Fantastic iteration of the "Action Tales" system right here. Great for one shots, and short to medium sized campaigns. With a setting like space opera, I appreciate a game that is easy to hack and design for and no system I've encountered is as intuitive and hassle free as "Action Tales". The star ship rules are also a simple and welcome addition. Highly recommend seeking out Nathan Russell's other games!

Ok, so to start with, I am giving this 5 stars because I have been a fan of the author since I came across Freeform Universal. I am still hoping to see FU2 one day, but I think that's pretty much what the Action Tales! games are, as they seemingly grew out of ideas presented in the FU2 beta.

The system itself is good for fast, fun games that rely on the narrative more than a rule for every situation. Everything is simple and to the point so that you can spend more time playing than looking up how to resolve your actions.

My one complaint about the Action Tales! games is that each one changes some of the rules. For example, character creation in Neon City Overdrive has you choose 3 Trademarks and 4 Edges. In Hard City, it's 3 Trademarks and 5 Edges. In Star Scoundrels, it's 3 Trademarks and 3 Edges.

Another difference lies in Injury/ death, with NCO, HC, and SS all handling it differently. In Star Scoundrels, a character can suffer a certain number of injuries (equal to their Grit) after which they begin to die. In NCO, every time a character suffers a Trauma (which is equivalent to a SS Injury) they roll to see if they pass out and start dying. This makes SS characters tougher than NCO characters. In NCO, for example, a character can make a roll, receiving a broken toe... then fall unconscious and potentially die.

I assume this is done in support of the feel of the different genres, but I wish the rules were consistent from game to game.

But don't let that put you off. There is a lot of great stuff here (and in the other games) that makes them MORE than worth checking out, provided you are not looking for a "crunchy" system.

If you like games like Fate, this should be right up your alley.

Good game to play StarWars-like stories with the system you like so much... :D It's a great alternative to Fate or Cortex. I suggest also Neon City Overdrive, if you need a Cyberpunk alternative. In the 1.5 update there are nice additional tables to spark imagination and start to play immediately.

Nicely done.

The Cyberpunk game I have been looking for. I bought the premium softcover and pdf. It is a short book but the quality is awesome and so much packed into the core. The supplements look fantastic, I am going to grab them all. Are there any more supplements on the horizon?

Fun rules lite system. Let's me emulate the kind of Star Wars gaming style goodness I want without a lot of unnecessary rules. The random generator tables included in the book also help a time harried GM to put together a quick adventure on the fly! Recommended! Just needs a print version!

This is the best take on hacking and using the net in a cyberpunk game I have seen. I actually rate this book higher than the core book and recommend it to anyone wanting to run a cyberpunk game in any system. (The core book is good too, not knocking it.)

Classic Star Wars with the serial numbers filed off. That's basically Star Scoundrels. Nothing new under the sun. But it uses the simple, elegant Action Tales rule system from Neon City Overdrive, derived from the brilliant FU rules, and that alone makes it worth the price of admission. Character creation takes 5 minutes, the rules are straightforward and easy to learn, and can handle anything from blaster firefights to space battles without a hitch. A set of useful random tables complete the book. Highly recommended!

great game ,i modified it a little to play with my kid

What a great bundle of games. Dungeon blitz is one of my favorites. Super fun. Be creative with your dungeons.

Realy enjoyed playing this game. For me it was just the right amout of narative that gives this game a nice edge. The combat is tight, I only just won this game with one wound left. Plenty of variety with the rooms and encounters. Hope there is more to come.

It's rare to see such well-crafted products born out of a short game jam. This manual (for which the author is preparing a second edition) is easy, short, concise and clear. I admit that I personally like systems that use "concepts" instead of "stats" to define characters (e.g. Neverwhere and Not The End). Freedom Universal builds on it an interesting system with a well-defined and functional structure. Easy to use and, by its nature, very versatile and easily usable in different settings. Recommended.

This game is great. The system is wonderful and I will likely use it as my go-to system. There are only a few games I have ever read that out of the box are so streamlined and are ready for solo or group play w/o have to make any real changes. The system is the same as Freeform Universal 2e, but I can tell that some great playtesting went into the system. Threats are so easy to make you can do it on the fly. I am unsure if the math around the mechanic holds together at higher dice pools. With it being so simple I am unsure if it even matters. Huge fun, quick read, great expansions with Skins, Grid, and Psions. If you are interested in a game that just gives you what you need, this one is wonderful. We are using it for a game based on the Arcane TV show, while we did have to make some new Trademarks there were no changes needed for the mechanics. I cannot wait to see what else the folks at Peril Planet inspire with us next.

Tag based, fast, the mechanics tie directly into the narrative, really feels like cyberpunk.

Strong Forged in the Dark influences, and DNA shared with Technoir and Lady Blackbird.

Excellent!

While I have not run this yet (so my review is based on reading the game) I have not been this excited by a rules lite system in years The game is beautiful, the dice mechanics elegant and the system just makes my mind spin with creative ideas. So good.

an absolute jewel of a rpg.

in a few pages, the book gives all that you need to run a cyberpunk-themed game, from a oneshot session to a long campaign.