Chock full of the quality that I've come to expect from Arion Games, Carthaginians deviates slightly in format from other Arion printable miniature sets that I've reviewed in the past. Specifically, Carthaginians drops the previously standard instructions for folding and assembling the minis in order to make room for more miniatures proper. And it's all good.

While the aforementioned instructions were certainly helpful, the assembly and printing of paper minis is fairly self-explanatory to anybody who has even cursory experience with them (i.e., several different internet sites exist that discuss multiple methods of printing and basing paper minis). This being the case, the absence of assembly instructions is not detrimental to the product quality - quite the contrary, in fact.

Carthaginians makes good use of the extra space therein. Packed with forty-five* full-color miniatures of both the 'a-frame' and 'tri-fold' variety, Carthaginians covers every aspect of said culture for use on your tabletop. Most notable, however, are the elephant riders. That's right - elephant riders. If you're fan of Hannibal's legendary trek, Arion has you covered in spades with 7 different renderings of these unique armored cavalry units (4 of the 'a-frame' variety and 3 of the 'tri-fold' variety).

Finally, reviewing an Arion product without mentioning its extreme attention to detail and beautifully rendered images wouldn't be doing the product justice. As always, the resolution is high; producing clean, crisp, images that print nicely and look just as stunning on the tabletop as they do on my LCD monitor. Further, Arion sets the standard for attention to historical accuracy in presentation of paper minis (history buffs, you won't be disappointed).

I haven't been less than impressed with any of the Arion products that I've so far reviewed, and Carthaginians isn't going to change that trend. Whether you're looking for historical representations to grace your tabletop or something new to spice up your fantasy game, you simply can't go wrong with this extensive and stunning collection of printable miniatures. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Arion doesn't raise the bar, it is the bar.

*This is the total number of miniatures. Many are rendered twice, once in each of the standard Arion presentation formats (i.e., 'a-frame' and 'tri-fold').

<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The attention to detail, the resolution of the graphics, and the quantity of minis in the set. And the elephant riders ;) <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Honestly, I have nothing but love for this product. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

Seven Leagues from Malcontent Games delves into subject matter that has never been covered in any great depth by the roleplaying industry as a whole - fairies. Certainly we have our modern 're-imaginings' of traditional folklore in Changeling and Delirium, but these games are just that - modern re-imaginings. Seven Leagues deals more with traditional folklore and the otherworldly realms inhabited by the fae, although some contemporary romantic themes do leave their imprint on the finished product.

Before we go much further, I should note exactly what I mean when I refer to traditional folklore here. In traditional English and Irish folklore, fairies were most certainly not of the friendly or singular disposition that the overwhelming majority of modern (e.g., late 19th and 20th Century) fiction portrays them as embodying. In traditional folklore, fairies were the medieval equivalent of what you probably knew as The Boogeyman when you were growing up. The good natured creatures that many people associate the word "fairy" with today are purely a modern innovation designed to cast yesterday's nightmares in a different light for the youth of today.

Now, having clarified that, while Seven Leagues definitely draws more inspiration from folklore as opposed to modern fiction, it isn't all doom and gloom (as previously noted, some contemporary romantic themes do make an appearance). The difference is one of focus and, in Seven Leagues, the focus lies more on creating an alien world steeped in magic and full of peril than being politcially correct or honoring modern literary tenets. If exploring a truly different kind of fantasy is something that appeals to you, then you'll find much to like in Seven Leagues. The game is definitely best described as indulging in the baroque, as opposed to the familiar.

Characters in Seven Leagues are largely defined using only words, although some checks and balances in the form of Virtues (i.e., attributes), Charms (i.e., benefits), and Taboos (i.e., flaws) are instituted in the interest of not veering completely into what is largely uncharted territory for many gamers. There are three Virtues in Seven Leagues (Head, Heart, and Hand) which correspond to mental, emotional, and physical aspects of a character respectively. Each of these Virtues is rated on a scale that ranges from 0 to 7+, with the Virtue rating being added to die roll results during actual play. Charms and Taboos may similarly effect die roll results, but are slightly more complex, taking the form of detailed edges and flaws.

Which brings us to Fortune. Fortune is bit of a conundrum, mechanically speaking, as it appears to fulfill very much the same purpose as Charms and Taboos, albeit in a temporary capacity (Charms and Taboos tend to be permanent character features). The initial explanation left me scratching my head, but ultimately what I walked away with is that Fortune seems to serve as a kind of a dual-faceted, variable, point pool aimed at adding a few more die roll modifiers into the mix. Personally, I?m not entirely sure that using Fortune is necessary, given that it seems to cover the same ground as simple situational modifiers or Charms and Taboos do (in fact, I could see myself running Seven Leagues without it).

Finally, characters are rounded out with a Legend. I use the phrase ?rounded out? loosely as, despite being the last step in character creation, it?s arguably the one step that adds the most to characters in terms of description. So, what exactly is a Legend? Just what it sounds like - a piece of prose that details the origins of your character, be they descended from fairies or mortals. A Legend is, quite simply, your character?s own mythology. It will, of course, evolve and expand over time as the game is played - much like legends of old evolve and expand as the characters around which they revolve do ro say things to impact the flow of a story. I?ve seen this concept used in many roleplaying games and it?s something that I personally enjoy, perhaps more so in the context of Seven League?s baroque realms.

The system of Seven Leagues will be, I suspect, a love it or hate it affair for many consumers. The game engine itself is extremely light and, while it does incorporate the use of dice (a single twelve-sided die) and numbers, it is largely focused on using descriptive language to both evoke action and atmosphere. The crux of action resolution itself revolves around rolling a result that is equal to or exceeds thirteen on the aforementioned twelve-sided die (you add modifiers to the die roll based on a number of different things, including a character?s Virtue ratings and their Charms or Flaws). If a player manages to do so, their character performs whatever action that they were attempting successfully, while should they fail to do so, the action outcome is also a failure. It is all very, very, simple.

For me, system transparency is a huge selling point, and Seven Leagues nails it. The nice thing is, it doesn?t do so at the expense of all detail, only at the expense of unnecessary detail (something that a great many game designers could learn from, in my opinion). Seven Leagues gives you absolutely everything that you?ll need to weave thrilling adventures, without weighing you down with rules that serve only to suspend the adventure to focus on metagame considerations. If you play RPGs to act out adventure, you?ll likely enjoy this aspect of Seven Leagues, but if you merely see RPGs as being advanced board games and think that the means matter more than the end, Seven Leagues will probably disappoint.

