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 4th-10th June 2022.
Modern Era Call of Cthulhu Scenario
By Stygian Fox
Life on the streets is hard. The homeless are invisible. New York City has almost one hundred thousand homeless. Each night they sleep in the city’s parks and subway system, invisible to the population who passes them every day. What better victims could one ask for?
Players take on the roles of New York City’s street homeless as they come together to solve the mystery of something that is stalking and killing the members of their community. When a relative newcomer to the streets turns up dead in a dumpster, her death is chalked up to just another example of street violence. The local homeless know better.
Something is stalking them. Something no one has an explanation for. With nowhere else to turn, they must band together and save themselves before they become just another statistic.
The Night Mother’s Moon is a 1-2 night scenario for modern Call of Cthulhu set in Manhattan, suitable for 2-4 investigators.
Ars Magica Sourcebook
By Atlas Games
Lands of the Nile at a Glance
- Explore Mythic Egypt, Ethiopia, and Nubia — a unique area where all magical practitioners are welcome — with this extensive Ars Magica sourcebook.
- This region offers a melting pot of religious beliefs and ancient treasures. Can all of these various magics coexist peacefully?
- Populate your saga with compelling characters, treasure-filled locations, and new magical traditions.
A Land of Many Gods: More about Lands of the Nile
All magi can find a place in the Mythic Nile region. Christians might settle in Nubia or Ethiopia. Muslims in Egypt. Treasure hunters might join the Guild of Seekers to plunder the ancient tombs. And those with darker concerns might seek the corpse magic of the Nubian pyramids…
Walk the shores of the Nile. Stroll the streets of ancient Cairo, solve the defenses of an ancient tomb, and learn the corpse magic of the Nubians. This supplement contains story seeds and resources to fuel your saga.
5E Dungeons & Dragons Sourcebook
By Free League Publishing
With the Ruins of Symbaroum game line, the acclaimed setting of Symbaroum comes to the world’s most popular roleplaying game rules! This 236-page Bestiary, with its awe-inspiring and award-winning artwork, presents monsters, creatures and adversaries that can be encountered in the world of Symbaroum, with stats and rules adapted to the 5th Edition OGL ruleset!
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Explorers beware! More than a hundred creatures, monsters and abominations are crammed together between these covers – some of them well known, others only mentioned in legends and fairy tales; some unstoppably hungry, others open to negotiations; some presented in detail, others with only short descriptions. Call them Bestiaals, Night Swarmers, Illgoblins, Nefarani or Skullbiters – the creatures of Symbaroum are all capable of turning your forest expedition into a terrifying nightmare!
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CONTENT
- More than thirty fully described and beautifully illustrated creatures with the potential to be at the center of unique adventures and challenges in Symbaroum.
- Close to 60 additional creatures, sorted into categories such as Abominations, Predators, Spiders and Undead, and presented with short descriptions and stat blocks.
- A similar section introducing 60+ generic non-player characters, grouped in classes such as Champions of Prios, People of Davokar, Townsfolk, Elves and Trolls.
- Approximately 200 features, traits, reactions, lair actions and more, to be used when you design unique monstrosities to challenge your players.
- Guidelines and rules for terrain features, covering Cities and Towns, Farmlands, Forests, Swamps, and more.
Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 Adventure
By Modiphius
Climb aboard Hitler’s Steel Behemoth!
It is November 1944 and as winter descends, the Allied advance rumbles to a halt on the borders of Fortress Germany. The US Army and German defenders settle down in a stalemate as they watch each warily across the Siegfried Line.
In just a few short days Operation Watch on the Rhine, or the Battle of the Bulge as history will come to know it, will be launched, but other forces are also at play in the snowy Ardennes.
Credible intelligence reaches a local resistance cell that an armoured train which contains the Führer himself, is heading toward a secret Black Sun and Nachtwölfe facility deep in the heart of the forest.
With time pressing, resistance leader Marta Archambaud seizes her chance and decides to gamble on a covert raid, hoping to clamber aboard, sweep through the train, and cut off the head of the snake by assassinating Hitler himself.
It is a dangerous, possibly even foolhardy mission and the odds are stacked against her, but Marta and four brave colleagues are prepared to risk all, for if they succeed, they can bring the war to a premature conclusion saving millions of lives.
But is this a genuine chance to kill the Führer or a carefully baited trap designed to draw the resistance out and lure them to their deaths? Find out in this thrilling mission!
