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The Eerie West - X!
by Eric F. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 11/26/2018 01:37:27

"Strange! Ghostly! Mysterious! Rousing tales of action and adventure in a wild west that never was. Who wants to read through reams of text just to get to the action? No-one right? These rules assume you know how to role play. They assume you know about “Golden Age” comic book pulp western fiction. (Thrilling cowboy adventures through a retro lens). They assume you know how OSR products work. There, it’s done. You know how to play already. Just get on with it. Go fer yer gun, hombre! " Sometime ago I got into Beyond Belief Games Eerie West - X! for a set up for an OSR Wild & Weird West campaign set up. The product is put together with spit, bailing wire, & a micro system built on the lines of Swords & Wizardry. But it should work with mostly any OSR rules set with some work & best of all its open game content. You get a wide variety of PC classes from the Shootist, Cardsharp, Trailblazer, Dude, Quack, & Hexer. The shootist is your gun fighter/fighter type. The Card sharp is your thief & all around rogue. The Trail blazer is your ranger & scout type for the Wild West. The Dude class is your socialite, tenderfoot from back East, & diplomat all rolled into one. The Quack is your cleric/doctor/fake medicine man all rolled into one whose potion might actually work or they might make you worse. The Hexer is your occultist who shouldn't be messing with the 'things man wasn't meant to know. Did I mention that there's a sanity rules set in here, full system for guns, monsters, NPCs,equipment, mundane animals, stats weird menaces, adventure ideas, two pages of rules & random charts. The fact is that I've been looking for a more open set of Weird West rules over the last couple of years. Since these rules are cross compatible with other Beyond Belief X rules sets its very easy to swap them out for other OSR or even other D20 systems.

Even though Belle Starr wasn't featured in The Eerie West - X! she's exactly the sort of cowboy or outlaw adventurer that could be used in adventures surrounding this campaign using this product. The fact is that a lot of Golden Age of Comics public domain artwork & source material was used in The Eerie West - X!. This puts the 'X' material square in the Golden Age of Comicbooks & Pulp magazine source material making it perfect for that style of old school or OSR campaigning.

Everything from your bandits to your Wild West Gumberoo is covered; "Gumberoo AC: 10* HD: 3d6+1 Attacks: Claws 1d3 (x2), bite 1d3 Move: 10 San Loss: 1/1d3 Special: The creature has a rubbery hide that bounces back anything thrown on it. Bullets, arrows and so on will rebound in the direction they were fired, hitting the person that fired them (separate roll needed to hit). A nearly hairless, extremely disgusting, bear-like brute of the woods."

There's just enough here to get a campaign off the ground & with blogs such as the OSR library its a snap to get a campaign off the ground plus get support. The material here isn't incredibly expansive but it doesn't need to be. The layout is easy to read, the stat blocks are standard, & the material is straight on point & top drawer. While The Eerie West -X ! follows the tradition Western comic & pulp genre it really plugs into the Revisionist Weird Western;

"The late 1960s and early 1970s saw the rise of revisionist Western film. Elements include a darker, more cynical tone, with focus on the lawlessness of the time period, favoring realism over romanticism, and an interest in greater historical authenticity. Anti-heroes were common, as were stronger roles for women and more-sympathetic portrayal of Native Americans and Mexicans. The films were often critical of big business, the American government, and masculine figures (including the military and their policies). "

But really what The Eerie West -X! does is mix & match its material so that the dungeon master & players get a mix of classic Western material with Golden Age of Comics adventure! But could Wild West-X! be mixed with an old school or OSR adventure? Yes as a matter of fact this material could easily be incorporated with say Swords & Wizardry or even original Dungeons & Dragons? Yes it could easily support such a campaign where the PC's blunder into The Eerie West -X! or perhaps the PC's of the Eerie West X blunder into B4: The Lost City by Tom Moldvay. The PC's become lost in a sand storm & they suddenly blunder into the lost city itself. Its not hard seeing the pyramid located some place in the South Western Mexican desert & the factions of the city waiting to sacrifice the PCs to their bastard Lovecraftian god thing.

