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Evilution Unchained (Hero System)
by David [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 11/13/2024 19:40:20

Update! Blessed Machine responded to my comment below and added maps without the key numbers on them! Outstanding responsiveness. Thank you so much!

I recommend this as an interesting and fun mission that combines investigation with combat and some potential interest moral quandries as well. I'm looking forward to running it for my home team over the next few months.

Hello Blessed Machine. I like the adventure and plan to run it for my players. However, for many of the included maps, the oversized versions to print, you left the key numbers on the map. For some of them, you did remove the numbers, but for most of them...you forgot and the printable maps look just like the key. I'm referring to the PDF, not the print version. Any chance you can update this or share the non-numbered maps? Thanks.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Evilution Unchained (Hero System)
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Creator Reply:
I'll see what I can do. Give me a day or so.
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Hi David, I have uploaded separate cut & paste maps without the number icons. Let me know if I missed anything. Thanks for buying the product!
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Secret Agents of CROSS (Savage Worlds Adventure Edition)
by Callahan [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/08/2024 01:53:47

One of the strongest indicators of a strong RPG supplement is the "spark" moment, the moment in which the reader can equally envision a plethora of play options as both a game master and as a player character, a moment that sets the mind ablaze with possibility. Seldom few games manage to elicit this level of enthusiasm from its players, slotting firmly into the realm of a "solid" or "good" game. This is not what I found in Cross. I found a true "great", one that perfectly caters to my sensibilities and interests while delivering precisely what it promises in spades. Cross is a tad esoteric on first brush, I believe by design, so that its voluminous setting elements and their mechanical implementation can evolve alongside the reader's understanding of the precise type of game Cross is. It is designed to invoke specific, cinematic tropes and genre conventions that make you envision that one, perfect combat encounter or that one perfect roleplay scene that leaves you saying "Hell yeah". It carries that bombastic, grandiose energy into every facet of the game, from its setting, to its character creation process, to its plethora of cybernetic and divine equipment tables, to its precise theming that never really misses. You aren't playing standard fantasy templar characters with a modern aesthetic, you're playing the Vatican's equivalent of the superhuman Gun Kata users in Equilibrium. You aren't playing a character that has to twist and constrain their statline to fit a niche character archetype, you're playing a character that feels like it was ripped directly from the script of 2011's Priest, complete with crucifix-knife wielding martial artists dispatching hordes of foes. Every aspect of the books setting and mechanics evokes an unmistakable feeling of jubilation from your inner twelve year old who can't stop watching fight scene compilations on repeat.

The game's setting takes great care to be respectful to the religions, peoples, and cultures that the book represents while also providing the exciting tone of a globe-spanning political thriller where the PCs take on extremist cabals bent on world domination. The premise itself, a hypermilitarized branch of the catholic church that goes around fighting a shadow war, would feel right at home in ones favorite pulp magazine. Truly, the game exudes the same rapid fire, rule of cool, ideas driven worldbuilding that some of the best pulp serials implemented, focusing on providing an interesting setting rather than a believable one. This plays to both Savage Worlds' and Cross' strengths, as both are rife with imaginative setting potential that can fuel a great pulp adventure.

The extensive worldbuilding and lore manage to be both extensive and concise, never overstaying its welcome and written in a snappy, events driven style of prose that allows the reader to blitz through passages in their excitement to continue reading. The plethora of content on display, whether it be NPC dossiers, detailed faction breakdowns, or history snippets, they all provide GMs with an abundance of adventure potential that seems to border on inexhaustible. This extends to the games many additions in the form of equipment, roles, miracles, edges, etc. Each entry seems perfectly suited to providing for all types of players, whether they be combat-oriented fight-junkies or character-oriented roleplayers. The game easily tailors itself to fit the GMs desires.

In terms of production, the book is an independent creation, and as such I can strongly sympathize with its creators. The assets and artwork within the book provide a great deal of charm in cementing the book as a passion project made with any available resources. The chapter borders on each page, in particular, appeared very striking in the pdf but made perfect sense upon seeing the book in print. DriveThruRPG's ink tends to mute or dilute colors, so going for a vibrant, striking color gradient on the page edges results in nice, warm tones in the printed version. I always think it's admirable for passionate people to strive to accomplish their goal to the best of their abilities in spite of a limited budget, and I am endlessly charmed by this aspect of Cross.