Features
- A 50-page standalone mission for Resistance agents
- Can be run as a prequel to the main Forest of Fear campaign, or can be played as an exciting standalone adventure in its own right
- Features a breathtaking cover and full colour artwork, plus blueprints and maps of the steel behemoth
- Contains five pre-generated resistance heroes ready to lau
5E Dungeons & Dragons Sourcebook
By Pyromaniac Press
Have you ever wanted to train your own dragon? How about riding the legendary Pegasus into battle against the Kraken? Maybe you think you can get the ring to the volcano faster if you fly in on the backs of giant eagles?
Skyriders is a supplemental ruleset for 5th Edition that opens an endless horizon of possibilities. Release your earthbound shackles and explore the far reaches of the world on the favorable winds of Adventure! The completed book should be around 100 pages of content*.
Skyriders offers a complete toolkit for aerial adventures.
- Completely customizable mounts that level as your character does, gaining abilities and features. No more ‘leveling out’ of usefulness with a mount that matches your capabilities step for step. Even the humblest appearing mount can match it with the greatest threats with this system.
- A new class – The Skyrider – is designed to synergize with your mount for seamless action and adventure. Get the most out of your flying companion.
- nine archetypes for the Skyrider
- 31 Base mounts including;
- Rules for creating your own archetype with the standard 5e classes, or using the mounts with no need of an archetype tie-in.
- Simple and Advanced flight rules, mechanics, and maneuvers allow choice in how mechanically involved the game can be.
- New equipment, armor, and weapons for the discerning skyrider, including enhancements for both mounts and riders. Oh, and grenades!
- New magic items, such as enchanted saddles, dragon-slaying lances, and other ensorcelled curiosities.
- New spells to augment you or your mount, changing the weather, increasing speed, piercing fog, and more.
- New monsters to provide both challenges and adventure hooks for endless adventuring.
- First Flight – an introductory adventure for character levels 1-3 that leads fledgling skyriders to bond with their mounts and uncover a unique aerial threat before it is unleashed on the unsuspecting realms
Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition Sourcebook
By Renegade Game Studios
The secret Church and the hidden State, hunting the hunters in cities and across continents.
An antagonists’ guide to the rising Second Inquisition, this book contains:
- Opponents of your Kindred, and their special forces and equipment
- Information on the fires rising against the world’s vampires, stoked by the Society of St. Leopold and the American FIRSTLIGHT black program
- New tools to expand your chronicles, including eldritch Artifacts, dozens of dangerous antagonists, and the tactics your coterie can use to fight back
5E Dungeons & Dragons Mini-Campaign
By Monte Cook Games
Chaos cults, an invading hoard, and a terrible prophesy converge on Ptolus…
The threads of a hidden conspiracy lead the characters into a web of insane cultists, wild chaos magic, and horrors from the primordial days of the world. Can they stave off this evil while a barbarian hoard ravages the lands about Ptolus and lays siege to the city? This mega-adventure is laced with urban intrigue, high action, and delves into the dungeons beneath the city.
Features of this title that will enhance any Ptolus campaign include:
- A description of Pythoness House, a haunted oracle/brothel that hides a trove of weapons vital in the fight against the Cults of Chaos.
- A huge secret temple of chaos where insidious fanatics worship the dreaded Galchutt.
- Details of a city-wide network of covert spies and agents that extends even into the highest echelons of Ptolus’ elite society.
The adventure culminates in a race to stave off the Night of Dissolution, a dark time long foretold when the slumbering Galchutt will awaken in their hidden lairs deep below the city—and bring catastrophe and woe to the world.
Infinity Sourcebook
By Modiphius
See Things You Wouldn’t Believe:
COLOSSAL CIRCULARS PLUNGING INTO HUNGRY WORMHOLES, MORAT WARSHIPS ON FIRE NEAR THE ACHERON GATE AND MORE, SO MUCH MORE!
The Second Race for the Stars is far behind us. Now it is time to reap the rewards and reach for Infinity and conquer the galaxy! Never has humanity had such a variety of vessels to explore, colonise, trade, and enjoy the void between the stars as today.
The constant expansion of the Human Sphere is firmly based on its exploring, travelling, and controlling capabilities made real thanks to the vast variety of spaceships, from planetary shuttles to Intra-system probes and the all-might behemoths–the Circulars.
Travelling the Sphere’s systems in a huge plethora of vehicles, from the purely utilitarian to the uber-luxurious, is now a simple matter of having the credit or the backup of your empresa. No world is off-limits for the curious and ambitious.
A planet’s fate may be decided by its surface battles, but the power that controls its space wins the war. Every faction in the Human Sphere has imprinted its personality and military approach to their fleets–in design, equipment, and tactics–requiring carefully planned strategies and competent admirals to carry the day.
