RPG Mastery: Tracking is a 34 page pdf product and the first in Silven Publishing's new RPG Mastery line of products. The aim of the line is to take roleplaying elements from typical gaming experience and expand on them in depth to provide DMs and players with more options. This first instalment of the series focuses on tracking and all aspects related to hunting and tracking foes or animals in the wilderness or urban setting.

The product comes as a zip file containing a screen and print version of the product. The print version allows easy printing of the material, although even the screen version is not that heavy in the ink department. Artwork is average, with nothing spectacularly good or bad, although some of the images don't look particularly high quality. Writing and editing suffers from much the same standard, as does the overall presentation. Editing errors abound - simple examples include the chapter numbers being all wrong and the incomplete spell mechanics - and the writing in places is not explicit enough, particularly with reference to the numerous tables provided. Clarity would've been much assisted by references to the numerous tables in the text, particularly with regard to applicability of each table under different circumstances. Generally from a presentation point of view slightly disappointing in the number of errors that there are. The pdf comes with both a full table of contents and a set of bookmarks.

Tracking is a pdf all about the wilderness arts of hunting, tracking and survival. It provides a host of new rules for expanding on tracking (Survival skill and Track feat), each with its accompaniment of tables and mechanical details. The pdf starts by providing a brief introduction and some advice on using the material within the pdf before plunging into the first of many small chapters within the pdf.

There are a number of new options presented here, all mostly useful, and broadly divided into two areas: Wilderness and Urban. The wilderness tracker uses the Survival skill and the Track feat to track or hunt in the wilderness, while the urban tracker uses the Gather Information skill to search and hunt for information, objects or people in an urban environment. Within this framework a number of new options are presented for the numerous skills involved.

Rules for wilderness tracking include rules of competency at tracking (an indication of fame related to tracking), tracking creatures by size, tracking creatures using signs rather than tracks, environmental influences on tracking, tracking intelligent creatures, tracking creatures based on their type, habits and movement; extensive coverage of hunting, and hunting-related skills. Most of the material expands in a useful way on that contained in the core rules, although it's not always explicit in explanation or description. Several examples would've gone a long way to make it easier to understand the rules and how they mesh with the current core rules. For example, the pdf introduces two new feats - Wilderness Tracking and Urban Tracking, although it's not clear how these mesh with the Track feat from the core rules.

The urban tracker is one who is good in crowds and gathering information in crowded areas. Rules are provided for shadowing creatures in cities and crowds, and for fleeing from a particular situation. The shadowing rules are quite interesting, and provide a different way of handling following other characters or gaining information related to them. An urban tracker base class is provided to supplement these rules and build upon them. The class incorporates most of the rules presented here, meaning that it won't be that useful outside the context of the new rules system.

The latter portions of the pdf deal with new magical items, feats, and spells related to tracking. These include numerous scent bags to aid in tracking or avoiding being tracked, and feats such as Footslogger that allow you to move through terrain without suffering movement penalties. Nothing particularly exciting within this section or anything that jumps out, but those who like these rules with find them useful. The pdf concludes with some appendices including a list of random encounters (descriptions only), summaries of all the rules in the pdf (can sometimes be clearer than the preceding text), values of the skin and meat of animals, and a new creature type, the skirmish. The latter is akin to a swarm or a stampede and rules are provided for dealing with mobs and brawls as examples of this type and how to create 'creatures' of this type.

The pdf is in many ways useful in providing several new options, although most appear to actually complicate matters more than make it easier. If you want the detail of an immersive experience with realism and additional factors in-game, then these rules will be something you'll like. They are very focused, and focused on a particular area of the game not frequently used - tracking and hunting, areas that are quite well covered by the existing Survival skill and Track feat.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: RPG Mastery: Tracking contains a number of new ideas and options related to tracking, most that can be used by those that wish to add elements of realism or a more immersive experience to their campaign or scenario. The rules provided expand on existing concepts, widening their scope to areas not covered in the core rules.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: General presentation was disappointing and the pdf is riddled with numerous errors. Text and tables do not mesh well together, and references to the tables and worked examples would've made this much clearer to read and understand. The text comes across as somewhat disjointed, something which makes it difficult to make the most of the additional material provided. The material in the pdf is very focused, and expands (making slightly more complicated) the core concepts of Survival, Gather Information and Tracking. Usefulness of the material can be limited.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>

An RPG Resource Review:

Basically, this is a detailed look at the art and craft of tracking, and the ways in which this skill can be used to enhance a game. It's intended for players and DMs alike, with the intention of providing both mechanics and ideas for using tracking skills in a variety of situations.

