A romp roaring good time was had by all once this was downloaded and read. Heck we didn't even get through the whole book before we were holding back the laughs. This was tons of dice rolling and bad jokes just like when we were kids. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

I wasn't sure how 'Former Child Star' was an advanced class, but this product has convinced me with a class ability, the Second Chance, that's interesting both in game mechanic and story terms.

A number of the feats included are useful in their own right as well, such as the Webmaster feat (you maintain a website about yourself).<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Having been amazed by the first of this series, as soon as I saw this one come out I knew I had to get it. It doesn't disappoint, either. It has a whole bunch of rods, staffs, and wands, and on top of that it:

1) has new ways to make staffs and wands work that fit better with fantasy literature and make them more than just a fantasy-style rocket launcher (but also has traditional ones if you don't want to use the new style);

2) includes a couple of new spells;

3) gives pricing decisions and formulas so it's super easy to design a personalized one for your favorite character or villain; and

4) is clearly written and easy to read.

My review of the previous one noted it was a bargain at twice the price. Once again I was amazed, and I have to say it improves on the first one and is easily worth 3-4 times the price!<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Great writing, ideas, reasoning included. I actually think not having art is a good thing: it's not there to distract me and I certainly would prefer no art if including some increased the price.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Bookmarks would have been a bit helpful, but you really don't need them for something this compact. Since things are well organized according to theme (rod, staff, and wand), it's much easier to find things in this.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Divine Forces Benton

<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Heroines with back problems abound in this set. As mentioned in other reviews, the females in this set appear to be the product of an adolescent imagination, and it takes away from the quality of the other figures. Huge breasts, exposed nipples, and toothpick thin waists and limbs make me wonder if the artist has ever really seen a live woman up close. (and what is with the spherical silicone breasts?)

As for the rest of the counters, I did enjoy the different races. Female bimbos aside, there are some nice elves and halflings, and a few cool demons as well. The minotaur was very poor however, being just a man with horns?!?!

While the idea of B&W so that you could paint them yourself is useful for those with the time and skill to do so, most players these days want color counters, and that would have been a better value.

Overall, not really worth the cost.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Some of the races were OK.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Grotesquely out of proportion women wiht R-rated exposed breastsand bizzare limbs. Silly minotaur. Black and White.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Disappointing<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>

Loot 4 Less Volume I: Rings & Things is a magic item sourcebook from IDA. The zipped file is 0.27 megabytes in size, and contains a single PDF of the product, and a Microsoft Word version of it also. The Word file has a total of eleven pages worth of text, while the PDF file is twelve pages long, including two pages for the covers, one for the credits/table of contents, one of ads, and one for the OGL. The PDF has full bookmarks, and no art aside from one piece with the ads.

The first volume of Loot 4 Less covers magic rings, weapons, and armor. The purpose of the Loot 4 Less series is to deliver magic items that have permanent bonuses (as opposed to charged items or one-shot uses), and are always under 2,500 gp. Luckily, since weapons, armor, and rings are mostly permanent items normally, this is easily done here. Even so, the author is very careful to show his thinking with pricing in various cases, giving plenty of ?Behind the Counter? sidebars to show why things cost what they do.

The section for weapons and armor introduces the concept of weapon/armor magic qualities that are minor enough so as to only be worth a +1/2 magic bonus. Even better, a single +1/2 magic bonus can be applied to a non-masterwork item, and without a pre-existing enhancement bonus (anything more, however, requires the usual masterwork +1 item to take any enchantments). It then gives us a number of new minor magic qualities (including the brilliant spellforged property, which allows an item to have any number of magic qualities without being masterwork or having an enhancement bonus), as well as example magic weapons and armor. While not quite as groundbreaking as the preceding section, the rings section gives a number of new magic rings that fulfill minor but useful functions for characters.

Altogether, Loot 4 Less does in a dozen pages what so many other products can?t do in a hundred: it introduces innovative new material and mechanics that spur the imagination. Whether you need balanced magic for your low-level group, or a low-magic fantasy world, the material here is absolutely perfect for characters that need cheap but useful magic items. There?s no group of PCs out there that won?t benefit from having some Rings & Things. <br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: This product provided innovative new rules that mesh perfectly with low-level play, being extremely interesting while still maintaining game balance. The sidebars that dot the book also explain succinctly the reason the author came to the prices he did.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: There wasn't really anything I disliked about this book. It set out what it wanted to accomplish, and did so masterfully.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

As a bare-bones type system, this game is perfect for in-game improvisation<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The unique dice system that is strangely flexible<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Feels that some story elements are left out, but that just leaves more to creativity<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Loot 4 Less vol. II: Rods, Staffs, and Wands is a magic item sourcebook from IDA. The zipped file is barely more than 100 kilobytes, and contains a PDF and a Microsoft Word file of comparable size. The PDF file is sixteen pages long (including two pages for the front and back covers, one for the credits/table of contents, one for the introduction, and a page for the OGL) and the Word file is eighteen. The PDF file has a (non-hyperlinked) table of contents. Neither of the files has any artwork.

