Note: There is a 2nd edition available, so some of the review for this 1st edition may not be applicable for the current edition.

A game focused on the political/factional struggles in a modern supernatural setting. You can easily run a game to reflect your favourite novel or television series, be that Dresden, Vampire Diaries, or something else - as long as there are factions involved, and those factions have conflict between them. The game is Powered by the Apocalypse, and uses all the familiar trappings of that rules style; 2d6 resolution, moves, etc. If you are new to PbtA games I would reccomend checking out some gameplay of any of the major PbtA games to get a sense of the playstyle and some of the specific quirks and features of the style.

The game is illustrated in sharp black and white images, generally of high quality. It is is easy to read, and rules are introduced in a logical fashion as you progress through the book. The game has many examples to help a newer player or GM see how the "moves" in the books work, and to give one ideas on how to run and play the game. The focus on making the urban enivronment have character and divesity is excellent - you can tell that the author(s) wish to get us out of thinking of these cities as the way you would see them on a CW show. These cities are multicultural, dirty, and have potential for exciting drama and intrigue just oozing out of the corners.

There are some structural problems with the game.

• Corruption in particular is a consistent complaint from my play group when I ran the game for them: many players complained that corruption is added too quickly, and often for choices that don't feel like they deem it. As you gain corruption points you can access new powers, but the ticking clock until your character is "one of the monsters" (read: no longer playable) appears to be too aggressive for playgroups I've run the game for. I see this as a correctible problem (introducing some corruption mitigation would be easy).
• The advancement mechanic is arbitrary. Like the old "gold for XP" out of classic D&D, the advancement mechanic forces you to engage with each of the 4 factions in the setting to advance. The idea is sound: just like gold for XP, incentivize the thing you want players to do - in Urban Shadows, that's get out and mix it up your allies and your enemies. In play however many players struggle to work this into the narrative. This may be because the overall structure of the city and the factions needs to be presented in a way that allows the fluidity of allegiance and the drive to "rub shoulders" to be more accessible in play. This is the only piece of the game where I felt some better examples were needed.

Final thoughts: medium-low complexity, ease of play is medium, high hackability (like most PbtA), and good quality for cost.

This is the definitive edition of Vampire: The Masquerade. The 1st edition certainly paved the way, but this slim hardcover was the book on the table anywhere you went within a year of its release. The glossy pages, effective black and white art, and strong focus on the gothic-punk setting thoroughly captured the magic that made Vampire the hit it became. Those of you who have only played later editions will note some major details missing from the book. The Sabbat is barely detailed (this is before the first real Sabbat guide was released). Many of the Disciplines could use a bit of balancing. The game has that sense of limitlness boundaries, and is not yet yoked to the pervasive overplot that would sell splatbooks but cripple the life of the game in the long run. A fantastic read, and entirely playable to this day. Still my go-to-edition, even with Revised, 20th, two editions of Requiem and now 5th edition existing.

Though I began roleplaying in 1986, I had never heard of Traveller until recently.

More's the pity, in my opinon, for this game would have been an absolute hit in my group. Characters are simple to create, but the process is enjoyable. When I read this book, I think "I could run Dune in this." Or "Star Wars". Or "Star Trek, especially TOS". I could run less known sci-fi series, or make my own out of whole cloth and then easily stitch the game onto it. The true advantage of this system is that it has a toolkit underlying the assumed setting that allows you to hack it to other purpose easily, or you can default to the assumed setting for a game "ready to go" out of the box.

The .pdf is of decent quality. The POD is a good book, hardcover with black and white art (the occasional picture has a red feature as well). As profiled by another reviewer, some of the space scenes loose their sharpness, but the book is otherwise very readable. I also enjoy that you get a complete, playable game that is about 160 pages.

Classic Fantasy will take your d100 games and allow you to turn them into a D&D inspired game, but you will continue to feel as if you're playing d100/brp games. Built as an overlay for the Mythras system (the updated Runequest 6), Classic Fantasy has replaced the Cultures and Careers with Races and Classes, though humans maintain the classic Barbarian/City/Nomad/Primitive mix. In terms of complexity, there is a new layer of play that is added upon Mythras, but for those either transitioning from D&D to BRP games, or for those looking to recapture some of the fun of those style of games, many of these features will feel familiar and sensible. The magic systems have been completely reworked as well, and there's an updated bestiary and treasure guide in the book. It reads nicely, and has elements of the fantasy "Greymoor" setting included in the book. An expansion book has been released that details later level play, and opens the scope. I have run an entire campaign with this book (and Mythras) only.

