The d20 SRD 3.5 is exactly that. It is a ~1200 page pdf containing everything about the SRD. The text is small and compact to accomodate the size of the work and I experienced a little blurring as I zoomed in to read it up close.

Navigation is made very easy in three ways. First you have typical pdf bookmarks that you can use easily to jump from item to item. This has been narrowed down to each individual entry in the SRD. Second, hyperlinks have been placed at the top of each page to Basics, Magic and Spells, Magic Items, Monsters, Psionics, and Epic. Lastly, the entire table of contents contains hyperlinks to every single item in the SRD. Need to look up Kobold fast? Open the table of contents, find Kobold, and click, you're there. Otherwise, a page listing is also offered.

The text is in two-column format which I find very easy to read and tables have been created for things such as monsters and character progression to make everything a little more organized.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Very easy navigation of a gargantuan body of work. Very tight and concise no-nonsense treatment of the SRD.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Hard question since I don't know everything about Acrobat, but I would have liked to be able to copy the tables right out of the text and place them into a word document without losing the column and row lines. It's certainly not a reason to avoid this product however.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Anyone who was a teenager and had to go to school knew the kid. Y'know, the one who always wore the grayed-out My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult t-shirt. The one who had dyed his hair jet black with what looked like shoe polish and who always smelled like hemp and sandalwood incense. Maybe you also saw him in class with that "I know something you don't" smirk as he ran his hand back and forth across a lighter flame. He tried to be scary, he tried to look threatening, but he always came off hilarious. Maybe it was you. Well, now thanks to Postmortem Studios you can role-play him (or yourself) in Bloodsucker: The Angst.

Bloodsucker: The Angst is a role-playing game loosely based on the D20 system, but also sports a lot of different mechanics. The point of the game is to play a 'Bloodsucker', a wannabe Lord of the Night who spends his days moping through a dead-end job or school and his nights at poetry readings in the back rooms at the local goth coffee bar.

The attitude of the whole affair is snarky at its nicest, humor being bent toward how much of a loser your character really is in the real world. A warning should be given here as much of the humor in the game tends toward the crass bordering on puerile. The language is very strong at points and discusses such subjects as internet porn, recreational drugs, and sexually deviant behavior. If that's not your cup of tea, best move on. Still here? Well, let's keep going then.

Layout/Organization: The text is in two-column format which makes for easy reading, but suffers a little from crowded text at points. Navigation is made a little difficult by the lack of bookmarks and coming in at just under a hundred pages this can get difficult. The book is organized into chapters, but these chapters aren't divided too clearly. On the one hand this is good because it makes for very little white-space but on the other, it can be difficult to find the beginning of a chapter when flipping through the text quickly. Grammar is about the weakest part of the book, but nothing that will ruin the fun of the reading experience.

The art in the book is very humorous. Most of it being caricatures of goth wannabes that look like they could be in a Tim Burton movie. I thought it a little strange that with the funny drawings throughout, the icons of the character cliques were done in a very stiff, serious Manga style.

Crunchy: Though based on the D20, or as they say, the OGL system, James Desborough has played very fast and loose with the rules. This works as it streamlines the combat and instead focuses on role-playing your character. Some of it works to make game play more loose to make way for role-playing, but at other points it can get confusing.

Character creation is very different in that you don't pick character class, but rather a clique, or a group of people you hang out with. There are a number of cliques in Bloodsucker that take in all colors of the goth rainbow. Okay, I know that one color is black, but bear with the metaphor please. Some of these are Crowleys, which are people who think they have mystical powers, Gothistocrats, the 'real' goths (and they know it), Grungies who are part vegan, part Cobain worshipper, and, Perkies who are ravers that gulp the E like candy all the while swinging neon glow sticks. Other cliques are Freaks, Moshers, Outcasts, and Pretentious Art Whores.

Along with cliques, the character chooses a life template which is for the most part a job, but sometimes it can be a lifestyle like an artist or a student. These determine various things like start money and income.

Along with feats your character has 'powers' which sometimes work like feats and sometimes are actual abilities. These range from being able to change into an animal to added strength. The rules regarding these power feats are a little sketchy and can be confusing. At one point is states each clique has access to a certain power except outcasts which can have access to any power feat while at another it states that players can pick any power feat they want.

The other big difference from the D20 system is the addition of pros and cons. These are used to further modify your character in certain ways and add role-playing options for both the players and GM or Tale-Teller in this case. These are hilarious and include my personal favorite "Cliff Notes Satanist", a guy who thinks he's in the know concerning the Dark Lord of Hell, but always gets it wrong. Nearly any type of character can be made with the combination of clique, life template, and pros and cons.

