Iron Dynasty: Way of the Ronin

Iron Dynasty: Way of the Ronin

Iron Dynasty: Way of the Ronin by Reality Blurs is an oriental setting for Savage Worlds, largely modeled upon pre/early industrial Japan, with a healthy dose of fantasy tropes. The pdf version I purchased came with a very nice color map of the area in the back, but otherwise the pictures and maps were black and white art. Actually they almost felt like sketches most of the time, which may have been an effort to either keep costs low or enhance the atmosphere of the product, but in comparison to other Savage Worlds tie ins, licensees, and setting books, it suffers a bit.

This is a book I was really excited to start to get into, and see if they were able to get the feel and atmosphere of the setting down. Swords, martial arts, and the advent of machines, there's a great wealth of material there that could be used for story material. And on the atmosphere, you can tell that they tried very hard at achieving it, authentic names for weapons along with descriptions, and simply the language used to describe things and people could have come straight out of a martial arts film.

Unfortunately, the meat of the product is somewhat lacking. Not in volume, it rolls in at 284 pages, but in style. As you read through the book, you come to the inevitable conclusion that this is not really in the spirit of Savage Worlds. In fact, it reads much like a D20 product that's been converted over to Savage Worlds, or a someone writing a Savage Worlds setting, but keeping the D20 sensibilities of a plethora of tables and handholding. It does not embrace the Savage Worlds concept of Fast! Furious! Fun! Of course, for an individual who wants something like that, it may be a boon. One instance of this is in character creation, they include defining interests, which are essentially further specializations of the Common Knowledge area. It provides guidelines to using character background and giving bonuses to Common Knowledge that should be gleaned from it, but it also feels limiting, as well as creating extra bookkeeping. Another example being in the Power Edges, they make an attempt to define and limit what could have been explained as trappings and ruled loosely in almost any other Savage World setting. There are even rules of fitting armor and rulings on what to subtract when someone picks up armor off a dead enemy without fitting it. While it's a nice touch, it's also nitpicky and additional bookkeeping that doesn't add to Fast! Furious! Fun! One interesting addition is the Reputation Rules, which is nearly identical to the Fame/Infamy rules in Pirates of the Spanish Main, except that one may go all the way towards the evil spectrum without losing control.

The same sensibilities run through the adventure creation rules, you'll end up rolling D100's and D20's to determine unique monsters and adventures. Which runs pretty contrary to what most Savage World settings try to run with. In other words, it's got a quality that allows one to get very deep into detail, and yet the cost of that is increased bookkeeping, and increased time that one would need in order to set up an adventure. Again, it feels like the writers were trying to recreate a D20 or GURPS or retro experience, as opposed to embracing the Savage System.

One of the bright spots in the book is the detail afforded to the setting. In fact, it provides details upon major towns, cities, locations of power and the like. On the other hand, they missed the mark in not linking the locations to Savage Tales. The Savage Tales by the way, are not ones that we are familiar with from other Savage Worlds products, instead of being loosely linked adventures or plot points, the book provides several mini campaigns which it calls Savage Story Arcs. These are essentially linked adventure series with very little leeway for deviation, each 'adventure' being described in anywhere between two sentences to a half page long description.

Overall, it was a solid reference book, but mildly disappointing. There is certainly a wealth of things that one can take from it, but I can't imagine playing the setting itself without heavy modification, and to play a campaign would require a good deal more work than one would usually go through in a Savage Setting. I would almost say that the Campaigns are more ideas for campaigns, that a GM would have to spend a lot of time fleshing out and improvising throughout. Also providing less room for going off the tracks and then returning later than other settings usually would provide. The big impression I get is of a book more suited for a D20 derived product than a Savage Worlds book. At $15 for the pdf, I'm not terribly disappointed, but it's not the definitive oriental adventures setting book I was hoping for, and it's not one that I would feel happy with at the cost for a print edition.

Savage Worlds AAR

Just finished running a quick and dirty Savage Worlds game.

The Backstory
A lone patrol through the jungle wanders its way back to base. Two orc grunts and their Sergeant, accompanied by an Elven Ranger and human medic. The grunts are very low on ammo and the Wild Cards are down to around twenty rounds each for their respective weapons. The orc Sergeant carries a single grenade.

The opposition
Ten Lizardfolk militia members have moved into a blocking position on the ford, using the river to penetrate deep into the supposed safe zone. Nine tribesmen armed with bows and axes led by their chieftain look to take revenge on the foreign invaders of the great swamp.

