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Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space
Publisher: Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd.
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 05/22/2023 13:24:12

Updated Review posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2023/05/review-doctor-who-adventures-in-time.html

The first decade of the 2000s gave us a new series of Doctor Who starting in 2005. The 9th Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston, was, in his own favorite word, fantastic. He re-introduced the character to both new and old audiences. It can be argued that the show, and new fandom, really took off with David Tennent's 10th Doctor. In 2009 British RPG publisher Cubicle 7 released its first Doctor Who game. Like the show it was based on, it was a huge success. A couple of points I want to clarify first.

I am reviewing my boxed set here AND the PDF from DriveThruRPG. There will be differences, so I will point these out.

I was on the playtest for this game as I have mentioned in the past. Plus Dave Chapman and a fe of the Cubicle 7 guys were also play testers for my Ghosts of Albion game. We communicated often in the time Doctor Who, Ghosts, and Chapman's other RPG Conspiracy X was being developed by Eden Studios.

Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space

262+ pages. Full-color interior and covers. Print: soft-cover books in a boxed set. Digital: Seven PDFs in a Zip file.

This is the first of many printings of the C7 Doctor Who game. A good way to differentiate from one to the other is by which Doctor appears on the cover. This is the Tenth Doctor's cover.

The Boxed set features two softcover books; a Player's Guide and a Gamemaster's Guide. Several cardboard "story point" tokens, a "Read Me First" booklet, several character sheets, and gadget sheets. All of these are also present in PDF form. The Boxed set additionally has a set of six d6 dice to use in the game. The dice are also available separately.

Read This First - How To Play

This four-page booklet covers the really basic basics. It is written with the Doctor Who fan in mind and not the average role-player. So we cover questions like "where is the board?" and "how do I play?"

Inside the 10th Doctor's character sheet is broken down. It is recommended that starting players use one of the pre-made characters in the box, but there is nothing saying you can't use your own characters.

The "Basic Rule" is covered here.

Attribute + Skill (+Trait) + 2d6 = Result; Compare result to a Task Difficulty.

That is the guiding principle for the entire game and it works really, really well. Your average Difficulty is 12 but it can be as low a 3 (super easy) or 30+ (near impossible). Contested rolls are introduced and the all-important Story Points (the little cardboard counters).

You are directed next to the Adventures Book.

Adventures Book (and Characters)

This is a 32-page book of easy to start with adventures. They include "Arrowdown" with some monster form Autons (very clever), "Judoom" a short adventure inside a Judoon cruiser, and a bunch of adventure seeds to give you some starting points. All the rules needed to run these adventures are self-contained.

For these adventures, it is recommended that you use the provided characters. These include The 10th Doctor, K-9, Sarah Jane Smith, Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, Mikey Smith, and Capt. Jack Harkness. Additionally, there are some "pre-gens" for players to customize on their own. These include a Medical Doctor, a Musician, a Student, a UNIT Soldier, a Torchwood Operative, a Scientist/Inventor, and a Journalist. There are also six blank character sheets for your own creations. The "named" sheets are printed on slightly heavier stock than the pre-gens or the blank sheets.

There are also gadget sheets, both filled out and blank.

The Player's Guide

These are the rules of the game proper. This is a 86-page soft-cover perfect bound book. Mine is getting on so the binding is coming loose, but nothing that I didn't expect for a book that is nearly 14 years old (which is old for a Sontaran!).

Chapter One: The Trip of a Lifetime

This chapter begins with some set-up fiction. Only two pages. We get another recap on the basics; Who is the Doctor, what is roleplaying, what is a Gamemaster, and the like. As well as how to use this book in the game.

This chapter sets up the game rather well. Imagine going anywhere, anytime, past, present, or future.

Chapter Two: The Children of Time

This covers the characters of the game. From playing your own to games with no Time Lords at all! We start with detailing the Attributes of the character, or the qualities of a character that are typically fixed. These are Awareness, Coordination, Ingenuity, Presence, Resolve, and Strength. Similar to the "Basic 6" of many RPGs. All these are scored from 1 to 6 with 1 being the human minimum, 6 the human maximum, and 3 being the average. Time Lords and other aliens can go beyond these. These are bought on a point-buy system.

