Blast From The Past: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles RPG

Heroes in a half shell, turtle power!

As a child of the 80's (yes, I just dated myself, deal with it), that phrase brings up fond childhood memories. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were huge back in the day. I recently rewatched the live action films, and I forgot how dark the first one was. That's because it was based on the original comics, much like this game.

This being a Palladium game, they don't waste a lot of time with setting and background. They start with the classic “What Is Roleplaying?” introduction, then there's the stats, and then the usual random tables. When it comes to creating your characters, you can roll on the random animal tables, then the table for cause of your character's mutation, and finally education. All of the skills and combat rules are the same as in every other Palladium game, so if you're familiar with one of their games, you know what this one is like. The next part is what makes this game unique, the BIO-E Point system. This allows you to make your mutant animal in whatever way you want. You can make a normal rat that's as smart as Einstein and has massive psionic powers. Or you can make a dog that's mutated to appear almost totally human. Or the kinds of creatures you see in the cartoon show, humanoid but still animalistic. Once you get your character mutated, know what education they have, and get the skills figured out, you're pretty much ready to go. There's no classes for you to pick, just education levels you start out with. These give you the skills you'll need, as well as your combat skills and the like.

The art is mostly taken from the original comics, and even includes a few pages from one of them. If the art isn't directly taken from the comics, it looks close. It's very dark, rough looking stuff that adds the to feeling of the game.

Since this is one of Palladium's older games, it's only 112 pages, like Robotech. However, unlike Robotech, there's a host of NPCs and some adventures. These are really cool. There's an adventure based around another popular cartoon show of the time, the Carebears. Except evil and dark. Because 80's? I don't know. There are some other enemies, some from the comic and show, but most are those they made. The do have the Ninja Turtles themselves. Somehow, they're only 5^th and 6^th level, while Splinter is 12^th. I suppose they made them low enough so you could play them if you wanted to. This is something different from the Robotech RPG, where they wanted you to play your own characters.

They did put out a few supplements, including Mutants Down Under. These books expanded the world and rules, but I don't have any of them. And they're not easy for me to find.

And that's about all there is in the book. There's some random tables to use for making your own villains and evil organizations for your players to go against. So, what else can you do with it?

The best use for this book is to use it as a supplement for Heroes Unlimited and Rifts for creating mutant animals. Since this book is long out of print, it's not easy to find. However, the rules were reprinted in After The Bomb, which itself started out as a setting for the game. But, now it's own game that you can find much easier. And I think that setting works better for the ideas.

If you really want to play with the “Ninja” angle, you can get a copy of Ninjas and Superspies and put the two together. You could have an entire order of mutant animals that use one form of martial arts.

If you want to have some real fun, you could take the concept of the Howard the Duck film (as of the time of this writing, Marvel hasn't made a version in the MCU yet) and use that. What if there was an alternate reality where other animals reached anthropomorphic forms and created a civilization? Now, what if they started experimenting with dimensional travel and somehow end up in the normal world? That could be an interesting take on the mutant animals in the normal world. Your villains could be people who want to experiment on the animals or learn the technology to travel between dimensions. You could really have fun with the “fish out of water” angle and play it up. It's up to you.

Another idea I had was what if some company created a bunch of mutant animals to work as cheap labor? And treat them like crap? Now, you can make your characters be freedom fighters, working to free their bothers and sisters from slavery. It's something that's in the book already, but you can make the whole game focus on it.

My last idea is humans or animals mutating into these TMNT type animals. There could be a virus or something unleashed on the world, causing these changes. Maybe it also makes some super powered people, too. You could turn it into a post apocalypse setting, a super hero setting, or a dystopia. Totally up to you.

And that's about all there is. There is a ton of supplements for the game, which do expand it, but I don't know what exactly they do. It's worth investigating, if you're interested, just keep in mind that the game diverges greatly from the movies and cartoons. This isn't a game for kids. Well, at least off the shelf.

I think it's sad that this is the only RPG we've gotten from the TMNT setting. I suppose you could use another system to create it, but I don't know. If you are interested in it, check it out, but you'll probably pay quite a bit for it. I found a copy, used and in only okay condition, but it was $40.

Deadlands - The Ferner Five: The Town of Baracho

Welcome to Baracho, cowpoke!

