Within any group of individuals who have actively served as gamemasters there is frequent debate or just what an ideal "campaign book", "world book", or "resource book" should be. Some prefer a complete product together with large numbers of races, creatures and items unique to that world/setting/campaign allowing them to play right out of the box or at least pilfer for their own campaigns. Others prefer a thinner overlay where the object is more to add flesh and description to the bones of core rule books without wholesale replacement of the races, creatures and item introduced within them. Still others prefer a focus on atmosphere and storyline above mundane rules and numbers. Echoes of Heaven is firmly within this third camp.

Advertised as a "campaign pack" with an accompanying "adventure" the bulk of Echoes of Heaven is pure descriptive text outlining the setting and painting a bold brush outline of the cosmology. Races are described within the book, but merely as representative of the descriptions provided in the HARP rules. Items are as described in the HARP rules. Monsters are, to a very great extent, exactly as in the HARP rules. In others the setting and background in which the characters find themselves in Echoes of Heaven is quite unique. The makeup of those characters, the items that they use and the monsters that they encounter is standard core HARP. This is surely a strength in that it allows the background to be used with the wide variety of rule systems, but also somewhat of a liability for any GM looking to expand the options or variety of his characters, items or monsters. If you don't wish to engage whole-heartedly in playing this campaign as described and detailed these book is not for you.

That being said, there are a few unique twists which can provoke thought. Evil and Good in Echoes of Heaven are not absolutes described in black and white, but merely shade of grey. You can detect some inner evil or a lot of inner evil. You can detect some inner good or a lot of inner good. Each race is also assigned a racial weakness equating to one of the cardinal sins. Elves are very prone to pride and situations involving pride can lead them to evil. Dwarves are prone to greed with that greed leading their downfall in encounters and everyday life. While assigning such weaknesses to an entire race wholesale can be overkill, it also can lead to some greater levels of rollplaying.

The authors, who quite naturally plan to continue on with additional materials for this campaign, also attempt to distinguish between plot ideas and devices that they will pursue in later published materials (identified as world threads) and those which will be left to individual gamemasters (identified as adventure seeds). While nicely and easily defined in specific instances and plot points, in general the system breaks down as the scope is expanded to complete nations, worlds, and groups of people. For example, in the gazeteer section, Ludremon is briefly described in a single page which concludes by stating that there are no "world threads" for this nation and then adds a note that Appendix I provides much more detail on Ludremon. As all gamemasters understand high-level storyline and thread tends to flow easily while it is the creation of background and detail that requires the effort, sweat and time. If the promise to not interfere extends only to high level detailed plot points and not to the nitty gritty layout of cities, NPCs and organizations surely it is weakened and made somewhat redundant.

Finally, I must remark on the items that I will actually find a use for. As a CC2 Pro user I found the inclusion of the actual files and and symbol sets a bargin at the price. While I know that my group will never pursue a long term campaign in Belkanath making nearly all of the descriptive material of limited worth, they will see the symbols and modified maps in other uses.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Without a doubt the Campaign Cartographer bits included in the package. It is also very apparent that this is a labor of love and devotion. The authors are obviously enchanted with the setting and care about it. It is a quality product that deserves attention from those willing to buy in and play it as described.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: As the campaing/setting is nothing that my group will ever run, there is little of use to me other than the CC bits. The portability of any of the detailed printed description and background is very very limited. Not for those looking to hack and slash beyond the symbols and maps. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

The Nebuleon Revised is a unified RPG package including both a SF campaign background and a complete set of system rules based on Hinterwelt?s Iridium System. The Iridium system is skillfully built around a broad skill system covering the range of situations commonly encountered by the characters. Success is determined using a simple curved progression and a minimum of modifiers. Skills and proficiency in them are gained during the initial creation of the character and as a result of experience. The Hinterwelt portal also offers a complete character generation and storage service effectively maximizing time to play and allowing the players to focus on customizing the background and story of the character.

The introduction contains a short piece detailing the company?s design philosophy stressing a ?Character Driven? play style. ?Character Driven? play ?is a story based on and pushed forward by the interaction of characters with a Game Master?s story?. In other words, the rules take second place to the story. For a GM who thrives on creating a story and having the characters interact with it, the system is full of rich details including a large number of races available to player characters, an array of organizations and governmental styles and a wide range of archetypical character classes.

The included background features a location where the various races are intermingled and in frequent contact with each other while not yet approaching any type of true integration. Most of the driving forces within the campaign relate to racial supremacy and preeminence. Governments are organized along racial and religious lines and compete on those levels much more than more abstract mercantile or economic lines.. Humans are on the bottom rungs of the social hierarchy, yet retain the youth and vitality common to up and comers in a SF setting.

