Basics– Hey, kid, you want to try some DCC? Here are the DCC RPG game day free RPG adventures. There are two separate adventures for both level 1 and level 2.
Mechanics or Crunch– Goodman games wrote these adventures, so expect the standard level of death and dismemberment as with any low level DCC adventure. It’s hard with sudden deaths, but not overly so. Your first and second level characters will probably survive! It’s standard crunch, but it’s fun! 5/5
Theme or Fluff– Ah DCC, you crazy monster. These adventures are all over the place. If you need Lord of the Rings level of understanding of life, then this is not for you. DCC is more gonzo and these are no exceptions. They are fun, and tell a story, but it’s still crazy! If you, like me, enjoy a crazy story, you will enjoy this. 5/5
Execution– Like Goodman Games adventures and layout? Then you will like this. There are nice pictures, fun maps, and good descriptions of rooms. The overall book is exactly what to expect in terms of layout, writing, and basic construction. And I love that. 5/5
Summary– Go get this. It’s FREE! Use this with the free DCC materials to go play some games. This is just pure fun, pure crazy, and something that you can easily use to get the family and friends in the game. For the price of nothings, this will well worth checking out. 100%
Basics– In space, no one can hear how good this is. It Came from the Vast! is the second Starfinder playtest scenario. In it, space truckers find an abandoned ship, decide to make money on it, and find it is much more than they originally thought. This time for level five characters!
Mechanics or Crunch– So far so solid! The mechanics on display for the 5th level pregens and the five level adventure all work well. There is a variety of things here that the characters encounter, from monsters to haunts to skill checks. It’s just a solid experience for two hours. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– You’ve heard the beats before, but this song is still different enough to be fun. I too love me some Alien, but this one gets elements of The Thing involved as well. Solid fun all around, and different enough that my players and I all had a blast, even though we knew what was going to happen after we read the adventure description. 5/5
Execution– I liked this adventure, but it’s missing a few pieces. The standard layout of the PFS adventures with pictures at the end are not here. It has a good layout and is easy to read, but the pictures help me show players the monsters and other creatures involved. Also, I like the stat blocks to be separate. These are small things, but it hurts the presentation a bit. This is exactly the same as what I said for scenario one, and I still stand by that. 4.5/5
Summary– This is exactly what I want to see in a Science-Fantasy space horror. You got monsters, you got areas dripping with goo, you got space horrors and discovery, you got magic plant ships, you got ghosts of the dead. This is a fantastic short adventure that is easy to run, and fun for all. Give me back some of the older layout and this would be perfect. 97%
Basics– Go to new places, meet new people, and… make friends?! The drift crisis has opened up a world held in a glass bubble. This adventure gives a bit of world lore, a bit of mechanics, and a good chance to see how Starfinder 2nd Ed will work.
Mechanics or Crunch– This adventure works well mechanically. It has the basic breakdown of being a few skill checks to learn about the world that has been opened up, then some stuff happens, combat, trap, and final combat. It’s short, but all the DCs are within line of what to expect, and the combat is resonbably what I expected. You can not do anything too crazy in a level 1, so while short, it is expected and fun. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– This is a fun adventure, but not the most involved. As I said before, it’s skill checks, combat, trap, and final combat. Short, but not that complex. Then again, it’s level 1, so you can’t throw the PCs into too crazy an adventure. My players and I had fun, but be prepared to ham up roleplay. 4/5
Execution– I liked this adventure, but it’s missing a few pieces. The standard layout of the PFS adventures with pictures at the end are not here. It has a good layout and is easy to read, but the pictures help me show players the monsters and other creatures involved. Also, I like the stat blocks to be separate. These are small things, but it hurts the presentation a bit. 4.5/5Summary– This is a fun adventure, but maybe not the best Paizo has put out. It’s also a bit hard since it’s a level 1 adventure that is the same as a quest. Don’t expect multiple hours of crazy adventure, but do expect a short, fun intro to Starfinder 2nd Ed. It has a few faults, but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining. 90%
TL; DR-Why fight undead when you can fight the fey? 95%