Thus, veteran Yujingyu fleets face the vast PanOceanian firepower, the sneaky Haqqislamite armadas, the insidious and chaotic Nomad privateers, the sleek ALEPH sentient ships, the Teseum-clad gunships from Kosmoflot, the persuasive Starmada spacecraft, and the brutal and duplicitous Combined Army, amongst other pirates, alien and non-aligned flotillas.
Be it scientific mission, humanitarian endeavour, commercial operations or military blockades, this book has everything your campaign will need to ensure the mighty void of the Human Sphere us yours for the taking! Remember, space is out there trying to kill you, so why not make sure your enemies go first?
The Ships of the Human Sphere Sourcebook includes:
- A complete catalogue of all spacefaring vessels in the Human Sphere–human or otherwise–from humble dingy and tugboat to planet-killer dreadnoughts and space stations!
- The rollcall for the most powerful warships in the universe, including the majestic flagships of the G5 Nations and the Combined Armada’s darkest secrets.
- A comprehensive guide of gear, upgrades, and customisation options for your spaceships and your faithful crew!
- Rules on how to engage your enemy amid the void, making sure you blow them to bits, be it on a one-to-one campaign or a full-fledged stellar fleet battle!
Mini Dungeon #205: Like Tears in the Rain
5E Dungeons & Dragons Adventure
By AAW Games
Mini-Dungeon for 4-6 characters of level 3
The Nimbus Forest is known for its perpetual rain clouds, so it is no surprise that the village of Virekot has been abandoned for years. Recently, however, the perpetual clouds of the freakish local weather have started spreading beyond the forest to nearby villages, leaving more and more peasants perpetually wet and in ceaseless gloom.
The stormy clouds seem to originate in the ruins of Virekot hidden deep in the rain-shrouded forest. Can the adventurers unearth the truth behind the lost village’s ancient rites and end the torrential downpours, or will their blood be washed from the ruin’s rocks Like Tears in the Rain?
Castles & Crusades Adventure
By Troll Lord Games
The armies in the north gather, a great tide of warriors is preparing to sweep down on the Plains of Acrothos and sweep all before them who do not bend the knee. Word has spread that the high priestess of Amphoe Wan seeks to gather her people to make war against the invaders, but the followers of Amphoe Wan are scattered, beleaguered, and many seek only to escape further to the south and west.
In truth, few have faith and fewer still are willing to follow the high priestess.
She needs greater power and influence, things that only the Ebon Staff can provide. Can the Ebon Staff save her and her people from slaughter?
Only time will tell and there is precious little of that available
The Deadly Tide, designed for a high-level party of 4-6 characters, is an overland and dungeon adventure that began with M1 A Stranger Amongst Us, continued with M2 The Ebon Staff, and M3 A Gathering Storm. It concludes with A Deadly Tide. This adventure takes the characters to the furthermost reaches of the Plains of Acrothos and into the path of a horde of mounted warriors intent on killing everyone on their path of conquest.
Magazine
By Palladium Books
The Rifter®, your favorite player and G.M. portal to the Palladium Books Megaverse® is back as a once a year annual. And this one is packed with epic adventures, O.C.C.s, magic, settings, and source material. A little something for almost everyone.
Rifter® #85 Highlights:
- Rifts®: Soul in Flames – a town, Skelebots, dinosaurs, and adventure.
- Rifts®: Glitter Boy™ Revisited – new variant Glitter Boys, weapons, ammo, upgrades, and material to leave players and G.M.s drooling.
- Rifts®: The State of Rapid City – setting and adventure ideas.
- Phase World® – Naruni civil war and 8 adventure hooks.
- Palladium Fantasy RPG® – 40 new magic items suitable for Fantasy, Rifts® and any setting with magic.
- Palladium Fantasy RPG®: Relics of the Empire – surviving Elven cities and source material.
- Palladium Fantasy RPG®: Colony of Gonarn – a sweeping new location and adventure.
- Heroes Unlimited™ – 3 new Hardware O.C.C.s, Archaic Genius, Gadgeteer, Static Genius, and adventure.
- Heroes Unlimited™ tribute by comic book artist Freddie E. Williams II.
- Dead Reign® – Adventure and danger. Don’t trust anyone.
- Dead Reign® – 25 Vehicle Encounter Tables including condition, loot, and adventure hooks. Adaptable to any post-apocalyptic setting.
- Beyond the Supernatural™: Beyond Midnight – story, creature, and plot hooks that span nine different Palladium RPG settings!
- Nightbane®: The Redeemer – a compelling new O.C.C.
- Short stories, news, coming attractions, product descriptions & more.
- 224 pages of epic source material across the Palladium Megaverse®.
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 