The system is exactly as advertised, and I like it a lot. It needs some tweaking, I think. The book is difficult to use and poorly edited. There isn't even a table of contents.

The Mafia needed better exposure than it has had beyond a few select websites. History and function are well-covered elsewhere, but a deeper look at what the Mafia does, what its goals are, is very well documented in this volume. I would give it a five star rating, but the lack of illustrations to depict the Mafia's hierarchy and plot hooks to get prospective writers going are absent. The detailed explanations and the lexicon make up for their absence, but I feel that they could have been included to make the book a little more complete.

However, this is one book that will satisfy both scholars and intellectuals. The witty slang and informal dialogue paints the portrait of the Mafia very endearingly and very wittily. What the Mafia does, who performs which role and how the organization subsists is all chronicled very conscientiously. The only thing you will need to do is read in between the lines at times as more than one subject tends to be mentioned under one heading. The photos of past Mafiosi offer a helpful look at the faces of the Mafia. Looking at them gives interesting impressions that writers can use to create their own characters.

This is a monster of a book. There is ALOT of background involved in this game. The race are quite unique and there are many of them. In fact with all the races in this book I was kind of concerned that they would just be copies of others races with a few numbers changed. Thankfully it is not.The Core mechanic in this games revolves around essentially one table. It's simplistic in an attempt to create a game about story and less about the roll. The core mechanic works for this game is rarely in the way of fun. This game is one of my favorites in the ever expanding list of RPGs I have purchased. My opinion is to buy this game if for no other reason other than to glean ideas from it for your own campaign or game.

Having difficulties opening it in Microsoft Photo.

Really could have been better laid out, and better thought out. For instance, it costs so much to raise an Attribute, but it costs much less for a Feat that rasies that very same Attribute. Why, then, bother paying the greater cost? Other aspects of the way the skill and feat system work together bother me, but overall the fixes seem simple; I only wonder why I have to fix something I paid for.

However, the system itself is great!! It's a copy of the system Talislanta has used from the mid-eighties (since Morrigan Press is now producing Talislanta, I guess that makes sense). The game allows for nearly infinite variation of stunts, nearly anything can be attempted (within reason, you will probably not kill a dragon with your dagger, but maybe...)

I liked it overall, finding the problems to be only minor and the ease of play the same as I remembered from Talislanta. I have purchased other products for this system, and do not regret any of them. If only I had the time to play everything.

I used to own a copy of Spacecraft 2000 to 2100 AD but lost it during a move years ago. When I heard this book was coming out, I hoped that this edition would live up to the memories I had from that long lost volume. I was not disappointed. Most of the images I recall from the older book (published in 1979) are in this book. Some are different as the pictures here are not the original illustrations, but digital reproductions from talented computer artists. There are some new illustrations in this book that were not in the older book and vice versa (I miss the dust jacket illustration of a massive factory ship being escorted by 3 Proximan Sharks). The text describing the ships were pretty much as I remembered. The introductory section gives you a little background to place the ships in context, something that the original book lacked. All in all, I was very please with this purchase and would heartily recommend it to anyone who is nostalgic about the old Stewart Cowley Spacecraft series (now hopefully waiting expectantly for the other books in the series to be produced).

Very nice map. Much nicer to use than the black and white one in my 4th ed book. In that version, many different types of land aren't labeled. This map shows what you're looking at much quicker at a glance.

The only problem for me is that this is a 5th ed. map, not a 4th. So some of the names of the countries are different, most notably the 4th ed's Kang Empire is called the Quan Empire on this map. Obviously a good thing if you have the 5th edition of Talislanta.

All and all, very pleased, especially for the price. I'd love to see a 4th ed. version though.

The Omni System is a good product overall. It distills the basic elements of the Talislanta system into an easy to use rpg framework. It's a quick playing system and fairly light on rules. It could be used easily to play fantasy and sci-fi games.

My only real complaints were the race and monster creation sections. There are sample races given, but no details as to how the abilities they were given are decided. Monsters get even less detail, with a brief mention of how to stat one up, but not even a sample.

Overall a good buy, but could be better.

For fans of future history, Mil SF, Spaceships, and great SF Art. A fitting continuation to the TTA books of the 70s.

