New Releases
January has been a busy month for new releases. The highly anticipated Warhammer 40K RPG made its official debut this month, and the initial reviews have been positive. Snag one if you can, as the entire first print run has already sold out on pre-orders and Black Industries has announced it's getting out of the RPG business after this fall's releases.For science fiction fans who enjoy a little more transhumanism and a little less dark and brutal action, Colin Fredericks released Sufficiently Advanced. Early reviews of this game made it sound extremely interesting, imagining a far future where god-like A.I. are dominant and the characters work for an intergalactic patent office.
EOS Press released Unhallowed Metropolis, a dark game that explores a post-apocalyptic future where Victorian society dominates and undead lurk behind every corner. One of the most interesting aspects of this product is its extensive use of high quality photographs taken from a well done photo shoot in order to illustrate the peoples and dress styles of the setting, definitely an unusual touch.
Scion: God was brought to us by White Wolf and concludes the originally proposed three book series focused on the modern day children of the gods and their battle against ancient Titans. Never fear, however, as Scion has done so well that the company has decided to continue it with at least two more books.
From Exile Studios we finally see Secrets of the Surface World for their wonderful Hollow Earth Expedition. Psychic powers, weird science, sorcery, and many other character options are presented and that’s just scratching the surface. If you’re a pulp fan be sure to give it a look.
Flying almost under the radar is Mind Storm Labs’ Alpha Omega RPG. With elements of Christian mythology, post-apocalypse, and transhumant future I have to say that this game certainly looks intriguing. Unfortunately, so little information has been released on it so far that we may be waiting a while to get the full scoop on this interesting new game.
Wizards of the Coast delivered their latest D&D 4th Edition product teaser in Wizards Presents: Worlds and Monsters. Discussing the interesting locations and creatures of the D&D universe from the perspective of 4E designers, it has created quite a stir both at ENWorld and RPGnet.
On The Forums
As awesome as new releases are it’s the forums that so often inspire use, answer our questions, and even introduce us to new games.EnWorld provided 2E vs 3E: 8 Years Later. A new perspective? which provided a lot of interesting points in favor of features of both editions.
At RPGnet the thoroughly enjoyable Justify Breaking a Genre Convention was a very entertaining read, and gave me several ideas for campaigns. I also found this thread showcasing how cool the Library of Congress can be for an RPG group to be a fun read.
Make It So – Star Trek at theRPGsite provides a lot of interesting ideas and good discussion about roleplaying in the Trek universe. StoryGames brings us You’re starting a new game. What’s the first thing you say? which provides a host of interesting ideas for how to start off a game session.
My Take
For my own part I reviewed four games this month. Colonial Gothic presents the colonies in a new, darker light. Delta Green casts you in the role of a modern day operative bringing the fight directly to the Mythos, with no support from the very people you seek to protect. Unhallowed Metropolis presents a truly unique gothic Victorian setting and all the zombies you could ever want to mow down.Of the products I reviewed this month, however, Changeling: The Lost is my favorite. I had the opportunity to run a campaign of this imaginative expansion on the World of Darkness and everything went splendidly. From dream crafting to magical bargains, everything you might expect from a game of dark fairy tales is well integrated with the World of Darkness system.
On my table right now I have Conspiracy of Shadows, Defcon 1, Scion: Demigod, Scion: God, Requiem for Rome, Autmn Nightmares, and Winter Masques. All interesting books in their own way, I have to say that Requiem for Rome is the one I’m most looking forward to thoroughly reading. The general presentation is very nice and I’ve always been a fan of playing vampires outside of the modern nights.
On The Horizon
Next month sees several exciting new releases including Sons of Liberty, an interesting combination of steampunk and revolutionary action. The much anticipated Trail of Cthulhu is on many gamers minds already, and for good reason with the well respected Ken Hite taking charge of this interesting project.White Wolf brings Dreams of the First Age, a boxed set for Exalted that promises kick butt first age action and adventure. It’s interesting to see a boxed set again, I hope it’s as awesome as the blurb promises it to be. Wizards continues to develop Eberron with City of Stormreach, a setting book that continues to develop the town made famous by Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Don’t forget that Gen Con registration begins February 3rd! If you want to get the best room you can be sure to reserve housing on the 4th!
That does it for January. Until next month, happy gaming!
