Review: Neon Lords of the Toxic Wasteland

Ever wanted to know what it would be like if Mad Max and 80s pro-wrestling had a baby? Have you ever wondered what it's like to be bodyslammed into a pile of 80s references? Well, wonder no more, because I give you Neon Lords of the Toxic Wasteland!

This is an offering from designer Brian Shutter, with awesome art by Mustafa Bekir. This rpg is a modified take on the D&D Black Box rules, which means its D20 based and fits squarely in the OSR (Old School Rennaissance) wave of games that we've been seeing recently. This was a promo copy, so it was only about 65 pages long, but it contained almost everything you'd need for a full fledged game of NLotTW. 

What really stuck out to me about this game is that it definitely had a focus on style. There's focus put on your hair, sun-glasses, etc., and each of those gives you special abilities.  Not only is it style, it's 80s style, which has a bit of flair. Each piece of artwork felt like a Stoner Doom band cover and the original TMNT comics pro-created. One of the cool aspects was Rude Rob, the skull-faced A.I. that acts as the narrator of the book. He's helpful, but he also spews cheesy insults at you. Some of my absolute favorite things to read were all the 80s references. As a child of the 80s, I feel like I picked up on a good number of them. Adding Randy Savage and Cthulhu in the list of gods really put it over the top (in a very good way!). Another fun reference was to Roddy Piper's sunglasses from "They Live", which give you the ability to see things as they truly are. These little details really stood out in my read through and I found them fun and engaging.

As for the system, it has seven stats that dictate your various strengths and weaknesses. Those stats are determined by a series of 3d6 rolls. Those stats are called things like: Burliness, Brains, Attitude, Prowess, Fortune, and Sleaze. There are also four saving throws called: Grit, Agility, Resolve, and Death. One of the features that makes the game so deadly is the introduction of "Neon Blast Rolls" which are exploding damage dice. If you roll a 6 on any damage die, you get to re-roll and keep adding to your damage. It uses class-based ability points to allow specific character classes to power their unique abilities and be especially rad at a specific thing. This also uses Fortune Points to enhance any ability. While this initially seems redundant to the class ability points, it creates a system where you can either have consistency in one area, or inconsistency with a broader range of things to excel at. Classes are The Death Bringer, a fierce warrior who's skilled in melee combat; a War Wizard, who has made a pact with an infernal being to have magical powers; a Night Stalker, who is a stealthy assassin that can find weaknesses in an enemy's armor; a Star Spawn, which is a psychic alien; Dwarfling, which felt like a cross between classic fantasy Dwarves and Halflings; a Holy Smiter, which is a religious zealot dedicated to extuingishing alien and demonic threats; Cosmic Barbarians, who are He-Men jacked up on space 'roids; Cyberskins, who are robots that have emerged from a long forgotten time; and Skull Jammers, who hack for a living. On a final note, the system also provides several useful tables that a Neon Lord (the Gamemaster) and their players can reference.

Overall, Neon Lords of the Toxic Wasteland seems like a super fun rampage through a gonzo world of 80s nostalgia. It seems well written and the art is evocative of the themes. I enjoyed reading this one because I was privy to the references. I suggest giving it a try even if you're not as invested in the rules. There's plenty of great themes and ideas that you can take away.

Pros: Great writing, evocative art, gritty, stylized themes with mechanics to match, and over the top carnage!

Cons: If you don't like old school D&D, you might not be as interested. If you're not interested in the 80s or weren't a child in that era, you might not get the references.