Chapter 1 is an analysis of what 'tracking' actually is and who does it. Generally, few people actually start out with the intention of being a tracker, but it's a skill that comes in handy for a number of professions and lifestyles - especially if you intend to hunt for whatever you are going to eat. Skills honed early on in life in pursuit of your dinner can be used to advantage by those who might want to scout in the employ of armies, or track criminals or serve as local guides to passing bands of adventurers. Many adventurers themselves acquire the skill or even use it as the basis of an adventuring career. However, while its use in the wilderness is what most people think of when they hear the word 'tracking,' it also applies to being able to follow people in an urban environment. And here's the first rules snippet, a way of determining how good that tracker who is bragging how easily he finds deer, or escaped prisoners or whatever - a competency rating based on his reputation for how well (or badly) he tracks his chosen target as a rule. It's used to determine how well you are paid or indeed if you are hired at all (or to inform your decisions if you are seeking the services of a professional).

The second chapter takes a closer look at woodland tracking. The art of wilderness tracking is broken down into two parts - the actual physical 'tracks' (footprints, broken twigs, crushed plants and the like) and 'sign' which is other clues to who or what you are following. Rules bits include a lot of detail on how environental conditions such as weather and ground type, elapsed time and so on can affect the quality of the tracks you are following; while sign is used in an interesting manner to allow a tracker to pick up on the trail after losing more conventional tracks (or flubbing the roll!). Sign can also be used to deduce more information than the mere "which way has he gone" that tracks deliver - looking at a campfire or (if you're not too squeamish) dung can tell you how far ahead your quarry is. There are a whole range of modifiers that can be applied to your base Survival skill check to see how well you are doing - even ones based on the nature of your quarry.

Next comes a discussion of the actual hunt - beginning with deciding what you are going after today, which is particularly relevant if you are hunting for your dinner: a wise hunter knows what manner of prey he will find in the locality. There are even rules for those who enlist the assistance of their animal companions, as well as a new Profession, Hunter, which indicates that you know what to do with an animal once you have bagged it - field dressing and skinning the remains; while if you are the quarry rather than the hunter, there are various things you can do to throw your pursuers off the trail.

Next, Chapter 3 looks at urban tracking, which is interpreted here as the art of finding someone - not so much by following his footprints but by asking around and otherwise using subtle and not-so-subtle clues as to where he might have gone. Naturally, then, the basis of your urban tracking talent is your Gather Information skill. Another aspect is the art of actually shadowing or following someone - prefeably without him realising that you are doing so. Rather than using the normal stealth skills such as Move Silently and Hide, this works by a Bluff check (tracker) opposed by a Spot one (the person being followed). Again, Bluff can be used if you have an urgent need to remove yourself from your current location without being noticed. For those running urban chase scenes on the fly, there's a table of 'Urban Set Dressing' to give a few things that may be encountered as the protagonists follow one another around the streets (over the rooftops...).

Chapter 4 seems to have escaped, because the next thing is Chapter 5 with a new base class, the Urban Hunter. Think of him as the urban equivalent of a ranger, with skills drawn from those of both fighters and rogues. They are normally born and bred in the city in which they ply their trade, and know it extremely well - usually from the seamier, poorer side. Class abilities include being able to move easily through crowds or urban terrain and being able to blend in with everyone else.

Chapter 6 is entitled New Items and is a list of things which a tracker might find useful. They include items to enable a trail to be left, or to cover your own scent when tracking prey or even a special 'scent buster' to put such as tracker dogs off your scent! There's even a handy magical item, a portable door which operates a bit like the cartoon standby of drawing a door on a wall you wish to pass through.

Chapter 7 contains some new spells and feats all aimed at enhancing your tracking skills (or hindering those who would pursue you). Next, Chapter 9 (Chapter 8 seems to have gone the way of Chapter 4!) gives random encounter tables for woodland and urban settings, which can be used on the fly or even as inspiration when planning the game.

