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Shadowrun: Shadow Stock: Ingentis Athletes
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 07/30/2020 10:21:48

Shadowrun: Shadow Stock - Ingentis Athletes provides ten non-player characters, all trolls, sharing a sports theme and information on the troll meta-variants (cyclops, formorians, giants, and minotaurs). More useful for Game Masters than players, it would have been supported by providing more context for the role of trolls in sport in the Sixth World and a few examples of shadowruns where sports were directly (or indirectly) involved.

Shadowrun: Shadow Stock - Ingentis Athletes, is the first of the Shadow Stock resources for Shadowrun, Sixth World Edition, providing NPCs organized around a theme and new character options, trying to be something for everyone.

It begins with a brief in game introduction which boils down to “here are a bunch of athletes and ex-athletes who are operating in the shadows.” Then on to the characters!

The ten characters cover a wide range of sports from football and soccer to urban brawl and “azzieball” (and no, that later one is not really explained) and have a wide range of skills: brawlers, drivers and even organizers. Sometimes there is a little mismatch between character description and the skills the character has and, since many of these seem like they could be used for player characters, it seems odd they are not given knowledge skills as well. But most of the characters have more than one way they can be brought into games which is good design. Lacking is any actual character art, there are a few generic troll pieces but nothing specific to the characters and only one that touches on the sports theme.

The work concludes with an in-game world discussion among the various troll variant types about how they differ, which is an amusing read, and then game mechanics for the variants.

Overall, a solid if niche work, nice to see some broadening of roles for trolls. I look forward to seeing more of the Shadow Stock line.

Note: Read more reviews and other gaming articles at my journal https://seaofstarsrpg.wordpress.com/



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Shadowrun: Shadow Stock: Ingentis Athletes
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BattleTech: Chaos Campaign: Succession Wars
by Epik S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/29/2020 18:51:48

I got my print-on-demand version and everything checks out. No damage on arrival, no printing errors and most of all, no problems.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
BattleTech: Chaos Campaign: Succession Wars
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Shadowrun: Krime Katalog
by Andrew K. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/20/2020 20:32:36

No. Such a lack of imagination. You own Shadowrun. There are a ton of brand names you could have used for all of the equipment. All you had to do was plagiarize yourself and this would have been way better. Bring back the Street Samurai Catalog. This RPG practically invented this style of book. Why is this so bad?

The pink shabby neon light logo looks exactly like this trashy stripper joint I used to drive by on my way to work.

And why are their more Shadowrun 6th edition books in German than English? They are better quality too.

+1 star for being in color.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
Shadowrun: Krime Katalog
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Shadowrun, Sixth World Core Rulebook: City Edition: Seattle
by Chris P. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 06/30/2020 16:11:07

I think this was a noble effort to streamline a game that can be very clunky at times. However, there is a noticeable lack of proof-reading (references to concepts from 5th ed that were removed in this version make for some confusion) and probably playtesting.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Shadowrun, Sixth World Core Rulebook: City Edition: Seattle
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Shadowrun: Tales from the UCAS: Age of Rust
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 06/28/2020 12:07:41

Shadowrun: Tales from the UCAS: Age of Rust is a missed opportunity, a sourcebook for the Omaha, Nebraska, region which is undergoing a period of unique instability and change making it a potential hotspot for the sort of work Shadowrunners do. Unfortunately, it fails in providing anything beyond the most basic plot hooks and minimal background material.

Shadowrun: Tales from the UCAS: Age of Rust, is location/adventure resource for Shadowrun, Sixth World Edition, expanding on the situation in part of the UCAS and providing adventure hooks.

It begins with an introductory piece laying out what the situation is in Omaha, Nebraska, where due to border shifts and changes in the UCAS, NORAD has withdrawn from the Offutt air force base here (where it apparently relocated after the creation of the NAN) leaving a massive economic and political hole in the local area. But with instability comes opportunity for some and that is what this work tries to present.

The next seven pages (almost half of the product) are game world artifacts, conversations, reports and such like talking about the situation in Omaha followed by two pages of in-setting analysis from commentators. While a fun way to present data, this could have been condensed a bit more to provide more room for other material.

