When it comes to history, there is often a disconnect between how things were and how we imagine them. Take the old west, for example. The image that comes to mind for most of us probably isn't a very accurate representation of what life was like on the American frontier. Sure, the basics were the same, but I think that we can all agree that the Old West wasn't really the way Sergio Leone depicted it on the silver screen. Still, Hollywood's version is an exciting place, and I imagine that most RPGs set in that genre take more influence from the cinema than the pages of history.

I believe the disconnect between history and imagination is part of the problem with this product. According to the creators, these six posters are based on authentic wanted posters from the era of the American West. I appreciate that kind of attention to detail, but wanted posters in the Old West were apparently really boring, because these six are rather uninspiring.

Each poster lists a crime, describes the suspects, and details who to contact to collect the listed reward. The text uses large and authentic-looking fonts, all set on a brown parchment-like background that can be turned on or off using Adobe's layer settings. There is a nice fading effect on the font, and the posters do look like something out of the past. Unfortunately, they don't look anything like the way I imagine Old West wanted posters. Where is the faded picture of the grizzled villain? Where is sizzle to hook the players' interest and spur them to adventure? What we have here can be fairly easily replicated by anyone with a few clever fonts and some time. Historical accuracy is all well and good, but I think the creators should have aimed for something closer to cinematic accuracy.

On the positive side, there are some pretty good adventure hooks contained in this product. One of the posters is for "Dynamite Jane", also known as "Jane Goodheart" and "Mary Goodheart" among other aliases. This strikes me as a decent name for a reoccurring NPC. Another poster describes the crimes of the "Black Dog Gang" and directs prospective bounty hunters to a "Grant Silverton" for the reward. There are clearly a handful of NPC and adventure ideas here. The question, then, is whether or not you're willing to pay for six adventure hooks and a couple of NPC ideas presented in a wanted poster format.

I should also give at least cursory mention to the fantasy version of the posters included in this download. These are identical to the Old West posters, except they make small changes in detail to give the posters a fantasy feel. A group of Mexicans, for example, is changed into a group of elves on the fantasy version. Dynamite Jane, for some reason, remains the same on both versions. The details of the crimes themselves are also unchanged, meaning that the fantasy posters still talk about train and bank robberies. In one case, the poster clearly offers a reward of $5000.00. Not exactly common currency in your typical fantasy world. So, despite a few changes here and there, the alternate posters are probably only useful to someone running a fantasy game set in the Old West. This particular gaming niche is probably not large enough to warrant the alternate posters' inclusion. Sure, its a free extra, but I'm not sure that its a free extra anyone's going to use.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: If historical accuracy is really important to you, then you'll appreciate the look of these wanted posters. If you're running an Old West game, you'll likely find a few useful adventure hooks in this product. The biggest positive here is the price.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Amalara has done a good job putting these together, but the final effort is probably something you could do yourself with a little creativity and some old-time fonts. Art, which is not something most everyone can do, would have really added to this product. These wanted posters are pretty pedestrian when you come down to it, and I can't really call this a recommended product.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Disappointing<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

Much more about fungi then I ever would have thought up myself. Never again am I going to just say "there are musrooms clustered along the north wall of the cave".<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

A good little guide to things you may not have thought about or ever bothered to work up any details at all for. There are a few things in here I that made me wonder "why the heck havn't I ever used that?". Not everything is amazing or hugely useful but it did provide me with ideas for other similar thigies, so good job as I can always use a bit of extra inspiration.

<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

This product works for me. Time travel is one idea that every GM has tried at one time or another, if only as a hook. Temporality has rules for divergences, which are what happens when a time traveller to the past interacts with a native. If anyone so much as sees you, you may have changed the future- your home time-, if only a bit. Spells allow you to affect temporal flow, wrap it around your pinky, or even travel through time. But beware, this isn't easy. Time has many ways to limit your travelling through it, and there are those who would just as soon take you out of the timestream.

A temporal governing organization is also included, for the whole "Timecop" thing. Suposedly, it started in the Fanatsy era of a world, and continues all the way until the Future age of that world. Four different divisions for each prominent era, and the organization has different divisions for various functions-collecting, tampering-prevention, research, etc.

