Not just a fumble table for 4e, but an article on why you should include fumbles in your games - a "theory of failure," if you will. Well written and handy for GMs of any RPG, not just 4e.

A nifty little doc on 4e magic items for wild west characters. Includes a few magic firearms, plus other items (boots, a hat, a holster, and a set of playing cards). No art here, just text.

Whereas their last installment was a methodological paced mystery that climaxed in a confined location, EN Publishing’s Digging For Lies, the third installment of the Zeitgeist campaign, is a dynamic difference in both scope and action.

The Zeitgeist Campaign continues to be an engaging read with every release. This is the largest adventure ever, some 90+ pages. The color choices, formatting and layout work are top notch. Whether you are reading 4th edition or Pathfinder, the mechanics are sharp and witty. The Pathfinder edition is especially impressive, as the mechanics never feel like a bastard version of something else but an organic set of rules.

Lies shoots a party across the landscape of the Zeitgeist continent of Risur, exploring secret archeological sites, brings them before a fey titan, bargaining for the fate of the world, then lulls their fears in their fears by placing them in a familiar place, only to place it under an intense siege. The mystery element of Zeitgeist is still there, as the players figure out whether they are pawns or players in a massive conspiracy.

For the Dungeon Master Lies also includes a great set of Ship to Ship combat rule that are useful inside or outside of the game. DMs will also never feel lost in these adventures.

The Iron Word Zeitgeist #3 Digging for Lies is another remarkable adventure. Once the adventure hits Act 2, it feels like a nonstop climax that does not let go until the very end.

Whereas their last installment was a methodological paced mystery that climaxed in a confined location, EN Publishing’s Digging For Lies, the third installment of the Zeitgeist campaign, is a dynamic difference in both scope and action.

The Zeitgeist Campaign continues to be an engaging read with every release. This is the largest adventure ever, some 90+ pages. The color choices, formatting and layout work are top notch. Whether you are reading 4th edition or Pathfinder, the mechanics are sharp and witty. The Pathfinder edition is especially impressive, as the mechanics never feel like a bastard version of something else but an organic set of rules.

Lies shoots a party across the landscape of the Zeitgeist continent of Risur, exploring secret archeological sites, brings them before a fey titan, bargaining for the fate of the world, then lulls their fears in their fears by placing them in a familiar place, only to place it under an intense siege. The mystery element of Zeitgeist is still there, as the players figure out whether they are pawns or players in a massive conspiracy.

For the Dungeon Master Lies also includes a great set of Ship to Ship combat rule that are useful inside or outside of the game. DMs will also never feel lost in these adventures.

The Iron Word Zeitgeist #3 Digging for Lies is another remarkable adventure. Once the adventure hits Act 2, it feels like a nonstop climax that does not let go until the very end.

OMG. For anyone with a half an ounce of a sense of humour and a love an appreciation for the favorite 3.5 version of the roleplaying game that we all love... Somewhat adult-theme, ribald, course, base and appealing to the lower forms of homour, certainly. But that is not a bad thing, if it amuses instead of offend your sensibilities (or their lack thereof).

178 page .pdf inculding covers. The humour starts with the table of contents d200 and doesn't stop until 2nd to last page (last page being the OPEN game license legal mumbo jumbo).

Even though these days I'm PFRPG all the way, I still find great pleasure and guffaws from reading the various magical codpieces, the Great Gazebo adventure recounted by Ricahard Aronson, the amusing prestige classes, elemental plane of candy, pick up lines and so much more!

As an advocate of enjoying life, smiling and laughing, this is a great addendum to any gamers library!

A brief treatment of Frankenstein's Monster for the 4e system - though these stats could be used for any high-level flesh golem you're looking to inflict upon your players.

Another great offering from EN Publishing, this one presenting two creatures from Eastern folklore statted up for 4e, with a touch of lore and background with each to help inspire story ideas. Includes period-style artwork.

Stats for the legendary Spear of Destiny for use in 4e. Includes a brief history of the artifact. Just try to keep it away from Hitler, please.

Another great legendary character treatment for 4e - the monkey-climbing, water-running Sarutobi Sasuke. This might have been improved with a bit more history and possibly some links and resources about the character.

"Roll to see if I'm getting drunk!" A collection of rules for drinking and drunkenness for 4e games - though there are some ideas here that could be adapted to any RPG. Includes rules for levels of intoxication, effects of drinking on bravery, recovery, hangovers, folk remedies, and giving potency levels to different types of drinks. Great fun if your games usually involve a lot of carousing!

