This addition to Swords and Six-Siders really makes an already great game even better. Many more optional features, classes, spells, monsters, etc. are introduced in this supplement, and it is packed with the old-school goodness you'd expect. Clerics and their accompanying spells are finally in the game, along with “Pathfinders", which remind me of Rangers --- sans magic. There's also Alignment (even for Intelligent Swords!), Languages, Beyond 6th Level, Strongholds, Hirelings, Familiars, Move Ratings, Criticals and Fumbles, Special Damage (asphyxiation, fire, etc.), Traps---with a ton of them already made up for you!, and several new monsters. With this Companion and the Swords & Six-Siders RPG you have almost everything you'd find in the other retroclones, but only needing 1d6 to pull it off instead of a full set of polyhedral dice! The thought of a 1d6-OSR anything seemed impossible in my mind ‘til I took this system for a spin. I'm SO glad I did! Everything is much simpler… combat, monster stats, you name it! Get Swords & Six-Siders and this Swords & Six-Siders Companion and dial back all the complexity but keep all the flavor for yourself! You absolutely deserve it!!!

This is a slim, but well-designed 3rd Party supplement (the first!) for Precis Intermedia's Swords & Six-Siders RPG (available here: http://www.rpgnow.com/product/234805/Swords--SixSiders?term=swords+six&test_epoch=0). It introduces a small setting location with applicable npcs, a few new monsters, a new race, a "rumor" table that doubles as a set of adventure seeds (brilliant, by the way), and original artwork into a minimal amount of pages. Everything you'd expect to see in a bigger work for a given game is in here (except a map)... but, it's a watchtower on a set of hills... do you really need one? This is the first of what I truly hope becomes a series of Christopher Cortright-authored S&SS 3rd party add-ons. He really puts a little of everything into (and ensures you get the most out of) such a tiny product :) You can ask stuff about Granite County Locales, or learn more about Swords & Six-Siders at the G+ Community where the respective authors of this supplement and the main game system frequent: https://plus.google.com/communities/100500584349717966351

Disliked: Nothing! Liked: Everything!

Swords & Six-Siders is basically a 1d6 version of the original role-playing game. It is dripping with old-school goo (that's a GOOD thing), from writing to art to the feeling of nostalgia just by reading it. No other dice are used except a good ol' d6, the most convenient type that is accessible in every home, even if you have to raid a dusty old board game tucked in a closet. Your standard races are present (Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, Human) and there are three of the four familiar classes (Fighter, Thief, Wizard). No Clerics, but there is the Myrmidon class which is a compromise since they can fight and cast spells. Your level of play goes from 1-6, the equivalency of levels 1-12 in other OSR games. Monsters are handled so efficiently by the genius of using Monster Levels (ML) to determine their stats. No more extensive stat blocks followed by long-toothed descriptions. Combat's a cinch. Roll 1d6 +/- any modifiers and hit the opponent's Armor Class. Other things I like about the game is that any natural roll of "6" is a success and "1" is a failure. Yep, even the greatest heroes and foes have at least a 1-in-6 probability of flubbing, and the weakest still have a chance for success. This game is so easy to build your own adventures, races, and monsters for -- and with the forthcoming supplement license, we'll soon be creating and sharing our ideas enough to elevate this little gem of a game to new heights previously unimaginable. With enough buy-in from all of the great OSR gamers and authors (and there are a TON of you, FWIW), it should be a fun ride!

Disliked: Myrmidons instead of Clerics - easily remedied with the Supplement license... hint, hint ;) Liked: Everything else!

Fat Goblin Games’ 8-Bit Adventures Series for Pathfinder has helped peel back some years by allowing us to re-live some classic video games via tabletop RPG format. So far we’ve been treated to evil turtles tyrannizing mushroom land, hunting the bloodthirsty in an unholy castle, and now this one (if you can’t guess from the cover and "The Legend of..." title, you’re not trying).

Creatures are up first, with advice given on which to cannibalize from existing Pathfinder Bestiaries, suggestions on tweaking others to retro-fit the Kingdom of Highland, and a few "originals" slightly altered from our old-school gaming console cartridges.

Feats (like Bomb Jump and Shield Rider), Spells (such as Freezing Ray), Spring Spears, Lava Armor, etc. all follow, and provide that same, wonderful (8-) bit of nostalgic flair. They seem pretty spot-on for this setting, so you should get acquainted with them a bit before squaring off in the Campaign Kit at this supplement’s end against the cursed CR 16 Boss, Droch-lann and his monstrous minions...

