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The Cold Road Home
by Alex V. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 12/18/2023 11:42:06

When I saw that Privateer Press was releasing an adventure centered around the Legion of Everblight, I was very excited. I had been wanting to bring this faction to my campaign world. However, upon reading through, I found the adventure lists several monsters for which there are no stat blocks. Harriers, Raeks, Nyss Striders, and others are listed, but there are no details on what these are nor how to run these. I even checked online to see if there were stats in another book. Out of all currently available books, the monsters needed to run this module are nowhere to be found. While the adventure itself sound interesting, it currently lacks key components to play. I have attempted to reach out to Privateer Press regarding these issues, and as of posting have not received a response.



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[1 of 5 Stars!]
The Cold Road Home
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Creator Reply:
Hi Alex, Apologies for the oversight! Those profiles are included in the Monsternomicon: the Lost Pages, which has yet released on our online stores. We have updated the adventure with the appropriate statblocks.
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Bitter Medicine
by Amy K. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/10/2023 21:07:12

If you like the Iron Kingdoms setting this is a good read. I would say on a teen fiction level as far as complexity.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Bitter Medicine
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Iron Kingdoms Roleplaying Game – Legend of the Witchfire
by prashant p. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/28/2022 11:51:41

The original Witchfire Trilogy stoodout because it had great NPCs, new elements such as the Skorne, was epic in scope and scale, and many ways original in concept. It was a bit plotty, but something that still enabled player agency a lot.

This adventure is nothing like it- it is very boring, in what is essentially a fetch quest with little unique IK elements, and i think tries to make the selling point the nostalgia by resurructing old NPCs. Otherwise there is little here that makes it stand out or is exceptional, and in many instances is vastly overwritten where it makes it rather difficult for a GM to find pertinent information to run the adventure, which is very linear with little player agency other than following the plot along.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
Iron Kingdoms Roleplaying Game – Legend of the Witchfire
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Monsternomicon (5e)
by prashant p. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/28/2022 11:42:13

This is...very bland compared to the previous Mosternomicons which oozed flavor in how they were formatted, written and laid out. All of that has been gotten rid of to follow "more traditional" MM formatting, sadly to the detriment of the product. Compared to previous iterations this is very flat and uninspiring (just compare the sections on dragons or infernals as an example).



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Monsternomicon (5e)
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Iron Kingdoms Requiem Campaign Setting
by prashant p. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/28/2022 11:39:42

The product captures the unique flavor of IK and has some very interesting mechanics- a point to consider is how some of the character class, especially spell casting mechanics, would jive with existing 5e mechanics. Hopefully these have been playtested. The security and printing capabilities for the PDF is awful.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Iron Kingdoms Requiem Campaign Setting
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Full Metal Fridays: Volume 1
by Jordan P. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 11/23/2018 18:25:33

This is a must-have if you plan on running Iron Kingdoms RPG (whether the "Full Metal Fantasy" variety, or "Unleashed"). You certainly can't beat the price.

In particular, the "Satyxis" seemed an odd introduction for conventional "Full Metal Fantasy," since Cryx still isn't playable (and you can't very well have Satyxis just casually blending into polite society in the Iron Kingdoms), but with the release of "Unleashed," they make far more sense now as a playable race among the "savage" races who quite likely simply wouldn't care that someone has horns and hooves.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Full Metal Fridays: Volume 1
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Iron Kingdoms Unleashed Roleplaying Game Core Rules
by Jordan P. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 11/23/2018 18:21:35

I've run two Iron Kingdoms RPG campaigns, and "guest-GMed" in a third, and I found this to be an invaluable resource either for more conventional adventures based in the "Iron Kingdoms," OR for those focused on the "wild folk" as seems to be intended by the rebranding of this as "Unleashed." It still leaves a few gaps, however, and I would strongly recommend that anyone getting this book also pick up the "Wild Adventure" supplement (which goes a long way toward filling those conspicuous gaps).