A 7-page treatment of Conquest, an Apocalypse rider for 4e. Includes some classic medieval art, plus stats for Conquest's different agents - Enhanced Bear, Murder of Crows, Murderous Buck, and the Pack of Wolves. Great if you're planning some apocalyptic action in an upcoming game!

A nifty little artifact treatment for 4e roleplaying. Includes a brief history, list of powers, and tips for roleplaying the character of the trident.

Gamers have a tendency of taking their game a little too seriously at times. BoPH reminds us that we really shouldn't.

While everything in these 120+ pages (at at 3 bucks might one of the best dollar to page ratios here) is designed to be silly, humorous and maybe slightly offensive. But all in good fun.

The trouble is when you scratch away the silly you are left with some pretty nicely designed content for d20. Classes, prestige classes, spells (Summon Astral Diva is my new favorite), monsters, gods. Everything you want. If you were a fan of Dragon Magazines' April Fools editions then this is a good book. If you have an adventure coming up and you need it to be light hearted or even silly, then you need this book.

Interesting take on the Seven Deadly sins. Not the first and not the last take, but a good one. The art is ok and I would have liked something a bit better, but for under $5 it is still a steal. Each fiend is detailed in 3.0 stats and can be added to any game. I would have preferred the fiends to be a bit more powerful and made each one unique, or near unique. As it is there is the danger that they will become only generic demons. I would have also like some more story hooks with them.

EN Publishing is rightly regarded as producing high-quality products. Arcane Strife is no exception. But let's get a few things out of the way first. Yes, the last thing d20 (of any edition) needs is more flexibility and power for spellcasters. Yes, the last thing a player of a d20 spellcaster needs is a list of 200 more spells to try to choose from.

But if you already feel your campaign is teetering under this weight, why are you even paging through d20 supplements online? In this review I'm going to assume you already want a d20 fantasy supplement for spellcasting and magic, for whatever reason: you're designing a campaign and want a unique feel to magic, your'e tired of games with everyone knowing the same old spells and want to toss some old ones and put in some new ones, you handle game balance in other ways, you and your players love digging through mounds of options and debating them in and out of character. So you're here because you want to buy a d20 magic supplement and you're trying to decide if Arcane Strife is it.

First, there's a printer-friendly version whose primary change is to remove the color background. Although the version with the color background is marked "screen version", really there's nothing about it that makes it suitable for a screen in particular, such as landscape orientation or variable flow. It's really just a more colorful PDF. The cover is also in the ZIP file in case you want to make yourself a nice-looking copy. The table of contents is very well done, including subheadings for the spells by initial letter. If I had to criticize anything about the organization of the work it would be that some of the spells are not well-described by their initial letter, so having a more extensive index or hyperlinks within the document itself would be an excellent idea.

The work starts with a bombshell of a system that describes how magic works on the world of Shtar, the world described inside Arcane Strife - basically when a spellcaster is interrupted (via the normal Concentration rules), they may permanently lose the spell slot and be badly damaged. It's interesting, but I think spellcasters who are going to be doing casting where they might have to make a Concentration check are going to have a Concentration skill level sufficiently high that it's not going to do much. I think it might be better to just require the damage in the form of subdual (magic is tiring to cast) or make it based on some kind of physical prowess that spellcasters are unlikely to have (a Fortitude save or something). Anyway, it's a really interesting start, not what you normally expect from a book of this kind.

There's a few other little magic systems that are introduced, wizard's sigils and true names and so on, then a thankfully brief list of feats. The bulk of the work is taken up with an extensive spell list. Interestingly, the spell descriptions begin with a vivid fictional description of its origin, such as the wizard who invented it, or the war it turned the tide of. I would like to see more games use these, especially for campaign creation, as they help me fit the spells into the tapestry of the world.

The prestige classes are very interesting, though they need even more attention in fitting them into a campaign. I'm not sure how a Master of Minor Magic would be played as a PC, an ally or a villain, for example, as interesting as the idea (a Master of Minor Magic consistently increases the power and number of spell slots for lower level spells instead of higher level spells) might be.

Finally, there are several creature templates, most related to some of the magical effects in the book. Like the prestige classes, these templates might have benefitted from some explanations as to personality, roleplaying, or encounter opportunities.

All in all, Arcane Strife is very well presented and has many cool ideas. it's hard to go wrong with EN Publishing. However, I think the best ideas in this work are the ones that are fully developed and integrated into the world described. The prestige classes and creature templates are just left out there for me to decide how they fit in, or what effect they might have on my game world if I eagerly throw them in willy-nilly.

A solid outing, good work all around.