REVIEW: Other Dust

While the OSR has produced fantasy games aplenty, the number of science fiction games has been relatively small. One of the most significant of these recent old school SF RPGs has been Stars Without Number, which is not only a fine game in its own right, but the first example of author Kevin Crawford's talent for producing extremely useful utilities for running sandbox campaigns. Very few other designers have produced such a wealth of material for the creation and maintenance of sandbox campaigns as Crawford and the fact that he keeps doing it, each time refining what he has done before and expanding on it, makes it all the more remarkable.

So, when I heard that Crawford was producing a post-apocalyptic sandbox game, my interest was immediately piqued. Called Other Dust, it's actually set in the same universe as Stars Without Number and focuses on what became of "Old Terra" after humanity traveled to the stars and the psychic catastrophe known as "the Scream" washed over all of mankind's worlds, including his world of origin. Other Dust is 208 pages long, available as either as PDF (for $19.99), a softcover book ($34.99), or a hardcover book ($39.99). Like previous releases from Sine Nomine Publishing, Other Dust presents its material using a densely-packed two-column format. Black and white line art is more abundant here and is generally used to better effect, though, as always, it's the text and not the illustrations or presentation that matters most.

There are twelve chapters in Other Dust, along with an index. The short first chapter ("The World Is In Ashes") is merely an introduction to the game's setting and conventions. The next chapter details character generation. Those familiar with Stars Without Number will find this familiar, with six ability scores identical to those of D&D and with the same range (3-18). Characters have classes (scrounger, slayer, speaker, and survivor), in addition to background packages. Classes provide attack bonuses, saving throws, hit dice, skills, and a unique ability, while background packages provide additional skills. There are also a variety of "training packages" associated with each class that provide further benefits. Characters can be further customized through rolls on mutation tables, if so desired, while starting equipment is entirely random.

Chapter three details mutations, which are described as the effects of nanites released by Terra's Highshine planetary disaster response system to deal with the aftermath of the Scream. Unfortunately, the Highshine system was perverted by a group known as the Crazed, so the nanites don't function as they were supposed to, instead warping bodies in unexpected -- and often detrimental -- ways. Most mutations come with drawbacks in addition to benefits and the game mechanics associated with them are pleasantly brief -- on par with first edition Gamma World or Mutant Future. Chapter four details the game's basic "systems," like combat, saving throws, advancement, and so on. Again, readers familiar with Stars Without Number won't find too many surprises here. Other Dust uses mechanics very similar to those of old school D&D and its clones.

Chapter five ("A History Writ in Dust") provides lots of broad details about the world before the End. The chapter not only shows how Old Terra fit into the larger setting of Stars Without Number, but what life was like on the planet. Similarly, the history of the two hundred years since the Scream is covered. These sections take up only seven pages of the entire book, but they're very useful in properly establishing what the game is about. Chapter six is dedicated to "Creating Your Wasteland" and provides extensive advice on how to create a post-apocalyptic sandbox campaign, complete with many, many random tables to assist the referee. It's here that Other Dust really shines, since each entry on the random table is given sufficient attention to inspire lots of ideas. It's fairly easy to create random tables, but far harder to give meaning to make those tables truly -- repeatedly -- inspirational, but Kevin Crawford has done so.

Chapter seven is about "Adventure Creation" and, once more, offers advice and random tables to aid the referee, along with random loot tables. This chapter is solid but not quite as inspirational as "Creating Your Wasteland," but that's hardly a criticism. Chapter eight describes "Groups and Enclaves" and is another inspirational chapter. Crawford breaks down power groups and settlements into various types (Cabals, Creeds, Polities, etc.) and then provides specifically tailored random tables for creating them for insertion into a campaign. Likewise, the strengths and weaknesses of each are quantified in ways that work with the game systems introduced elsewhere.

Chapter nine is devoted to "Equipment and Artifacts" and is as good as such chapters can be. Chapter ten is a "Post-Apocalyptic Bestiary" and provides both rules for creating opponents, in addition to plenty of examples of them. To my mind, that's the best approach to such things. Chapter eleven is a detailed Wasteland example called "The Bonelands," which represents one vision of what the northeastern coast of North America might be like in Other Dust. Chapter twelves contains "Gamemaster Resources," consisting of a wide variety of random tables, sample maps, encounters, and game stats. It's a good selection of material that will no doubt prove useful both in preparation and at the table.

All in all, Other Dust is a formidable post-apocalyptic science fiction RPG. Its greatest strength is the vast amount of support it provides for sandbox play -- from advice to random tables to fully-fleshed out examples. Indeed, I'd recommend the game on that basis alone. Whether you're playing Other Dust or some other post-apocalyptic game, the vast majority of this book's content is a treasure trove of good ideas and inspiration. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that a lot of the material is just as useful for creating and maintaining a fantasy sandbox as a science fiction one. That Other Dust plugs into Stars Without Number is also to its credit, since it provides new avenues for adventure in that game. I'm hard pressed to find any weaknesses in Other Dust, since it does exactly what it set out to do: offer up rules for playing in and running a sandbox campaign set on a far future post-apocalyptic Earth. It's an excellent addition to the pantheon of RPGs, old school or otherwise.

Presentation: 7 out of 10
Creativity: 10 out of 10
Utility: 9 out of 10

Buy This If: You're looking for a simple, flexible post-apocalyptic RPG that fosters and supports sandbox play.
Don't Buy This If: You have no interest in post-apocalyptic RPGs or in sandbox-style campaigns.

