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Sorcery & Super Science!
by Timothy K. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/19/2010 15:37:04

I haven't read all of it, but I downloaded blue men and shortly thereafter purchased this. I like the dice mechanic, and it seems to be an exciting take on the genre. Good job ERP!



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Sorcery & Super Science!
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A Magical Medieval Society: City Guide
by William G. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/15/2010 06:57:20

As with all of the Magical Society series, a little old in style and layout, but without peer in content and value.



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[4 of 5 Stars!]
A Magical Medieval Society: City Guide
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A Magical Society: Silk Road
by William G. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/15/2010 06:56:28

As with all of the Magical Society series, a little old in style and layout, but without peer in content and value. Highly recommended if you want to create your own trading tables with realistic/sensible reasoning behind it...and have a good idea of how and why...this is YOUR resource.



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[4 of 5 Stars!]
A Magical Society: Silk Road
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A Magical Society: Beast Builder
by Jeff X. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/31/2010 08:00:58

As a DM I found this book to be incredibly useful. The book's goal is to provide you with all the tools needed to not just build your own monsters but to build them well. It succeeds in this goal marvelously. If you want to build monsters for 3.5 that work well in the system you couldn't ask for a better resource. However, one of the great things about the book is that while there is a lot of math and statistics it doesn't ignore idea, inspiration or flavor. It has a great chapter devoted to monster ecology and discussion on how to elevate monster building to be part of world building.

Another great aspect of the book is all that math and statistics. Reading this book won't just help you make good monsters it will also give you a great understanding of the monsters you already have access to. After reading A Magical Society: Beast Builder, I feel confident that combats I run in future game sessions are going to be better for it; whether I use my own creation or something right out of the the SRD.

Finally, an important thing to note about the book: except for the Open Game License, the logos, the art, the book's name, the company's name and the name of the contributors' who made it the whole thing is open game content.

A great product that I'm very happy to own.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
A Magical Society: Beast Builder
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Monster Geographica: Forest
by Timothy B. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/07/2010 12:42:54

A collection of OGC monsters from various products. Great if you are looking something very specific (in this case Forest) monsters, bad if you are looking for something bad new. The nicest feature of this book is that some older 3.0 monsters have been updated to 3.5. In some cases that is worth the cover price alone. I liked this one better than some of the others in this series, mostly due to the monsters.



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[4 of 5 Stars!]
Monster Geographica: Forest
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Monster Geographica: Underground
by Timothy B. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/07/2010 12:42:01

A collection of OGC monsters from various products. Great if you are looking something very specific (in this case Underground) monsters, bad if you are looking for something bad new. The nicest feature of this book is that some older 3.0 monsters have been updated to 3.5. In some cases that is worth the cover price alone.



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[4 of 5 Stars!]
Monster Geographica: Underground
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Advanced Adventures #13: White Dragon Run
by James S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 06/26/2010 11:14:11

I had been intending to pick up some of the Expeditious Retreat Press Advanced Adventures modules, for quite some time. While I had my eye on Mr. Finch’s The Pod Caverns of the Sinister Shroom, when White Dragon Run appeared on RPGNOW, the preview sold me! I bought the PDF and printed it out.

White Dragon Run is exactly the kind of module I prefer. It details a village on the edge of civilization, with its surrounding area, then provides a couple of small adventure sites, with more ideas for further expansion by the DM.

First, an overview of the area is given, along with a hexmap and several encounter tables. The hexmap takes up about half a page, with the map scale being 1 hex = 1 League. There’s also a table given, for generating the content of “empty” hexes.

The Village itself is then presented, with a keyed map, a description of the major NPC’s, location details and information on the rest of the population. A map and description of the local Inn/Tavern is part of this section. Some history, rumors, flavor and whatnot are given for the area and village, providing the DM with plenty of entertaining material to riff off of.

After the setting information, two small dungeons are provided. Both of these tie into the background of the area. The dungeons and their denizens are basic stuff, but well done. They’re solid low-level adventure sites and serve their purpose of helping the DM get things started. An appendix, being excerpts from a local book of lore, provides some more adventuring ideas and history for the region.

