Leopard Women of Venus Review

Written by my friend Leighton Conner and

Josh Burnett, Leopard Women of Venus is a gonzo space-fantasy setting for Dungeon Crawl Classics based on the insane works of Fletcher Hanks. I know gonzo gets thrown around a lot, but it definitely applies to the sheer weirdness involved with Hanks.

Venus is a bioformed jungle hellscape inhabited by dysfunctional human factions that vie for supremacy. The Caverns are a communist society ran by super robots and protected by the genetically modified Leopard Women. The Otram believe in their supremacy and guns, god, and gold. These cats probably wouldn't watch Fox News, because they think it's for liberal sissies. The Palna have a very superstitious society and strive to be meticulously moral so they can stay on the good side of Stardust the Super Wizard. Finally the Avrok are hedonist hippie types that seek enlighten via snake sex and drugs. They follow nature and Fantomah. The factions have an uneasy peace and send agents to work for a group called the Humanoid Coalition to face outside threats, primarily the horrific giant spiders that seek domination of the planet. 

Each faction is discussed in detail. Their opinions of others are presented, as well as notable members of the society, and 20 sights and sounds for each. The jungle, giant spiders, and threats outside of Venus are given similar (though not identical) treatment. Given their importance, the Humanoid Coalition is given a chapter. It's origin, purpose, important members, and potential missions are detailed and discussed.

The following chapter presents new birth augers and occupations related specifically for the setting. How the standard DCC classes fit into the setting is discussed as well. In general, only the human classes are available, though it's possible for dwarves, halflings, and elves to find their way to Venus.

The titular Leopard Woman of Venus are given their own class. They are mighty warriors with three spell-like abilities. They can fire bolts from their special helmets, summon flying saurians, and tap into the fury of their leopard blood. These abilities function identical to standard DCC spells, though they can only be used by Leopard Women.

Technology and commerce are discussed in the following chapter. New firearms, gear, and armor rules are presented. There are also some unique items found on the planet. While the game has sci-fi elements, the planet is a mix of industrial tech and retro-future tech (based on early 20th century visions of future tech). 

There are three new fully fleshed out patrons presented. They are Stardust the Super Wizard (Palna), Fantomah (Avrok), and SPANDO (Caverns). Each has invoke, taint, and spellburn charts, as well as three patron spells.

There's a nice section discussing what makes the settings unique. It gives motivations, themes, tones, and other bits of advice for Judges. 

There's a rather detailed bestiary of location based npcs and weird Venusian monstrosities. Additionally there's a 0-level Funnel (which I had the pleasure of playtesting at GenCon a few years ago) and a 1st level adventure. 

There are a few appendices in the book. The first discusses the marvelous and horrific mutagen known as Compound N. The second is The Marvelous Moglug Maker which lets you customize the mutants of the planet. Finally their are recommended DCC additions and inspirational material. One DCC that isn't mentioned that works great with this setting is Gunzo! Operation Bug Hunt by Bloat Games. While the hard sci-fi nature of that setting doesn't mesh the best with LWoV, the random bug generator is an invaluable tool and a great way to customize your giant spiders. 

This book is a lot of fun. I've read several out there sci-fi/fantasy settings, but this one is the most entertaining. I can't recommend it enough. You can order your own copy here.