Oh wow, so pleased I purchased this. With Skirmisher you always know you will be getting a quality product and these cardstock characters are no exception. Teaming up with Amanda Kahl from Age of Night fame was an inspired decision, love her artwork on the Kos Necropolis titles and was pleasantly delighted that these minis retain the same high standard of art. Ideal for Kos campaigns of course but a fantastic edition to any cardstock set. It's worth it just for the Undead Cerberus alone!

The core of this book is a short (4-5 page) essay on the development of the race for D&D. It is smart and helpful, but it is really just an introduction to the two short stories (one by Lord Dunsany and one by Margaret St Clair) that existed before D&D, which are also included here.

Certainly worth reading, but not really a game product and the "revised and expanded" edition is only a short, fun but definitely light contribution.

There are a few essential books out there for the Mutant Future rpg retroclone rpg system and Creatures Of The Tropical Wastes By Chris Van Deleen is one of them. This is a sixty two page package of wasteland construction from the additional rules and guidelines, to the mutant monsters, and a concise backdrop of tropical paradise weirdness thrown into the background. This book basically covers everything that a DM is going to need in the jungles of his alien wasteland from thirty new plant mutations to solid radiation and poison guidelines, they're all here and very well done in a slick as grease format. The mutant mayhem continues with fifty new creatures and some dangerous high weirdness that these monsters add to your games. Many of these horrors are drawn from Philippines myth and legends twisted into the Mutant Future background. This makes this a useful book not only for Mutant Future but Labyrinth Lord as well. There's been a lot of time and care that went into this product, the art is evocative of the sort of adventure and mayhem that the author is trying to convey and does it with a slickness and style. This is a book that will get your fevered post apocalyptic dreams going in a way and direction that hearkens to fetid jungle wastelands. These are places filled to the brim with adventure and dark legends of mutant fueled mayhem. This is the sort of book that tests and challenges a DM to construct adventures in lost worlds, hidden valleys, and places straight out of post apocalyptic myth and legend. The writing here is tight and the ideas here are solidly done, easily used in your own campaign to drop straight into the backdrop of your own mutant future or old school post apocalyptic campaigns. This isn't a huge book at all but a book that allows one to take the material and run with it. This book is perfect for filling in some of the weirdness that PC's are likely to encounter in lost or prehistoric worlds as well. Much of the material here can be used to fill in background, plant mutations, monster variations, and all kinds of ideas to throw into your mutant dinosaur or lost world campaign as well for any old school game. All in all this is one of in my opinion the essential books for not simply Mutant Future but old school retroclone gaming in general. The ideas and ideals of the book can be applied across the board for adventure construction, campaign background and rules fill, and much more. Personally I rate this book a five out out five.

There are certain essential Wisdom From The Wasteland issues and twenty one is definitely one of those. This issue presents one of the key yet over looked weapons of the wastelands. High tech melee weapons for your old school post apocalyptic campaigns. Basically this issue is an entire weaponry construction kit for your old school campaigns, what it actually contains is everything from the base high tech construction material to the enhancements for the weapon all the way to the damage for the finished product and then some. What the issue presents is all of the additional odds and ends that make a weapon memorable. Do you want a blade that's laser etched, how about one constructed from high tech synthetic diamond? And even weird combinations of all of the myriad details that go into weapon construction. This is one issue that walks the line between gonzo, comic book reality, and high tech trend speculation with a science fictional edge. The kit that essentially makes up this issue takes the material that was presented in the Mutant Future rule book and then turns it up to eleven. Can I recommend this issue? Yes I strongly recommend this issue and then some. This is the type of issue with clear cut uses and one that can be for both players and DM's alike. The material here can enhance weaponry and artifacts in very cool and off the wall ways. The material is balanced and the attention to the devil of the details is strong as is the quality of writing. All in all this issue presents a compact and concise system for generating some highly specialized items in the deep wilderness of the world of the post apocalyptic wastelands. This is one definitely worth every single penny.