Basics– Go to new places, meet new fey, and kill them! Graveclaw continues the Blood Lords adventure path as our heroes begin to track down the people who are involved in the poisoning plot and THEY ARE ALL FEY! Find the hags, kill them, and travel all around the land of Geb
Mechanics or Crunch– This adventure is a bit tougher for the players than most of what I’ve seen. The players had fun, but they took some beating compared to most of my Pathfinder experience. That’s not bad, but it can get discouraging as they have to keep fighting again and again to stay alive. It’s a fun adventure, but something that might turn away some players with some slight balance issues. Also, the faction system is broken. I like the general idea, but right now I and my players still don’t know what the points do. More guidance is needed to really bring this out for everyone. 4.75/5
Theme or Fluff– The story here is good, but disjointed. The major plot of finding who is responsible for killing everything is fully on display. That said, this adventure is more vignettes as the players learn where a hag is, go there, meet locals who hate her, go to her home, and kill her. Repeat till four hags die. It’s not bad, but a bit too disconnected for a full flowing story. But when hanging out with a magic drugged up Vampire lord on a bender is on the itinerary, who cares? 4.5/5
Execution– Overall solid work from Paizo with one problem that I will dock because I am petty. Solid lay out, eat to read, and good art all make this a great product. Things that would make me happy are maps that fit into Roll20, but Paizo backed Foundry instead. That’s understandable. It’s hyperlinked, so it’s nice for my tablet. The ONE thing that drove me up a wall was the last fight. The final boss is listed in one place, when you go there, it then references a second area. That annoyed me as the other creatures in the fight are listed in the first area. So, I end up bouncing between three places in a book. DON’T DO THAT! Aside from that one annoyance, Paizo makes a solid book. 4.95/5
Summary– Blood Lords continues to be some of the most fun I have had in Pathfinder that Paizo doesn’t like to admit too. It’s most definitely not a a standard hero story as the players often are not great heroes but aspiring evil lords. This particular part is good, but misses a few too many things to be amazing. The adventure is brutal, but not bad. The story is a bit disjointed, but still flows. The execution as always is good. I will definitely be returning for the third part of this path! 95%
TL; DR– Want to play some Pathfinder in space? 95%
Basics– Pathfinder 2nd ed IN SPACE! Ok, let’s look deep into this deep space RPG.
Base Mechanics- Do you remember pathfinder 2nd Ed? If you are proficient in a thing, it’s proficiency bonus (trained, expert, master, or legendary) + ability modifier + level + d20. Not proficient? D20 + ability modifier. This is versus AC or some static number from another character. That’s it! If you love Pathfinder 2nd Ed, you can instantly play this one.
This is a full RPG, but honestly if you have the Pathfinder basics down, then you are ready to go! Let’s look at my thoughts.
Mechanics or Crunch– I love Pathfinder 2nd Ed, so this is perfect. This feels a bit better balanced from small things like cantrips doing damage based on level. The changes that were imposed to make the 3.5 to Pathfinder 2nd ed transfer are solid, like Aim for the Operative class making them equivalent Pathfinder 2nd Ed ranged rogues. All the new changes from the standard Pathfinder 2nd ed formula work well adapted to the space opera of Starfinder. It’s what I expected, but still enjoyable. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– This is solid, but things are missing. We have the basics of the world, but some things are lost and have to be lost. A big one for me is the notion of stamina. I loved stamina and hit points being different. Now, you just have hit points. That changes the flavor a bit. It needed to go for Starfinder to work in Pathfinder 2nd Ed’s mechanics, but it’s a change that loses some of the originality of Starfinder. Other things work well like the mystic, Starfinder’s cleric-ish character, having a giant pool of hit points that it can use to heal any character in the group. This feels like a fun new addition to the Pathfinder system. The changes are good, but some flavor is lost in the transition. 4.5/5