After all, Princess Zena and the Kingdom of Highland are counting on you!

Liked: Layout, writing, setting familiarity, creative arrangement of adventures to allow for a larger campaign, and an option to play The Legend of Heroes as a one-on-one adventure. Disliked: Not having a "Lirk" write-up? (J/K)

Well, if you read my review of Expanding Worlds: New Races Volume 1, you'll gather that this supplement was also written for Mikael Hassel's Dungeon Questing (a 2d6 RPG based on Swords & Wizardry: White Box, which can be purchased here: http://www.rpgnow.com/product/182010/Dungeon-Questing). In Expanding Worlds: New Races Volume 2, Lewis & Cortright, not to be confused with Lewis & Clark (even though they seem inseparable as well in RPG circles and projects), offer up yet another half dozen monsters as PCs to expand the Dungeon Questing fantasy race count total to 16 choices. Yeah, SIXTEEN races... there's literally something for everyone now!!! Which races do you get this time around you're wondering? Well, obviously Centaurs (one happens to grace the cover, after all)... but I'll save them for last. The authors actually delivered some other oldies but goodies -- or "baddies", more appropriately -- by including both Minotaurs and Ratlings. Although, in typical Hard Luck Ink fashion, everything is not always what you're used to... and that's a GOOD THING, not bad. These Minotaurs are just a bit more intellectual than the brutes you've doubtlessly encountered or played in your old-school adventures, and the Ratlings contained herein aren't quite as loathsome, but are still hideous nonetheless. Thankfully, we are also given a couple of other classic PC monster tropes that, although differ in name and appearance, are very similar in the forms of Avians (think Aarakocra of old or the more modern Tengu) and Raptors (the Saurians we never got to play, but should've -- velociraptors)!!! Thank you guys here and now for righting the unintentional and unknowable wrong that the original RPG's authors subjected us to well before Jurassic Park's time!!! The Golems (no, not those Golems -- or Gollums for that matter) are nicely done. I never would've thought of playing an arcane-mechanical character in a fantasy setting before, but reading this entry really has me wanting to! Lastly, the aforementioned Centaurs... This is a rare case indeed where I'm happy to not see much deviation from the traditional race. Not everything needs re-inventing, and sometimes the classics should remain the classics. Christopher Cortright and Anthony Lewis of Hard Luck Ink have really outdone themselves here. Well done, guys. And, for anyone on the fence about Dungeon Questing, or wanting to know more about its 3rd party products, feel free give their google+ community a peak or a poke: https://plus.google.com/communities/100830436427332017335?sed=1 LIKED: Nice array of varied races for the OSR (everything from birds to golemoids to sentient velociraptors), easy-to-read fonts, justified text where appropriate, clean layout, no noticeable typos :-), affordable price point DISLIKE: Tigers (not really, just seeing if Anthony's paying attention)

This supplement details 6 additional character races for use with Dungeon Questing (an alternate and AWESOME 2d6 take on Swords & Wizardry: White Box, which can be purchased here: http://www.rpgnow.com/product/182010/Dungeon-Questing).

In Expanding Worlds: New Races Volume 1, you'll get your gnomes, half-elves, and half-orcs that you probably once converted from the "Advanced" version of the most popular RPG to your "Original Edition" games.

But authors Christopher Cortright and Anthony Lewis didn't just include those in this work's digital pages... No, instead, they iced the cake with Pixies, Satyrs, and Catfolk - sorry - Panthera, as well.

Pixies, you say? But they're too unbalanced for character play! Not true in this product. The authors took care of that whole "always invisible and extremely hard to hit" racial advantage that causes most Referees/Gamemasters to disallow their players to use 'em as PC's (and rightly so)! These Pixies are actually a bit more like the type found in the old Creature Crucible: Tall Tales of the Wee Folk supplement for the Rules Cyclopedia, for which I'm grateful.

On to Panthera: these aren't your run-of-the-mill Pathfinder or D&D 3.x Catfolk, nor are they Tabaxi or Rakasta. This race, while bearing some traits of all the aforementioned feline humanoids, still manages to have its own identity. And, you guessed it, Panthera (like Pixies), do not tip the balance scale in their favor vs. the other Dungeon Questing races.

