I love this setting. It perfectly captures all the tropes I remember from Saturday morning cartoons, and adds even more imaginative and thematic elements to flesh out the feel. From Thundarr the barbarian to Siverhawks and GoBots, it's all there! With the additon of the Companion, it really has everything I would want to use in building a universe based on my favorite childhood cartoons.

This OSR sandbox hex crawl campaign has it all: an ancient evil, murderous cultists, horrendous fishmen, a wicked baron, a town terrorized by mercenaries, raiding birdmen, goblins scouring the lands in search of an artifact, dwarves seeking to reclaim their old mine, lost treasure, and a cranky bear, just to mention a little.

I'm in the middle of running this campaign for my wife and two teenage kids, and we're having an excellent time. I started out with my son and daughter creating three random funnel characters each, using the rules in the Tyrnador Player's Guide, which created some real fun people. The missus joined us after a few sessions, first taking over an NPC, and then introducing her own character, built using the SWADE Fantasy Companion.

This is a great sandbox in the Old School Revival style. It starts off with a premise that allows for a diverse group of characters bonding and coming together on a common project, and gives the players a lot of freedom to decide what to do and what leads to follow. It has a nice overarching story, with things happening as time progresses, and it is up to the players how much they want to get involved.

Running it requires low-to-medium prep, mostly due to the way the book is organized; it requires a lot of flipping back and forth between the various sections during play, with the location in one place, the current plot point scenario in another, monster stats in a third, and items etc in a fourth. As a GM, it takes a bit of effort to absorb what is going on at first, but as you read the different sections and start to realize how everything fits together, it delivers on a lot of levels.

The maps are mostly by Dyson Logos; some of them feel like they've been made for something else and repurposed to fit with the fiction, rather than made specifically for the product, but that's a minor gripe. There's also no map of the town of Stone Bridge, a place with 17 different location entries; I had to make my own.

The book is long, but if you're willing to put in the time, you'll be well rewarded. Highly recommended! :D

This is a really original setting. Might be hard to run a grimdark campaign here, it would lose the Flavor. If your players have a sense of humor, this setting might be right at home on your breakfast/lunch/dinner table. While the book has everything you need, the only downside is the book is not long enough, you really want more. 5 stars!

Toy World (32 pages) is an exciting adventure where the players roleplay children’s toys. It was designed for the RPG system Adventurers! (12 pages) which I did use. To create my solo engine, I changed four lines in Savage Worlds Deluxe. I used six first level player characters (Raggedy Andy, Snake Eyes, Woofles, Robot, Teddy Bear, and Quackie).

The adventures started with the PCs in a city. One large wall on a building was showing commercials. At this point, the PCs heard a boy’s voice which told them, “Your quest is to kill three monsters.” In the city they were attacked by Storm Shadow and later Serpentor. Snake Eyes was damaged. After experiencing a lifting sensation, they found themselves in a swamp. Andy wanted to make a healing potion, so he searched for and found an Ivory Tree. He used its sap to make the healing potion. They then fought and defeated The Creature From the Black Lagoon.

The next location they were dropped into was the mountains. They saw the turrets on the castle and smelled a chicken soup smell coming from them. Because the drawbridge was up, Quackie had to fly over to the courtyard and lower the drawbridge for them. They entered the keep, killed Dracula, and then got into a large horse drawn carriage. The driver was Ken. They gave Ken instructions to drive them to the nearest town. On the road, in the woods, the horses stopped and looked distressed. They all then heard a woman’s scream from the woods. It was Barbie (dressed as Red Riding Hood) being chased by a werewolf (wearing tidy whities). The PCs killed the werewolf and Snake Eyes went down because of damage. He was put into the carriage. In the town, Andy asks for a healing oil ingredient. He tracks down Murphy and acquires the oil. Andy creates the healing ointment and brings Snake Eyes back to life.

