RPG News

From schoolgirls to horrific circus troupes to secret forces serving mankind - these are the things today's new reviews are made of.

Robots, Vampires and Catholic High School!

Dragona Lore Smith tries to keep his secret. He also tries to keep his friends.

As he makes one small mistake after another, his world starts to unravel.

Originally four 20-page issues, Lore #9-12 have been reprinted in the form of two 40-page comics. DriveThruComics.com now has electronic versions in watermarked PDF format. These digital editions present Lore at 200dpi — nearly twice the resolution of the free web comic.

Readers can instantly download the 13MB files for $0.99 each.

Looking to spread your gaming knowledge, or just tell some stories that might help other gamers? We might have need of you. Send your column pitch to us at columns (at) RPG (dot) net, and you could end up joining the ranks of RPGnet's columnists.

Flames Rising has a sneak peek at the upcoming Munchkin Zombies game from Steve Jackson Games:

First Look at Munchkin Zombies

Included in this preview is a playtest card drawn by artist John Kovalic.

Flames Rising
Horror & Dark Fantasy Webzine
www.flamesrising.com

Yes, spies and an organization keeping apocalypse at bay are the subjects of today's new reviews.

It's Not Just a Show, It's a Happening

As any artist will tell you, the art scene can be brutal, especially in a high-octane setting like Manhattan. There are plenty of horror stories to go around—but none of them can touch what’s about to go down at the Guggenheim.

In this Mission, Shadowrun players will find themselves in the middle of an art opening unlike any other, with chaos and screaming and dancing statues. Unless they keep their wits about them, the latest masterpiece in the museum will be painted in blood—and to make things worse, if they can’t defuse the situation, they might not get paid.

Something Completely Different is the latest Manhattan Mission, giving Missions players a chance to learn more about the creative spirit behind some of the city’s artistic masterworks while also giving them the opportunity to shore up their alliances with powerful megacorps.

Get all of the Shadowrun Missions at DriveThruRPG.com.

Today's Fifth Imperium should be interesting - it's Genre-ic Plot Seeds, Part Three: The Wacky Ones. I expect space monkeys and a big nosed guy named Larry. Just a hunch.

Atlas Games is 20 years old this month, and founder John Nephew has put out the word that they’re celebrating. If you’re lucky, you may still have time to get a free birthday gift box of Atlas Games stuff – the first 250 folks to order it and pay for their own shipping will get a semi-random assortment of games or game related items from the company. Even if you miss out on the birthday goodies, stop by the website and wish the Atlas crew a happy 20th, with many more to come.

Happy Monday, folks. New reviews?

Recent reviews at Flames Rising include:

Deathwatch (Warhammer RPG) - Fantasy Flight Games
The Last Remnant - Square-Enix
Dark Sun Campaign Setting - Wizards of the Coast
Tracker #4 - Top Cow Productions
Our Ladies of Sorrow - Miskatonic River Press
Cthulhu Tales Vol 1 - Boom Studios
Curse of the Yellow Sign II - John Wick
Cthulhu's Reign - Darrell Schweitzer (Editor)

Flames Rising also has a new interview with author and editor Kim Paffenroth.

Flames Rising
Horror & Dark Fantasy Webzine
www.flamesrising.com

Our latest new reviews come from Demian, who has tried his hand at a pair of recent card games – several hands, actually. First he describes Minion Games’ Nile, an agriculturally themed game done in a classic style. Then Demian holds no punches in his review of the wild western brawl card game, Knock Down, Drag Out by Interaction Point Games. If you’re craving a dust-up, but aren’t looking forward to bruised knuckles and lost teeth, you’d do well to check this game out.

With well over a dozen books and more on the way, the Wild Cards fiction series has a cast of characters too large to be covered in just one book. Aces & Jokers fills out the roster from the Wild Cards Campaign Setting with biographical and game information on dozens of aces, jokers, and nats from the series, everything you need to fill out the ranks in your own Mutants & Masterminds game.

As a bonus, you can use the character stats in this book for other settings as well, providing you with ready-made villains, heroes, and other characters. Get ready to double up with Aces & Jokers!

Available now at DriveThruComics.com.

Another great assortment of new reviews wraps the week around here.

Given the Mandate of Heaven to rule Creation following the Primordial War, the Exalted fashioned a Realm of unsurpassed power and glory from the world's war-ravaged remains. Though the seeds of its downfall were planted in the hearts of all the Exalted by the Great Curse, the Old Realm would stand for millennia, and its rulers would shape the future of the Exalted world. At last, the secrets of that lost time stand revealed, as you adventure as one of that era's Exalted masters.

Will you strive to preserve this halcyon time-or help to destroy it?

A boxed set for Exalted featuring:

• Lands of Creation, a 160-page setting book that details Creation as it was during the High First Age
• Lords of Creation, a character resource that includes everything players and Storytellers need to generate First Age Exalted characters, including high-Essence Charms for each Exalt type and stats for prominent Exalts from the period
• A 64-page guide to the city of Meru itself, jewel of Creation and capital of the Realm
• Unique First Age Exalted map, battlewheel and original box graphics
• Updated errata and new Charms incorporated directly into the text. (People just looking for the errata can check out the Scroll of Errata.)

Dreams of the First Age is now available at RPGNow.com.

Tales from the Rocket House has More 'Random' Thoughts to share. Perhaps you'd like to share some thoughts as well? Put together a column pitch, and email columns (at) rpg (dot) net, and hash out the possibilities. We'd love to have you.

For a decade now Freeport has stood as one of fantasy gaming's most distinctive cities. Home to pirates, foul cults, terrifying monsters, vicious gangs, crime lords, and corrupt politicians, Freeport is a dynamic setting that offers a unique blend of high adventure and cosmic horror. Now the City of Adventure returns to its roots with the Freeport Companion: Pathfinder RPG Edition, a rules supplement for the Pirate's Guide to Freeport.

Its 160 pages are packed with all the support you need to run a Freeport campaign with the Pathfinder RPG. In addition to giving game stats for all the city's major characters, the Freeport Companion provides new core classes like the corsair and monster hunter, new prestige classes like the musketeer and witch hunter, famous magic items, an insanity system, new spells and incantations, and an introductory adventure. Celebrate 10 years of the City of Adventure with the Freeport Companion: Pathfinder RPG Edition!

Check out all of the Freeport eBooks at DriveThruRPG.com!

The new reviews just keep coming.

Mega-City One - a vast metropolis where each of 360 million citizens is a potential lawbreaker. Patrolling these mean streets are the judges. Toughest of them all is Judge Dredd, for he is the Law, and you'd better believe it creep!

Judge Dredd is a setting for the Traveller roleplaying game. Explore the Mega-City and bring the Law to the streets!

For a limited time enjoy an extra 20% Off of Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog products at DriveThruSciFi.com.

Campaign Toybox is the Soul-Bound collector's edition.

Monday morning, and we’re off to war – specifically, Daron’s review of the brand new Memoir ’44 expansion Disaster at Dieppe. This set provides new map options for the streamlined war/board game, new unit types, and a bunch of new scenarios. See what Daron thought of the latest set, or look through our review archive to see other Memoir ’44 reviews. One way or another, get your war on.