As for Satyrs, Cortright and Lewis took some liberties here too - and unlike most freeform thinking where authors throw stuff at a wall to see if it sticks, they don't (at least not always) :-) Their Satyrs display traits you're used to seeing come from "traditional pixies" in most games, being pranksters and whatnot -- I was wondering how they would fill that void left by taking a somewhat different approach with their Pixies -- but, crisis averted!

Heck, there's so much more inside Expanding Worlds: New Races Volume 1 than I've mentioned in this review, but the rest I'll leave for other reviewers to mention, or readers to discover for themselves.

I think $1 for this game add-on is a steal, none of these options are too weak or powerful, and seamlessly blend with all the other core Dungeon Questing races. The only thing I would have liked more is... more races, but they did that in their follow-up Expanding Worlds: New Races Volume 2 (yep, also only a single dollar and well worth it)!

Give these races a try, Hard Luck Ink deserves better fortune (ha), and could use some better ink :-D

LIKED: Everything! DISLIKED: Nothing!

This is a beautifully done and most welcome supplement for the Castle Falkenstein RPG line. I have often wondered why no bestiary ever existed for such a GREAT GAME (see what I did there?).

This volume doesn't just contain common animals and mythical critters as opponents, familiars, and pets. No, that would be too simple. You also get an adventure hook for all of the fantastical ones, rules to play as beast folk and unicorns (move over dragons?), new abilities (such as animal handling, animal speech, and outdoorsmanship), new character types (like big game hunters, falconers, and lion tamers), several notables from the time period (ex: Dr. Doolittle, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, Grizzly Adams, Mowgli, etc.), and even a few dinosaurs. And, as if that wasn't enough, this work also provides you with guidelines to create your own creatures as well!

I've been waiting for an add-on like this ever since first stumbling upon Castle Falkenstein long ago. The writing is evocative of the era, the layout is beyond gorgeous, and it delivers in spades (or swords, if you prefer). I have but only two minor complaints... Firstly, the Basilisk/Cockatrice entry states "Amphisbaena" in the main stat block header. Secondly, the dinosaurs are a bit disappointing. If only so few were to be included, it would've helped to present ones like Deinonychus, Pteranodon, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, and Tyrannosaurus Rex for the Hosts (Gamemasters for the unenlightened) that don't have time for the creature creation process, or can't comprehend how to stat them even with the notes. I know, T-Rex had not yet been discovered and similar arguments for the others as well, but there are ways around this. I just can't imagine prehistoric beasts the likes of Dicynodon, Chthyosaurus, Dicynodon, Hylaeosaurus, and Iguanodon doing much for most folks. I mentioned Pteranodon, and I do find Pterodactylus a somewhat reasonable replacement in its stead with some tweaking. My compliments on this otherwise outstanding product & thank you for filling a huge CF void!!!

LIKED: Text, Fonts, Art, Layout, Lots of Extras (not being just another "Monster Book") DISLIKED: Uninspiring Dinosaurs

White Star euphoria has seemingly overrun the OSR community at large of late... Not a shocker, it is the best retro-clone space rpg currently available. Praise has been littered high and low since its release with little constructive criticism, aside from the omission of encounter tables perhaps. But really, there are more pressing concerns that have not been addressed, such as: Isn't it strange that ALL of the classes in this stand-alone OSR rulebook are considered IP and not Open Content? Wow. That's like the traditional Cleric, Fighter, Magic-User, and Thief never being allowed for use in any publisher's product. How can archetypes so common to the sci-fi genre (such as Mercenary or Pilot) be considered anyone's property anyway? Another issue is that there are only generic monikers for races with no options given to customize them. "Brute" race? Maybe there was a self-imposed deadline (May the 4th, SW Day) to unleash this .pdf a bit sooner than proper development time would allow for? Honestly, with a few more minor tweaks, White Star becomes the be-all-end-all of S&W Space Opera!

Liked: Overall Concept, Layout, Writing, Equipment, Ships, Bestiary Disliked: No Encounter Tables, Classes and Races aren't Open Content, Races need customization Options. All of these things are ESSENTIAL to the core rules before even CONSIDERING releasing a print version!!!

A great cause like this is hard to ignore. I am surprised this is not the #1 title on RPGNow. With so many great titles in this bundle offered at over 90% off and the opportunity to help offer financial support where needed... publishers and gamers everywhere will regret not dropping coin here. We've all wasted $20 on something stupid in life, why not rectify that with your next Andrew Jackson being used on something meaningful to others?