"Lost in the desert! The only hope for survival lies in a ruined city rising out of the sands.

A pyramid with five twenty foot high tiers rises from the sand. Atop it are three 30 foot tall statues. One is a bearded man holding a scale and a lightning bolt. Another is a beautiful woman holding a sheaf of wheat and a sword. Between them is a child with two snakes twined about its winged body holding a wand and a handful of coins.

Food, water, and wealth await heroic adventurers inside the ancient pyramid." Is the The Eerie West - X! worth getting?! I think so in spades, the game does what it says in nineteen pages & delivers on its promise with less filler & more killer with little issue. Plus its a great value & the material is cross compatible with other retroclone & OSR games. Five out of five in my humble opinion.

Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Blog Want to see more original OSR reviews & material then subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
The Eerie West - X!
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The Eerie West - X!
by Pablo N. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 11/25/2018 12:41:37

So in 17 pages you get a complete weird west horror OSR game: 6 character classes with rules up to L6; a sanity mechanic, NPCs and enemies, mundane animals, stats for some supernatural and weird menaces, adventure ideas and 2 pages of rules and 2 of tables and charts.

The classes are: Shootist, Cardsharp, Trailblazer, Dude, Quack, and Hexer. For the Shootist, Cardharp Dude and Trailblazer what their niche is in the game should be relatively obvious from the names. Care is taken to make sure each is unique. All are very cool and well done. The quack and Hexer and fun. The quack is a magic stand-in, capable of mixing up potions and cures with the effect of magic. Of course there is only a chance they are work and are anything other than coloured water. Hexers cast real magic but also become warped by ‘weirds’ as they progress in levels. Great stuff.

I realize some would argue it has no business in the eerie west but the only thing I would have liked to see but didn’t is a ‘mad/weird science’ type class, but then I realized you just have to reskin and modify the invention list of the ‘Astronomer’ from the brilliant Jarkoon to make it; restrict it to the stuff that you could handwave into steam or ‘radium’ power and chemistry instead of martian er I mean Jarkoonian super-science.

The rules are very straightforward as all the OSR-based X games and the page of adventure ideas is great. All-in-all a great flexible little game that distills the golden age of western horror comic genre down to under 20 pages. Buy it! Especially since it's 33% off this weekend.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Uncanny War Stories - X!
by Pablo N. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 11/23/2018 23:19:46

So in 17 pages you get a complete weird war horror OSR game: 6 character classes with rules up to L5; a sanity mechanic, mundane enemies and animals, stats for some ocult menaces,some stats some vehicle stats, adventure ideas and 3 pages of rules and 2 of tables and charts.

The clases are pretty standard for weird war type games: Recon, Leader, Grunt, Covert, the Para-medic and Talisman.

The classes are well done, with the Leader, Grunt and Recon prety much what you'd expect.There is only a small bit of overlap between the Covert and the Recon in terms of abilities, and the Covert general enough to be tweaked into a French Resistance fighter or a Viet Cong or other insurgent -type if you want to set your game in something other than World War 2 - just by renaming the specifics.

The Para-medic,is something akin to a cleric, with some curative and protective magic at his disposal. The Talisman islike your Magic User, with a nice range of supernatural magic that he can cast and/or use to imbue objects.

I think the take on the para-medic as 'occult' granted powers steps on the toes of the Talisman a little. If I were running this, I would maybe interpret the Para-medic as a psychic sensitive or empathic of sorts who can do some protection, undead turning etc and leave the healing and poison neutralization as a class ability usable a couple times per medikit refill (a good excuse for the para-medic to scrounge as well). I would reduce the 'spell' repertoire a touch to compensate.

The rules are very straightforward as all the OSR-based X games and the page of adventure ideas is great, almost all writen specifically for the world war 2 western front though most easily adaptable to something else.

