03/23/2022

Due Vigilance Issue 04 – Kaiju Kultists is the final issue of the Due Vigilance series (to date of this posting). It is a lot longer than the previous issues at 68 pages for the pdf (Oktobermen was 32 pages, Black Chapter was 34 pages, and Six Gun was 28 pages).

The book starts off with some history of giant monsters along with some advice for creating your own monsters. They talk about the different types (bugs, aliens, etc) along with some advantages that big monsters should have. There are also some new advantages for giant monsters that really help the Gamemaster handle the Kaiju and its effects on the environment.

The book next moves into kaiju combat and how to handle the effects of the monster on the environment. It mentions how the property handles damage and how to track it. It is a new concept that really works and is some good information and ideas that should be used in any campaign that deals with a large amount of property damage on a regular basis.

The next section is about the Kaiju Kultists. It gives a history of the Kult along with other members that are not shown in this book. It goes into the different members of the Kult. Each Kult member, besides Miyage-Nyūdō the leader of the Kult, is a host bound to a demon/alien kaiju. Each entry has details about the monster, the host, personality, and powers. This makes it easier for the Gamemaster to run these creatures as part of your campaign. There are six (6) different monsters in the book with artwork for both the monster and the host so you have something to show the players when they are encountered.

At the end of the book, there are some NPCs (heroes and others) with backgrounds and stats. There is even a monster-hunting group detailed. Also included are some adventure seeds that can be used to get giant monsters into your game. There are even cutout standees of the monsters for the Gamemaster to use if needed during play.

It took me a long time to complete the review of this product. I really tried to like this book. The beginning parts about how to handle the devastation that giant monsters create is a great addition to any game that features kaiju or just giant-sized enemies (dragons, giants, enormous robots, etc)

The actual Kaiju Kultists at the back just don’t do it for me. The leader, Miyage-Nyūdō, has some strange powers that might be confusing to newer Gamemasters. The rest of the host/monsters are okay but I just didn’t latch onto them like I did the Black Chapter or the Oktobermen.

Final Grade: B

Keep on gaming!