If personal force fields were real, the implications for manufacturing,military, industrial, and personal applications would be huge right across the board of our global society. Wisdom From The Wastelands Issue #22 presents exactly that kind of artifact full spectrum across the board treatment. We get a tool box of technological science fantasy at its best because that's what Wisdom From The Wasteland does. It offers a behind the scenes glimpse into the world of Before. The apocalyptic events whatever they be took away that world and we're give the treasures of the ancients in this case force fields. Make no mistake force fields would be bigger then I Pod or I Phones. I picked issue #22 because of the technology of the force field. Imagine what mythologies and legends would come about because of such science fantasy treasures. Think of the legends of objects such as Excalibur, The Ark of the Covenant,And many others. This technology would echo throughout history like nothing else joining the Ipod and other such mythological treasures of the ancients. But this issue of Wisdom From The Wasteland doesn't give a hint of such a legend. That's really up to you as the DM. Instead your given a fine set of concise,well written, excellent artifacts to build your own legends around. The personal force shield isn't simply a science fiction or fantasy tool. Its given the coverage in WoW issue#22 its due. Everything from civilian to law enforcement applications are given organized and well thought out sections. We're given everything from personal civilian models to the para military force screens.And many of the models here are given an opposite number technology that can shut down their advantages. Tribes will kill and murder to get their collective hands on such weapons. You as the DM are given the range of advantages and disadvantages of the force screen as fodder. When you come down to it Issue# 22 is essential for DYI post apocalyptic gaming as far as I'm concerned. All of the bases on the personal force field technologies are covered. Now I've read other reviews that talk about this or that expansion for this issue but that's not what this issue does. This issue presents you the DM or your players with a tool box for a particular technology and presents it very well enabling you the DM to convert, shunt, and deal with it as you will. Because it does all of these things for a dollar. And does it very well.

Wisdom From The Wasteland Issue #50 goes into an aspect of post apocalyptic and fantasy gaming that drives folks crazy,the quality of the items that your PC's find. In actuality, this issue is more then merely a simply designed system for artifact and relic quality in both the fantasy and science fantasy realms of Goblinoid Games. This magazine presents a complete system for the recovery and quality of the relics and items that your party finds. This system can be applied from Labyrinth Lord to Mutant Future. Or any old school system or retroclone that the DM needs This like all of the Wisdom From The Wasteland issues are top drawer products. Wisdom from the Wastelands Issue # 50 presents a system that covers many types of artifacts and relics, from weapons like primitive fire arms, advanced, powered devices, medical drugs,power sources, explosives, and personal shields. But this system is perfect for applications for any rpg where relics can come into play from another era. This system could be applied to a campaign where the quality, make, and style of the relic can make the difference between a top flight weapon to a poorly constructed item like an ogre make fire arm or mutant created primitive weapon. This is a perfect cinematic system that can be applied across the board in a campaign. From power cells to whole weapons systems this system covers everything from the most common weapons to medical supplies. And the medical supplies are a welcome bonus to this issue and are very clearly useful for outfitting adventure locations such as military bunkers, old underground lairs, military ruins, and more. This same system could be used for other old school post apocalyptic games such as Mutant Epoch or even Star Ships and Space Men Second Edition. Or other science fictional or fantasy games where the PC's venture into alien and unknown situations that might involve alien yet familiar Earth like world technologies. Not all of these technologies might work the same or might even be of shoddy or inferior make perhaps time has had its way with them. This is one of the best parts of the Wisdom From The Wasteland product line, the modular nature of the plug and play ethos of it for your campaigns. By buying this issue you get an entire secondary system that can give bonuses, pluses, and modifiers to your items in many genres and campaign situations. From one shot adventure locations for a campaign set to fully functioning ware house treasure points no longer will you the DM have to wonder about the quality, conditions, or hands on setting info. for your treasures. This system provides everything you need in one clear cut package. And this is exactly where this system perfectly applies itself. Chris Van Deelen and the Skirmisher crew do an excellent and concise job with this system. And its a welcome addition to my table which I can see using well into the future. At a dollar this is a damn fine bargain of simplicity and substance with maximum bang for your old school dollar! A four out of five in my humble opinion and well worth the time to download for adventures in the wastelands or the fantasy realms!

