Pyramid Review
HardNova ][: Space Opera Adventures
Published by Politically Incorrect Games
Written by Brett Bernstein & Matt Drake
Illustrated by Chris Martinez & Brett Bernstein
HardNova ][: Space Opera Adventures (1.7 MB 74-page B&W PDF), HardNova ][ Enhancement Pack (1 MB 13-page B&W PDF), & Miniseries Alpha: The Vanguard (1.2 MB 28-page B&W PDF); $7.50
Each entry in Politically Incorrect Games' genreDiversion line from is designed to do two things. First to emulate its given genre -- whether post holocaust in EarthAD: Post-Holocaust Adventures, cops 'n' robbers '80s-TV-style in Vice Squad: Eighties Police Adventure, or a "future under occupation" as depicted in The Colonies RPG. Second to drop a gaming group into a game and then get them out again, to return them to a longer, more involved campaign. Thus we have both the genre and diversion of the line's title.
Yet the fourth entry in the series offers up something more than the earlier lighter, more throwaway entries. The first of these is the genreDiversion i new mechanics, designed to both easier to handle and compatible with the publisher's other systems, Impressa Modular Roleplaying and Active Exploits Diceless. The second is that HardNova ][: Space Opera Adventures comes with not just a core rulebook that contains merely the rules and everything necessary to play, but also an Enhancement Pack and a campaign in the form of Miniseries Alpha: The Vanguard. All three are available as separate PDF files, or in a decently priced . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: June 2, 2006
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