The combat is also a little different. There are no longer full round or partial actions. Every round each player gets three actions that can be anything. The combat is also a little more deadly since armor doesn't provide an AC but rather damage reduction. Experience points have been ditched for allowing characters to level up on a per session basis. Aside from that you have grapples, coup de gras, and the other trappings of d20 combat.

The only thing I would have liked to see is an equipment list. Weapons are statted out and so is a small selection of armor, but clothes, miscellaneous equipment, and accessories, which could play a large part in the role-playing world of Bloodsucker aren't detailed in the least. No price lists, nothing. Tale-tellers will have to do a little work here.

NPCs are included and cover all the stereotypes of the goth world. You've got a preacher, fey, and others that will aid a tale-teller in fleshing out a campaign.

One stark omission is the absence of a character sheet. I know it's not hard to make one but with so many rule changes it can prove to be a lot of work and it would have been nice to have one included.

Chewy: It doesn't say it in so many words, but Bloodsucker is a parody of the World of Darkness. It pokes fun at every staple of the goth genre and if you have known anyone who considers themselves 'goth' you will laugh out loud at the jokes in this book. The flavor is very light and although I disagree with Desborough calling this a 'beer and pretzels' game, players will spend as much time laughing and joking as they will actually playing the game. Anyone who has wanted to laugh at trench coat mafioso or has silently thought Marilyn Manson is really a total nerd behind closed doors will have a lot of fun playing this game.

'Grim' Desborough has included a ton of campaign ideas, but after reading all the flavor text any tale-teller should have some great ideas.

In all, Bloodsuckers: The Angst, while suffering from bad grammar and a sometimes clunky treatment of mechanics more than makes up for it in flavor and fun. It can be used by anyone who wants to do a one-shot or a full campaign.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Lots of feeling, very funny. Hilarious send up of the two most popular RPGs on the market.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Poor grammar usage, sometimes contradictory rules, and lack of a character sheet. However, nothing that ruins the experience.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Avast ye, matey! There be squall's ahead! Whatever. I think it was Decartes who first quoined the phrase, "I game, therefore I think I can talk like a pirate perfectly". Whoever it was, pirates have always been a huge part of gaming. Whether it's the thrill and mystery of the open sea or searching for buried treasure, gamers can find plenty to do in the world of piracy. In Bloode Island, Politically Incorrect Games hoists the Jolly Roger and sets sail. Whether or not it should rest at the bottom of Davy Jones Locker will yet be discover'd.

Introduction: Bloode Island is a supplement for the diceless role playing game, Active Exploits, which is free for download from this site. The body is 54 pages long, 53 make up the text and table of contents.

Organization/Layout: Bloode Island on the whole is put together well. It is in two column format and the text is very rich and easy to read. Period illustrations abound and augment the text where necessary. I really liked the style of the illustrations as it added an air of authenticity that modern drawings like the one on the cover just can't pull off. The chapters are laid out nicely and the flow of information is mostly logical. I found it strange that the rules information was sandwiched between the history chapter and the introduction to the setting. I also wonder why the introductory adventure didn't come after everything had been explained. However, it wasn't earth-shattering and certainly isn't a reason not to enjoy this product.

Crunchy: Chapter two of Bloode Island is a rules addendum that adds new aptitudes, academia, and the concept of mojo, the source of magic and other supernatural events. It also adds new spells such as the evil eye which makes a person waste away and the Zombie Curse which enslaves others to do the will of the caster (think Halperin's "White Zombie", not Romero's "Dawn of the Dead"). A gimmick has been added which allows your characters to take on the responsibilities of nobility. New rules for naval combat including various kinds of cannon shot and a ship record sheet are also included in this section.

In addition, there are also character templates to cover all members of pirate society. There are voodoo witch doctors (bokor), clergymen, nobles, various types of seafaring folk from buccaneers to merchants, to sailors and even the old salt. Native peoples and civilian settlers including numerous professionals are also in the templates lineup.

Chewy: If flavor's what you need, Bloode Island has it in spades. The book starts off with a story vignette followed by a brief history of piracy and how the various European Nations changed the New World. It focuses on the 17th and 18th century and as PIG explains in their introduction, it sacrifices purity for cool. The history is very detailed and serves to get the juices flowing for adventure on the high sea.