REVIEW: The Crimson Pandect

Of all the many things there are to love about old school D&D and its clones, I think the one I personally enjoy the most is the ease with which one can modify its rules by cherrypicking good ideas from other games and supplements. Though I play Labyrinth Lord these days, it's a heavily modified Labyrinth Lord, one that borrows rules from a number of different sources. As I play, I continue to modify it, adding whatever I come across that seems to fit my vision of fantasy.

That's why I'm a big fan not only of new rules sets but also of supplements, like Kevin Crawford's The Crimson Pandect. Written as a supplement for the excellent Red Tide campaign setting, this 132-page product (available either as a PDF for $9.99, a softcover book for $19.99, or a hardcover for $24.99) is "a handbook of eldritch lore" that's easily adaptable to other settings. Consisting of five chapters plus a brief introduction, The Crimson Pandect provides a plethora of new options for magic and spellcasting in Labyrinth Lord or most any other class-and-level fantasy roleplaying game.

The first chapter, "Paths of Power," presents six new magic-using classes. These classes are astromancers, the Kuan Amelatu, Makerite theurgists, adepts of the Mountain Way, Nine Immortal alchemists, and the Shakunasar flesh-benders. These are in addition to the standard magic-user class, represented by the High Path sorcerers and Stitched Path vivisectionists. The new classes differ primarily in their spell selection, though most of the classes also get minor abilities, while the two variations of standard MUs differ solely in terms of flavor. Taken together, these eight classes offer a wide range of interesting options, each of which is mechanically similar while being distinct, mostly through unique spell lists and cultural/philosophical details. To my mind, this is an ideal approach to the introduction of new classes and is particularly well suited to old school games.

The second chapter, "Works of Sorcery," introduces a system of research points to aid in the creation of new spells and magic items. It's a simple and open-ended system, which nevertheless provides plenty of examples and guidance for the referee in adjudicating it. What I like is that it covers everything from potions to scrolls to weapons and armor and beyond. Likewise, mentors, apprentices, and even hirelings have roles to play in the process, which gives them good reason to be included in a campaign. The third chapter, "Sanctums," covers the building -- and staffing -- of magical strongholds. It's shorter and more straightforward but just as useful.

The fourth chapter, "Dark Cabals," presents a series of random tables for generating arcane academies, conclaves, and sorcerous cults. These can be used in conjunction with the "Quick Wizard Generation" tables provided in the fifth chapter, "Resources." These tables are excellent, with lots of depth and variety. A few D20 rolls and you can learn why a wizard took up spellcasting, his immediate desires, friends, enemies, clothing tastes, and more. Also provided in this chapter are quick wizard spellbooks, random arcane treasures, and random occult tomes. It's a very useful chapter, but that didn't surprise me, since Kevin Crawford's gaming products, both for Labyrinth Lord and Stars Without Number has always excelled in this area.

Like most Sine Nomine products, The Crimson Pandect won't win any awards for its layout or artwork. The book uses a simple, two-column format and is sparsely illustrated with a combination of clip art and some original pieces. However, it's well written and imaginative and, most important of all, useful. This is a product that can be easily used in almost any old school fantasy campaign, though its new classes probably work best in the context of the Red Tide campaign setting. If The Crimson Pandect has a "flaw," it's that it's a very focused product and is thus likely to only of immediate interest to those who want to expand the scope of magic and spellcasting in their campaigns. It's wholly supplemental, too, even to Red Tide, so there's is no necessity in purchasing it, though I think the new classes, research system, and resources alone make it worth a look, if only as a source of ideas.

Presentation: 7 out of 10
Creativity: 8 out of 10
Utility: 6 out of 10

Buy This If: You're looking for rules and ideas to expand the options of magic and spellcasting in Labyrinth Lord or other old school class-and-level games.
Don't Buy This If: You're not interested in new magic and spellcasting options.

REVIEW: An Echo, Resounding

I've mentioned before that I'm not a big fan of PDFs. The vast majority of the products I'm sent to review, though, are in electronic format. Speaking as a publisher myself, that only makes sense, since sending a PDF to a reviewer costs little or nothing and is instantaneous, while sending out a physical copy takes both time and money. And when dealing with Luddites like me, sending an electronic copy might just induce them to buy a hardcopy, provided, of course, that I like it. In the case of An Echo, Resounding, I most certainly did like it, so much so that I snagged a print-on-demand copy from RPGNow, which I wanted to get into my hands before I wrote up a review for it.

An Echo, Resounding is both a generic Labyrinth Lord sourcebook providing rules and advice for "lordship and war in untamed lands" and a supplement to the Red Tide campaign setting released last year. Like all Sine Nomine products, this one is penned by Kevin Crawford, which means that it's written clearly and unpretentiously. The 110-page book uses the same two-column format as all Sine Nomine releases, with the text broken up by a variety of stock art images. This doesn't make for the prettiest of books, especially when compared to many recent releases from other publishers, but the content is compelling enough that I don't think it much matters. An Echo, Resounding could have been released with no interior artwork and I doubt I would have cared.

