Product– Old Gods of Appalachia Player’s Guide
System- Cypher System
Producer– Monte Cook Games
Price– $7.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/448863/old-gods-of-appalachia-player-s-guide?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR-Missing pieces and price hurt the product. 83%
Basics-What’s that in the woods? Old Gods of Appalachia is a horror podcast made into an RPG using the Cypher System by Monte Cook Games. Let’s see what is in that hollar down yonder!
System et al- This is the Cypher System you know and love. You lose points from each pool instead of being dealt damage on a condition track. Besides that, this is the cypher system that you either hate or love.
Cyphers- So what’s a cypher? I don’t think this book even explains it. That’s a major problem…
Mechanics or Crunch– This gives a decent intro to the cypher system, but it has a major flaw not explaining what a cypher is. You will learn fast, but the fact the book doesn’t explain this is a problem. The system is explained decently and you get enough background to play. The book comes with four complete characters so you can get playing fast. 4/5
Theme or Fluff– Here is the high point of the book. This book spends lots of time explaining the world of the American coal country during the period of 1900 to a little past WW2. It’s deep but leaves more room for you to explore. This is honestly most of the book. 5/5
Execution– This is good, but WAY TOO expensive! This is a 32-page book that costs eight bucks. AND IT DOESN’T EXPLAIN HOW A CYPHER WORKS! This should be a free product and there is a free intro version that is 17 pages. This is a lot of exposition and four characters. It’s done well, but the art is recycled in the main book, so it’s just too expensive. 3.5/5
Summary– This is a decent product hurt by a few key issues. If you have this, you have four characters that you can instantly run in someone else’s game. That’s good. You will understand the rules EXCEPT for what a cypher is. You will find out quick, but it’s the system name! Also, the price is WAY too high for an intro product. This feels more like a free product a company throws out to get interest. Honestly, maybe just buy the core book which is 3 times as much but over 10 times as long. 83%
Throat Punch Games 