Even has what happens if temporal energy affects items a PC can buy. How does dynamite change if temporal energies warp it? <br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: plenty of ideas on both temporal and dimensional travel and games (although the 25th adventure hook was a groaner LOL).<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Not much on the technology of time travel, and also, no time travel for divine spellcasters.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

A fairly decent book. The Oriental style gnomes were an interesting add.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: It had a decent amount of new illusion spells.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Unless you're running an oriential style campaign, the new gnome subrace is not real useful.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Dark Quest Games? City Guide: Darkside is the fifth release in the City Guide series of supplements designed to add a number of detailed locations to your city encounters. This book is designed to look at locations on the seedier side of time. The PDF is fully bookmarked and weighs in at 40 pages for $5.50. There is no print-friendly version of this PDF.

The product is loosely broken into two sections. The first section details eleven locations and the second details five alleys or streets. In the first section each of the locations is set-up to provide you with a standardized set of information. Each entry begins with ?boxed text? to describe the exterior of the building, the basic concept behind the location, layout of the location, statistics and descriptions of important Npcs, and about three adventure seeds. Contrary to the product adcopy, not every location actually lists what is on the shelves or what the price is for some services. The locations include:

Belugar?s ? A store specializing in exotic or illegal items that must be imported or smuggled in. The cover for this operation is as specialty wine shop. Light of Hope ? A mission nestled in the shadowy part of town. Samot Samir Barber-Surgeon ? Is, um, well a Barber, just like it says. The Bloody Hand ? An intermediary to act between the criminal elements and the respectable people that want to high them. The Beggar King?s Court ? A local beggar who acts and is treated like aristocracy by the local people. Avar?s Antiques, Artifacts, and Curious ? A secure magic item and historical item shop. Mochate?s Potions ? A potion dealer, who dabbles in necromancy on the side. Burgher?s Common ? A wretched hive of scum and villainy. Tarvis? Boarding House ? A boarding house run by an honest and upstanding older couple The Guildhouse of the Sisterhood of the Tainted Spider ? Secretive guild of kidnappers and torturers who can make sure a message is delivered without killing the target. Jola the Junk Man ? A collector and reseller of discarded goods.

There are a number of interesting locations here in this section. I particularly enjoyed the Light of Hope, The Beggar King?s Court, Avar?s Antiques and Jola the Junk Man. The adventure seeds allow for quick integration of any of the locations into a city-based campaign.

The final section of the book is entitled ?Alleys and Streets? and provides the harried gamesmaster with five streets and alleys to drop into your city-based campaign. Each street provides the GM with some ?boxed? description, purpose of this site and a number of quick encounter of people on the street. The streets and alleys include:

Catpurse Alley ? A deadend where information can be gleaned if you do not tarry too long. Tankard Road ? A lively mercantile road home to many a street performers. Pork Street ? A rural road that has begun to experience urbanisation. Hive Street - A run-down area home to criminals and vermin Cur Alley ? A neglected area home to feral dogs.

I do have some concerns about the mechanics presented in the statistic blocks of this product such as some entries such as missing feats, 3.0 feats, incorrectly stated familiars, inconsistencies in the names of magical items, and inaccurate magic item prices. There are also other logistic problems like Mochate, the potion maker, can not make must of the potions he sells, the sisterhood of the tainted spider ?has enough resources to purchase and manufacture the exotic poisons they frequently use?, however none of the sample characters possess ranks in Craft (alchemy) or Craft (poison), and there is also some closed content from the DMG that was not caught in the production of this section. Another problem that appears in the Alleys and Streets section is that it lists several new NPC classes such as the Goons, Harlots, Loonies and Vagabonds and instructs us to look to ?*See New NPC Classes section for information on Goons, Harlots, Loonies, and Vagabonds?, however this section does not appear in this book.

Despite the mechanical issues demonstrated above, the layout, art, and general text editing were spot-on throughout this product. I would have liked to have a print-friendly version that lost the border.

