Broken Earth (PFRPG) PDF

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Bombs fell. Billions died. Now you must pick up the pieces and rebuild this Broken Earth.

Broken Earth is an adventure setting that takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of Earth. It deals with a small fraction of the world, what was once the northern Midwest of the United States, and a tiny bit of southern Central Canada. As an adventure setting, Broken Earth includes many compelling locations and adventures, but also gives the heroes freedom to explore the world.

The book gives the GM everything you need to run a prolonged campaign in the Broken Earth setting, including locations, NPCs, plot points, mutant monsters, and a detailed first adventure that brings the party together.

This book also contains everything in the Broken Earth Player's Guide. If you are a player in a Broken Earth campaign you might want to check out the Player's Guide instead. If you are a GM you should just get this book. You do NOT need both.

This is the Pathfinder Compatible version of the book. There is also a Savage Worlds compatible version.

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5.00/5 (based on 3 ratings)

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5/5

Broken Earth is a campaign setting at heart but its also a useful toolbox for running modern or post apocalyptic games.

What the book is what it says on the box. It depicts a campaign setting where the earth is, well, broke, most likely due to some kind of nuclear apocalypse. I went with Radiation Zombies. It goes partially into Kamandi-mode with races of intelligent apes and mutant freaks. It also assumes that psionics is the norm as opposed to magic.

Inside you'll find new archetypes, three new races, feats, mutation rules, some psionic powers, equipment and plenty of advice on how to run a Broken Earth campaign. If you're like me and you just want the crunch you can use for your own homebrew settings I could say, don't get the whole book, but get the Player's Guide which has a much smaller chunk of the book that's mostly crunch and player options. But that would be a disservice to the product, especially if you're a GM looking to buy. The setting and the various indexes and GM tools included are really handy, even outside of the specific setting inside. Its mostly events and NPCs that can be placed into any similar setting and minor rules on handling the situations. This includes tables for random encounters and loot. The GM portion is just outright dense in material to use. The only problem for me is that the specific campaign setting, despite having a lot of details scattered about is still rather vague so in a way you kind of have to run with it, meaning that you can be running Mad Max, Kamandi, Thundarr the Barbarian or Final Fantasy. It covers basic assumptions and has some organizations inside but really the transferable material is much more prevalent. I know I say that it's a 'problem' but if you're like me this is the best part of the book because I deal wit my own settings more often than I do written settings, especially when there aren't many prewritten adventures alongside.

The book also suggests using Anachronistic Adventures to round out the player options, and combined it does work really well, particularly the gear, I feel, fills in what Anachronistic Adventures leaves out.

Overall, if you want to run a post apocalyptic setting that's set on Earth or close to being Earth then I think this book is a must-have. Its just incredibly useful. If you just want some more crunch to add to the options in Anachronistic Adventures, then I would just get the Player's Guide. It's pure usefulness earns it 5 out of 5 stars.


An Endzeitgeist.com review

5/5

First of all - what is Broken Earth? the easy answer would be that it is a post-nuclear campaign setting for Pathfinder, set in an Allotopia (an alternate reality of our own world for non-literature mayors) - this means that no magic is assumed to exist per se, though adding in rare magic would be no issue at all.

Now the book kicks off with a vast array of crunch - from new races (ape-men and synthetic humanoids) and then receive archetypes - a lot of them - from the chem-head alchemist to scrappers, we get a cool selection here - now one peculiarity I *LOVE* about Broken Earth would be its awareness - its awareness of what's out there. If you're like me and have this great sub-system from 3pp XYZ, you want to use it - only every supplement seems to add a new one instead, often less refined. well, not so this book - from nodding towards Kobold Press' Spell-less Ranger to Rogue Genius Games' Anachronistic Adventurers-series (and the superb research-rules therein!) to Dreamscarred Press' psionics, Broken Earth provides support for all of them and still manages to maintain functionality without access to them - everyone wins. Beyond that, a mechanic that balances character creation modularity with mutations and drawbacks makes for a cool way of handling racial restrictions and still maintain flexibility. The pdf also provides an array of equipment and vehicles, rules for radiation, overland hexploration and even sample communities and associated traits. We even receive a MASSIVE array of different supplemental options for the kingdom-building rules of Ultimate Campaign! Sounds familiar so far? Well, that's because the generally known components have been released before in the separate player's guide to broken earth, which I've also reviewed in much more detail - thus, if you're interested in the details of the crunch, please check out this review.