Traits are the qualities of a character, good or ill. There are Minor Traits (Animal Friendship, Attractive), Major Traits (Boffin, Fast Healing), and Special Traits (Alien, Cyborg, Time Lord). Like Attributes, you spend Character Points to buy these. Some can be good or bad traits, and some can be Minor, Major or Special depending on how they are "bought" in character creation. "Friends" can be minor or major depending on the friend in question. "Hypnosis" can be minor, major or special depending on how powerful it is.

Skills are also purchased with Points. There are only 12 skills, unlike modern D&D and more like Unisystem, skills can be combined with any attribute as appropriate.

Chapter Three: Allons-y!

This takes us back to our basic rule and expands on it. It gives us some details on the Task Difficulties; 3 for Reall, Really Easy, 12 for Average, and 30 for Nearly Impossible. Additionally, there are thresholds if you roll above or below the set difficulty levels. So for example, if you score 9 points above the roll needed something special can happen like extra damage or something. Likewise, if you roll poorly, something bad can happen.

The rolls, much like in Unisystem, become easier with practice and soon you won't need any guides at all.

Contested rolls, rolls where your character is being prevented from success are also covered. The biggest example of this is combat. Example situations are given and which skills can or should be used. This is a good way to rule these since Doctor Who is not really about combat. "Combat with words" is more important and can even stop physical combat. Though there are weapons detailed here and how deadly they are. Afterall no one can talk a Dalek out of being a Dalek.

Chapter Four: Two Worlds Will Collide

This covers the ins and outs of good Roleplaying. There is also another character sheet here to copy (print) or print out (pdf).

The Gamemaster's Guide

This book is for the Gamemasters naturally. Not that Players can't read it. This book is also a full-color, perfect-bound softcover book. It is 140 pages.

The first four chapters here parallel the four chapters of the Player's book.

Chapter One: Next Stop, Everywhere!

A brief recap of the basics and what this book is for.

Chapter Two: The Stuff of Legend

Covers character creation from a Gamemaster point of view. This includes different types of groups (Doctor and Companions, Unit or Torchwood Groups, and more). We also get some details on how the various Attributes work with examples of seven levels (1-6 for humans, 7+ for others).

Traits are likewise discussed since they provide the most differences between characters and character types. All the traits are covered again, but in briefer, "rules only" formats. Same with skills.

We also get some "Technology Levels" TL. I will have to go back and see how well these map onto other RPGs, in particular the FASA Doctor Who and Traveller. For the record Earth of Doctor Who is TL 5, we are closer to TL 4.75 I think.

Chapter Three: The Long Game

Covers running a game. This includes when to roll (and when not too) and how to judge rolls and difficulty levels. While not a combat-focused game there is lot of text dedicated to it since that is the place where rolls will happen the most.

We get a section on using and regaining Story Points and experience.

Some equipment is also covered here.

Chapter Four: A Big Ball of Timey-Whimey Stuff

Covers not just roleplaying, but roleplaying in Time Travel games. Here we get a lot of advice on how, well, to keep gamers from being gamers and avoiding paradoxes.

We get some background on Time Lords and TARDISes. Not encyclopedic details mind you, but enough to keep players and gamemasters happy.

Chapter Five: All the Strange, Strange Creatures

Ahh. Here is our chapter on all the Aliens. While some are certainly foes to be fought (Daleks, Cybermen) there is a lot here that run the spectrum of friend to fiend. Creatures use the same stats as characters. So it is expected that there are some "Alien Traits" here as well. These work just like Character Traits, but are typically not bought by characters.

Chapter Six: You Are Not Alone

This covers the role of the Gamemaster and what they do in the game. There are some resources shared here for gamemaster including other Doctor Who books out at that time.

Chapter Seven: The Oncoming Storm

This chapter covers running adventures. This includes where (and when) to set them and a basic 5-act adventure formula. Other tips and tricks covered are personal story arcs (thin Donna or Clara), cliffhangers, two (or three) part stories, and more.

It is a great starting point for all GMs.

Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space really is a wonderful game and the best Doctor Who game to date. It is easy to see why it has had such staying power. The rules are simple, easy to understand, but infinitely flexible. They emulate the genre very well and can be used to in a variety of situations.

The rule system is such that it could be powering other games as well. It did, for a while, with games like Primeval (no longer available) but I am not sure if it is used elsewhere now.