The book consists of six chapters, plus an introduction and an index. The first chapter, "Domain Play in a Campaign," introduces the concept of domain-level play and how it interacts with "regular" Labyrinth Lord adventures. This chapter is brief compared to those that follow and isn't rules-focused. Instead, it's mostly advice about the benefits and drawbacks of including the clash of empires into one's campaign. The second chapter, "Creating Campaign Regions," gets down to the nitty-gritty, providing the foundations on which later chapters depend. What becomes immediately clear is that the rules presented in An Echo, Resounding are somewhat abstract. That is, they're built on concepts like "regions" and "locations" and "obstacles," with the meanings of these concepts being variable rather than being precisely (and narrowly) defined. That's not to say that these concepts are "fuzzy" or meaningless, only that the rules weren't written with bean-counters in mind. Once the basic concepts are laid out, the chapter goes on to provide both advice and examples on how to apply them to one's campaign setting. If you're already familiar with any of the Stars Without Number books or Red Tide, much of this will look familiar.

Chapter three covers "Domain Management" and provides rules for creating and ruling domains. The rules depend on a "domain turn" that represents approximately one month, though the actual timeframe, like most other aspects of these rules, is flexible in either direction. During a domain turn, a player whose character rules a domain may make two actions (referee-controlled domains may make only one), with actions covering things as diverse as military attacks, establishing assets (such as markets, temples, etc.), and dealing with disruptions/obstacles. The chapter also includes brief descriptions of all the available assets, along with the associated game values, and an example of domain play. Like earlier chapters, this one is both comparatively short and abstract, leaving many details to individual referees and players to flesh out.

Chapter four presents a mass combat system that uses mechanics very similar to normal Labyrinth Lord combat. Thus, units have hit dice, armor class, movement rates, and saving throws, in addition to upkeep costs and special traits. It's designed to be playable without the need for miniatures, but I think it'd work just fine with them if one were so inclined. Chapter five introduces the idea of "Champions," which are powerful PCs and NPCs, whose abilities are such that they can benefit both domain and mass combats. Characters who become champions -- the process for doing so is somewhat vague -- gain a parallel "class" in which they advance. Every time they gain a new level as a Champion, they gain a new ability from a list of nearly 50 of them. These abilities might be something like "Administrator," which gives a bonus to the Wealth and Social values of a single town over which the Champion has control or "Overwhelming Sorcery," which lowers the saving throws of enemy units against his magic on the battlefield. I rather like the idea of Champions, though I wish the rules were a bit more clear regarding how and when PCs gain levels as Champions. Even so, it's a solid concept that, I think, nicely represents the power of PCs without making them demigods.

The final chapter of the book is also its longest, providing detailed examples of the domain system for use with the Red Tide setting. There's a map of a region called the Westmark, which includes 40 locations, each of which has a page-long write-up. These write-ups provide everything needed to use the locations as adventuring locales or focuses for the domain and mass combat systems. Though it's probably most useful for referees and players using the Red Tide setting, I think it'll serve as a practical primer for newcomers to the supplement's rules systems.

I liked An Echo, Resounding quite a lot, since it suits my preferred style as a referee. I'm not the kind who cares all that much about counting gold pieces or determining exact population figures for a given location. I like things to be easy to use and abstract, since I can always make up the details on the fly as needed. For that reason, I imagine its domain rules would work very well as a separate, parallel "game within a game" where the referee and players use it to generate macro events that affect the campaign setting. That's certainly how I plan to use it. At the same time, I suspect that the book's approach might be frustrating for those whose style gives greater weight to knowing the precise details of a domain's inhabitants and resources. Consequently, An Echo, Resounding isn't a panacea for every campaign where domain-level activities is important; it largely caters to one approach and should be viewed in that light.

Presentation: 7 out of 10
Creativity: 9 out of 10
Utility: 6 out of 10

Buy This If: You're looking for abstract and easy to use domain and mass combat rules for use with Labyrinth Lord or other old school fantasy RPGs.
Don't Buy This If: You prefer domain and mass combat rules that are concrete and "bottom up" in their presentation and approach.

REVIEW: Darkness Visible

I'm sure I've mentioned before that I'm a huge fan of espionage stories and movies. That's probably why so many of my RPG campaigns, even when they're ostensibly about something else, inevitably turn into ersatz spy-based ones. I simply adore everything about the espionage genre, including the factional infighting that sometimes makes one's own side just as much an impediment to success as one's opposition. So, naturally, when I heard about Darkness Visible, the espionage supplement for the excellent Star Without Number, I was very excited.

Darkness Visible is 96 pages long and available as either a PDF (for $9.99) or a printed softcover book (for $19.99). In terms of its appearance, it's very similar to previous releases for Stars Without Number: a no frills two-column layout consisting of dense text and very limited art. This is an unambiguously hobbyist product, conceived, written, and assembled by one person (Kevin Crawford). It's also an extremely well written and imagined product that I found myself re-reading even after I'd finished it, something that sets it apart from all but the best products I review. Make no mistake, though; Darkness Visible is also a very specialized product, far moreso than, say, Skyward Steel or even Polychrome, both of which are more broadly useful even in campaigns not focused on interstellar navies and cyberpunk, respectively.

The supplement consists of six chapters and a short introduction. The first chapter discusses espionage in the days prior to the cataclysmic Scream that is the foundational event of the Stars Without Number setting. It's mostly focused on an organization called the Perimeter, whose primary purpose was as a first line of defense against rogue A.I.s but whose role eventually expanded over time. The second chapter follows this up by discussing the organization and operation of contemporary espionage agencies descended from the pre-Scream Perimiter. Of the two, the second chapter is much more immediately useful to a referee running an espionage campaign, as the first is largely historical and somewhat canon-heavy. That's not to say the first chapter is devoid of interest, but it mostly deals with events that occurred more than 500 years before campaign present, which tends to limit its obvious utility.