Before we get started on this part of our tale, there are two things you should be aware of: First, I wasn't running the game, I was playing Phil for the first time. Second, there was a lot of alcohol involved both in the game and around the table, so my memory isn't perfect. You have been warned.

Chapter One: Founding Day!

After waiting for a few days, the railroad finally sent out someone to find out what happened to the train and discovered the survivors. A series of stagecoaches were sent out and brought the survivors to the next stop along the line, the sleepy little town of Baracho.

As the posse arrived in town, we were all but assaulted by the bunting, flags, and people. It turned out that their arrival coincided with the town's “Founding Day” celebration weekend. We were told that there would be a series of games and contests the next day and we were more than welcome to sign up for these activities. There was a quick draw competition, a shooting competition, a contest of strength, some wrestling, a contest involving throwing axes, and a horse race. After what had happened, I think the posse was ready to let off some steam and have some fun. But, first, we really wanted the chance to spend the night in a hotel with a real bed. There was some light drinking, but we kept it under control. This time.

Chapter Two: Let the games begin!

After a night of rest, our posse was ready to start having some more fun. I'll break down each activity, who was involved, and what happened.

The Shooting Competition-

This one involved Phil, Dieter, Penwood, and... I don't remember. Phil wasn't a good shootist, so he missed three out of six cans. Penwood and Dieter were able to pull it off and went to the next part. From there, it was choice between precision shooting and quick draw. Dieter went for quick draw and lost. Penwood shot a playing card side on and won. He earned a quick draw holster for his troubles.

The Strength Competition-

This was Phil and Ming. I'm happy to report that Phil's 4d12 Strength went wild and he threw a stone with a chain in it all the way into a house (he said “sorry!” so it was all okay). Ming wasn't nearly as strong, but he tried his best.

The next part was arm wrestling and Phil dislocated Ming's shoulder, as Ming went Bust. With help from Penwood, they were able to pop it back in place. Phil bought Ming several drinks later than night to make up for it.

The Throwing Ax Competition-

This was another one with Phil. He was actually build for this, as I gave him Throwin': Unbalanced and four axes. He won handily. I can't stress enough just how much the dice loved Phil. The last round was between Phil and a town deputy, Joseph Eyes Like Wolf. When Phil won, Joseph gave him a special axe.

The Evening-

Now, we're going to talk about some stuff, but keep in mind that we were a bunch of guys and we were being historically accurate...

So we went to a whore house. I'd also like to point out that we, the players, were also very drunk by this point. I honestly don't remember who suggested it, but we all went for it. The characters then proceeded to catch up with the players in terms of drinks and got their rocks off (we faded to black) and that was the end of the day.

Day Two: The Hangover

Oh, you can only imagine how the posse felt. I think at one point Phil had a keg of beer in his hands and pair of women on his shoulders. The rest of the posse ended up in similar situations. It took them quite a bit of time to pull themselves together in the morning. Except for Penwood. The cultured Brit had kept himself under control, had a pleasant evening with the Madam of the brothel, and woke up bright and early to get himself a horse for the race that was scheduled for the day. He was all excited, but the rest of us weren't really up for it, in or out of character. Instead, we nursed our hangovers and then went back to the brothel for more “whores and ale.” No joke.

The Rest Of The Wait:

The group spent the next few days waiting for the train to show up and hung out around town, not really doing much. The players were drunk and tired, so we kind of skipped out on the rest of planned adventure. That said, we did have a lot of fun with the competitions and I would recommend doing something like this as a side track for any posse.

Once the train showed up, the posse boarded and began moving towards Salt Lake City...

Building Silent Hill: Cast Of Characters

Welcome back. Are you ready? I hope so...

Last time, I talked about the things I enjoyed about Silent Hill, the games and etc. Let's talk a little more about that. Beware spoilers for the first three games, if you haven't played them... You've had, like, 20 years...

As I mentioned, I really enjoyed the first three games. And a major part of that was the characters... Well, except for one, but we'll get to him in a minute. In the first game, you were playing a man named Harry Mason, just trying to find his child. Of course, it wasn't that simple. Playing as Harry, you were drawn into a series of disturbing events, nightmarish locations, and interacted with a few unusual people. All of this kept me engaged. Of course, I didn't get the best ending the first time through, but I went back for more. Several times.