At this point, the PCs are dropped into a meadow with ponies with rainbow colors. This time they hear a woman’s voice, “Put your brother’s toys back in his room. We don ‘t want him getting mad.”

Give this a try!

Toy World is an exciting adventure where the players roleplay children’s toys. It was designed for the RPG system Adventurers! and I did use this RPG system. To create my solo engine, I changed four lines in Savage Worlds Deluxe. I used six first level player characters (Raggedy Andy, Snake Eyes, Woofles, Robot, Teddy Bear, and Quackie).

The adventures started with the PCs in a city. One large wall on a building was showing commercials. At this point, the PCs heard a boy’s voice which told them, “Your quest is to kill three monsters.” In the city they were attacked by Storm Shadow and later Serpentor. Snake Eyes was damaged. After experiencing a lifting sensation, they found themselves in a swamp. Andy wanted to make a healing potion, so he searched for and found an Ivory Tree. He used its sap to make the healing potion. They then fought and defeated The Creature From the Black Lagoon.

The next location they were dropped into was the mountains. They saw the turrets on the castle and smelled a chicken soup smell coming from them. Because the drawbridge was up, Quackie had to fly over to the courtyard and lower the drawbridge for them. They entered the keep, killed Dracula, and then got into a large horse drawn carriage. The driver was Ken. They gave Ken instructions to drive them to the nearest town. On the road, in the woods, the horses stopped and looked distressed. They all then heard a woman’s scream from the woods. It was Barbie (dressed as Red Riding Hood) being chased by a werewolf (wearing tidy whities). The PCs killed the werewolf and Snake Eyes went down because of damage. He was put into the carriage. In the town, Andy asks for a healing oil ingredient. He tracks down Murphy and acquires the oil. Andy creates the healing ointment and brings Snake Eyes back to life.

At this point, the PCs are dropped into a meadow with ponies with rainbow colors. This time they hear a woman’s voice, “Put your brother’s toys back in his room. We don ‘t want him getting mad.” Give this RPG system a try!

Technotales of Mythix captures the kind of game I've been wanting to run in Savage Worlds for years. A fun science fantasy adventures in the vein of Thundercats, Pirates of Darkwater, and She-Ra, my group has taken to this setting like a fish to water. The "Action Feature!" concept introduces a bit of niche protection to Savage Worlds and allows really fun concepts to come to life. Best of all, I can pull gear and creatures from every other Savage Worlds book I own and find a place for it to exist in Mythix. As far as shortcomings, it's hard for me find any true flaws. I want more of everything in this book, from the weird gear (Portable Drakes are the best!!!) to more Action Features to the "episode guides" that serve as story hooks for your games.

I fully endorse this product and appreciate the setting rules used to reinforce the Action Figure/Saturday Morning Cartoon feel of the setting, even if I don't use all of them in my game.

Już na wstępie autor oznajmia (ostrzega?), że będzie traktował czytelnika bardziej jak kolegę niż "szanowną publiczność", a w tekście będą pojawiały się kolokwializmy - i faktycznie, już od pierwszego rozdziału pojawiają się dość bezpośrednie zwroty.

Osobiście, ten właśnie sposób zwracania się autora do czytelnika trochę mnie deneruje, dlatego pierwsze trzy, cztery rozdziały czytało mi sie dość ciężko, zwłaszcza, że traktują o rzeczach wydających się oczywistymi (nie bądź bucem, nie gwiazdorz, nie traktuj gry jak powieści fantasy) a przez to nie na "średnio-zaawansowanym poziomie" sugerowanym przez podtytuł.

Ogólnie rzecz biorąc w książce pojawia się naprawdę sporo dobrych porad i pomysłów - nie ze wszystkimi się zgadzam, ale widać, że autor ma doświadczenie i pisze na jego podstawie. W tekście pojawia się też naprawdę sporo odniesień do różnych systemów RPG, od tych starszych (Kryształy Czasu), po nowsze (D&D 5e).