Chapter three and beyond focus on the setting of Bloode Island. First, chapter three explains how Bloode Island was founded and how it is run. This gives priors and particulars down to even what direction visiting ships must sail from. Geography and governance are basically laid out here providing a strong skeleton to flesh into your own world.

After that, chapter four describes six important people in Bloode Island. This chapter is headed off by Sir Francis Drake who may or may not be the legendary real-world privateer. In addition to him they have included a witch doctor who serves as Drake's right-hand man, an repulsive Italian Architect, an ex-pirate tavern keeper, a man bent on stamping out the slave trade against every odd, and an extremely vile and bloodthirsty named Blackjack mercedary. All are fleshed out well including their ambitions for the future of Bloode Island.

Chapter Five is an introductory adventure that should serve well in introducing the world of Bloode Island and get players hunting for an underwater treasure. It includes options for those who use mojo in their game and those who don't.

Chapter Six lays out all the equipment used in the time period. This includes guns, cannons, ships, and swords and other hand-held weapons. Each has a short description and the ships have states for use in the game. There is also a list of ship's articles for any aspiring captains.

Chapter seven is a glossary of pirate terms. These range from slang to proper terminology in the setting. Here can also be found a few roleplaying elements such as vaporizing which is what pirates do to psyche out their foes before a battle.

Use in a Campaign: Many hours can be spent scouring the Spanish Main for treasure. Like Pirates? You'll love Bloode Island.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Lots of detail for anyone who wants to run a game of piracy on the high seas. This covers it all. I would have liked to see some more aptitudes that tended toward a swashbuckling feel.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Rickety chapter organization doesn't detract from the experience but could have been laid out better.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Layout/Organization: None. The text appears to be in first draft state and no attempts have been made to lay it out for easier reading. Statistic blocks are thrown down on the page without any logic as to why they are there. Key information is missing from some areas like the spell book listed in the treasure section.

Crunchy: Some stats, but they are laid out in a manner that makes them very difficult to read.

Chewy: Basically, the adventure is in two parts. In one the party gets tricked into helping a little boy who leads them to a fight to their death no matter what they do. This would be okay, but it's followed up by another trick to free prisoners who then attack the PCs. If a GM intends to really make his players paranoid he should really pick this adventure up. Otherwise, there's gotta be something else out there. Keep looking.

Lasting Use in a Campaign: None, if your players still trust you to be their DM after you play it.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: It can make for a small sidetrek adventure to build up a party's XP, but that's about it.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Aside from the poor presentation, the encounters carry an air of being forced and will most likely kill your player's trust in you to shoot straight as a DM. What's the adage, fool me once...?<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Disappointing<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Ripped Off<br>

These days, zombies are all the rage. 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead, Land of the Dead, the PC Mod Grand Theft Auto: Long Night, Kenzer and Company's Final Days, and many other zombie-related products have all hit the streets in the past year. I think there's just something thrilling about standing by your best buddy, shotgun in hand, as hordes of undead swarm your tiny cabin in the woods that screams GAMERS UNITE! UKG has answered the call and published Year of the Zombie for D20 Modern. Do they live up to the standard set by the masters of the undead like Romero? Or do they fall like a hunk of dead flesh? We'll have to see. Read on, but keep an eye out for signs of The Rising.

Presentation: UKG Publishing has taken extra steps in publishing this product. Not only do they provide a fully book marked PDF version of the core rule book in full color, but they also provide a printable version as well as an HTML copy that includes a nav-bar for easy browsing. All of the content is viewed via an executable file that launches a front page displaying all of the products. Everything is laid out and easy to read, although I would have liked a readme file to explain exactly what would happen when I launched the exe file, especially since it's called "Autorun.exe".

In addition to the three versions of the Core Rule book, The Diary of Becka--an account of a person who has lived through the collapse of civilization-- is also included for extra zombie goodness. This is also provided in full color and printable versions. In addition to this a 10 page mini-adventure that includes a map that can be printed as a battle mat in color or gray scale.

If anything can be said about UKG, they really REALLY love zombies and this is reflected in the art, the fictional diary, and the content both crunchy and chewy. Be warned, however, Year of the Zombie is not for everybody. It discusses acts of gruesome violence against children, rape, consumption of human flesh, anarchy, and any other staple of the zombie genre. There is also judicious use of the f-word peppered throughout the story vignettes that header every section and contained in the Diary of Becka.

CRUNCHY: Year of the Zombie includes many new statistics, tables, as well as character classes and prestige classes to help any DM begin the invasion. Chapter 3 includes numerous zombie templates to handle almost any kind of zombie you can think of. They have included a standard template for your everyday shambler to sprinters to trained zombies, to even zombies that can remember what they did before popping over to a friend's house for a bite. The templates are all organized well and all contain an example zombie.

