This morning the printed copy of Judge Dredd & the Worlds of 2000 AD RPG Case Files 1 – 7 arrived.

This is a collection of the case files that were first available as separate pdfs as part of the EN Publishing Patreon. I bought these via the EN Publishing webstore. For your money you get a pdf of the case files and a physical copy that is printed on demand via DriveThruRPG.

This is a soft cover book. 36 pages of content, with 2 blank pages. Print quality is ok, nothing outstanding.

There are 7 case files in this collection. 5 of them have been available for free to patreons (Monkey Business, Nobody Expects the SJS, Night of the Living Dredd, Obstructing the Law, and Red Dredd Redemption) as pdfs. The remaining 2 are new (All Boxed Up, and The Future of Law Enforcement), or I’m assuming they are as I haven’t noticed them on the EN Publishing patreon page.

These case files can be run as one shots or as part of an already on going campaign.

I particularly like that Monkey Business “is designed to be played as a one-shot. It is perfect for convention demos, or introductory game sessions.” This is the one I’d use as a taster with friends or those that want to try the system.

A couple of the case files have a content warning because of the themes. If running those ones and you aren’t using any safety tools then you might want to think about introducing them. And definitely follow the advice given about running those adventures.

The case files have a different layout to the original pdfs. I particularly like how the stat blocks appear in the case files.

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The look of the stat blocks matches the other Judge Dredd books, as does the rest of the layout. It’s more compact and easier to read.

I do prefer the original green and yellow colour scheme to the blue and gray of this collection. The original felt more comic book like. Don’t get me wrong I don’t dislike the new colour scheme, I just prefer the other one.

I have one complaint about this collection and it is with the first case file Monkey Business.

Below you will see a comparison between the map for this case file in how it appears in the original pdf, the pdf of the collection and the printed copy.

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In the printed copy the map is too dark, the grid lines and details are almost invisible (I’m hoping the photo above captures this). I thought it might be the pdf, and although smaller and darker than the original version, it is still clear. So the printing is the problem here. I’d almost say the printed version is unusable.

It is obvious that in resizing and re-orienting the map the image got darker and fuzzier. Luckily I have the original pdf. But I’m disappointed that this got through quality control. The new version of the map is a step backwards.

Monkey Business is the only case file with maps. There is a second map, but this is a side view of a building, also dark, but much less an issue. There is the blessing that no other case file have a map, so they are unaffected by this printing issue. For the remaining case files you are expected to come up with your own maps for various locations used.

In an ideal world EN Publishing would make the original clearer, sharper map available as an image GMs can download and print.

I’m struggling to say this compendium of adventures is worth the money. Especially if you are only getting two new adventures. It’s handy having them as a hard copy but worth it? I’m not sure.