Execution– Starfinder 2nd ed is well done, but I feel I want a few changes. The layout and PDF is well done. Also, given this book is free it is instantly amazing. You can easily speed read through any section and skim to find the information you need. But I want more summary tables. Skill feats have nice tables, giving summaries of each of the different feats and the full feat is below with its full write up. Class feats are not written that way. Archive of Nethys does this better; it has all class feats in nice tables that you can read via hyperlink. Make those tables for each class to make it easier to read! Also, this may be a bit petty, but Pathfinder 2nd Ed started using titles in their PDF files. This document does not. PLEASE DO THAT. I don’t want to have to memorize long strings of digits to know what files I need to open for game night! And last but not least, missing are the major rules I was hoping for: space ships. Ship combat in Starfinder was fun, BUT you had to want it. And most players did not, based on how the adventures are written. This book does not have spaceship combat. I know Paizo knows how to make Pathfinder 2nd Ed work. They do fantastic jobs on Pathfinder 2nd Ed, but I don’t know how they plan to handle space ships. The absence of these rules is something experienced Starfinders will feel. 4.75/5
Summary– Go get this PDF! It’s free, so I need to tell everyone to check this out. I love Pathfinder 2nd Ed, and I watched Star Wars Ewok adventures on VHS so many times as a child I broke the video tape. Starfinder is the system that was built for the Starfinder game, but saw a few issues. Starfinder 2nd Ed is a solid progression of the Starfinder brand. There are issues, and some of those will be fixed when the full rules come out and others are just growing pains of the system. Others are just CHANGE HOW YOU NAME THINGS! But, even with a few small issues, this game is a solid RPG that you should check out. 95%
Basics– MECHS IN SPACE! ION Heart is a solo RPG where you play a random character exploring a random galaxy with a random mech. Let’s break this down and look over the basics and system itself.
Base Mechanics- This is a d6 RPG. It is VERY low crunch. You have some basic bonuses with a +1 and a -1 being the biggest changes to a roll you see in the quickstart guide. If you want to do a thing, roll a d6, add any modifiers you have, and see if you hit the target number, usually a 4. It’s quick and efficient.
Character building- RANDOM! This book has either 1 to 3 or 1 to 6 options at every choice. Build a pilot? There are six races and three backgrounds. You can choose or roll. Same for the mechs.
Adventures- When you go on an adventure, you roll to see the type of planet you land on, the type of settlement, and the type of adventure you will go on. For each adventure, you roll three times to have three different adventures of the five provided, sixth being choose one, and then have a final conclusion adventure. Each mini adventure mostly has you roll one time and see if you succeed or fail.
That’s the basics, let’s dig into my thoughts.
Mechanics or Crunch– I don’t hate games with small mechanics, and this one does well with what it is. It’s not very deep, but that’s not the experience of this game. I LOVE me some Shadowrun shenanigans with crazy levels of crunch, but this is a much more low key, Lo-Fi RPG. If you want 90 minutes of math for a roll, this isn’t the experience for you. But I’m interested. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– This, like many other solo RPGs, is almost more about what you bring to the game than what it brings to you. The mini adventures and places ask you to describe them. You take the time to write out what you think and see. This is almost more like a creative writing exercise than just a game. That’s not bad, but I feel the dependence on randomness for the tables is a bit too much and takes away a bit of the charm. The game is still full of story and an intriguing universe, but too much randomness spoils the product. 4.5/5
Execution– The product itself looks great and the things you can get are awesome, but it’s a bit pricey. To get a physical basic book, it’s 30 pounds. That feels a bit pricey. To get a book to write your adventures into you need to pledge 80 pounds. That’s again too much. The art is nice, and the write up is well done and easy to read. The layout is fantastic and I enjoy the minimalist art. Just the price keeps me away a bit. 4.5/5
Summary– This book backerkit leaves me interested. The game is a creative exercise with some math and fun randomness. The things I don’t like are too much randomness and too high a price. The digital only 15 pound option has me most intrigued. That feels like a fair option to get me into bettering myself as a writer, having space adventures, and seeing the full product. This is one to check out, but know exactly what you want out of this game. 93%
TL; DR-A few issues don’t keep this from being a fun book. 93%
Basics– Game over man, GAME OVER! Colonial Marines Operation Manual expands on the world of Aliens, focusing on the military men and women who will defend the frontier from both men and monsters. This book features a few new careers, talents, and items for the players and for the GM it has a TON of story and a whole campaign.
