[Free RPG Day 2025] Shock and Mayhem

Now in its eighteenth year, Free RPG Day for 2025 took place on Saturday, June 21st. As per usual, Free RPG Day consisted of an array of new and interesting little releases, which are traditionally tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. This included dice, miniatures, vouchers, and more. Thanks to the generosity of Waylands Forge in Birmingham, Reviews from R’lyeh was able to get hold of many of the titles released for Free RPG Day.

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Shock and Mayhem is a scenario for not one roleplaying game, but two! Published by Renegade Games Studios, it is designed to be used with the Transformers Roleplaying Game and the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game, whereas the publisher’s contribution for Free RPG Day 2024, Unnatural Disaster, was also written use with the Power Rangers Roleplaying Game and the My Little Pony Roleplaying Game as well. In fact, Shock and Mayhem is intended to run and played with a mix of Transformers and G.I. Joe operatives, though the Game Master could adapt it so that it could be run with just Transformers or G.I. Joe operatives rather than both. Whichever group the Game Master decides to run it for, Shock and Mayhem is written for use with four to six Third Level Player Characters.

The adventure begins with the Player Characters sent to a liaison point where they will meet Wheeljack of the Autobots and Breaker of G.I. Joe, who together will give them a briefing. It is an emergency situation. If the Transformer Player Characters are not aware of G.I. Joe and vice versa, Wheeljack and Breaker will explain who the other is, but more importantly, tell them that the Decepticons and Conbra are working together. Top Decepticon scientist, Shockwave, is working with COBRA commander, General Mayhem to develop a dangerous new form of concentrated energy processing. This had been identified as Energon-V and it will provide the Decepticons with a new source of concentrated power and enhance the weapons of the Iron Grenadiers of COBRA. Each member of this temporary alliance has assigned a lieutenant to the project, Deluge of the Decepticons, and Baron Unbreakable, ambitious Iron Grenadiers officer and protégé of Mistress Armada. There is a secret testing facility nearby in the badlands of Arizona, and the Player Characters’ objective is to obtain a sample, destroy the rest, and prevent either of the Decepticons or COBRA from developing the new energy former any further.

Shock and Mayhem is a straightforward adventure. The Player Characters travel deeper into the Arizona Badlands to the location of the joint Deception/COBRA-facility, taking advantage of a thunderstorm to either sneak up on it or assault it. Suitably, it opens the action with a bang and continues with a chase as the Player Characters next try to prevent the dangerous alliance from obtaining the chemicals necessary to keep Energon-V stable and stop it from just exploding, and then go after what has been stockpiled so far. There are two chemicals, each in a different location, a desert storage bunker and a cryogenics warehouse, and these can be tackled in any order. However, destroying the chemicals at one, will alert the guards at the other, so that they will be prepared when the Player Characters do arrive. The capture of at least one of the lieutenants—and as the scenario makes clear—the ethical interrogation of either, gives the Player Characters information as the whereabouts of Shockwave and General Mayhem. Facing either one of them will be a tough challenge, but together they are too tough to face in a stand-up fight, so the adventure suggests that the Player Characters use other means, such as stealth and playing one villain off against the other. The scenario ends with the suggested narration for various outcomes, including victory and defeat.

The scenario is supported with an appendix of threats that the Player Characters will face. This includes a COBRA H.I.S.S. II vehicle, Iron Grenadier Foot Soldier, and General Mayhem for COBRA, and the Decepticon soldier and spy, Deluge, and Shockwave. There are no stats for Baron Unbreakable, but notes are given on how to adjust the Iron Grenadier Foot Soldier to reflect his skill and experience.

Physically, Shock and Mayhem is a decently, cleanly laid out booklet with artwork from the two different roleplaying games it draws from, the Transformers Roleplaying Game and the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game. There are no maps, but then the locations in the scenario are intentionally generic in nature, so that it can easily be run without them.

Shock and Mayhem is a straightforward, uncomplicated scenario, whether the Game Master is running it for the Transformers Roleplaying Game 0r the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game—or as intended, for both. The Player Characters get the opportunity to sneak around, blow stuff up, and defeat the bad guys. As a demonstration scenario, this is exactly what you want. As a scenario in a campaign, this is a short, in-between affair that the Game Master can easily slip into her ongoing plot or develop something from to present a bigger and more complex story.

[Free RPG Day] Unnatural Disaster

Now in its seventeenth year, Free RPG Day for 2024 took place on Saturday, June 22nd. As per usual, Free RPG Day consisted of an array of new and interesting little releases, which are traditionally tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. This included dice, miniatures, vouchers, and more. Thanks to the generosity of Waylands Forge in Birmingham, Reviews from R’lyeh was able to get hold of many of the titles released for Free RPG Day.