[Out of character rules explanations and game developments out of character will be in brackets]

After Action Report, Elsinore Skyhawk reporting:
I was on loan from the Rangers in order to accompany a patrol on deep patrol into the Red Zone north of the great swamps. Seven days in the jungle skirmishing with irregulars, but with real engagements to speak of. The village we had been sent to clear was a dud, no such settlement on the map coordinates. Anyways, we made contact with an enemy force around 1400 hours, about a mile out from the Extraction Zone. I was on point and the rest of the squad was in wedge formation behind me. I think they were as surprised as we were because about seven of them were in the water, trying to cross. Three were stationed on the opposite bank behind a pair of fallen trees. The range was between one and two hundred feet, but closed quickly in the beginning moments. [The group of three began in the third range bracket, but was in the second range bracket for the M1's carried by the squad within the first turn. The Lizardmen on the opposite bank had less range for their bows, and would need to use every other turn to aim in order to get a -4 to their attacks)

Our medic, Corpsman Copeland was the only one close enough to immediately get to cover, the rest of us attempted to move towards a rocky area. Fortunately their arrow fire was ineffective, as only three of them were able to fire, the rest struggled to get on land. The group of four to the west was the closest, and Sergeant Barnak sprang up and raced towards them, tossing a grenade. Two of the lizardmen were killed immediately in the blast, but the others made it to shore and began returning fire with their bows. I engaged the second group of three to the east. They had made it to cover, but I managed to feather one. Privates Grumnash and Krugnar moved up to support the Sarge along the west side, as well as providing covering fire for Copeland to dart forward.

In a display of battlelust, and despite the arrows falling about them, Barnak and Grumnash moved to engage one lizardman near the center of the skirmish in hand to hand combat, they succeeded in taking it down. Krugnar was less successful, and they engaged in axe work while I attempted to keep the other group of archers that had made land at bay.

[At this point the lizardmen were dealt a Joker, giving them a bonus to their trait and damage rolls]

The lizardman in combat with Krugnar was able to slip beneath the private's attack and plunge its axe into his stomach before moving back into the water. Barnak and Pvt Grumnash elected to retrieve their rifles in favor of going in after the lizardmen. Now three were in the water, with the three on the far bank continuing to pepper us with arrows, to little effect. Copeland moved towards the fallen Private, but it was obvious he would not get there in time.[Medic edge allows him a chance to revive an extra, but only if he gets there in the same turn]

I moved forward and managed to injure one of those in the water, the rushing river carried it off, and I can only assume it dies of its injuries. Two of them made it to the opposite bank, and those on the opposite bank got their first solid hit on us. Pvt. Grumnash fell to an arrow, I laid down covering fire, and gave a glancing hit to one of the Lizardmen[Shaken, but still up]. Corpsman Copeland, displaying great bravery, ran to where the Private was sitting wounded and immediately began administering first aid[He succeeds in his healing roll, and instead of wounded Grumnash is merely shaken].

Ineffectual fire from myself and the Sergeant is met by a return volley, just as the Private looked to be getting up, an arrow pierced his eye, there was obviously no return from that.

[Lizardmen again get a joker] Copeland bravely tried again to save the Private's life but as soon as he knelt down to work, he was hit by an arrow. [A very lucky arrow, in fact causes two wounds, and he fails his soak roll] Our return fire tags one of the Lizardmen on the opposite bank, it seems our greater range has been telling.

At that point the Lizardmen fall back, fading into the swamps, while we do our best for our medic. A short run back to base brought reinforcements, although last I heard Corpsman Copeland remained in serious condition. With two of ours killed and one grievously wounded, I do not know if we can call our engagement a victory, despite having accounted for Seven of them.

All in all I move that Corpsman Copeland be given the Silverleaf Medal of Valor with Holly Clusters, in addition to any awards his own service grants, and that Sergeant Barnak be given the Oaken Star.


Post Mortem:
Little modifiers from cover and range can add up quite quickly when one only has a D6 in shooting. Only the Ranger(D10) had a better shooting die, and accounted for most of the kills. In addition the Lizardmen suffered worse from both range penalties and damage rolls as a result of having bows to combat rifles. Next time I may have them using captured rifles instead, as they were seriously outgunned. They did have some good turns of luck, with two joker draws.

The big break for the heroes was probably that early grenade, there would have been more close combat otherwise that would have helped to negate their range advantage. Also, I should have played the Chieftain closer in, as it was he was lobbing arrows from the back and not really contributing any more than the extras. Either that or changed him up for a Shaman with a power or two in order to spice things up.

All in all I think the engagement took about an hour including looking up rules we had become rusty on. A quite satisfactory little Vietnam/Fantasy mashup that took little time to set up and little time to play. We used primarily the Explorer's Edition and Tour of Darkness to set it up, with a little help from the Fantasy Companion just to add in the elf, orc, and lizardmen races.

Moderns Ops Review and AAR

Modern Ops by Pinnacle Entertainment Group is a skirmish level wargame based on the Savage Worlds ruleset. It uses the abbreviated version known as the Showdown rules as well as its own setting rules.

