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The Book of Forbidden Magic
Publisher: Necromancers of the Northwest
by Derek H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/03/2018 08:53:49

As much as I think the rules in this supplement are good, the example spells are not. I did not get Forbidden Magic for evil spells, I got it for those that are beyond human ken. Those that have flaws because of an incomplete understanding of the methods and basis for the spells' magics. And the spells section is all evil spells.

So if you want evil spells that will corrupt or destroy the characters, this is for you. If you want other forms of forbidden magic, well the rules will help you design your own.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
The Book of Forbidden Magic
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Mutant Bastards - Adventures in the New West
Publisher: Bigfella Games
by Derek H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/12/2017 09:27:53

This game is a love letter to Gamma World, pure and simple. Beyond fusing the first two edition of GW and Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Mutant Bastards adds some elements. For one it is set in the South West, so rules for surviving arid conditions are included, something fans of 80's post-apocalyptic movies should enjoy. It also includes cybernetics for both humans and animals, something I believe is missing from all the editions of GW. But the one thing I am most happy about is the skill system. There are no listed skill list, the players and GM must agree on what is and is not allowed. And for the characters to learn their skills, they have to use MB's version of the artifact examination tables (which are simpler and much easier to use than GW's). This allows the GM and players to direct the game in different directions, evolving themselves and the setting.

Do I want to play Mutant Bastards, not really. There are a few things I do not like, such as the tables for radiation and poison (anyone who has played or read first edition GW will understand) and the lack of advancement (characters do not earn experience at all). I do plan on scavenging all the good bits (and there are many) for Mutant Future.

Is this a good game, yes it is. If you love Gamma World like I do, you should find plenty to use, mutate and scavenge for your games no matter what rules you use. that being said, the rules in Mutant Bastards are robust in an old school style and perfectly useable in of itself.

Easily four thumbs out of five.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Mutant Bastards - Adventures in the New West
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Elminster's Ecologies (2e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Derek H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/25/2017 14:52:49

I purchased the POD and am happy with the results. There are a few pages that are a little light, but overall it is more than good enough to read.

The only minor issue with the print version is the order of the booklets. The Explorer's Manual is described as the first one to read and has the list within its pages- but one reading this will not find that out until they get to the fourth booklet within the print version. I honestly don't care as the information it provides isn't vital to understanding and enjoying the product as a whole. Just to warn others who do by the POD option.

As for the contents, there are nine booklets written by four authors in nine different styles- each has a different fictional author (Elminster does the Explorer's Manual only). Some are better than others, but none of them are remotely bad. They cover a lot of different habitats and most of it can easily be applied to other settings. Some of them cover the human inhabitants a bit too much in my opinion, but then the intelligent races do have an important impact on the ecology and cultural interactions of a given region. Overall I think it should be useful for anyone wanting to make their monsters more interesting.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Elminster's Ecologies (2e)
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Hubris: A World of Visceral Adventure
Publisher: DIY RPG Productions
by Derek H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/28/2017 12:51:35

In addition to all the previous reviews there is one high point for Hubris- it may have the best section on gods found within all Dungeon Crawl Classics supplements. Other sources provide plenty of wizard patrons and few have paid any attention to clerics and their gods. Hubris not only provides some new examples of the divine, it adds a new spell-like mechanic for calling directly upon them for a miracle. Another high point is the few pages devoted to wizard spell books and how they reflect their master and their master's patron, if any.

This setting skeleton is just about perfect for a DIY Judge who wants ideas and generators rather than concrete examples. It isn't a six star product, but it does deserve a five.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Hubris: A World of Visceral Adventure
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GeneStorm: A Post-Apocalyptic Role Playing Game
Publisher: Kitsune Press
by A customer [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/30/2016 13:48:52

This post-apocalyptic game is one of the scions of Gamma World. The author wrote one of the GW novels that came out with the 7th edition of that game. Genestorm is an adaptation of that setting, and a pretty good game to boot. It is without a doubt on the gonzo side of the PA settings, including plant/animal hybrids as both creatures to interact with and player characters. The ruleset uses d6s and seems fairly rules medium (skill based, no classes). But that isn't why I bought it. I got it for the setting.