Honestly, it is one of my favorite games.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space
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Blue Flame, Tiny Stars: A Memoir of Early Experiences Playing the Holmes Edition of the World’s Most Superlative Role-Playing Game
Publisher: DONJON LANDS
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 03/28/2023 11:42:07

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2023/03/review-blue-flame-tiny-stars.html

I was on Mastodon a while back (and I really do need to do more over there) and I struck up a conversation with Stephen Wendell. He was promoting his new book Blue Flame, Tiny Stars, and I asked for a copy, which he happily sent me. I got it in the mail about a month ago and I finally sat down to read it. Honestly it was hard to put down. While he was not expecting a review when he sent it, I said I would review it. So here it is.

Blue Flame, Tiny Stars

Blue Flame, Tiny Stars, or more properly, "Blue Flame, Tiny Stars: A Memoir of Early Experiences Playing the Holmes Edition of the World’s Most Superlative Role-Playing Game" by Stephen Wendell, is a memoir of one man's first experiences with Dungeons & Dragons.

Stephen's story here is a familiar one. I could have recounted a very similar tale of the summer of 1980 after being exposed to D&D back in December of 1979. But his tale is an earnest one and an engaging one.

The sales pitch for this book includes the line "Warning: Reading this book will make you want to play D&D!" and that is 100% true. Reading through Wendell's recollections of his first encounter with D&D, via the Holmes Basic Rules (same as me) made me want to pull out my Holmes set and roll up a new character. It reminded me of summer days coloring in my own dice with a white crayon and then playing games at night with my brother or friends.

This is not a long book, a little more than 30 pages. It also reads much faster than its size would suggest because it is so engaging. Wendell manages to do something rather magical here. He engages you in his own discoveries and makes you recall your own at the same time. It is not just a fantastic new tale; it is a fantastic OLD tale that you already know.

I have talked a lot about Holmes Basic and its enduring appeal. This book is a love letter to that set and that time.

The book is on sale in lots of places, and Wendell sells it in a variety of formats (print, pdf, epub), all at Pay What You Want (at DriveThru). But seriously, find the suggested price and pay more than that.

Regardless of what you pay for it or how long it takes you to read it do pick this one up. Especially if you started as part of the "Second Generation" of Gamers that did not learn from war games or from the ancient masters. We taught ourselves or learned from others that also taught themselves. This is the group that both Wendell and I (and likely many of you) claim membership in.

Props also for including the quote from Carl Jung. Seriously was this book custom-made for me? We even have the same dice.

If you are part of that Second Generation, then you owe it to yourself, or at least that 9-11-year-old version of yourself, to pick up this book. It is more than just a nostalgia grab. It is the real thing, and I am happy to have it.

I am sticking my copy inside my Holmes boxed set where it belongs.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Blue Flame, Tiny Stars: A Memoir of Early Experiences Playing the Holmes Edition of the World’s Most Superlative Role-Playing Game
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Atlas of Hyperborea
Publisher: North Wind Adventures
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 12/15/2022 00:14:35

Orignially posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/12/review-hyperborea-products.html

Atlas of Hyperborea

PDF and softcover. 36 pages.

This covers the whole HYPERBOREA world. There is an overview map and then broken up into detailed segments. The softcover book is great, and the PDF does allow you to zoom in for more detail.

It is a good map, but you need the HYPERBOREA RPG to get the full use out of it.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Atlas of Hyperborea
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Hyperborea Annual Calendar
Publisher: North Wind Adventures
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 12/15/2022 00:14:28

Orignially posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/12/review-hyperborea-products.html

Hyperborea Annual Calendar

PDF. 14 pages.

This is a great product. It is the 13 month, 28-day per month HYPERBOREAN calendar. It has the moon phases of the two moons, Phobos and Celene, and plenty of room to add your own details. While you need the RPG to use this for Hyperborea, it would work out well for a homebrew world if you liked.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Hyperborea Annual Calendar
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Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess
Publisher: North Wind Adventures
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 12/15/2022 00:14:19

Orignially posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/12/review-hyperborea-products.html

Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess

PDF. Color cover, black & white interior art.

This is an old-school adventure for 4 to 6 characters of 5th to 7th level.

Lemuria. Ancient cults. Dinosaurs and demon apes. This adventure has everything. I kinda wish it could have been done for lower levels because it is a great introduction to sorts of adventures that HYPERBOREA should be the best at. While I originally grabbed this as a supplement to some other related adventures (and still might use it as such) it really, really feels at home in Hyperborea the most.

