Z-Girl and the 4 Tigers issue and man did I miss it.

After getting past the second page I was reminded of how much I really enjoyed Issue #0. This issue jumps into the start of a 5 issue arc, and art-wise it just nails it on page 1. The character designs are great from panel to panel, and the colors just make my eyes melt with joy. Page to page this issue is GORE-Geous, and then at the end it is followed up with some jaw dropping pin-ups. I always enjoy when someone can take a horror theme and place it into different genres. If you ask me this one borders more of a B.P.R.D. style of action team where they are monsters who fight monsters. The pacing is great in this issue, because it hits you in the face, then backs away to make sure you are okay and then BAM it hits you again. It wants your attention and you better believe it will get it.

After reading this issue I can easily say fans of DC’s Frankenstein series and Dark Horse’s Hellboy lines should be reading this, but I recommend that all horror fans give it a try. It is a great story, that I can not wait to continue reading. Good thing I have issue #2 sitting here waiting for me.

Artwork: 4.0 out of 5 Story: 4.0 out of 5



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Z-Girl and the 4 Tigers #1
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Darklore Manor
Publisher: Monolith Graphics
by Flames R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 05/17/2013 10:29:28

Darklore Manor is an independently produced compilation of traditional gothic music (i.e., the album is harpsichords and violins, not electric guitars or re-mixed dance music) composed specifically to serve as the score for a dark and mysterious tale or a horror roleplaying campaign. Darklore Manor is devoid of the cheap sound effect shticks that seem to compose the bulk of similar efforts and, instead, is simply a compilation of haunting melodies.

What’s more, Darklore Manor isn’t merely music – it’s good music. Rather than a hastily compiled mishmash of random musical notes minced with substandard sound effects ripped from an amusement park ride (i.e., creaking doors, ghostly laughter, etc), each track on Darklore Manor is a carefully crafted piece of honest to god music that is not only evocative of gothic haunts, but is also easy on the ears. If more amateur musicians poured half of the time and effort into their campaign scores as Nox Arcana has into single tracks, I’d own many more such compilations.

The Final Verdict

After listening to the collection a few times, I still like what I hear (and, ultimately, that’s the real test of a musical compilation for me). I like the haunting, purposeful, melodies of Nox Arcana, as well as their decision to regale me with music, rather than sound effects.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Darklore Manor
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Orpheus: Haunting the Dead (Novel)
Publisher: White Wolf
by Flames R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 05/17/2013 10:25:01

Haunting the Dead features four novellas set in White Wolf’s World of Darkness featuring characters from the Orpheus game line. This is a break from the usual format that White Wolf uses when releasing a new game. Usually there is a fiction anthology featuring several short stories. The novellas in Haunting the Dead allow for more character development and (as with any good ghost story) more plot twists. This was a great idea and I hope White Wolf continues his trend.

The first story, The Grass is Always Greener, by Stefan Petrucha, is the best of the bunch. This story introduces the reader to the world of Orpheus without forcing pages of information down our throats. The author takes through the mind of the main character as she deals with her inner demons while hanging out with a band of misfits. The tension continues up to the very end of the tale, keeping the reader hooked and wanting more. A difficult tale to follow, The Grass is Always Greener, starts off Haunting the Dead with a bang.

The other three stories in Haunting the Dead follow the game material a little more closely than The Grass is Always Greener, featuring the adventures of Orpheus Agents (the type of characters you’d play in the RPG). Eurydice, by Seth Lindberg, is a good tale, but it probably would have made a better full-length novel. It does feature a creepy villain that fans are still discussing on the various Orpheus boards on the web. Dia de los Muertos, by Allen Rausch, and Corridors, by Rick Chillot, are good fiction, and fit the world of Orpheus well…they just are not on the same level as The Grass is Always Greener and to a lesser extent Eurydice.

My hat goes off to Becky Jollensten, who did the cover and book design for Haunting the Dead. Most readers don’t notice these little details, but she did a great job with this book. The design adds just a bit of extra style, complimenting the novellas inside.

This book ties in well with the Orpheus game supplements, but is enjoyable by those who have no knowledge of the game. A great collection of talented authors that should set the standard for new material.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Orpheus: Haunting the Dead (Novel)
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Deadlands Fiction Anthology 2: For a Few Dead Guys More
Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment
by Flames R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 05/17/2013 10:23:55

The combination of Horror and Westerns does take a little getting used to. The Foreword to this volume, written by Joe Lansdale, explains the appeal of both genres and how they might work when mixed together. Deadlands explores these themes, mixing elements from TV shows, movies and comic books in a bizarre, but workable, adventure. The fiction in this volume explores the living and the dead, good and evil, drama and humor.

There is a nice two-page introduction to Deadlands just before the stories begin. It offers up information on the arrival of the Manitous and the points at which the supernatural invaded the West. This primer is invaluable for those unfamiliar with the backstory of the Deadlands and makes reading the stories much easier.