The world is very much what one would expect from a GW scion- weird technology, stranger mutants and outright bizarre locations. For the last, there are even tears in space that lead to other universes that will destroy the body and mind over time. Tech is mostly of the jury-rigged sort with the occasional artifact of the ancients for the characters to play with. And as for mutation, there isn't that many, though they are designed to be easily reskinned to allow for a wide diversity of appearances and effects. Genestorm also has no mental mutations of any sort, only physical. Humans can be non-mutants or mutants. And then there are those that are entirely or primarily animals and those that are entirely or primarily plants. There is so much gene mixing (see below for why) that animals such as nudibranches (sea slugs) and armidillos are mentioned as potential parental species.

The described setting isn't terribly flavorful- that is what the supplement is for. For something that is meant to be the opposite of grimdark, it does have one thing that is gruesome- cash comes in the form of ID chips that were implanted in the people before the cataclysm. That means the player characters can get rich by tearing apart old bodies they find in ancient ruins. There are also suggestions on how to make money by stripping broken tech for parts and chemicals. There is an adventure, a mystery that has the PCs searching for a pile of treasure that was hidden by a prospector. I don't want to give anything away, so other than missing maps (which aren't that important anyways), it well written in my opinion.

The best chapter is that one creatures. The setting posits a virus that escaped and merged the genetics of all the non-microbial species it encountered. It is called Chop Shop and it is an obvious homage to Mix Master, the microbe that was making monsters in Tremors the Series (thumbs up for the reference, Mr. Kidd!) The example creatures comes in dangerous predators, useful critters and riding beasts that have stat blocks and a lot more that do not have stats as they are mostly harmless to the player characters. A very few examples- melon pigs are watermelon/hog hybrids useful for their meat and water content, lea-moos are plant/cow hybrids used as mounts and pack beasts, mega-moths are huge canine/moth hybrids that eat smaller creatures, skulks are rat/vulture hybrids that are a primary scavenger on the plains and be wary of those mentioning chomps or chompers. The former are massive worms (no snake tongues) that attack from below whereas chompers are large cat/mantid hybrids that are almost as massive as the moths.

The only negative about the book for me is the art. It is great, but the pieces are small (the examples on the indiegogo page are shrunken down in the book) and scattered in the book- except for a few full page works. With all the nifty critters, I was hoping for more art on them.

People who like furry games, gonzo post-apocalyptic settings and just something out there should get a kick out of Genestorm.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
GeneStorm: A Post-Apocalyptic Role Playing Game
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The Adventurers' Guide to Herbalism & Alchemy for FG&G
Publisher: The Hawk Wolf Network
by Derek H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/30/2016 06:30:10

This is a hard book to review. In some ways it has earned 4 stars and in others 1. I also know the primary author, but that will have no bearing on what I post here.

The good includes how broad it is. There are chapters on herbalism, alchemy, greek fire, smoke powder and fire arms, and artificial life. The examples include a lof of text in their creation and use. The character options are not mechanically explained (i.e. they are not class write ups), but are interesting enough to encourage DMs to do so on their own. Or at least use them in game as is.

The okay is mostly related to the art. It looks like a alchemy text from the 1600's printed with modern technology. You may like or not. There are a few typos here and there, but nothing egregious. The layout is very much within the OSR ethos, which may or may not be to one's liking. It is not a pretty book, but it isn't hideous either.

The bad is how thin it is. Unlike The Compleat Alchemist, an obvious inspiration, there are rather few examples of herbal concoctions and alchemical creations (between 1/5th and 1/4th compared with the older work). The automatons are the same ones in The Compleat Alchemist, just with much more in depth descriptions on how they are made. The lack of information on how alchemists can make Philosopher's Stones and other alchemical items in the core rules is disappointing.