All-in-all a great flexible little game that distills the golden age weird war horror comic genre down to under 20 pages. I see being able to scavenge stuff from weird-war, CoC and D&D type modules. Buy it! especially since it's 33% off this weekend.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Uncanny War Stories - X!
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Screaming Seas - X!
by Charles T. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 10/30/2018 21:39:43

Current verson has a few mistakes and gliches and needs a rewrite. Great Idea, though, and has potential.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Screaming Seas - X!
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Creator Reply:
Now updated
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Lies & Spies X!
by Matthew K. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/28/2018 17:47:59

See my review in the Discussion section, i accidentally posted it there.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Lies & Spies X!
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Terror Tales - X!
by Brian C. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/17/2018 06:48:54

"Terror Tales - X!" Just found this wonderful, tight little OSR 'macabre adventures' rpg on DriveThru for only $4.00! Gets the job done at 21 pages. It's everything you need and nothing you don't need. Retro-pulp-thrills-and-chills! This is like all those spooky comics from the 1960s, rubber monster masks of the 70s, and endless Saturday afternoons watching creature features all in a tidy tabletop OSR rpg package. I'm in heaven!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Terror Tales - X!
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Light Superheroes
by Royce R. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/30/2018 22:46:05

Swords and Wizardry Light has been adapted to the superhero genre and I must say it's definitely been worth the wait. The S&WL approach lends itself well to the Golden Age of Superheroes: not-too-heavy-on-the-details storytelling of true heroes fighting the good fight with little concern for the odds. The only minor sticking point I have is that while the various classes of super heroes (Brick, Detective, Psychic, etc.) were extensively covered in fine detail, the origin stories (races) could have used a little more work. Oh well, that"s why people become Editors.

So, how long until Continual/Undying/Eternal Light Superheroes comes out? Or again, is that why people become Editors?

KEEP 'EM FLYING! BACK THE 7TH LIBERTY LOAN!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Light Superheroes
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Dogs Of War
by David D. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/10/2018 17:44:28

Barbarians of Lemuria goes modern.

The main differences from core BOL are simply to add modern backgrounds (rather than races/ cultures of medieval fantasy) and specializations (rather than the classes and careers of the ancient world) as well as updating the weapons tables to include all manner of modern goodies

There is a bit of GMing advice here too. counter-terrorism units, mercenaries, super spies, gangsters, or even soliders in a larger war are all possible.

More than any other ruleset BOL (and by extension Dogs of WAR) is elegant and easy to use. The mechanics get out of your way so you can get down to the business of exploring your characters and their story

Excellent art throughtout. An introductory adventure is included with pregens



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Dogs Of War
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The BoL Hack
by David D. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/31/2018 04:08:01

An elegant blend of the BOL engine and the d20 engine. This is possibly the best d20 system ever written. A 'must buy' product in my opinion



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
The BoL Hack
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Barbarians of Lemuria (Legendary Edition)
by David D. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/09/2018 12:32:07

Innovative, Rules-Light Sword and Sorcery Gaming.

An innovative class-based system which does away with skill entirely. I usually disdain class-based systems for skill-based ones. But this one works. It treats each of the dozens of classes as its own skill. Makes it very easy to build a character and know exactly what he can do.

A very strong freeform magic system featuring 3 types of magic. Alchemy is used to make items and potions. Miracles are used to manipulate luck (narrative mechanics are no longer 'meta machenics'!) and a more standard sorcery system for 'generic mages'. All 3 feel very different and all 3 work very well.

A small gazeteer of the setting.

A small bestiary.

