This is a fantastic supplement for those interested in adding a dark summoner class to an existing campaign. The playbook provides a host of rituals, spells, items, and mutations.

I particularly like that the class allows the character to create a unique elder god, as well as the cult which worships it. Characters begin as a initiates and eventually rise to the rank of high priest when the level up in their cult.

There are also rituals for creating magic items, summoning elder things, seeking aid from fellow cultists, etc.

I have several playbooks produces by Awful Good Games, now, and I can say that they consistently produce high-quality supplements. I particularly like the evocative, dreamlike illustrations.

This is a fantastic playbook!

Other reviewers have done a fine job of outlining the book's contents, so I will refrain from doing so. In short, I think Shadow of the Demon Lord is a fantastic dark fantasy RPG. Aside from a tiny bit of errata, the layout and content are superb. GMs have everything that they need in one book to run an entire campaign.

Although I haven't actually run the game, I am confident after reading the rules that the game is easy to run. This is a huge boon for me, since I have minimal time to prep for sessions. I think most players, experienced ones in particular, will have little difficulty picking up the rules.

I realize that the following criticisms are niggling, I will include them anyway. Although the Alfheim sourcebook is coming soon, I wish that elves were included as a playable race in the core book. This is obviously not a huge problem, but it struck me a bit odd, given the fact that book includes dwarfs, goblins, orcs, humans, changelings, and clockwork golems.

Additionally, I found the inclusion of steam-driven technology in the setting to be unnecessary. I personally am not a huge fan of technological mashups, so I won't include the trains and other clockwork in my campaign.

Again, these are preferences of mine, and in no way subtract from the game as a whole.

More importantly, players and GMs alike should be aware of the fact that the game is grim, gritty, and fairly lethal. Characters will inevitably suffer corruption, insanity, disease, and, if they're really unlucky, nasty spells which devour them from the inside out.

In short, Shadow of the Demon Lord is a great dark fantasy game. I think GMs and PCs alike will enjoy the simple rules, fast rep, and malleable setting. I look forward to running this game soon, and I recommend it highly.

This is not a bad game at all. I definitely appreciate its tone and the underlying philosophy. Everything one needs to play is contained in one book, which is always a good thing. I haven't had a chance to play the game yet, but from what I've gleaned from skimming through the book, the system seems to be a solid interpretation of the OGL.

Although the layout is decent, I was a bit disappointed by the interior art. I know that illustrations are expensive to come by, so I don't fault a small press too much for not having art that leaps off the page. I guess I would've been more impressed if this product had deviated a bit further from the OGL. Instead of classes, what if one picked a race and a series of trademarks? That would've been more interesting.

Taking everything into consideration, I think that The Secret Fire is a solid game.

This is a wonderful product. The books are well-edited, friendly, and pay homage to the source material. Overall, I think the creators did a great job of interweaving rules and setting information. Highly recommended.

I purchased the electronic version of BoL after I perused several reviews, and I must say that I am excited about giving it a try. The rules, simple and concise, perfectly accommodate the pulpy, cinematic tone of the game.

Despite what others have said, I think most of the illustrations in the book are wonderful. If I had my druthers, I'd remove the shoddier illustrations from the equipment section, and one or two of the drawings in the bestiary.

I don't think that this game lends itself to a protracted campaign, but it doesn't tout itself as being capable of doing so. That doesn't mean that an ambitious GM couldn't easily cobble together a bunch of supplemental material and run an epic-length game with this system.

I plan to foist this game upon my players the next time we take a break from our normal, biweekly game.