Esper Genesis 5E Master Technician’s Guide by Rich Lescouflair is a role playing game supplement published by Alligator Alley Entertainment. This is one of three core books for the Esper Genesis system, the other two being the Threats Database and Core Manual. Esper Genesis is a science fiction role playing game based on Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition; as such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result.
The supplement is available as a PDF from DriveThruRPG for $24.95. It is also available in printed form from sites such as Amazon. The PDF is the version reviewed, although it was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. The PDF has 240 pages with one being the front cover, one the front matter, one the Table of Contents, two the Index and one the Open Game License.
The Introduction explains that this book expands the rules in the Core Manual and Basic Rules for being a GameMaster, and is one of three core books, the other two being the Core Manual and the Threats Database. It looks at the role of the GM, different styles of play and how to use the book, explaining what the different chapters cover.
1: Running Your Game starts with ground rules for running the game, which should be established by the GM and players at the beginning. This section is broken down into the different types of things such rules can cover. This is followed by an overview of different Gamemastering styles, as in the type of game that is going to be run and the degree of roleplaying versus rolling dice. Starting a session, keeping a chronicle of what’s happened and sharing responsibilities with players for some tasks.
How to tell the stories, with such things as setting the scene, enthusiasm, suspense, cinematic narration and keeping the game moving are followed by using ability scores and when to use them, and how rolls are affected, which includes inspiration. Exploration can require mapping, and speed of travel as well as visibility and noticing other creatures are looked at. Social interaction has some guidelines for handling that supplement those in the core book.
Characters can interact with objects and there are some rules on determining how they can be damaged and how much damage they can take. Next is narrating combat and describing damage and attacks, as well as dealing with mobs and swarms of creatures. Rules on handling different kinds of chase are also given, including complications that can happen during the different kinds.
Dealing with disease, and some sample diseases, handling poisons and toxins, and some sample types and how to buy them, are covered, as well as handling madness and its effects. Finally, the effects of radiation and vacuum exposure are covered.
2: Gear and Rewards expands the Equipment chapter in the Core Manual, adding new options for armour, shields and weapons, including details on how to upgrade such, adds more miscellaneous gear, forge-enhanced items that are crafted with sorium-based technology, core-forged items that are sorium items crafted by esper-powered smiths, sentient items and cypheos, which are artefacts that transcend natural law. Following this are extensive descriptions of the new items; rather like the esper powers in the Core Manual, these can be recognised as being “magic items” that have been modified to be technological in nature. Finally, there are money and item reward tables, which are essentially random treasure tables.
3: Galaxy Tech looks at cybernetic augmentations, including getting them installed, with some variants, and maintaining them, Examples of cybernetics are given, again following a layout similar to that of magic items in 5E. It then looks at computers and virtualities, including the Silrayne Intergalactic Matrix, a futuristic internet that links almost everywhere, to varying degrees of connectivity. Using the SIM and nodes within it are looked at, including combat within the digital world and threats in it. Some beings have a dual aspect both within and without the digital realm, and these are covered. Following this are details on vehicles, options for them, using vehicle weapons and weapon properties, customisation options for vehicles and moving around. Drones are next, with details on how to customise them with various options.
4: Starships and Starbases starts by looking at grand scale ships, which are starships of Huge or larger size, as these operate differently to smaller ships. This starts with details on how the crew roles differ from those for smaller ships, followed by combat between them with different manoeuvres for the different roles, and how to handle combat between grand scale ships and smaller ones. Ship stats are then expanded to present them so that they are brought into line with creatures from the Threats Database. There are some sample player ships, followed by a step-by-step design process for building starships, from hulls through the systems. Starships have their own conditions and there are different ways of travelling through the galaxy.
5: Game Master’s Toolkit covers ways of customising the game and creating your own options. It starts by looking at customising player characters, customising traits, making new origin templates for origins and species not currently included and the best way of doing such, modifying classes, including tech points which for certain classes can be used to fuel esper powers and creating backgrounds.
There are options for new play mechanics, these being fear and horror, including the option of sanity points, karma, which adds an extra level of chance, new options for healing and resting and using tools and skills. There are new combat options, including firing and actions, morale, passive initiative and stunning damage.
Following this is an extensive section on how to create new threats beyond those in the Threats Database, as well as NPC stat blocks and creating new esper powers. Finally, there are guidelines on creating new items and gear. In both these cases, they should not be overpowered.