Now for anyone familiar with the Savage World rules, the Showdown set is essentially what happens when you strip off most of the RPG elements and excess fat away to turn it into a lean mean fighting machine. The result is a highly intuitive set of rules that can move fast even if one has little experience with them.

I'm not going to go into the core system, since that's a bit beyond the scope of this post. On the plus side, it lived up to the expectation of Fast, Furious, Fun. Highlights included the unit cards that are available for free, these kept bookkeeping down to a minimum, essentially all we had to recall was how many bennies we had left, and some of the expendable ammo(grenades and RPGs). The pace never bogged down, even though the units might have from enemy fire, and the setting rules made it appropriately deadly for the genre.

On the down side, there were portions of the rules that were either vestigial or lacking. Close Combat rules and mount rules were included, but there was no real follow up on either. There weren't any living mounts statted out, and there was no section for hand to hand weapons in the armory. At best one could look at the batons that the swat teams wielded, but I felt that given how they emphasized how important Ganging Up bonuses were, especially to untrained troops, that they should have at least included a few. Even if they just had the point values for the baton, a bayonet and knife/sword it would have been enough. Also the militia units refer to not being able to use the aim action, but from what I can see, that was one of the actions cut out from the rules. Suppressed weapons were another item that didn't really have an explanation aside from the obvious. Finally, nowhere could I find the point values associated with the various abilities and edges.

I would also have liked some more Savage Tales to have come with this product, but perhaps that's just me being spoiled, as some games only come with a single or no scenarios. But on to the AAR.

We rolled up a meeting engagement, and decided on a 1000 point target, we both ended up relatively close to the number. I took the role of the Taliban commander and my opponent taking over as the German commander. We put together a few ruined city blocks for them to fight over. For this game we played a bit loose on the Loyal rules, as he wasn't happy about having to retrieve corpses, and in turn I was able to play loose with my morale checks, which would occur whenever 25% of a team is lost. Which, in a 4 man team means that I would be checking for every casualty, so I said it would trigger when >25% was lost in a single turn.

German Forces
Panzergrenadiere Gruppe(644 points)
-1 NCO with G36
-5 Riflemen with G36
-2 Soldiers with MG3
Sniper Fireteam(388 points)
-2 Snipers with G3-SD1
-2 Soldiers with MG3
=1032 points

Taliban Forces
Taliban Command Fireteam(353 points)
-1 Taliban Warlord Leader with AK-47(Wild Card)
-1 Soldier with RPG-7
-1 Machinegunner with RPK
-1 Soldier with AK-47
Taliban Fireteam(2x)(253 points each)
-1 Soldier with RPG-7
-3 Soldiers with AK-47
Taliban Sniper (166 points)
-1 Sniper with Dragunov SVD(Wild Card)
=1025 points

I'll be referring to the placement of units by my perspective at the Taliban edge of our 2x6 table. The Command Fireteam set up along the far left, with one fireteam in the middle and one on the right, the sniper set up along the right hand side as well. The German forces mirrored mine, their 8 man team on the left and their sniper team on the right.

The first turns were mostly feeling each other out, but some skilled sniper fire by the Germans pinned down my rightmost fireteam, shaking the RPG man. My own sniper returned fire from the second floor of a building, but had little success. It was not an even matchup. I outranged them, their guns considered my sniper as in medium range, while mine could reach them as close range. However this was evened up by the fact that my sniper only had a D10 in shooting while the German snipers were sitting pretty with D12s. I quickly learned that their body armor(giving them a toughness of 11! Most of my soldiers had a 5 or 6) kept them relatively impervious to small arms fire.

Along the left side of the board both sides inched towards each other. I started things off with a volley of RPG shots, which quickly took out one of the sniper team. After that my opponent kept all his units relatively spread out, which helped reduce casualties, but kept him from a concentrated assault as my command team moved into position.

Midgame was when I learned the importance of not bunching up as well. The German soldiers were keeping their heads down due to my command team, I believe that one rifleman and one machinegunner had been killed by my MG or RPGs, my AK-47 armed soldiers were having trouble hitting or damaging his(although that might have been due to the dice more than the mechanics), again due to the body armor. His snipers had concentrated on my RPG soldiers, taking out the one in my command team and in my right hand side fireteam. My middle fireteam had bunched up, minus the RPGman who had been shaken by sniper fire and had not caught up with the man bunch, but a well placed grenade took out three of them in one hit. What was amazing was that the RPGman was able to make his morale check, acing it and continuing on. Meanwhile, every German soldier that was getting close enough to toss a grenade was being taken out with accurate MG fire.