In the end, I think that Seven Leagues will appeal most to those consumers who enjoy a baroque fantasy experience, transparent rules, and the use of dice as randomizers. If you have a strong aversion to any of those three things, Seven Leagues may not be the game for you, but otherwise, I think that you'll find it a very satisfying experience. I?m not a huge fan of fairies or the fae in role playing games, but Seven Leagues gave me pause to rethink my biases - and I am certainly glad that I did.

[Note: This review was edited for spelling.]

<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: I very much enjoyed the transparent mechanics, with the possible exception of Fortune, which seemed to cover some ground twice. Additionally, I much enjoyed the focus of the game and the opportunity it gave me to view faries in a traditional context. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Not much, honestly. Only Fortune sticks out in my mind as being somewhat awkward and, even then, I'm still on the fence for the time being.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

Weighing in at twenty total pages (including the cover), After Sunset Vampires provides fifteen pages of supplementary rules for the d20 Modern rule set that will allow you to inject the rudimentary trappings of action horror flicks of the vampiric variety into your pre-existing d20 modern campaign or to start a new campaign built upon those trappings.

The first three pages of rules content discuss using vampires as PCs, including the species traits of these creatures and how to apply them to a pre-existing character. The one shortcoming fo this chapter is that it makes very specific statements about what these creatures are and how they operate, some of which will not be to everybody?s liking. I would have preferred to see a less specific and more mutable view of vampires presented here.

The following three pages of the document cover a lot of ground, from spotting vampires amongst normal humans to presenting three stereotypical vampire ?types? based on popular characters in fiction and film. That said, the majority of these four pages is devoted to discussing vampiric weaknesses (e.g., can?t cross running water, can?t be seen by electronics, etc) that a player may choose to take in place of level adjustments to reflect their character?s age.

The next three pages of After Sunset Vampires present eight new feats for vampiric PCs and a listing of equipment that, with the sole exception of plasma bags, is used to hunt vampires (something that seemed like an odd inclusion for a supplement about playing vampires as opposed to hunting them). Of the feats, all seem fairly balanced with exception of Immortal Experience which allows the vampire to use any skill untrained, even those marked with the ?Trained Only? designator.

The Vampire Hero core racial class is described in detail on the following four pages of the document. It is here, ironically, that things get a wee bit more generic in that the Vampire Hero has much more in common with the vampire of legend than their modern motion picture counterparts that the rest of After Sunset Vampires is fixated on. A welcome addition to the material already covered, this base class overrides some of those specific assumptions about vampires that I bemoaned earlier and opens up several possibilities for character concepts.

Finally, the last two pages of rules content in the document present optional rules for killing vampires with a stake to the heart, hunting (or more correctly, feeding) off-screen, and Bloodtouched (vampires born of a human mother) . All of the options except for this last one are explained in detail, which is a tad bit disappointing, as this last option is the most intriguing of the three (it is only afforded two short paragraphs of vague description).

In the end, if you?re looking for high adrenaline horror in the vein of Blade or Underworld, then After Sunset Vampires will definitely be right up your alley. If, on the other hand, you?re looking for more traditional gothic horror in the vein of Dracula or Castle Freak, you?d be better off looking somewhere else. While the buy in price of $2.95 is a bit steep for 15 pages of rules content, with so few products on the market that cover this ground for d20, I think that it is worth paying.

<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The attention that it pays to subject matter left largely uncovered in d20 products. The aesthetically pleasing artwork. The vampiric feats (with the exception of Immortal Experience) and the Vampiric Hero core class.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The Immortal Experience feat seems very unbalanced. The optional "rule" for Bloodtouched really isn't a rule so much as it is a very brief and ultimately useless description of such vampires. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

The latest entry in Dog Soul?s Folkloric line, Niflheim is dedicated to detailing the demiplane of the dead from Icelandic and Norse mythology. In this regard, Niflheim reads more like a supplement to an existing setting than a setting in and of itself, as it specifically details a small portion of a much larger mythology that the author assumes you are already familiar with. This isn?t necessarily a bad thing, mind you, but it does severely limit Niflheim?s utility as a setting supplement. The value that Niflheim provides is entirely dependent upon your familiarity with Icelandic or Norse myth and, if you plan to use Niflheim with your existing campaign, the presence of a culture or cultures analogous to those of mythic Iceland or Norway.

If you?ve ascertained that Niflheim is the right product for you, you?re no doubt wondering what specifically makes it a worthwhile purchase. Well, Niflheim covers a surprising amount of ground in its 49 pages, but most of its content can be safely filed under one of five headings: Places of Niflheim, Species of Niflheim, Major NPCs of Niflheim, Minor NPCs of Niflheim, and Weapons of Legend. The depth of coverage provided varies wildly from each of these categories to the nest, but overall, if you?re looking to run a campaign based on mythic Iceland or Norway, Niflheim is well worth the relatively low buy in price. A breakdown of the information filed under the five aforementioned subject headings follows.

First, the different locales that Niflheim examines include the obligatory portals to the mortal realm, as well as such fantastic places as The Halls of the Mountain King (made famous by Peer Gynt?s exploits) and Yggdrasil (commonly known as the ?World Tree? in many legends). While some of the locations detailed by Niflheim will immediately be familiar to fans of Icelandic or Norse mythology, others (such as Nastrond, The Shore of Corpses) are more obscure and may well be new to many readers. All together, there are 16 individual locales examined within the pages of Niflheim, although four of them are villages, which are lumped under one heading and described with a disappointing two short paragraphs each.

This is one of those places where prior familiarity with Icelandic or Norse mythology will come in very handy - while you can feasibly run a short series of adventures using only the setting information provided in Niflheim, if you want to explore any of the locales in depth, you?ll have to apply a generous amount of elbow grease and possibly do some research of your own. Indeed, the lack of actual setting detail is arguably the weakest aspect of Niflheim as a product. An explanation of indigenous culture or spiritual beliefs should really have been mandatory, given the nature of Niflheim, yet this information is glossed over almost entirely within the pages of the product.

Where unique species are concerned, Niflheim presents two interesting and mechanically rich options that may be utilized by both the GM and other players to create setting-appropriate characters. Valkyries are winged warrior women native to the plane of Asgard (again, some prior knowledge of Norse mythology comes in handy here, as Asgard and its specific relation to Niflheim is left unexplained in the product), while Jotunar are bestial, hairy, creatures of immense size that dwell in the forests of Niflheim. Both species are balanced mechanically and certainly setting-appropriate in every sense of the word. If you?re running a campaign with Icelandic or Norse undercurrents, you?ll most certainly appreciate the effort that has gone into developing these species for use as character races.