Ultimately there are some good locations and ideas that are hampered by the execution of the mechanics. I'll likely keep the ideas and ditch the stats for my own use. <br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: A number of interesting locations with listed adventure seeds. Nice to have some darker locations to add to earlier City Guide products. General editing was excellent throughout the product. Layout and artist duties were well handled<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: I didn't find the locations presented to be as "dark" as I hoped in fact only about half the locations were particular seedy. I have numerous mechanical issues with the game statistics as presented. There are logistic problems (ideas not matching the stats as delievered).<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Disappointing<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Provided significant flexibility to the Enchanter. Have already utilized some of the spells in my campaign. <br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Variety and overlap with other schools<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Most DM's can probably whip up a list of 100 random items that players would find wandering through a city market. But I've tried it before, and I run out of ideas halfway through, and it takes longer than most might think. For a measly buck, this will save you at least an hour of planning, and it's all tidily placed onto one reference sheet.

This product has a wide variety of items for sale, and they are generic and vague enough that they can be molded into virtually any city or campaign setting. All items are arranged on a chart and numbered 1-100 so that the DM can simply roll percentile dice to see what each vendor is hawking.

Items can be as mundane as cloth, herbs, and eggs, or as unique as monkeys, flame roasted rats, and hookahs.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The nice combination of everyday items and more unusual curiosities.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: I would like 1,000 more!<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Grimoire: Enchantment is a 33 page pdf product for the d20 system. This product focuses on magic and in particular the magical school of enchantment. The aim is to provide the specialist enchanter, or other spellcasters using enchantment spells, with additional tools and spells to expand their repertoire in game. This is a standalone product from Dark Quest Games, and doesn't form part of any particular line or series of products.

The product comes as a single pdf file which includes a cover as a separate image file. There is no table of contents, but a very useful index is included at the back of the product to help you find a particular spell, even more useful given that the product contains no bookmarks. Layout and presentation is fairly simple, with a rudimentary blue border surrounding the pages, and a scattering of sidebars that include more detail on a number of issues as well as multiple adventure seeds and other ideas. There is very little interior art, unless you want to count the sidebar headings or border art as art, and that which is there is in the same monochrome color scheme as the product borders. Editing and writing is generally good, as is the mechanics, but this is a relatively average product when it comes to presentation.

Grimoire: Enchantment is a product for those mages and other spellcasters that prefer to use a less flashy approach to magic - namely enchantment. This product contains a large number of new spells for the enchantment school of magic, and most of these spells are usable by a wide variety of different classes, including bards, wizards and sorcerers, clerics, rangers, paladins and druids. There's a good range of spells as far as spell level is concerned, although more bottom heavy than top heavy, with there being only one 9th level spell for wizards and sorcerers.

The product starts by providing a brief introduction to the product and the school of enchantment, as well as the nature of a grimoire. It then provides a long list of all the spells in the product with a brief description of each spell, before plunging into the spells themselves. Each spell comes complete with all the mechanical details required, but also includes several lines at the start of the spell as a story line for a specific situation where the spell is used. This adds a little bit more flavor to the spell, and guides the reader as to the intent of the spell.

The spells themselves are all generally fairly average and in most cases not terribly inventive. You have the mind-affecting buffs, which are similar to the physical buffs such as bull's strength, except that they affect a person's state of mind. Other spells are versions of spell already contained in the core rules, and many spells simply adjust by bonus or penalty a creature's skill checks. Given the roleplaying potential of the enchantment school of magic, one would've hoped to see something more in this area, although spells like Immortal Love, a 9th level spell that compels love, does offer some interesting opportunities. There are a number of new spells that spellcasters will find useful though, and most fans of the enchantment school of magic will find something they like that doesn't duplicate other spells or provide rather uninteresting mechanical benefits such as skill improvements or penalties, or ability score improvements or penalties.