The endgame was a continued attempt to flush out my command team with grenades, and accurate sniper fire chipping away at the remainder of my forces. By the time we ended due to hunger the tally was pretty close. I had lost 7 of my 13 men, including my leader, while he had lost 7 of his 12. 6 of those were from his Panzergrenadieres, leaving only his leader and a MG man from that squad. The remaining casualty was from his sniper team, which really didn't move all that much throughout the game.

I was actually rather surprised at how well the Taliban forces did given that of my 13 soldiers, 9 of them had weapons that barely scratched the body armor of the German troops. My opponent's major complaint was that the German squads were too big, in order to avoid a grenade or RPG landing in the middle and taking multiple soldiers out, he was forced to essentially move his forces in a chain, which limited firepower at a point. Also he felt that the two MG men with his sniper team would be better served near the front, as opposed to with his sniper on overwatch. Actually that whole team could have moved up and flanked my forces, given that my own sniper was having trouble doing any damage other than perhaps shaking a unit for a turn or two.

My own problems included, of course, the fact that the body armor made most of my shots harmless, it was only due to the luck of my MG(acing damage repeatedly) that I was able to do as much damage as I did. In general I felt that there was a little trouble with interrupting actions, as we had two ties before resolving an interrupt, I think the one on hold should win ties personally, so I might houserule that. My leader's fireteam was waiting for them to move into the open, but lost the interrupt and got a grenade down their throat for their trouble.

All in all, a really fun game that played fast and was suitably deadly. Unlike the Chain Reaction ruleset, this game doesn't almost run itself, but the Modern Ops ruleset is very intuitive, and most likely second nature to anyone who has Savage Worlds. So, aside from the above gripes I'm quite happy with it. It could have been executed better, so it's not perfect, but it gets done what it set out to do.

Savage Archaeology

So, inspired by articles like this:
What Real-Life Dungeon Exploration Might Look Like, Graduate Students in Tow
And this
Back From Yet Another Globetrotting Adventure, Indiana Jones checks his mail and discovers that his bid for tenure has been denied

I wanted to do a lighthearted subversion of the typical dungeon crawl. I'm using the Savage Worlds system, which is by Pinnacle Entertainment Group. I've mentioned it before in my reviews of Solomon Kane and Rippers, but it really is a fast system that you won't feel that you're bogged down with, and if you don't have it, they've got a free Test Drive with most of the basic rules to play. The only exception for this little adventure is the Big Events, but there's a list of monsters so just use something similar if possible.

Anyways, opinions are needed, this was scrapped together in a few hours of manic inspiration, also if you want to try a playtest for this minigame, lol. But really this is more or less an amusing diversion as a solo dungeon crawl turned on its head.

Savage Archaeology

Congratulations Professor! You have just received funding to excavate an underground site suspected to be the ruins of an ancient civilization. To this end we have laid in an adequate supply of index cards and graduate students to carefully complete an initial survey and mapping of the site. The University is expecting great things, and respectfully reminds you that you have not published recently. In order to remain of the highest standards, regular publication in a peer reviewed journal is expected, and we hope that this trip will offer you the opportunity which you have been lobbying the finance department for, to gather field data .

Armed with notebooks, index cards, pencils, and a variety of small brushes you and your sad lot of graduate students arrive in a foreign land. Record and map the culturally significant features of the site, preferably without destroying the contextual evidence of the site matrix.

Each grad student must spend 2 turns studying the object of their specialty to record it, passing an appropriate Knowledge check. The Professor may do the same, but is not limited to any one type of item. (If the Knowledge check is failed then another with the appropriate skill can attempt to identify it)
Anyone who enters a previously unknown room must make a notice roll, those that fail are subject to any traps in the room(roll randomly to see who the trap targets), and on a natural 1 has a 50% chance of ruining the artifact(stepping on, breaking, using as a rest stop, or in the case of living creatures, insulting their ancestry through their actions). After the turn a room is entered it is assumed to be "discovered."
Traps may be disarmed, though in doing so they are no longer valuable to fulfill the Engineer's requirement. Or simply bypassed by an agility roll.
If an object is removed from the site matrix or damaged, it cannot count towards the items recorded. For biologicals, they must be studied while still alive.
If indigenous peoples are encountered(not from the big events table) then one can make a persuasion roll for them not to attack. A raise means that they offer to trade(likely a spear, bow and arrows, or sling for one of your grad student's shiny digital watch and a few candy bars).
After 10 rooms have been mapped then roll on the Big Events table as well.