On that note it can be easily used in whatever OSR/Old-School system feels the most as home to your groups.

Plus it has a Dimetrodon in it. So I am already sold on it.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess
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HYPERBOREA Referee's Manual
Publisher: North Wind Adventures
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 12/14/2022 11:26:35

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/12/review-hyperborea-referees-manual.html

Yesterday I covered the Player's book. Today let's go with the Referee's Manual.

HYPERBOREA Referee's Manual

PDF and Hardcover. 308 pages. Color cover, black & white art with full-color art pages.

Chapter 10: Introduction Again, this is our introduction this time for the Game Master or Referee's point of view. What the Referee does for the game and more.

Chapter 11: Refereeing This get's into the Game Mastering process in detail. This covers grant experience for the characters and setting up the campaign.

Chapter 12: Bestiary Our monster section and truthfully one of my favorites. The expected ones are here, but there are also plenty of new ones. This covers roughly 130 pages. There are interesting new takes on some classic "D&D" monsters, plus many new ones like a bunch of new "lesser" and "sublunary" demons. The format is most similar to Basic or Labyrinth Lord, and it is full of the usual suspects with some Lovecraftian Horrors, and even remnants of alien and bygone ages. "Demons" are here, but no devils.

Chapter 13: Treasure Covers treasure types and magical treasure. Among the magic items are things like Radium Pistols and other sc-fi artifacts. Very pulpy. It also includes some rules on scribing spell and protection scrolls. There is even a small section on Alchemy in Hyperborea. Very useful to have really.

Chapter 14: Gazetteer. The lands are a pastiche of Howard, Vance, Lovecraft, and Smith. If these names mean anything to you, then you know or have an idea, of what you are going to get here. This section has been greatly expanded from the previous editions. Included here are the gods again and a little more on religion. Basically, you get the idea that gods are either something you swear by (or to) or get sacrificed to by crazy cultists. So yeah, you know I am a fan.

Appendix A: Weather in Hyperborea. Likely more important here than, say, other game worlds. Weather in Hyperborea is dangerous.

Appendix B: Hazards of Hyperborea. There are horrible things waiting for you in Hyperborea and they are not all monsters or the weather.

Appendix C: Waterborne Expeditions. Covers waterborne adventures and combat.

Appendix D: Warefare and Siege. Your characters have built their strongholds. Now someone wants to know it down. Here are the rules.

Appendix E: OGL Statement. The OGL statement for this book.

Nearly every aspect of this game has seen expansion since the 2nd Edition; some sections more than others, but it is a great upgrade.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
HYPERBOREA Referee's Manual
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HYPERBOREA Player's Manual
Publisher: North Wind Adventures
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 12/13/2022 12:30:25

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/12/review-hyperborea-players-manual.html

With the new 3rd Edition, we have some changes. First, the game is now simply called "HYPERBOREA" and not "Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea 3rd Edition." Secondly, the Player's Manual and the Referee's Manual are now separate books. Much like the 1st Edition was. Only this time, they are full hardcover books.

HYPERBOREA Player's Manual

PDF and Hardcover. 324 pages. Color cover, black & white art with full color art pages.

For my review, I am going to be considering the hardcover from the Kickstarter and the PDFs from DriveThruRPG.

The book starts with the credits, acknowledgments, and dedication to John Eric Holmes, the author/editor of the "Holmes" Basic edition.

Chapter 1: Introduction this covers what this game is and what RPGs in general are. This is important and worth a read since it sets the stage for what sort of sub-genre this game covers, "swords, sorcery, and weird science-fantasy." The classics of Swords and Sorcery are covered here briefly and how they add to the feeling of this game. This is pure Howard, Lovecraft, and Smith.

Chapter 2: Character Generation covers character creation. This chapter is brief covering of what you can do with the five chapters. This also has a listing of the common "facts" known to every character. There is a section on leveling up.

Chapter 3: Statistics or the "rolling up characters" chapter. The six recognizable methods are presented here. The most common of course is Method III; roll 4d6 drop the lowest. We also have the same six attributes we have always had.