All Loot 4 Less books are concerned with providing magic items that don?t cost more than 2,500 gp. You might think that this would mean they?d offer a lot of one-use or charged magic items, but you?d be wrong. All of the magic items in Loot 4 Less books are permanent items that can be used over and over again. Most of these are utility items, but all are very innovative in what they offer.

This volume of Loot 4 Less covers, as you may have guessed, rods, staffs, and wands. Each section opens with the traditional uses of such items, very cogently noting their strengths and weaknesses in the d20 system, and then covers how that went into designing the new items presented here. Each section also has several ?behind the counter? sections talking about how the pricing was achieved.

The rods section is, by the author?s admission, the easiest to cover, as rods are traditionally the magic items that have abilities anyone can use, and have powers that aren?t just pre-cast spells. This section keeps with the traditional theme of rods, in that they all have odd but useful powers.

The staffs section deals with how to reinvent staffs so that they aren?t just the ?assault rifles? of fantasy games. The solution they come up with is that staffs should act as foci that provide new spells known. Ergo, a spellcaster who prepares spells with these staffs essentially adds them to their spellbook (or class spell list), and spontaneous casters with these staffs add their spells to their spells known when they choose the spells they want to cast. Coolest of all, though, is that the book provides two new low-level spells, and a sidebar containing several traditional d20-style staffs, purely in case you prefer not to use the new staffs here.

Finally, the wands section, as with staffs, reinvents the wand to be more universally useful. Under the idea given here, wands don?t provide the same spell fifty times, but rather offer bonuses to caster level for specific aspects of a school of magic. For example, you can have wands that grant +2 caster level to the range of evocation spells. Several such wands are presented, along with guidelines for the creation and pricing of more.

Altogether, Loot 4 Less vol. II does an extremely good job of not only presenting cheap new magic items, but of making them very interesting as well. The manner in which this book provides not only new magic items for low-level characters, but reinvents traditional items to eliminate their weaknesses and give characters permanent, useful items is nothing less than a stroke of genius. Whether you?re playing low-level characters, a low-magic world, or any other kind of Fantasy d20 game, you will absolutely benefit from this book. Make your magic items more than just disposable commodities with Loot 4 Less vol. II! <br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: This product was brilliant in how it reinvented wands and staffs to be more than just storage for pre-cast spells. All of the magic items here are useful, fulfilling a small niche in the game, and having excellent guidelines describing the reasons for the changes, as well as how the prices were reached.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: In all honesty, there was nothing I didn't like about this product. The concept, execution, design, layout, and content are all absolutely perfect.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Loot 4 Less II: Rods, Staffs and Wands is a 16 page d20 pdf product and the second in IDAs Loot 4 Less series featuring magical items that can be obtained for less than 2500 gp. Each item not only comes in at a low cost, but is also at least a multi-use or permanent item, meaning you get more value for your gold piece. This second in the series features rods, staffs, and wands and Owen K. Stephens does a grand job of both providing something new and something interesting, and definitely something that enhances the game.

This product comes as a no-frills single file without any bookmarks or other forms of navigation. The product is devoid of any art as well, or anything else other than densely-packed text and a number of sidebars. Writing is clear and concise, and the editing is very good as well. Where the pdf shines is in the understanding of underlying mechanics and the exposition of the rules and their implementation. The product does a great job of providing concise rules, explanatory text, and wonderful new items. This is a rules-heavy product, so perhaps many won't be interested in that take on matters and instead just grab the items, but the rules provide so much more in terms of value in this product. It's a good blend of new magical items and new rules to support them, with a clear understanding of value and pricing structures.

There are very few products out there that cater for low cost magical items, so Loot 4 Less is a very nice series to see. The standard cheap magical items such as the Cloak of Resistance become all too common as the only really option early in the game as a magical item for many low level characters. Loot 4 Less, and other products such as Silverthorne Games' Minor Magicks, fill what I'd consider a much wanted and needed niche in the magical item department, particularly with regard to permanent magical items. Loot 4 Less fills exactly that niche, by providing low cost, permanent magic items for those classes where the flashy +1 greatsword is not so flashy to them.

Loot 4 Less starts by introducing new rods. Since rods can be used by all character classes, this provides a welcome number of new rods that are inexpensive. Examples include the Bolt Throwing Rod which acts like a crossbow, and Rod of Weight, which can change its weight one command. Lots of useful utility rods, and most not combat orientated.