Professor – Wild Card
Agility D4, Strength D4, Smarts D10, Spirit D10, Vigor D6
Skills: Guts D8, Investigation D8, Notice D8, Knowledge D8 in Engineering, Anthropology, Linguistics, and Zoology/Botany
Hindrances: Bad Eyes(minor), Curious(major)
Edges: Command, Inspire, Scholar(your choice)


Grad Student Types
Agility D6, Strength D6, Smarts D8, Spirit D6, Vigor D6
Skills: Fighting D4, Guts D8, Knowledge(Appropriate D8), Notice D6, Driving D4, Taunt D6
Engineer – Lockpicking D6, can be used to disarm traps
Anthropologist – Persuasion D6
Biologist – Survival D8, Tracking D6
Linguist – Can translate and identify writing,
Med Student – Healing D8, Healer


Roll 1d4 to choose hindrance/edge for any Slacker/Thug/Jock
Doubting Thomas, Greedy(may make an attempt at stealing artifacts if possible), Brawny, Clueless

Slacker – Notice D8, Persuasion D4, Guts D4, Lockpicking D4
Thug – Fighting D8, Shooting D6, Intimidation D6, Streetwise D6, Guts D6. Comes with knife
Jock – Throwing D8, Fighting D6, Climb D6, Intimidation D6, Guts D6. Comes with 6pack of empty bottles

(Beer Bottles – 3/6/12, Str+D4, -1 to attack, after a hit it shatters and becomes unusable)

Native Beaters/Guides(Does not wish to enter into the site at this time, but will provide protection for any researchers who escape from the site)
Agility D8, Smarts D6, Spirit D6, Strength D6, Vigor D6
Skills: Fighting D8, Guts D4, Notice D8, Shooting D8, Stealth D8, Survival D6, Tracking D6

Map Creation

Room Creation(Note, if you already have a dungeon generated, feel free to use that, and overlay it with the room features and events)
D10
1-3 Continues on after this room
4-5 – Turns Left
6-7 – Turns Right
8 – Tunnel Up
9- Tunnel Down
10 – Roll again twice

D20
Room Features (A=Anthropologist, E=Engineer, B=Biologist, L=Linguist)
1 An underground river flows through it
2 This room is mostly empty
3 Dust, and more dust
4 Lava pit

5 Old potsherds litter the floor(A)
6 A statue of an unknown god or goddess dominates the room(A)
7 Old burial jars and human remains litter the floor(A)
8 Simple tools and stone artifacts are evident(roll on weapons table). (A)

9 Ancient writing covers one of the walls(L)
10 Hieroglyphics depict the dangers of the next room (L)
11 Ancient clay tablets rest upon an alter, possibly describing 10 suggestions(L)

12 A rare species of insect thrives here(B)
13 A luminescent fungus is growing throughout the room(B)
14 This room is filled with bats(B)
15 Fossils of prehistoric beasts litter the floor(B)

16 An exquisitely arched ceiling with a hole in it (E)
17 A Natural underground cavern has been integrated into the structure(E)
18 Evidence of pipes and plumbing systems(E)

19 – Empty room
20 - Roll twice


Events D20
1 - A pit trap(one time use)
2 - A swinging blade trap(first person into the room is effected)
3 - A poisoned dart trap(line from one side of room to the other)
4 - A boulder trap(comes rolling down next hallway if applicable, or in line with previous hallway)(one time use)
5 - Encounter with a wild dog
6 - A big cat has made this site its home
7 - A hunting party of indigenous peoples
8 - A silver dagger rests upon a sacrificial alter
9 - Strange chanting can be heard
10 - Holy man or hermit lives here
11 - Unstable foundations give way(treat as pit trap)
12 – 19 No event
20 Roll twice

Big Events D12
1- Crocodiles, 1d3 of them
2- Pygmy Cannibals, 1d6 per turn
3- Morlocks, 1d4 per turn
4- Minotaur
5- Zombies! 1d4 per turn
6- MacGuffin! Grab it and Run
7- Rumble, Rumble, the site begins to collapse, 1 room per turn starting at outermost areas
8-12 Nothing so far


Scoring
First, make up a suitable name for your paper, some examples being, "Pre-Sauron Architecture in Subterranean Mordor." "Hyborian Hieroglyphics in Stygian Burial Mounds." "Early Paleolithic Trap Making of the Cannibalistic Shoggoth Worshippers" or something along that vein, make it snappy!

Each item recorded : 200
Recorded at least 2 of each: 200
Recorded less than 2 of each: -200
MacGuffin recovered : 400 (Though you get a stern talking to about inappropriate recovery methods by your head of department)
Each Grad Student Killed : -100
Each artifact/site/trap damaged or removed : -50
Each indigenous creature/plant harmed: -25
Each sentient native killed : -75
Each Turn taken : -10

Scores under 1000, unable to acquire funding(or willing grad students) for next year's trip. Tenure revoked!
Scores over 1000, translate into cash for the next trip. Survivors are assumed to return next year. For 200 you can get a student of your choice, for 100 you get to roll randomly among the slackers, thugs, and jocks. It can also go towards buying supplies. Two notes of supplies, 1. It's hard to justify guns as an expense(for some reason the dean doesn't think they're necessary), though you can get them on the black market for 2x listed price. And 2. If you have a video camera along, the student equipped only needs to take 1 turn to record their find.