Now a general look at the page-count shows you that this pdf mostly of new content, but what exactly? Well, for one, the book is a campaign setting - but it's also something different. When you hear "campaign setting", you usually expect write-ups of different locations and nations, politics, history and the like - here, Broken Earth, while still providing that, sets its focus in a completely different way - and is better off for it. First of all, you'll notice an unusual amount of scrappers, NPCs etc. all ready to drop into your campaign. Secondly, you'll notice something different - think about Fallout, Wasteland and games like that - what's their draw? Scarcity, exploration, a sense of desolation and lack -and the constant fear and wonder what lies beyond the next hilltop or dune. While the crunch sports rules for fuel etc., while there are pieces of information, extensive ones, that is, on tech levels etc., the result could have ended up as something a kin to a fantasy world with a post-apocalyptic spray-paint. That is NOT the case.

From proper army statblocks to enclaves of high-tech hopes for a resettlement of earth, from mutants and supercomputers todrones, the narrative potential here is perfect - to the pitch. Whether you like your post-apocalypse gritty or over the op, this book supports all playstyles from Mad Max to Katmandi at Earth's End to The Last of Us - whatever your preferred flavor of end-times would be, a certain spirit of the end-times suffuses every single component of the writing, an endzeitgeist if you will.

Yeah. I'm gonna punch myself in the face later for writing that. (And no, I am not affiliated with this book in any way!) Essentially, the rest of the book is a DM's toolbox akin to one massive, huge survival wilderness module - or AP. This book essentially doubles as its very own, superb campaign outline-collection - player-driven exploration and a vast collection of iconic locales drive an overall experience that is, by virtue of its very presentation, radically different not only in its spray-paint, but also in the experience. Exceedingly detailed hooks that can be developed in less than a couple of hours into inspiring scenarios suffuse the pages of this tome. Whether you just want a depths-of-humanity's-depravity theme or rather have your PCs fight cyber-enhanced apes - this book has you covered and oscillation between themes and tropes can be handled exceedingly easily. From giant ants to telekinetic wolves to dragons (mutated, irradiated eagles with radioactive fire breath), everything you would ask from a basic post-apocalyptic bestiary is here.

As a mostly wilderness/survival-themed sandbox, random encounter tables are obviously non-optional, and they do come in excessive detail for each general locale. The NPC-Codex like array of generic stats, rare item tables, lists of psioncs used and even an index and an appendix of media for further inspiration are provided. (The latter deserves a ruffle though -each appendix like that ought to reference the grandfather of post-apocalypse movies, "A Boy and His Dog" - if you haven't seen that gem, it has aged pretty well!)

I could go on spoiling the details, the truth behind "Phoenix", what can be found in the monster lands, comment on the pseudo-neo-feudal kingdom of Geneva...but I won't.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are very good - while there are some typos and glitches in here, the overall quality, especially for a "small" 3pp like Sneak Attack Press, is damn impressive. Layout adheres to a beautiful 2-column b/w-standard that manages to remain printer-friendly. The original pieces of b/w-artwork are awesome and the cartography (the main map also comes as a full-color pdf with the book!) can also stand up to this level. The pdf comes fully bookmarked with nested bookmarks for your convenience, with one bookmark out of order - no biggie, though. I can't comment on the quality of softcover/hardcover, since I do not own the print-version.

Matthew J. Hanson has written singlehandedly what usually takes a team of authors. Usually, that is cause for alarm or at least, deep scrutiny. So I went through the checklist in my head: Settlement statblocks? Check. Full-blown kingdom building support, with modified end-times appropriate new content galore? Check. MASSIVE 3pp-support, though always modular/optional? Check. Proper grasp of psionics? Check. I'd drop the f-bomb now, but I know that some filters don't like it. Just imagine me uttering it.