As someone who has a lot of rpg material on alchemy, herbalism and artifical life, this book is second tier at best. For someone who wants an OSR source and doesn't have a broad library of such subjects, it should be much more useful.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
The Adventurers' Guide to Herbalism & Alchemy for FG&G
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Chthonic Codex
Publisher: Lost Pages
by A customer [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/21/2016 06:41:19

An excellent source of strange creatures, weird spells, useful subclasses of magic-user and bizzare setting components.

You can read an indepth review on my blog: http://d-infinity.net/blog/derek-holland/review-chthonic-codex



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Chthonic Codex
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Enchanter Class for Labyrinth Lord and OSR
Publisher: Weird Realm Games
by Derek H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/06/2015 10:19:11

There are three ways that a shaman class (one who can speak to spirits) can be constructed- the spirits are innate to all things, spirits are fairly common and wander about or having spirit familiars on hand at all times. The Enchanter is a combination of the latter two. Initially the enchanter will have to hope that a spirit is nearby and at 5th level one can be bound, though that isn't automatic or easy. There are no unique spells for the class, or actually the spirit world, but that is easy to rectify with all the OSR and AD&D/BD&D resources out there. The rules for finding out what spirits are around, if any, and what element and level they are are fairly simple and easy to use or modify as needed.

I am giving it a 4 because it isn't the best thing since sliced bread, but it is a well written and can be easily modified to fit many different styles of caster and play. Thumbs up.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Enchanter Class for Labyrinth Lord and OSR
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Liber Arcanum
Publisher: Cognition Pressworks
by Derek H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/19/2015 12:26:02

Liber Arcanum is an excellent resource for wizards in DCC. You can read the table of contents in the full sized preview so you can see how many pages are devoted to what. I just want to point out two things:

The rules for spells above 5th level require multiple casters and for the highest, both clerics and wizards are needed to pull them off.

Magic Hat allows your wizard to emulate Presto from the Dungeons & Dragons animated series. It is glorious, if more than a bit hazardous even for DCC.

If you want good material to expand your DCC games or as inspiration for other fantasy and science fantasy games, look no further.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Liber Arcanum
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Eidolon
Publisher: Gallant Knight Games
by Derek H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/07/2014 06:31:46

If I could give this class 10 stars out of 5, I would. When one buys a pdf unseen, it is a gamble for the customer. I wagered a dollar and got at least $12 of value.

The eidolon is a ghost like creature, one that has a few advantages, like being incorporeal and, at higher levels, limited control over lesser undead. And, of course, there are disadvantages like not being able to manipulate objects most of the time (1 time per day at first and up to 3 times at higher levels) and a focus that, if destroyed, permanently kills the character.What makes this much more valuable to me is that it is not only easy to reskin, it provides access to a kind of character that is incorporeal or gasseous. Some of the ideas I have had so far are tulpas, nature spirits, corrupted nature spirits, elemental spirits, science fantasy energy creatures, spirits of magic, shadows, spirits of light, spore clouds, dust clouds, art spirits and planar portal guardians. Each animates or controls something to replace the undead control class feature. It wouldn't be difficult to have entire parties made up of different kinds of eidolon based spirits.

The only downsides are an error (it mentions scaling damage in the description but then has 1d8 in the class features section) and among the possible undead to control are skeletons, zombies and wights. I would not allow wights; rather ghouls, ghasts and similarly powered undead critters are good enough. But those in no way affect the value of this product as they are simple to correct.

I hope to see more classes like this one. Aquatics, wall crawlers, insect people and mind controlling parasites are still subjects up for grab.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Eidolon
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Prototype: Vivisectionist (D20 Modern)
Publisher: LPJ Design
by Derek H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/28/2013 07:48:51

The vivisectionist is a mad scientist who alters existing life. They are evil, cruel and apparently have no sense of esthetics. The file has the class and a few feats, some of which were later incorporated into Megafeats.

I has high hopes for this file but found it extremely lacking. In the description there is mention of human/animal hybrids, cloned dinosaurs and cyborgs. So let's see how these creatures can be created.