PRO:

  • This provides a greatly expanded bestiary, larger and more impressive than the "Monsternomicon." A great many archetypes are filled in here for Iron Kingdoms GMs who want to run wilderness encounters against various of the denizens made familiar in the miniatures wargame.

  • Related to the above, the new PC races, archetypes/professions, and branches of magic could be used to greatly expand what sorts of adversaries a more "traditional" Iron Kingdoms party might run up against.

  • "Unleashed" arguably has better support as an RPG setting than the more traditional Iron Kingdoms. (If you want to play any of the major Unleashed races -- or as a GM you want to have them as fleshed-out adversaries -- you either have what you need in this book, or else in the Skorne supplement, or about 5 issues of "No Quarter" to provide most of what you need for Everblight. If, however, you wanted to play (or play against) the Retribution of Scyrah, Rhulic Mercenaries, or Cryx, you're just going to have to make do with the 2nd edition "Forces" books from Warmachine, and hand-wave all the missing RPG elements.)

CON:

  • There are some issues with balance between the races. Gatormen can be pretty much placed side-by-side against the Ogrun from the core IKRPG, and in virtually all respects (except for POI, or the likelihood to be allowed to walk around freely in a city) are just plain BETTER than them. (The "hunger" disadvantage for gatormen isn't really as big a deal as the fluff makes it sound.) Over the course of our Unleashed campaign, more players ended up changing over to Gatorman if they wanted to be all-around awesome. Gatormen ARE fun to play, but when you're on the GM side of the screen, it's hard to balance encounters that will challenge the Gatormen without simply creaming all the non-Gatormen in the party.

  • Warlocks need a LOT of work, and are poorly adapted to RPG use, at least over the scope of a long-running campaign. (These problems are not so evident if just running a "one-shot" or short-run campaign with beginning characters.)

    Depending upon how the GM runs it (and there are so many grey areas in regards to just how the GM should walk the line on this), they could dominate the campaign, or be utterly unplayable. No guidelines are provided for the GM as to how difficult it should be for a warlock to acquire a new Warbeast (with the possible exception of a Swamp Warlock, who has his work cut out for him in that he has to find a monster and "subjugate" it). Unlike the rules for Warcasters and Warjacks, there's no provision for "buying" a Warbeast, whether with money or some other resource -- it seems to depend upon the GM to determine when some benefactor (the Circle Orboros, etc.) is going to simply provide your Warlock with a new beast, or whether you can happen upon it in the wild on your own.

    Once a warlock starts advancing to the point where he can devote additional "slots" to additional warbeasts, things can really spiral out of control. Whereas a Warcaster's ambitions to start his own "battlegroup" might be tempered by a lack of funds, or because spreading his Focus around means he isn't personally so much of a combat powerhouse anymore, each additional Warbeast in a Warlock's retinue can be a potent force all its own (many have three decent attacks without having to be "Forced" at all), AND provides additional insurance for the Warlock's steady supply of Fury even if another Warbeast is downed in combat. Unlike the care and maintenance required for damaged Warjacks, Warbeasts have a number of options for recovering health even in the middle of combat. And, even though there's the "threat" of a Warbeast getting out of control if a Warlock pushes it too much and fails to bleed off all its excess Fury, the consequences (the Warbeast makes a single enraged attack that MIGHT be against an ally if no enemies are in reach, then returns to normal the next round) aren't really all that scary in practice. (A GM could of course just wing it, and play it as something far more dramatic than the rules-as-written, but that's true of any system, so for reviewing purposes I'm focusing on "as-written.")

    If the GM should try to temper this and allow other players to shine more by contriving to put the party in a smallish dungeon where large Warbeasts and Warjacks simply won't fit, the Warcaster can still be personally awesome through alternative use of Focus ... whereas the Warlock, sans Warbeast (and his supply of Fury) is suddenly hobbled. (Either that, or you had a "Light" Warbeast, which is technically no bigger than half the PCs in a typical Unleashed party. The medium-base "Brute Boar" is arguably a better deal for a Farrow Warlock than a large-base "War Hog" anyway.)

