Review: Barbarians of the Ruined Earth

 



Ever want to play in a gonzo post-apocalyptic fantasy game? If so, Barbarians of the Ruined Earth has got you covered. This book is 167 pages jam-packed with sorcery, weird tech, mutants, beastmen, and barbarians. There are two variations of the cover, so you're welcome to pick whichever version you like best. I have to say that I was initially offput by the cost since its only in soft cover form ($40 for regular paper, $50 for premium paper), but after recieving my copy, I realized exactly why they priced it that way. The quality of the book is fantastic and there is tons of full cover artwork. The book is written by Mike Evans and features artwork by Matthew Adams, Fred Dailey, Kelvin Green, James Hanson, Matt Hildebrand, David Lewis Johnson, and JV West. It really shines through that this is a labor of love by the aiuthor and artists.

Rules: This book is a modified version of the Black Hack and features that system with some tweeks. There are 4 human classes (Barbarian, Death Priest, Scavenger, and Urchin), while there are 4 non-human classes as well (Beastman, Robot, Sorcerer, and the Raptorfolk known as Vek). The rules are very simple and easy to learn. My only complaint was that damage was by class instead of by weapon. I'm not as fond of that, but thats more of a personal preference instead of a negative. Spells for the Sorcerer class are clear concise, and seem easy to play. Another great thing about this book is that it has a plethora of tables for generating almost anything you can think of. This will make for fun and easy scenarios and will be especially helpful to new GMs. 

Artwork: The artwork is fantastic and evocative of those 80s and 90s Saturday morning cartoons. I especially got that vibe from James Hanson's work. Overall though, tons of great full color art pieces and some of them are beautiful full page spreads.


Bestiary: The bestiary section is chocked full a weird baddies. Anything from psychic aliens to car golems and a living pile of trash (one of its attacks I found especially humorous).  Not only is there great art for each of these monsters, but the stat blocks are small and layed out in a simple manner. One of the interesting things about this section is that one could easily come up with their own weird creatures and quickly assign stats and special abilities. 


Pros: Quick,easy system, extraordinary artwork, small stat blocks for creatures, an exorbitant amount of tables for generation, fun writing, and a good number of gonzo monsters.

Cons: Could be a little pricey for those on a budget. If you don't like the Black Hack rules, then this probably wouldn't be your thing. 

Ultimately its a great labor of love by some great folks and I suggest you pick up a copy here: 

Standard Cover

Special Edition Cover

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