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Unnatural Disaster is a scenario for not one roleplaying game, but four! Published by Renegade Games Studios, it can be used with the Transformers Roleplaying Game, the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game, the Power Rangers Roleplaying Game, or the My Little Pony Roleplaying Game. This is not to say that the scenario can be used by one or more of them together, but rather be run using whichever one of the four roleplaying games that the Game Master is running. This is done by combining the plot of the scenario with the villains, minions, device, and purpose given for each one of the four different roleplaying games and referenced in their pages. In addition, the Game Master needs to use the suggested Metropolitan City for each setting or use one from her own campaign, the Innocents in danger throughout the scenario, the reasons for the Player Characters being there, and the Supervisor who will working alongside the NPCs.

For example, the Villains for Unnatural Disaster for the My Little Pony Roleplaying Game are listed as the Diamond Dog, Cooper, his Minions are three Parasprites, the Device is the Crown of the Hive Queen, and the purpose is to dig for the gems that the Diamond Dogs love. The Metropolitan City is Manehattan, the Innocents who will be placed in danger are Manehattanitte Ponies and other creatures, the Player Characters are there for a ‘Rarity For You’ paid internship, and the supervisor is Sassy Saddles. In comparison, the Villains for the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game is The Garnet of the Crimson Guard, whose Minions are five COBRA Troopers, the Device is The Weather Dominator, and the Purpose is for The Garnet is to make an impression and so rise up the ranks of the COBRA. The Metropolitan City is Los Angeles, the Innocents who will be placed in danger are the Angelenos, the Player Characters are there on an Undercover Urban Assignment, and the supervisor is Roadblock. All the Game Master has to do is to remember to refer to the particular elements from the roleplaying game she is running and use them during play.

Unnatural Disaster is a three-act scenario which begins en media res with the Menagerie District of Metropolitan City being best by an earthquake and the Player Characters being caught up in the middle of it. As the Player Characters unearth themselves from the cave-in and navigate the aftershocks, they discover the district to be in disarray and the citizens in a state of panic and in need of help. There are three sub missions here. These are escorting innocents to safety, stabilising structures, stopping bad behaviour—that is, looting and similar actions. In each case, these are clearly explained with suggestions as to which skills should be used and how. Notable are the suggestions as to how to deal with the incidences of bad behaviour. The Player Characters might try an emotional approach with a heart-to-heart; a logical approach to persuade that what the miscreants are doing, that it is not worth it; or a physical approach if all else fails. It also states that there is no one way to solve the problem, but there is probably an ideal way—and the advice for the Game Master essentially covers them all.

In addition to helping citizens of the Menagerie District recover in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake and get to safety, the Player Characters are also doing one more thing—they are looking for clues as the cause of the disaster. The first of which is the initial point of the earthquake, which looks very different—‘unnatural’ if you will—to what the obvious signs of an earthquake should be. This clue-gathering will ultimately, with a bit of thought by the players and the use of a handout grid to work what clues their characters have found to date, point to the possible source of the disaster and its location. This leads into the third and final act, in which they will climb down into a basement and confront the villain responsible for the earthquake. This sets up a big battle in which the Player Characters can defeat the villain, capture him, and shut down the device to prevent it doing any further damage, all before the authorities turn up to take the villains into custody and begin the clean up of the city.

Lastly, there is advice for the Game Master as to whether or not the Player Characters should go up a Level and some suggestions as a possible sequel, though these are understandably generic given that the scenario is designed to work with four different roleplaying games! Reward definitely comes though, in the form of bonuses to any social skill tests whilst in the Menagerie District. The citizens will not forget the aid rendered by the Player Characters.

Physically, Unnatural Disaster is a decently, cleanly laid out booklet with artwork from all four roleplaying games. The map is clear and simple, and easy to use. However, it does need an edit in places.

Unnatural Disaster is a straightforward, uncomplicated scenario—whichever roleplaying game the Game Master is running it for. It can be played in a single session and it gives plenty of opportunities for the Player Characters to be heroic, which is exactly what you want whether you are playing the Transformers Roleplaying Game, the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game, the Power Rangers Roleplaying Game, or the My Little Pony Roleplaying Game.

[Free RPG Day 2023] Cobra/Con Fusion

Now in its sixteenth year, Free RPG Day for 2023 took place on Saturday, June 24th. As per usual, Free RPG Day consisted of an array of new and interesting little releases, which are traditionally tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. Thanks to the generosity of David Salisbury of Fan Boy 3, Fil Baldowski at All Rolled Up, and others, Reviews from R’lyeh was able to get hold of many of the titles released for Free RPG Day, both in the USA and elsewhere.