In the second game, you played a man named James Sunderland. Now, since I'd played the first one, I knew I was getting into something weird. And the game did not disappoint. Silent Hill 2 was a worthy successor to the first game, with a major twist. If you don't want a spoiler, just skip to the next paragraph. Unlike the first game, you weren't playing some noble man. No, you were playing a man who murdered his wife, and then came to a town because he received a letter from her, and thought he could make it better? Who knows. He was going a bit crazy, so what we thought was going on might not have been the truth. Either way, the first time through, I almost didn't finish the game after the big reveal.

In the third game, you were playing a girl named Heather. A young teen just living life, until ghosts of her past came for her. Well, perhaps ghosts from her past lives would be a better phrase. She has to deal with monsters and the madness of the Order of Silent Hill, and then the God within her. Because it turned out she was the girl from the first game. While short, I think it's one of the best of the series. I've played it a few times and gotten all the endings (all three).

In the comics, the original ones, they introduced several new characters. They made Christabella, who was something between Cheryl and Sadako from the Ring series. I didn't find her all that original, but I liked the series as a whole. The character I really liked was Dr. Troy. A psychologist who tries to prove to his patient that the horrors of Silent Hill weren't real, he ends up trading his soul for the patient's safety. From there, he becomes part human, part eldritch monster. When he appears from that part on, he's oddly calm (usually), while inflicted all sorts of terrible tortures upon innocent people.

There's several other characters I really liked. The artist was one of the best, in my opinion. The soldier was good, but very much an archetype, rather than a real person. Of course, the interplay between him and the singer was what made that story so good. I thought about including Lauryn, but I'd have to include Christablla, too. And, while Lauryn is interesting, she's a lot like a darker version of Heather. As a brief aside, a Witchcraft campaign centered around the Mad Gods, using Silent Hill from the comics and story of Lauryn and Christabella as a basis, would be great. I might work on it later. Might.

After thinking about all of the games and the comics, looking at the characters, I started making a list of the characters that I thought were important to the world I was working with and I had enjoyed. Since I'd already decided on using The Order, I knew that Heather and the people related to her story were going to be involved. That means Heather, Dahlia, Claudia, and Cybil would be a big part of the adventure. Since I loved the second game (as many people do), I wanted to include James, but you can't have James without Maria or Mary (or both). I also wanted to include some characters from the comics, but I had to make sure they meshed well with the Order plot I'm going for. The two that I felt could really add something to the plot, or be useful, were Dr. Troy and Mordecai.

Now that I've got a list of characters from the game, I had to figure out how to work them all into the plot. While I did develop some new characters for the game (more on that in another entry), I wanted to start looking at what these characters I picked represented and what roles they would play.

For the Order, we have Dahlia and Claudia. Of course, they're both dead in “canon” such as it is. But, as Silent Hill 2 shows us, death isn't always the end of things. Even in Silent Hill 1, we saw Lisa up and walking around, and she was probably dead. So, yeah, I can do what I want. From there, I thought that Dr. Troy and Mordecai could be added to the Order's side of things as well. Their motivations and origin would have to be a bit different, but they do fit rather easily. I think by having these characters, each working towards different goals, can add some depth to the game and throw the players for a loop. Because you do need to have some twists and turns in Silent Hill. I also decided that if I was going to include The Order, I'd need to include Heather. My idea was that it would be good to have a character the party could interact with that wasn't completely insane or out to kill them.

Outside the Order, I had to work in the characters from Silent Hill 2. These characters had a completely different history and story, not really connected to the Order and the mythology of Silent Hill. In many ways, Silent Hill 2 is a true stand alone entry in the series. Which meant that I was going to have to think a bit more about them. As the Order was shaping up to be my main focus, I made the decision to make the Silent Hill 2 characters just cameo characters. I know, some people might not like it, but it thought it was a good idea. And it would throw some red herrings to the players. And, when you have James, you get Pyramid Head...