I honestly didn't expect to like this book - I, like so many others, have been waiting for Warlords of the Apocalypse for a LONG time. I have grown fond of RGG's anachronistic adventurer-classes and did not expect them to be supported here. I was firmly in the WotA-bandwagon. Well, they are and this massive tome manages to get post-apocalypse just RIGHT. In all its facets, in its peculiarities and different flavors. Could you introduce banned classes and elements? Yes. Could you annihilate anything super-natural/sci-fi for a full-blown extreme-gritty campaign? Yes, you could. Vehicles, survival radiation, rebuilding civilization and settlements - this book offers just about everything I could ask for. And even if you don't plan on playing in this Broken Earth, going full-blown steampunk, refluffing just about every rule herein to fit your tastes will still deliver a vast amount of content. Magical wastes, desolate planes - this book's massive array of content, even when used in unintended ways, makes for a glorious grab-bag.

Broken Earth is the benchmark that any future take on the post-apocalyptic will have to surpass -and have an exceedingly hard time doing so. Is every component perfectly finetuned? No, but seeing how much we get, how much of that just oozes the right spirit, like a possessed radiation sore, this book has slowly taken me over. Broken Earth is one exceedingly awesome tome, one that will have anyone even remotely into post-apocalyptic games grin with glee. Add to that the more than fair, very low price and we have a glorious tome indeed - well worth of 5 stars + seal of approval and a nomination as a candidate for my Top Ten of 2014.

Endzeitgeist out.


A Campaign Setting and Conversion book worth the pricetag and more!

5/5

I'm reviewing the PDF, as I have not been able to purchase the physical book yet.

This book is 195 pages, with approximately 3 pages of cover and licensing. There's a lot of content here. The opening of the primary PDF is the Player's guide-- the first 55 pages are the same from what I can tell. That's ok, in my opinion, because as the GM, I'm going to need that information, too. However, if you're a GM who's only ever going to work on electronic books, you can save yourself $7, and just pick the primary PDF.

The remaining 140-odd pages are packed with 3/4 plot arcs and storylines utilizing the different factions, locales and npcs. While it doesn't get too gritty, it definitely sets the stage for games to go with a post-apoc vibe that's grimy, Mad Max rough, or swing Gamma-World-Paranoia softer. That's a range I can appreciate. There are relationships, motivations, lust, greed, and delicious existential dilemmas.

It's a sandbox loaded with buried treasure, waiting for the party to stumble upon the the first clues. The art is solid, b&w and appropriate, while the maps are hex-crawl-tastic, and understandably so, given the scarcity theme which runs like a constant, lightly fallout-tainted wind from the west. I wish they marked a few more larger towns near particular settlements for potential in-game scavenging sites, but given that Google Maps is part of your supplement shelf, I can forgive the omission.

The bestiary covers everything you'll hit in the sandbox, giant bugs, drones, as well as anything else. The art for entries which get it is black and white, too, but not everything receives a treatment-- again, given the basis and the amount of material here, I'm ok with that, as it keeps it scary while you play, leaving some to the imagination.

There are a few editing snafus (I saw a couple of "improtant" ones) but nothing that's going to hinder your enjoyment of the text. Otherwise, it's a fine, two-column layout with a light, print-friendly trade dress.

Finally, the book closes out with some appendices, covering high-tech traps, some wandering monster tables, generic minion stats, psionics, treasure tables-- excuse me, rare item tables, and then inspirational material followed by some calendar pages marking a few seminal events. It even has an index!

Really, everything you need to make this work (within reason) is waiting here for you, and when it's not, it's clearly indicated where you need to find it. Nothing listed beyond the text struck me as expensive or excessive, but then I own almost everything from Kobold Press and I signed on to the Ultimate Psionics KS. Still, this seems like $16 very well spent. I'd completely give it 5 stars and say that it gets me wanting to run the campaign set here. Shouldn't that be the goal? I'd say, "yes" and tell you there's a home run waiting for you-- just take the plunge.

-Ben.


Webstore Gninja Minion

Now available!


Any info on when this might be made available in print?

Webstore Gninja Minion

William Wood wrote:
Any info on when this might be made available in print?

Right now our distributor is listing April as a release date.


Interesting! I'm looking forward to picking this up in a little bit.


Somebody please review this if you got it. I'd love to be convinced to buy this or just get more details.