Chapter Four contains information on various basic and advanced classes that represent those still surviving the zombie menace. Herein are classes such as Feral Children, who have basically gone Lord of the Flies on the world and spend their time hunting people and zombies for food. Two others, a Den Mother advanced class who leads the feral children and Lawman PrC which is more like a vigilante protector than a civil servant.

Chapter Five dwells on the other powers that be that may get involved when the dead rise. Agents of other governments, rogue militants, and even the police are included here. Full stats are provided as well as a discussion of tactics and weaponry for each unit that could enter the fray with--or more likely against--the players. This chapter also contains a discussion of other hazards that can plague the players such as chemical contamination and nuclear radiation. Stats and charts detail the effects of both.

Chapter Seven covers all kinds of weapons and equipment characters will need to survive. Guns, radios, vehicles are all discussed here from handguns to machine guns to tanks to helicopters you name it. If it's made for killin' it's here.

Chapter Eight covers variant rules for character creation and gameplay. Some of the more interesting variants deal with insanity and horror for those who want a more gritty setting. Various disorders and phobias are discussed that can add an air of the common man facing unbeatable odds to the game. There are also variant rules for hit locations for those who just love the limb-lopping side of zombie combat.

CHEWY: The mechanics are sound and of very high quality, but setting is where Year of the Zombie really excels. The text just oozes flavor and atmosphere. Much like the World of Darkness rulebooks, each section is headed off by a small vignette of fiction to add a little feeling to the reading. The story pieces are very well written, but I would prefer if they had cut down a little on the usage. It got a little distracting when every subsection of every chapter received a helping of flavor text.

Nevertheless, UKG has done very well in providing ample information to create a campaign. They first discuss what kind of a campaign is best offering four different types and listing the pros and cons of each. They then discuss alternate rules systems that may add a better feel to aspects of a zombie campaign. After that, they discuss how to start a campaign fresh or add the zombie aspect to an existing setting. In this section they discuss how society can collapse which in turn makes the GM's job a whole lot easier in structuring adventures.

Later on in the book they offer information on various sites that may be important to the party.

Use in Campaign: Templates, classes, weapons, fully fleshed NPC types, alternate rules, fun story elements and atmosphere all make for a long-lasting addition to anyone's RPG library.

Conclusion: If you like zombies, even just a little, BUY THIS NOW. Just keep a 12 guage and a box of shells handy.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Very well presented. Various viewing options. TONS of atmosphere. Well written and researched. Great addition to any d20 modern campaign or as a stand-alone product.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The story vignettes, though entertaining, became distracting while reading the rules.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Maps, maps, maps. What dungeon crawl can live with out them? How many great stories involve a band of adventurers coming across one? The Dungeon Under the Mountain: Level 1 is a huge map. But how useful is it? Let's find out.

The product itself is a twelve page pdf file that contains exactly what the title says. It's a gigantic map of a dungeon level. However, it's a little different than your average map. For one it has a page that when printed at full size is 22"x34"--it's the size of a blueprint. The full map is then divided into smaller pieces on the following pages. The great thing here is they can be scaled and printed to any size you need and no resolution is lost.

In addition to the image qualities, there is also an added feature that allows the user to turn off parts of the dungeon map. Don't want a teleport pad to be there? Turn it off. You don't want water? Turn that off. Every layer of the map can be fiddled with to get just what you want. A legend is included that explains the map symbols for easy reference as well as a key plan showing how to put the smaller pieces together to make the dungeon. There are secret passages and doors, teleport pads, everything that makes a dungeon crawl great.

As for stocking the Dungeon Under the Mountain, that is left to the user. Here is where one problem I have with the map arises. Certain areas are keyed with numbers and described as "main areas". however, no other rooms have a number so a DM will not only have to stock the dungeon, but he will also have to key the "secondary" rooms (about 90% of the total dungeon) himself. This may not seem so bad, but when you have a number keyed on a "main" room surrounded by unrelated numbers on the "secondary" areas the bookkeeping can get a little dicey.

In all, however, this is a small issue with a very good product. It is useful for Dungeon Masters and map junkies alike.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Excellent image quality that can be printed at any scale including a poster-sized map for those with the goods to print it up. Being able to turn off layers is also an added bonus.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The rooms not all being keyed can make cataloging the dungeon environs an unnecessary hassle.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>