The third chapter provides rules constructing espionage agencies and conspiratorial cabals. These rules are similar to those in the Stars Without Number rulebook for handling factions but aren't identical, which could cause some confusion. On the other hand, I like the fact that Crawford didn't try to shoehorn agencies and cabals into the factional system, preferring instead to give them a system reflective of their peculiarities. Consequently, concepts such as infiltration and connections play a big role, along with a host of "elements," which are like factional assets from the main rulebook but geared toward espionage campaigns. So we get assassins, criminal ties, front businesses, and hidden strings, among others, each of which comes with numerous examples and plot seeds. Cabals get their own elements, which function similarly, but have slightly different focuses, primarily forbidden and dangerous technology. This is the chapter where Darkness Visible really shines by providing not merely a simple system for handling actions by espionage agencies and sinister cabals but also by providing lots of ideas on how to use the system to inspire adventures.

Chapter four focuses on three types of cults and cabals -- those devoted to eugenics, those devoted to "unbraked" A.I.s, and those devoted to weapons of mass destruction. In each case, there's a brief overview of these groups, their organizations, and their goals, followed by rules and sample NPCs appropriate to them. There are also 36 new tags to use with the world generation system in the Stars Without Number rulebook, each of which offers plenty of examples and suggestions for their use. Chapter five is referee-oriented and is about creating espionage adventures. In addition to the usual abstract talk about adventure design we see so often in RPG books, we get six pages of random tables to aid the referee in his task. For my money, these few pages are worth a lot more than what precedes them, as they're eminently usable and quickly aid the referee in creating the outline of a scenario. Chapter six is a short one, offering new backgrounds and equipment for espionage campaigns.

Darkness Visible is a compelling, tightly focused supplement for Stars Without Number -- perhaps too tightly focused for some, though, for me, it was a delight to read. If you're planning to include lots of espionage agencies or maltech cults in your campaign in any capacity, it's probably worth picking up. If you're not, it might still be worth getting but, as I noted earlier, I don't think it's as generally useful as earlier supplements. On the other hand, Crawford does a great job of making his subject matter compelling, so much so that I found myself taking a far greater interest in, for example, cabals and cults than I thought I might. As with all previous Stars Without Number products, the rules material of Darkness Visible is simple, unobtrusive, and quite amenable to modification. All in all, it's a nice little package that demonstrates once more why Stars Without Number is one the most interesting RPGs, old school or otherwise, to be released in the last few years.

Presentation: 6 out of 10
Creativity: 9 out of 10
Utility: 5 out of 10

Buy This If: You're playing Stars Without Number or any other SF RPG where espionage and conspiracies play an important role.
Don't Buy This If: You have no interest in extra detail regarding espionage agencies or conspiratorial cabals.

Stars Without Number, the Mongoose Edition

As some of you are no doubt aware, Kevin Crawford's terrific old school SF RPG, Stars Without Number (which I reviewed early this year), is about to be released in a new edition through Mongoose Publishing. Thanks to the kindness of reader Brian Blakely, who snagged me a copy at GenCon, I was able to get a look at it before it started turning up in most game shops on this side of the Atlantic.

The new edition is a hardcover, just like the one currently available through RPGNow and Drivethrurpg, using the exact same layout. The main differences appear to be a new cover (that I frankly don't like as much as the original), some typo fixes, and the inclusion of two new chapters comprising about 40 pages of material. These chapters cover rules for robots, including robot PCs, mechs, and the creation of planetary societies. None of this information is essential, but, as with nearly everything Crawford has produced to date, it's excellent and, if you're a player -- or even just an admirer -- of Stars Without Number, you'll want to get a copy of the new edition, especially since this new material is not available anywhere else (though Crawford has hinted it might appear in future products for the game).

REVIEW: Polychrome

Speaking as someone who's written his own science fiction RPG (and is in the midst of revising its rulebook), Stars Without Number fills me with a certain degree of envy. Not only is it an excellent example of old school design principles applied to a contemporary game, it's one that consistently makes me sit up and say, "I wish I'd thought of that." A good example of what I mean is the expansiveness of its skeletal default setting, which enables the referee to create whatever worlds, organizations, interstellar governments, and alien races he wishes and nevertheless tie them easily into the background presented in the rulebook. The 40-page supplement Polychrome takes this to another level by demonstrating the ability of Stars Without Number (hereafter SWN) to function as a multi-genre science fiction RPG with similar ease.

Polychrome takes its name from "a world of steel and stain" whose atmosphere is corrupted by an alien biotoxin ruled by "cold-blooded corporate officials [who] control access to vital cybernetic medical tech." In this way, Polychrome pulls double duty, serving as both a gazetteer of a single planet to insert into an ongoing SWN campaign and as a cyberpunk sourcebook for the game. Once again, I found myself wishing I'd thought of this. What author Kevin Crawford has done here may not be revolutionary, but it's amazingly economical, enabling him to provide a surprising amount of both rules and setting material in a short span of pages. In doing so, he's expanded the utility of SWN, showing that the game need not be limited to exploration in an interstellar sandbox but can handle classic chrome-and-mirrorshades cyberpunk adventures, too.