Wisdom of the Wastelands is a regular favorite of mine to read and use in my P-A games. Number 50 - Artifact Quality is a must read for those that like to add a bit more realism to their game.

Derek and Chris have done an excellent job describing the rationale behind the need for such charts as well as breaking them down for ease of use. There are charts for weapons, armor, and much more here. Each one easy to use and gives an ML (or in my case, GM) a great tool for describing the PCs new-found toys.

Anyone playing in a post apocalyptic game knows that stuff is old and it breaks...regularly...and often at the worst possible time. This tool gives the players the ability to gauge their artifact value and usefulness, and, of course, gives the ML a means to reward or penalize PC actions.

Get it today and be ready for the next game you play!

Outstanding job, Skirmisher!

100 Oddities for a Wizard's Library,is the third in the 100 Oddities series from Skirmisher Publishing and the timing of this product couldn't be better for me. When your party finally reaches the top of the wizard's tower or the laboratory strong hold what are they going to find? The 1st edition DMG has a boat load of reference material but many players know that stuff like the back of their hand. Here's a resource that can be used for any edition or any game for that matter. All material here is straight up brand new and there are over a hundred random entries. This is a well done resource and clocking in at twelve pages is wall to wall weirdness perfect not only for a D&D style game or any old school campaign. But for a game where you've got an occultist pluming the depths of the supernatural and you need some bit of set dressing or plot hook for your PC's to stumble upon. This book can also be used as a perfect supplement for your wasteland warriors to stumble upon the lair of a sorcerer or wizard whose left behind a bolt hole or hide away in the middle of some god forsaken wilderness. The book is also perfect for those weird ruins of universities and libraries where wizards have come to make a lair in within them. Think about Sokurah the magician from the Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, he moves into the dungeon works of island of Colossa. This book is perfect fodder for what a party might find left behind after such a vile villain departs. There are certain entries with a vague and sinister air of the Cthulhu Mythos about them. These can easily lead adventurers into the machinations of a local cult or cast of vile villains who have traded with or done business with the wizard in question or is the wizard who owned the items actually the leader of such a cult? Which brings us to to another possible use for 100 Oddities for a wizard's library. This book can be used for Call of Cthulhu,Runequest, or any supernatural or occult hideout as well. Reading thought it I'm reminded of the abode of Zenobia from the classic 'Sinbad and The Eye of The Tiger'. In that film we get a glimspse inside her lair. And I always wondered what else was there. Well wonder no more. With a few toss of he dice you've got a lair of supernatural wonder fit for a wizard of sixth level or better. This book could easily fit the bill for investigating the ruins of a certain classic wizard school as well out in the world of the supernatural. The end of uses for this product is pretty much limited only by your imagination. The entries are well thought out by the Skirmisher crew and reflect a really well done twist on the usual style of these supplements. Clint Staples, William T. Thrasher . Thrasher, and the Skirmisher Game Development Group do a great job with the layout and artwork as well. I can see myself using this for some lost world wizard or even in a campaign world like my recent Thundarr games where the uneasy mix of relic technology & magic has made things very interesting for adventurers. All in all this is one of my favorite recent entries by the Skirmisher crew and its easy to see myself using this material in a wide variety of campaigns. Anyplace where a wizard has his lair is the perfect place to use 100 Oddities for a Wizard's Library.

100 Oddities for a Creepy House is a concise, but very useful tool to add flavor to your role-playing experience.

As the title suggests, the list of oddities are for a haunted house, which are typically associated with the Horror genre, but with a little imagination and a few subtle twists, could easily be adapted to Fantasy, Modern or Post-Apocalyptic games as well.