Next we have some information on the city of Omaha itself, which is only two and a half pages and somehow fails to mention organized crime or notable fixers, both things that visitors from the wrong side (i.e., shadowrunners) might want to know something about. Nor does it mention the local Henry Doorly Zoo, sport teams, universities or a host of other cultural things that might be of interest.

The next section is on looting NORAD, while I entirely approve of base crawls as a style of adventure there is not much here to help out a GM. It suggests that weapons (naming AK-97s as a potential find, a Russian made weapon, really?) and ammo might be found and what magical assensing can show at the only three locations it names on the base. In fact it only devotes a page and a half, and almost a page of that is what they can find assensing, to what could be really interesting exploration mini-campaign. A huge missed opportunity.

Lastly there is a new vehicle and a half explanation of one of the strange events which refers the reader to a PDF only sourcebook for a previous edition! As the last page was only half used, they could have as least explained it in broad strokes.

While an interesting read it is simply not very usable as is, there are plot hooks but no useful support is for them and one, I quote “More information about what Buzzard Transit is up to will come in future books” which essentially says, do not use Buzzard for anything but background because otherwise we will contradict you in a future published supplement. No maps, and it needed at least three: one for Omaha, one of the local area (to show NAN encroachment) and one for the base. No index either but that is at tolerable for such a short work.

Note: Read more reviews and other gaming articles at my journal https://seaofstarsrpg.wordpress.com/



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Shadowrun: Tales from the UCAS: Age of Rust
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Shadowrun: Firing Squad (Core Combat Rulebook)
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 06/13/2020 21:51:19

Shadowrun: Firing Squad is the first sourcebook for the Sixth World Edition of Shadowrun covering combat, always an important part of the game. The new equipment, combat options and advice widely expand the tactical choices and the discussions of the role of violence and its place in the world and characters’ lives allow for interesting roleplaying if that is your focus. A must have for any Shadowrun GM and any player who enjoy combat focused characters.

Shadowrun: Firing Squad, is the Core Combat Book for Shadowrun, Sixth World Edition, expanding on the combat side of the game through new gear and new rules and options. Pretty much everything a street samurai could need.

It begins with a short introduction laying out what is in the book, then we have one of the ubiquitous fiction sections, before we find the Weapons Rack section, more new toys for the violently inclined ranging from new melee weapons to guns of all sizes to crowd control water cannons. More options are always good and there is something for just about everyone, lethal, less lethal, probably non-lethal, big, small, it is all here. There are also new ammo types (two) and gear mods (though more of those later). Even a combat chainsaw (from the Ash Arms)! It does fill in some needed gabs, like a portable flame thrower but has some strangeness, such as why the ‘Xiphos’ Tactical Gladius, which is literally modeled on the classic Roman short sword, is an exotic weapon? The second part of the weapons rack section is new weaponry from rEVOlution Arms, weapon designed by Monads (if you have not been following the metaplot, human bodies and brains inhabited by AI) which all use the wild die, which has not seen much use in the game until now, and include wacky things like laser weaponry, PULSE stunners, and more. I have serious game balance questions about some of them (PULSE stunner I am looking at you) but they mostly seem like interesting bleeding edge technology to add to the game.

Suit Up comes next, which is defense to the previous section’s offense, it also introduces a “social rating” for clothes and armor that affects edge gain in social situations (surprise!). So you get everything from Ares customized ‘Bug Stomper’ armor and Mil-Spec armor to high fashion from Armante and Vashion Island. There are also a wide variety of possible modification to armor, some of which are extremely effective and will be highly sought after including one (“mystic weave”) which actually provides some protection against magic!

Customizing Weapons follows which is a section about . . . customizing weapons. Long, short, heavy, light, guns, melee, guns that are melee weapons, it is all here, get the precise weapon you want. My favorite has to be custom style which lets you get a social bonus from a properly decorated gun!