The short stories that make up this volume are fitting to the world of Deadlands, and range in quality from very entertaining to pointless. Obviously part two of a three-part series of anthologies, some of the tales in this volume are continuing stories, which then go on to finish up in the next volume. Some introduce interesting characters, ones that might make great antagonists for a group of Deadlands PCs. Exploring different regions of the Deadlands, these tales offer a variety of mysteries and pit the protagonists against foes both supernatural and mundane.

Lucien Soulban’s “No Man’s Law” offers a tale of young Eli Woodrow, a stagecoach robber who is way out of his league. Eli gets himself caught in the middle of a mysterious plot and a nasty doublecross. The best parts of this tale have nothing to do with the supernatural and everything to do with human greed and sin.

Zach Bush offers up a ghost tale of sorrow and vengeance called “Nuna Daul Tsuny” about atrocities done to a Cherokee girl who now haunts the plains seeking her lost innocence. Tragic and eerie, this story proves that not all horror in the Deadlands is about gore and monsters.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Deadlands Fiction Anthology 2: For a Few Dead Guys More
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Aletheia
Publisher: Abstract Nova Entertainment
by Flames R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 04/15/2013 11:08:28

Introduction Aletheia is an extremely difficult book to write a review for because, while it is an RPG, it is one with an extremely defined, extremely tight, extremely focussed setting which amounts to a campaign idea with its own rules, rather than as an RPG as such. Given that so much of the book is devoted to the reality behind the secrets of the setting it is nigh impossible to give a full review and assessment of the game since that would give away too much and spoil it for those that do buy it.

This is something of a conundrum.

As to the game itself, I can’t decide whether I like it or not, while the execution of the game is largely flawless and the ideas within it are interesting, in their way it is very restrictive and very set. Fine if your gaming group likes the setting and the idea, then it gives you a great springboard from which to launch straight into play, if your gaming group are difficult bastards as mine often are, then this may pose a problem.

Overview The players are some (or all) of the members of The Seven Dogs society, an elite group of specially selected people taken from an exhaustive list of genealogical investigations undertaken by the society’s missing founders. You don’t get a choice in that matter, though you do get to generate your character as you wish within those boundaries. These characters can be just about anything but since the game is centred around investigation, lacking investigative skills will tend to cause you problems. The other commonality is that every character has a supernatural power of some kind.

The role of the characters, the setting in which they find themselves and the home location from which they operate are all absolutely defined so it is vital that the designated GM not allow the players to read the book, at all, ever. Which rather restricts the ability to hand around the ‘cool new game’ to get people interested. A basic synopsis however would be something like this:

“You are all members of The Seven Dogs Society, a special group of psychically gifted investigators who are trying to reconcile weird events with a rational view of the world in order to arrive at an overarching understanding of the truth, a unified theory of everything. In the process you will encounter strange phenomena, investigate them and try to come to some manner of conclusion.”

There are many similarities and many influences that seem to be readable in the game, it seems to occupy a similar space to the new version of Mage, but one can also see a similar design philosophy to The Gumshoe engine and I would think Over The Edge would have to have influenced the writers. In fact, you could view this as a linear Over The Edge with a slightly more defined mechanic and player role, the defined setting of both games resonate with each other and Al Amarja wouldn’t be out of place – at all – in Aletheia’s world, even if it is a bit more mondo-bizarre.

Artwork The use of artwork is minimal, but striking, mostly depicting relatively ordinary looking people doing relatively ordinary looking things but with a few pieces that demonstrate the weirdness of the game. That sort of combination, along with the clear and unfussy layout gives the game an appropriately dry and ‘scholarly’ air for most of the book and creates a ‘shock’ when you do encounter the weirder bits later on, increasing their effect.

Writing The writing is good, clear, crisp. Explains itself well, the system is simple and so is simply explained, leaving the lion’s share of the book for the background material, sample cases and a sample adventure. I only found a few simple mistakes in the text so there’s really nothing to complain about here that wouldn’t be nitpicking.

Background This is what I can’t really talk about without giving the game away too much, at least I can’t talk about specifics. Suffice to say that the game has a specific background, this is the way things ARE in the setting and there isn’t much room for deviation, interpretation or shifted focus. The whole game is a single, large mystery, made up of smaller mysteries and the campaign plays out in the solution of that mystery and then comes to a natural conclusion, so this is a limited-life product, much like the old White Wolf offering Orpheus.

While I like the idea of the overarching mystery this just reinforces my impression that this isn’t really an RPG so much as a campaign with some rules tacked on to it. As such this could be a good thing to buy for any modern mystery game or to incorporate into an existing setting, even as an investigation of, rather than by The Seven Dogs.

So, what can I actually say about the background? Not much that I haven’t already but I can say that the defined ‘truth’ is a mash-up of many different new-age and eclectic religious beliefs, topped off with a little popular quantum theory. I say popular because it has little to do with real quantum theory, people hear terms like entanglement, observer effect and quantum consciousness and then go off on one to Neverland without pausing to actually consider these things. I don’t normally find this sort of thing a problem but within this game it did make me uneasy.

Why?

