Armageddon Unlimited (A Sourcebook for the Heroes Unlimited RPG)
Publisher: Palladium Books
System: Heroes Unlimited
Release Date: February 2011
MSRP: $20.95
Author(s): Written by Carl Gleba, w/ additional material by Kevin Siembieda; Cover by John Zeleznik.
Format: 160 pgs., Trade Paperback
Catalog #: 527
ISBN: N/A
ICv2 Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

This book is both a resource book and a scenario for use with Heroes Unlimited and other related games from Palladium.  The resource section allows a gamesmaster to add a grim, supernatural dimension to superhero and fantasy campaigns.  That half of the book could probably stand alone as a supplement to most superhero or urban fantasy campaigns.

The rest of the book is a scenario based on a "civil war" between the two conflicting factions of what humans call Hell, and how that war has spilled into the world of the game.  The book has everything from demonic entities to undying Nazi scientists to flesh out campaigns.  Powerful artifacts, magical spells and a host of other things fill the pages of the book.  For a campaign suited to this, the book is a valuable source of material.  Players already familiar with the Nightbane game setting may have less “culture shock” than those playing classic superhero or fantasy characters, but the material is usable by them as well.  New character classes and other items can even be adapted to other game systems, with effort.

There are two weaknesses to Armageddon Unlimited.

First, it is not complete.  In order to use it as a campaign setting, two other books are needed, in addition to the basic rules.  This makes the cost $70+ for the complete set.

Second, the scenario itself is an "end of the world" affair, but compressed into a short time frame.  As a result, if the characters somehow become distracted from the real story, their world will end.  Campaign over, tear up the character sheets kind of end of the world...  But the main goal of most of the bad guys is to distract the characters, and they’re given the tools to do it very well.  So, only a good and experienced gamesmaster will be able to dance on the edge of giving the players information without forcing them down the "right" paths within the story.

This is a very good game supplement that is simply not for everyone.

-- Nick Smith: Librarian Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.