So sorry for your loss, Mr. & Mrs. Banks :(

I've played a little PACS here & there, bought everything up to this point... This expansion was initially supposed to include sea creatures as well as ships & pirates. I bought it without realizing they decided to split this naval-themed expansion into 2 supplements though. So what you have basically is just some captains, crew members, and some water vessels here. Not especially helpful without the beasties :/

Well, guess we'll have to wait 'til they put out the follow-up set which should include sea critters. Reading through their facebook page, they asked what aquatic monsters members would like to see included. Of the responses were: an alligator & gar combination, dragon turtle, giant seahorse (mount), hippocampus, kraken, mermaid, sea serpent, siren, and some kind of electric eel or similar beast as a familiar. ALL OF THOSE are great suggestions I'd welcome seeing for PACS in a heartbeat - and anything beyond that, actually (including giant crabs, sharks or stingrays)!!!

DISLIKED: No sea-based creatures that were originally supposed to be included LIKED: What is included is done very well - naval armor, pirate, scooner, skiff, etc.

I'll first preface this by stating that I am one of the game's authors, though NOT a part of Precis Intermedia. I'm a regular guy with a normal job who happened to get lucky enough to do some freelancing on this title. That said...

HardNova 2 Revised & Expanded is a low-cost, standalone RPG overflowing with what you'd normally see in most publishers' entire game line. For starters, you get several player character aliens, a setting, stock ships, gadgets & gear, creatures, and even 16 adventures (called "scenarios"). The amount of content for a core rulebook is quite impressive, actually.

Let's face it, there's games out there that spoon-feed you every rule. I don't have time for complicated, bogged-down systems with unnecessary info that I won't use, like how long my character can hold his water before his bladder explodes.

HN2RE keeps everything simple by giving you only the rules you need (but built to allow for tinkering if that's your thing). Upon some familiarity, you'll be amazed at how easy it is creating new gimmicks, species, creatures, starships, or anything else you can dream up... Trust me when I say this game can handle almost any space setting out there - whether sword & planet, hard sci-fi, or even space opera.

You won't spend hours just creating a character in order to play, either. In fact, character generation can be accomplished in a breezy 10 minutes or so. Or pick a template from the back of the book's pages, name the character, grab some gear, and off you go even faster! Heck, task resolution is even uncomplicated: Roll 2d6, subtract from ability + skill & compare that margin to a Difficulty. Viola!

It's a small wonder why this game has managed to survive for 10 years, but what's different about this new anniversary edition vs. the one before it? Some improvements include:

• smoother mechanics (better organized combat & removal of extra task resolutions)
• 9 extra player character species (one isn't found in any official supplement!)
• notes for playing hybrid characters
• character Roles (such as Beastmaster, Mercenary, Pirate, etc.)
• further skills and gimmicks (some exclusive to HardNova 2 Revised & Expanded)
• new weapons and armor
• 88 more creatures (even spaceborne ones, a HardNova first!)
• updated alien artwork
• revised star map displaying new species' home planets
• additional starships (including a debut!)

In a nutshell? Bigger! Better! Badder!

If you want a fun, easy-to-learn sci-fi game with lots of support* that uses normal dice you probably already have in an old board game laying around, do yourself a solid and buy this RPG. It's too good not to.

*http://www.pigames.net or, feel free to visit this product's forum thread for questions or further discussion: http://www.pigames.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=2247

If you purchased GILGAMESH! but have not bought this supplement, you're missing out on some serious fun...

GILGAMESH! The Lost Tablets takes you back to the beginning of the epic. This means you can re-live the initial brawl between Enkidu and Gilgamesh, take out Anzu (the lion-avian monstrosity), face and defeat the mighty Humbaba, and even bring down the destructive bull of Heaven!

Enkidu and Shamhat are introduced in this supplement as characters you can use in a prequel-type adventure, or alternately, they can join Gilgamesh and Izdubar as you re-write the epic! Oh, did I mention stats for Ishtar appear inside as well?(!)

Leighton Connor really outdid himself on this supplement, IMHO. The Humbaba write-up is better than I've seen done in ANY system to date, offering details down to its protective auras and how they work in game terms. His knowledge of all things Gilgamesh is so impressive that I recommend both this and HEX Games' Gilgamesh! to anyone wanting to learn more about the epic of Gilgamesh!

LIKED: Everything! DISLIKED: Nothing!

