Skirmisher has quickly become a favorite of the PlayersGuidePodcast crew and 100 Oddities for a Creepy Old House is a stirling example of why. We are planning a full review of the Oddities books on our website but the shortened version is thus. Using these books (this one formost among them) we have generated both interesting well discribed settings for both horror and fantasy games, as well as several compelling adventure seeds and story hooks. If you are looking for a neat way to get your players to investigate something in particular or you want to give your players a diversion from the main story arc of your sessions and have a fun one off game these books have everything you need to get the ball rolling.

All in all these are great suppliments for any genera of gaming and most assuradly something that every Story Teller and GM should have in their collection. Bravo Skirmisher for another great title!

Fangbjorn from PlayersGuidePodcast

At first glance the Oddities books seem like a fun little one off but not that much more. I however am here to tell you that they are hands down one of the most interesting ways to create story hooks and adventure seeds that I could have ever hoped for. We are going to do a full on review of the three books that we have recieved thus far in the coming days on our website but if you are a listener of the PGP you will know that we have done story generation on the show using these books.

I feel as though I should mention that we were given review copies of these books but even had I purchased them myself I would still be happy to report on their awesomeness. Wizards Tower makes it not only easy to populate the bastion of a mage or warlock but it actually makes it fun. Check this out if you want to make memorable and varied magical fortresses for the various spell slingers in your world.

Fangbjorn from the PlayersGuidePodcast

The gentlefolks from Kobold press once again provide us with some interesting reading material in the form of Larger than Life. Ill be honest here listeners, I am not sure what I expected when I acquired this particular tome, but what I received overawes whatever it was. I will save you all a bit of reading here and in fact if you don’t feel like scrolling to the bottom you can stop right here. This is purely my opinion, Fangbjorn in case you thought Antonio was typing these out. GO GET THIS BOOK. That being said, read on to discover why I recommend this work so highly.

The work put into this is of the same caliber of work as everything they produce, which isn’t exactly unexpected. Credits for the design go to Mr. Mike Welham, and art credits belong to Bruno Balixa, Micah Epstine, Malcom McClinton, Addison Rankin, David Rabbitte, Jason Rainville, Bryan Syme and cover art by Florian Stitz. Now that the quality of work is noted as excellent it is high time to move on to the particulars.

The book as I said overawed me when I dove into it the first time. It is, for lack of a better description, a full anthropological breakdown of the many races of Giants. The gang is all there too. Storm giants and Cloud giants, Hill, Stone, Fire, Frost and a brand new breed in the form of the Thursir. Ever wondered what a Hill giant arcane caster looked like? I know I have, I have even attempted to make giant NPC's and PC's. Well now, with this book, you get eight NPC's who have been generated for you, as well as a damned good idea of how to go about making one or many for yourself! The well written sections are accented with beautiful illustrations and over all it is a solid addition to any fantasy game library.

Within each section are included several sub-sections, the opening paragraphs give an overall idea of who and what the particular race of giants are. This is followed by a comprehensive treatise on the normal lives and customs of each giant type. When I say comprehensive I mean it, it goes farther in depth than any monster supplement I have ever read. Social organization, religious practices, and how they interact with the other races are all included in full detail. Then we move on to more specific rules pertaining to the giant race in question. Racial rules, which include race specific feats, spells known only to that race of giants, and magical items that they may have or create. Also race specific equipment that they often have in their homes or on their person. I'm not exaggerating when I say I am very much in love with this book. It is awesome to see this much love and devotion given to an often underutilized monster and you guys and gals know how we feel about our monsters. Enough digression. Also included are a fully fleshed out NPC with a back story and full stat listing. Then, finally, a collection of story or adventure seeds to get the creative juices flowing for those of you who like us love to hare off on any excuse to take an adventure to another world.

To sum it all up, Larger than Life is beautifully put together. The artwork from cover to cover is gorgeous, and the attention to detail and the care involved in bringing these monsters to the fore is beyond admirable. Mr. Welham did an amazing job of fleshing out an already fun to play with group of creatures and making them into what they should have been from the very beginning. Awe inspiring, town devastating, GIANT FREAKING MONSTERS! The PGP wholeheartedly gives Larger than Life from Kobold Press a 9.5/10.

As an aside. When I went over all of this with Antonio, you should have heard him cackling like a mad thing. I feel for whomever he runs next through a fantasy setting. I can only envision a phalanx of Fire Giants descending upon whatever castle or fort his hapless party of adventurers happen to have hold up in.

This is Fangbjorn for the Players Guide Podcast signing off for now. Keep your dice close to hand, and play more games.

Cat and Mouse is our most recent review and, from what I’ve read, it will be a wonderful addition to your library. It is an adventure for a 1st level party, pre-written to handle up to six PCs. The module is set in the city of Per- Bastet which is part of the Southlands campaign setting. The adventure puts the PC’s square in the midst of several groups vying for the possession of a minor artifact known as the Grimalkin Eye.

The layout of the module is very easy to follow. It presents the NPC’s stat blocks as the PCs meet them. The minions of the major NPC’s are listed as a reference to their appropriate Pathfinder book, usually a bestiary whose info is easily accessed on the PFSRD if the book isn’t already in your possession. There are several instances which also reference the Southlands campaign setting book itself, but most of these are to add more info to the background of the city or setting specific deities and religions.

Areas that the party visits are described in detail, and any that see possible combat are played out with a grid map. The module itself gives the party several directions to go with the adventure and many of the choices the party can make are already written with multiple possible hooks that can be used together or individually. Cat and Mouse also encourages the GM to think of the “big picture.” It asks the GM to consider how pivotal choices will effect the party in the long term, as well as how certain acts could have consequences that will not be readily apparent to the PCs. One of my favorites is that simply saying one thing to a certain group will get you stoned, whereas another approach to the same group will win you some help. I will not give any spoilers, but the possible rewards are many and varied.

In my opinion Cat and Mouse is well written and a wonderful way to introduce new characters to the world of Southlands, or to be used as a starter adventure for any desert-themed campaign. Keep up the good work over at Kobold Press, the stuff you’ve been sending us is amazing. Thank you Antonio and Fang for the opportunity to look this over.

Daernae from PlayersGuidePodcast

We did a fill review on www.playersguidepodcast.com/reviews To summarize, the book is fantastic and we highly recommend it.