Polychrome begins with an overview of the eponymous planet, including its history and society. There are also overviews of important NPCs, locations, and megacorporations. All of these overviews are succinct and heavily focused on providing information useful for creating and running adventures. That's not to say all the information is immediately, let alone solely, practical, but very little of it is presented for its own sake. As if to emphasize this point, the supplement also includes straightforward and practical advice on how to create adventures on Polychrome, using a combination of seeds and random complications to illustrate the process. Complementing this section are additional sections presenting simple rules for investigations and hacking -- two central elements of cyberpunk adventures. Also present are rules handling psionics on Polychrome and cybernetic devices not found in the SWN rulebook.

Polychrome includes an adventure as well. Entitled "Bad Blood," it's intended to introduce offworld characters to the world of Polychrome and its unusual society and culture by involving them in a revenge plot by a young woman whose brother has run afoul of internecine battles between planetary factions. "Bad Blood" takes up 8 pages of the supplement and, while I am always glad to see adventures included in gaming supplements, I must confess that these 8 pages were by far the weakest in Polychrome. That's admittedly not saying a great deal, given how much I liked the rest of the book, but I couldn't help but feel that the supplement would have been better served by additional random tables for creating one's own adventures and NPCs. On the other hand, "Bad Blood" does provide plenty of concepts, situations, and statted out allies and antagonists that, even if a referee has no use for it as presented, it can still be used as an idea mine.

Polychrome is available either as PDF for $4.99 or a printed book + PDF for $9.99. Like previous supplements for SWN, its layout is unadorned and easy to read, broken up by occasional bits of what appears to be science fiction clip art. Polychrome isn't going to win any awards for its appearance, but it's its content that is the real draw here anyway. On that front, I have no significant complaints. Polychrome fills in some important gaps in the rules of Stars Without Number, like hacking, that are essential if you want to run classic cyberpunk adventures. Like all of SWN's rules, they're simple and easy to understand, emphasizing once again how few rules really are needed for any kind of RPG to be playable, provided the referee and players are imaginative and trusting.

Polychrome isn't going to set the hobby on fire, but I can't help but think it'd be great if more roleplaying games adopted its approach to both rules expansion and setting design. Like its predecessor, Skyward Steel, hits that sweet spot for me between too much and too little detail, inspiring without doing all the work for me. Polychrome definitely shows off the best of what old school design has to offer and I'd be very happy to see other designers follow in its footsteps.

Presentation: 6 out of 10
Creativity: 8 out of 10
Utility: 7 out of 10

Buy This If: You're playing Stars Without Number or another old school SF RPG and want to add some cyberpunk elements to your campaign.
Don't Buy This If: You have no interest in cyberpunk.

Speaking of GenCon ...

Does anyone know if Mongoose had any advance copies of their edition of Stars Without Number on hand at GenCon? I know I'm going to regret asking, because the answer will be "Yes" and I'm many miles away from the con, but I figured I'd do so anyway, since I'm rather keen to get hold of the new version with its 40 pages of exclusive content.

REVIEW: Red Tide

I've come to realize that I take PDFs far less seriously than I take printed books. That's probably why I'm far more quick to read and review printed products sent to me than those in electronic form. That's not necessarily a comment on the quality of the products in question by any means, since I only own the product I'm about to review, Sine Nomine's Red Tide, in PDF form, but it is a comment on my own idiosyncrasies.

Until last weekend, when one of the players in my Thousand Suns playtest group brought a printed copy of Red Tide over my house, I'd barely looked at the PDF author Kevin Crawford so kindly sent to me some weeks ago. When I did, I soon realized that I'd been foolish not to do so, for Red Tide is, in many ways, to fantasy what Stars Without Number is to science fiction. The analogy isn't perfect, since, to start, Red Tide isn't a complete game but rather a setting supplement to Labyrinth Lord, but it's nevertheless a good one, since, like Crawford's earlier effort, Red Tide is, ultimately, a toolkit for running a sandbox campaign.

Red Tide takes its name from a magical catastrophe that overtook the world, a wall of crimson mist issuing forth from the sea and consuming all in its wake. Its arrival was foreseen years before by a wizard named Lammach, who prepared to save a portion of the Ninefold Celestial Empire by taking it in a vast fleet to safety somewhere. That somewhere proved to be an archipelago in the far-off Western Sea known as the Sunset Isles. There, Lammach and the survivors of the Empire and other nation destroyed by the Tide began the process of rebuilding their shattered civilizations.

Of course, things aren't that simple. Though the Sunset Isles are largely protected from the Red Tide because of the presence of veins of a mysterious stone called "godbone," that doesn't prevent it from occasionally extending its tendrils and leaving behind Tidespawn monstrosities to wreak havoc. Likewise, when the refugees arrived, the Isles were already inhabited by tribes of intelligent beings that, were it not for their strange skin colors and fearsome manner of dress, might easily pass for human beings. Calling themselves the Shou, one human culture calls them by various names -- bugbears, goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs. The Shou hate humans and see them as invaders and, under the leadership of their witch-priestesses, they've waged many wars against them.

Red Tide is 171 pages, divided into 11 chapters and an index. The first two chapters provide an overview of the setting and its history in just enough detail to understand the setting but not so much as to be tedious. The third chapter described the various peoples of the Sunset Isles, both the refugees and the native Shou. What I find particularly interesting is that the Ninefold Celestial Empire is a fantastic China analog ruled by mages. But the Empire was vast and had subjects of many cultures and they, too, are represented among the survivors of the Red Tide. Likewise, other cultures, such as the Viking-like Skandr and the demihuman dwarves and elves, also escaped the world's end and can be found living cheek by jowl with the Imperials. This provides a good in-game excuse for an adventuring party consisting of both European and Asian character types, with fantasy non-humans thrown in for good measure. It also lends the Isles a cosmopolitan flavor without either being patronizing or inaccessible.