6: Adventures and Campaigns starts by looking at the basics that adventures should have, then briefly looks at published adventures. Following this is an overview of adventure structure, which is basically a beginning, a middle and an end. It then looks at various different kinds of adventures, followed by how to create encounters of different types, how to build combat encounters including some quick creation. Random encounters and how they happen is next, followed by how to award experience points. Various ways of linking adventures, or not if that’s not wanted, are considered and how to track a campaign to keep it consistent. Finally, it looks at the different tiers of adventures. Much of this chapter will be essentially familiar to most GMs, but there are some bits that are more specific to the game.
7: NPCs and Organisations starts with some advice for creating NPCs. Some side characters need nothing; others just need a name and something to distinguish them. More important NPCs need fleshing out more. There are some random tables for NPC traits and a suggestion to use these for major threats too, and some methods of creating stats for those NPCs who need them. Different types of NPC are then looked at. Contacts are those with close ties to at least one character, and include patrons, some NPCs will be party members or hirelings, extras are background NPCs and villains are self-explanatory.
Factions and organisations are groups with shared objectives. There is some advice on dealing with and creating organisations, with a sample, and how characters can gain renown in an organisation and the benefits this grants them.
8: Adventure Environments explains that adventures can take place in a variety of environment. It starts by looking at environmental conditions, covering atmosphere, gravity, including zero gravity, and weather. Many of the following sections cover mapping the environments as well as everything else. Structures are next, with some tables and details on how to go about designing and mapping these. Settlements are covered in a similar way, though they are bigger, usually, and there are more tables to use. Overland travel follows, including whether to just cutscene it, and various tables for wilderness survival.
Outer space has some random space encounters in a table as well as mapping, movement and getting lost. Aquatic environments covers both surface and underwater travel, which are different conditions for travelling in. Aerial travel is covered more briefly. Finally, hazards are covered, including how to use them, how to detect and avoid them, their effects and a number of sample hazards.
9: Galactic Lifestyle looks at the breaks between adventures known as downtime. It looks at the effect that lifestyle expenses have in play, such as with NPC interactions, contacts and organisation, basic necessities and assets from lifestyles and identity and privacy items. Recurring expenses for property of different types is looked at, followed by the different forms of currency, both digital and not. Finally, it looks at various different activities that can be done during downtime, with various tables for things such as expenses and time for the different activities.
10: Forging Your Own Galaxy explains the core setting for the game and has some information on going about replacing it with your own ideas. It starts with the core concepts of the included setting and suggestions as to how to change these. It then looks at mapping the campaign, which goes from galactic to continental, and has some random tables for creating star systems. Following this are details on how to create settlements and handling new languages. The different Tech Levels are described, followed by a step-by-step process for creating a new species. Next is looks at espers and how they might be handled in a campaign and in specific places. It then briefly covers creating a campaign, using campaign-altering major events and different kinds of science fiction themes, with space opera being the default for Esper Genesis.
11. Infinite Realms looks at the alternate dimensions that exist, which in a fantasy D&D game would be the other planes of existence, though there are less than there would be in one of the traditional D&D fantasy depictions. Travelling to other dimensions is covered, along with some overviews of some other dimensions, as well as the concept of subdimensions and virtual dimensions. Finally, there are suggestions on how to run Esper Genesis in other sci-fi genres, with some universal changes that can be considered to specific changes for each type of subgenre.
Appendix A: Starship Codex has starship stats. It starts with conventional starships, updated from the Core Manual to fit the expanded ship rules. Next are lineage starships, which explains that some advanced cultures use their own ship designs. It first has a brief look at the design philosophies of the best-known starfaring cultures, then has stats for these ships, followed by standard and grand scale stat block examples.
Appendix B: Item Lists has enhanced items and upgrades sorted both by rarity and by type.
The final page of content has a blank starship statistics sheet.
Esper Genesis 5E Master Technician’s Guide in Review
The PDF is bookmarked with the major sections and major subsections linked, though not as deeply as it could be. The Table of Contents is to a similar level of depth and is hyperlinked. The Index is more thorough and is hyperlinked. Navigation could be better. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be free of errors. There are a variety of colour illustrations, up to full page in size. Presentation is good.
This is one of the three books that’s needed to run the game properly, and it expands on some of the material in the Core Manual, as well as presenting more material aimed at helping the GM. Some of the GM material is essentially standard stuff on running and designing campaigns and settings, though with a science fiction bent. Other parts have details that will be needed to properly run adventures. Though it may be possible to use the system with the Core Manual and without the Master Technician’s Guide, there is enough in this supplement to make running the game easier, as well as options for expanding how things are done. Esper Genesis 5E Master Technician’s Guide can be found by clicking here.
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