Hybrids come about from the Breeder feat. This is a decent feat that makes making hybrids easy. My problem is it requires Handle Animal as the core skill. Handle Animal isn't a skill that works well with humanoids or other intelligent creatures. The feat works on all the monster types except constructs, elementals, oozes, outsiders, plants and undead. I understand most of those, but genasi prove elementals can breed with mortals, outsiders have many offspring with mortals and plants and oozes are alive and can be used to make hybrids with the right templates. There is another feat that allows the character to make hybrids with constructs and undead. Say what?

Cloned dinosaurs and cyborgs are completely absent. There is a loss of 3 stars right there. You may want to consider construct hybrids to be cyborgs, but there is nothing to indicate that nor any special rules for them.

Back to the class. Its class features allow it to beat the crap out of people and creatures to dominate them. These features provide bonuses to Handle Animal and Intimidate checks. The more advanced feature involves actual damage to increase the bonus. The vivsectionist can also bind people and creatures well (something I don't see as a solitary feature of a specific level), looks terrifying when covered in gore and can perform surgery on themselves, gaining an Extraordinary ability. It would be interesting to see a vivisectionist graft, eyes, bones, skin, hands, etc. on to (or into) themself. Meh to the whole thing. There are much better versions of monster makers out there. Loss of another star.

As for the feats, there are seven. Four relate to breeding monsters and the other three relate to bonuses to various skills (some important to the vivisectionist and some not). I think the Technocrat feat has a huge typo as the recipient skills of the bonus are unlisted.

Overall it is just terrible. The only worthwhile material was added to Megafeats (three of the four breeder feats). Everything else is junk. Even though Moreau and Darwin are mentioned in the description, neither are well represented here.



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
Prototype: Vivisectionist (D20 Modern)
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The Complete Guide to Genetic Engineering and Mutations
Publisher: DemOniX LLC.
by Derek H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/14/2012 07:43:52

The rules are simplistic, the majority of mutations unrealistic and improperly taken from other sources. There is no list of illustrators, editor(s), copywrite information, designation of open content or listed sources in the section 15 of the licence.

There are much better sources out there for this information. Without a doubt, I wasted my money.



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
The Complete Guide to Genetic Engineering and Mutations
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Microscope
Publisher: Lame Mage Productions
by Derek H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/23/2011 07:04:37

It is the journey, not the destination. (Ironically I was watching the last few episodes of Stargate Universe when deciding to buy this)

Microscope from Lame Mage is a game about history. There are no player characters (per se), no levels, no stats. There are only players and the author suggests 3-4 (with 2 and 5 as the absolute limits). The players create a world by picking start and end points (or bookends) to the history and then filling in things between in the form of Periods, Events and Scenes. With most scene construction, the players do roleplay characters. There are several rules for keeping things on track like focuses. Eh, how about I show how it is done to make this easier:

There are three players A, B and C. They are creating a history of an expansion and colonization phase within a galactic civilization. A is the lens, the player who selects the focus. The focus means the other players have to keep to that theme while A is the lens (and in this case it is about one planet that will be colonized). The players design Periods, Events and Scenes going A to B to C. If B want to create a Scene (say about the first plague that hits the colony), then the order is reversed for the roleplaying (B, A and then C). As soon as C is finished with designing his addition, B becomes the lens (the theme may stay the same or change, say the third plague and assistance from a nearby station that will lose its entire population to the disease) and the whole process starts again. It is actually a bit more complex than that as the lens can make two nested actions (create a Period and Event or Event and Scene), one player in a Scene can select a group of people that drive the action (called Time) and just because one player mentions a Scene within an Event doesn't mean that the other players can look at the scene from different eras and viewpoints. And players work off of each other, not with each other (ie they don't share ideas or coach each other, they do their own thing and the rules help them mesh it altogether).

The station I mentioned dying off is called nuking Atlantis in the game. You can create and destroy anything as long as it doesn't contradict previous material the players have produce. And it doesn't matter because the station still exists in the game. The players may want to look at it at an earlier point and can do so at any point within the accepted bookends (or go forward with scavengers or new owners, but that isn't within the theme of nuking Atlantis).

What makes Microscope so interesting is the end is known, the game is all about how everyone and thing got there. The microscope itself is how players can zoom in and out of the history and move all over the place. Players who love their dice and characters might find it weird, but the rules are so basic that anyone can learn it easily (it isn't Aria). Just replace dice with index cards.