Staffs are detailed next and a number of new rules are presented to handle staffs, in addition to some low cost staffs using the standard d20 ruleset for staff creation. Staffs are treated as permanent items that allow a spellcaster wielding a staff to know more spells, whether he is a sorcerer or a wizard, and the rules cater equally well for both types of spellcasters, prepared or spontaneous; arcane or divine. Examples of these staffs include the Staff of Energies, which gives a number of low-level spells known related to energy, and the Staff of Movement, which allows casters to use low-level movement related spells. The entire implementation is neat and allows you to create a plethora of new items since it doesn't only provide items, but also the creation rules for said items.

Lastly, the pdf deals with wands. Like staffs, wands are also treated as permanent items that affect spellcasting, in this case by boosting spells in small ways such as a single element of a spell (area or duration, for example) or the save DC against a specific school of magic or even just a single spell, the latter useful for sorcerers with signature spells. Again this enhances the utility of magic and wands at low levels, and can have an impact on the future direction a character may take.

Loot 4 Less is more than just a small pdf with a lot of new magical items. By providing rules it opens up whole areas of items that can be created and covers specifically the low cost market which is sparse in terms of interesting and unique magical items. It succeeds at providing an interesting new look at magical items, that many players and DMs will find refreshing when taking a look through that next treasure haul. As the pdf advertisement says, this may be lower cost, but definitely not lower quality. A great little pdf and excellent value for money. This will make a splendid addition to any gamer's computer folders.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Loot 4 Less II: Rods, Staffs and Wands is a splendid little pdf with lots of useful information on crafting and creating new magical items at lower cost. It provides a rules-solid look at new material, offers variations on the normal theme, and provides high utility and plenty of options. Very useful as well for low-magic settings, and offers variety for the magical gear of low-level adventurers.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The lack of artwork and general presentation could've been improved, but I think this pdf is best judged by its content.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Whomever says that low magic campaign worlds can not have cool magical items may want to recant his statement.

Loot 4 Less 2: Rods, Staffs & Wands, by Bargain Books, extends on the success of the Loots 4 Less series by offering another packed PDF of magical equipment suitable low magic (high fantasy) campaigns or lower level characters. Though only a mere 17 pages (and a cost of under 2 bucks) this book does more to enhance the lower level character and low magic campaign than most 20 dollar books.

Loot 4 Less 2 rewrites the uses and rules for Rods, Staffs & Wands. The goal of the product is to produce magical items that are effective, yet is affordable enough for parties whom have yet to claim their first dragon horde or become a noble of a small fiefdom. Rods pretty much act the same but there are now more affordable ones. Staffs are treated like foci as they are in many traditional pieces of fantasy and have lower level spells in them. This makes staffs useful on two levels and finally allows that player to at last run that first level Gandalf the black wizard he?s always been itching to play. Wands are reduced from magical pistols to spell enhancement wonders that beef up certain spells cast by the caster. For instance, instead of having 50 magic missiles, a wand has the power to beef up the dc of previous spells, provide more spells per use or increase its potency.

For the Dungeon Master: Your players will enjoy the variety at lower levels. For low magic games these items fit along with the kind of magical items you read in high fantasy books such as Conan.

For the Player: Because you are a level 3 wizard and deserve something better in the treasure chest other than a potion of Owl?s Wisdom.

The Iron Word:

For the price of a milkshake (or half the price of a Starbuck?s Triple Mocha Latte) you can buy both sets of Loot 4 Less and really enhance the fun of lower levels or lower magic. There are about 25 or more items in the book under the new rules and recommendations for players on low magic items that fit into the traditional 3.5 rules. <br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: - excellent value for the product

• great for the lower levels
• great for low magic <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: - no bookmarks
• no art inside<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Divine Forces: Benten, the Golden Goddess of Good Fortune, is a sourcebook from Interactive Design Adventures detailing the goddess Benten and her religion. The product comes in a zipped file just under 800 kilobytes in size, containing a single PDF that is slightly larger. The PDF is sixteen pages long, including a page for the cover, a page for the credits/legal, a page reproducing the image on the cover, and two pages for the OGL. There is no table of contents, but there are bookmarks.

The book has little artwork, and all of it is black-and-white. The image on the cover, of Benten herself, is reproduced on a larger scale near the end of the book. Other than that, there are only a few images, usually small, accompanying the text. Because of this, the lack of a printer-friendly version isn?t much of an issue.

Benten is one of a group of seven deities known as the Shichifukujin, or the Seven Gods of Good Fortune (who are, in fact, real-world Japanese deities). She?s the only female member, and is an eclectic goddess of love, the sea, good luck, and money. The book opens with this information, before briefly discussing Benten in art and popular portrayal.