The fourth and fifth chapters provide overviews of the Sunset Isles -- maps, wilderness encounter tables, places of interest, societies, cultures, governments, and religions. Though more detailed than the history sections earlier by necessity, Crawford continues to maintain a good balance between providing too much and too little information. When purchasing a campaign setting, one expects some of the "hard work" to already be done for you, but there can be too much of a good thing and Red Tide never comes close to that particular vice.

The sixth chapter is a useful one on the role of adventurers on the Sunset Isles. It's a valuable look at all the standard Labyrinth Lord classes to help players and referees alike integrate them into the setting. In some cases, there are mild tweaks to the standard rules, such as granting halflings a +4 bonus to saving throws against fear, as well as a handful of new classes, like Shou witches and the Vowed, which is a nicely done version of the monk for Labyrinth Lord. There are also elven scions, which are elven souls reborn in human bodies. Unlike normal elves, they don't cast spells but instead possess "wyrds," which are a new type of magic power, described in the seventh chapter, along with new spells for all classes and magic items. The eighth chapter gives us a bestiary of original monsters.

The real meat of Red Tide and what will likely make it of interest even to gamers disinterested in its setting comes in the ninth chapter. Here, Crawford offers up a wide variety of tables for use in sandbox play. Everything from courts to borderland sites to city sites to ruins are given careful treatment, each with unique tables that not give the referee the ability to describe a locale with a handful of dice rolls but also to create adventure hooks and NPCs associated with it. Readers familiar with Star Without Number will see a number of similarities in this chapter, but I should make it clear that this is no simple port from one game to another. What appears in this chapter is almost entirely new and tailored both to fantasy and to the Sunset Isles setting. There are also special sections on NPC groups, like "outlaws" or "tide cultists," with quick stats for ease of use and a table of "twists" that give each encounter with them the potential to be memorable. All in all, it's a great chapter and probably worth the $7.99 price of the PDF alone.

The tenth chapter lays bare the "secrets of the mist," which is to say, all the hidden aspects of the game setting. I really appreciate this, because Crawford holds nothing back, explaining, for example, what the Red Tide is and why it has come. This gives the referee a leg up in evaluating what details of the published setting he might wish to change and what the effects of doing so might be. Likewise, it ensures that future supplements (should there be any) won't contain any setting-shattering surprises that might catch him off-guard.

The eleventh and final chapter is a collection of "resources" that, again, should be familiar to readers of Stars Without Number. There are random tables of names for each culture (both personal and place names), quick NPC creation, room dressing, and generic maps that can be used either as-is or as part of a clever-presented geomorphic system. Armed with these resources, it'd be very easy to create entire locations on the fly, which is exactly what's needed in a sandbox campaign.

If Red Tide has a flaw, it's that it's a bit more specific than was Stars Without Number. That is, it presents a detailed setting for sandbox play and, while its tables and resources can most assuredly be used in other contexts without too much trouble, they probably work best if used in conjunction with the Sunset Isles. I don't personally think that's a big deal, since the Isles are very well done and interesting. I think they'll be of particular interest to gamers who like to mix and match between the myths and legends of East and West in their fantasy campaigns. Likewise, Crawford's takes on staples of D&D-style fantasy, such as elves or goblinoid races, are different enough without being wholly alien that I think they could be inspirational even to those who don't want to use the whole Red Tide setting.

Ultimately, though, Red Tide's specificity is a small quibble. With this product, Kevin Crawford has once again demonstrated that he's a man to watch in old school gaming these days. I can hardly wait to see what he comes up with next.

Presentation: 7 out of 10
Creativity: 9 out of 10
Utility: 8 out of 10

Buy This If: You're in the market for a well done East-meets-West post-apocalyptic fantasy setting with traditional elements or if you're looking for a variety of useful tools for sandbox play.
Don't Buy This If: You don't want a new fantasy setting or if you're not interested in sandbox-style play.

REVIEW: Skyward Steel

Skyward Steel is the first full-length supplement to Kevin Crawford's superb old school SF RPG, Star Without Number. This 59-page watermarked PDF sells for $4.99, though it's available at 25% off until March 7, 2011 as part of a GM's Day Sale. Currently, there is no print-on-demand option for Skyward Steel, but, given the narrowness of its subject matter, perhaps that's understandable. Subtitled "Naval Campaigns for Stars Without Number," this product focuses on stellar navies, providing background information, adventure seeds, and new rules pertaining to these space-borne militaries.

Skyward Steel is clearly written, with few obvious editorial or typographical errors. Its layout is not particularly attractive, but it is functional and easy to read. Aside from the cover, there are only two other illustrations in Skyward Steel, which contributes to the PDF's dense, "hobbyist" feel. I don't mean that as a criticism, but potential buyers should be aware that this supplement is a bit less polished in terms of its appearance than the Stars Without Number rulebook. On the other hand, it's every bit as chock full of imaginative ideas and clever rules for use with Star Without Number (or really almost any science fiction RPG where interstellar fleets play a big role).

The PDF consists of eight chapters, the first of which is a brief discussion of the history and role of navies in the Stars Without Number setting. It's interesting stuff but unlikely to be immediately useful in play. The second chapter discusses naval organization by providing lists of naval ranks, rates, and departments. Compared to the first chapter, this one strikes me as much more immediately useful, particularly in a campaign where the navy plays a large role. Chapter three covers life in the navy and, again, is very practical in its coverage, focusing on topics as diverse as the relationship between officers and enlisted personnel, naval politics, and honorable and dishonorable conduct.

