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. There’s been a bit of a ‘summer recess’ for the column but now we’re entering autumn we’re resurrected and back in action. Hopefully you’ll spot a game or two of interest!
All of the below were released in PDF between 24th-30th September 2022.
Core Rulebook
By Osprey Publishing
An action-packed neon-noir roleplaying game set in the Neo York of 2093.
2093, Neo York. A dystopian technological marvel, where concrete high-rises brim with holographic neon, as gilded mob bosses, flashy CEOs, and famous vid-stars all strive to consolidate their power over the masses. And while the rain reflects the neon, it never washes away the grime and filth of the streets.
Welcome to a world of synth-jazz and cybernetics, where the status quo grinds down the hard-working man and vat-grown clone alike. Whether you’re the redemption-seeking gangster, the one good cop in a corrupt system, or the gene-modded musician trying to make it big, you’ll be trying to get by in a city that just doesn’t care.
Epic fight scenes take centre stage in this game of stylised, high-octane bloodshed. Jump straight into the action with a unique ruleset designed to deliver a cinematic, neon-noir experience, as the spotlight focuses on the brutal showdowns that will define you – or leave you face-down in the dirt. So get ready to give them hell, as the sultry notes of the saxophone build into a crescendo of violence.
Doctors & Daleks 5e Adventure Series
By Cubicle 7 Entertainment
In the time before humanity, even before the rise of Gallifrey, Scaravore was imprisoned for its crimes. Last of a long dead species, it slumbered, sending its influence out into the stars. Now it seeks to rise again, to extend its evil dominion over the galaxy.
The Keys of Scaravore is a collection of four new connected adventures for Levels 1-5, that lead the characters to the Wild West and distant worlds, encountering Draconians, Silurians, Zygons, and more, before finally facing the terrifying Scaravore itself.
Aliens of Charted Space Vol. 3
Traveller Sourcebook
By Mongoose Publishing
Aliens of Charted Space Volume 3 explores five races – the pacifist Darrians, the enigmatic Geonee, the playful Dolphins, the aloof Orca, and the bureaucratic Bwaps. Within these covers you will discover the culture and society of these races, as well as their physiology and their psychology.
Darrians
The Darrians are known to be a pacifistic race who value excellence in scientific and artistic endeavours. Many believe the Darrians an easy target, or that their outlook makes them inconsequential on the galactic stage. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Darrians are heirs to some of the most advanced technology available in Charted Space, and their advancement continues. For those who believe they can conquer this race of pacifistic scientists and artists, the Darrians have a feared weapon capable of causing a star to go supernova –the Star Trigger.
Geonee
The Geonee claim to be the decedents of the Ancients, and have the ruins and remnant technology to support this. When first contacted by the Vilani, they were thought to be a Major Race until it was discovered they had reverse engineered their jump drive, causing the retraction of their position and relegating them to become a Minor Race. The Geonee have struggled to have their achievements recognised by the greater interstellar community ever since.
Dolphins
Dolphins where gifted sophoncy by GenAssist, a genetic engineering corporation founded on Solomani principles. The project was a success, and Dolphins have become recognised as a Minor Race in their own right. Their communities are based on principles of total freedom and equality, but they owe a debt of honour to the humans who gave them reasoned thought.
Orca
The Orca are another race granted sophoncy by GenAssist, but this time grudgingly. The project to raise them suffered a serious setback which nearly ended the programme if not for the generosity of the people of Sufren. Matriarchal and aloof, the Orca are far less friendly than their Dolphin cousins, and do not share their outlook, instead holding principles of matriarchal veneration and mindfulness.
Bwaps
Evolved amid the swamps of an alien world, Bwap civilisation grew slowly though cooperation and the universal belief that they all have an individual and unique place in the universe to fulfil. Their obsession with minutia and fine detail placed them in the perfect position to make themselves indispensable to the bureaucracy of the Ziru Sirka, granting them access to technology denied to others.
This book contains rules for creating Travellers from each of these alien races, High Guard additions and new ships, and Central Supply Catalogue entries for their new equipment.
SHIVER Gothic Supplement
By Parable Games
A gigantic 320 page Gothic expansion for the award winning SHIVER RPG.
The city of Spireholm is different of late. Strange folk are abroad, disappearances go unexplained, and a sombre mood descends upon the populous. A high profile murder brings an unlikely group of individuals together to investigate. What they uncover, will change them all forever. The story of Spireholm is a massive multi-chapter story for the SHIVER RPG exploring the city and doing battle with evil within its walls.
Secrets of Spireholm is a huge Gothic campaign that can be played over a large number of sessions taking characters right from their early levels as nighttime novices all the way to hardened veterans of horror. Inside you’ll find everything you need to play the story including monster profiles, items, NPCs, and plot galore.
Fight your way through ghoul infested abandoned buildings, sleuth out a murder mystery, pull off a grand heist and fight werewolves, vampires, and monsters galore in this most Gothic of setting and story.