Both the major and minor NPCs of Niflheim (some of which might be dubbed ?monsters? by the common man of that dread demiplane) are all examined in depth where both game mechanics and their respective roles in the demiplane are concerned. Indeed, the bulk of Niflheim?s definition as a setting comes, not from an explanation of the mythology to which it is tied or of its metaphysical, but from the individual characters who dwell there. If you like character driven setting supplements, then you will find plenty to admire in Niflheim. Having said that, one character is notably missing from the pages of Niflheim - the demigoddess Hel, herself.

Mentioned briefly within the pages of Niflheim as both the creator of said realm and a denizen that the PCs can feasibly interact with, a proper description of Hel is conspicuously absent from the product?s pages, as is any mechanical representation of the demigoddess. Obviously, if you?re well versed in Icelandic myth or prefer deific figures to remain undefined, this isn?t an issue - if, on the other hand, your knowledge of Icelandic myth is shaky or if you prefer your deities to be represented mechanically, then you?re going to have to do some research and flesh out Hel yourself. Admittedly, this won?t be too difficult, but the omission is still a bit disconcerting given the prominent role that the demigoddess plays in the setting?s cosmology.

This brings us to the mythic weapons of Niflheim. Seven setting appropriate items are detailed within the product?s pages, though only five of them are actually weapons by definition - neither Valkyrie feathers or Fans of Garm (Garm being Hel?s mythical guard dog) are actually weapons, but items that grant beneficial magical effects to those who possess them. That said, all of the items in this section are both setting appropriate and very evocative of the mythology upon which Niflheim is built (especially Grippa?s Bags of Ensnaring, which the child-eating hag uses to abduct small children). Although this section of the document fills only two pages, it manages to fill them with top notch material that fans of Icelandic or Norse mythology will be sure to enjoy.

Finally, it is worth noting that four pages offering up a discussion of naming conventions, list of plot hooks, pronunciation guide, and common Icelandic superstitions, have been appended to the end of the document. Here, within these last four pages, you will be introduced to a small sampling of the cultures from which Niflheim draws inspiration, but these snippets of information are still no substitute for a thorough examination of the parent mythology itself or how that mythology and the religious beliefs associated with it tie into Niflheim?s cosmology.

I?ll shore it up a bit by addressing presentation. Where layout and graphic design are concerned, Niflheim continues Dog Soul?s tradition of visual appeal. With the exception of a single art piece, the entire product is dripping with sexy from the beautiful front cover to the headers and footers utilized throughout the document. Further, Niflheim is presented in a well-managed two-column format that is easy to read and compliments the placement of interior artwork nicely. I?d have to seriously question the taste of anybody who called Niflheim ?ugly? or used other pejorative terms to describe its visual appeal. Niflheim definitely gets two thumbs up for aesthetics.

In the end, it?s hard to assign Niflheim a flat star rating, given that its value and utility are largely dependent upon the reader?s knowledge of a pre-existing mythology or cultures analogous to those which spawned that mythology being present in the reader?s campaign. If you possess a pre-existing knowledge of Icelandic and Norse folklore and your campaign setting contains cultures analogous to those of ancient Iceland or Norway, then Niflheim may easily be a five star product. If, on the other hand, you lack that knowledge or your campaign contains no cultures analogous to those of ancient Iceland or Norway, then Niflheim could easily rate one star in terms of value to you.

As a supplement to a pre-existing mythos, Niflheim is a very impressive product, but as a standalone setting it fails to address a lot of pertinent information, working on the faulty assumption that the reader already possesses intimate familiarity with the larger body of mythology upon which Niflheim expands. The material that Niflheim does present is all top notch, but the quality of this material is balanced out by Niflheim?s failure to address other information entirely. Again, I find myself torn over a Folkloric product. I cannot, in good conscience, give Niflheim a high rating due to the omission of important detail, nor can I give it an extremely low rating due to the high quality of material that it does contain.

[Edited for spelling] <br><br><b>LIKED</b>: I liked the new species presented for use as character races, many of the setting-specific characters, and all of the magic items detailed in the document. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: I didn't like the lack of explantion where Niflheim's cultures and cosmology were concerned, the extremely short descriptions of the regions that compose Niflheim, or the ommission of Hel as a proper character.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

A d20 fantasy setting analogous to mythic India, Sahasra is the brainchild of Donna K. Fitch and Dog Soul publications. As somebody who has been waiting a long time for just such a setting, I?m ecstatic to see that it has finally arrived - but at the same time, I?m also more than a bit disappointed. Falling in love with Sahasra is one that will no doubt leave you heartbroken in the end - that said, some people say that it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. I wonder what those people would say about Sahasra.

Sahasra is a mixed bag when it comes to design, capturing some elements of mythic India in wondrous detail, while ignoring others entirely. It is this spotty approach to subject matter that makes Sahasra the mixed bag that it is - a wonderfully Indian-inspired world paradoxically populated by the distinctly European core classes of Dungeons & Dragons and steeped entirely in the default magic of that much vaunted game. I could not help but love Sahasra for the former loving detail and feel betrayed by the latter decision to trounce it all. Sahasra is a fickle mistress.

Sahasra?s major shortcoming is not the setting itself, nor the author?s choice to tie it to the Dungeons & Dragons game, but the actual manner in which the author chose to do the tying. Often, basic elements of the Dungeons & Dragons game are dropped completely unaltered into Sahasra. Where such ?drop in? design is utilized, no attempt at an analogue has been made, resulting in a very visible schism between Eastern and Western culture that cannot be easily explained away by even an experienced game master. The two most obvious examples of this are outlined below.

First, character classes are treated with an eye toward wholesale substitution. The European-influenced core classes of Dungeons & Dragons stand in for their Indian-influenced counterparts with absolutely no modification. Now, granted, an experienced GM can most likely explain away some of this during actual play, but classes such as the default D&D Cleric and Paladin are an awkward fit at best and a horribly inappropriate fit at worst. Worse yet, there is absolutely no advice to the game master on how to explain the resulting cultural schism in game.

I think the worst part where the implementation of classes is concerned is that, with little work, appropriately analogous, Indian-inspired, classes could have been included in the document. At the very least, a section devoted to adapting the distinctly European core classes (primarily Cleric and Paladin) to better reflect Eastern culture would have been a welcome improvement. Al Qadim managed to do both of these things which, and was a much better product for their inclusion. I can?t help but think that Sahasra would similarly benefit from the inclusion of such exposition.

Secondly, the magic of Sahasra suffers from the same ?drop in? treatment that character classes received. There are no Sahasran spells or Indian-inspired magic present in the product, rather magic in Sahasra is represented entirely by the Vancian spells and magic system found in the Dungeons & Dragons core rule books. Here the schism produced is once again a matter of culture, but also of language - spells such as ?Magic Missile? or ?Feather Fall? simply sound horribly out of place in a land otherwise steeped in appropriately Indian naming conventions.

