I think it is really smart to release a free quickstart guide. I feel this guide could do a better job of hand holding new players through combat. It is not very intuitive. But the design and layout is great.

This is a great book. I love the layout and the design. They did a great job of capturing the essence of Star Trek. My only complaint is that if you are new to this game system... the rules are not very intuitive. Particularly with combat. I have read and reread over and over again trying to understand "how do I attack, what do I roll". Its such a basic thing that should be easy to find... but it isnt. Or at least it isnt explained very well. The beginning adventure could do a better job of "hand holding" in that regard.

I have run this adventure (in the original version) two times now, each with players new to the rules. It’s a really well-drafted adventure to learn the game, with a great Dune vibe and awesome pre-generated characters. Really, the characters stand out. My players always had a hard time choosing their favourites. All characters can contribute to the adventure, and depending on who is picked, the story can unfold differently.

I highly recommend this one if you want to test or introduce the game!

I was a bit skeptical coming into this RPG. The only previous Modiphius 2d20 games I had played were Conan, which I thought was mostly pretty solid, and the Dishonored RPG, which I thought was kind of a mess. I really like the core concept of the 2d20 system, but both Conan and Dishonored had several systems that felt really underdeveloped and poorly explained (doom, chaos, truths, momentum, etc). I’m very happy to say then that the Fallout RPG pretty much fixes every problem I had with these previous games and feels like a fully-realized version of the 2d20 system.

The 2d20 system is simple: for every skill test, you roll 2d20s and try to roll below your skill rating. Every 1 you roll is a crit, which acts as two successes, and every 20 you roll is a complication, which allows the GM to do something really nasty to your character. Both the players and the GM have a resource called action points (AP) that they can use to, among other things, add more d20s to their pool when they make a roll. This replaces the more confusing meta-resources that the other games had with something much simpler and easier to comprehend, but you still get the fun head-to-head metagame of the players and the GM trying to use their AP against each other as strategically as possible.

The combat system is really good here too, with just the right amount of complexity. Combat uses the normal 2d20 rolls to determine if you hit, but uses D6s to determine damage. The book really wants you to order Modiphius’ fancy custom Fallout dice (which don’t even exist yet last time I checked), but you really don’t need them; you can just roll normal d6s and consult a table. In combat, you can do things like make called shots, or spend extra ammo to inflict more damage, or spend AP to let you do more actions. There’s a good amount of player agency in the combat without it feeling too overwhelming.

There’s many more player options than I expected. Players can not only be Vault Dwellers or Wasteland Survivors, but also creatures like Ghouls and Super Mutants. You can even play as a Mister Gutsy if you want, which is awesome. You also get to choose a background for your character that determines your starting equipment, so if for example you decide to be a Brotherhood of Steel member, you can start as either ]an initiate or a scribe. Overall, I quite like the way that this game handles character creation, and the way that the designers translated the “tag” system from the video game to the TTRPG is really quite clever.

Lore-wise, this book is mired in the Fallout 4 version of the Fallout universe. It’s a bit of a weird choice considering 4 isn’t exactly universally loved, but I guess it’s better than Fallout 76 being the setting. The book goes into a lot of detail about the Commonwealth setting and factions, but as the GM you can easily move the setting to New California or the Capitol Wasteland or the Mojave if you would prefer. Just be aware that all of the world-building, bestiary, and gameplay inspirations for this book come directly from Fallout 4 and seemingly nowhere else. I find this a bit disappointing but it’s not a huge deal to me, since the setting is probably the one thing that I liked about Fallout 4. I would love a New Vegas sourcebook in the future but since Bethesda doesn’t even like to acknowledge that game’s existence, it’ll probably never happen.

I saw some people complaining that this book doesn’t feel like it has enough information for the GM and that you would probably need another supplement to properly run the game, but I don’t think that’s true at all. After reading through this whole book just once, I feel like I could easily and confidently run a session of this game with no problem, and that’s not something I can say about many RPG core rulebooks. And with a very complete list of items, weapons, and enemies, it feels like there’s enough content here to keep your group playing this game for quite some time.

