Eight pages long but this is a delightfully dismal setting, cut off from the wider world.

There are a bunch of plot hooks for DMs and ideas for rebuilding the various towns and villages trapped in Vallakia.

For the price, this is a fine piece of inspiration.

This first edition should have been released at a greatly discounted price. When I saw the table of contents in the preview, I was interested in reading a range of thoughts on gaming by several authors.

What I got, unfortunately, was a poorly-written mess that was in need of a strong editorial hand. Most of the essays meander and don't say anything that someone new to gaming in general, or OSR in particular, doesn't already know.

"Making New Classes is Easy" There is only one vague paragraph of useful information in these two pages. The example class, the Hapless Time Traveler, a character from a "modern blue collar job" being thrust into a fantasy realm gets a Fighter's Hit Dice, no mention of attack abilities, and going with one example of such a character, a hair dresser can randomly remember Geology facts that make him or her better than a Dwarf at those subjects, or randomly remember how to make grenades. The whole class is laughable, and the opposite of what the article's thesis implies.

"Creating Realism" is a mess. The text doesn't match the title, and is a rambling five pages about troubles with dry-erase boards, Dwarven Forge and plaster molds, 3D printing, and then back to another pass at Dwarven Forge, plaster molds, and 3D printing that should have been cut as it reiterates what's already been said.

"Bondings and Echoes" is the one rules-based gem in all this mess. It's an interesting idea by which a caster can use a little bit of surplus magic to create a minor effect based on a prepared spell, or fill empty slots with an effect related to a spell that's been cast. Examples are given for a range of first-level spells, and while the power levels of some effects probably need adjustments, it's a sound idea that most DMs can make work.

"Flexibility in Gameplay" Two pages that at the start seemed like it would be an article on emergent gameplay, but was just the author patting himself on the back repeatedly for telling the players "Yes, there is a taxidermist in this town" when they wanted a monster head stuffed and mounted.

"The Hit Point Problem" Yeah, different players have different ideas about what HP represent. This has promise, but the options are so vaguely presented that it needs a lot of work to make this usable. Again, a stronger editorial hand could have made this much more worthwhile.

"Chase Rules" The actual chase rules are based on hexes, with no indication of the size of the hexes. There is a reference to "1d6 and add the creature's Simulated Speed" (SS is a new stat that gets no explanation, just an entry in the monster stat blocks that follow), but the monsters run away randomly, and there is no mention of how fast the heroes get to move while chasing it, and just looking for the monster in a hex moves it 1d4 hexes away. Following the rules, the easiest way to chase down a monster is to stay put and roll a die to see if it just randomly appears in front of you. The monster stat blocks have some interesting creature concepts, but the mechanics are a mess.

"Spaceship Tables" Random d6 tables for spaceships and their fuel sources. OK, this is a good jumping-off point for adding Weird space travel to your games, and it deserved at least two or three pages that were devoted to other articles.

"How to Introduce Kids to RPGs" A very well-written essay on how to run a game for kids. Even if you don't game with children, there are some good tips in here that can apply to a wider range of players.

"Looking Back at the Thawing Kingdom" Someone writing under a pseudonym about his campaign setting. Minus points for Gygaxian purple prose and abuse of hyphens.

"Getting the Most out of Encounters" Four boring pages on random tables and how wonderful they are. This could have been distilled into 1d4 paragraphs, but I've already mentioned the editing twice.

"The Prince's Armory" Deal 10 damage to a monster before it drains your STR by one point a turn, get a magic item. The illustrations are the high point of this "quest".

"Notes and Ideas" A page of lines to enter your ideas. In a .pdf. OK, I'm game. DON'T PAY SIX BUCKS FOR THIS NONSENSE.

Stronghold Press's first foray into the games industry is elegant, without being convoluted. The encounters are well thought out and rewarding to engage with, yet leave plenty of creative liberty for any DM to fashion an experience to be remembered. While I have nothing but praise for the actual gameplay, I must admit I do wish the graphic for the tower's layout was larger/higher resolution. In any case, I'm excited to see what they come up with next as they polish and refine their process. Fingers crossed for many more memorable gameplay sessions to come.