Again, the worst part of this design decision is that, with a little work, an appropriately analogous set of Indian-inspired spell lists could have been presented within the pages of Sahasra. Similarly, at the very least, a simple discussion about renaming the existing spells in the PHB to better reflect the culture and ambiance of Sahasra would have been a welcome inclusion. Again, these are things that have been included in other fantasy game settings inspired by mythic cycles of our own Earth, and their exclusion from Sahasra does a lot to illustrate why these things matter.

Finally, and this is perhaps a minor nit pick, but the layout of Sahasra is worth mentioning. Utilizing a three-column display and a portrait orientation, the text of Sahasra is both somewhat cramped and disorganized in places. I?ve seen a three-column layout utilized to great effect in landscape-oriented documents before, but I suspect that there is a reason that I have not seen it used in very many portrait-oriented documents since the early 1980s. While it?s not a huge detractor, it is worth mentioning as some people with less than perfect vision (such as me) may find reading Sahasra to be a chore due to the layout.

Fortunately, Sahasra isn?t all schizophrenic culture clashes in design or awkward layouts - it?s also a beautiful fantasy setting that boasts a detailed world overview including wonderfully atmospheric artwork, character naming conventions, two new character races, NPCs, monsters, plot hooks, and magic items all steeped in Indian mythology and legend. While all of this doesn?t entirely make up for some of the important things that were overlooked, it does make Sahasra a product worth buying if you have an interest in Indian mythology and epic adventure (in the traditional sense).

From the atmospheric opening fiction, to the detailed description of such places as the grand city of Ujjayini and subterranean city of Dirindhala, Sahasra is a wealth of adventure in the vein of Krishna?s own exploits. While the lack of appropriately analogous character classes and a truly atmospheric magic system or spell lists go a long way toward shattering the atmosphere so skillfully established throughout the rest of the product, they don?t completely devalue Sahasra. With a little elbow grease, a competent game master can buff out those rough spots and make Sahasra shine!

If you like Indian mythology and epic adventure, this is a product that, despite some fairly large pitfalls, you should not pass up. Sahasra can easily become an obsession - you?ll give her your heart and she?ll break it, but you?ll still long for her embrace when the nights are long and the dice are hot.

[Note: The three star rating reflects the paradoxical pull of Sahasra upon my heart strings - she has fulfilled many a desire, but left me wanting so much more. Sahasra is a complex creature that is neither wholly good or bad, but both of these things at once.]

<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The artwork, the descriptive prose, the Indian influence, and the amount of detail paid to setting design. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The layout and near total lack of attention paid to integrating the core Dungeons & Dragons classes and spells into the setting.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Disappointing<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

Sponge Monkeys from Outer Spaaaaccceee is your standard one trick pony, driven completely by one concept stretched so thin that it eventually snaps. So, what?s the one trick? Puerile humor that revolves around monkeys (e.g. intentionally bad monkey jokes). If you have some bizarre love for this particular brand of humor that borders on fetishism, then Sponge Monkeys from Outer Spaaaaccceee is easily worth your money. If not, then you should spend your money elsewhere.

So, what exactly is a sponge monkey? Well... I don?t know. The game doesn?t once attempt to answer this question. It talks about them being born in pools of water and then evolving into creatures that act like regular monkeys (i.e., monkeys as they exist on modern Earth), but it never once tells the reader what they are or where they come from. Given that the entire game revolves around them, this is a fairly serious pitfall, even for an intentionally humourous game. I?d really like to know something about the origin and nature of my character?s species other than the following:

?Sponge monkeys are born in pools of water. Please, don?t call them spawning pools as you?ll offend the monkeys. For the first month or two, the sponge monkey swims around in their underwater paradise and then -THEY EVOLVE!?

Unfortunately, this kind of shortsightedness in design plagues the rest of the game, as well. A good indicator that something is amiss comes early on in the document - the game?s disclaimer which proclaims that Sponge Monkeys from Outer Spaaaaccceee was designed with the understanding that younger teens will likely play it - specifically followed by a warning that there is some humorous content in the game that some parents may not find appropriate for younger teens to read. The disclaimer, exactly as it appears in the game, is presented here for your benefit:

"Parents: While this game was written all in good fun with the understanding that younger teens may play it, there are some suggestive and mature themes found in this game that you may feel are not appropriate for your teen. Please peruse this book to ensure that this game is safe for your teen to play. Remember, you are the final judge on what is good for your child!"

It might as well say ?We designed this game for a certain age group and then loaded it with stuff that parents of younger teens probably don?t want their kids reading!? - because that is exactly the confused message that it relays. When I read "While this game was written all in good fun with the understanding that younger teens may play it..." I assumed that whoever wrote that had written the game with the understanding that younger teens would be playing it. After all, that's what the disclaimer actually says.

Well... what?s the premise of the game, then? What is it that characters (i.e., sponge monkeys) do? The 1-page introduction briefly mentions that some rare sponge monkeys are chosen to man (or rather, monkey) harvester units, space patrol untis, or scavanger units because... well, I guess because they can. There are three short (2-3 sentence) paragraphs in the introduction that explain each of which explains one of the three previously mentioned occupations, but that is the extent of it. As I mentioned before, the focus of the game is squarely placed on the humor and as a result, a lot of fairly important (or what I consider to be fairly important) questions go completely unanswered or gets glossed over with a sentence or two and then waved aside in favor of another joke.

Enough about conceptual short-comings, though... what about the mechanics? Well, surprisingly, there is a fairly serviceable system buried under the mountain of monkey jokes and flimsy premise of Sponge Monkeys from Outer Spaaaaccceee (well, so long as you don?t mind making your own dice). A dice pool system somewhat reminiscent of WEG?s D6 System, the basic Sponge Monkeys from Outer Spaaaaccceee system requires players to roll a number of six-sided dice, total the results, and compare them to a difficulty assigned by the Head Monkey (the GM). Oh... and I did mention making your own dice. Herein lies the rub...

In addition to regular six-sided dice in games of Sponge Monkeys from Outer Spaaaaccceee, you use Monkey Dice. Monkey Dice don?t have numbers on the sides, but picturers (Note: I guess the designer wants you to cut them out and paste them to your own dice, as there is actually a template appended to the end of the document to assist you in doing just this) - one monkey (not two, despite what the text says), a skull, a kitty [sic], a coconut, a double coconut, and a banana. Monkey dice add a heavy meta-game element to Sponge Monkeys from Outer Spaaaaccceee, allowing players to ?steal? dice from other players to improve their own rolls, robbing them of their own dice, or even inflicting random damage to the character ?just because?.