Rippers

"Those who fight monsters should take care that they never become one.
For when you stand and look long into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you."
-Friedrich Nietzsche

Rippers is a Savage Setting of Victorian Horror for the Savage Worlds gaming system. Imagine every myth and folklore of mad science and playing god, every boogie man that kept you up at night, imagine, all the myths are true. Mix one part Van Helsing, one part Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and add a dash of your favorite mad science story, from Dr. Frankenstein to Dr. Moreau, and you might end up with something like this. Where Abraham Van Helsing leads a clandestine organization devoted to, what else, fighting monsters, opposing him is the brilliant and sadistic Jack the Ripper. And you, my friend, have just entered into this covert horror war.

I purchased the PDF version, so I can't tell you how the print version is put together, but the PDF is quite nice. There was only 1 page that was rather hard to read, but out of 146 pages, that's not bad at all. And it's very well organized, with both a detailed table of contents and an index, having these always scores points with me because of the functionality I demand from my RPG books.

There are main three setting specific changes that Rippers makes from the standard Savage Worlds model, introducing Reason and Reputation, which are derived characteristics. Reason, in a world of monsters and monstrous deeds, might be a bit fleeting, akin to Sanity or other similar measures of a character's ability to deal with the supernatural. However it's not quite a one way slide into oblivion and madness, Rippers also provides the appropriate edges for recovering reason, whether through therapy or a bout in a mental institution(which will unfortunately leave you with a whole new set of mental scars, but at least you're not babbling incomprehensibly). Either way it's a very powerful thematic tool.

Reputation in a Victorian world is of course quite important. However this more so than reason seems to be a slide towards the bottom, with plenty of opportunities for losing it(e.g. staying at a lodge that doesn't have enough influence), and very few for gaining it. While I understand the reasoning behind this, I think that I would like modify it a bit before GMing for Rippers. While some may enjoy roleplaying this aspect more fully, when you're fighting monsters I don't think it needs to take a front seat. However if one were to just take this mechanic and rip it into simply a Victorian oriented campaign where roleplaying status was key, then that would make an suiting combination I believe.

In addition you have the standard equipment list, supplemented by your cinematic monster hunting gear. Including a Gatling pistol and various exploding/trick/silver/grappling ammunition for your trusty crossbow. Which I felt was an especially nice touch.

The other options included are Rippertech, essentially grafting monster parts onto your characters, and Lodges. Now I have to say that the possibilities granted by these two are really neat, and having a base of operations for the players is always a powerful adventure tool. Especially when combined with the very comprehensive random adventure creator included. And when I say comprehensive, I mean it, you can create a pretty convincing scenario with just a few rolls. However it is mostly oriented towards the Rippers setting specifically, so keep that in mind. Also I have some problems with the aspects related to the strategic missions for the upkeep of the lodge that one assumes that you're sending your NPC buddies out on. The more and better your people that you send out, the more cards you draw, and yet success is based simply on whether you've got more red or black cards, and if there are face cards it's a big time success or failure. Now the two jokers give a little bit of skewed odds towards more cards being a good thing, but I think I'd tweak it a bit to let you actually discard a card with more or more experienced people.

But the meat of the book is definitely the plot point campaign and savage tales. There are about 30 adventures set around the world with opportunities to meet everyone from Sherlock Holmes(deliciously subverted as he wastes away in the grips of cocaine addiction) to Dr. Frankenstein. Not to mention encounters with cryptids such as the Jersey Devil and of course your standard beasties from Werewolves to Vampires. I'm keeping it short as not to spoil too much, but there are quite a few plot twists and subversions that will keep you entertained.

While there is some overlap with the Savage World of Solomon Kane, there is very definitely a different atmosphere evoked. In Rippers, one is no wandering hero, but a part of an organized force battling a sometimes losing war against monsters. Rippers also leans more towards steampunk sensibilities than Solomon Kane, if that interests you, though I think that there is enough that sets them apart that warrants getting Rippers if your players are interested in the time periods, or even if they were at least excited about something like the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or Five Fists of Science(one could easily see Tesla and Edison set as agents or enemies for instance). Actually one with delusions of grandeur might imagine a massive cross generational campaign spanning time periods and, errr...well, one gets ahead of themselves.