As always, Peter Mullen’s cover art is a welcome addition and looks quite nice printed out from the PDF. There are nine interior illustrations. The various maps are well done and serviceable, though the grid on the Village Map printed out too light on my laser printer.

My only real complaint, is that the Publisher formatted the front and back color covers as one page. I have plenty of printing resources at the moment, which has led me to purchase several PDF’s, when shopping for OSR items. I would much prefer to receive my PDF’s with separate pages for the front and back covers. Especially when we’re talking about covers with Peter Mullen art, which I’m certainly going to look forward to printing out! :) It’s kind of a hassle, to separate the cover pages for a traditional printout.

Mr. Boney has done a damn fine job, with his 14 pages. Today’s time-harried, Old School DM will find White Dragon Run to be a solid basis for a new campaign. The whole design comes together very well and I enjoyed the overall atmosphere of the location. With, for example, the addition of a self-designed mega-dungeon, or one of the commercial or freely available ones, you’ll find yourself all set to go!

New DM’s will find White Dragon Run to be quite accessible as well. In providing the bottom part, for a bottom-to-top designed milieu, the modules contents will serve as a firm support for the neophyte DM, as he goes about the business of building upon the setting and learning his chosen craft.

If you enjoy modules that are non-linear, mini-settings, then you’ll probably find White Dragon Run to be quite appealing. If the idea of taking this type of set-up and Running With It, strikes your fancy, then White Dragon Run is exactly what you’re looking for.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Advanced Adventures #13: White Dragon Run
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Advanced Adventures #14: The Verdant Vault of Malakum
by David M. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 06/15/2010 17:04:48

This is not a review of the module's content, but its "physical" aspects. Most XRP modules have had a page count of 16, there have been a couple at 12 pages and a few with 20 or more, with the latter priced at $7 rather than the usual $6. This latest module, #14: The Verdant Vault of Malakum, is typically priced at $6, but only has 8 pages! I didn't notice this in the product description and if I had, I would not have purchased it. That's getting close to a dollar per page. I have so far purchased every module in the Advanced Adventures line, but #14 may just be my last purchase from XRP, because I tell you, 8 pages isn't a module, it's an appendix. XRP, rethink your pricing policy or at least limit accepted submissions to a decent page count.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Advanced Adventures #14: The Verdant Vault of Malakum
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Lands of Darkness #5.5: The Home for Wayward Minions
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 04/10/2010 11:36:25

Despite being billed as an 'April Fool' offering, this is not a ridiculously funny adventure. You may feel that the concept of a training camp for minions is a bit silly, but given that you can study just about anything (and even get degrees it it!) in the real world, why shouldn't the lowly minion go and learn his craft?

A few reasons are given to encourage characters to visit this swamp-based training camp. If they do so, they will find a series of huts on raised walkways - deceptively simple but naturally all is not quite what it seems! Everything is laid out clearly, with diagrams showing how the monsters are positioned at the start of each encounter, and notes on setting the correct number depending on the level of your party. The whole thing should prove straightforward to run, if a little basic.

And that's the rub: it is very basic. A linear walk-through with monsters that want to fight, only the 'boss' at the end might prefer to talk rather than brawl. It's a nice concept, but much more could be made of it as either a serious setting or, if preferred, a joke one. It doesn't really manage to be either, but could probably serve as something to do with a low-level party if you didn't have time to prepare anything. A minor quibble, one trap is supposedly based on the Fibonacci series... but it's incorrect! (So I can mention it without spoiling anything, as you'll still have to deduce the sequence used!).

This could have been much more fun... but there are a couple of undeveloped areas on the map, see what you can come up with for them. The good layout and clear instructions that should make it easy for a novice DM are the best points. Perhaps it's really a training camp for DMs rather than minions?



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Lands of Darkness #5.5: The Home for Wayward Minions
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Castoffs and Crossbreeds
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 04/09/2010 10:33:56

This short work is jam-packed with thought-provoking ideas for how to use different racial mixes in your game. In the Introduction, the author describes how he's always enjoyed exploring new races in his own playing, as well as reading about exotic monsters and wondering how they'd work as characters. Here, then, are some tools and ideas if you'd like to do the same.