The designer himself jokingly (I think he?s joking anyhow - sometimes it?s hard to tell) says that he thinks the idea is stupid (Quote: ?I was told to add a Cheeky factor. If you ask me, I think it just adds a Stupid factor.?) - but I don?t agree. I think that the idea itself is sound, but that its implementation suffers from the same shortsightedness that many other elements of the game do. As it stands, the Moneky Dice system is pretty clunky (the pasting of pictures onto a normal six-sided die not being the least problematic issue), but I feel that with a wee bit of polish it could be something really fun.

In addition to the basic rules, Sponge Monkeys from outer space also sports a utilitarian, though not especially uniuqe, ship construction system (you buy ship components with credts); a ship combat system that works (for all intents and purposes) just like regular action resolution, but with some seriously pumped up damage and armor levels reminiscient of the Rifts Mega Damage system; a random roll world generator; a brief but detailed bestiary; and an introductory adventure wherein the protagonists must go kill a sentient salad (no, you did not read that wrong). Nothing here stands out as particularly good or bad, except for the adventure which tries awfully hard to be funny and generally just ends up being awful.

And that brings me to the final verdict.

Conceptually,. Sponge Monkeys from Outer Spaaaaccceee is a nightmare. It lacks a detailed background or premise, but what?s worse, it overlooks these things in favor of slotting in yet some more monkey humor which was (by the author's own admission via the disclaimer) written with the understanding that a younger age group may read it, but is may be inappropriate for said age group. Finally - repetitive jokes tend to get old fast, and (again) unless you have a real love of monkey jokes, those in Sponge Monkeys from Outer Spaaaaccceee are no exception. Sponge MOnkeys from Outer Spaaaacccee is a fine example of why other one-trick beer and pretzel games don?t get stretched out to 70 pages.

Mechanically, Sponge Monkeys from Outer Spaaaaccceee isn?t anything special, but it is functional with the potential to be fun. Sadly, I think that due to the game?s other shortcomings, a lot of people might overlook this. The system works and works well, with the possible exception of the Monkey Dice rules (which, to be fair, aren?t an integral part of the game). I?ve seen a lot of other games that don?t boast a mechanically sound system, so Sponge Monkeys from Outer Spaaaaccceee wins some points here. Here end the mechanics of note in Sponge Monkeys from Outer Spaaaaccceee - while the rest of the game isn't mechanically redundant or broken, it just isn't particularly noteworthy.

All of that having been said, the decision of whether or not to purchase Sponge Monkeys from Outer Spaaaaccceee still comes down to the primary focus of the game. Puerile monkey jokes. If you like them, you?ll like the game. If you don?t, you won?t. And that?s the bottom line.

[NOTE: The author of the product being reviewed contacted me after this review was initially posted with a number of complaints. Without retracting any statements that I felt to be truthful, the contents of this review have been revised and expanded to address some of the author's valid complaints.]

<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The basic resolution mechanic and the idea of a truly involved meta-game dice mechanic.

<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The lack of thorough explanation where species origin and game premise are concerned. The extremely repetitive nature of the humor.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Disappointing<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

Billed as a ?detailed d20 location of interest?, the Rogue?s Rest Inn and Tavern is, for all intents and purposes, that tavern where all adventurers meet and decide to go questing for adventure (i.e., there?s nothing particularly unique about the establishment in and of itself). Having said that, the level of detail that the Rogue?s Rest is rendered in makes this product extremely useful for the GM who is looking to turn that familiar tavern where everybody meets into the lynchpin of a series of adventures, or even an entire campaign.

The physical description of the establishment itself is unremarkable, but the product really shines when it comes to describing the NPCs that staff the tavern and frequent in between their own adventures. Each NPC described within the pages of Rogue?s Rest Inn and Tavern, from the owner (a duplicitous, but kind-hearted, Halfling named Verwin) to the tavern regulars (such as Kinkar Kinlay, the cat burglar) is effectively a living, breathing, plot hook waiting to be discovered by the players. It is here, that Rogue?s Rest Inn and Tavern shines the brightest.

Where mechanics are concerned, Rogue?s Rest Inn and Tavern doesn?t pack a lot of punch, the only truly noteworthy addition to the ever-growing collection of OGC rules being the Cat Burglar Prestige Class. To be fair, though, providing new mechanics isn?t the main goal of the product, thus failing to do so shouldn?t count as a strike against it. Rogue?s Rest Inn and Tavern is, obviously, designed to serve primarily as a setting supplement, not a rule supplement. If you?re looking for a lot of new crunchy bits for your game, you won?t find them here.

The one area in which Rogue?s Rest Inn and Tavern truly suffers is presentation - as it stands, the presentation of the product is more befitting of a free download than a commercially published roleplaying supplement. Lacking a proper title page, sporting a cramped two-column layout, and making heavy use of clip art borders that have little to do with the subject matter, Rogue?s Rest Inn and Tavern is hard on the eyes. The maps of the establishment that comprise pages twenty-one through twenty-seven of the product are a bit more polished, but being rendered completely in greyscale saps them of much needed detail.

Overall, Rogue?s Rest Inn and Tavern is a mixed bag. The product contains a small number of truly great qualities, but those are balanced out by a large dose of mediocrity. One point worth mentioning is that Rogue?s Rest Inn and Tavern does not contain anything truly horrible, either conceptually or mechanically - that alone may make it worth a look for some. My own recommendation is that only the GM who is specifically looking for a self-contained adventure environment should purchase this product.

<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The detailed NPC backgrounds, each of which could potentially serve as a plot hook. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The presentation and layout. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

Another entry in the historical line from Arion Games, Saxons is a welcome addition to my expanding collection of paper miniatures. Like the Egyptians set that I recently reviewed, Saxons sports high production values, as well as a reasonable price point. While Egyptians was of more interest to historical war gamers than roleplayers, Saxons should please both of these groups equally, given the European bent of most fantasy RPGs.

In Saxons, the miniatures are again presented in three different (and convenient formats), including A Frame (2-sided), Flat (2-sided), and Tri-Fold (3-sided). As was the case with Egyptians, this presentation makes it simple to custom tailor the Saxons minis to individual tastes where their presentation on the tabletop is concerned. As I?ve commented before, this is a welcome feature of the Arion minis, and one that I am personally thankful for.

Like the other Arion Games miniatures collections, the first 3 pages of the 7-page Saxons document are dedicated to explaining how to best print, base, and customize the minis. This is definitely welcome information for a first-time purchaser, but somewhat wasted space for anybody who already owns an Arion product. To that end, I can?t help but wonder if Arion wouldn?t be better off publishing this information as a free download and devoting the freed up space to more miniatures.