All in all, a solid product, even though at times it seems to be confused whether it wants to focus on being a Victorian, a Horror, or a Monster Hunting setting, it does manage meld them together in an enjoyable way. If you're not interested so much in the supernatural horror involved, then perhaps this isn't for you, but frankly, I think most people will be getting it exactly for that reason. And the rules contained will adapt pretty well to any Victorian or Steampunk oriented game. While it doesn't qualify as best value/purchase of the year, to me it's easily worth the $20 bucks or so that I paid for it.

Shaintar: Immortal Legends

Shaintar was something I've had my eye on for some time, and when the GM's Day sale started up I had no excuses left not to buy it. Published by Talisman Studios and written by Sean Patrick Fannon, one of the first things you realize when you open it up, is that this is a project that they cared about.

The art is beautiful, and the writing is crisp and interesting. One thing I especially want to point out is the "GM to GM" sections, which is something that I'd love to see in every game book. Something that's very simple, and yet so useful in getting into the mind of what the writer was thinking or trying for. With over 250 pages, for a SETTING book, you know you're getting a lot for your value, and it doesn't disappoint. Setting specific flavorful gear and classes right along with the more traditional fantasy tropes, one almost feels as if those hundred of pages aren't enough for what they put in, not to mention the wonderful art that is sprinkled throughout the pages(it actually feels more professional than the core Savage Worlds book).

Of course, the majority is taken up by the latter sections, the plot point campaign and a list of sample encounters. I call it a list because that's what it is, it has something that I really feel that any GM would appreciate, samples of the characters/monsters presented at three levels, a regular version, an advanced version, and an elite version. A lack of interchangeability has always bothered me in the more traditional RPGs*coughdndcough* in that adventures are designed for a certain level of character and it's quite hard to adjust that, whereas an inability to judge what will be a challenge without a being an execution squad is an adjustment that Savage World GMs have to make. The little guide they present and levels of challenge provide a very useful tool for making your own adventures, or repopulating theirs as you see fit for a larger or smaller party.

The plot point campaign and assorted adventure hooks promise to quickly pull the adventurers into all sorts of world shattering events. Again, the GM to GM sections shine through here. With references to the Cajun flavor of a certain group of elves sticking out in my mind, and in another adventure you've got a familiar Hatfield and McCoy type feud. Also included is the MACs, which is a pretty comprehensive adventure generator, for when you need to toss something together without much prep.

If this was a regular book, the review would stop here, but it's not. Because it's an RPG and setting book it has to be functional. That's something I demand, and something that I'm sorry to say Shaintar has some problems with, because with quality like it has, I want to like it. First and foremost is the Table of Contents, sharing half a page with other information and easily overlooked, it's definitely lacking.If I wanted to find a specific adventure or encounter, I would need to possibly page through nearly a hundred pages of densely packed information. On a similar vein is that some sections are oddly organized, information on the Arcane powers for example, there's actually a section on arcane powers in Shaintar, which lists some of the background and trappings, yet says that I'd need to look under the professional edges, which has me flipping through pages to find them as well, and once I get there they mention needing skills associated with the magic, but each magic has a different skill and these are not mentioned in the "skills in Shaintar" section, which I would have found useful. Actually, come to think of it, an expanded Table of Contents would be good, but bookmarks would be ideal. (Edit: A little update, the new version of the download includes a well organized bookmarks page, and thus resolved the major issues with navigating the document.) Also, near the end of the book is the full color map, in print it might be perfect, but on my screen it's small and the detail could be improved. I was nose to the screen to read some of the city names there, and since much of the plot points and adventures are in a relatively smaller area, a regional map would have been nice, even if it was just a black and white sketch(if there was one somewhere, which is possible with 260 or so pages, then I couldn't find it). A final little quibble is the download, instead of having both the print friendly and full version in a little zip file, they're presented as separate downloads, it's something to look out for and make sure you have both versions when you get it.

Now on the gripping hand, Shaintar has something that you aren't going to get with every RPG you get, a very active and accessible creator. It's not hard at all to get in touch with questions, not to mention additional information supplements. It's a living creation, and the gaps at the edges of the map with "here be monsters" are being filled in. And with a very helpful community, I'm hopeful that someone or another is eventually going to at least come out with crib notes that will keep me from going crazy searching for things while trying to run a game.

Paying for a fantasy setting book when there are so many free conversions on the internet may be controversial, but if you get it, then you aren't going to be disappointed, and as mentioned before, it's a lot of book for the price. It isn't without its flaws, but I don't want to give the impression that they overshadow the meat of the product, and with the active community, many of those flaws are likely to be patched up. This isn't a must have, but if you are going to run Savage Worlds games in a fantasy setting this provides a vibrant, living world for your players to adventure in.

