In the interest of full disclosure; I was a supporter of the Accursed Kickstarter but I am in no way affiliated with Melior Via nor have I received any compensation for this review.

The Accursed setting is one of those rare products where everything comes together in just the right way to create something new and exciting.

The creative team behind Accursed clearly cares about the setting and has taken the time to really give it a life all its own; much like one of the Crone’s lumbering creations!

In Accursed, players take on the role of a Witchmarked, a once-human monster whose sins include helping a group of archetypal Witches, however unwillingly, to defeat the Armies of Light. The Witchmarked (or Accursed) come in several varieties; one type for each Witch. The various types are mostly culled from classic monster movies and the Accursed design team has done a wonderful job at making each fit perfectly within the setting while still maintaining that classic feel.

Accursed has been compared to a combination of Van Helsing, Castlevania, and Ravenloft, with its own sense of flavor added to the mix. While I find this comparisons to be both accurate and informative, I believe it lacks one crucial piece of information. One of the most interesting elements of the Accursed setting is the current state of Morden (the collection of nations which make up the setting) and the heroes who rail against that state, despite being hated and persecuted from all sides. These two elements give Accursed its own life and feel; one which I believe to be both unique and haunting.

As I noted above, Morden’s Armies of Light no longer fight against the Witch’s Grand Coven, for that struggle is long over. Unlike most fairy tales, in Morden, the forces of Light lost the war and the Witches now rule the lands as all-powerful dictators. As fate would have it, the only remaining resistance to the Witches’ rule are the Witchmarked, cast off remnants of the Witches invasion force.

Which brings us to my favorite element of Accursed; the heroes! The only warriors left who possess the power to fight the Witches, even in secret, are the former human inhabitants of Morden who were cursed and pressed into service against their neighbors. Many of the Witchmarked were released at the conclusion of the Bane War (the war between the Grand Coven and Morden’s Army of Light) and left to their own devices. After finding they had no place left to call home, many of the Witchmarked took up the struggle against their former masters. They do this despite being feared and hated by the very humans they seek to protect. They do this despite having little hope of success. Mostly, they do this to save their lost souls, repent their unforgivable sins and because they are the only ones who can!

This is a great setting! I really enjoy the amount of detail; enough but not so much that it gets in the way of a good story. In the same vein, the setting rules are different enough to add the needed flavor but are not overwhelming.

The setting focuses on a single star system (important due to the horde activity in the area) but gives enough information about the surrounding planets and systems to run a space traveling campaign. In fact, Nemezis has a flavor all its own but you can easily run any sci-fi trope you like.

The book itself is put together well; the art, writing and organization all lend themselves to a great game.

The only complaint I have is the lack of information regarding cyborgs. The setting mentions them in several locations, prominently in fact, but there are no rules for using them (either as wild cards or enemies). At the least, I would have liked to see a cyborg in the bestiary section. The lack of this information is the only reason I haven’t given Nemezis five stars.

Cyborgs aside, this is a wonderful setting for any type of sci-fi game you might want to run. The flavor is great, the setting information is spot on and the setting rules (gear, new rules, etc.) are perfect.

One of the best fantasy role-playing games I’ve come across in general and the best representation of the sword and sorcery genre specifically.

The Barbarians of Lemuria gives you all the tools you need to run fast and exciting games, including quick and easy character creation, a simple but effective task resolution system, character advancement, sample characters, a free-form system of magic, several setting appropriate creatures, sample adventures and a well detailed (but not overly so) campaign setting. You are even given a number of optional rules for adjusting certain aspects of the game to your own style of play.

Each of these rules (and then some) are all done with the same thought in mind…you are given all that you need and nothing more. While many games have tried this, The Barbarians of Lemuria not only pulls it off, but does it well. The game can easily be played “as is” or used as a foundation for your own creations.

Those who like every situation or option covered may not take to The Barbarians of Lemuria (or the sword and sorcery genre for that matter) but those who like a game to give them a solid foundation and tight mechanics which encourage fast paced adventures full of excitement and character interaction will be right at home.