Wbrew podtytułowi, wydaje mi się, że jest to bardziej poradnik skierowany dla osób poczatkujących, ale "nie całkiem zielonych" jeśli chodzi o RPG - dla tych którzy mają już kilka sesji za pasem, ale chcą doskonalić się w rzemiośle prowadzenia gier RPG. I takim czytelnikom książkę polecam - bardziej zaawansowani Mistrzowie Gry zapewne nie znajdą tu nic nowego, lub znajdą niewiele. 4/5

If you are looking for an old school experience of resource management (including neat ideas of taking parts of monsters for food or item creation), building fortress rules, a new, how to build a dungeon with background, ruomors and hooks all for savage worlds feel... this product is for you GM. An excellent resource for an open world recovering a major war where the heroes in your game reclaim the lost or ancient places, items (including magic items that grow with the user) and areas. Downtime ideas to spend our loot on and making your impact on the kingdom without following a plot point or set campaign, but instead a sandbox to tell their story.

A great world and resource for players to feel like they are part of a living world. Truly inspired by orginal and advance D&D with a savage twist. More than just dungeon delving and monster smashing (though there is pelnty of room for that), a world they can sink their teeth into and be a part of, hey even make their own place in it. Fleshed out world that leaves room for the players to explore and interact wiht that doesnt feel like they are following a novel.

the other reviewer Bruce R. points out the great things you will find in this book as well as the page description, but totally worth picking up for player and of course you GMs.

I looked at this more or less by chance and found a stack of useful ideas for the genre. It deserves more attention, I think.

I'm very happy with this purchase. Calling out the specifics of what I liked:

1. Funnel characters. It is a great idea to have the opening adventure being played by ordinary people who are not yet Novice level heroes. Players will play a small number of these funnel characters in the opening adventure - some will die but those who survive may go on to become heroes. (The Secrets of Tyland adventure produced by Gramel is a great example of this). I ran a test adventure of this with some friends (and my kids) and they had a ball.
2. World explanation / history of the world, including information on mundane like flora/fauna. The world of Ventar feels a little like Middle Earth - a grand realm that has been 'damaged' - there is a feeling of hope but also menace.
3. I like the changes made to the Magic system, especially the addition of the Cantrip power and the Burned Power Points (basically burning your power points for 'the big stuff', and it takes time to recover those)
4. I love the rules for cooking and eating the monsters that you find (you get hungry in the dungeon)
5. Tyrnador rules for Illumination (when do the lights run out?), Reputation, Resting and Absorbing Damage (at the cost of your armour)
6. Mass Battle Rules (woo, who doesn't like a mass battle - and there is a chance to use it in The Secrets of Tyland adventure)

I haven't yet had a chance to use the Downtime Phase rules but there is meant to reflect that there is a period for Adventuring, and there is a period for in between Adventures where the heroes are doing stuff like crafting items, training up, maintaining a stronghold etc. It feels a little bit like the Downtime Phase from Blades in the Dark where the heroes (crew) rest between Scores. I think this is a really good idea, because it allows you to focus on the action (Adventuring Phase) then skip through the period between adventures (Downtime Phase).

All in all, another solid supplement provided by Gramel. We'll be starting a campaign of Secrets of Tyland (Tyrandor) in the next two months.

Tyrnador, Secrets of Tyland provides an immersive world that the heroes can explore which will take them from Funnel Characters (more on that later) up to Veteran level.

The main campaign is time-based and I believe it'll take my group about 12-18 sessions to play through. I like that a lot because it has a definitive story arc which has a definitive ending which will end about 3 months of game time. My group wants to play something that has a clear beginning, middle and end - and this definitely ticks those boxes.

Secrets of Tyland has a combination of the main campaign arc, plus events which are triggered by location, events triggered by time (because the villains are doing stuff) and a number of events which are triggered by players' actions. It's a very clever sandbox which I'm already making plans to extend.