Chapter 1: Half-Breeds in Your Game looks at the ups and downs of making much use of them, and at some of the things you need to think about when deciding what you're going to allow. The liklihood is that they will be less common than racially-pure individuals - but why should this be, and what effect will a few of them have on society? There's always good role-playing potential in being a bit different, and that to my mind is the real advantage of having half-breeds. It is not as disruptive as introducing a complete new race, and you can degree that due to social or even biological reasons they are quite rare.

The main part of the book is Chapter 2: Half-Breeds, in which no less than 12 new possibilities are presented, complete with ready-made backgrounds and all the rule mechanics needed to play or referee them. There are some fascinating concepts here, quite unlikely half-breeds but ones for whom a comprehensive rationale as to why they exist is given, one which in many cases could give rise to a whole series of adventures. I think I fancy an ophidian - result of a medusa seducing some powerful and influential human - but whatever your tastes, if you are of a mind to experiment with more than the standard fantasy races there is plenty of scope here for you and your DM to find some interesting characters and things to do with them.

Next, Chapter 3: The Demiurge presents a way in which those DMs concerned about internal consistency in their alternate reality can explain the most unlikely of half-breeds. The demiurge are mysterious beings which come from outer space and indulge in abduction of and experimentation on the sentient beings they encounter... with surprising results, at times. They could make a good antagonist, whether as a one-off or as the focus of a whole UFO-based campaign.

Finally, Chapter 4: New Monsters gives details of the giant cockroach and the gorilla, which at the time of writing have not yet made their appearance in Dungeons & Dragons 4e, but which are part of the mix that forms a couple of the half-breeds in Chapter 2.

A simple concept that goes straight to the heart of the 'what-if' mentality that drives much of fantasy, the ideas herein - and those that just thinking about them will spawn in your own mind - can empower an added dimension to a fantasy game, with as much social and personal interaction as you and your players might wish for. Many of the half-breeds are good in a brawl or other encounter as well, so however you like to play your game there may well be something of use here.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Castoffs and Crossbreeds
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One on One Adventures Compendium
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 04/04/2010 06:41:26

This Compendium is more than just a repackaging of the first 11 One-on-One adventures (written for GM and a single player) into one convenient book, the opportunity has been taken to optimise all the adventures, originally written for Dungeons & Dragons 3e to the Pathfinder RPG.

It starts with a Foreword that explains the origins of this particular series - time spent in remote locations where you're lucky to find one other role-player, let alone enough of them to run a conventional game. Most of us have been in that situation - I recall being stuck on a cruise ship amusing the one other gamer I'd found by running AD&D adventurers based on Botaccio's Decameron which I happened to be reading at the time! But here is a collection of adventures specifically written for a solo character, and designed to be completed by a single character on his own. Each even has a pre-generated one provided, which ensures that any skills, spells or abilities the author thinks will be useful in the adventure will be available. Or of course, you can play your own character - each adventure specifies the most suitable character class and level, although most could be played by any character with a bit more effort.

Adventures range from 2nd to 11th level, and you'll find at least one suitable for virtually any class, although rogues get the lion's share - well, they ARE possibly the best class for operating solo, after all! Those who enjoy a good brawl need not worry, there are plenty of opportunities to engage in combat, while the adventures require thought as well as a strong sword-arm or ready spell book to complete.

While the plotlines of the adventures remain true to the original publications, a lot of effort has been put into the mechanics to ensure that everything works perfectly for the Pathfinder ruleset. And of course, the real treat is Adventure 6.66: The Pleasure Prison of the B'thuvian Demon Whore - the adventure that launched the series, now generally rather expensive on auction sites if you can find it at all. More prudish gamers need not fear, despite the title, while tongue-in-cheek all remains quite decent unless you really get carried away with the chocolate golem! All the adventures are fun, whichever side of the GM screen you are sitting, but this one in particular is a merry romp in an over-the-top Conan-esque style.