Well, reading through the book I read a lot of things that I run into in discussions, things that people genuinely believe. Again, this isn’t necessarily a problem but normally in such games there’s a nice little disclaimer in the introduction, something like…

‘Magic isn’t real, pointing a stick at someone and shouting in Latin will only annoy them, aliens aren’t mating with your left nostril while you sleep and any resemblance in this book between gods depicted and gods that may or may not exist is purely coincidental. But gee, doesn’t this stuff make for whiz-bang stories?’

Aletheia doesn’t have that and it reads almost like you’re being preached at, right from the get go. I have no issue with drugs, religion or magic in game settings, or even being preached at (you can ignore a book easier than a frothing street preacher after all) but the matter-of-fact way the material is presented runs from the out-of-character introduction right the way through to the end. In a world where people buy into Deepak Chopra and blatantly exploitative nonsense like The Secret that can’t help but make me a little uneasy.

Rules The rules use a simple dicepool system of between one and five dice, with a bonus dice if you have a ‘descriptor’ (such as strong, tough etc) that is applicable to the situation. You roll these dice needing to score a 5-6 with each dice scoring that counting towards a target number of successes. Professions or skills add automatic victories toward that goal target number and to succeed you have to meet the number.

Characters start out very average – two points in each statistic if they were spread out evenly, but also get a profession, some pick-up skills and a psychic or otherwise supernatural power. Different powers and different professions are rated with stars, the more stars the more expensive but also the more useful the profession or power, so you have to trade expertise in for usefulness, which is fairly balanced.

The investigative side of the game is somewhat similar to The Gumshoe system, but not as detailed or quite as responsive. Vital clues are identified and these are always discovered first, but you don’t automatically get them, you still have to roll. Thus an investigation can stall if nobody is able to succeed in finding that all important clue. Additional success brings additional supplementary clues, which may reveal more of the whole.

Its a simple but responsive system that seems to work very well indeed for its intended purpose.

Upsides

  • Brilliant investigative campaign world.
  • Well crafted ‘light’ system mechanics.
  • Mature approach and presentation.

Downsides

  • Preachy.
  • Very locked down.
  • Finite usefulness.


Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Aletheia
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Delta Green: Dark Theatres
Publisher: Pagan Publishing
by Flames R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 04/15/2013 11:03:45

Delta Green is a new take on H.P. Lovecraft’s Mythos, bringing the fight against darkness and horror to the 90’s and beyond. Delta Green is made up of government agents secretly working against a larger conspiracy of horror and madness. This anthology offers us eight tales from around the world of various agents and the missions that bring them into conflict with creatures of terror.

There is a great foreword by John Tynes giving a brief introduction to the world of Delta Green. A useful primer for those unfamiliar with the Delta Green role-playing game, the foreword offers up some details on the agency’s history and tells us about a few of their enemy conspiracies.

Each tale in this book also has a paragraph or two introduction telling us about the author of the story and teasing us with a hint regarding the tale. This is something I’d love to see more anthologies offer. These introductions let us know how the author got involved in the project and perhaps some interesting details as to why they wrote a particular story for the collection.

One of the best tales in this collection is by A. Scott Glancy, and is actually a pre-Delta Green story. “Once More, from the Top” tells us about the raid on Innsmouth that started it all. Fans of the role-playing game will recognize elements of the Escape from Innsmouth adventure in this tale. Marines and Federal Agents confront monsters in this little town that set things in motion for the government to create Delta Green. The horror and sorrow of the retired Marine recalling that fateful night comes through in this story quite well. The haunted look in his eyes as he recounts his story to two Delta Green agents reminds us of the price that must be paid. Intense combat, a chilling sense of dread and daring heroism are part of this story.

Dennis Detwiller offers a look into Delta Green during WWII with “Night and Water.” A tale about a Delta Green agent going after members of the Karotechia, the Nazi occult division. This story is almost a prelude to Detwiller’s larger Delta Green WWII novel, Denied to the Enemy. This story seemed almost too short, as if there could have been so much more detail surrounding the events and characters introduced within. However, if the reader is inclined to pick up another book, Detwiller’s Denied to the Enemy more than makes up for this if the reader wants more WWII action.

Other more modern tales in the book, such as Arinn Dembo’s “Suicide Watch” and Martin E. Cirulis’ “The Fast Track” offer other viewpoints on the status of the Delta Green conspiracy and even a few hints at possible future adventures. Characters from other Delta Green fiction and sourcebooks are mentioned and new faces make their mark on the setting. The writing styles vary considerably from story to story, but this does not hurt the overall work in any way. Some of the tales are more in line with Lovecraft and others move forward in new directions. This gives the book plenty of depth and offers readers new ways to look at the Mythos.

Dark Threatres offers us eight Delta Green tales in all, including John Tynes, Greg Stolze, Robert E. Furey and Benjamin Adams in addition to those mentioned above. Each story taking readers to different parts of the world and some to past horrors. Anyone interested in the Mythos should get this book. Delta Green continues its fight against the darkness…



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Delta Green: Dark Theatres
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