After I've figured out which characters I'm going to include I needed to look at what kind of characters they would be and what powers they would have. In the core book, they introduced the concept of Miracles, but those might not wok for a group of evil cultists. In All Tomorrow's Zombies, they did include a much more streamlined system for psychic powers. I decided to use a mix of both for the Order's powerful people, meaning that the more powerful members would be Inspired characters. For most of the other characters, I made them Norms. That works as many if the characters are normal people. Dahlia is definitely a Norm. For the main characters of the past games, I thought Survivors would work, as they had to survive some terrible things.

For making the characters, I used the core book and One of the Living for most characters, and then (if they had special powers), I would use the powers from All Tomorrow's Zombies. When it came to making Dr. Troy, I added in some zombie aspects, to give him the things I needed. And to make him a little more horrifying.

I made a mix of Norms, Survivors, and Inspired characters. Some will be allies and others will be enemies. I've been trying to make sure that they don't outside the players and their characters, because that's not fun for anyone. While the players' characters can't have powers, I've made sure that those enemies who do don't overpower them.

I've also designed some new characters, ones just for this game. It's all part of the story I've been putting together, and I'll be discussing that in another entry, but I've designed these characters as almost mirrors of the ones from the game. Think of it as a cycle, doomed to repeat itself. At least, until the Order is destroyed completely. Or perhaps the town must be destroyed? It's suggested that Silent Hill suffered some sort of catastrophic event between Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2. But, I don't like that idea too much. Feels too much like the movie, you know?

I've also tried to give each NPC different motivations, adding some complexity to the encounters. Some serve the Order, some combat it. Others are unaware of it, and a few want to take control of the town. I was trying to do something similar to the first game, where you came across different people, but didn't know how they fit into the plot for some time. I wanted to enhance the surreal feeling by having people just kind of wandering around and you wouldn't know if they were important, and if they were, why they were important. I've put some “fan service” characters in a red herrings. If you played Silent Hill 2, you should remember Eddie. I remember when I first played it, I kind of related to Eddie. And then he went nuts and you had to take him down. Since the players are aware of the history of the games, they'll know who Eddie is when they run across him. But, will they be able to trust him? I'm hoping they'll be suspicious of him from the start, unsure about what he's going to do. And I'll be keeping exactly what I'm planning for him under my hat until it happens. He could be a boss fight, like in his appearance in the game. Or he could be an illusion, used by the town or the Order to lull them into a false sense of security. Or it could be something totally different, something far more terrible. And that's what I like about using these known characters. You think you know them, but you don't. 

You know, I almost thought about not including any NPCs and just had the town be empty, like in Silent Hill 3. But, I knew it would just be a dungeon crawl, and my idea was becoming close to that already, so I knew that having the players interact with others would keep them from devolving into muderhobos. You rarely come across NPCs in dungeons, so I hope the tonal shift keeps that at bay.

So, I've selected and built my NPCs. I've got a rough idea for a story. But, what's next? That's right, the monsters...

Mastering The Game: Getting Started

Hello and welcome to (yet) another series here on Bearers of the Word!

This time, I'm going to try and do some stuff about running a tabletop RPG. What it takes to do it and what I've found that works. As I'm sure you know, these are only my opinions and what I've found that works for me. Which doesn't mean that it'll work for you. But, if it helps, great. That's what I'm here for.

Today's topic is an important one, especially if you're just starting out: Know The Game

The first thing, the very first thing, you need to do is buy the system. Don't pirate it, don't you dare steal it, take a deep breath and pay for it. I know that some people like to “try before you buy” which I can understand. But if you want that game to still be around and for the company to still produce supplements for it, you have to give them money. It's just the facts of a Capitalist society (note that I'm not saying I agree with such a system, we just happen to live in one). Some companies have sample versions of their games out there, and some will give away their core rules for free. But, as someone who does “artistic stuff” I fully support feeding starving artists. Also, companies need to make money to survive. If they're not making money, they're not going to be around for long. So, that means shelling out for their products. That said, if you are on a budget, I can't fault you for looking for used copies online or in your local book stores. If you can, buy the supplements for full price from a friendly local game store.

Now that you've paid your hard earned bucks for the system, what do you do with it? I always sit down and read the core book cover to cover. And then read it again. And again. Now, go over the parts you didn't understand and read them again. And then go over combat a few more times. And then make a few characters. I know, that's a lot of reading, but if you're going to be running the game, you need to know the rules backwards, forwards, and upside down. When you're going to be running the game, the players are going to be looking to you when the game starts. Speaking of which...