By their nature, most of the adventures are 'one-offs' to be run, perhaps, when you cannot get the whole group together for a regular session. If you prefer, however, each is provided with information to enable you to scale the adventure for a small party if you have more than one eager player. Also, as several adventures involve a rogue, it is possible to link them into a loose series - more 'adventures in the life of' than a genuine adventure path, but sufficient for several entertaining sessions nonetheless. Put it this way, this one is coming with me next holiday... something to keep my daughter entertained if nothing else!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
One on One Adventures Compendium
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1 on 1 Adventures #13: The Pearls of Pohjola
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 04/03/2010 08:35:55

This adventure is inspired by the myths of Finland, in style if not in actual content, and has the appropriate epic feel about it. Designed for a single character - a sorcerer of 10-12th level is suggested, and one is provided - brief notes are provided should you prefer to use it in a regular multi-player game, when characters of about 6th-level would be appropriate.

Firstly, the GM is given the full background story upon which the myth is based. It's not very clear how to get your character or characters involved, though, as all they are recommended to be told is a rather opaque (but pleasant) song sung by a local bard, unless you go with the route of them having prior knowledge that has brought them to the area in the first place. It's all set in a snowy northern wilderness, so there does need to be some reason to be there in the first place... even if you come up with something completely irrelevant that puts the character in the right place for you to start the adventure!

However you've got the character there, the adventure proper begins with a trek through the snow (complete with a few well-constructed random encounters you can use) to reach an inn. Here they'll discover that the area is claimed by a bunch of sentient bears and travellers need to either request permission from them to proceed (or evade them in their travels). There's a local bard who can provide some useful background to the myth once the character's attention has been attracted, provided she asks!

As the adventure unfolds, there are opportunities to exercise both the sword-arm and tongue, with combat and diplomacy both required to achieve success. If the character does manage to impress those sentient bears, they'll take her where she needs to go, else the correct location will have to be discovered. Once there, of course, it's not plain sailing - indeed, actually finding what the character is after involves rather too much random chance for my taste... and as finding the item in question is the start rather than the culmination of the adventure, I'd be inclined to make it a bit easier. The rest is complex enough and requires thought, interaction and skill (combat and otherwise) to reach a successful conclusion.

While interesting and challenging, the final part of the adventure is a bit linear with a distinct possibility of the character being left floundering if they don't discern the correct actions to take. It will need careful GMing to ensure that the character has a fighting chance of success without her feeling that she is being led by the nose!

Overall, it's an unusual and intriguing adventure - born in a song, it may well lead to some more as the character's exploits will if successful, be worthy of a ballad or two.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
1 on 1 Adventures #13: The Pearls of Pohjola
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One on One Adventures Compendium
by Jako W. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 01/07/2010 12:08:29

Great and original adventures, very useful to those that doesn't have easy access to a regular gaming group.



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[4 of 5 Stars!]
One on One Adventures Compendium
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One on One Adventures Compendium
by Nicholas B. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 11/13/2009 10:58:50

A huge bang for the buck here; I am impressed at how much I got for the price tag. This is an excellent compilation of one-on-one modules, most useful when you have a single player and an itch to play; the rules provide plenty of helpful hints on scaling and balance and I have encountered no glitches or oddities so far, off-hand. The only real problem I have noticed is that they are designed for various separate scenarios aimed at specific character types, and so it would be hard to run this book as a series of continuous adventures in a campaign.

The book is clean and well-edited, and has plenty of great illustrations and maps. Probably my favorite PDF to date for Pathfinder!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Lands of Darkness #4: The Swamp of Timbermoor
by Jeremy G. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 10/27/2009 14:35:13

This product gives you an entire level's worth of encounters based around a single location type - in this case swamps. There are hooks for an adventure to link the encounters but the encounters would also be easy to slot into any swamp or marshy environment.

Options are given to scale the the encounters from 9th level to 11th level. All monsters included are new so the entire stat blocks are available in the product for easy reference.

All interior artwork is b/w including the maps. In my opinion this product gives good value for money and I look forward to using it in my campaign.



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[4 of 5 Stars!]
Lands of Darkness #4: The Swamp of Timbermoor
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