Then follow several appendices: racial modifiers to tracking checks, wilderness tracking checks and modifiers, common environment animals and their value if you catch them, urban tracking checks and modifiers, and finally a section on skirmishes. This last deals with chaotic, free-for-all brawls such as those which can erupt without warning in a bar room or if you are caught in the middle of a riot. The intention is to abstract the fight to a level where you don't need to run every single combat that is taking place but can have a fast and furious scrap with everyone emerging a bit battered when it all grinds to a halt - accomplished by treating the skirmish itself as if it were a monster with attacks, hit points, etc. It's a neat idea and should work well for DMs who feel a bit inhibited by the complexity of handling such a multi-participant fight in more conventional manner.

This book has some interesting ideas for making the art of tracking in the wild (or at least, forests, other wild environs are ignored) or in a town. Unless you run a lot of city adventures, the Urban Tracker will probably make a better NPC than player option but there are clearly times in an urban setting where finding a fellow with these skills will come in useful. Overall, there is material here that will be of interest to any character wishing to hunt for food or to find their way around a city - or to DMs wishing to utilise this kind of situation in their game.

You can read information and reviews about product from Silven Publishing and many other publishers at http://www.rpg-resource.org.uk/

After the dungeon crawl, wilderness exploration is the oldest form of D&D adventuring. Its in the woods that characters with the ability to track truly shine. The Survival skill, coupled with the Track feat, provides a good tool for tracking, hunting, and thriving in the wild. Silven publishing's Tracking expands on these rules, giving more depth and options for players interested in spicing up their trackers.

The authors make a point to give equal time to both rules and flavor text, supporting the ?crunchy bits? with suitable descriptions of how the rules work within the reality of the game. The descriptions are brief and well written, and do the intended job of fleshing out the mechanics into more than just dice rolls.

After going over the basics of tracking, the book begins with a detailed look at Wilderness tracking. There are new uses for the Track feat, including expanded hunting rules and the ability to determine the size and nature of a tracked creature. The standard tracking rules are expanded a bit, with additional modifiers based on the target creature's disposition and other factors. These add to the rules in a meaningful way without bogging things down, and are a welcome addition to the core rules.

Next, the book gives similar treatment to urban tracking, which uses the Gather Information skill combined with the (new) Urban Tracking feat. Expansions to the core rules include the affects of crowds, and random ?set dressing features? for spicing up urban locations. I've seen similar rules in other products, both official and third party, and I can't help but wonder why there is no core Urban Tracking feat. In any case, this chapter does as very good job with these rules.

The next few chapters present a handful of new rules: a base class, a prestige class, new items, spells, and feats. The majority of these rules have an associate with tracking, hunting, or urban survival. Everything is well designed and, while not everything will find its way into my home campaign, some of it certainly will. I particularly liked some of the new equipment, such as the Bloodletter Arrow, which causes minor bleeding that both damages a quarry and makes it easier to track. The new base class, the Urban Hunter, would be a nice addition to any campaign set primarily in a large city.

A number of appendices wrap this book up, compiling useful information such as the terrain type and hide value of a number of animals and suggested racial modifiers for tracking checks. The book concludes with a new creature subtype: the skirmish. Skirmishes are meant to represent an angry mob or other large, chaotic group of violent creatures. The rules are similar to those that govern swarms, but skirmishes don't seem to be a template and no clear instructions are given for creating your own, making the rules less useful than they might otherwise be.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Tracking does a very good job at what it sets out to do. The writing is professional with few typos, and the rules design shows a good working knowledge of the d20 system. If you're looking to expand the roll of tracking, shadowing, and hunting in your game, you'll find this an invaluable resource.

I appreciate the designers' decision to keep things as simple as possible when expanding the existing tracking rules. The new hunting rules stand out as a good example of this kind of design. They allow you to add a layer of depth and detail to the hunt, while keeping the system fairly abstract and quick to resolve.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: This is really a very niche product. It does a good job at exploring and expanding the existing rules for tracking, but offers little else. I'm not trying to criticize a book for accomplishing its stated goals, but if you're looking for a really broad product, you'll be disappointed by Tracking.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>