Gear Krieg (Two Fisted Pulp Superscience Roleplaying)

Gear Krieg: The Roleplaying Game This book is the core rules book and all you really need to set up a single night roleplaying session of Gear Kreig for any number of players. Why would you do that? I'm glad you asked. Imagine playing through a chase scene in which your cat (man) is in a limo following some goon, a suspected nazi spy, in bent boiler (stolen car) to a dive by docks. The goon has lifted the plans for the new Telsa Death Ray, and you have the job of getting them back. Suddenly, a Japanese submersible gear (two legged, piloted robot-tank) rises out of the water and opens its heaters (guns) on you. Your limo transforms into another gear and begins throwing beans (bullets) right back. Ever done that before, Palooka? If your group is looking for something different to play for a while, Gear Krieg is a great choice. In-depth roleplayers will appreciate the pulp-style and detailed world setting. Dice rollers will appreciate the concept that both the minis combat game and the RPG use the exact same rules, so an adventure can switch between one style of play and another without using different stats for characters or vehicles and without any conversion work. The game is created by the much underrated and underappreciated Dreampod-9 team who previously created the gorgeous _Macross II Deckplan_ books for Palladium. Whereas their _Jovian Chronicles_ game looks a little bland and generic by comparison, Gear Kreig is bursting with tone and retro-coolness. The pulp fiction glossary on Page 204 is alone nearly worth the cover price. There is a chapter in the back for gamemasters. It's got very useful information like a random adventure tables. What would have been most useful, however, is a short sample adventure module. Lacking that, the book seems somewhat unfinished. Also, it lacks enough meat (characters, gear stats, and the like) for an extended campaign. For that, you'll need to pick up the _Superscience Roleplaying Supplement_ as well.

Rarely have I come by a role-playing rule book that I actually enjoyed reading as a stand alone book, but this is one of them. If you are a fan of alternative history (Harry Turtledove et al) you will enjoy this. Setting, sometime during WWII. The difference is that the sort of wacky science fiction that was being written during the 1920's starts to actually become true. Jet and rocket fighers are introduced earily in the war. Ground war is altered by the addition of primitive "walkers" (e.g. Battletech). In the backround, there are superscience villins that need to be brought to justice. The game mechanics seem simple enough and the kicker is that it is also a table game too, but, you have to get the other suppliments to run that as well. All in all, very satisfying.