The overall plot is extremely interesting (which I won't spoil), and the PCs will slowly piece together what is going on over the course of time (and adventure). If they deal with the threats/events that come up, they will be better positioned to deal with the end-game. If they don't - either by ignoring threats/events or by failing to deal effectively with it - then it makes things harder for them.

I love the starting setup for the Funnel Characters. The players are playing a few would-be heroes each (Funnel Characters) in the first session - some will die horribly but those who survive will become the heroes of the game (unless of course the players choose to use regular Savage Worlds heroes). I've already test-run this opening adventure and my kids loved it. Basically the heroes are travelling on a stagecoach in the pouring rain, the driver is killed in an attack, the horses bolt and the entire stagecoach goes off the bridge and crashes into the ravine below. The heroes are the survivors of that opening disaster swim ashore and find the entrance to a cave. The cave, of course, is the first dungeon that the would-be heroes need to navigate - they are a mismatched bunch of randomly generated characters, they have limited gear, and the cave is .... occupied.

And even though this opening dungeon may seem to be randomly placed, it isn't. What is going on in that dungeon is the opening act for that main campaign arc.

Assuming the heroes deal with this dungeon and get to their destination in one piece (most won't), some of them (ie: those who will be promoted from Funnel Characters to Savage Worlds Novice-level characters) will stay in the area and start being drawn into the other plots (Savage Tales) that are in flight. There is a good reason provided to stay in this area and not to simply move on. Like I say, this is an immersive world that (I think) will pull the players in.

So this is the next campaign that my gaming group is gearing up to play..... I've read this book cover to cover and am very impressed. (Typically books produced by Gramel are first rate and this is no exception)

I had a lot of fun running Shadows over Ekul. From my point of view this is one of the two best Beasts and Barbarians adventures. I ended up running this as part of a Lords of Gossamer game (not Savage Worlds) but it could easily be adapted to any D&D/swords and sorcery game system.

Shadows over Ekul is a wonderful four-chapter adventure that can be run over 2-4 game sessions. It starts with a classic case of mistaken identity (one of the PCs is mistaken for the local Prince), and quickly becomes a job opportunity where the heroes are asked to perform a dangerous mission (and the PC who looks very much like the Prince has to pretend to be the real Prince, and go on a 'diplomatic' mission).

My PC group had a lot of fun impersonating the Prince and his entourage - it allowed for some excellent roleplaying opportunities.

This adventure has it all - role-playing, rivalries, action, plot twists, chases, assaulting a castle, climbing sheer cliffs to sneak into baddies' lair, rescuing a Princess. It has excellent examples as to how to set up an interesting dungeon based on card-draws.

High praise for Shadow over Ekul. I will almost certainly run this adventure again. One of the best.

I've been using the Tyrnador music for a D&D game (but will be running Tyrnador Savage Worlds shortly in about 2 months and will use it again then).

The track 'Deep into the Dungeon' music is suitably long and creepy for a dungeon crawl. (My kids really praised this track as very creepy)

The track 'The Necromancer's domain' is perfect for those dungeon moments when undead are involved.

The 'Through the forest of Tyrn' is great for forest exploration (again, suitably creepy to create the mood).

I haven't used all of the tracks in game yet but 'Inside the city of Bridgegate' feels like a city exploration but again there is a bit of underlying menace to the track.

All of the travelling/exploration tracks are long enough (10+ mins) so that they don't feel repetitive. I was going to reach out to Gramel and find out who the composer is and whether the composer has any more tracks like these.

Highly recommended.

This splatbook does some neat worldbuilding, a place that feels heavily inspired by Wall-E, Megaman, and Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds. Sadly, I was disappointed with the white-background pages and general "incomplete" feeling of the book as a whole. While useable and containing some good ideas, I'd like to see this fleshed out more as well as some page borders and backgrounds applied. It's a good, perhaps overpriced, beginning to an interesting setting.