Nebuleon?s offerings for a SF ?gearhead? or rule driven Game Master are more limited. The background is designed to be customizable by the GM and even dropped if so desired. The gadgets beloved of many SF gamers are dealt with in a small chapter and have little or no background story. Ships and vehicles are merely a method of getting the characters from one scene in the story to the next. Specific situations are run according to generalized rules rather than attempting to have specific rules for each situation.

Overall Nebuleon Revised offers a great deal for the price, but may have missed the market. Hinterwelt?s other settings tend to be better for character-driven play and offer more scope for story with having to met the object oriented demands of many SFRPG players. Roma Imperious players will probably be much more content with having a spear be just a spear and a wagon just be a wagon. Many, if not most, SF gamers seem to thrive on having a huge array of ships, equipment and gear all loving detailed and explained. <br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The nice balance between depth of system and speed of play in the Iridium system. The system is broad enough to handle most any situation yet in a way to avoid bogging down in breadth and depth of detail. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The system and design philosophy are perhaps better suited for other settings and situations. SF gamers tend to prefer heavy extensive rules, lots of goodies and objects, and a focus on things rather than people. The production values are adequate, but perhaps not up to the standards of many current products with larger budgets and resources.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Similar to others in this line, you receive three pdf files. The largest of 11 pages has statistical details on each object (5 planets and 3 asteroid belts) orbiting the sun system and then for each the objects orbitting the planets and the asteriod systems.

The second file is 6 pages of background including a history of the controlling corporations efforts in the system, a logo, and information on the robots which are extensively used in the system. It also has a title page and the OGL license. (Hence the plus two in the publisher's describtion.)

The final file is a side view and stats on a underground base in the system. <br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The use of text based description with lots of charts and NPC statistics that could be used to pad the document.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Would really like a floorplan of the base along with the sideview provided.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Very similar to the other products in this line with the same production values and breakdown. Three documents are included; a six page document with system and planetary details, a nine page document (include a title page and the OGL license) giving a brief history of the system, social information and important locations, and a single page map that shows Spirit of the Brazen Dawn and an enlargement of one area.

<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Continues and extends the usefulnees of the supplements. Again good local detail without any reference to larger multi-system bodies or politics.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Maps could still be improved with scales and presentation.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

If you are looking for a complete "system" or "campaign" then I would suggest that you move along. Boomtown Planet is essentially a text based description of a town, Boomtown, and its daily newspaper, the Planet.

Description is apt in this case as while the characters and many locations are extensively described, there is little or not effort to provide stats or even coherent plots from that description. You will not find a number of suggested campaign kernals or a depth of statistics in this product.

Boomtown does include an extensive price list and even a list of slang terms. Maps are included, but they are minimal with only a few details and blocky in appearance.

In conclusion, Boomtown Planet is a true storyteller's resource. If you prefer a plethora of tables and charts and stats it is not aimed for you. On the other hand, if you can run a NPC for weeks without ever wondering what his stats really are, then your money will be well invested. <br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The breadth of concept. Boomtown planet delivers what it promises. A background package that is nearly universally applicable to any system based in the early 20th century.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: While I can live without the stats and charts, I find it much more difficult to accept the maps. I like detailed highly crafted maps which Boomtown Planet just does not have.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

As a supplement and alternative setting to the large city Boomtown Planet this has great use. As in all products in this line the detail is provided mainly through description and text rather than stats, but this is slightly more stat heavy than the companion supplement on the poor sections of Boomtown. Again this could easily be modified to provide a small town setting for any campaign based in the early to mid 1900s. <br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Descriptive detail without a great deal of reliance on stats for any specific system.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Would be nice to have a map of the surrounding area in addition to the map of the city itself.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

If you own or have seen Boomtown Planet, you know what your are getting as this is just more of the same. If not, what you get with this purchase is about 18 pages of text and a couple of maps which provide further information about some of the more low brow locations in Boomtown and the characters in them.

Ownership of Boomtown Planet would be useful, but is far from essential in using this material. The descriptions are almost entirely free of stats and the locations and individuals can be used almost immediately in any other RPG as part of a town from the early to mid 1900s.

<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The almost complete reliance upon text to detail the characters and locations.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: As with Boomtown Planet I found the maps to be less than what I would desire.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

The three documents mentioned in the description are a 1 page map, 4 page system guide, and an 8 page overview.

The single map page is a background image of a typical lunar surface with locations described in the other documents superimposed on it. There is no scale, but I am not sure that any is required.

The four page system guide contains one page give system information including stats for the orbital motion, size and position of the five planets and single asteroid belt. The second page is information on the first planet (Devil) and its ring and moons. Devils Moon is the innermost moon. Pages 3 and four are similar information on the third and fourth planet.