Each class has a "Fighting Ability" (FA) and a "Casting Ability" (CA) which relates to attacks. So yes, even magicians can get a little better in combat as they go up in level. It's a great little shorthand and works great. So a 4th level Fighter has a fighting ability of 4. A 4th level magician still only has a fighting ability of 1 and a cleric 3 and thief 3. Subclasses can and do vary.

AC is descending (like old school games), BUT with the Fighting Ability stat it could be converted to an ascending AC easily.

Chapter 4: Classes We still have our Basic Four; Fighter, Magician, Cleric, and Theif. Each also gets a number of subclasses. Fighters get Barbarian, Berserker, Cataphract, Huntsman, Paladin, Ranger, and Warlock. The Magician has Cryomancer, Illusionist, Necromancer, Pyromancer, and Witch. The Cleric has the Druid, Monk, Priest, Runegraver, and Shaman. Finally, the Thief has the Assassin, Bard, Legerdemainist, Purloiner, and Scout.

Each subclass is very much like its parent classes with some changes. The classes look pretty well balanced.

Chapter 5: Background This covers all the things about the character that "happened" before they were characters.

Races are dealt with first. They include Amazons, Atlanteans, Esquimaux, Hyperboreans, Ixians, Kelts, Kimmerians, Lemurians, Picts, and Vikings along with the catch-all "Common" race of man. No elves or dwarves here. Physique is also covered.

Alignment is a simpler affair of Lawful Good, Lawful Evil, Chaotic Good, Chaotic Evil, and Neutral.

Along with race, there are various languages the characters can learn/know. There are also gods here, an interesting mix of Greek, Lovecraftian, Norse, and Smith gods.

There are background skills and weapon skills. Though I misread "charcoaler" as "chocolatier," and now I want a character with this background.

Chapter 6: Equipment Or the "let's go shopping" chapter. If you missed the "to hit modifiers vs. armor types/AC" in AD&D then I have a treat for you. Weapons here are more detailed than they were in previous editions of HYPERBOREA; or at least more detailed than my memory of the older editions. Just checked, this one is much more detailed.

Chapter 7: Sorcery This is our spell chapter but it also covers alchemy. Spells are split up by character class. Spells are limit to 6th level since classes are all limited to 12 levels. Spell descriptions are all alphabetical. This covers about 75 pages.
Chapter 8: Adventure. This chapter improves over the previous editions. It covers all sorts of adventure topics like hirelings and henchmen, climbing, doors, nonstandard actions, time and movement.

Chapter 9: Combat. All sorts of combat topics are covered. Critical hits, unarmed combat, mounted combat and more. Damage and madness are also covered. The madness section is small and not really designed to mimic the real world.

Appendix A: Name Generator. Pretty useful, really, to get the right feel of the game. Afterall "Bob the Barbarian" isn't going to cut it here.

Appendix B: Lordship and Strongholds. What each class and subclass gains as a Lord or Lady of their chosen strongholds. There is a great section on creating strongholds as well.

Appendix C: Cooperative Gaming. This covers how well to play in a group.

Appendix D: OGL Statement. This is our OGL statement.

These appendices (with the exception of D) are all new.

There is also a great index.

So I will admit I was unsure about backing the 3rd Edition of HYPERBOREA. I have the 1st and 2nd Editions and they have served me well over the last few years. This edition brings enough new material to the table that it really is the definitive version of the game.

The leatherette covers are really nice and I am happy I waited for it. Since the Player's and Ref's books are now separate, I could, if I wanted, pick up another Player's book.

The art is great. There are some reused pieces and still plenty of new ones. It uses the art well and helps set the tone of the game.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
HYPERBOREA Player's Manual
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Mysteries of the Dead Side: Sacred Necromancer
Publisher: Zombie Sky Press
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 11/30/2022 10:18:38

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2018/09/class-struggles-necromancer-part-2.html

This book is presented in landscape orientation for easier screen reading. We are given a 20-level base class for Pathfinder with six "Callings" (sub-types). I have to admit this got may attention since my cabal of evil necromancers is called "The Order of Six" so I could restat them as one of each type here. No new spells, but there is a fully...fleshed out...NPC.