The list is your standard d100 roll in its simplicity, but I would simply pick from it for added description. In fact, there are several things on the list that could easily be linked to form a description of a room. That makes this tool perfect for storytelling games too.

I particularly like how the author pulled one selection from the list and expounded on it, giving the reader not only the basic read, but showed how to use these items as adventure hooks and lead-ins as well.

I great read and well worth the money. Highly recommended!

I am the type of GM that seldom has time to prepare ahead of time. I never know for sure when I will have the chance to run a game so when I do it is great to have some tools that help in my time of need. The 100 Oddities line is a great example of a handy, easy to use gaming product. This product is designed to be used with any era of gaming and none of the ideas are so off-the-wall as to make them non-inclusive.

All in all I really enjoy this product as well as the other 100 Oddities offering, 100 Oddities for an Old House. Although I feel they work best for a GM like myself I see them as working well for helping flesh out an adventure ahead of time or even as a way to add some flavor to a characters background.

This is a really fun item that can get your game creation moving in new directions and with added depth, like the Creepy House Oddities table list before it. I love these list generators. They're a super tool for GM prep. They're meant as embellishment lists, where the GM provides the main elements and the lists provide the window dressing, but there are so many stories that can branch from them you might need some time to reflect. You'll want to add the detail and background the entries deserve (especially those that deliberately pull in party members). There's a nice intro that suggests you can roll to it on the fly in a game, but if you work with it beforehand you can really create some great contexts. Not rolling against the table -- and just using it to build areas and ideas -- is a very real path to choose as several of the entries work so well together. My favorite entry that has given me the most ideas (and, like many of the items, whose reinterpretation is also useful in plenty of other contexts that have nothing to do with a guild setting) is entry 00, because it can change the meaning of all the other items before and after it is encountered.

What a fun list. I can see why we have a lot of great stuff to look forward to in this series.

There are times in history when the echoes of history trail through time. The trenches, battle fields, and nightmares of WWI were rife with the horrors of war depravity in spades. This was a war the likes of which the world as a whole had never seen. Skirmisher publishing has released "La Baionnette #32," and its like a window into the French collective mind during WWI. I've gamed in this war a couple of times and its never a pleasant war ever but then no war is. To understand why this issue is important you have to understand who Louis Raemaekers is and why the world is different because of him and his artwork. But first what is "La Baionnette"?

According to wiki: The bayonet is a French satirical weekly which appeared in 1915-1920

