Welcome back to the Role Playing Games PDF Spotlights column, where we look at some of the PDF’s that have been released in the past week that have caught my eye.
All of the below were released in PDF between 26th March – 1st April 2022.
Core Rulebook
By Rebellion Unplugged
As the iron fist of the Justice Department tightens its grip on the people of Mega-City One, there stirs once again movement towards democracy. As pro-democracy agitators, now is the time to take a stand for self-governance.
Because now you have Walter, a former Justice Department droid and somewhat reluctant co-conspirator who has damaging information about the judges. Information the public must hear. And you will deliver it to them, today, at the opening game of the first Aeroball season in decades.
All of Mega-City One will be watching. The judges will be unable to pre-emptively shutdown the broadcast for fear of citywide riots. It is the perfect opportunity.
Never has democracy stood a better chance.
Designed specifically for 2000 AD’s 45th anniversary by original Dread writer Epidiah Ravachol, Dread: Dredd brings the ENNIE award-winning RPG to the iconic world of 2000 AD’s Judge Dredd.
One player takes on the role of the Host, tasked with representing the mayhem and magnificence of Mega-City One and its inhabitants. The other players act as characters living in the shadow of the Statue of Judgement, doing whatever it takes to thrive and survive.
Of course, surviving isn’t always so easy. When the players are faced with difficult or dangerous actions, they must pull wooden blocks from a tower to discover whether they succeed. If the tower comes crashing down, their character dies. The stakes are high when you take on the Judges but there is some hope in your new character abilities, reflecting the city’s wide range of inhabitants.
The PDF contains everything you need to run this standalone adventure – adapted Dread rules, pre-created character sheets, the Adventure booklet, and an Encounter list for the Host to refer to throughout the game. Just add a block tower and your gaming group and you’re good to go!
Starfinder Supplement
By Rogue Genius Games
Introducing an all-new way to build Starfinder PCs, Starfinder Species Reforged has everything you need to build flexible and fun player characters belonging to over 30 different playable species. Within this massive 300+ page tome, you’ll find:
- 30 Featured Species including core Starfinder species such as kasathas and ysoki, Blood Space favorites such as kitsune and uramae, and brand-new additions such as uplifted animals. Each featured species includes a full suite of species traits plus 5 pages of heritages, talents, and Blood Space setting lore.
- 15 Additional Species, including grays, izalguuns, kalos, nashi, vlakas, and more. Each additional species includes a full suite of species traits plus 1 page of heritages and talents.
- 30 Universal Heritages available to any species, such as aasimar, beastkin, blood-scarred, skittergoblin, and sylphs.
- Dozens of Universal Talents available to characters of any species.
- And much more!
Get Everybody Gaming with Everybody Games!
Magazine
By The Polyhedral Knights
In this issue The Knight Line shows a former corporation that can still be used in Dark Times. Offers a new DNA Strand from Gryphon Bio-Chemical and introduces a Hybrid Mutant/Enhanced. Also in this issue, NPC Profile that can be used for Wicked Pacts along with Plot seeds. Supply and Demand a Dark Times Adventure written by Mickey Barfield and a fantasy story with plot seeds that is system agnostic.
5E Dungeons & Dragons Adventure
By Adventures Await Studios
5TH-LEVEL ADVENTURE. 5E COMPATIBLE.
Many years ago, the Empire of Fangs ruled the jungles of southern Arden. Their empire was built upon sacrifices to dark gods and a vicious warlike philosophy. Among those dark gods, Zengar the Fanged One received the most devoted worshippers. Called the Low Ones, they built temples in forgotten places, deep beneath the ground to be closer to their deity who dwelled in the darkest of places.
Over time, infighting and coups destroyed the empire from within. It still exists to some extent, but only as a shadow of its former self. The jungle has reclaimed many of their former cities and temples. One such temple, however, was never abandoned. The Low Ones within keep vigil over the sacred place, awaiting the day Zengar rises up to devour the unworthy.
Core Rulebook
By post world games
A Comforting Apocalypse is a story roleplaying game about people gathering during the last days of the world, as nomadic scavenging and community rebuilding looms on the horizon. Characters are people who ‘always knew this day would come,’ and now look forward to a future without the noise of the (previously) modern society. But as the reality of their lives close in, they must deal with certain uncomfortable facts of the new age of humanity.
This game introduces a number of new rules and order of operations to the Protocol system, creating a new way in which to use this system. Expect more games in the series to be updated in this fashion.
Protocol is a series of story roleplaying games that thrusts characters together into dramatic situations. Each game uses the same set of rules, with vastly different parameters, start points, characters, and finales. Players take on the roles of directors outside the action and characters inside the action, using the ebb and flow of four different scene-framing styles (vignettes, interrogations, interludes, and ensembles) to tell meaningful stories about characters in crisis.
Each game in the Protocol series is zero-prep for 3 or more players. The game length is exponentially long, so games with more players take more time to complete. The Protocol Series requires a deck of poker cards as well as tokens to track drama points.
War Within RPG – The Cold War Roleplay Game
Core Rulebook
By Dark Realm Maps
War Within RPG is a roleplaying game set in a tense Cold War arena. Based in the 1980s in an alternate reality it has been thirty years since a great war tore the world apart. Each player takes on the role of a country’s leader alongside a team of Trusted Aides, making decisions on behalf of their people. A Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty hangs over the world. Three of the Non-Player Governments (NPGs) have access to nuclear weapons, two of which were at war. They have agreed to not use their nuclear weapons and to not help others acquire them. But their government types are opposed, and tension grows. The players, as new leaders of their countries, find themselves in a fragile Cold War. Will they survive the coming storm?