Try to join a group that's already playing this game:

I know that's not always possible, but you should make an effort. If you can't find a game to join, look for reviews (like the ones I do, shameless plug) or videos on YouTube involving the game. Not only can you learn some tips and tricks from watching or reading others and their experiences.

If you do join a game, don't try to tell the GM/DM what to do. Play to have fun (which you should be doing as a player or a GM). Try to make some interesting, but not too weird, characters. Experiment with combat rules, non combat rules, and other things. See what the system can and can't do. I suggest playing a caster, divine and arcane, a melee fighter, a skilled rogue type, and a face or charismatic character at least once for each, if possible. In D&D, I've never played an arcane caster or a rogue (neither one really appeals to me), but I've been part of enough groups to have seen their abilities in action to pick up what they can and can't do, as well as how to handle their abilities. If you can't play everything, at least observe and ask about how they work.

If you want to play the game you've picked, but can't find a group that's playing it (online or in your area), you might still want to join a group that is playing something else. It's okay. Most of the basics of roleplaying don't matter what game you're playing. But, it's up to you.

Also, if a group gives you a bad vibe or makes you uncomfortable in any way, leave. Don't try to suffer through it. Don't hope it'll get better. Just leave. Most groups don't change very much, especially if someone new joins. You can ask them or talk to them about what makes you feel uncomfortable, but don't be surprised if they just pay you lip service or ignore it entirely. I've heard my fair share of horror stories about groups and had an occasional bad experience, so I have no problem walking away. There's always someone better out there. Just look for them.

If You Can't Join A Group:

For whatever reason, you might not be able to find a group that's playing the game you want, or any game at all. It happens. Or, you find a group that sucks and you have to abandon ship PDQ. Don't worry about it. If you can, get a few friends together and sit down and make characters together. Then, just do an arena of sorts. You can just have the characters fight each other. This will give you a good sense of how combat works. Then you can have them try and make some social rolls to influence each other. Just do a bunch of things that use the very basic rules, but don't try running a game quite yet. Take the time to just experiment with the system and how it works. Because you're still learning the system, you'll need to look things up a lot, so you don't want to bore your players doing it. If everyone is there to just try things, it won't bog things down while you're just fooling around.

Once you've got a decent handle on playing the game, now you need to sit down and start working on figuring out how to run the game. I use GM's screens a lot to keep track of rules I need, but you should make your own notes and charts of rules you use a lot and the ones you have trouble remembering. I also make notes about any rules I'm not comfortable and jot down possible solutions for them. I'll warn you against making changes to rules right now, keep an eye on things and see how they work first. You'll want to know how combat works, how skills and abilities work, and what sorts of things common monsters can do. If you want, you can use my second suggestion above and have people make characters, and then run them against some low level monsters in an arena. You'll get a sense of what to expect when you start the game proper, but you can also do it by yourself.

The reason I suggest all of this is because when you're running the same, you have to keep things moving along. If you're looking up everything when someone wants to do something simple (like slip out of the back of the tavern when the guards enter through the front door), it distracts from the game. Knowing the basics of the rules is important. Don't stress about knowing every spell and ability right off the bat. When you do get your group together, feel free to make a note of what abilities and spells they're taking and look them up together. Go over them together. Then, when you're planning things, you'll have that list and some idea of what they do so you can keep it in mind. Noting the book and page number is important for quick reference. With all of this said, you're going to have to look things up (a lot in the beginning), so don't stress about it too much if you have to look things up. Just try to minimize it as best you can.

Now that you know the basics, you've either played some or fooled around on your own, what do you do? Well, I'd suggest looking up advice on YouTube or on other blogs. You can look up general advice on games or information for the game you're looking to run. Trust me, there's a video about every game out there, even if it's just one. If you're a regular reader here, don't be afraid to ask me questions about the games I've written about. Really, I don't mind...

The last bits of advice I can give you are these:

Start Small:

Not every adventure needs to be some grand epic from day one. There's a reason why people talk about killing rats in the tavern basement. It's a simple adventure for low level and doesn't require a ton of planning to do. You can go hunt kobolds in a cave, run down goblins in the woods, or fight some street thugs outside the church. I strongly believe in the KISS philosophy: Keep It Simple Stupid. As time goes on, you can build to the epics, but don't start that way, especially for your first game. Start them at low level and you'll progress with them.