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Cobra/Con Fusion is a scenario not just for one roleplaying game, but two! It is published by Renegade Game Studios for use with its G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game and its Transformers Roleplaying Game. In bringing the two together, the theme of the adventure is team-ups. For when Cobra and the Decepticons begin working together, the operatives of G.I. Joe and the Autobots are forced to co-operate in order to thwart their iniquitous intrigues… This means that the players will take the roles of characters working for both—three from G.I. Joe and three of the Autobots. What this means is that Cobra/Con Fusion actually differs from other adventures for Essence20—the system that the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game, the Transformers Roleplaying Game, and the Power Rangers Roleplaying Game use—in which the players use characters created of their own or pre-generated characters. Instead, Cobra/Con Fusion uses specific pre-generated Player Characters, which consist of A.W.E. Striker Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Minerva of the Autobots and Cover Girl, Doc, and Mainframe from G.I. Joe. They are all of Tenth Level as required by the scenario and are available to download. The other notable aspect of Cobra/Con Fusion is that it is independent of the timeline for the comics for both G.I. Joe and The Transformers, so fans of either can expect some differences.

Cobra/Con Fusion opens with Part One, ‘Awestruck’, with the three G.I. Joe operatives arriving on La Grande Dune du Pilat on the south-west coast of France in the Bordeaux area for a briefing. Stalker, the G.I. Joe leader giving the briefing, reveals four things. The first is that The Baroness, the Cobra mastermind has been seen in the area. The second is the existence of the Autobots, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Minerva. Three, that the G.I. Joe operatives will be working with the Autobots. Four, one of the Autobots, Bumblebee, is badly damaged and needs to be repaired. This sets up the first challenge for the scenario, as members of the two diverse factions—G.I. Joe and the Autobots—are directed to co-operate in repairing Bumblebee. This scene is essentially an emergency room scene played out against a time limit, with each of the Player Characters being given tasks that they can perform to complete and speed the process. In actuality, there is no time limit, but rather that the quicker the Player Characters perform the repairs, the greater the benefits they can gain when facing the forces of Cobra and the Decepticons. At the end, Bumblebee is restored to full operating health, though with G.I. Joe technology rather than Autobot technology.

The action-proper begins in Part Two and ‘Street Hustle’, when the story moves south-east to the village of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, close to the Pyrenees, where G.I. Joe has tracked the Decepticon and Combaticon Swindle. Oddly, the whole village has been bought out from underneath the residents by none other than The Baroness. The G.I. Joe operatives and the Autobots are sent to capture and interrogate Swindle in the hopes of discovering the location of The Baroness. This sets up a desperate car chase around the village which is hampered by the fact that the village is one of the most beautiful in France and has a heritage which dates back to before Christ! Which means that parts of it are very old and cannot be damaged by collateral damage. Full rules are provided for vehicle chases in The Field Guide to Action & Adventure Crossover Sourcebook, but sufficient details are provided here for the Game Master to run the scene. However, there is scope here for some expansion too, since like the earlier La Grande Dune du Pilat, Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges is a real place, so the play through of the chase around the village could be enhanced with maps and photographs—none are given in the scenario—to give a greater sense of verisimilitude.

Part Two will climax with a battle between Swindle and the Player Characters, but they will be able to learn what Cobra and the Decepticons are planning together. This includes where the plans are being carried out, a secret base in the Pyrenees. In Part Three, ‘Break the Joint’, the Player Characters must break into the facility and destroy the fruition of Cobra-Decepticon co-operation—a prototype H.I.S.S. drone based on the leader of the Decepticons, Megatron, known as Fusion. Defeating both Fusion and the forces at the Cobra base brings the scenario to a successful end.

A full appendix gives the stats for all of the adversaries in Cobra/Con Fusion, including Fusion. In addition, there are notes for the Game Master throughout the scenario, giving advice on using other Player Character options, modifying the adventure up to Twentieth Level, and staging the adventure.

Physically, Cobra/Con Fusion is well presented. The artwork is good and the map of the Cobra facility is clear. The text in Cobra/Con Fusion is tight in places and a little busy, so the Game Master will need to pay careful attention to the checks and stats needed for each scene.

Cobra/Con Fusion is designed to highlight the supplement, The Field Guide to Action & Adventure Crossover Sourcebook. Not just mechanically with the chase rules, but also thematically, as Cobra/Con Fusion is a ‘layered crossover’, in which both settings of G.I. Joe and The Transformers exist in the same world, but rarely interact. Of course, in Cobra/Con Fusion, they do. The nature of scenario with three Player Characters from G.I. Joe and three Autobots does limit choice, as does the fact that the G.I. Joe operatives tend to be technical versus the Autobots who are more competitive in nature. But that is in the nature of scenarios with pre-generative Player Characters and Cobra/Con Fusion is a one-shot after all. Plus, it would be more difficult to run it as part of a campaign or with other Player Characters.

Cobra/Con Fusion is a fun, one-shot scenario, just about the right length to be run in a single session or at a convention. This makes it the best offering from Renegade Game Studios for Free RPG Day for both the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game and the Transformers Roleplaying Game to date.