3 Sample adventures.

Black and white art throughout. The PDF is bookmarked.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Barbarians of Lemuria (Legendary Edition)
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Dogs Of War
by A customer [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/02/2017 03:23:01

Great beer and pretzels rpg. Fast and fun, this light rpg system (BOL Barbarians of Lemuria 2d6) allows players to get in quick on the action. The overall theme of the game feels like every 70s-00s action movie ever made from The Delta Force to The Expendable. As a GM you could easily craft missions and scenes inspired by the ActionAdventure genre. What is even better is that the system is not limited by this genre. For example, in the first oneshot game I ran as a GM, the PC's recovered WMDs that were....not from this world! Injecting SciFi elements. Heck yeah! DOW can easily support long term campaign play especially with an invested GM/players There are no long lists of charts or cross checking tables and the system mechanic is easy to grasp. As a guy with a busy schedule, I don't have 4 hours to run through ONE combat scene (looking at you other rpgs), so for me DOW hits that spot for 2-4 hours for an adventure. Get this game!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Dogs Of War
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The BoL Hack
by Curt M. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 06/21/2016 20:04:32

I'm a sucker for Simon's games, and at $2.50, I didn't pass this up. The hack carries over the best aspects of BoL: careers, versitle non-Vancian magic, hero points, etc to a d20 roll over mechanic. The system here looks highly playable, but it lacks in one key area: monsters. There is a monsters section, but many Sword & Sorcery classics are missing. I would have liked to have seen either conversion guidelines from standard OSR, or random monster creation tables. And, and this is just my preference, I would like to see ship rules. I am a huge admirer of "Queen of the Black Coast".



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
The BoL Hack
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Creator Reply:
You\'ll be pleased to note I\'ve updated the pdf with a few more pages of monsters
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Crimson Blades 2: Dark Fantasy RPG
by Philip H. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/01/2016 16:34:52

Having bought the first edition, was v excited when this came out. The new rules are more consistent and easier to explain. Score of 18 now gets you a little extra +1 modifier. Book cover looks great. Would have been nice to see a bit more new internal art but guess this keeps the cost down and layout changes less onerous. Now we need to see platemail rules for magic incorporated as a supplement (it uses multiple d6 to cast spells). Great work again Simon.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Crimson Blades 2: Dark Fantasy RPG
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Creator Reply:
Thanks for the review! There is a little new internal art by Peter Frain (the cover artist). Maybe you have to dig a little to find it. I\'ll check out Platemail.
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Barbarians of Lemuria: Mythic Edition
by Morgan H. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 01/29/2016 09:23:05

The new edition of BOL only improves what is already a fantastic rules lite RPG. I have literally run dozens of one-shots for my crew and at conventions. BOL serves well for S&S but the core system is capable of handling nearly any genre. I can't comment on longterm campaign use but for me its my go to for the one off, kickbutt, rules don't get in the way, game.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Barbarians of Lemuria: Mythic Edition
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Triumphant! Super Heroic Role Playing Game
by keith b. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 01/12/2016 13:31:56

I will let the review by Zachary H. describe the mechanics as he does a great job.

I do need to add my thoughts. From a Super powers game I need quick character creation and fast, lite rules allowing creativity to manage how the powers are used. Triumphant does both of these things.

I normally try not to compare a game to other games as I feel that does a disservice to both games. However in this case I must compare it to SUPERS!. Both games have a similar feel of quick action not being tied up in rules but allowing the players and GM to be creative but with a simple resolution system allows for a structured system. I know I contradicted myself but both games do such a great job of mixing both.

What is different is the dice system which again Zachary describes very well and I will let that review do the talking. It does however play a little faster than SUPERS! which has been my favorite system for a supers game for quite a while and I have used a lot of them.

Triumphant may now be my new favorite for how the dice system works.

The reason I give it only 4 stars is because of the colored art and blocks of info. It feels like they tried for a top game layout but failed at the text layout. It would have been better had they just stuck to text only instead of adding the art but leaving the text the way it is. Nit picky maybe but I definitely wouldn't keep me from buying a revised version with a much more flushed out campaign setting, even in the same layout.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Triumphant! Super Heroic Role Playing Game
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