Honing Your Edge provides advice on planning for combat and basic tactics. Much of this is in character, in game world discussion which makes it more interesting. But there are also rules for tactical formations and tactical networks to give mechanical effect to the applied tactics. This is followed by Sharp Combat which includes 32(!) new Edge Actions and two new Edge Boosts. This seems like a lot of Edge Actions, because it is, but it includes all of the sorts of special maneuvers that were separate actions in previous editions, wrapping them all into Edge Actions makes sense. Play will see if tracking all the Edge Actions becomes unwieldy and if they are all relatively balanced. This section ends with Martial Arts, giving players more things to spend their precious karma on in exchange for additional options in combat. The new form of martial arts developed in the Sixth World is easily my favorite part of this section.

These Violent Delights looks at the use of violence as a tool, especially for people such as shadowrunners, both in a moral and practical context, this discussion is again almost all in world. Then it looks at some of the codes of honor existing in the Sixth World, adds a new negative quality of Pacifism and has some additional tweaks to the heat and reputation rules.

Violent Ends looks at the trauma receiving and inflicting violence can cause to people both from an in world perspective and gives mechanical rules for suffering and recovering from trauma. While I appreciate the concept and the deeper understanding of the problems of violence, actually using such rules to inflict trauma on characters seems likely to make players unhappy, so I would suggest discussing it with them before using these rules.

The last section is Fighting Forces which provide statistics for various security forces, paramilitaries (read Humanis) and gangs. Especially for the security forces I would have liked a little more information about standard unit size, expected deployments and, although basic tactics are mentioned, I would have liked that expended on as well.

The book concludes with tables of new equipment, which is nice but would be better if: 1) it incorporated the weapons from the core book, and 2) if the rEVOlution Arms listing included what sort of weapons they are as the alphabetical listing of names is not always clear. The armor list does include the armor from the core book to include the new social rating. As is sadly usual, there is no index.

Note: Read more reviews and other gaming articles at my journal https://seaofstarsrpg.wordpress.com/



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Shadowrun: Firing Squad (Core Combat Rulebook)
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BattleTech Touring the Stars: Jardine
by Daryk Z. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 06/06/2020 07:04:05

A perfect companion to the recently released fiction about this world. And the price is right! As a fan of older eras, the look into Jardine's past was particularly enjoyable. The Touring the Stars format provides an excellent balance between detail and flexbility for players and GMs to build their own stories. More please!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
BattleTech Touring the Stars: Jardine
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BattleTech Touring the Stars: Jardine
by Simon S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 06/02/2020 06:54:29

So, as a person who loves the Battletech Jihad plot line, I was thrilled to get this PDF into my hands. To this days, Jardine - the prime example of the five hidden worlds - remains a world with which I associate much of the mystery and secrets surrounding the Word of Blake. Driven by fiction (The Hunt for Jardine) I was eager to know more about this secretive world where WOB obviously built and maintained an important asset for its plan to dominate the Inner Sphere and the Clans. Although the focus of the 'Touring the Stars' series of PDFs is definitely on the RPG side, there is enough RO(O)M to set up your own BattleMech action besides a running ATOW campaign. There are tables with maps selection, two maps of the planet surface (including one with the strategic invasion map which I like so much), and other details that come handy for Alpha Strike and Total Wardare sessions. In my opinion, every Jihad should get this to round up her/his collection.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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BattleTech Touring the Stars: Jardine
by Simon C. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 05/31/2020 05:54:05

Providing a little more in depth glimpse of the wob machinations it's focused primarily on a time of war

Would have been good to have seen a little more battlemechyness, maybe a single map battle armour/infantry vehicular action as Dr Stephens escapes from some Domini 52nd troops to escape the planet, maybe a corrisponding alpha strike version to bring the products into line



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Shadowrun: 30 Nights (Campaign Book)
by Sean H. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 05/25/2020 08:37:24

Shadowrun: 30 Nights is a Campaign Book for Shadowrun detailing Ottawa and setting 30 “Nights” worth of adventurers there. There is some good information and some interesting adventures, some of which can be adapted to other situations, but not a required book unless you want to play in Ottawa or need ideas for adventures set during the Blackout part of the metaplot.

Shadowrun: 30 Nights, is a Campaign Book for Shadowrun, Sixth World Edition, letting players experience the UCAS blackouts (as discussed in Shadowrun: Cutting Black) directly.