Some quick discussion of Benten?s worshippers is given, with a sidebar noting the proper clerical domains, but doesn?t list her favored weapon. The book then discusses her interests, her avatar, and her avatar?s items. A sidebar lists the full stats for her avatar, and two of her items, which are artifacts, are detailed completely.

After this, a new prestige class is given, the Priest of Benten. This ten-level prestige class combines a cleric?s powers with that of a bard, and has a few sea-based abilities thrown in as well. It then lists the Charm, Community, and Seduction domains, with the latter being a new domain (though all of the spells in it are existing ones).

The last part of the book is an appendix discussing Seven Gods of Good Fortune. After giving an overview of the Shichifukujin themselves, it then discusses clerics of them (their clerics can switch between the specific deities without being punished for it). It gives an overview of what their avatars can do, and what happens to mortal characters who actually successfully slay their avatars.

All in all, Divine Forces does a good job of presenting Benten?s religion in terms of the flavor text, but the mechanics don?t quite live up to the writing. Benten?s alignment is never actually given (save for in her avatar?s stat block), and her favored weapon isn?t either (though it can be guessed at). Her artifacts don?t have their caster levels given, which makes using some of their powers hard. Likewise, her avatar?s stat block has some errors too. Between this and the few spelling and grammar errors that crept in, this product wasn?t as good as it could have been. Divine Forces is a book that ultimately needs some of the good fortune that its subject deity is said to give. <br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The description of Benten herself and her religion and worshippers is quite evocative.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The mechanics of Benten's religion (her alignment, her favored weapon, etc.) aren't given beyond her domains, unless you infer them from things like her avatar's alignment and weapon. Even then, her avatar's stat block has several errors (incorrect number of feats, 3.0-sytle damage reduction, incorrect number of spells per day, etc). Between that, her artifacts not having caster levels, and other spelling and grammar errors, this product fell down on the mechanical side of things.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Armor is one of those odd things that people seem to know is important and they get it for their characters but it does not seem all that popular. Armor is passive in nature; it rarely has much game feel or options especially in the more modern game. Weapons usually outclass armor; it seems to have been that way for centuries if not longer. Modern armor is sleek, lightweight, and rarely covers more then the torso. The days of the large, cumbersome full suits are over. But Battle Suits wants to bring them back. This book offers nine battle suits for the near future and one for the not so distant past.

Battle Armor is a new PDF by Interactive Design Adventures. They are best known for the PDF stand ins an alternative to miniatures. The book is written by Owens K. C. Stevens and is twenty pages long. The PDF comes in two version one made for the computer screen the other for printing. The Layout is a little spacious and the text a but big. The art is black and white pencil drawing and the borders make it feel like one is reading a notebook. Unfortunately the text does not match that feel being what is usually for a book. Instead they could have added some notes as if written by a person reporting about the armors or just something a little more colorful like that. The book is book marked.

Each armor is given some basic stats like defense value, maximum dexterity bonus, movement rate, armor check penalty, what can be attached to it, and some other basics. Each is also given a nice description that discusses how it came to be about and the success of the battle armor. At times it almost reads as historical recounts.

The ten different armors are all pretty different. They range from the Tin Man which is designed for the 1930?s to the Deathsuit which is used in near future death games. Each suit of armor has a nice description and comes with some basic equipment. There is also the Thinsuit, a piece of armor that could be worn under someone?s cloths and easily concealed.

The armors are interesting but might not really be powerful enough to really protect against the weapons they will be going up against. There is a nice variety and with the history of the armor is can easily be used to represent something more. The campaign can be shown to reflect these histories so the armor actually has a reason for being developed and not just there as some equipment in future games seems to be. The art and layout could use some improving and I would have liked if each Battle Armor occupied its own page instead of having them occupy pages together. That would allow for one to print out just the armor they want to use. There are some good ideas and I would recommend this book for someone looking for Battle armor in their modern or futuristic games.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

I got this to help me shoehorn in some powered armor designs for Spycraft 2.0. It worked ok, but I couldn't go into depth with it. Your milage may vary.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

New properties for armor and weapons, and rings, all at the low power (and low cost) end of the spectrum. The properties are clearly explained and appear to be reasonable and complete, and the reasoning behind their pricing and rating is explained. As if that weren't enough, they are also useful. Excellent!

I've never said this before, but this is a bargain at twice the price ($1.25).<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: It is useful both in terms of the items and properties it presents and the reasoning behind them, so you can develop your own as well.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: 2 or 3 editing mistakes, but no big deal.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

I really like the artwork in this set, and think it's the best of several paper miniature sets I have purchased. I can see how some people may not like the artwork, because of the reasons mentioned by other reviewers, but I think it's great.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The artwork and large quantity of miniatures<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: I would have liked a bit more in the way of monster figures.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>