For just under $4 it is worth it.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Mysteries of the Dead Side: Sacred Necromancer
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New Paths 7: Expanded White Necromancer (Pathfinder RPG)
Publisher: Kobold Press
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 11/30/2022 10:18:33

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2018/09/class-struggles-necromancer-part-2.html

This 17-page book gives a new perspective a, GOOD necromancer that protects the dead. I like the idea, to be honest. It comes with a complete 20-level base class and six new spells. There are also feats and stats for various undead companions. It makes for a great companion piece and counterpoint to the 3.x Death Master from Dragon Compendium Volume 1.

For just under $3 it is a great buy for anyone that wants something a little different or for that GM whoes player keeps begging to play a necromancer.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
New Paths 7: Expanded White Necromancer (Pathfinder RPG)
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Old-School Essentials: The Necromancer
Publisher: Necrotic Gnome
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 11/30/2022 10:18:27

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2018/09/class-struggles-necromancer-part-2.html

One of the newest necromancers on the block and designed specifically for Old School Essentials. This is designated as "Play Test Material" but it really is ready to go. There have been necromancers for OSE before and there is at least one necromancer for other B/X-Basic games written by Gavin Norman already. Here the Necromancer is a subclass of the Magic-user, as would be expected, and some notes are given about using these new spells for the magic-user. But thematically they fit with the necromancer much better. The new spells are from 1st to 6th level and there are 12 of each. I see why there are twelve of each; to fit the style and layout of what Gavin does with his OSE games. But I would have been tempted to make it a nice 13 per level myself.

The spells are good and fit well. Some we have seen in other forms and formats over the past few years, but that does not detract from this book at all. Do you want a great OSE necromancer? Well, here it is. The format used here could be adopted for all sorts of other magic-user type classes or subclasses like the Illusionist or Enchanter for example.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Old-School Essentials: The Necromancer
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Old-School Essentials Purist Character Sheet
Publisher: Necrotic Gnome
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 11/01/2022 14:55:35

You always need more character sheets and with Old-School Essentials you have a few options. This sheet follows the design philosophy of OSE. Make it functional, make it simple and make it work.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Old-School Essentials Purist Character Sheet
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Old-School Essentials Vagabond Character Sheet
Publisher: Necrotic Gnome
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 11/01/2022 14:55:20

You always need more character sheets and with Old-School Essentials you have a few options. This sheet follows the design philosophy of OSE. Make it functional, make it simple and make it work.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Old-School Essentials Vagabond Character Sheet
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Witch: Fated Souls 2e Quickstart
Publisher: Angry Hamster Publishing
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 11/01/2022 13:24:21

Orignially posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/10/100-days-of-halloween-witch-fated-souls.html

Witch: Fated Souls Second Edition

I have been a fan of Witch: Fated Souls and Elizabeth Chaipraditkul for a while now. I even got her to the foreword for my own The Green Witch for Swords & Wizardry book.

So for this Halloween day, I give you Witch: Fated Souls Second Edition, Quickstart, AND the Witch: Fated Souls Second Edition, Kickstarter.

Quickstart

PDF. 36 pages. Full-color cover and interior art.

Design & Development: Elizabeth Chaipraditkul & Steffie de Vaan

This quick start covers the basic rules of Witch: Fated Souls Second Edition and includes a quick adventure to play.

Like the 1st Edition, Witch: FS2 deals with people (Witches or "The Fated") who sell their souls for power in the modern world. The different sorts of "demons" these characters sell their souls to will determine what sorts of power they will get and how they interact with the world, or their "Fates".

Pausing for a second I can see already improvements in gameplay, readability, and layout of this Quickstart over the original Witch: FS1.

Characters now have nine abilities, not eight, and are grouped by Mind, Body, and Spirit with three sub-attributes each. These are all explained and how they are used in the QS. Checks are also explained. The new mechanics are based on Elizabeth Chaipraditkul and Steffie de Vaan's other game Afterlife: Wandering Souls. This opens up a whole level of play if you have both games. But I am going to wait on that one.

We have a section on magic and knowing Witch: FS1 there is going to be a lot more in Witch: FS2.

There is even some detail on advancement. So really, as far as characters go you have enough here to keep you busy until the Second Edition Kickstarter is done.

Demons are covered in their own section and they are the most interesting and likely complicated thing in this game. Complicated that is in how to run them and interact with their Fated.

The last half of the quickstart covers the included sample adventure, "The Devil Made Me Do It."

There are included NPCs, similar to the ones that appear in Witch: FS1 and using the same art; which is great for returning players helping them get acclimated to the new system. It is recommended you use these characters to aid you in learning the game.