Don't Be Afraid To Say No:

Early on in my days as a GM, I would allow anything and everything. Which lead to so many headaches. Now, I limit books and say “No” to things that I find unbalanced. Don't be afraid to do the same when you're just getting started. As above, Keep It Simple Stupid. Once you learn the rules and how things work, you can let people branch out more as you'll be better equipped to handle the wrenches they want to throw in your gears.

Expect The Unexpected:

When you're running the game, the players are going to throw you off. It's going to happen. It's a fact of life. Don't try to force the party to do what you want them to do, make them feel like they wanted to do it in the first place. There's tons of what ways to do this, but I think the “All Roads Lead To The Dark Tower” is one of the best. You want the players to go to Evil Tower, right? Well, no matter what direction they go, it leads there. But, they're going to do things you can't prepare for. So, just have a few ideas written down of what else you could do. There's still a chance that they'll avoid those, too. So, just be ready for anything.

Take A Break:

So, the party has gone completely off the rails, haven't they? Told you it would happen. Well, what now? Take a break. Give them 10-15 to go pee, get food, look over the books, etc. While they do that, you frantically scramble to pull something out of your hat and hope for the best. Don't punish them, but roll with what they want to. That's why you take a break. It lets you calm down and think about what to do. It's okay. As much as I emphasized not slowing things down, it's better to give everyone a break if you need it. That way, they don't feel like you're slowing things down. They have a chance to kick back and don't feel like they're waiting on you. Does that make sense?

Write In Sand, Not In Stone:

When you come up with an idea for an adventure, don't make it set in stone. The players will smell it and run the other direction. Okay, it's not that bad, but you get the idea. Your players want to have agency. Give it to them. Or at least the illusion of it. If they don't want to do what you think is fun, do what they think is fun. I bet you'll have fun, too. So, don't come up with a massive, through, completely outlined adventure. Instead, come up with a list of goals and different ways they can reach them. For example, you want the characters to discover that the head of a corporation is up to something dirty, give them several ways to figure that out. Hacking his email, digging through his trash, finding his mistress and questioning her, or putting the squeeze on his assistant, whatever else you can think of. The best way to put it is that adventures don't have right and wrong answers, they're multiple choice.

Don't Be Afraid To Talk To Them:

When my groups are going way down rabbit holes that I don't know if they're ever come back, I stop them and say “Folks, there's nothing here, it's time to look at other options.” Some people don't like this, because they say it ruins the narrative or whatever. I disagree. I get tired of letting them chase their tails around for the better part of two hours because it's not going to go anywhere. Just because there are multiple ways to find information doesn't mean that EVERY answer does. There's also taking the very, very, very long way around. Since they're heading towards a dead end, and no one is going to enjoy that, don't be afraid to take off the GM's hat every once in a while and let them know they're on the path to disappointment or on the road to nowhere.

Well, I hope that helps. If you want me to keep talking about this sort of thing, let me know. If you have something you want me to talk about in this series, feel free to leave a comment below.

Setting Showcase: Slipstream

Name: Slipstream

Produced By: Pinnacle Entertainment Group

System: Savage Worlds

Genre(s): Science Fiction, Science Fantasy, Pulp, Sword & Planet

Commander Cody. Rocky Jones. Captain Tomorrow. John Carter of Mars. Flash Gordon. Barbarella.

You might know some of these names. You might have seen some of their movies. But, the names you're not familiar with are probably from old Serials. “What are those?” I hear you asking. Good question. Back in the old days of motion pictures, the studios would show parts of a long movie before the feature. It was so you would come to the theater each week to say current on your favorite Serial, even if you weren't excited about the movie. And hopefully you've figured out where the name of these came from by now... Before we go too much further, I do have to mention that not all of these were science fiction. Just the best ones.

Most of these old Rocketship Serials were made in the 1930's, but they continued into the 1950's as TV shows. Back when still stuff started, they didn't have a whole lot of information about space and all that. Or the writers just didn't care. And Slipstream embraces that wholeheartedly.