Mechanics or Crunch– This is a classic example of what’s here is good, but there needs to be more. There are a TON of ships and tanks, so if you wanted to have more of that in the game, you are going to love this. But there is not much new for characters to directly build themselves. What’s here is good however. The new military careers are fantastic and will make your character feel more like they are more than just generic soldiers. I would just like more player specific options. For the GM, there is an impressive amount here to throw around with a guide on how to make a military campaign and a full military campaign in the book! 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff– Want to learn over 200 years of history and culture in a book? This is that book! This book goes deep into the lore of the universe, and it’s well done. You get small glimpses into individual soldiers’ lives and an overview of nearly two centuries of corporate intrigue and international and planetary politics. This doesn’t even cover all the multitude of new aliens added to the lore or added to this game. This is a solid story hit. 5/5
Execution– I like what’s here, but don’t completely love it. The layout is ok, but it’s lots of green boxes with a black background. There are pictures, but not many when it comes to the aliens. Humans and weapons yes, which I like, but not many to show the new xenomorphs. The book does read easily and has hypertext, so I love that. The campaign is good, but I don’t like the layout as I feel some of the style hides the lead and makes it a bit hard to run on the fly. But, I do appreciate it. I’d like the pregens to be separate, but they do exist in the book. Not as character sheets, but as blocks that you can print out. It’s good, but I would like a few improvements. 4.5/5
Summary– If you want to run a military campaign for the Alien RPG, this is the book you need. Heck, it comes with a military campaign so you don’t event need to do hard work as a GM for the first 8 sessions! It’s not perfect; I want more player options and some changes to layout and writing. But these are small complaints compared to the parts of the book that are well done. 93%
TL; DR-Solid nature materials with a layout misstep. 98%
Basics– Who let the centaurs in the sub? Howl of the Wild is a character options book with new races, spells, items, and archetypes for characters who want a bit more animal in their characters. In addition, the book has a framing story about an expedition to uncover the guardians of the wild and the monsters they encounter, providing GMs with new monsters and story hooks for them to dig into.
Mechanics or Crunch– Paizo knows their math and it shows here. The new items, options, monsters, and characters all expand Pathfinder into fun new places. And the new grafts allow characters who are plain human to even get into the action. Some archetypes require the characters to have some animal parts, but with the right addition, anyone can play. It doesn’t feel exclusionary, but lets people specialize into something new at the same time. The monsters are fun and bring some old creatures back into the mix as well. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– Howl of the Wild feels like it fits in Golarion and adds to it at the same time. I love the new races, and since its set far away from the main setting areas, they don’t feel like they are tacked on. The new stuff all fits into the world and has fun descriptions and art to help you see what the authors wanted to add. I also enjoyed the story the book told as the explorers try to find the guardians of nature. They do, AND THEY ARE BIG. If you want some end bosses for a nature based game, here you go! 5/5
Execution– This book is good, but feels like a step back for Paizo’s normal work. What’s here is good. I like the flow and pictures, but this book doesn’t have the short tables and descriptions of feats, spells, and items. It honestly makes it a pain. Also, while there are dividing pictures, the different sections are not as well defined. One change to a new subject was so jarring, I redownloaded my copy thinking I missed some pages in an error. I figured it out, but the older layout decisions are a better way to display the materials. I’d rather have less stuff and more tables to summarize all the pieces than too much to really take in. 4.5/5
Summary– This is a good book with a single error. I love the new crunch; it adds new character options and even tools for the GM to get to play with. These are all great additions to the game. I love the new story. It’s fun to see a new part of the world and to see the new characters who live in it. It also builds out the world for the GM, so they can make new stories and monsters to challenge the players. My one issue is the layout. What’s here is good. It reads fast and easily, but the lack of tables makes skimming hard. As both a GM and a player, I want to be able to skim character feats, spells, and items quickly. Bring those back! But, overall this is a good addition to the world of Pathfinder. Check this out if you want to walk on the wild side. 98%
Basics– You know what Vikings need? NUKES! Death Metal is less about hard core bass riffs and more about particle physics and Norse scientists inventing nukes to finally deal with those pesky giants. Death Metal refers to radioactive metals that cause death in those that play with them. This book has class options, story and theme, and weapons for both When the Wolf Comes and standard Shadow of the Demon Lord.