  • As with the 2nd edition Monsternomicon, this bestiary still lacks stats for a number of basic wilderness creatures. (This oversight is addressed in "Wild Adventure.")

  • A lot of your adversaries in Unleashed campaigns are likely to be others of the "Unleashed" races -- gatormen, bog trogs, farrow, tharn, trollkin, etc. -- but since those are all PLAYER races, it's mostly left to the GM to try to build them up as characters, rather than having quick encounter stats handy. The Iron Kingdoms RPG core book rather nicely included a section on "humans" that had ready-made profiles for a bandit, thief, alchemist, town guard, etc., in convenient blocks, ready to go. It would have been nice to have something similar for a "Gatorman Posse," "Bog Trog Ambushers," "Farrow Brigands," "Tharn Ravagers," etc., ready to go. The Unleashed Adventure Kit handily settles this for the Farrow; for the rest, you might see about getting a copy of "Forces of War: Minions" to get stat blocks for the last edition of the miniatures wargame, which ALMOST cover everything you'd need for the RPG.

...

(Disclaimer: Just because I spent more space explaining the "con" doesn't mean it outweighs the "pro" -- but I still think it's worth considering.)

Overall, if you are a GM running a conventional Iron Kingdoms (Full Metal Fantasy) campaign, this is a very useful resource to fill in a great number of gaps in the world. This will provide you with a great number of interesting new adversaries.

If, however, you actually want to run an "Unleashed" campaign, as is clearly intended here, the game design over the course of a longer campaign suffers from some pretty severe play-balance issues that I haven't managed to find any satisfactory solutions to via "house rules." You could do away with a large number of the headaches by not allowing PCs to be warlocks, but that would be like running Iron Kingdoms and prohibiting steamjacks.

IMHO, the best bet for a GM is restrict any Warlock to only having one Warbeast as a Hero, up to two at Veteran, and then not worry about the cap upon reaching Epic (at which point we'd hope everyone is kind of awesome already) -- and then, make it clear that a non-wold warbeast is a living creature, and the GM reserves the right to play fast and loose with what exactly happens when the warlock loses control of it. If the danger of getting munched by your own warbeast is a real threat, it makes things a lot more "interesting," in my opinion.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Iron Kingdoms Unleashed Roleplaying Game Core Rules
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Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy Roleplaying Game Core Rules
by Samuel T. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/22/2018 03:06:52

My friends and I have been playing this on and off since it released and love it. We're used to HERO and love tactical combat - IKRPG delivers quite nicely on that while providing us with an good set of rules that don't have a huge learning curve. Works well for our large group (8+ people). Like D&D it is good for players to write down notes of their Abilities (Feats) and spells, although the magic in the setting isn't nearly as complex as D&D. PCs start off dual-classed, allowing them versatility in character creation, plus can choose an Archtype which offers various perks in combat. The system favors horizontal/broad-based character development versus purely vertical development.

PDFs are searchable, linked, and have bookmarks. My only complaint is there is a background graphic which makes this eat up toner/ink if you want/need to print anything out. PDF is fine on my Surface Pro 4 tablet, my friends seem happy with it on their iPads.

Great writing and fluff in IKRPG and its supplement books, and its kept us happy. I've been able to recommend the game and its books to people who would rather use other systems just for the setting material alone, and they've thanked me for it.

I'm knocking off one point as there've been no new releases for a while as Privateer Press seems to have moved their support for the RPG to No Quarter magazine. I would prefer it if they sold No Quarter through DriveThruRPG or made collections of articles from NQ relevant to the RPG available (such as all the Unleashed: Blighted Nyss/Everblight content) similar to Monte Cook's "glimmers" for the various Cypher games. Likewise, there's no relation to the old d20 Full Metal Fantasy RPG - this is an revamping of everything to current standards, with the old material no longer being sold. As such, no digital versions of The Witchfire Trilogy, the old Monsternomicons, etc. So, while its quite sufficient as is for years of gaming, I would like to see stronger support.