Slipstream is set in the “exit” of a black hole. Yeah, it isn't so much “soft science” as much as it is “squishy science.” In this area of space, there's mostly breathable air, so you don't have to worry about the vacuum of space.

The area is filled with the remnants of worlds consumed by black holes, pieces large enough to hold an atmosphere and some gravity. These worlds are inhabited by a variety of different races, most based on the humanoid form. There's bird men, lion men, weird blue skinned people, and robot men; just to name a few.

These races ply the space lanes in rocket ships, shoot rayguns, and try to make a living. Several of the “Fragments” (the bits of planets) are inhabited, but a few are devoid of intelligent life. While you can play a handful of aliens, there's a ton more out there, like shark men and spider people, but these are suppose to be enemies, not allies.

Speaking of enemies, Slipstream is under the fist of Queen Anathraxa, a beautiful and deadly ruler. Her forces include her Handmaidens, Primals (ape men), and Minions, who are brainwashed human men. Yeah, we're going there. You see, Anathraxa is a cruel queen, but doesn't pay too much attention to the daily lives of her subjects. Her forces travel from fragment to fragment, collecting taxes... And males. Yep. It's like that. They don't let the players know what happens to the men she takes, but given the setting, it's not hard to guess.

There's also a fair amount of pirates, mad scientists, and other bad things running around in Slipstream. There's even a mysterious alien race that the GM can adapt for their own game, as they're left nebulous for that reason. Plenty to explore and adapt for your game. You can choose to deal with minor threats and the like, ignoring the Big Bads of the setting. It's up to you and your group.

All in all, the setting isn't too different from the source materials. The same elements are there, but updated for modern sensibilities (mostly). If you're not familiar with the genre, you might find it a little weird and out there. If you do, I suggest you give it a shot. The old science fiction stuff was a product of its time, but it can still be fun for modern games as it's the same sort of high action and adventure you want to play. Clearly, this game is an action game, not really an intrigue sort of thing. You have an evil overlord, her despicable minions, and a fair amount of freebooters and pirates. Doesn't mean that you can't do it, but you have to get into the spirit of the genre. Think old time pirates, but in spaaaaaace!

The rules, new Edges and Hindrances, are designed to get into the spirit of genre as well. There's one called “I'm With Him” for your weak science types, for one example. These Edges and Hindrances help you get into the mood of the game and make your characters match up. There's a lot of combat and leadership, of course. It really gives you a lot of options for what kind of dashing heroes you're going to play. Because you're going to be playing Big Damn Heroes. That's the genre. 

Now, I'm going to have to talk about the book itself. It's a hardback, which is really nice, and durable. But, there is a minor problem. The information for the inhabitants of the fragments, their stats, is in the player's section of the book. With a note saying that they're not for players. Then, there's a quick overview of each fragment for players, with a little widget to signify what technology level the fragment has. And then there's a much larger section about each fragments... Um, What? Why waste a page in the beginning with the stats for the creatures and races, when you're going to put in a larger section that has most of the information for it? I don't have a problem with the little overview part... If it was where the stats are in the player's section. I know this might seem like a small beef, but as an experienced GM, I do not like having to look at three different parts of a book when I'm in the middle of a game.

Which reminds me of another problem I have with the layout of the book. In the GM's section, there's a ten part campaign for you to run, dropped pretty early on in this part of the book. A series of adventures that has a massive effect on the status quo of the setting. And then they give you a chart, after all of that, which random encounters and other adventure ideas, that either require you to have run the campaign or will be worthless if you already have. Seriously. Some drop hints about Anathraxa's dark secret... Which the players will already know if they finish the campaign. And others will be like “If you saved this person in this part of the campaign, this adventure should happen.” Yeah... Because players always do things the right way...

All of this said, I do like the book and I like this setting. Since this uses Savage Worlds, it makes for a dramatic and dynamic type of game and that really matches the setting. This genre of science fiction has fallen to the wayside and the people behind this setting are clearly fans of it and tried to do right by it. If you're a fan of Serials, you will enjoy this game. If you haven't watched them, I suggest doing so. MST3K did a few of these during their old days and you should be able to watch them that way.

There's also a Player's Guide for the game, which I haven't checked out yet, as well as some more adventures on Pinnacle's website.