New Year, New Game: Only 2 Days Left!

DriveThruRPG's sale is running out of time, and I wanted to give a list of things that caught my eye, just in case some of you share the same interests.

1. Conspiracy X -- This is version 2.0 and it uses Unisystem, which I've been fond of ever since I ran a Buffy the Vampire Slayer campaign set here in the Philippines. It's a great, easy to teach, and allows you to take stuff from all the other Unisystem games out there. It shouldn't be too much of a stretch, given the premise of the game:
   
   "Conspiracy X takes place in a world of dark secrets and hidden agendas where the only certainty is nothing is what it seems. The president might not be human... and the sign carrying paranoid on the street corner ranting about CIA mind control satellites may very well be right."
   
2. Imperium Chronicles Roleplaying Game -- This is a new game system, and threatens to scratch my constant itching for new Science Fiction settings. Here's the premise:
   
   "The Imperium Chronicles is a mashup of sci-fi and fantasy, set in a universe of intrigue and adventure. The Imperium is a tapestry of conflicting groups, each with their own agenda. From the richest aristocrat to the poorest thug, every citizen dreams of power, prestige, and a piece of the action."
   
   Sounds like a good space opera campaign! Also, a quick look at the publisher's page shows that there are already other sourcebooks and minis available for the game.
   
3. Leverage Roleplaying Game -- Powered by another Cortex+ variant, this one can help recreate the heist and scam-filled episodes of the TV show. It's a different take on the action/adventure filled modern day world with less guns blazing and more lies, doubletalk, and sneaking about -- but always for a good cause.
   
   "Based on TNT’s hit show, The LEVERAGE Role Playing Game puts you in the middle of a dysfunctional but highly specialized group of con artists, criminals, and crooks who are trying to turn over a new leaf. You protect the victims of corporations, mobsters, and corrupt politicians by using your expert skills to outwit and overcome the real bad guys."
   
   Already, it has some additional sourcebooks that I've also reviewed elsewhere in this blog.

What are the games that caught your eye in the sale?

Armchair Reviews: Eldritch Skies

I already posted my review for Eldritch Skies on RPGNow / DriveThruRPG, and I really wanted to give it a 5-star rating. Unfortunately, my preferences in terms of organization, structure, information architecture, and layout really came out and I had to downgrade by one star.

Here's the review as it appears:

First the negative: this book is not really laid out (or organized) to my tastes. It's done in a competent manner, but there are certain slips that, in my opinion should be addressed to make the book stronger and easier not only to read, but also to use a as a reference book. In general, I do agree with the ordering of the material, but I feel strongly about trimming the 'game fiction for flavor', a more refined layout from the two column approach, and a more detailed table of contents.

Next, the positive: this is, surprisingly, a different take on the Lovecraftian mythology. It goes purist in that it ignores a lot of the post-Lovecraft additions to the Mythos, but allows for both the pessimistic and optimistic Lovecraftian play. And it takes the characters into space, allows characters to play with sorcery, forces characters to deal with the various races on Earth and beyond, and exposes characters to Hyperspatial radiation.

The games you play here could easily echo a Twilight Zone episode or Bradbury's Mars tales, your games can inject a sense of exploring the unknown, pushing the limits, and taking mankind beyond its cradle into a dangerous universe that could easily kill him or, strangely enough, king him. Not all endings need to result in the deaths of the protagonists -- some might survive, or even thrive as Randolph Carter did in the Dreamlands.

The juxtaposition of the open secret of hyperdimensional travel with the strange dangers of the mythos-filled universe is interesting for me. The actions of world governments and individuals in the timeline feel plausible and interesting to me, and the opportunities for a different type of space adventure / horror / exploration campaign are very appealing.

I also like (though I've not playtested) the unfolding of the cinematic Unisystem ruleset to allow for fast play. The character templates give a broad spectrum of recognizable archetypes, the character creation rules and gear give enough twists to optimize and ready your character for adventure.