It begins with an introduction with describes the terrible things that happened in the 1977 New York Blackout and leads into a brief discussion of the layout of the nights/ adventures. Then there is one of the required fiction pieces. Next we get a description of Ottawa, UCAS, it is short (twelve pages) but useful including such things as talismongers and weird mana zones within the city but it is lacking a map of the city, which would be exceedingly helpful as places are continually referenced in the city description and the adventures that follow.

The meat of the book is the 30 Nights, each one a situation that must be coped with, overcome or avoided. The nights are divided into several chains of linked sequences if the GM wants to focus on particular themes.

The adventures are varied, starting with building up a safe haven followed by traditional shadowrunner missions, some mysteries, some magical threats, a mixed bag. Most are more adventure frameworks than full adventures requiring considerable work from the GM to make playable. Many of them look fun but a few have real issues. One of these is a mystery where you are trying to learn about a sinister group performing rituals, there are three points where to move to the next stage one particular clue need to be found and that right leap must be made to move forward, and two of those require getting information from people who are likely to be uncooperative if not hostile. This is poor design. Another in a jail break from a Lone Star containment facility that is covered in less than three pages and has no map (in fact, nothing has a map).

Also, there is some issue with the framing of the whole Blackout/30 Nights, it is predicated on something all mysterious knocking out all the functioning tech in multiple cities across the UCAS. So, for the entire adventure period, there is no way to reliably access the Matrix, no power, no vehicles, the GM is reminded not to screw over decker and rigger characters with this by directly trashing their stuff but they are still crippled as characters. There is a little discussion of this in the first few nights but not much about practical things such as how do you network with your contacts without the Matrix (no phone, no text) and no working vehicles?

There are a great number of NPCs, both named and generic, given stats in the back of the book along with a new creature and many new creature powers. Weirdly, there is an index to the NPCs right after the NPC section which is alphabetical, exactly as they are organized just a few pages before. Now, if this also noted which Nights the NPCs showed up in, this might actually be useful however, it does not and just seems like repetition (and, no, there is no other index).

There is fun to be had here but the GM should not be expecting to be able to pick the book up and use adventures, additional work will be needed. The GM should also make sure this kind of semi-apocalypse setting is what the players are interested in, as it is Shadowrun but maybe not the play experience everyone is looking for.

Note: Read more reviews and other gaming articles at my journal https://seaofstarsrpg.wordpress.com/



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Shadowrun: 30 Nights (Campaign Book)
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Shadowrun: Sixth World Activity Book
by Haden H. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 05/19/2020 19:42:53

Fun little PDF coloring book from the makers of Shadwrun. Basicly old SR artwork in B&W to print out and color. Murders the black ink, but was fun to color everything in with the kids.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Shadowrun: Sixth World Activity Book
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BattleTech: Shell Games
by Trevor R. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 05/18/2020 10:44:03

Jason writes an excellent book as always, the ending was not what I was expecting. I particularly don't like the Dark Age, even less than the Jihad, however, the recent novels have been of particularly better calibre than the previous MWDA novel series.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
BattleTech: Shell Games
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Shadowrun: Dreamchipper
by Michael d. V. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 05/09/2020 16:25:28

This is an underapreciated module. The structure is really well done, the plot is quite simple and not overly convoluted. The debugging sections offer enough tips and tricks to get the module back on the rails (in case your players throw a monkey wrench at you). The story can be easily lifted and ported to later editions of shadowrun and or other systems. The stat blocks are something else entirly. However, this is an absolute classic and is one of my go-to adventures when running one-offs and (re)introducting players to the game.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Shadowrun: Dreamchipper
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BattleTech: Activity Book
by Michael A. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 04/10/2020 17:45:52

Dang, so I can learn reading, coloring, and the optimization of medium lasers at the same time!?



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
BattleTech: Activity Book
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Shadowrun: Spy Games
by Barnaby S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/09/2020 05:26:30

Great design and layout, consistent with the origins of Shadowrun. Easy to integrate Denver into my own ideas and experience in the setting. Questions already conceived answered quickly. Works in well with Denver story arc modules I already had. A consistent piece that is kind to an experienced GM that wants to do a lot of preparation though not wanting to waste time doing unnecessary prep.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Shadowrun: Spy Games
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