The 8 page overview contains a single title page, one page of background history, one page recapping information from the system guide and displaying a flag, 2 pages of social information, one page of important locations, one page of very short campaign ideas and a final page with the OGL license <br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Provided plenty of information to set the stage, but did not attempt to build the sets. It has enough information to get started, yet leaves plenty of room for elaboration by the user and incorporation into existing campaigns.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Map seemed a little lack luster. No scale was provided.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

As a pulp fan for many years I decided to give this series a try. For the price and size I was only hoping for a couple of quality ideas and perhaps some short gems, but I finished this with mixed emotions. With the cover and obligatory OG license you have five pages of text. The first page of text entirely consists of a period fictional leadin and a still from public domain serial of 1949. The second page of text begins the actual description of the Rocket Ranger requirement and benifits. A table covering the bottom third summarizes this information and the features listed on the next two pages. The third fourth and fifth page of text cover the feartures of the class. The fourth page contains another still taking up about 50% of the page and the the fifth page has artwork taking up about 50% of the page.

The features presented were reasonably well thought out, but upon reflection seemed like a lot of bonuses with very few drawbacks. I could envision them imbalancing situations rather quickly. Only very sketchy information is given about the equipment that actually makes the Rocket Ranger what they are.

<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Love pulp and any effort to incorporate it into RPGs is worth a look see.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Production values were only so so with large font sizes, lots of stills and artwork of standard quality. I would have preferred a 2 or 3 less pages and a more crisp presentation and small typefont. Realy needs to say more about the Rocket Ranger gadgets and equipment. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>

To any who had been waiting for the next ship to be released, it has been worth the wait. First, the update to the template and layout. The new layout is great and a further step forward. Organizationally it also appears that the authors have had a chance to think things out. Love the work here guys and keep it up.

The ship is a specialized custom design build to handle xenomorphs. New rules support the various types of weapons and vehicles to capture them. The deckplans and layout are of the same high quality found in earlier ships, but a great deal of the "pseudo-background" material is gone leaving space for my guidelines and rules.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: New layout and continued high production values. Apparent removal of pseudo-background information in favor of my general usage hints and rule expansions. Most useful rule extensions so far in this series. Forward airlock which makes a great deal of sense.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Didn't care for the hornlike sensor array that gave the ship its name, but to each their own taste. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

This ship and idea is just different enought to make it cool, but it seems to miss the point somewhat for me. The idea of racing circuits is neat, but having the races built around hovercraft designed and built on the ship was somewhat of a let down. The professional nature of the circuit as described in the product in my mind at least makes it a little difficult to integrate into an existing campaign. <br><br><b>LIKED</b>: High production values as always and the fresh point of view even if it was not entirely what I was looking for <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: I would have much preferred to have the ship itself be a deep-space racer and not have it be the support ship for the hovercar racers.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

This ship has become a home base for the characters in my Royal Interdiction Service campaign. Large enough for them to spread out and meet the necessary NPCs, but small enought to manage and have the characters now well enough to play quickly. They participate as crew members in situations which demand a larger ship with greater facilities and then branch off for situations which can be accomplished in a smaller unit. I did modify this to provide an external dock for the free Picket Ship in this series which is my character's personal ship. Free so each can a have a copy and provide mods that they want to add.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Modular nature allowed me to make the mods I needed for my campaign. Great artwork and production values. Shuttlecraft ideas and notes.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: A ship this big could have used a couple more pages of descriptions. At times things felt just a little on the brief side.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Don't really have much call for this gunship in my campaign, but bought it anyway just for the fun factor and to be complete. Was really surprised and impressed by the section on Starships vs Planets and Characters. Great analysis and very though provoking. Sometime in the future my characters will be challenged with stopping this ship without another starship. <br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Same excellent production values and well designed ship. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Adventure hooks in this product seemed a little weaker than in others in the series. Almost as if the creators also didn't really know how to handle this ship in a campaign.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Have used Comet-class freighters identical and similar to The Nova Star in my d20 Future campaign as a blockade runner that the players were ordered to intercept and prevent from landing on a interdicted planet. New systems included with this PDF enchance that roll for the ship. <br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Versatilty of the design and integration with starship deck plans from Skeleton Key. I like deck plans, but I don't always to take the time necessary to draw them.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Would have loved to see a small "secret hold" in these deck plans for those special cargos and emergency situations. I have easily added a couple in the various versions I have gamed with, but it would have been nice to have one included. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Dropped this into my campaign last night to great effect. It contains just enough information to make integration in most any D20 campaign rather quick and the graphics are up to the usual standards. Be warned, however that the marketing plan is solid and will leave you wanting more of the various bonus items. <br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The graphics are up to the usual standards of this series. Extremely easy to integrate into my D20 Future campaign<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: An dedicated armory in the base would have been nice. I would up adding one off the supply room. At least the modulare layout made that easy. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>