So, what about the minis themselves? To be honest, I was a surprised that the digitalization of the artwork in Saxons seems to be a bit grainier than that present in Egyptians. While it?s not overly detrimental to the product, much of the detail in the Saxon Noblewoman?s skirt and similar detail in other minis is barely visible when they are printed out. That said, you can still tell what the minis represent when printed out, so unless you?re a stickler for fine detail, this shouldn?t be much of a problem.

In the end, Saxons is another fine product, well worth the asking price and packed with a lot of utility. If you like paper minis and run a roleplaying game loosely based on medieval Europe or campaign during the historical reign of the Saxons, then you?ll want to download a copy of these minis as soon as you get a chance to do so. <br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The reasonable price, the presentation, customization options and artwork. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The minor loss of detail in certain figures when they were printed out. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Tribes of Mother Night isn?t your typical fantasy roleplaying game, revolving around the exploits of the Ekhaet, a shape shifting race of people able to assume animal form at will. Set in the world of Eurshanaem, most of the action in Tribes of Mother Night specifically takes place in the country of Ylosia, a rough analogue to the Ceasar?s Rome of our own Earth. Like the Christians of that early Rome, so are the Ekhaet persecuted by the followers of the Ylosia?s state religion. It is in this manner that Tribes of Mother Night manages to differ significantly from the dozens of Middle-European fantasy settings on the market, while remaining familiar enough that players won?t be overwhelmed by the more alien aspects of the setting.

While I have a great interest in further exploring the setting and cultures presented in Tribes of Mother Night, I feel that the F20 system leaves a lot to be desired in terms of mechanical balance. Built piecemeal from the well-loved, but commercially unsuccessful, Fuzion system and the extremely popular d20 system, F20 takes the character creation and combat structure from the former and marries it to the basic task resolution mechanic of the latter. While the system is by no means unplayable, it fails to appeal to me for lack of mechanical balance in character creation (which inevitably effects balance in other parts of the game). What do I mean?

Where character balance is concerned, being able to purchase degrees of legal authority and political influence over others (including fellow PCs) as Perks during character creation runs roughshod over the concept. A direct outgrowth of options presented in previous Fuzion products (most notably Wildblades, wherein you could buy ranks of nobility, including kingship) I would have liked to see this option disappear altogether, as I feel that it is an invitation to create both in-character conflict with other PCs and out-of-character conflict with players who feel overshadowed by the character whose authority over others is ?respected worldwide?.

As it happens, an attempt at adding some additional balance in terms of ranking Perks according to their potential to impact play has been implemented. While a welcome (and long overdue) evolution of the Fuzion system, this is a somewhat loaded fix for an otherwise unbalancing aspect of character creation as it is entirely subjective. On one hand, that makes it easy to scale to a player?s personal campaign - on the other hand, it doesn?t really fix the problem. While it provides some insight into the fact that the authors is aware of the Perk system?s failings, it ultimately leaves the responsibility of addressing those failings up to the individual referee.

Having addressed my primary complaint with the mechanics underlying Tribes of Mother Night, I wanted to touch on my single complaint concerning the setting. With the exception of a very short 5-page piece of opening fiction and an 8-page setting summary (both of which would probably fill a combined total of six pages if the massive 4" left-hand margin were reduced to a standard 1" margin), there is precious little setting information that isn?t presented in terms of mechanics. Hopefully, we can expect to see an expanded Tribes of Mother Night supplement in the future that focuses on the setting at the expense of mechanics, rather than the opposite.

Ultimately, I think that Tribes of Mother Night is a worthwhile purchase for anybody interested in a departure from bog-standard fantasy based upon the Middle-European stylings of early TSR products, as well as a worthwhile purchase for fans of both F20 and Fuzion. Fans of the d20 System may find some useful information here, but despite making use of that system?s basic resolution mechanic, F20 material remains largely incompatible with standard d20 System products short of some serious conversion work. If you?re happy with your current fantasy setting and have no love for Fuzion, then you should probably give Tribes of Mother Night a pass.

<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: I really liked both the setting and the premise of the game, and hope to see future supplements that explore it in more detail. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The rules to setting ratio and the inclusion of character creation options that have the potential to unbalance the entire game.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

The Egyptian entry in the paper miniatures line from Arion Games is a welcome addition to the game collection of any roleplayer or war game enthusiast who favors historical settings. As it stands, historical miniatures are in rather short supply when compared to the varied range of fantasy miniatures available at most hobby shops, so the folks at Arion Games may have really hit on something here.

Rather than spend scads of money to supplement my historical miniatures collection with figures that I?ll likely use once or twice, Arion Games has provided me with the attractive option of spending a reasonable $3.00 to do the same thing. As the first company to offer a vast range of historical paper miniatures Arion Games is filling a niche in the hobby that has long been ignored and, in doing so, they deserve to be noticed for their efforts.

What about the minis themselves? Of exceptionally high quality, these full-color minis are presented in 3 different formats (a-frame, flat stand-ups, and tri-fold), making them both graphically pleasing and functional. Depicting a range of characters from charioteers to priests, as well as mummies and other creatures of mythic Egypt, these miniatures cover all of the ground that one would hope might be covered by a product called ?Egyptians?.

If you?re a fan of historical settings, but you?re sick of paying through the nose for hard to find historical miniatures, then this product is for you. For $3.00 you get three pages of beautiful, reusable, full-color Egyptian-themed miniatures and three pages of detailed instructions on how to cut, fold, and base them for use in your games. For $3.00, you?re getting one heck of a good deal. <br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The quality graphic rendering of the minatures themsevles. The historical subject matter.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Nothing. As a fan of historical war games, I'm hooked. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Aesthetically pleasing as well as both witty and well-written, as an adventure module, Brainwashed does not fail to please. Weighing in at 39 pages (or at 31 pages in the included ?printer-friendly? edition), Brainwashed was specifically designed to showcase the 12 to Midnight OGL sanity rules found in Fear Effects, serving as a means to introduce those rules to your players. My experiences with the product follow.

I?ve tried to sum up the adventure?s basic plot line here without spoiling too much of the charm inherent to discovering such things on your own. The basics are as follows: Several members of a hippy commune in East Texas have dug up something in their field. Something bad. Something alien. Something that has enslaved their minds and turned these once peaceful people into violent maniacs. When a young boy becomes wrapped up in the cult-like activities going on up at the commune, you are tapped to investigate.

