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«A Tome of Chaos» is a book dedicated to magic in the world of «The Witcher». Here, in general, as with the bestiary «A Witcher's Journal» - not bad, but nothing special and fundamental. (So don’t expect something like «Realms of Sorcery» for WFRP). A new heroine in the manner of Erland is the elf Glynnis. The stories about her are generally interesting, especially the last one about the demon. Book contains some information about magical training, local religious cults, and priest and druid now are full-fledged separate classes. There’s also a little bit of everything as usual - new spells, few new monsters, examples of famous magicians, etc. There are sections about local forbidden practices like necromancy or demonology (but they are quite small), also a couple of small fragments about ley lines and weak mages with only one ability (but they look like there was no place for them anywhere in the book and therefore they are just crammed somewhere between chapters).
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keep 'em comin RTG Crew! And to those complaining, 90% of the material in the Interface Red series can be found for free on the RTG Website under the Downloads tab.
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Absolutely brilliant, but not perfect
I have fallen deeply in love with the world of Cyberpunk because of this game, and my group has been enjoying it immensely!(we have just run The Apatment). It's my second ever ttrpg system outside D&D 5E and I have been thoroughly impressed by the system's nuance and flexibility for things like called shots and critical injuries in combat, not to mention the dizzying array of skills listed to cover just about anything you can think of. After reading through the core book and watching some great youtube videos (JonJontheWise and Seth Skorkowsky are invaluable) I feel I have a handle on the system to a competent level now and I am looking forward to exploring the Time of The Red with my group.
The art in this book is stunning and the narrative thread throughout the whole book really adds to the feeling of authenticity. I loved the stories and particularly liked how they were used as examples for other sections like the Beats Breakdown (also invalubale for any GM/Writer).
My only criticisms are that the combat system (whilst fun, exciting and deadly) is quite diffciult to understand without outside clarification like interviews with the designers or veteran players breaking it down for you. The rules for things like cover are very unclear in particular (turns out it's more like XCOM with overwatching and holding actions to shoot people popping up). Another criticism is that whilst the number of skills on offer is comprehnesive, I found it can really slow down gameplay when you are trying to figure out which skill to roll from the list if it isn't immediately obvious (isn't bribery persuasion?).
Overall this is still a brilliant game that is well worth your time and investment. The book is phenomenal both as a system and a collection of stunning art, stories and more that will transport you to Night City and make you feel like Trace Santiago himself is laying it all out for you.
P.S. The advice for GMs in this book is top notch and compatible with any system. Highly Recommend.
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It's what CPRed needed and we now have. A great book of treats for the GM and player alike. The PDF design is great, why use the sidebar bookmarks when you can use the tabs directly from the pages, just like a real kiosk!
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There are some great ideas in here and some improvements on older system, there are also some really dumb things in here.
Been playing cyberpunk since I picked up a copy of the original in 1989.
I love the new cyberspace rules.
The combat system is a joke compared to the previous systems.
2 examples:
It seems the crit system is the fudge that makes the combat system more dangerous.
EDIT
I saw a podcast with the combat desginer and the guy is a completely uneducated and has done zip research.
Also I noted a flip comment about his suppressive fire rules stopping "people climbing out of trenches like in wonder woman"
Ahem, how a bit of respect for the people who did in real life? Especially when you release a product that close to armastice day.
Typical attitude from his type.
More proof, if needed that they let the intern do the combat system.
Check out Twilight 2000 for some better ideas.
Pros:
Cyberspace rules
Item Creation
Cons:
Combat system
Information repeated too many times, including a couple of pages just after it has been written.
50/50:
Generic economy and items.
Rest of system has some small tweaks if any to previous versions.
Overall:
it moves the timeline on, handy for the 2077 tie in.
Seems like 5th Edition A&D but for cyberpunk.
Bland and weak.
DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY TRYING TO POLISH THIS TURD.
