Thursday 15 August 2019

Judge Dredd - Luna-1

From the blurb on the back cover of this new supplement for the Judge Dredd RPG -
On the Luna frontier only the strong survive!
Judge Dredd's world extends beyond the borders of Mega City One. The moon provides new challenges to Judges, Perps and Citizens who choose to escape the claustrophobic city-blocks and make a life for themselves... amidst the oxygen-short, crowded and lawless expanse of the Luna-1 colony.
Get assigned to the moon to keep the peace as Judges in the Luna Marshal campaign, or deal with a criminal gang in the frontier town of Grey Rock as Civilians or Perps in Sundance Rising.
With expanded rules for Luna characters, new Judge careers including the Luna Judge, Zero Squad, and non-Judge careers such as the Loonie Cultist and Gunslinger, in-depth descriptions of Luna 1 and the surrounding areas, as well as the Titan penal colony, and summaries of more of Dredd's early case files, this supplement is an essential addition to the Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000 AD role-playing game.
Running to 108 pages, the Luna-1 supplement was written by Andrew Peregrine, John White and Richard August. It comprises the following eight chapters -
Chapter 1 - Welcome to the Moon. An overview of life on and in Luna-1; these include its sights, its locations and its locals. If you're going to make it, living on the moon, this is the stuff you're really going to need to know.
Chapter 2 - Making a Living on Luna-1. Work might not be widely available in the future, but for those who have to do it, you'll probably want to know what it is you're going to be doing. This chapter contains new career options for Judge, Perp and Citizen characters, letting you build characters who fit into Luna-1 like they were born there. Maybe they were...
Chapter 3 - The Local Loonies. Just like Mega City One, there are a whole lot of oddballs who make up the population you'll either be policing, fleecing or forced to get along with. They are here in Chapter 3, in all their eccentric and sinister glory. Just because Luna-1 is smaller than a Mega City doesn't make the people living there any less strange.
Chapter 4 - Moon-Age Daydreams. So, you've made it to the surface of the satellite. Now what? That's what this chapter is for. It takes you through Dredd's adventures and how to convert them into a campaign your player characters can engage in. It also features extensive tips on how to orient your adventures to make the most of the setting. If you're going to the trouble of sending your characters to the moon, you best make the most of it, right?
Chapter 5 - Sundance Rising. It's not only Judges who get embroiled in the madness and criminality running rampant across the moon's surface. The innocent bystanders who get caught in the cross-fire and the desperate criminals trying to avoid capture need to have something to do too! Sundance Rising is a brand new adventure for either Citizens or Criminals to participate in - featuring the small, beleaguered town of Grey Rock and the ominous figure of Preacher Jackson.
Chapter 6 - Beyond the Moon. It's not Judge Dredd if Mega City One doesn't get a look-in somewhere. That's what this chapter is for. Several of Dredd's cases after his return are detailed here, including the first appearance of one of Dredd's most stalwart allies - Max Normal.
Chapter 7 - Looking the Part of a Loony. Surviving in Luna-1 and beyond the atmospheric dome requires specialised equipment. This chapter features new equipment and weaponry which player characters and their foes can equip themselves with.
Appendix - Titan. The secretive penal colony on Titan is the setting for some of Judge Dredd's most difficult and desperate adventures. This overview of Titan, its populace and the conditions they live in provides a new arena for gritty prison drama but with cool respirator masks.

I must admit that I was less than enthusiastic about the arrival of this supplement simply because I have no plans for sending the Judge characters of my campaign to Luna-1. However, once I'd read it, I realised that this was a very well written supplement with a lot of potential. So if I can find an excuse to send my Judge characters to the moon, I will.
The biggest gripe I had with the Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000 AD RPG and the first Judge Dredd supplement, The Robot Wars was the lack of stats for Judge Dredd. It was a jarring oversight that I'm pleased to say has been redressed with this supplement. Hiss inclusion was long overdue. Many thanks, guys! I rate this supplement as highly recommended for all Judge Dredd fans. You can purchase it from Amazon UK for £19.22.

8 comments:

  1. Great review Bryan, good news on the JD stats at last and look forward to seeing if your campaign makes it to Luna 1

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    1. Many thanks to you, Dave. There are no immediate plans to send my Judges to Luna-1 but never say never!

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  2. I definitely think they missed the ball with no JD in the previous two books, Bryan, and tbh completely missed his stats in this one too - I've spotted them now right at the end after the Tooley Brothers, as opposed to being with the rest of the Judges. How bizarre...

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    1. Very much appreciated, Simon, and I totally agree with you about the placement of Dredd's stats. Still, I'm just thankful he has been included.

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  3. Good review Bryan, its always useful to read stuff like this giving folk a good idea if they might be interested or not.

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    1. That is most kind of you, John. Thank you, my friend.

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  4. Anything that adds more to the setting is always good in my book Bryan & even if you were to decide not to send a Judge to the moon you could always set a couple of loonies the other way :)

    As with all of your reviews mate I found it be very interesting.

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    1. I really appreciate your comment, Frank, and of course you're right about sending some Loonies to MC-1.

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