I think the game is okay. More than okay, but the action round seriously bogs down any action during a scene. I'd give a 3-4 star except for that action round idea.

This is a solid story with a compelling location that suffers from a lack of included resources. I purchased this recently since the title had a theme similar to the campaign I was running and I was intrigued to see what I could add from the adventure. However, I was disappointed that the description did not explicitly state that other third-party materials were needed to run the module.

First, the positives - the initial investigative portion of the story is solid with a couple compelling NPCs with motiviations and personalities clearly defined. That's great to see and very useful. I suppose to make sure the PCs followed the clues, a lot of the DCs for various checks were pretty low (DC 10). The second portion revolving around an ancient and until now non-functioning landmark was solid. Why there was now a tribe of cannibals nearby wasn't explained, but those could be reflavored as cultists. I appreciate that the two variations of these humanoids were included as stat-blocks in the adventure. The location of an alternate "dream Earth" moon location was creative and fantastic flavor. That suffered slightly from the location being simply flavored as "very high altitude effects" and some jungle hazard if one left the path. I think there could have been one or two paragraphs added to enhance the alien, but still livable, atmosphere (pun intended) of a lunar body. That a powerful wizard-type would choose such a fanciful location for a base of operations is eminently logical and fun.

Were that it, I would recommend this adventure. However, there are about 14 creatures listed, only one (sort of two) have stat blocks. Six more are in the Monster Manual. The others, including the most signifcant opponents, are specific to the Thule campaign and are refereneced in other Thule sourcebooks. There are also some spells and abilities similarly Thule-specific that are not at all described in this adventure. Since the description DOES NOT list that these resources are necessary to run the adventure, I kind of feel cheated in purchasing this product. The description absolutely should have that explicitly stated and I shouldn't have to pay and download to find out that half the adventure requires other books. Fortunately, the internet is an expansive place and you can find most of what's missing, but that's extra work. Either include the stat-blocks or clearly state all the other products that are needed.

Aside from that egregious omission, there are a couple of minor issues that lower the rating here. I realize this is an older product, listed before the VTT revolution really took off, but there are two maps that are nice, but they have giant location numbers over them. As this is a digital product, it really wouldn't be all that difficult to include a clean "players' map" that could be used within a VTT. So there you have to two most important items of a third-party product, stat blocks and maps, missing or limited. Very disappointing.

Overall, if you are running a Thule campaign, then this adventure is worthwhile. You may need to retouch or generate your own maps, but it will enhance a Thule-specific campaign. If you don't have the Thule sourcebooks, specifically the PTCS with monster stat blocks, it's pretty much worthless. For a Thule-specific campaing, I would give it four stars; otherwise, based solely on the story and idea of an unusual location, it's only worth two stars and I could not recommend it's purchase.

By far the best fantasy setting for Savage Worlds. Well designed, well written, and well presented, this is a top notch setting. Loads of background info, maps, NPCs, and 3 very good adventures. Unfortunately the other books in the line have not (yet) been converted to SW, which is the only drawback to an otherwise excellent product.

I see some reviewers are fairly upset that this alternity beta test isn't the same as the old system. I think expecting this to be the same as the old game is only setting you up for dissapointment. If things didn't change, then it wouldn't be a new addition.

My group really liked alternity and we were excited to try out the short adventures included with this, and it was wonderful! It plays somewhat differently, but I really enjoyed it. The roll over change didn't bother me, it plays very similar, the math just heads a different direction. We also didn't have the slipups I've seen before of switching between low roll and high roll systems. Otherwise, the wound functionality and weapons were a blast. Unfortunately, our group didn't survive the mad-maxesque adventure, but we had a ton of fun doing it.

The biggest change would be the impulse system. I really enjoyed this. It does make enemies harder to maneuver as the GM, because each creature will start to do it's own actions and you'll have to have their initiatives be seperate. I had little slips of paper and used the initiative wheel and it went okay. Next time I will use initiative cards and have a paper with 8 slots.

