I was fortunate enough to receive these Free RPG Day books from Games Plus in Mount Prospect, IL via Curt "thalmin" Duval with an identical set going to Ernest Gary Gygax Jr. Thanks, Curt! I meant to post about this fine gifting a bit sooner but between the move and the subsequent difficulties of last week, this posting got a bit away from me. Nevertheless, in all their glory, here are the three products I received -
On the right is Cosmic Patrol Quick-Start Rules: The Eiger Agenda from Catalyst Game Labs. This 24 page, digest-sized booklet appears to have everything needed to understand the rules, setting, and even to get a multi-mission adventure going. It looks like a fun little game with a nice sense of humor reminiscent, perhaps, of science fiction in the same vein as the first Heavy Metal movie. It can be had for free on RPGNow.com
here!
On the left, one of the first things I noticed about this offering for Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Better Than Any Man, is the red circle with an 18+ explicit content warning. But I also noticed the loose cover, due to a full-page color map gracing the interior of the front and back cover. The map includes some page number references to help negotiate through the 96 page digest-sized booklet. James Edward Raggi IV, the author and LotFP guru, pulls no punches, gives no quarter, suffers no fools, and brings the goods. This offering is jam-packed with material, illustrations, maps, setting locations, and adventure. Even at a glance, one can tell this is a labor of love. I look forward to delving further and finding a group with the right sensibilities for this material.
In the center is Hall of Bones, a Swords & Wizardry adventure from Frog God Games and Bill Webb. With just enough of a Rules Overview to make sure the reader is on the same page as any Old School Gamer needs to be, this full size 20-pager is well developed and presented, as one would expect from a group with a pedigree like that of Frog God Games. All three of these tomes are of top-notch quality and I was very lucky to get my hands on them!
I might also mention that over on EN World there is a thread,
here, where "Walking Dad" and others are keeping a list of where one might find legal electronic versions of many of the Free RPG Day books. I hope everyone had as satisfying a day as I had, makes good use of everything they garnered, and further supports the publishers who went above and beyond to make this another great year for RPGing.