The small but flavorful campaign setting alone is worth the $10 price tag. When you add in a game which allows for fantastic sword and sorcery role-playing you are certainly getting your money’s worth. Conan, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser would all be right at home in Lemuria and can easily be brought to life in your own worlds with the rules found in The Barbarians of Lemuria!

~First Impressions:

Sadly, one of the first things you will notice is the unfriendly layout which makes learning the rules a little frustrating at times. Just do yourself a favor and make sure that isn't the last thing you see because the rest of the content does much to make up for the difficulties you run into over layout. The artwork is well done and well placed, the text is easy to read and the pdf has a full set of options for navigation. Also, it's worth mentioning that a free Quickstart Guide is available and this goes a long way towards fixing many of the layout oddities.

My favorite thing about the way Eldritch was put together has to be the many sidebars that not only give optional rules but also give you a little insight into why a certain rule works the way it does. This kind of thing really makes it easy to make changes to the game mechanic.

~Play Impressions:

After reading the Quickstart Guide (which I recommend before reading the pdf) and the pdf itself I found Eldritch to be very interesting indeed.

The game is skill based and it's quite easy for even a new player to pick up the game and have a character ready in under 20 minutes which I find to be a big plus.

The mechanics are based on ascending die types (d4, d6, etc) and you have the option of taking specializations and masteries to increase the number of dice you roll. This ends up being a very simple yet workable mechanic for handling all random actions (skills, combat, etc) in the game.

One of the things that caught my eye first was the level of participation players have during combat. Gone is the standard "to hit" roll vs various target numbers. In Eldritch, each player takes a hand in deciding how his character will defend himself against any attack. This allows the player to get more involved in combat which often makes up the bulk of any fantasy adventure. What's more, this level of involvement comes with no sacrifice in speed or ease of play.

Eldritch also does well in supplying you with the things that you need to play while skipping over the bloated bits you rarely use anyway. You need not worry about alignments, bloated equipment lists or encumbrance systems. You will, however, find plenty of information for weapons, armor, magic and all the things characters are likely to get into.

And while Eldritch does not come with a fully detailed campaign world it does supply enough information about the base setting to allow you to easily run games.

The one thing which Eldritch lacks is even a small list of sample monsters. However, it makes up for this by giving you all the information you need to create your own versions of popular fantasy critters or something totally new.

All in all I gave Eldritch a 4 rating as, despite the absent monsters, the game is packed with all the information you need to easily run story rich fantasy games. Everything from character creation to slinging spells is covered in a slick easy to use game mechanic that will have your players really enjoying the characters they create.

Lastly, make sure to visit the Eldritch forum at Goodman Games as it is a wonderful resource for the game.

Along with the Worldbook and Visira, this is some of the best fantasy campaign information available today. It gives you the details you need while leaving room for you to flesh out the rest. And a most important note for me (as I don't play any d20 games) this product has everything it needs for 3e D&D but is also easily used, as is, by other frpg systems.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

I've been playing frpg for almost 20 years now and I've never seen a campaign setting done this well. It contains a wealth of very good and fun information but it doesn't give so much that the GM has nothing left to devlope himself. In addition, the book contains answers to questions most other campaigns don't bother to cover (like population breakdowns, currency pictures and exchange rates). The great thing about this information is that you have it if you need it but it's not required reading or long-winded.

On another note, if you buy this product you owe it to yourself to contact the author and ask him to send you the back issues of his e-mail updates (Unleash the Magic which you can sign up for on the Darkfuries website). I got mine quickly and, in addition, Mr. Moseley has been very helpful in answering my (far too) many questions.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Like the other Maelstrom Campaign products, very impressive. A great deal of information and good looking maps. And, once again, more than enough d20 information but also easily used by those who play other systems.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Delivers just what it promises. Great floorplans so you never have to be without an inn or tavern again!<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Delivers just what it promises. Great floorplans so you never have to be without a mansion or manor again!<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Delivers just what it promises. Great floorplans so you never have to be without a castle or keep again!<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Delivers just what it promises. Great floorplans so you never have to be without a temple or shrine again! A great addition to the Maelstrom Pantheon book!<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>