My one real complaint about the game is that it imports a lot of rules and systems from the video game that just make no sense at all in an RPG. For example, there's a long list of modification for each weapon (all of them straight from the video game), but many of them make no sense in the context of a tabletop game. Why would I ever need to modify my rifle to fire a different caliber of ammo? That mod makes sense in the game, but makes no sense in an RPG. A lot of the time it feels like they just included game mechanics simply because they were in Fallout 4, even if they don’t have any practical use in a TTRPG.

Regardless, this game completely exceeded my expectations on almost every level and is honestly a very impressive and comprehensive take on a Fallout tabletop RPG. I was expecting this to be a rushed, unfinished, messy cash grab but it’s actually anything but, with a wealth of options and a very well-designed gameplay system. Unless you really, really hate Fallout 4 and its setting, I highly recommend this game to any Fallout fan.

This is a unique game and setting, i ran this with a friend and later with a pair of friends.

for those that don't know, this game uses the 2d20 system, however it has been modified specificially for this game to focus more on role play and quicker game and conflicts.

the adventure itself is good, not great but good enough to give you an idea on how to run the game. if gives you a taste of how to be diplomatic, how to have dialogue conflicts, and the combat scenes are fast paced and really intense that my friends got into it really quickly. it also explains what to rule for and how to decide on your Drive which is unique to this system. you have a skill plus a focus, then there is drive which i love in this game, because the player are deciding and explaining to me, why they are using Faith as their drive to complete a skill check.

the one mechanic that is super helpful and its on me that i forget is momentum and threat. if you played any of the Modiphius games, that's one of the main mechanics of the 2d20 system, and this is probably the most heplful and easier version of this momentum system, because you need those successes and bargaining for a success with your gm is pretty funny and amazing.

overall, a good quickstart guide to test out the 2d20 version of Dune. this has made me more interested in getting the Core Rulebook and possibly running a game. the rules are simple enough to understand, the scenario isn't great, but it is good enough to run a one shot to test out this system. plus its the low price of Free so you can't beat that.

This is a mixed bag. When it's good, it's very good. It's deliciously atmospheric, with a nice mixture of suspenseful horror and thrilling combat scenes. It feels like it fell down somewhere in the editing process.

Two NPCs who each get extensive vignettes describing their pasts, but one of them is a mindless horror by the time the PCs encounter her, and the other we don't meet until the very end of the adventure. In the first case, it definitely feels like wasted space, and in the second, that background text is on the other side of the book from the characters' statistics.

There's proofreading errors -- references to a missing Appendix 2 (there are no Appendices at all) that looks to have been helpful to tie new PCs into the scenario rather than using the four pregenerated PCs. The background information tells us that the player characters have been experimented on and modified with cybernetics -- but there's no actual discussion of what that might be, or if the PCs can find out what's been done to them. Even the pregenerated PCs don't seem to have any such modifications described in their sheet. Perhaps this was described in Appendix 2.

At one critical point, an NPC is in danger of falling to the influence of the Dark Symmetry. It's suggested that one of the pregenerated PCs can intervene using his Brotherhood Arts -- but that PC does not have the power (Exorcise Dark Influence) described in the text!

I want to love this. There's some excellent work in here, but the flaws in the text are disappointing enough that I can't give it more than 3 stars.

A good one shot adventure that fits in well with the themes of the world of Conan. The PCs will find themselves mixed up in a feud between two warring houses and end up facing off against a subhuman monstrosity. The art is great as always though the adventure seems a bit short. Still, players have a way of stretching out adventures in surprising ways. All in all this adventure is a good one for your Conan game as well as any low magic fantasy RPG.

Science fiction, fantasy and both - a Mephisto review

The Constellation of Alarion is a short story collection by John Houlihan, known in the roleplaying scene for his publication for the roleplaying game Achtung! Cthulhu. In The Constellation of Alarion he presents ten short stories, usually set against a science fiction background and sometimes with a dash of fantasy. One story, for example, is about competition and confrontation with a robot assistant. Then a mismatched brother and sister must prepare for a gladiatorial battle in a chariot to secure supplies for their town. Sometimes it's about the consequences when lies become impossible, and sometimes about the devious machinations of a supposed war hero in a futuristic retirement home. The stories are varied, original, and well told. Especially Most Exalted from the villain's point of view has an exciting and black-humored approach. But the eponymous story, very reminiscent of classic roleplaying scenarios, in which a diverse group of characters seeks treasure in a trap-filled labyrinth, also provides excellent reading entertainment.