Overall, I found this book to be an incredibly imaginative, hyperfocused worldbook with a rich tone that dripped with flavor. If fulfilling some of your favorite niche action movie tropes or getting in over your head in the deep cover of covert espionage sounds fun, then you'll find few exemplars within the Savage Worlds rules system that can claim to scratch that itch better than Agents of Cross.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Secret Agents of CROSS (Savage Worlds Adventure Edition)
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Campaign City Supers #1
by Eric [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 05/11/2024 23:29:06

A Solid Collection of Comic-Book Characters and Scenarios

THE GOOD:

I bought this book for the adventures. We've played through "Evilution Unchained," which features a mad scientist and genetic mutants who wreak havoc throughout the city. The plot can be played in a simplified way (which is what we did) or expanded to include multiple scenes of investigation, clue-gathering, negotiation, and side-quests. Each new super-powered character also includes variant adventure scenarios to spark your imagination. My group particularly enjoyed the "Calico Bat" and "Gator Boi" animal cross-breeds.

The other adventures (which I've read through but have not played) offer additional characters and settings, with at least one of them setting up some dramatic tasks and other alternative SWADE gameplay mechanics to keep things varied and interesting. As with "EU," I imagine my group will pick-and-choose parts of each, but that's part of what makes this book a good value: your group can pick-and-choose or just play straight-through. CCS#1 lends itself to both.

Part of what makes this work is the thoughtful layout of the characters' stat-blocks. Each character is given a whole page (sometimes two) to themselves, so printing is clear and reading is fairly easy. The Dober-Men, for example, get a single page to themselves: real names, alignment, motivations, attributes, skills, and more... all on one easy-to-print and easy-to-read page. This is a big improvement over some SWADE monster books that haphazardly split stat-blocks over two pages, forcing you to print too much or to swipe back-and-forth in your PDFs. I like PDFs, but I also like to have printed stat-blocks at the table. I was able to do my printing-prep for today's session in less than five minutes. Campaign City Supers really saved me some time and effort!

THE MID:

Honestly, most of my criticisms of this book aren't really criticisms; they're wish-lists.

I wish the book made more of an effort to appeal to the different levels of SWADE Supers play. I'd like to have had a Level II adventure and at least one that really went crazy at Level V. However, if they had to aim, aiming chiefly at Level III (as "Evilution Unchained" does) makes the most sense for classic super-hero play.

I wish the adventures went to more trouble to include SWADE options like Chases and Dramatic Tasks. There are a couple, but I find those particularly hard to write/GM, and more pre-planned ones would have provided some easy variety to my table.

I could go on with my wish-lists, but they really just amount to personal preferences and nit-picking. I generally found "Evilution Unchained" to be a great resource.

THE BAD:

I'd have to dig pretty deep to find something to really complain about here, so I'm not going to. Nothing terrible jumped out at me when we were playing, and as I said above, most of my "criticisms" come down more to differences in play/GM-style than they do to quality issues.

CONCLUSION: The more I GM and read about RPGs, the more I come to understand that while adventure/campaign books like this CAN be run as written, most of them are used as toolboxes for GMs to pull from. For $15 as a PDF (at time of this review, May 2024), Campaign City Supers #1 provides a ridiculous amount of content that can easily be run from a laptop or a tablet with no printing or minimal printing.

While I can imagine improvements to the book, none of my "wish list" items are a good reason to skip this book. I plan on playing at least two more scenarios (out of the six provided), and the time I'll save from using these instead of planning my own is definitely worth the price of admission. I look forward to Campaign City Supers #2!

(End Note: I originally purchased the hardcover, which currently comes with the PDF included at no extra cost. I am very happy with the quality of the printed book. My book was damaged in shipping, and DTRPG was a dream to work with. Fast, polite, and helpful customer service took care of me. If you're thinking of buying physical+PDF, I'd strongly recommend it in this case. Campaign City Supers #1 is the exact same size as my other Pinnacle-produced SWADE books, and it looks great on my bookshelf next to my Super Powers Companion!)



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Campaign City Supers #1
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Water Tower Dice Tower
by A customer [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 12/14/2023 01:42:03

Though the model is a solid looking piece, the chute is extremely fragile. So maybe avoid metal dice going down the chute. However, the print is functional and perfect for the design and the artist provides details for a successful print but it made little difference.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Water Tower Dice Tower
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Savage Worlds Blast & Cone Templates
by Brennan O. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 01/21/2023 09:32:05

Great idea, terrible execution. The templates are incorrectly sized for Savage Worlds.



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
Savage Worlds Blast & Cone Templates
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Creator Reply:
Hi Brennan, The blast template is designed so that the negative space is the extent of each blast template size/type. So, if you can see through the blast template to the minis below then it is in the blast template radius. I matched this up to the book, and it lines up as expected for this design. I agree that the cone template is a little slimmer near the tip. I will fix that and upload an update. Thanks for your feedback.
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25/30mm Status Trays for 28mm Miniatures
by Ron R. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 06/22/2020 23:03:14

I always use maps and minis in my tabletop RPG games. This ingenious product is going to be a game changer for showing character conditions and keeping everyone on the same page!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
25/30mm Status Trays for 28mm Miniatures
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