Let me begin by saying I very rarely write reviews. It isn’t that a particular product doesn’t deserve praise, but in stamping a seal of approval on everything purchased, doesn’t the overall esteem of the really, really good games seem to tarnish and become relegated to “just another game” in the end?

If truth be told, I kinda wanted not to like Chronicles of Arax. While the solo system wholly appealed to me, due largely in part to the fact that it is hard to assemble gaming nights with others these days, I had to overcome personal demons in order to even give it a go… I retired the polyhedrals way back following the death of true D&D. I’ve since become a 6-sider kinda guy. (I just think standard dice are way more practical insofar as introducing newbies to the hobby, because in almost any average household one can cannibalize some d6’s from their favourite family board games. But, if you’re already a gamer who owns d4’s, d8’s, d12’s, etc. or don’t live in a city like people I know without hobby stores where you can purchase some, then no real issue).

Nonetheless, I was hard-up for a game session & there was nobody to be found, so I dusted off my old “funky dice”. Surely disappointment would ensue... Damn, there’s a lesson to be had in being presumptuous!

Playing “Bloodfyre Mountain” from these core rules whisked me away to my youthful exuberance I felt when I played in my very first RPG game ever! I don’t know what it was about Chronicles of Arax that rejuvenated my passion for gaming again but I am incredibly happy I erroneously stumbled upon it!

I really like the technique of rolling a die & adding previous successes to the total to advance to the next encounter instead of more traditional choose-your-own adventure style (“If you fight the orc go to 23, if you flee go to 14”) arrivals... Very effective in ensuring everyone reaches the final encounter—unless their character becomes a casualty beforehand, that is.

I was incredibly lucky to have my adventurer survive Bloodfyre Mountain on the very first attempt!!! I don’t know if that’s a first with the full understanding of the armour rules or not, but I know even the author Shane Garvey mentioned that he had to take a few cracks at it himself before success came, so I am extremely surprised at how I fared overall!

The other thing I’d like to mention here is the fact that even though this is a new product there is already a nice amount of supplements to support it! At a mere $1.00 each, you can further expand an already great solo RPG game with new Quests, Characters, Artifacts & even a Bestiary to aid you in making your very own Quests!!!

I can’t promise readers of this review that they’ll all become as passionate as I have about this product but I can say if you have a gaming itch & can’t assemble a group, you could do MUCH WORSE than a FREEBIE like this! So what’re you waiting for?!!? Bloodfyre Mountain awaits!!!…think YOU can beat it on the first try?

LIKED: No cost, solo gameplay, distinct encounter technique, immediate product support

DISLIKED: Requires all those “funky dice” to play

This product alone was what sold me on the ENTIRE Imperial Age line. What you have here, folks, is the "Menace Manual" of the 1800's! Gaslight classics like Dracula, The Invisible Man, The Beastmen of Dr. Moreau, Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein's Monster, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and not to mention, the most dangerous and elusive threat of the Victorian Era: Jack the Ripper! Those are just some of the nasties you'll find inside this infectious grouping.

For anyone ever wanting to run d20 Past but never having the opponents to pull it off... For anyone wanting to draw upon the horrors of literary works... For anyone that may be "on the fence" about whether or not to purchase this...

If you love Victorian Lore and roleplaying, simply put: You can't do without this RPG resource!

Even if you don't play d20-- Buy it & convert the foes over to your system of choice (it's STILL less work than "statting" the entire horde from scratch)!!! Imperial Age: Victorian Monstrosities is a truly indispensable game aid... WAY BETTER than any spoken words can possibly express in this (or any other) review!

Thank you, Adamant, for your frighteningly realistic, statistical interpretations of legendary foes!

Liked: Everything! Disliked: Nothing!

5 of 5 Stars!

Mythweaver: The Splintered Realm is both practical and impactful. Simplicity and depth are not easily accomplished together in an RPG, but this system really gives you the best of both worlds. This game contains a sizeable amount of material (including magic, magic weapons, a NICE bestiary section, adventures, etc.) but isn't compromised with a bogged-down ruleset. If you were to take an old-school RPG, and re-tool it to include more realism and options, you'd undoubtedly come up with Mythweaver: The Splintered Realm! And for all of you D6-Type gamers out there who don't buy RPGs requiring those "funky shaped" dice to play, there is a 2d6 conversion PDF available for FREE on the author's website! Let NOTHING stop you from making this purchase, it's THAT good!

LIKED: Much-Matured Old-School Feel, Wealth of Material

DISLIKED: Nothing