I love Talislanta and have played almost every edition. The world is vast and complex. Some may say too complex and the assortment of races seems unending. In 5th edition, the common races are in the players guide while the less common ones are in the GM's guide so a first time player doesn't get too much of a head ache.

What's new in 5th edition? Not much. Most of the rules are the same, but character creation has evolved. The templates used in previous editions have been replaced by paths so more flexibility is available in character creation.

The system is simple and in a good way. There has been no attempt made to keep different races and paths balanced. This is deliberate. It is acceptable and it is just part of talislanta. Combats are fast and bloody especially since you can't gain hit points after starting.

I do have a few dislikes: A lot of copy and paste from previous editions has left a few rules ambiguous. There is a mix of old and new art and with it a mix of quality that leaves a less than consistant feel. There are also a few gaps in the rules. The line "Ten years and still no elves" could have been replaced with "ten years and still no falling rules"

You have to be ready to improvise with Talislanta, but you will have fun doing it and it makes a great change from whatever you have been playing. Any system that survives twenty years is worth a look.

Scent of the Beast is designed in a surprisingly complicated way for an introductory adventure. It can be divided in 2 parts: the first part takes on the form of a series of encounters, as the PCs and the crew of the land barge Arda travel from Cymril to the town of Tordan. This part involves four encounters, two of which can be considered interludes. In the second part, which deals with the main mission, to find a traitor in Tordan and stop the illegal weapons trade with the Beastmen, resides the gist of Scent of the Beast. The latter part involves a few investigations and two battles and yet Scent of the Beast, as a whole, is a rather complicated book.

This is explained by the fact that the scenario swarms with NPCs (many merchants, Molith s bandits, Beastmen, the patrons of the tavern in Kiran etc.) and that the author crams it with details, minute descriptions rarely encountered in introductory adventures. Moreover, 25 pages are devoted to the encounters, 4 pages to the rudimentary rules of Talislanta and 15 pages to Tordan. Like Sarista, Scent of the Beast could be described as a sourcemodule rather than as an adventure. I think its best section is not the adventure itself, whose plot doesnt strike me, but the one in which Tordan (an uncommon city built on a mesa!) is detailed quarter by quarter. I would not recommend Scent of the Beast to a novice GameMaster, as it calls for some experience and imagination to run it properly. After all, if the GM uses all encounters, then it could be regarded as a mini-campaign.

I grade Scent of the Beast as a whole with 4 stars and the adventure itself with 3 stars.

The Archean Codex, a tome of advanced magic and lore, enables the reader to delve into Talislanta s magic past. The Codex provides, among others, information on powerful forgotten spells, legendary wizards, magic artifacts, magic skills and fields, lost books of wizardry, lists of extradimensional entities that can be summoned. It also includes a historical overview of the Forgotten Age, the Talislantan golden period of magic during which time the Archaens triumphed, and other historical knowledge, so that it may help the gamemaster enrich his campaign with references to the past, add a historical flavour to it.

The Archaen Codex turns out to be a comprehensive and diverse encyclopedia of magic that can be used in combination with the recently published Codex Magicus. However, at times I found myself questioning its utility. The spells & artifacts listed and described may be powerful but are so rare, unknown and hard to find that they require hazardous research in unheard-of ancient places. Whether the Archaen Codex will come handy and applicable depends on the gamemaster s judgment and decisions. In any case, he should use it wisely and in moderation, without abusing the lore, given its arcane nature. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Very well done and thought out adventure. It takes you all over the place and introduces the players to many colorful characters.

<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: What is not to like about Talislanta. This is a work that is worth the money<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Great Product. A must for an Talislanta fan! It is just as good a Tal 4th but allows more freedom in character creation. <br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Whats not to like of this fully realized game world<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: I hoped for one complete book without the need of a GM book<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

This doesn't add much new that isn't published elsewhere, and the art looks recycled, too. The proof-reading isn't the best, either. Still, if you don't have any earlier versions, the world of Talislanta makes up for that, as its an interesting and different setting with plenty of opportunity for adventure. Being rules-free, this description of the world can be converted to any system you like, with a bit of work.