But, in the end, its a great game, a good system that knows what it wants to be (IMO), and has provided me and my group with tons of gaming with more to come :)



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy Roleplaying Game Core Rules
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Company of Iron
by Samuel T. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/22/2018 02:39:44

I ordered two packs. Quality seemed pretty good, looked and felt nice, sleeved well. No complaints! Will be ordering two more for friends soon!

I'm witholding one star just in case revisions have to be made in the future. If they handle that well and I'm happy with it? I'll add that 5th star.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Company of Iron
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Bad Moon Rising
by Jeremy W. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 01/24/2017 13:34:59

I love the Iron Kingdoms setting and I'm actually a fan of the Warmachine tabletop miniatures game. I'm also a fan of their newest RPG (the current Iron Kingdoms Roleplaying Game) to a lesser degree. Their fluff is, in my opinion, top-notch.

This book is not top-notch, and that's because of the intent - not the execution.

Let me explain. The core story is about a warpwolf. It has some fluff differences... but it's basically an extra-scary werewolf. The players fight it over the course of several days.

That's it. That's all the originality, right there. there are some reasonably interesting and detailed NPCs, and a cool setting, but that's not what players remember nor is it what they fall in love with. Players remember the fun they have with what their characters do. They don't really remember NPCs as well.

That's why Bad Moon Rising fails. The stuff that the players do is boring. They fight the werewolf. It escapes. It comes back. It transforms. Each night gets spookier. Each night something else goes wrong. Each night, it's painfully predictable and the entire adventure is fairly long. In short, it's utterly lacking in originality. None of the really cool stuff in the Iron Kingdoms gets used here. Instead, this is an adventure that's totally phoned in. To be honest, I think I've played something similar in Dread, the Jenga horror game. When your $10 adventure has the same plot as a one-shot party game, you're in trouble.

So, the main plot is totally lame. The upside is that there are a decent variety of encounters; thinky players can have their moments, and so can the shooty players. If you've got a badass 'jack marshal then she'll be able to use her Talon Light Warjack, and if you've got a cool investigator noble then he'll be able to do some cool roleplaying. That's good.

The redeeming features are the gorgeous pieces of artwork that fill the short adventure. Wow, it was really fun to look at and the art was all evocative as heck! Major props to PP for making such a visual treat. The graphic design is clean and neat and it's easy to read all the stat blocks.

There's one thing that I hate more than I thought I would... the maps! They've got insanely detailed maps, but you can't print them out! Instead you're forced to look at this pretty picture, then try to sketch it out by hand on your gaming paper. What the heck!? Is it so much to include a full-size at the end of the PDF? Maybe tile the map together? It was so seriously frustrating to run the adventure without being able to use their awesome-looking battlespaces.

Overall, I don't know if I can recommend this book. PP has a cool setting and a decent game, but this one is really phoned in. If you've got veteran roleplayers or gamers (or anyone who's played Werewolf) they'll probably find this trite and predictable. Heck, if they've seen any werewolf movies, they'll find it predictable!

This book was pretty and fun to read. I only wish I had as much fun when I ran it.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Bad Moon Rising
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Dark Convergence
by Adrian S. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 11/12/2015 18:05:15

