
System Mastery
Jef and Jon review old roleplaying games
Latest episodes

Jul 27, 2021 • 1h 4min
System Mastery 205 -Delta Force
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/07/system-mastery-205-delta-force.mp3
My friends, in the interest of transparency, I am only just now realized this game has a subtitle! So don’t look for that in the episode, we didn’t notice. It’s Delta Force: America Strikes Back! And it is, among other things, by the same people that made Prime Directive and from around the same time frame, so… well you can take from that whatever you want.
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Jul 14, 2021 • 1h 12min
System Mastery 204 – Engel
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/07/system-mastery-204-engel.mp3
Well hey, surprise OGL! Nothing on the cover, and so when Jon selected this old Sword & Sorcery product to take home and started reading, he was suddenly (after 190 some pages of fluff) shocked to see that 3.x material. So what is this? Well it’s the far future and you play as Latin-speaking angel children who fight giant bugs. OR DO YOU?
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Jun 29, 2021 • 1h 27min
System Mastery 203 – Theatrix
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/06/system-mastery-203-theatrix.mp3
So what we have here is a rarity, in that it is an early (1993-1995) LARP game that is also a universal generic system. So there’s not really a story or core power scale or anything, just pure LARP rules and advice, delivered in a sort of theatrical directorial stype. Oh, and of course it’s not great advice.
Announcement Mastery:
Back to the Rifter, a 174-page book going over the original 1990 Rifts rulebook to give a detailed, mocking, page-by-page review, dipping into other Palladium books where necessary to make sense of things (or where it was funny), and insights gleaned from talking to people in the industry. Also there’s an in-depth criticism of the game’s Nazi apologism. Purchase it in in PDF or print on demand at DriveThru RPG today!
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Jun 15, 2021 • 1h 25min
System Mastery 202 – Providence
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/06/system-mastery-202-providence.mp3
My friends, this is a weird one. The vast majority of this book is difficult to explain rules, and then there’s a chunk of fascinating story hidden away towards the back, a neat story about a caste society of the winged and winged-not trapped in a bubble prison dimension. Check it out!
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Jun 1, 2021 • 1h 10min
System Mastery 201 – Terror Network
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/06/system-mastery-201-terror-network.mp3
I think we bought this one on the cover alone (and especially the back cover, which is bullet points and a photo of the Twin Towers mid-fall). I mean, look at that! Look at the endorsement! But can it deliver?
Announcement Mastery!
Today is a great day to launch a KS, and a better day for you to go support one! Go check out Extreme Meatpunks Forever, a hot new RPG written by cool people and produced by cool people too. Fight Nazis on a meat planet while riding your meat mecha! Oh, and here’s a link: Extreme Meatpunks Forever on Kickstarter
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May 18, 2021 • 1h 31min
System Mastery 200 – Marvel Superheroes Roleplaying Game
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/05/system-mastery-200-marvel-superheroes-role-playing-game.mp3
Hey, we made it to 200 episodes! I’m sure that’s some sort of milestone! And while the choice of game to cover this time may feel kind of arbitary, I can assure you it’s very special to us here at the show. You’ll find out why and learn all about TSR’s attempt to encapsulate the Marvel experience way back in the mid-80s on today’s show! Enjoy.
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May 4, 2021 • 1h 22min
System Mastery 199 – Stuperpowers
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/05/system-mastery-199-stuperpowers.mp3
Heck yeah, comedy superhero parody game from 1997 coming in hot. You know it’s gonna make us mad, it’s just got to! Anyway, this game is designed to be LARP-ready, dice light, and aggressively, consistently middle of the road. Just painfully. In more ways than one. You’ll see.
Announcement Mastery:
It Came From The Sea Podcast
Host Sarah uses her degree in oceanography and lifelong love of the sea and all things nautical as she drags her friends along on her journey to share this aquatic enthusiasm with the world at large. New episodes of It Came From the Sea drop every other week and bonus episodes are available at all tiers on our patreon. You can find a link to the patreon and all the latest podcast news at twitter.com/FromTheSeaPod.
GMJ: Pro DM
Check out GMJ and their recurring campiagn “Darkest Quest” set in the Quest RPG system on the online DM-player connection service StartPlayingGames. Drop in with a new character or bring a recurring character over and over! Also, custom sessions available on request!
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Apr 23, 2021 • 1h 14min
System Mastery 198 – Hellcats & Hockeysticks
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/04/system-mastery-198-hellcats-hockeysticks-1.mp3
We’ve had a great track record with games set in high schools, right? So obviously one set in a secondary school should be at least as good as Alma Mater or Panty Explosion right? Well, it’s certainly something! Join us as we explored the hallowed halls of a school for delinquent little monsters and their various criminal goings on.
Announcement Mastery:
Sorcerously Advanced is a game of cutting-edge magic. It’s pay-what-you-want at DriveThruRPG. If you like it you can buy a physical copy. Also: If sci-fi games are more your thing, check out our sister game, Sufficiently Advanced. The second edition is also on DriveThruRPG.
http://tiny.cc/sorc or http://suffadv.wikidot.com/
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Apr 7, 2021 • 1h 12min
System Mastery 197 – Ironclaw
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/04/system-mastery-197-ironclaw.mp3
So many people have requested this that we finally thought we’d throw you all a bone. Ironclaw is an anthro medieval RPG, so you’ll be playing a lot of foxes, bats, foxbats, Batmans, Manbats, and Sons of Kong. Is it fun? Let’s find out!
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Mar 24, 2021 • 1h 16min
System Mastery 196 – InSpectres
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/03/system-mastery-196-inspectres.mp3
Wanna hunt ghosts but not necessarily dedicate your whole life to it? Consider just getting a daytime job hunting ghosts, goblins, nilbogs, and Son of Kong with InSpectres, a game from the early 2000s that’s actually kinda funny for once.
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