Astounding Adventures (Basic Roleplaying)

I love the Basic Roleplaying system and at one time I was something of a Chaosium fanboy... they published some of my all-time favorite RPGs. So I purchased this with fair amount of good will (despite my reservations about where the company is headed with Call of Cthulhu's 7th edition).All the more surprising that I'm a bit disappointed with Astounding Adventures.It's a thin book... not a game unto itself but a supplement that focuses BRP on playing action/adventure tales set in the era of the Pulps, radio shows and matinee serials. It's got a few optional rules, such as Action Points... but most of it sticks close to the core system.My main quibble is that there's really not much to it.At two pages the overview of the source material is short and not very wide or deep... I think there are more references to Sky Captain and The Rocketeer than there are actual period heroes such as The Shadow and The Spider. When he brings up radio shows the author makes no mention at all of 'I Love A Mystery'... despite it being a perfect archetype for the sort of adventuring party this book is designed for. There's a timeline section that seems no more RPG-related than what a GM could quickly grab off of Wikipedia. It's all woefully insufficient for anyone not already familiar with the subject matter.The character creation section is not much more than an abbreviated version of the same process in the core rulebook... with a modicum of thematic advice... but nothing really noteworthy. The option of Action Points is slightly different than the similar option in the corebook... though I'm not sure it fits this theme any better than the original.There's a longer section of generic characters/NPCs which isn't bad... but doesn't add a whole lot either. To me, in such a thin book, it felt like filler... taking up valuable space. I'd rather have seen the section on gadgets and equipment enlarged... or write-ups of some of the more colorful characters of the era, rather than generic entries like 'scientist' or 'Nazi'.Most of the last half of the book is taken up by three adventure scenarios... which aren't bad at all... and are probably the main reason to purchase this book.Really, if Chaosium put out a monthly magazine, and this was one issue of it with a 'Pulp era' theme... I guess I wouldn't mind. But it could have been a lot better. As it is I find myself comparing it to the similarly lackluster 'Atomic Age Cthulhu'... which really missed the boat on covering another era that's ripe for adventure.If someone wanted to play 'Pulp BRP' I think I'd advise them to pick up Call of Cthulhu instead... drop most/all the Mythos stuff and go read up on the Pulps/Serials/Old Time Radio Shows online. That would better serve the purpose than what Astounding Adventures has to offer.Oh, I should mention that this book has some very nice art in it... small and B&W but very nicely done.

Well written but only partly usable. I'd hoped to use it with Call of Cthulhu, but you need to have the Basic Role Playing book to utilize all the features, and that book is out of print and unavailable, making Astounding Adventures marginally useful as a game aid. Too bad.

Good writing, poor art and unimpressive layout. -Q.

FANTASTIC !!! As a Gamer, this is a wonderful addition to my game library. Well written and well illustrated. I highly recommend it !