SHIVER Gothic: Secrets of Spireholm features:
- 320 pages of Gothic SHIVER content in full colour with stunning illustrations.
- A monstrous Gothic sandbox setting, the city of Spireholm, for you to explore to your hearts content.
- A huge 10 chapter story set in the city of Spireholm which will see you slay monsters, uncover mysteries, and fight against a rising evil.
- A new set of rules for long form stories which ties multiple Doom Clocks together into a terrifying Doom Calendar.
- 7 all new monstrous archetypes to the SHIVER RPG for players to create their characters with. Everything from Vampires to Frankenstein’s Monster are covered with a huge variety of gothic favourites. If monsters aren’t for you then you can break out the stakes and play as the Slayer Archetype to hunt down monsters as well!
- Brand new Gothic themed backgrounds, everything Urchin to Plague Doctor to help add a Gothic flavour to the Archetypes from the SHIVER Core Book.
- A swathe of Items, Weapons, Armour and Monster profiles for you to use in your SHIVER stories as you see fit.
- An additional one-shot story, ‘It Lives’, graveyards in Spireholm are being raided, bodies alive and dead are going missing. You and the other concerned citizens of Spireholm are out to investigate and find the culprit.
Folio: Retro Classics S13 Ice on the Water
AD&D / 5E Dungeons & Dragons Adventure
By Art of the Genre
A covern of powerful barbarian druids is threatening the citizens of the city of Findalynn. Titanic storms, floods, heat waves, and basic pestilence – conjured by the druids – have plagued the city for the better part of a year. The lords of the city want war with the barbarian tribes and they are summoning forces for just that purpose. Enter Benitio Hathoway, the academic -and thus black sheep – nephew of the city’s High Admiral. He has decided on another plan of action that might not only save the city but also the lives of countless warriors on both sides. Delving into ancient texts, Benitio has uncovered a powerful elemental magic known as the Four Branches, which have the ability to counter any natural magic the druids have conjured. However, the material components of the spell are living pieces of the four elemental world trees: The Vernal Druidic Yew, the Autumnal Bloodgood Maple, the Summer Blue Wisteria, and the Winter Silver Fur. These ancient trees are said to exist in the far North and are guarded by powerful elemental creatures known as Elinteritus, the Beasts of Elemental Destruction. Can the party travel north to begin this three part adventure for 5-6 characters levels 10+? The adventure is available in both AD&D and 5th Edition mechanics.
Waste Runners Scenario
By Felbrigg Herriot
After “The Event” that devastated central Europe, millions of regugees flooded the surrounding countries. Southern England has become a nightmare of criminal-run shanties. Spain resorted to fascism as a result of the refugee invasion. Portugal has founded a mutual defence treaty with the UK and troops stand ready at the Spanish border to repel invasion.
Then intelligence arrives that the Spanish as mounting a raid into The Zone to recover an unlisted biefcase nuke from a Belgian bunker. A weapon that appears on no NATO lists.
The PCs join a UK-Portugal mission into The Zone in a desperate race to recover the nuke before the Spanish whisk it away.
Going Nuclear is a stand alone scenario designed for use with the Waste Runners RPG, and contains a two part mission, first to recover a Belgian guide from “the shanties” and then a dive into old Begium itself to recover a nuclear weapon in a race against Spanish fascists.
Utopia Planitia Starfleet Sourcebook
Star Trek Adventures Supplement
By Modiphius
The Utopia Planitia Starfleet Sourcebook for the Star Trek Adventures roleplaying game presents a wealth of information centered around Starfleet operations and a complete guide to constructing Federation starships, space stations, and small craft, either using existing spaceframes or creating your own.
From the 21st century to the 25th, state-of-the-art Starfleet vessels push the boundaries of known space, gathering knowledge for all. Space stations form waypoints and communities in new regions of space. Bold crews staff those ships and stations, eager to make the next discovery.
What vessel will you take beyond the farthest star?
The Utopia Planitia Starfleet Sourcebook is a handy reference for gamers and non-gamers alike.
Features:
- An extensive discussion of Starfleet’s history, from its humble beginnings in the 22nd century to its operational capacity in the 25th century. Detailed information on operations aboard a Federation starship, including daily life, locations, shipboard systems, procedures, and more.
- Guidance on how to create your group’s ‘home in the stars’, whether it’s a starship or space station, and on how to make that home a character in its own right.
- A complete system for creating your own spaceframes for use in your ongoing missions and campaigns. Updated game statistics and graphics for more than 70 Federation and Starfleet starship classes, space stations, and small craft.
- Gamemaster advice and optional rules to enable amazing ship- or station-based storytelling experiences.
Never Mind The Dice Rolls Issue 13
Magazine
By NMtDRzine
Issue 013 contains:
- Shiver Double Feature Article
- Blood and Sacrilege Review
- Getting in the mood for solo RPGs
- A look at One D&D
- And more!
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 