Mechanics or Crunch– Death Metal has a decent amount of toys for the GM and player. There are three expert and four master paths. This is primarily written for When the Wolf Comes, but it crosses into standard Demon Lord, so the mythic paths are not tied to race. I honestly enjoy that more. It has a few alternative race options for your characters to take in Wolf as well. There are rules for nukes. Everyone loves handheld nuke grenades, so that’s new fun for the party. There is not a ton of new crunch here as this is very much a theme heavy book. It’s good, but I would like a bit more. Overall it’s solid work that fits well into the crunch that’s out there already. 4.75 /5
Theme or Fluff– This is where the book shines the most. There is LOTS of story for both Wolf and Demon Lord here. Heck, as a chemist, any book that includes what the Norse would have called beta particles makes me irrationally happy. You have an in-lore explanation of why different Norse races would have made reactors, and in Demon Lord you have a story about how a space man created a space elevator to get home and left nuclear tech with some people stuck in gothic horror. It’s a ton of fun! 5 /5
Execution– This book is easy to read, fun to read, hyperlinked, and has good art. That’s honestly all I want in a book. For the page length, the price is pretty standard, but I need to stress it’s well put together. 5/5
Summary– Nothing like nuclear Vikings and atomic weapons to brighten your day or entire coast line! This is a solid book adding new fun twists to both Demon Lord and Wolf. I enjoy how these are added and and something that you can bring in if you want. The crunch is good, but maybe need more. The story is amazing, and something I enjoyed reading from multiple angles. The book itself is a pleasure to read. This is something you should check out if you play Demon Lord or Wolf! 98%
Basics– Why don’t we fight about the rules! OSR is to RPG as metal is to music. OSR is an EXTREME rules light RPG. Let’s break this down.
Base Mechanics- This is a d10 based system. You want to do a thing? Roll a d10 and add a bonus from the associated statistics. You get a 6, you succeed! Or not, if the Master(GM) decides the number is higher, or if he or she is just mad that day! This is a rules based game, but not the kind of game where there are many rules.
Combat- Combat is quick and simple. All characters roll initiative. Then in initiative order, you get 2 actions. Actions are moving, attacks, reloading, and anything else you might want to do. When you do an action, you can make it heroic by spending XP and roll on an epic table where you may be awesome or completely fail!
And honestly that’s it!
Mechanics or Crunch– This is an interesting one that might be too streamlined! The game is VERY theme heavy and rules light. It might be so rules light that new players might not know how to play, much like early DnD needing a friend to bring you into the cult because the rules were so obscure. That said, it aims to be very punk forward and rules light. And in that it succeeds. What this book does have that is amazing is over 100 pages of random tables full of crazy things for the players to interact with. However, I feel that the rules-light nature hurts it a bit when new players are learning what the hell is happening! 4/5
Theme or Fluff– You can say many things about OSR, but you cannot say it has no theme. This book oozes theme. It’s like hitting a rock concert after hard drugs in a spray painted van. Every page is full of crazy things, art, and words. It is an assault on the reader how much is going on on each page-in a fun way! 5 /5
Execution– This is a good book with one unforgivable sin. This is a fun book, but not a book that honestly reads easily. I “think” I know how to play by reading, but the layout makes following everything a bit hard. There is amazing stuff here, but the disorder overshadows the text. It honestly verges on the distracting sometimes. Also, there are multiple random characters, but I wonder if those are pregens or NPCs. Does it matter? This book also doesn’t have an adventure. Give me an adventure to play out of the box please! 4/5
Summary– Someone once said, hippies were mean people cosplaying as nice people and metalheads are nice people cosplaying as mean people. This book feels like that. The book is a full-on assault on the senses, but it’s fun. The layout of the rules are kind of all over the place and hard to follow but they are there. Also, they, meaning the author, the rules, or even the community of OSR players, don’t care if you use them or not. It’s more about crazy gonzo fun. And that is where the book succeeds. This is pure grab your buds, hope you played right, but if you had fun you had fun! It is not balanced in any way, nor is it any sort of guidance in how to run the game. But that’s not the kind of game this is. If you want some even-more-crazy-than-DCCRPG old school tabletop fun, then give OSR a try. If you need even a hint of structure, then this might not be for you. 87%
Throat Punch Games 