The Fated

If the full product is anything like this Quickstart then we are in for a treat!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Witch: Fated Souls 2e Quickstart
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Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead (4e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/31/2022 12:25:48

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/10/monstrous-mondays-d-undead.html

Ghosts. Vampires. The Undead. These are the monsters that got me into D&D from the start. Yes it was fun to see all the monsters of mythology here, but I didn't want to be Perseus or Heracles, I wanted to be Van Helsing (I ended up as Dr. Seward, and that is fine).

So it is to the undead that my monster-hunting eye has always turned. This has been true for every edition of D&D I have played. Second Edition AD&D had Ravenloft and The Complete Book of Necromancers. Fourth Edition has had today's subject.

Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead (4e)

PDF and Hardcover. 224 pages. Full-color cover and interior art. For this review, I am considering both the PDF from DriveThruRPG and my hard-cover book.

This book has a solid pedigree. First off one of the authors of this, Bruce R. Cordell, was also one of the authors of Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead. He was also one of main designers of the epic HPE series of Orcus-focused adventures for 4e. This means to me at least that if you are running the HPE series and using undead (and of course you are) then this book is a must-buy. There are more details in this book that make it a great book on D&D Undead, but I will get to those in due time.

Chapter 1: Undead Lore

This book starts much like it's 3.5 Edition counterpart. This chapter covers the hows, whats, and whys of undead. There are sections on physiology, outlook, and psychology, as well as society. These sections are very similar to the 3.5 edition, which makes sense, with the addition of edition specific details.

For my point of view, the two books (Open Grave and Libris Mortis) both compliment and complete each other. Together they are not the final words on Undead, but they cover quite a lot.

The section that is newest here is the one on Shadowfell (and thus why it is a great resource for the HPE adventures).

There are few undead monster stat blocks featured here as well.

Chapter 2: DM's Guide to Undead

This covers DM's rules. In particular there are skill challenges, how to handle hauntings, and building undead into campaigns. This section in particular is good advice to any DM of any edition wanting to use undead in their games.

There are also some artifacts detailed here including the Mask and Sword of Kas, the Soul Sword, the Von Zarovich family sword, and more. Like 3.5 there are even some undead grafts.

New rituals are also detailed. Something I felt D&D 4e never had enough of.

Chapter 3: Undead Lairs

Location-based encounters were a big deal in 4e. This covers ones with an undead flavor to them for Heroic, Paragon, and Epic level tiers. Three of each are featured with character levels from 1st to 26th. As with all 4e encounter listings, there are plenty of quasi-unique monsters here. Sometimes they are new, and often they are just an edit on an existing creature.

Chapter 4: New Monsters

Ah, here is what we want! There are more than just undead here, there are the "unliving" as well; monsters that have cheated death but are not undead themselves. There are 122 statblocks of monsters here. These included variations on the Ghoul, Lich, Mummy, Skeleton, Vampire, and Zombie. There are new creatures including undead constructs and oozes. Our old friend the Brain in the Jar from Ravenloft is also back. So many of these are at least familiar to me and some are new.

Undead Hall of Infamy

This flows from the Chapter 4 material and is nominally part of Chapter 4, it is its own section. Here we get some stats for some of the biggest undead names in D&D history. They include Acererak, Ctenmiir the Cursed (from White Plume Mountain), Kas the Betrayer, Kyuss, Osterneth the Bronze Lich (a new NPC but has the relic, the Heart of Vecna), Strahd von Zarovich, and Vecna himself.

Templates

Also part of Chapter 4 these are templates for undead creatures.

Alternative Powers

Undead should be unique, so these are alternate power for various undead that replaces one or more of the powers they have listed.

The utility of this book to the 4e DM can not be overstated. Especially if you are running the HPE adventures or dealing with any undead.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead (4e)
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Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead (3.5)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/31/2022 12:24:42

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/10/monstrous-mondays-d-undead.html

Ghosts. Vampires. The Undead. These are the monsters that got me into D&D from the start. Yes it was fun to see all the monsters of mythology here, but I didn't want to be Perseus or Heracles, I wanted to be Van Helsing (I ended up as Dr. Seward, and that is fine).