The Savage World of Solomon Kane

"Far back in Kane's gloomy eyes a scintillant light had begun to glimmer, like a witch's torch glinting under fathoms of cold gray ice. His blood quickened. Adventure! The lure of life-risk and battle! The thrill of breathtaking, touch-and-go drama!"
-Skulls in the Stars, by Robert E. Howard

The name Robert E. Howard, unfortunately these days the name will all too often conjure up images of a barely dressed Arh-nuld as Conan in a campy B movie. Which is a shame because it turns people off from one of the great Pulp authors, and one which in my opinion deserves more attention. Thankfully, Pinnacle Entertainment Group has faithfully adapted one of his lesser known characters into their latest rules setting.

As a fan of Robert E. Howard, and especially Solomon Kane, the grim, driven, Puritan adventurer(not to mention better clothed than most of his other characters), and was more than a little excited to get my hands on this rulebook. For anyone not familiar with the character, or of Howard outside a campy movie, go read a few of the short stories, many of them available online on Project Gutenberg Australia I personally recommend starting with either the Solomon Kane or the Bran Mak Morn stories to whet your appetite. Although the book does provide summaries of the stories, they simply don't do justice to the Howard's writing.

But let us get into the book itself. First off, it's solid. No flimsy paperback here, this one could stand up to use. Second of all, it's simply very visually appealing book, some people would like to get down to the nitty gritty first off, but with full color pictures, and plenty of them, it's a pleasure to read. The pictures also help to paint in the world of Solomon Kane, adventures in strange venues against macabre forces and uncaring enemies. This world was still wild and empty around the edges, with priests to old gods and races of beast yet undiscovered.

The meat of the game is of course the Savage Worlds system. To my shame this is the first product that I have purchased for that system, having heard rather disparaging comments from the D20 advocates that I game with. However if you're used to only D&D or other D20 systems, fear not! It'd take a whole other entry to go over the rules in depth, but let me say that they Savage Worlds rules are easy to understand and intuitive. The biggest difference most veterans of a D20 system will face is the classless character building, which will make leveling up and creating characters much less painful. And the included character sheet is especially well made for easy understanding. Just in case anyone is wondering, this is not just a setting book, but an entire self contained game, with the Savage Worlds rules included, even if one was to play the setting with a different system, the book is something that has enough flavor and ideas to get it just for that.

While I'm not going to review the rules as a whole, there are a few places where Solomon Kane diverges from the standard Savage Worlds. The chief of these being the magic system. Instead of power points, the Kane book uses a more ritualistic variant, one more in line with Howard's writings of juju men and dark priest pacts with unknown forces. Each spell has a difficulty modifier, and time spent concentrating can decrease the difficulty. If one is unlucky enough to fail at an attempt to cast, there's a backlash table with all sorts of nasty side effects. Something I think is much more cinematic than "You lose the spell." The other thing is that magic essentially has 2 schools, Shamanism and Sorcery, with each having a different ability being their key, Spirit and Smarts respectively. The intention seeming to be that each would have their advantages and disadvantages, however it seems that most of the Powers/Spells themselves are modified by Smarts for range, with only a few exceptions. One quibble would be that the range be modified by the chief spellcasting ability, except in particular cases(It makes sense that one like Transfer Soul would have a range of Spirit, but it seems arbitrary that one like Slumber would have a range based on Smarts). But either way, if you're looking for a high magic world where fireballs have frequent flier cards, then you're looking in the wrong place, the magic here is gritty, difficult, and often macabre(an example being the spell to animate your hand post amputation, and no, it doesn't grow back afterwards).

Now we get to the meat of the book, info on the game setting and the campaign. As I mentioned, I'm new to the Savage Worlds products, but their adventures and plot point style really resonates with me. It's a little more structured than a freeform adventure, but it'll really help out an overloaded GM. And the fact that instead of simple information, many of the NPC interactions are in the form of question/answers seem to really put the GM at ease. However this comes at the price of a bit of railroading, though if done well enough with a GM that can improvise a bit, I think it's something that should be more or less undetectable. To save space in the section, several of the mooks and villains faced have their stats in the bestiary at the back of the book, with a few modifications mentioned, however one thing I found annoying was that those that do have their stats mentioned in the adventure most often don't appear in the monster bestiary. Now this isn't a necessary thing, but I would have liked some reference in the bestiary to where I could find their stats in the campaign.

But that I'm quibbling over something as minor as that just goes to show that all in all it's a very well put together product. Something gamers can hop into and enjoy, and Howard fans can be proud of, and people who are both can use to introduce to those that are neither. Even if you never get another Savage Worlds book there's enough here that it doesn't matter, it's self contained and provides plenty of material, though if you're like me you'll likely be checking out the rest of what is offered, I'm definitely impressed, not only with the system, but with the quality of the product. The Savage World of Solomon Kane definitely has my recommendation as being worth the investment.