This book feels not only like a rules toolkit, but a loving homage to masters Moldvay, Gygax, Arneson and others.

Fair disclosure, I have done some writing for this system, not published at the time of this writing, but was neither asked nor encourage to review this product.

A classic modern-supernatural game you can run from a single book.

I picked up Witchcraft (2nd ed) around 1999, and played with the book so often I had to get it rebound. While the supplements are useful (especially Mystery Codex), the core book could keep you playing for years on its own. The system is very easy to figure out, and has card and diceless variants included that I've used with success as well. The setting has the right amount of interesting groups to use in play, and you can re-skin them trivially to fit your own vision of an occult conspiracy setting.

And (at the time of this writing, and for quite some time) it's free.

This game features an interesting magic system, some great artwork, and a very usable dice engine. You will likely want to moderate how the experience system works (I found characters advancing way too quickly in some games), and also remember that guns are deadly in this game.

Is this a long, incredible system? No, this is exactly what it claims to be - simple rules for some role-playing. The artwork is solid, the short document is easy to read and will print out relatively well. But how is the core mechanic? I've experimented with making games much like myself, many a time, so it was encouraging to see at least another person who had a similar idea. What I truly appreciate about the small game is even though the mechanics could be summarized on a queue card, I can already see a lot of potential in the idea. I paid $2.00 and was not dissapointed, and will be introducing this to my gaming group shortly.

I bought this looking for a successor to the classic (but flawed) RPG, Big Eyes Small Mouth. This is not only a spiritual successor, but a vast improvement in general on anime role-playing. From the moment you boot up the .pdf, you're going to want a print version of this book (sadly not available at this time). The system is simple, easy and fun, with character creation not hindered by complicated balance mechanisms. I could use this to simulate Akira, Dragonball Z, or almost any project I want to make.

Every person I have shown this game to has walked away not only impressed by the game, but eager to play it and buy a copy. If you are looking for a rules lite system that's more complex than RISUS but less complex than Fate, this is your baby. I would stress that game is not limited exclusively to anime - you can easily play a wide variety of game styles in the system. As well, if you've read some of the creator's posts in his resident forums, there are very thoughtful design decisions in the game mechanics.

Summary. Fast character creation. Character modelling options unseen since Marvel Super Heroes from TSR. Fast, quick action resolution. Fun, meaningful conflict/combat options. Well illustrated (in anime style). Well written, with reasonable flow in the book. For $15 for the .pdf, you're not likely to regret your purchase.

For anyone who have played Exalted, this book is crucial. Exalted had suffered from a poor execution of a great idea, and the system has always left players wanting.

This Scroll is not a fresh offering (entirely) from the publisher. It is, rather, a very intelligent analysis of a few years of complaints and insights from the actual players of the game, implemented in stages to bring the game closer to the vision of where it was intended to sit.

The Scroll changes the game significantly, and most players of Exalted will be delighted to see the changes. For those just picking up the game, be assured that the changes made in Scroll are vital to good play, and that implementing them is essential.

The book itself is easy to follow, with only a few organizaitonal complaints (the Wilderness Hearthstone is erratted in two different places in two different ways). It reads very well on an screen or ereader, and the price is right ;)

The game is solid. The rules help you mirror superheroic role-playing, and as basic rules without the Marvel content, they are fantastic. The book is easy to follow, looks great as an ebook and flows well. There are a few places where the information could be presented clearer (a basic chart showing the different outcomes of actions would work great), and the selection of Heroes in the book should have included more iconic Marvel Heroes (no Hulk? no Thor? really?).

But I'm going to be playing this Marvel game for a long, long time. It has knocked every other super hero RPG off of my shelf, and it will be joined by the upcoming supplements that detail the major Marvel events. I have been reccomending it to all of my friends, and have found teaching it easy and straigtforward.

Most importantly, it's tons of fun to play.