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I'm a bit underwhelmed by the book, it has a great quantity of new stuff, that's for sure, some of them are little nice additions, like the NCPD App, or the multi jointed option for cyberlimbs, etc, but many of the most impactful features kinda ruin the game balance even more than it was. Tackling this issues (which are already pointed out in some reviews):
1- The only reason why people don't always wear a light armorjack everywhere is that it's not concealable, so if the party goes to the Glen they'll probably wear kevlar, and if a fight starts they have 4 less armor points, making combat faster and scarier. Now though even light armorjack are completely concealable with a little fee, turning everyone in the party in a bullet sponge again.
2- I think dodgin bullet is overpowered, calls for too many extra dice rolls during combat and makes it less tactical since a player who invested there can even stand in the middle of the arena and be unscathed. At least some players less combat focus or interested in different stats (the netrunner in my campaign dumped a glorious 3 in reflexes, evasion is at 12 though) still had to heavily rely on cover, making combat scarier if they couldn't find a cover in time. Now with the co-processor everyone can dodge bullets.. really, giving the chance to slow down combat through extra dice rolls was THE LAST THING the game needed.. I'm really disappointed, for what it's worth (very little, I assume)
3- A cyberware option that lets players (and mooks) fill up their armor mid combat with a single action is another really bad design choice, that aims to turn combat into a slower grind instead of making it faster and more lethal, I can't see the benefit of that option.. on youtube someone pointed out that this option was already available by RAW, through the field repair skill of the tech.. to think that a tech repairs an armor in 3 seconds mid combat while people are shooting around him was such a silly thought that I never even occured to me, I hope I'm not wrong, but anyway the option is kinda there now.
I'm still gonna buy the next expansion but I really hope in a better one next time.
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i bought the PDF of Black Chrome, and i blame my self for getting caught up in the hype of a new chrome book. new gear and lore for 2045 and the time of the red,then i started reading the book...
TL;DR - a decent book to add more gear to your campaign, however a good chunk is either unless or WAY overpriced, what's to stop a Fixer, Techie, or Nomad to get these items? not a must have as the hype would have you believe.
longer review: i bought the pdf and started to do my inital skim, looked very promising, then i sat down and begin to read the content. the pdf is really optimized to find everything you want. however that's where the positives end with this book. first outfits, youg gotta look cool for the dark future, however this section is a bit underwhelming, i was hoping some early 2077 outfits, like proto-2077 outfits before they got it down for 2077, one the red neon jacket was there, and the trench coat is pretty cool, i appriecate the Bladerunner look. then that's it, i mean the armored corpo suits are nice, but if you did the conversions already, then it's pointless. next cyberware, i was hoping for some more selections and maybe some early tech as well, but nope. under 20 items (15 items if i remember correctly) if it was quality over quanity i understand the small selection, but again, only maybe 3 items are worth it. what's up with the hand cyberware anyways? same thing maybe 1-2 useful things.
the weapons are a mixed bag. a few amount weapons are worth their investment like weapons that have 2 modes (pistol/SMG mode, Shotgun/crossbow mode), however, Gun Mart while fun in theory, why is it exotic? if it's easily made and accessible shouldn't be readily available? it's cool seeing katanas and such, but those are just 2045 versions of 2020 weapons so nothing of note there. again, a bit underwhelming.
cars and copters are cool, i love the rust buckets and future tech cars and bikes, one point: why are cars so expensive? i read the thread on it being like New York: it's cramped that you don't want or need a car. the problem with that logic is that while yes it is cramped, how is it that you're suppose to get around? not just for transportation, night city is huge, and to my understanding public transportation isn't back up. this is one of those RAW issues where, simply hand waving it just doesn't fix the problem, it only highlights it. maybe i lack the foresight to plan for the players to pay it off, but it's really jarring nonetheless.
one thing i was really disappointed were the apps, i was hoping for more apps but while all of it is essential, i feel this should of been a DLC for the Interface RED line, not for the Black Chrome.
the lore while interesting, it isn't answering the questions of who's who. it sort of does, but doesn't at the same time. some gangs are named and fixers as well, but it feels like they are missing some details. one thing that stood out that nomads, fixers, and techies, have a chart to get items, and it's one of those, what's stopping them from making the weapons? techies are already doing that already, so it's one of those what the hell moments.
overall, this book had a lot of hype and build up behind it, and its content is milquetoast at best, underwhelming at worse. i'm not a grodnard that played CP 2020 back in the day. this game can be good but the way it's written and designed and supported, i don't know if it'll last. don't want it to be like V5: convoluted, messy, and bland.