Its headquarters was 30, rue de Provence in Paris. It was originally created as the bayonet At the January 23, 1915 by cartoonist Henriot says Henriot , a contributor toThe Illustration and father of Émile Henriot . It changed its name in July 1915. At first, Henriot provides most of the drawings. It takes its name from the bayonet and the term "charge with the bayonet," the charge was also her favorite activity by making fun of the "stupidity" of the Germans and ridicule by his caricatures the Kaiser Wilhelm II or Crown PrinceWilliam of Prussia and thus supporting the morale of the French during the First World War . Main illustrators: Iribe, Fabiano, Gus Bofa, Leander, Willette, Poulbot, Métivet, Wegener, Cappiello, Capy and many others. Wars such as WWI take center stage as the set pieces and background as historic settings for your adventurers whose presence and actions might in some small way alter the flow and ebb of time. But in all of the 'one shots of history' and alternative historical adventures I've run its always the small victories and little events that make the difference to players. World shaping events such as WWI offer some pretty impressive pieces of history to draw PC's into pivot moments of history. Collections like this offer a snap shot of time and historic events enabling the reality of war to be used as the backdrop for horror, adventure, and weird fiction because the fog of war shakes the monsters from out of the pages of history like no other. This is where these collections come into perfect focus for a DM running anything like an old school time travel adventure or something like Call of Cthlhu where the horrors of the Mythos are perfectly time and fitted into the battles and struggles that the war will obliterate with a hand gesture of war itself. This issue features the artistry of Louis Raemaekers who is not well known today among Americans, created some of the most vivid and horrifying artwork as well as illustrations of WWI. His country of Belguim was right in the center of WWI German occupation. Again Wiki: Immediately after the Germans invaded Belgium, Louis Raemaekers became one of their fiercest critics. His message was clear: the Netherlands had to take sides for the Allies and abandon its neutral stance. His graphic cartoons depicted the rule of the German military in Belgium, portrayed the Germans as barbarians and Kaiser Wilhelm II as an ally of Satan. His work was confiscated on several occasions by the Dutch government and he was criticized by many for endangering the Dutch neutrality. The minister of Foreign Affairs John Loudon invited Raemaekers, the owner of De Telegraaf H.M.C. Holdert and the editor-in-chief Kick Schröder under pressure from the German government to a meeting, at which he requested them to avoid ‘anything that tends towards insulting the German Kaiser and the German army’.[3] It was not possible to prosecute Raemaekers for as long as the country was not under martial law. But the pressure on him continued, also from Germany: in September 1915 the rumor even started circulating that the German government had offered a reward of 12,000 guilders for Raemaekers, dead or alive, but proof of an official statement has never been found.[4] Louis Raemaekers achieved his greatest successes outside his native country. He left for London in November 1915, where his work was exhibited in the Fine Art Society on Bond Street. It was received with much acclaim. Raemaekers became an instant celebrity and his drawings were the talk of the town: ‘they formed the subject of pulpit addresses, and during two months, the galleries where they have been exhibited have been thronged to excess. Practically every cartoon has been purchased at considerable prices.’[5] He decided to settle in England and his family followed in early 1916. His leaving the Netherlands for London was a godsend for all concerned. Henceforth, the Dutch government could distance itself from the cartoonist and his work in its diplomatic relations, thus stabilising its position vis-à-vis Germany, while Raemaekers himself could cease his hopeless campaign to get the Netherlands to abandon its neutral stance. He may also have realised for himself that his aim of persuading his country to take up arms and thus avoid the fate of Belgium was not very realistic.[6] From early 1915 Raemaekers' cartoons had already appeared in British newspapers and magazines. In early 1916 he signed a contract with the Daily Mail and they appeared in this newspaper on a regular basis for the next two years. There are three old school gaming systems and their relatives that I've used WWI as the backdrop for.They include OD&D and its retroclone systems, Call of Cthulhu and Stormbringer, and White Wolf's Wraith the Great War. The trick with using any gaming material is to pick the historic events and dates that you wish to insert your PC's into. Or to use an alternative historical approach to the material. Most of the time to avoid certain sensitive pieces of history, I've gone in the direction of alternative history. By doing this it enables the DM room to create his own path of 'what if' and this is where resources like "La Baionnette #32" are very important. These resources enable you to create the divergent points or fork's in the road of time without cheapening the historical events themselves or the bloodshed and horrors that went along with them. Now I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm obsessed with WW I , I've been to Europe and France seen the battle fields, walked through the museums, watched countless historical documentaries & specials, and ran a Wraith The Great War campaign from White Wolf. This is very grim stuff and its not easy to deal with at all. In no way shape or form I'm I or this collection trying to cheapen the memory of the blood shed, suffering,and agony of WWI. In point of fact its only through understanding the history of the events of the war that we really get a clear picture of how close to the edge the world came from WWI and how the events of the first war led to the center stage of the second. Do I think that this collection is well worth your money and time? Yes its a true snap shot into a very blood thirsty time, the inclusion of Louis Raemaekers's artwork is a grim reminder of the horrors of our world's past.