So it is to the undead that my monster-hunting eye has always turned. This has been true for every edition of D&D I have played. Second Edition AD&D had Ravenloft and The Complete Book of Necromancers. Third Edition has had today's subject.

Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead (3.5)

PDF and Hardcover. 192 pages. Full-color cover and interior art. For this review, I am considering both the PDF from DriveThruRPG and my hard-cover book.

Libris Mortis was the undead book for 3.5. Undead were covered in the Book of Vile Darkness for 3.0 and here they get more attention and more details.

Introduction

Tells us all about this book and the basics of the Undead and undeath.

Chapter 1: All About Undead

Gets into the detail of the undead including how they manifest; largely along the traditional Corporeal/Incorpeal lines. Undead physiology and details like metabolism and feeding are covered. There is a useful table of various undead monsters and whether or not they feed, what they feed on, and whether it is needed or just desired. This also covers their senses which can be very different than the living stock they came from. All Undead have Darkvision 60' for example, but their sense of touch is limited.

Also, undead psychology is covered. Namely, how does one deal with being nearly immortal and never changing? There is a bit on undead religion including some gods (in 3.x format) of the Undead. Some of these we have seen before or have seen mentions of. Doresain the King of Ghouls, Nerull the Reaper, and our good friend Orcus are all mentioned here.

Though one of my favorite sections is the Fighting Undead section which covers weaknesses and tactics that can be used in fighting the undead. Much like Professor Hieronymus Grost informs us in Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter, all undead (not just vampires) have a means to their destruction. This section should make the undead scarier than other monsters. Orcs and Dragons die the same way. You reduce their HP enough with weapons and they will die. Not always so with Undead.

Chapter 2: Character Options

This is a 3.5 book so there are going to be character options. These start with the feats. They are split between undead-friendly feats and undead-hunting feats.

Building off of the Savage Species there are rules for Undead Characters. This includes level adjustments for undead characters. Not every group will want undead characters, but these rules do help. There are even some Monster Classes. Of course, the best use of these is to make unique undead NPCs to threaten characters with.

Chapter 3: Prestige Classes

3.x was all about the prestige classes. And there are several here that I found a lot of fun. There are Death's Chosen (high level lieutenants for the undead), Dirge Singer (a fun bard idea), Master of Radiance (one my Paladin went into), Master of Shrouds (their evil counterpart), Pale Master (Prestige Divine Necromancer), Sacred Purifier (another good undead fighting class), True Necromancer (Prestige Arcane AND Divine Necromancer). The True Necromancer advances in both Divine and Arcane spellcasting classes and gets special powers. It is also an odd Prestige Class in that it has 14 levels. Obviously to give the maximum effect of taking three levels in a divine class (need Knowledge Religion 8 ranks, cast summon undead II) and three levels in an arcane class (need Knowledge Arcan 8 ranks, cast command undead). I also can't help but think this is an obvious nod to the Death Master.

There are also Undead Prestige Classes such as Lurking Terror, Master Vampire, and the Tomb Warden.

At this point, I could run a 3.5 campaign and battle only undead and never run out of combinations and permutations of monster, class, feat, and prestige class combinations.

Chapter 4: Spells

Covers spells for Assassins, Blackguards, Clerics, Druids, Paladins, and Sorcerer/Wizards. There are many here that are new. I'd have to go line by line to see how many came from the Complete Book of Necromancers.

Chapter 5: Equipment

A shorter chapter that covers new equipment. There are alchemical substances, toxins, poisons as well as undead grafts and magic items.

Chapter 6: New Monsters

Nearly 50 new monsters here and only a few seem to come from previous versions of D&D. The Brain in a Jar stands out as a previous one, but the rest are new.

I never get tired of new monsters, especially undead ones.

Chapter 7: Campaigns

This covers the last quarter or so of the book. It covers how to use undead in various roles including using them in encounters. There is also a great section on variant undead. I believe that all undead should be unique in some fashion, often relating to how they lived or died (see "A Christmas Carol"). Only a few examples are given, but they can be extended to all sorts of undead.

There are various cults here that can be used anywhere and in any version of D&D. There are also adventure sites and seeds which can also be dropped anywhere but require some minor conversion for other versions of the game.

This is one of those books I keep coming back to for more ideas. Yes I have been using the undead in my own games for more than 40 years now, but there is something else to do, something else to learn, and more to the point, more monsters to fight.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead (3.5)
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