Grimoire: Enchantment is by no means a bad product - it contains a lot of useful material, but doesn't really cover any new ground, merely rehashing old concepts or expanding a little on other ideas. Most gamers will find something useful in here, although should not expect to be overawed by the contents of the product. A decent product with a rather simple presentation, but useful nonetheless for expanding enchantment in one's game.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: This is a decent product with some useful material that'll expand on the school of enchantment for any gamer's spell library. Expands nicely on some areas of enchantment to offer more roleplaying opportunities.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Presentation wasn't the best, and a lot of the spells weren't particularly unique or interesting.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

A nice long list of items to populate the stalls of the merchants in your game. Its best used to get a list of the basic items available (Lanterns and bottles), after which you provide descriptions of individual items.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Could be more specific, and perhaps give price ranges.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Nice list of items that you might see at any flea mark. There are enough items on the list to use it in a fanstasy games, although you will have to modify a few or reroll at times.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Lots of iteresting items on the list...creative minds made this product.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

This is a list of 100 different symptoms of diseases, allergies, disorders, etc. A nice way of using this is to give NPC's some quirks, although you'll have to improvise a stutterer with a runny nose on occasion.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Covers a very unique subject. Top Fashion Games' "100" line is a good value, and this item is no different.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

This is a nice list of various trasure items that add some nice variety to treasures. Good for filling out possessions of people or places, too.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Gold piece value is included.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

This is basically a list of 100 types of drinks, just as the title of the product suggests. Most of the entries are based on real-world drinks, both modern and medieval. There are some fantasy items tossed in, but nothing too crazy.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Quick way to get some items to serve at a tavern, or if someone grabs a strange drink in a tavern.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: There should be a deluxe version of this product that gives a short description of each major item, as well as a gp cost. Are you listening, Top Fashion?<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

The Weapon Rack: Daggers, takes Dungeons and Dragon?s most simple weapon, and gives it a blown out celebrity treatment that surprisingly makes the weapon more attractive.

Daggers, by Dark Quest, LLC, is a 51 page, 3 chapter, expose of the basic weapon. It is the second in the Weapon Rack series, and the first to focus on a single weapon. The book is well bookmarked and layed out with flavorful artwork that livens the feels of the book.

Chapter 1 provides a well researched history of the dagger and provides the reader with several versions of the dagger throughout history. There are also some made up daggers thrown in towards the end, though the realistic ones are more enjoyable. Chapter 2, my favorite chapter, gets away from weapon and provides some good advice on how each class can use the weapon as is. Too often these types of books recommend their own prestige classes or feats, however, Dark Quest takes a different approach here. Not to say that Daggers does not have PrCs and Feats. There are six feats and four prestige classes. There are also five spells and a domain for spellcasters and clerics that want to add a martial feel to their spells.

Chapter 3 refocuses on the dagger by detailing material and instructions on how to make a dagger. The authors did a great job of distinguishing and analyzing the abilities between flint, steel, primitive and bone materials. This chapter also lists magic and wondrous items, several artifact daggers and, out of no where, a fully statted NPC.

For the Player More than just a book for dagger enthusiasts, there is enough material included that this book can be helpful to those whom just want to maximize the use of their weapons. Whether it?s a spellcaster or heavy fighter, Daggers can really beef up your playstyle. Of course, making a dagger or blade oriented character is a peace of cake as well. The fighting motifs offer players an adopted fighting style. Each one gives the player instructions on how to build up their skills and personal abilities to bring out he fighting style.

For the DM Open Daggers and scroll to the back and you will find a nice little surprise, a weapon master NPC. I believe DMs hoping to layer some flavor into their treasure will like the different types of daggers in the first chapter and the special materials in the later chapters. There are also some artifacts in the chapter that can provide a unique opportunity for quests.

The Iron Word Weapon Rack: Daggers is a good weapon book that does a few things different. There are not a ton of anything in the book; a good thing. Too often these types of books compact too many feats, classes, and weapons into them. Instead, you get four or five good spells, good weapons, good PrCs and good magical items. Those seeking to build a blade oriented character (no matter what class) will be quite pleased. Those whom are not will find this a good reference for one of the most common tools in the game. <br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: - by concentrating on a few of everything, they produce good versions of everything

• the artwork of daggers and old style ruins brings out the exotic flavor of the dagger
• there's an npc :)<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: - I wasn't too much a fan of the tunneler and blade artist prcs
• same with the feats, some remind me of feats I've seen elsewhere<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>