Players were confused about impulses, but once we got the hang of it, we really enjoyed it. It really makes you think about how you're going to time out everything. It made the gunplay much more engaging.

Looking forward to the full beta rules. Just don't get blown to pieces on the highway!

Just got my printed copy in today, and I'm really impressed. You really can't tell that it's POD, unless you had the published version right next to it (I do). Looks great! We'll see how it holds up over time, but I'm pleased enough to be eager to purchase more POD products! Thanks!

I love old Alternity over most of the other games because the mecanics where so awsome to be true, but I still find problems, most of them where kind a easy to fix withy some house rules others where a real pain.

When I first saw the Alternity 2017 I almost cry of joy, but some time in this buiseness tell me to be carefull. And this is what I found.

1) Old timers hate that is no longer roll-low mechanic, not me, you can pretty much try anything , you may do it or not, but you wont get a critical, at least not at the beta, I like that. 2) Combat system, simple, easy to handle, quick to play, I like that action escence are better and more quicker, all you need is the track time on the table. 3) System of wounds and armor, a little more friendly to characters, but you can really deal hard damage with the proper rank on the skill or a lucky roll. 4) Versatility on the skills, great, you no longer need to be good on a specific stat to get that skill, veary cleaver, you may be smart or cunning, strong or agile, nice.

For now it looks like a very nice step forward, i give it 4 stars with the beta, lest see the finel product

I won't be lengthy on this, as so much has been said. I just want to say that I have not seen a setting in a "third party" product that has inspired me as much as this campaign setting book. This is the love child of Conan and the Forgotten Realms. Each page I read has me wanting more. I am very excited about this, and any future products in this line.

I just wanted to say, I backed the Kickstarter campaign (Expedition level) because I loved the original Alternity so much, and on paper the new rules looked great. However, after finally getting around to a play test, I am worried I may have made the wrong decision.

With myself in the GM spot, my group and I just completed the "Escape From The Institute" adventure. Even thought the adventure itself was slickly designed, we came away with a number of issues that left us somewhat disappointed.

Our group found the new combat system to be very slow. The new initiative system sounds like a fantastic idea, but is a pain to keep track of. Furthermore, weapons either have minimal effect or are overpoweringly powerful. In comparison to the original system, the new damage track is functional, but my whole group found it terribly clunky and unrefined. Another issue was with attack rolls, it is just as easy to hit a fast dodge character than it is a slow moving tank, where's the resistance modifier's?

If your going to keep the Alternity name, then I don't feel this level of change in the terminology and mechanics are appropriate... Even the little things annoyed me. I found Average, Excellent and Stellar to be way harder to remember than Ordinary, Good or Amazing.

The best part of the old system was the roll low mechanic, seeing what you need to roll right there on your sheet and then getting assigned step penalties was elegant and brilliant; also much easier to figure out a skill on the fly. It was brilliant; the new system seems like everything was inelegantly shoehorned to fit the high-roll mechanic. This change was unnecessary.

I want to love it, I really do, I even tried, but overall the combat just wasn't fun. Almost nothing I loved about the old game has been carried over and I'm left feeling a bit disappointed. The new mechanics looked great on paper, but failed in execution for our whole group. It seems they were altered just to call it a new edition, not in any way that make an actual improvement to them. Isn't this the point of making a new Alternity, improvements?

I understand the need to try and update things, but I think the wrong things have been changed. I think it would be far better to keep the core mechanics the same as the old system, they weren't perfect but most things were better, at least, in comparison to these beta rules.

Just my two cents, I'll reserve complete judgment until I see how the final books turn out. These are just my (and my groups) opinions on the beta. I hope they keep working on it, I think they could do a lot better before it releases.

We will tackle the other two adventures down the road and see how they play, maybe the some of the issues will smooth out once we get the rules down.

I love the new Protostar setting, it seems set up for grand adventure. Can't wait for that, even if I end up running it in old Alternity.

This is crap. The up die system with the same old mechanic is what killed this game for me in the first place. It sucks. I think you should instead just re-make the Stardrive campaign and change the system to a generic d20 system or a more storytelling focused system like7th Sea. But this crap again? No thanks.