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I never played any earlier versions of Cyberpunk, but have been playing RPGs for 25 years. I am running a red game after watching some 2020 reviews and just know tuning red would be easier to get the books in physical form. The rules are simple to pick up and run. It is a pain to convince some players they have to find jobs. My group is used to working for guilds, so jobs are just listed. For the book itself it is okay. I love the art and it is easy to understand a rule when you can find it. The layout is a pain. You have to jump all over the book to make a character. The flow chart helps, but you have to dig to find information out about the chrome you just got.
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I really had hope that this book would improve the system, but somehow it's biggest impact is making it worse.
There is some good to it. Some of the items add cool functionality and character options. Some items fill niches that were sorely missing in the corebook, some are just cool flavour items that are nice to have or just funny jokes to look at. The economics section is cool, though a little short compared to the rest of the book.
However, the good items are mostly overshadowed by what takes up the vast majority of the book, which is mostly pointless items that do nothing but pad the length of the book. The weapons are all exotic weapons that don't interact at all with the existing modularity of the system and most of them don't really add much to the existing options. The vehicles are too pricy for non-nomads and don't do much for nomads beyond allowing them to get more upgrades per moto rank. Some of the cyberware options are fine, but many of them suffer by how poorly designed the max humanity mechanic is. Worst of all, nearly all the fashion items are either terrible, or just simply recreate mechanics that already existed in the core rulebook by just making them needlessly more complicated.
Beyond the options that are useless, even worse are the options that actively make the system worse. Cyberpunk Red already had an existing problem with balance. There are options that simply vastly outperform all other options which have a tendency outside of a very good group to produce the same characters over and over again. As well, the bullet dodging mechanic grinds combat to a halt and makes it much too easy to simply trivialize encounters and turn them into effectively rocket tag. For some reason, this book includes items that make all these options even better or easier to achieve, while doing nothing to improve other possible choices. Where once you had to sacrifice stat points to bullet dodge (Which nearly everyone did), now you simply need to pay an incredibly cheap amount to do it. Linear frames are now not only the most optimal piece of cyberware in the game by far, they now also carry the functionality of other cyberware at no further humanity loss and you can make them immune to EMP. The end result is that the system is an even less balanced one as a result of this book.
Overall, it's incredibly dissapointing. If this shows the direction the system will continue to develop in, I think it will ultimately fail to live up to its potential.
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Absolutely amazing for what it offers.
New weapons, new clothes, new chrome, new apps for your agent, new chipware, an entire section on economics, fixers, and Night Markets, and more. Many of these items change some fundemental rules of the game that were sore spots in need of more love.
Want the ability to dodge bullets when below 8 REF or in heavier armor? There's cyberware for that. Want a self repairing subdermal cyberware equivelant for a suit? We've got that too. Better thrown weapons that use the melee skill? Yep. Better cheap starter weapons for players and NPCs? Absolutely. Want a high move hover board option in combat that nearly anyone can use? It's cheaper than a car! Speaking of cars and aircraft there are offerings for Nomads that give them far more bang for their role levels. Now you can get a car, gyro, or AV with an already installed series of upgrades. Your Nomad will thank you when it saves them so many role points!
The PDF layout is wonderful. Everything is linked, and you can quickly jump to the summary table, and back to the full item page with the click of the buy button or page number. Almost every item in the book has unique accompanying art. The writing adds so much flavor and life to each item and what it brings to the setting.