This purchase brings you the War Within RPG Rule book, which includes everything you need to play; the core rules, the country event sheet template, the deposed sheet template, Incident Slip and Breaking News cards and Example Maps. The book comes in an A5 format.
The main aim for the player in War Within RPG is to create a historical narrative during a period of instability and survive potential conflict, avoid nuclear war and, if so desired, strive for world dominance or negotiate for peace. The GM is there to facilitate this through managing events and the actions of the NPG’s. There is no set aim in a traditional sense, although the Cold War events will require response. There are no winners or losers unless the GM decides otherwise.
The players take control of a country. They have a government type either chosen or allocated. Their Country Record Sheet shows a range of information including their Trusted Aides, which they can deploy in game to guarantee results, and a series of stats known as points. These include Instability Points, Counter Espionage Points and Spy Points. Checks are made against these in game, when required, using two six-sided die. The GM takes control of the Non-Player Governments, usually between 5 and 10 countries, and has several tools to use during play. They can deploy Breaking News and Incident Slip cards which describe rumours and events in game and of course roleplay the events that keep the world scene moving forward.
The game revolves around a central map that is adjusted and updated as the game plays out. The threat of nuclear war is very real, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) becoming strained by the Cold War.There are a set of pre-written events that can be played by the GM to crank up the tension. The players update their sheets, manage their budgets which impacts upon their actions and the map evolves. Peace Treaties, Trade Agreements and War Pacts are struck, and the GM has a sequence of events tables to help with managing these. All this time the players must try to avoid an uprising in their country or face being deposed. A separate Deposed Record Sheet is provided if this happens and then through cunning and subterfuge, they must strive to take back power. The GM carries on playing events and managing the political scene but also making sure that the tension stays in game as the players are pushed to make tough choices over these world events. There is also a Game Setting Guide at the back of the Core Rule Book with tips on how to manage countries and events.
Battletech Supplement
By Catalyst Game Labs
Ready Warrior One!
So, you call yourself an “Elite MechWarrior,” huh? What’s your top score in Grand ’Mech Melee, huh? Your longest chain in Tankertris? Have you ever beaten the Stinger Challenge? Where’s your Legendary Duelist medal? Bet you can’t even complete a single wave of Droneroids on your first life without a Shield buff! Go back to your Maraudero Party games, you noob!
Just because there’s a war on and you’re driving fifty-five tons of high-tech armor and weaponry in a giant, walking avatar of death doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun, does it? Of course not! PseudoTech: Arcade Operations presents ways to spice up your BattleTech games in a manner that will amuse even the grimmest and most jaded of veterans. From power-ups that can offer your ride anything from instant death to temporary invincibility, to medal-worthy challenges beyond the humdrum monotony of win-or-die missions, show the Inner Sphere what you’ve got in nearly a dozen new scenario types—all presented in bright, colorful, holographic splendor, right on your very own tabletops! Special rules provide the classic arcade flavor your battles have been missing ever since you left the academy for the front lines, with bold new battle ribbons to be earned as you build a new kind of legendary status as king of your local military entertainment center!
Oh, and be sure to load up on extra tokens. The competition looks pretty fierce out there!
The Society of the Stake & Cross
5E Dungeons & Dragons Supplement & Map Making Guide
By Rebaken Enterprises
This is a beginners guide to fantasy map making. It is a workbook to practice cartography for games or books. It’s about 25% instruction and ideas pages and 75% blank map templates.
The book starts with creating the world and regions, delves into creating cities and villages and finishes off with dungeons and other buildings.
It’s a fun hobby that lets you zone out and just doodle. This book and a pencil and sharpener will be all you need to make beautiful and fun maps.
The example maps used in the book are in rough pencils, not masterpieces, and only using a pencil (with an eraser on the end 😉 and a pencil sharpener. The idea behind this book is that making fantasy maps is an enjoyable hobby, like painting miniatures, or colouring. For a while you can slip into a fantasy world and enjoy creating …
As a bonus there is a Prestige Class under the Open Gaming License at the end of the book for a member of The Society of the Stake & Cross.
Members of the class will choose mapping specialties and gain useful bonuses to movement, stealth and searching.
As you level up you’ll move faster and see things more clearly, until at the highest level you can even navigate planes where the terrain moves or the physical laws were created by a mad god.
The Valley Out of Time – Welcome to the Valley
Swords & Wizardry Adventure
By Skeeter Green Productions
The Valley Out of Time is a series of ‘zine-sized adventures from SGP. This valley can be placed in any ongoing campaign, and is set in the “Neanderthal Period” of development. Huge monsters – both dinosaurs and otherwise – and devolved humanoids plague the area, and only the hardiest of adventurers will prevail! This series of adventures borrows heavily from classic dinosaur art, books, and movies; if you’ve ever seen a classic Frank Frazetta or Roy Krenkel painting, or read or watched The Land that Time Forgot, The Lost World, Journey to the Center of the Earth, One Million Years B.C., The Flintstones, any stop-motion film from Ray Harryhausen, etc., you’re going to feel right at home.
Welcome to the Valley is a short introduction to the region, some of its people, and a few of its adversaries!
Magazine
By NMtDRzine
Issue 007 (28 pages) features:
- Reviews of Blades in the Dark, The Laundry and Window of the Soul (and Dee Sanction adventure).
- Dark Souls inspired scenario: Tomb of the Nameless Slayer.
- Short story: Never Trust a Spy to Spy.
- Plus our regular columns, Players Guide & Behind the GM Screen.
Please note: Some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item the author of this post will receive an affiliate commission.
Voices From The Pulpit 