Is it possible to poke someone to see about a print/pdf combo preorder?


Any reviews for this one?


Review posted of the Player's Guide!

-Ben.


I've picked up this book now, so I'll try punching something out.

-Ben.


terraleon wrote:

I've picked up this book now, so I'll try punching something out.

-Ben.

Looking forward to hearing your take on the complete product. I'm tempted to pick this up, particularly with the Tech Guide coming out this summer!


I can't post a review of the PDF yet, for some reason, so I'll instead post it here, in the comments.

This book is 195 pages, with approximately 3 pages of cover and licensing. There's a lot of content here. The opening of the primary PDF is the Player's guide-- the first 55 pages are the same from what I can tell. That's ok, in my opinion, because as the GM, I'm going to need that information, too. However, if you're a GM who's only ever going to work on electronic books, you can save yourself $7, and just pick the primary PDF.

The remaining 140-odd pages are packed with 3/4 plot arcs and storylines utilizing the different factions, locales and npcs. While it doesn't get too gritty, it definitely sets the stage for games to go with a post-apoc vibe that's grimy, Mad Max rough, or swing Gamma-World-Paranoia softer. That's a range I can appreciate. There are relationships, motivations, lust, greed, and delicious existential dilemmas.

It's a sandbox loaded with buried treasure, waiting for the party to stumble upon the the first clues. The art is solid, b&w and appropriate, while the maps are hex-crawl-tastic, and understandably so, given the scarcity theme which runs like a constant, lightly fallout-tainted wind from the west. I wish they marked a few more larger towns near particular settlements for potential in-game scavenging sites, but given that Google Maps is part of your supplement shelf, I can forgive the omission.

The bestiary covers everything you'll hit in the sandbox, giant bugs, drones, as well as anything else. The art for entries which get it is black and white, too, but not everything receives a treatment-- again, given the basis and the amount of material here, I'm ok with that, as it keeps it scary while you play, leaving some to the imagination.

There are a few editing snafus (I saw a couple of "improtant" ones) but nothing that's going to hinder your enjoyment of the text. Otherwise, it's a fine, two-column layout with a light, print-friendly trade dress.

Finally, the book closes out with some appendices, covering high-tech traps, some wandering monster tables, generic minion stats, psionics, treasure tables-- excuse me, rare item tables, and then inspirational material followed by some calendar pages marking a few seminal events. It even has an index!

Really, everything you need to make this work (within reason) is waiting here for you, and when it's not, it's clearly indicated where you need to find it. Nothing listed beyond the text struck me as expensive or excessive, but then I own almost everything from Kobold Press and I signed on to the Ultimate Psionics KS. Still, this seems like $16 very well spent. I'd completely give it 5 stars and say that it gets me wanting to run the campaign set here. Shouldn't that be the goal? I'd say, "yes" and tell you there's a home run waiting for you-- just take the plunge.

-Ben.


Thanks for the review terraleon!

I think I'll be picking this up once a hard copy or hard copy/pdf bundle is offered. My primary group is reluctant to move away from the Pathfinder rule set for long term gaming, but I've been craving some good post-apocalyptic RPing.


Reviewed first on Endzeitgeist.com, then submitted to Nerdtrek and GMS magazine and posted here and on OBS. Cheers!


Just a piece of errata... I noticed both the Fangs and Acidic Saliva Mutations make reference to a "Venomous Bite Mutation." However, the Venomous Bite Mutation does not appear in the Broken Earth PG. Any chance we can have the information for the Venomous Bite Mutation posted here?


Okay, odd, the Player's Guide seems to have taken over the product discussion - so yeah, now the CAMPAIGN SETTING is reviewed as well on endzeitgeist.com, then submitted to Nerdtrek and GMS magazine and posted on Lou Agresta's RPGaggression, here and OBS. Cheers!


Anyone running a game of this? Would be curious to hear how about it.


Review is up. You can find it and more over on my blog.

Liberty's Edge

Does it have rules for using items from the Technology guide?


Qstor wrote:
Does it have rules for using items from the Technology guide?

Unlikely. This was released before the Tech Guide which came out at Gen-Con 2014 if I recall correctly. I'm haven't checked the PDF download since then, but I will take a look when I have a moment.

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