Ein kompetentes Abenteuer mit einer Crew aus flauschigen, süßen Fellknäulen, deren Mission es ist zu helfen und dabei neue Freundschaften zu knüpfen. Obwohl die Kämpfe sich durchaus ein wenig in die Länge ziehen können (speziell das anschließende Ausruhen) - abhängig vom Würfelglück der Spieler:innen - geht das gesamte Abenteuer durch recht flüssig von der Hand und bietet die Möglichkeit für einige skurrile Interaktionen zwischen den Skittermandern und den überlebenden Gästen des Schiffs, das sie so eben geentert haben. Das zentrale Mysterium ist nicht zu komplex, aber humorvoll und leichtherzig genug, um den Ton von Erkundung und Verspieltheit einzufangen, der bestens zu den plüschigen Held:innen passt. Ansonsten gibt es wohl nicht viel zu sagen: Das gesamte Abenteuer is schlüssig, enthält alle nötigen Informationen und das Layout ist klar gestaltet. Niemand wird wirklich bereuen, sich mit den Skittermandern auf Abenteuer begeben zu haben (solange das Regelwerk vorhanden ist natürlich).

The scenario is an incorporation of the movie 'Alien' into the setting of Lex Arcana's fantasy Roman Empire - and it is not a good one. Having only a few pages to work with, makes it much more difficult to introduce a new monstrous foe and establish a fully playable adventure, no doubt about it. But why try to cram into these constraints then? The entire affair is a railroad assuming, what the player characters will do and there is no doubt about it, they'll do it ... or die trying to apply their own solutions to the conflict. It would have been more helpful to present the factions, two or three central locations and the abilities of the alien creature, then allow the Game Master to use this information as a starting point, a scenario seed. As it is, a lot of work is needed, to remodel this into a playable adventure instead of a referential short story without any drama or stakes.

Quick note: This is a free product, so having a read isn't going to kill you, if there is a general interest in using the Alien as a foe for your gaming group of Custodes.

If you're looking to play a game in an alternate version of the American Revolutionary War including magic, supernatural horror and some nice twists look no further. The entire booklet is a breeze to read, really well-written and still to the point, despite having to introduce the central premise, the basics of the setting and the mechanics (the typical low-level d100-system, i.e. Zweihänder in this case). Yes, there are tables in here, but they're short and rather easy to reference. Yes, it is a system with its share of clunky aspects due to the central resolution mechanic of d100-roll-under and the larger variation in effectiveness for characters within these bounds. Still, compared to Warhammer (Fantasy or otherwise) the player characters are much more resilient and capable without making them leaving the context of ordinary denizens of the fictional world, doing their best to survive and succeeding in their desperate attempt to make a difference - be it in positive or negative. The system works, making it easy to resolve any mechanical questions quickly and keep playing, even if you do not use the rule in question. As mentioned in the booklet, it's a "Rulings, not rules" approach; valuing consistency over the laborious search for the correct paragraph, following the writing to the letter. This looser design philosophy is something, that's really helpful to ease new players into these systems, especially with many systems in the same vein traditionally being rather cumbersome and pedantic. The scenario works as a loose introduction with room to improvise, while providing a decent structure for new GMs (or Historians, as the system calls them) to follow. Sure, it isn't the longest or most complex adventure, but brings the themes of monstrous threats lurking in the shadows, the looming consequences of the war for independence and the investigations of secretive machinations into focus. All in all, the introduction to the setting and mechanics at play are well done without being too overwhelming. Only the final encounter could have been layed out a little more comprehensively, so new GMs get a better idea, how they should run this combat and where the possibility for adjustment is greatest. But it's also no major flaw. The pregenerated characters give a nice variety and dispel the notion of "historical accuracy" immediately (which is wonderful). This is a game, it is fiction and by that measure, you are already a step removed from our actual history ... there is also magic involved, so maybe re-enactment enthusiasts should look elsewhere for their kick. This leads into my final point: I love, how inclusive the entire booklet is designed. Attention has been given to different perspectives than the white-European one by clearly stating, that this is not a game about manly men doing "the war" (tm). This is a period-piece horror setting, including all manner of characters, all capable of holding their own in the face of unspeakable horrors - human or otherwise. Honestly, if anyone has gripes with the setting for "not being historically accurate", I just have no words. You can infuse as much historical facts at your table as you like, but I sincerely hope, no one learns their history lessons for roleplaying books entirely ... go to the appropriate sources for that. And anyone crying for being called out on wanting to disguise their racism, sexism or other hurtful, harmful behavior at the table via the excuse "That's how things were back then" - I can't help you there, maybe think what you're actually angry about. By the way, no one said, slavery cannot (after consulting with all your players (!) for consent) be a topic explored in the game. The base assumption of the game's design simply is, you're not going to enslave anyone or play characters, who own slaves. And for everyone unhappy about being called out for shitty behavior - like in the Use & Abuse of History-box - I have no sympathy for you in this regard. If you want to handle these topics in your game and do so in a mature, nuanced way, this isn't even addressing you. Otherwise, I'm happy, that a developer has a clear mission statement and takes a position on whi it is, they want to play their game. Inclusive language, especially the use of they/them pronouns as the standard and usage of the term indigenous peoples, this is great.

Big disclaimer: This is a free booklet. You will not regret downloading it and taking a peek inside.

A useful quickstart set to test the game, but lacking in terms of explanations for a GM new to the system. While the basics of the setting are covered by this booklet, the larger universe of TORG isn't, making it harder for a new GM to answer questions on the fly due to next to no familiarity with the world. Sure, you can easily give an answer, you think is plausible and move the game along, but I always approach these quickstarters from the perspective of a player or GM unfamiliar with roleplaying games. The texts being quick to read and to the point is really helpful for reading, some aspects could have been fleshed out a little more though. This is not a glaring fault, just a little problem - and the booklet has a few of those. Next are the individual sections, which provide a general overview without any more specifics for each individual scene. Again, I came up with descriptions of New York merged with the Living Land by myself and it worked for my group of players. If you lack an idea, how exactly you should imagine the invading cosm though, you're left utterly alone. This is especially annoying, when you do not know the setting in-depth yet - probably the main reason you use this booklet to test TORG - and a few more paragraphs to the overgrown streets, an apartment building full of feral humans or the other locations would have made it easier, to bring them to life in-game. Nothing a GM cannot fix on their own, just a possible stumbling block for someone approaching this setting without prior knowledge. Over all, you - as the GM - should be comfortable to add a lot of the detail and often entire motivations to the scenes presented, which serve as a basic skeleton for the adventure. It has its charm though and the mechanics might seem a little clunky at first, but flow surprisingly well from the start. For a short promotional adventure, you could get something worse and the creative freedom to work off of this outline can be very enjoyable. Just know, that work is required, if you plan to do more than roll a few skill checks, present two or three read-aloud texts and then have the adventure draw to a close.