The Constellation of Alarion provides a diverse and entertaining collection of short stories that has to offer a good range of original ideas in the science fiction genre - and the fact that some of the stories are somewhat reminiscent of roleplaying game settings is a bonus, in my view.

(Björn Lippold)

I've been keeping up with the IDW Year Five comic series and this is suppliment is a great asset to include the classic Star Trek characters and organizations in your game. I especially enjoyed the indepth look into the Tholians as well as the information about Gary Seven, Harry Mudd and some of their associates. All in all it's definitely worth the price as source material alone for any Star Trek enthusiast.

It's a really good war time ToC adventure. Which is to say that it isn't really an investigation so much as a commando raid in the style of so many great WWII movies. There are plenty of great NPCs to interact with and some truly hideous stuff for the climax.

I like conan but the 2d20 wasn't for my group. That said if 2d20 is your thing or you want to look at the latest Conan game it great that the line is supported not only with this but also other Free rpg day options from modiphius. I will say its very well built with good art.

Free is good, and it works and looks great but its very busy.

I really enjoyed this adventure. It included enough action and drama to satisfy my craving for gritty war stories while still being lighthearted enough to keep all of us at the table engaged. It was a fun adventure that lasted our group 6h divided into two game nights. I don't think that I really grasped the system after just one adventure, but this is an excellent introductory adventure that will leave you wanting more.

I'm a longtime Fallout fan, and a longtime rpg fan, and while I was nervous and skeptical of this release at first, I can say I am VERY pleased with it.

-Layout: Better than most more contemporary rpgs, the layout is fairly clean. Most information you need is in appropriate places, and not scattered ALL over the place. (Side note, many of my favorite rpgs have horrible layouts, and I still love them, but when one DOES have a good layout, it's just that much better.)

-System: The 2d20 system is pretty easy to grasp; small dice pools of d20's (2-5 dice) with a roll low target (equal to or under stat+skill for a success), more successes, the better you do, extra action points, etc. I am not a huge fan of the 'need' for the unique dice for the combat dice, but unlike Fantasy Flight/Edge's Genesys (again, love the hell out of Genesys,) managing without the special dice is MUCH easier, since it's just d6's with special faces.

-Setting: Already a well established setting, the book/game does a pretty good job of explaining the world of Fallout, the major players pre-war, and giving a brief explanation of the anticipated setting of the book (The Commonwealth) while still mentioning expanded portions of the known world (NCR, Appalachia, New Vegas,) but also doesn't give away tooooo much. It threads existing lore into a new medium pretty fantastically, gives me solid hope for the future of the rpg releases.

-Art/Design: Here's where I was blown away. The art is top notch, and the design behind the layout felt VERY Fallout. Gorgeous and easy to read, a truly well put-together piece.

-Overall: If you love a good blend of crunch and fluff, an easy to learn system with lots of options, or just Fallout in general, it's a fantastic book/game to pick up! I really hope for books that give material from other games, I'd really like That Gun, from Fallout 2/New Vegas, or the Scorched from 76 introduced. Maybe even working with Bethesda to come up with a new region for the rpg to cover. I know I've been brainstorming my local area for a Fallout game!

I am revising my review on this title. Initially I didn't like it because it didn't have some of the things I wanted most:

Psionics Non-tactical combat rules *More story tracks

I still don't think I'll ever use the multiplayer rules, but I have played several games with Escalating Battles, Progressive Difficulty (method 2 - includes elite enemies and difficulty toggles), and Deployment variables.

I am currently combining these rules with some of optional rules in the base set:

• Combat events
• Story Track
• Red and Black missions

So my campaign goal is to try and finish the story track with these rules, and complete a black mission by turn 25. If I can do that, I will declare "I have beat the game."