Sprinkled with cattle mutilations, poisoned fruit punch, tin foil hats and other bits of conspiracy theory pop culture, at first glance you might assume that Brainwashed is yet another schlock conspiracy theory adventure - but that would be an assumption made in error. By presenting these tropes in a serious context rather playing them up as humorous in-jokes, Brainwashed manages to convey a tone of urgency that many other such conspiracy-oriented adventures fail to capture.

As an engaging modern horror adventure, Brainwashed is well worth the admission price of $6.50. As a showcase for 12 to Midnight?s Fear Effects, it is slightly less impressive, but will serve as a good introduction to that product?s insanity rules for your players. Brainwashed is disturbing, atmospheric, fun that shouldn?t be overlooked by those with a genuine interest in Horror as a genre, or in modern conspiracy adventures.

<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The tin foil hats, cattle mutiliations, and other pop culture conspiracy references being executed 'straight' rather than as in-jokes. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Nothing, really. I was honestly impressed with all of it.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

Tucked away in the shadows of a colonial America that never was, the Deluxe Edition of Philip Reed?s vs. Monsters is an elegant piece of game design punctuated by wonderfully atmospheric black and white artwork. Atmosphere drips from the pages of vs. Monsters like blood drips from the blade of a madman?s knife, setting the stage for a night of horrifically fun roleplay in the vein of authors such as Washington Irving and Bram Stoker. The Deluxe Edition of vs. Monsters is, quite possibly, the best horror roleplaying game that I?ve ever read.

At its core, vs. Monsters is very much a minimalist game system that focuses squarely on horror and monsters, forsaking an angst-ridden, philosophical, treatise on modern life for a bucket full of blood-drenched, visceral, action that grabs hold of your throat and doesn?t let go until you lay down your dice for the night. If you?re looking for a game that plumbs the depths of a man?s own dark heart and offers plenty of time for deep introspection - look elsewhere. The moment that you pause for some deep introspection in a game of vs. Monsters will likely be your last.

Characters in vs. Monsters are initially defined by four attributes - Fighting, Defending, thinking, and Running - as well as by Good Stuff and Bad Stuff (biographic traits that benefit or hinder a character, respectively). While some people might decry vs. Monsters as not providing enough character options to build ?complex, dramatic, characters? those people are missing the point. Games of vs. Monsters are about following in the footsteps of Abraham Van Helsing and fighting evil, thus this is the premise that its rules support.

Now, before I go any further, I want to make it clear that I?m not a fan of card-based mechanics in roleplaying games. I typically find such mechanics to be far more complex than necessary, often serving more as marketing gimmick than a simple resolution system. That said, vs. Monsters uses a card-based mechanic - one that has completely won me over and should, in my honest opinion, serve as an example to all other game designers thinking about using playing cards to resolve actions in their own games. The Deluxe Edition of vs. Monsters does card-based action resolution right.

To resolve an action in vs. Monsters, a player first states what action their character is attempting, the Referee then assigns a difficulty rating to that action, and then the player draws a number of cards from a standard playing card deck equal to the rating of their character?s most relevant attribute. If the value of any card that the player draws equals or exceeds the difficulty rating assigned to the cation by the Referee, the action is successfully resolved. The vs. Monsters resolution mechanic is simple, direct, and plays fast -a welcome departure from the majority of card-based resolution mechanics that I?ve seen.

All of that said, there is one bit of weirdness that you?ll encounter where the vs. Monsters resolution mechanic is concerned - cards aren?t counted as standard playing cards. In vs. Monsters, face card values pick up where numbered cards leave off (i.e., a jack is worth 11, a queen 12, and a king 13) while an Ace is worth 14 points. While this system of assigning values to cards departs from the traditional method utilized in poker, black jack, and the like, it is necessary to maintain mechanical balance and so I?m not holding it against vs. Monsters.

?So,? you may be wondering, ?What about fighting monsters?? Well, fighting monsters is handled via a logical extension of the basic resolution mechanic discussed above, but rather than having the Referee assign a difficulty rating to an attack, he draws a number of cards equal to the defending monster?s appropriate attribute rating (Defending, obviously) while the player whose character is attacking draws a number of cards equal to their character?s Fighting attribute. If the attacking character?s player draws a card that equals or exceeds the highest card value drawn by the Referee, then their attack succeeds. If they don?t, then it doesn?t. This really is incredibly simple stuff.

I?ve saved my one complaint (small as it may be) for last, so as not to detract from all of the good things that vs. Monsters has to offer. The vs. Monsters Deluxe Edition is a re-worked presentation of the main rule booklet found in the limited edition boxed set and, unfortunately, a few copy and paste errors slipped past the editor?s eyes - in a few spots referenced to ?this boxed set? can be found. While this problem doesn?t effect actual play or detract from the product in a horrible way, it does give the impression of a hastily assembled product.

At the end of the day, my one complaint not withstanding, vs. Monsters does everything that it sets out to do and does it well. If you?re looking for an action-packed game about fighting monsters, look no further - the vs. Monsters Deluxe Edition is what you seek.

<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The presentation, the atmospheric artwork, the idea of Victorian Age London transposed onto colonial America, killing monsters. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The few copy and paste editing errors.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

Contained in the downloadable Year of the Zombie .zip file are three versions of the 140+ page core rules (full-color, printer-friendly, and HTML), two versions of the supplementary Diaries of Becka (full-color, printer-friendly), an introductory adventure module, and two versions (color and grayscale) of the floor plans that are used to run that introductory adventure. Finally, to tie this sizeable bundle of content together, there is a self-executing program file that acts as an interactive menu, letting the reader easily browse all of their Year of the Zombie files.

To be fair, I was blown away by Year of the Zombie?s production values before I ever read it. Not only are you getting a tremendous amount of well organized content for your money at the titillating price of $12.00, but you?re getting a tremendous amount of truly useful content for that price, as well (i.e., content that serves a purpose past padding out the .zip file for appearance?s sake). There aren?t many products that can convey a sense of purpose before you read them - but Year of the Zombie does just that. And it only gets better.

First, the core rules offer a comprehensive treatment of zombie survival horror in the d20 Modern system - from a discussion about the basic types of zombie survival horror campaigns, to a crucial examination of the post-zombie apocalypse world, the Year of the Zombie core rules have you covered. So what about the mechanics? Have no fear, the UKG crew has covered all of your bases there, too - from seven different zombie templates to a modified version of the Bad Axe Games insanity rules, Year of the Zombie is packing some serious crunch.

At first glance, the Diaries of Becka are simply a collection of one survivor?s fictional experience after the coming of the zombie apocalypse, but they are packed with potential. The ?diaries? are a brilliant idea in that I?ve never before seen game fiction presented in a format that begs to be used as a source of player handouts during actual play. I?m really itching to run a Year of the Zombie campaign in which player characters stumble across some pages from Becka?s diary as they explore the world of the living dead.