The fourth chapter is a lengthy one whose topic is running a campaign where the characters are themselves members of a stellar navy. Expected topics, such as dealing with orders and the question of ranks among the PCs, are covered, but the bulk of the chapter goes to outlining several types of naval campaigns. Particular attention is given to what are called "Deep Black" operations -- naval forces who undertake special missions on behalf of their service. The chapter concludes with a large list of ideas -- generally two for each world tag introduced in the Star Without Number rulebook -- that might serve to inspire adventures or even whole campaigns. This list was one of my favorite parts of the book and an example of something I'd like to see in more gaming products.

The fifth chapter offers up some naval-specific background and training packages to supplement those in the main rulebook. Chapter six is devoted primarily to starship combat. It provides some flavorful yet straightforward additions to the game's original starship combat rules, principally in the form of giving each significant position aboard ship something meaningful to do, complete with "commands" (special maneuvers) and "mishaps" (unique fumble results). I was very favorably reminded of the starship combat system from FASA's Star Trek RPG, but presented in a more streamlined and imaginative way. Whereas FASA's system worked best when there was an actual player for each important crew position, Skyward Steel looks as if it'd be just as easy to use even if a most of the crew were NPCs, though I have not yet had the chance to test it in play.

Chapter seven describes new starships, components, and personal equipment, while chapter eight describes rules for determining how large the fleet of worlds and interstellar factions. Much like the starship combat additions, the fleet rules appear to be quite flavorful yet straightforward. More importantly, they contribute another piece to the puzzle of a science fiction endgame where the PCs have reached heights of power sufficient to give them control of a world or worlds. I can't shake the feeling that Kevin Crawford is slowly building toward eventually giving us the rules necessary to guide the fates of interstellar empires over the course of time and, if so, I very much look forward to seeing him do for Stars Without Number something that was never done for Dungeons & Dragons in any satisfying way!

If it sounds as if I thoroughly enjoyed Skyward Steel, you'd be correct in that assumption. It's not a perfect book by any means. I think its focus is sufficiently narrow that it might frighten off some potential buyers who don't think they'd enjoy 59 pages devoted to interstellar navies. Likewise, the lack of art and the density of the text combine to give the PDF an intimidating appearance. But these are comparatively minor criticisms when you consider how potentially useful the content is -- and what it suggests about what's to come in the future. For my money, Stars Without Number remains one of the most exciting games to have emerged from the old school renaissance and this supplement further strengthens that conviction.

Presentation: 6 out of 10
Creativity: 9 out of 10
Utility: 6 out of 10

Buy This If: You're playing Stars Without Number or any other SF RPG where interstellar navies play an important role.
Don't Buy This If: You have no interest in extra detail regarding interstellar navies.

REVIEW: Stars Without Number

At the end of 2009, I predicted that science fantasy would be one of the big trends of 2010 in the old school renaissance. At the time, there were several different science fantasy and science fiction projects announced that I had hoped would see release last year. As it turned out, none of those I expected to see appeared, but one that I did not expect made its debut, Kevin Crawford's Stars Without Number.

Stars Without Number (hereafter SWN) is a science fiction roleplaying game that, while broadly compatible with games like Dungeons & Dragons (SWN uses a lot of terminology and mechanics derived from D&D -- including descending armor class), is nevertheless a complete game. You don't need anything to play beyond dice, paper, pencil, and the 210-page rulebook, which is available as a free PDF from DrivethruRPG, with softcover and hardcover printed options also available (at $19.99 and $24.99, respectively). The length of the rulebook is deceptive, since it includes designer's notes, a sample star sector, and a large number of random tables to enable the referee to quickly generate ideas for use in his campaign. The rules portions themselves actually take up comparatively few pages.

Though SWN could easily be used as a generic science fiction ruleset, the game includes a very fascinating campaign framework. The framework postulates that, sometime in the future, mankind discovers the "spike drive" that enables slow interstellar travel. A diaspora occurs, with humanity spreading to the stars. Over several generations, some members of interstellar humanity become afflicted with a strange condition called "metadimensional extroversion syndrome," which, in addition to having a tendency to drive those afflicted insane, also grants psychic abilities. In time, humanity learns to harness these powers and retard the insanity they cause, leading to a Golden Age in which psychics help to advance human technology, including the development of jump gates that allow instantaneous travel across vast distances.

Then comes the Scream, a mysterious interstellar phenomenon that kills or drives mad all psychics across human space. Without the psychics, the jump gates cease to operate and humanity's vast galactic civilization collapses in on itself. What follows is the Silence, a period of 600 years during which mankind's myriad worlds are largely cut off from one another. Now, some of the more stable and advanced worlds have begun to explore outward, establishing trade and diplomatic contact with nearby worlds. Some have even begun to create new interstellar polities. But the nature of the Scream remains unknown and no one dares rely on psychic powers as much as humanity once did. A great deal changed in the galaxy over the years of the Silence and each new world is as much a mystery as the Scream itself.