A paired free DLC download from their R. Talsorian's website goes into even further detail about linear frame appearances available in black chrome, details about what you can afford with each lifestyle, and has cheap ammunition for your players that love autofire, or just need a lot of ammo.
Altogether an absolute steal at the PDF or print price. There is something in this book for playstyles of all kinds.
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Slick book, fantastic PDF design, great expansion of the core rules. Wish that the internal frame rules were more devastating (can't easily make Smasher with core Red Rules as written)and the HL was catastrophic for balance, but that's a very small gripe in a large sea of amazing content. Thanks R.Talsorian games!
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I say this as someone who played this game religiously when it first came out, this system is an example of wasted potential.
When the corebook came out, it was a great example of a modern take on a cyberpunk TTRPG. It was simple, elegant, easy to run and captured the tone of the genre well. However, it was extremely simple, poorly balanced in some areas and had a tendency in practice to produce largely similar characters as players started to realize how unsatisfying many of the game's options are. The effect of is that if you GM for enough players, you tend to see the same character build repeated largely because it simply breaks the game in how powerful it is.
Part and parcel with this simplicity was that some of the game's features were incredibly lacklustre. Certain abilities and options, such as the lawman's backup ability, just didn't really add enough to justify their existence. The netrunning system, while commonly praised for its simplicity, is incredibly limiting to the creativity of GMs and players and by and large feels samey once you've hacked enough turrets.
While these downsides were very clear and understood by much of the playerbase, there always remained the possibility of improvement, and with a few changes the system could have become a masterpiece. Unfortunately, however, the developers' priorities don't seem to lie with this sort of improvement. New content for the game has largely followed two main streams: Joke options that largely add nothing to the game besides the entertainment on initially reading it, and options which, rather than fix these underlying problems, actively make them worse.
The developers have all but rejected any idea that there is aspects of the corebook that could be improved. After 2 years of errata, PDFs and their first major sourcebook, they have leaned into the idea that the best way forward is to accept these flaws and add more items the the system that are by and large either useless, or game-breakingly powerful, simultaneously doing nothing to round out weaker options while making the strongest options in the game even better.
The end result of all this is a system that, at first seemed to cleverly balance combat with social gameplay and other forms of storytelling, but now largely focuses on wargaming style combat with very little happening outside of that. This would be ok if Red had a particularly compelling combat system, but instead it is slow, painfully simple and with very few tactical options that actually consistently feel good or work effectively.
It really is unfortunate that this is the case. I was excited to see how this system developed, especially alongside RTG's other current major system The Witcher. After seeing what RTG is putting out to support this system however, I can't really in good conscience recommend it.
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Cyberpunk RED |
by [Verified Purchaser]
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Date Added: 02/20/2023 01:36:53 |
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Incredible work from R. Talsorian games. The game flies like a bullet fired from a brand new Rhinemetall EMG-86 Railgun. Combat is fluid, detailed enough to be fun and refreshing even after becoming adept at the system but not too detailed to slow the game down. Rules are written clearly and make sense. Lots of useful information about lore, building your own cyberpunk world and preparing a session. My group ported our WoD game into the RED system and I am planning to use it in the future for any modern or sci-fi game I concoct.
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This is a lovely poster, but buyers ought to be made aware of the fact that it is bent in the middle and not rolled. I have attempted to get a refund because if I had known it was folded I would not have made the purchase.
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Much like The Witcher Easy Mode, this one is a banger. Perhaps a bit more sandbox oriented in it's narrative than The Witcher but still generally pretty servicable for a proper session one. I'd say this is really good for TTRPG newcomers and I love, love, love the fact that this Easy Mode built off of the Jumpstart Kit and made it a homerun by adding in some Netrunning!
Overall an excellent introduction, I highly recommend it. It's free, it provides lore for those who want to check out the universe, the basic rules and ebbs and flows for those who are curious, and a decent sandbox-like starting adventure for those more committed.
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