Clint Staples and William T. Thrasher as well as the Skirmisher crew turn out another very interesting supplement on the 'pay what you want' scale. This one is really a must for any sword and sorcery DM. Seriously, this is one your not going to want to miss. Thieves guilds have been a staple of sword and sorcery ever since Fritz Leiber put type writer keys to paper back in the 40's. These organizations are the back bone of OD&D going back to when the thief class was first introduced and guilds have always been one of the most popular bits of adventures and PC's. This book gives you that extra interesting edge when exploring items found in that safe house,ware house, guild hall, or other area where the guild's members have trodden with their ill gotten gains. This book puts odd right into the center of the guilds. This book is filled with ten pages of high handed weirdness with items that can add that extra push into the zone of madness but its more then that. This pdf proves the DM with a nice set of items to encounter and add that special little bit of twisted humor and set dressing to use as a prime adventure hook. With a few tosses of the dice and suddenly you've filled that locker under the NPC's bed, the vault in the vile villains den, the chest out in the middle of that pox filled ruin, and so forth. The lists here are brisk, weird, and original enough to include in my favorite sword and sorcery games, this makes this particular list extra nice for a game such as Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hypborea where the thieves guild is such a part of the underworld of the setting but this isn't the only place in which that this list can be used. The items are truly unique and interesting, and with a bit of imagination could be used for everything from a Call of Cthulhu cult's head quarters to a museum as well as the standard fantasy menu The Skirmisher crew knows their material and this is another product where they've went out of their way to bring a sense of the original and strange into back drop of these lists. With a bit of work this list could be used to create a quick and dirty warehouse space in anything from ancient Rome to Cimmeria itself. Or it could be used in a more modern police warehouse sort of evidence catch basin for investigators to look for vital clues for a horror style investigation adventure. Is this pdf worth your time? In a word in my opinion yes. Because it sets off to really add another layer of tools to a part of a DM's palette that's needed; the devil being in the details of what's found and what's used by a party. Not everything needs to be +4 sword of sharpness. Sometimes a smoking bottle of demonic essence left from a magical duel will draw your party deeper into the doorway of adventure. Basically this is a nice solid and vital piece of old school gaming goodness that your going to be using again and again to generate more treasures, adventure opportunities, loot, and most of all fun items that will have adventurers wandering down new and exciting pathways of adventure and plots involving the local thieves guild and its members. All in all this is an essential book for anyone wanting to add another layer to their DMing of a life of crime and making their PC's pay for it one odd random item at a time.

Here's a powerful set of super science artifacts and relics of high weirdness for your campaign's the post apocalyptic wastelands. This issue goes into a whole host of incredible relics that can change the pace and ramp up the amount of trouble that comes a party of adventurer's way. There are eight major artifacts here that cover an entire range of subjects with mini backgrounds and setting notes for each relic. These artifacts could be mini campaign events into themselves and the Skirmisher crew knows how to create a whole range of weirdness for your wasteland with story and adventure elements for entire campaign's worth of adventures. The writing here is solid and well done, the ideas original and well thought out. The opportunities and adventure hooks abound if you know where to look and there's plenty of them if you know where to look in the entries. According to the Skirmisher blurb: It contains eight potent items suitable for use in many different sorts of modern, sci-fi, and post-apocalyptic games, including the Ice Fountain, Master Remote, Bear Mask, Big Al's Horn, Cat Mask, Chef Cube, Crown of Ultimate Power, and Dome of Fire — and all for just $0.99!?And their not kidding. Use these artifacts in your post apocalyptic campaign very carefully. These are artifacts of power that can shift the entire balance of a campaign or mutant kingdom. These things can move entire communities and populations. The artifacts mark the Ancients as gods and madmen who were toying with power beyond the pale of convention. These things can and will mark a PC with their use and passing. Make no mistake the power here is frightening on a number of levels for communities no better off in some cases then cavemen. The artifacts are a diverse lot as well. There's no Mark twenty four blasters here, instead we get a full range of artifacts from the interesting to the subtle all in one nice bite sized little nugget of high octane post apocalyptic bit of Skirmisher publisher goodness. Grab this one and roll in into the back drop of your Mutant Future or old school post apocalyptic campaigns.

Game Masters will find this hour long podcast useful for building cultures in fantasy or historical games or blending the two together. Also has several great ideas that their own Game Masters have used to differentiate cultures in their games that can be easily borrowed or adapted to your own games at home.