Third, the free introductory adventure, ?Gun Fight at the O.K. Diner? is a great way to spend a few hours - a few hours trapped in a small diner, surrounded by the hungry dead! The adventure takes place about 72 hours into the zombie apocalypse, involves the PCs as civilians looking for refuge, a small band of NPC soldiers fleeing a large group of flesh-eating, and that large group of flesh-eating geeks. There isn?t any real plot, but that?s okay - in high pressure situations like this, players tend to generate their own drama.

Now, having heaped on the praise, I do need to point out a few things that aren?t made immediately clear in the product?s ad copy. First, Year of the Zombie is a d20 Modern supplement and, as such, is squarely aimed at running campaigns set in modern times. Second, Year of the Zombie only deals with zombies in the vein of Romero?s undead ghouls - voodoun zombies simply don?t make an appearance therein. If you?re looking for a d20 fantasy supplement that covers zombies or a thorough examination of voodoun zombies, you won?t find either in Year of the Zombie.

Finally, my single complaint with Year of the Zombie is that it presents all of the rules for dealing with stress, horror, and other psychological consequences of zombie survival horror as options, burying them at the back of the core rules. This serves to de-emphasize the importance that such things play in the source material mimicked by Year of the Zombie, while simultaneously placing the focus on purely physical pursuits and the mechanics that support them. This is a shame, as it gives a false initial impression that Year of the Zombie is more about ?whacking zombies? than truly paying homage to the films that it does a wonderful job of mimicking.

So what?s the final verdict? For all of your non-voodoun, d20 Modern, zombie survival horror, you must own Year of the Zombie. Spread the infection - pick up your copy today!

<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The multiple format files contained in the download. The sheer volume of content for the price. The in depth discussion of different zombie campaign types found in the core rules. The cleverly presented Diaries of Becka. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Seeing the rules for psychological ramifications of a zombie apocalypse in a variant rules appendix buried at the end of the core rulebook<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

Into the Wildwood, a ?Bits of the Wilderness? product from Tabletop Adventures is a comprehensive collection of descriptive text and woodland encounters designed to assist the freewheeling referee who likes to improvise plot points and story on the fly. In this capacity, Into the Wildwood is a great resource for referees who are just beginning to explore this style of play or for more experienced referees simply looking for a boost in the improvisation department.

Now, Into the Wildwood isn?t first or only product of its kind, but it is easily one of the better products of its kind. Where several other books deigned to fill the same niche are content to provide simple lists of descriptive words, Into the Wildwood provides 175 detailed, yet simple, encounter seeds that can be inserted into a scenario as written or used to jumpstart the imagination of a struggling referee. That said, it?s the other material Into the Wildwood contains that truly sets it apart from similar products.

First, on top of the 175 encounter seeds the book also contains two short essays, the first of which examines the forest as a common fixture of myth and legend, and the second of which the ecosystems of ?temperate forests? in depth. Further, three unique OGL forest creatures are presented for use in your games, as are ?forest kits? (brief, but detailed, descriptions of the different kinds of forests that may pop up in a fantasy roleplaying game). Finally, appended to the end of the document are 102 encounter cards (100 of which are fully detailed and two of which are blank).

What are encounter cards? Very simply, they?re small cards that contain various woodland encounters to be utilized on the fly. Being able to shuffle them allows for not only a different kind of random element in your games, but also allows other players to get in on the fun (i.e., other players may draw cards to influence the adventure as it unfolds). Really, these cards are a great idea that make an already good product that much better.

I only have one complaint about Into the Wildwood, and that complaint concerns the cover art. The cover art of Into the Wildwood really doesn?t do the rest of the product justice and, if I based my purchasing decisions purely on aesthetic covers, I?d probably pass up Into the Wildwood - luckily, I?ve learned not to judge a book by its cover. If you?re a referee that likes to run your games fast and loose, but doesn?t like to sacrifice detail, Into the Wildwood is for you.

[Edited to correct numerical error in reagrd to encounter cards, as clarified by the publisher. Sorry about that, folks!]

<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The whole product concept. The encounter cards. The idea of setting 'kits' that can be used to dress up an adventure. Several of the individual encounters. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The cover art.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

The SRD 3.5 PDF published by Cartography Unlimited for RPGs is a massive, 1143-page, electronic tome that collects all of the free rich text 3.5 SRD documents released by Wizards of the Coast into a single, utilitarian, document. Obviously, if you?re not a fan of the 3.5 SRD rules, you won?t find much in the SRD 3.5 PDF to be excited about. If, on the other hand, you?re somebody who has had an interest in the 3.5 SRD rules, but didn?t feel like manually searching 1000+ pages of multiple rich text documents - this product is a godsend.

Laid out in a simple two-column format, the document is both heavily bookmarked for quick and painless searching. While that alone makes it a worthwhile investment at $5.00, it also includes section ?tabs? at the top of every page that allow you to navigate to the beginning of a given section with a single click. I?m currently in the process of developing an OGC product myself, and was nearly at my wit?s end after many days of manually scanning the many rich text SRD files available for free from Wizards of the Coast.. Not only is the SRD 3.5 PDF saving me a lot of hassles as a developer, but if I want to run a fantasy game using the 3.5 SRD rules, this easily searchable PDF is just what the doctor ordered.

Now, having dished out some praise, the only two things that I felt detracted from the product were its lack of interior artwork and its somewhat densely packed font. Now, to be clear, excluding art and using a small font makes perfect sense from a design standpoint - the product is designed to be a utilitarian workhorse, not a conversation piece. I?m merely getting old, and reading the densely packed font with very little to break it up is murder on my eyes (thankfully, the zoom function of my viewer alleviates that problem sufficiently).

In the end, the SRD 3.5 PDF achieves exactly what it sets out to do, serving as a comprehensive, user-friendly, presentation of the 3.5 SRD material. For that I give it high marks and recommend it to anybody who develops games based on the 3.5 SRD rules, as well as anybody who has interest in playing games based on those rules, but either can?t afford to (or doesn?t want to) drop $90 on the core rule books. At $5.00 this thoroughly indexed, comprehensive, tome of OGC material is a good value.

[Note: The ad copy for the product indicates that, as updates are made to the product, the consumer will receive them free of charge via email. I presently have no way to evaluate these updates or the distribution thereof, and have thus refrained from commenting on them for the purposes of this review.] <br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The thorough indexing and use of section-specific bookmarks. The comprehensive coverage of the 3.5 SRD material. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The lack of art to break up the dense text and the somewhat small font. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>