Though the rules of SWN are solid and well-presented, it's this campaign framework that is most impressive to me. What Crawford has done is provide the means by which to logically marry old school sandbox campaigning with science fiction adventure. What's more is that he provides the referee with the tools to do this effectively. Most SF RPGs include rules for randomly generating planets and even entire sectors. What they don't generally provide are simple systems for determining what those worlds and sectors are like beyond the basic facts. For example, SWN introduces the idea of world "tags," one of 60 brief descriptors, such as "abandoned colony," "pilgrimage site," or "zombies." Each one of these tags not only provides the referee with a quick overview of what's unique about a particular planet but also ideas for enemies, allies, things, locales, and adventure complications associated with them. Say the referee creates a world with the tag "alien ruins," he can look at the tag's entry and choose from undersea ruin, orbital ruin, perfectly preserved alien building, or alien mausoleum as examples of "places." For enemies, there might be a customs inspector, worshiper of the ruins, or a hidden alien survivor. My point is that SWN's world generation system is an excellent idea generator, which is what any good random generation system should be, especially those associated with sandbox-style gaming.

A more impressive tool, though, is the factions system. Factions are power groups, both referee and player-controlled, who exert influence on a world or over a sector. Factions are effectively NPCs, with ability scores (and even hit points) that represent their strength and control. They can engage in various actions (such as acquiring new assets, expanding influence, seizing planets, etc.) and, through success, rise in levels, just like characters. What's terrific about the faction system is that its both extensive and fairly simple. Most similar systems I've seen in the past are either too limited or too complex, thereby discouraging their use. The systems in SWN hit a sweet spot for me that makes me actually want to use them rather than simply ignore them. Likewise, the fact that the PCs can establish and control their own factions concretizes "high-level" play in a way that I've not seen in any other old school RPG to date.

While it's SWN's rules for interstellar sandbox play that most impress me, the rest of the game is quite good as well. Characters are randomly generated using 3D6 rolls in order for the same six abilities used in D&D. Ability score penalties and bonuses have a smaller range (-2 to +2), with the extreme ends being quite rare. There are three classes: expert, psychic, and warrior. Instead of races, there are background packages that grant skills. Classes and backgrounds can be combined in order to give a wide variety of options. For example, a warrior character with the background package of "noble" will be different than one with the background package of "priest." It's a nice little system that doesn't unduly complicate character generation but nevertheless offers room for customization. Character classes are similarly straightforward but customizable. All classes provide hit dice, attack bonuses, and saving throws, along with a single unique special ability and class skills. SWN's skill system employs a 2d6 roll against a difficulty number (6 is standard), with skill levels and relevant ability score modifiers affecting the dice roll. The skill list is short and covers most areas you'd expect in a SF RPG but could be easily expanded or contracted, depending on one's tastes.

Psychic powers function as SWN's "magic," but are powered by psi points, a pool of which psychic characters get based on their level. Because even the highest-level psychics have comparatively few points, psychic powers are probably weaker in play than is magic in D&D. Equipment covers all the expected topics, with weapons and armor receiving the most detail. As noted earlier, SWN uses a descending AC system, which works with the game's Target 20 combat system. That is, roll 1D20, add combat bonuses and other modifiers, and the target's AC. If the total is 20 or more, a hit is achieved. Cyberware, vehicles, and starships get good treatments, with the starships section being particularly well done. Designing one's own starships is fully supported in the rulebook, as is space combat and both are handled straightforwardly but without sacrificing necessary detail.

Also as noted earlier, SWN includes extensive resources for the referee in running adventures and campaigns. There are overviews of adventure creation, the awarding of experience points, and similar topics, along with systems for creating aliens (both intelligent and otherwise) for use as either PCs or NPCs, even though the game assumes a humanocentric perspective. There are a goodly number of sample creatures and generic NPCs, making the referee's task easy. A sample sector consisting of about 20 worlds is provided too, making it possible to start a campaign without having to use any of the rulebook's many, many random tables. Also included is a designer's notes chapter, something I usually loathe. In this case, though, I found it interesting to read the author's thoughts on the various chapters of the book, both to provide insight into how he uses the game and how others might modify it to their tastes.

In the end, Stars Without Number is a really remarkable piece of work and one of the best things to have come out of the old school renaissance in 2010. In many ways, this game is a like a clean, well-organized "OD&D for science fiction," providing a simple, straightforward game that's ripe for tinkering and house ruling. And, like OD&D, it's a joyous riot of ideas that can easily accommodate a wide variety of approaches and interpretations, made all the more impressive because the overarching framework of the game is so flexible. I frequently found myself surprised by this game and noting how well author Kevin Crawford had taken to heart the lessons of old school game design to produce a terrific example of a contemporary game that is more than just "inspired by" the past but instead embraces it wholeheartedly, even when it runs counter to conventional wisdom about what makes a good RPG.

Stars Without Number isn't perfect. Better organized than OD&D it may be, but it's still a little hard to navigate through the book at times and its layout is rather pedestrian. But both those flaws are more than outweighed by its content. I hate to keep repeating this but I can't help myself: this is the first game I've ever read that fulfills the unfulfilled promise of OD&D to take the PCs from rogues on the make to movers and shakers in the world and does so seamlessly. It's an amazing achievement and, if that were all that Stars Without Number does well, it'd be noteworthy. Fortunately for us, it does much, much more than that. This is a great game and it deserves much success. Do yourself a favor and download a copy to read; you won't regret it.

Presentation: 7 out of 10
Creativity: 10 out of 10
Utility: 9 out of 10

Buy This If: You're looking for a simple, flexible SF RPG that truly accommodates sandbox play like no other.
Don't Buy This If: You have no interest in science fiction or in sandbox-style campaigns.