I've done a pretty lengthy playtest of this, both in the initial adventure and the new one. I have to say, having been a long time Alternity fan, that this new system is looking extremely promising. I really like the way initiative and damage work. Both are far superior to the old system imo.

I am cautious as to how expanded systems like magic, psionics, etc will work but am hopeful from what I have seen so far.

i had the frist one this look like a winner to updade this great game form the 90s i hope it will a big hit thank you fore frading this reviem

First some caveats about my review. First this is based on an initial read-through and not a detailed playtest as yet. When that changes I will probably come back to modify the review. Second, I am a huge fan of the original Alternity RPG. I fell in love with it when I got a preview quick start packet (similar to this one in fact) bundled with a copy of Dragon magazine about a year before the system was released. It is the one RPG I have a complete collection of and every one of my longest campaigns was run using the alternity rules... at least initially.

With that background out of the way, I have to say this version of Alternity is... very different. It seems to get as much of it's game DNA from Strands of Fate as from the game it is named after. The new durability system, armor and talents all seem to be pulled almost completely from the crunchier of the fate variants available. The initiative system is very interesting, I like the idea of what you decide to actually do in a turn influencing how quickly you get to do it, but I'm afraid it might wind up being a little clunky to keep track of in practice, though the using the provided initiative tracker may help with that in actual play. The skill system also feels a little clunkier than I would like after being switched from a roll under to a roll over system...

Ultimately this isn't the old Alternity, but then that isn't really what the intent was... this is the child of Alternity and the many systems that have been developed since its release. Is it close enough to the originial Alternity to really scratch the itch that many of us have for that fondly remembered system? No, but taken on it's own merits and ignoring the name it definitely holds some promise. Unfortunately I am afraid that Using the name Alternity is likely to cause a bit of backlash similar to what D&D 4th edition experienced, because it just changes far more than some will be comfortable with while using the same name. Admittedly I am disappointed to see that "my" alternity isn't really here any more, but this new system seems like a strong one and one I will definitely take out for a spin soon.

Ah yes. Alternity 2.0 is here and the beta for it is a piece of crap. This is disappointing from somebody who enjoys Alternity a lot and was looking forward to seeing a new edition.

Unfortunately, in its current form, this beta basically says to Alternity, "Nope. We're going to use your mechanic, adjust things a bit and screw the rest."

I don't usually write reviews for RPG products but I had to here. I would like the designers to answer something: Why in the world did you decide that a roll over mechanic using the Alternity system would work? IT DOESN'T. This is a convulated attempt of taking the Alternity name and make a 'new and improved' system.

I REALLY hope that the designers go back to the drawing board because as it stands now, when this new system comes out officially, I will not even look to buy it.

Yes, I know this is a beta but still... no way would I want to play this.

Look, this is an amazing setting, and this book is a great showcase of that. I was on the fence about the 5th edition kickstarter, but then I saw that this primer was free and I grabbed it. I was instantly hooked. This is the setting for which I am most anticipating running a game, and it is because of the way that they have set the world up to be compelling.

Not only is this setting about "Conan Meets Chthulhu", but it is also about playing in an age before recorded history when magic is real, but fading, and monsters stalk the Earth for another few heartbeats of history. Glaciers slowly encroach upon humanity like a sword of damocles and the world is equally at risk of falling into barbarity, depravity, or insanity.

Are you bad ass enough to carve a piece of Thule for yourselves, save the day, or just earn enough treasure to ride out the wintery apocalypse? Play the game and find out.

Seriously, this introduction to the setting should be enough to make you want to buy one of their campaign books.

5 out of 5.

After numerous troubleshoots and several downloads I still cannot view Night of the Yellow Moon in its entirety. I can get up to page 8 and that's it. I use my Samsung tablet, using Adobe Acrobat, and I've never had a problem before in reading any of my previous purchases....until this one. I'm not sure what the problem is, but I would like to know if anyone else is experiencing troubles with this particular file.