t this point in the long game of the OSR, +James Spahn and Barrel Rider Games need no introduction. James has made a name for himself in quality material. His White Star Sci-Fi setting for Swords & Wizardry White Box has not dropped below 5th place on RPGnow's hottest 100 listing since the day after its release nearly a year ago, and many of his over products dot the list on any giving day. I suspect his newest product, White Box Chivalry, will be on the top 10 before the end of the weekend and for good reason.

White Box Chivalry is a 13 page box that adds knightly conduct, appointments, and life to the various fantasy worlds of Swords & Wizardry White Box. While mostly tables, White Box Chivalry is nicely detailed, and doesn't miss a beat in its explanation on the hows and the whys behind how a player-character could stumble into knighthood. All-in-all, its a good read and is easily implemented into any pre-existing game.

Unfortunately, it does have some flaws. The Accolade System, while awesome, is mildly confusing and I needed to read it three times before I got a handle on it. Also, while billed as being available for any race/class combination, it leans very heavily toward human/fighter (for obvious reasons) and is very hard for any other races or classes to achieve the honor. Still it is a minor gripe and one that leads to some interesting questions about different demi-human kingdoms (Dwarves instantly come to mind) and how the negative and positive racial modifiers would change based on location, peoples, and cultural values.

Like the majority of James work, White Box Chivalry is very gameable, and is seeded with the DIY mindset of the OSR. It works best as a framework to be altered, changed, and evolved/devolved to the liking of individual tables and groups.

Reviewed originally at: http://geniuslocigames.blogspot.com/2015/11/mini-review-white-box-chivalry-by.html?m=1

Disappointed. The art has't been cleaned up at all and artifacts can be seen all over the "white space". What's more the portfolio is nothing more than a pdf file, making it annoying (not difficult, just annoying) to use any of the provided images in anything. Not pleased, and regret the loss of the the $9.99.

In the end the game suffers from flat, cardboard NPCs, a one note fetch quest adventure and a feeling that the player is a player and not a living, breathing person in the world.

Positives have to be what little artwork is in the book, interesting uses of road maps and the setting itself. In a good referee this setting can shine even with a system that doesn’t seem to suit it.

I unfortunately need to give this game a 2 out of 5. It didn’t feel like the Emberverse for me, and the inability to create immersion just killed it.

I do hold out hope, however, that Final Sword’s next Emberverse adventure will feel more natural and more like the Emberverse. If I could give them any advice it would be to ditch the McKenzies and go with the Bearkillers which lend themselves more toward the type of stories that Final Sword wants to tell.

Full Review here: http://geniuslocigames.blogspot.com/2013/11/quick-review-treasure-at-dalles-i-hate.html

Full review here: http://geniuslocigames.blogspot.com/2013/10/short-review-d101-games-tomb-of.html

Using the five star system used by Onebookshelf I would give “Tomb of the Necromancers” a 4 out of 5. The nature of the adventure (typical explore, loot, kill) is nicely offset by the number of roleplaying opportunities present within the main dungeon. At the same time the “open world” situation and the implications and politics being played out are interesting, engaging and really set things up for a good short campaign or a long running behind the scenes villain. Paul Mitchener does a good job of painting the Ice Coast/Death Wind Steppe in broad enough strokes that an average Crypt Keeper can come away with enough ideas to fill his or her game for quite some time.