'Dark Convergence' deals with the incursion of the Convergence of Cyriss and the attempts of the Cygnaran forces (under Nemo) to not only repel them, but also find the purpose of their unexpected aggression. As a game novel, this does well to show the day-to-day workings of the Iron Kingdoms and those who play either of these forces in the miniatures game will probably enjoy the character exploration. Those unfamiliar with the game may struggle initially as the book introduces a great number of established NPCs in the first chapter with little explanation of who they are and how they operate. However, as the story unfolds, this is explored in more detail (and it does answer the question of how effective the Devil Dogs are against 'jacks and the usual casualty rates). Unlike many other game novels, I could not imagine the sounds of dice rolling in the background during the combat encounters which was highly gratifying. Whilst the author has clearly 'done their homework', it doesn't play out in any sort of mental book-keeping. Additionally, the personal touches and sub-plots to the main characters mean that this isn't simply a battle-report, but rather a story about individuals as their lives and possible catastrophe intersect. It's an easy read that will be enjoyed by fans of the miniatures and role-playing games alike.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Dark Convergence
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WARMACHINE: Rules Digest
by Billiam B. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/13/2015 16:21:12

I have never played WarMachine (any edition) but have always drooled over the figures and player's painting, so it's really great that this is being made available for free. This manual looks great on the screen. The art is dramatic, atmospheric and of a high standard. The text is selectable which means that in most PDF browsers a word or phrase search can be used to find rules. Diagrams are clear. I can't comment on rules in play because I'm way too much of a novice with WM, but it all looks well written at first glance. Thank you for making this available whilst I'm on a tight budget. :) -Billiam B.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
WARMACHINE: Rules Digest
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WARMACHINE: Rules Digest
by Austin F. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/08/2015 15:45:02

Lazily done.

No bookmarks, no appendices, no index. And yet, it keeps the opening story.

So it's neither as small as it could be, nor is it solely the rules, nor is it the best presentation of the rules.

I get that it's free, but still... I could literally splice together a slimmer and more useful document from the same source in about 10 minutes.



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
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Unleashed Legends: Sacred Charge
by Devon B. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/04/2015 15:00:29

This short story is an intriguing way to show how in Privateer Press' Iron Kingdoms setting a couple of the ways a Skorne can behave. A big part of the story is that the Skorne caste system doesn't always mean the heart of the person is in the right place. The three protagonists fit their roles well and while some parts of the ending are a bit obvious, it is well written.

I highly recommend to anyone who is a fan of the Iron Kingdoms, as this is another good piece of work.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Unleashed Legends: Sacred Charge
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Iron Kingdoms Unleashed Roleplaying Game Core Rules
by Carlos F. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/28/2015 12:33:53

This is a great add on to the regular IK rpg or great as a stand alone. It provides great rules for playing the wilder side of civilization in the Iron Kingdoms.

For those who do not know the IKRPG system. It is a 2d6 model with a more abstract progression system that mimics but is unlike leveling. Unlike other systems players are larger than life and truly Heroic. If D20 is like lord of the Rings, this is a Marvel Movie. Both GREAT but for very different reasons.

The rules are much the same as IKRPG (as is expected) and they do a very good job of fleshing out the cults and tribes that you can play as.

Though just like its Predecessor, IKRPG, there will be quite a bit of house ruling needing to be done. Some entries are written with errors or vague enough that for the wargame are sufficient, but in an area that requires imagination this book gives very little to assist.

Also another area that needs house ruling is the classes. Why are some race restricted? Slaughter houser is really just a Halberdier, why is it farrow only? Fennblade is just Greatweapon Specialist, why Trollkin only. Long rider, raptor, and Wolf rider could respectively be Heavy Cavaltry, Mounted archer(ranged Cavalry) and Cavalry Scout. There is no need for them to be race specific.

Otherwise I think they have added Much more good than bad to this RPG world. Warlocks and beats are explained and implemented wonderfully.

So if you want a system that is simple, does not have everything explained to the smallest detail, and fights are quick and dynamic, this is for you.

WARNING for those coming from other more established systems. The lack of definition will be very off putting at first, things are not spelled out to the letter, and the spells are described visually. Also character creation can literally take minutes. So if you or your group are not very imaginative and cant come to decision on how a rule should work, stay clear of this system.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Iron Kingdoms Unleashed Roleplaying Game Core Rules
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