Xro Dinn Chronicles 2: New Horizons

"Xro Dinn Chronicles Book 2: New Horizons" by Matthew Webster Published and Distributed by Ionian Studios ISBN = 0-96599-17-2-5 - 236 pages Table of Contents Part 01 - Foundation Part 02 - Characterization Part 03 - Props Part 04 - Stage Setting Part 05 - Theme Setting Appendix A = Tables and Charts Index and Character Sheet This book is an addition to the previous Xro Dinn Chronicles setting. The first book in the series was called: "Xro Dinn Chronicles Book One: Awakenings". See my review of that book elsewhere on this site. It has great color covers, but the remainder of the book has black and white illustrations. Not only do these illustrations help you to imagine what you are looking at, but they add a 'flair' to the book. This is one of the rare books that have a good Table of Contents -and- a good Index. There are many new features added to the game by this 'sequel'. In addition to allowing young Xro Dinn as player characters, this book has four other new Player Character Races. There is very detailed information on all of these new Player Characters. The new races are: Borloan, Kordron, Krik, Vajjra, young Xro Dinn, and the Ingenii. One of my favorite parts is the extremely detailed work on each of the possible Player Characters. This section also includes a great look at the "Ingenii", another good bit on Nanotechnology, quite a bit on Starship Construction, info on Cloning, a nice section on Martial Arts, and a good look on including Psionics in your campaign. Many new Professions are also included. Nine new character classes: Investigator, Martial Agent, Military Officer, Pilot, Scholar, Security Specialists, Simulacrum Agent, Soldier (which looks to me like a Mercenary), and Spacer, make the cut to player character status. The book itself is laid out well, and info from each section is a logical step to the next section. The new alien races as PCs are broken down into sub-sections about each new race. I believe that this is a nice touch, and gives potential GM's a way to decide whether they want to include any of or all of the new races. New professions are added, and a detailed look at using the Ingenii in your campaign - either as PC's or NPC's, or both! Finally, the section about Psionics and its advantages and disadvantages and five new Psionic character classes. In Props, the author adds a bit on Tech Levels, Cloning, and Computer Interfaces. Then the props section is broken down into sub-sections with equipment for each new race. Even if you do not want any of these characters, the equipment section deserves a look because the items could still be found and/or used by current PC's. This equipment section is also broken down by race. The next deals with "Staging" your setting. This includes organizations and three new sub-sections broken down by race. This is a 'prequel' to the theme of this setting, which looks at Creating Campaigns, and also has two NPC info sections, one for the Sharr'dann and one for adult Xodar Xro Dinn which cannot be player characters. Finally, there is a part of all the tables and charts a GM might need. If you can't tell, I love this setting. I cannot find anyone in my two Friendly Local Game Stores that know about it, either as an item they sold, or a game they have played. This one advantage to the Xro Dinn Chronicles makes them even more interesting to a potential GM. None of their players is likely to have these books - in fact, I'd be willing to say that they have never even heard of this. Unlike many games such as Star Wars RPG, Star Trek RPG, and others - have a universe the players are probably going to be aware of. The unfamiliarity factor is important, as a good GM can make the players see what they want to see. One of my higher recommendations.