I have to say that I haven't read a game that has interested me this much in many years. It is basic yet so powerful. And the best thing is that it can be intertwined with another game. The players can help create a setting and fill in blanks their characters leave within pretty much any other game. I was thinking of a Mutant Future game where the players decide on what the cataclysm was and help shape events that lead up to the campaign. It doesn't matter that they know the ending because there is so many details within the setting that can be filled out by their hand.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Microscope
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Legends Of High Fantasy
Publisher: Distant Horizons Games company
by Derek H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/14/2011 07:36:17

Like the other books from Distant Horizon, LHF modifies, or replaces, the standard d20 rules. In this case it is for a setting but everything can be adapted, or used whole cloth, for your use. It starts with character motivations, backgrounds that provides minor bonuses and variant races.

The second chapter is where the meat of the book begins. Variant classes that can be signifincantly different from those in the SRD. The cleric, ranger and wizard are almost completely rewritten, the paladin is no longer a class but rather a calling in life with a divine boost, the monk is no longer a class but rather traditions that other classes can use and the fighter gets a boost. Clerics are not warrior priests and cast spontaneous spells. Rangers get (multiple) totem spirits that modify their spell list. Wizards have to spend cash each time they cast a spell and magic can have minor side effects.

Then there are three prestige classes. Dark Disciples gain power from lower powers, Fey-Brethern ally with chaos (fey aren't remotely human in the setting), and Merrin Crusaders are human warriors far beyond the basic fighter.

The druid and sorcerer have the most significant changes. They have a d12 hit die because they need to burn hit points for casting spells. Their method of spellcasting is different from clerics and wizards. They have much more freeform magic in the form of spellweaves. These are catagories that contain spells with effects that aren't set in stone like those in the SRD. One example is those sorcerers who can tap positive divine sources via the Holy Magic, a spellweave that contains the spells armor of light, awesome wrath, benediction, exorcism, hearten, open the way, prophecy and white light. To cast a spell, the sorcerer picks one of the spells and then suggests an effect. The DM says yes or no and in either case, some damage is taken (i.e. trying to cast beyond one's ability causes damage). A druid spellweave, Water Magic, as animation, tide of blood, polar current and tincture of alchemy. This allows the creation of life as well as manipulating water in its various forms.

Spellweaving is an interesting way to allow freeform magic. It isn't truely freeform so many of the headaches that come from having such power simply don't come into play.

The fourth chapter (three is the spellweaves) describes feats and weapon and armor proficiencies (something added in the class variants). Starter feats must be taken at first level. They are powerful but come with drawbacks.

Skills make up the fifth chapter. Most are what you expect but there are a couple that are different. Warcraft replaces BAB and ritual magic allows for freeform magic that is limited in a completely different way from spellweaves. Where spellweaves are generally quick to cast (round or less), rituals can take minutes to a decade or more. They require resources and, for higher level effects, special items. In some ways these are similar to incantations from Unearthed Arcana (and Urban Arcana) but they have nothing like seeds. There are lots of rules, suggestions and examples, 9 pages in all.

The sixth chapter examines magic within society. The wealth level templates and charms and talisments were also placed in The Practical Enchanter but there is more to creating charms and talisments in this book. The chapter ends with talents (a much shorter version than that in The Practical Enchanter), a way of providing magical powers to all characters.

The seventh chapter is legal information.

This book is as well written as the others from DHG and provides a lot of variants that could be useful to you. To me, it sits next to their other books as a 5 star product.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Legends Of High Fantasy
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Gamma World PC Record Sheets
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Derek H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/22/2007 00:00:00

I didn't know it was for the 1st or 2nd editions. It is simply 15 copies of the same sheet (both sides). Useful, but it would have been better if it was for the 3rd or 4th edition and broken up into sheets for PSH, mutant humans, mutant animals and mutant plants.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: There is a fair amount of wasted space on each sheet that can not be used since it is black.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
Gamma World PC Record Sheets
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