I would like to add several things however:

This is a densely detailed, finely crafted setting. It provides standard kits for different types of military and scientific teams. It details a wide variety of realms and worlds that humanity has gone to or can go to. It provides a ready kit of well-known (and lesser known) creatures and dangers to threaten the PCs with. And it manages to maintain a Science Fiction feel despite the presence of the Lovecraftian elements. You don't get that overwhelming 'small band of heroes against a government conspiracy' feel that you do in Delta Green (which I love); in Eldritch Skies you get a 'humanity with all its strengths and foibles against the sea of unknowable terror and wonder that is the universe' vibe.

There's potential here to celebrate exploration of the universe, to celebrate the human spirit that seeks to push farther and delve further into cosmic mysteries than it has any right to, to celebrate cooperation and conflict and courage. There's also potential to expose all the ugly sides of the human condition -- greed, pride, and a lust for personal power at the cost of other peoples' lives and loves.

It reminds me of the potential of shows like the early season(s) of X-files and Earth: Final Conflict, and of (as mentioned above) the Twilight Zone episodes about space exploration and the Bradbury Mars Chronicles -- a wonderfully dark merging of science and weirdness that somehow avoids becoming science fantasy (which it technically is) and somehow avoids being merely horror in space.

If this is your kind of thing, give Eldritch Skies a shot.

Fixing the TOC of Eldritch Skies

It's frustrating to review something with a very unhelpful table of contents. And that's where I am with Eldritch Skies.

No, I don't read RPGs in sequence. I normally select the chapters based on my own preferred pattern of reading, honed by many years of not reading and learning RPGs. Plus, I occasionally need to refer back to the book and seldom have the exact location of a rule memorized.

Being confronted by a Table of Contents that says (for the most part) "Chapter 1, p. 20" and "Chapter 5, p. 162" isn't very helpful.

For those of you following along at home (assuming they haven't revised this in the meantime), here's a more helpful TOC:

• VECTORS, p. 6 (Introductory Short Fiction)
• INTRODUCTION, P. 11
• CHAPTER 1, P. 20 -- The Eldritch Past & The Mythos Present
• CHAPTER 2, P. 50 -- Civilians and Operatives
• CHAPTER 3, P. 98 -- Rules & Gear
• CHAPTER 4, P. 142 -- Arcane Secrets
• CHAPTER 5, P. 162 -- The Realms of the Mythos
• CHAPTER 6, P. 198 -- Eldritch Threats & Alien Wonders
• CHAPTER 7, P. 242 -- Storytelling Advice
• APPENDIX, P. 258
• SERENDIPITY, P.268 (Ending Short Fiction)

And yes, I feel that there should be expanded listings on that Table of Content page (even if it's a smaller font). Furthermore, I think that the page numbers should not be off by 1 either (leading you to the last page of the prior chapter).

I'm still slogging through, because it really has a nice feel -- and may be worth merging with all the other Cthulhu stuff I have for Trail of Cthulhu and maybe even with another Unisystem game that deals with alien conspiracies.

On the Radar: Eldritch Skies

Eldritch Skies seems like an interesting Unisystem RPG. Especially with the Mythos-inspired setting, and the MegaTraveller-inspired font choice and cover design (YMMV).

This book is a complete role-playing game of Lovecraftian science fiction that uses the Cinematic Unisystem. It contains all rules needed to play, and requires no additional material beyond your imagination and a few dice.

In 1931, the Miskatonic Antarctic Expedition found the Elder Ones' city.

In 947, the Mi-Go crashed at Roswell.

In 1958, we used barely understood eldritch powers and took the step to Mars.

In 1994, human scientists cracked alien technology and overcame the lightspeed barrier and brought us the stars. They also brought us the madness that lies between them -- the mind-twisting undarkness of hyperspace.

It is 2030. The Gilman-Hawking drive has given us access to the stars. But we are not alone. We've never been alone.  Aliens, gods, and monsters are out there; but they've always been here.

We walk amongst giants. Tread carefully.

I like Unisystem, and -- like almost all Cthulhu Mythos influenced settings -- it should be fairly easy to crib material from other game settings.