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Tales of the Caliphate Nights represents a bold ambition. The authors have attempted to create a fantasy roleplaying campaign set in a pseudo-historic version of earth during the height of the Islamic empire. In this endeavor, they've included many elements both factual and cinematic. In addition, one can see the influence of the Thousand Nights, the classic collection of Arabian fairy tales in both the rules and setting details of the book. In fact, stories and story-telling are a big part of Caliphate Nights. That they've succeeded in their somewhat difficult task speaks well for Paradigm Concepts, Inc.
The PDF is positively huge, weighing in at 258 pages including the front and back covers, plus legal information. The majority of the art throughout is full color and very setting appropriate. The layout is typical for a product of this type, with well-organized rules and thorough bookmarking. While the book looks great on a laptop, its length and frequent use of color art and page borders make printing it a bit out of the question for most people.
The game uses Green Ronin's True20 system, which is a kind of streamlined d20. When I first read the True20 rules, my immediate thought was that the system would be ideal for roleplaying campaigns based on novels. As such, the adventure stories of the Arabian Nights are well supported by the game rules. The damage system, while cinematic, feels more gritty than the hit points of d20. Characters can still overcome impossible odds and dangerous foes, but they are more...mortal...than their typical fantasy counterparts.
Tales of the Caliphate Nights expands on the existing True20 rules in innovative ways. There are two means by which players can spend conviction points to temporarily take over the narration of the story, making them something like temporary GMs. This gives the players themselves some control over their character's fates, and it adds an interesting roleplaying mechanic to the rules for spending conviction. This is also where we first see the idea of storytelling introduced as something of a metagame concept in the rules. While all roleplaying game characters are part of a story, Tales of the Caliphate Nights gives mechanics to back that idea up and, at the same time, encourage the kind of stories that inspired the setting. Its wonderfully innovative and a welcome addition to the open gaming landscape.
There are a number of new rules in this work as well. In addition to obvious things like new feats and magic, the book contains a simple system of chases, rules for handling debates, and storytelling contests. Other, existing rules are expanded and altered to fit the campaign's theme. Language, for example, is expanded in some detail. There is also advice on running the game without dice for story-driven episodes where the narration is more important than the rules.
Finally, the book is positively full of advice. Most of this is aimed at the Narrator, and covers both GMing tips and setting-specific points that might not be obvious to the typical western gamer. The Arabic world is covered in detail. The lands, peoples, and beliefs of the setting are all described. While any single work based on a real-world culture can only hope to scratch the surface of a people's society, the book does a good job covering what needs to be covered in order to facilitate the game.
I must point out that Caliphate Nights does contain strong religious elements. The religion here isn't a fictious one, it is the real-world faith of Islam. While it is beyond my duties as a reviewer to advocate or condone religion (or even discuss it, really), I feel it is important to make sure prospective buyers are aware of the game's religious content.
To the author's credit, they have done a good job presenting Islam in a fairly neutral light. I understand how important religion was during the historic period that inspired this book, so I see why the authors give it the attention it receives in Caliphate Nights. Still, if you have strong feelings one way or the other, you should at least be aware that the religious elements are here, as fair and neutral as they are.<br><br>
<b>LIKED</b>: Tales of the Caliphate Nights is an interesting campaign setting that simultaneously combines elements of a historic setting with the stories it has inspired. I really like the way the system mechanics are made to support the roleplaying aspects of the setting. True20 seems a perfect fit for this setting, and the authors have done a great job adapting it to work even better for their ends. There is some real innovation going on in this PDF, and you can see why it was selected as one of the winners in Green Ronin's True20 setting search.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: There really isn't much to say about this book in the way of negatives. Roleplaying in a historic setting, even one that's based more on the stories and myths of an era, may not be everyone's cup of tea. Tales of the Caliphate Nights does a good job keeping things fantastic, but the real-world overtones may turn off some players.
Other than that, this book is well written, well designed, and wonderfully put together.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>
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Creator Reply: |
Thanks for the review. We were apprehensive at first when presented with what is a bit of a history book, but Aaron nailed it. History is presented in a manner that isn't pedantic, and the fantastic locations are well detailed. We are pleased to hear that you enjoyed the book as much as us. |
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As a parent of a six-year-old, the idea of a roleplaying game geared toward children intrigues me. My son loves to play with my D&D minis, and his exposure to gaming in general has colored his imagination and affected the way he plays with friends. Still, he?s a little young to actually play RPGs, as most modern games are too complex for his kindergarten brain to grasp. Faery?s Tale attempts to alleviate this with a simple system and a game setting especially geared toward children, and it does a pretty good job at both.
Fairies, or faerys (to use the game?s spelling) always struck me as a bit, for lack of a better term?girly. Not that there?s anything wrong with that, but I have boys and I want a game that appeals to them. Reading through the rules, however, I found that my initial impression was wrong. While there is a lot in Faery?s Tale that would appeal to the young female crowd, things like evil goblins clad in spiderweb armor and monstrous trolls are right up my son?s alley.
The rules in Faery?s Tale are simple. The game uses a dice-pool mechanic, in which a player rolls a certain number of dice based on a relevant attribute. To keep things simple, the designers decided to use even numbers as successes and odd numbers as failures, rather than requiring players to roll higher or low. I think this is a mistake. Children learn to count before they learn the difference between even and odd. While my son was able to grasp the idea, he often had to be reminded that 2, 4, and 6 are good. A simple 4+ would have been just as easy (if not easier) for him to understand. Older children will have less trouble with even/odd, of course, but by then they?d just as easily understand rolling above specific numbers.
Other than the unnecessarily confusing even number system, Faery?s Tale is pretty straightforward. Character generation only takes a few minutes, and my son was able to make a character right away with my help. He chose to make a pooka, which I think he picked because he liked the way it sounds. He had a hard time deciding whether he wanted to be strong, fast, or magical?if he had his way, he would have made a character that was all three (which sounds like a lot of adult gamers I?ve met).
For older children and adults, there are a number of ways to give a character deeper customization. Titles represent a character?s standing within the faery community. They are granted as a reward for heroic deeds and give an in-game incentive for continued play. In addition, characters can earn boons (magical promises) and charms (enchanted items). Each character also possesses a number of special powers, called gifts, which are chosen during character creation.
The mini-session we ran went smoothly, although combat gave us a bit of trouble. When going against someone, a player splits his available dice pool between offense and defense. While my son got the idea, the strategy was a bit beyond him. I had to basically tell him what to do, while still giving the final decision to him. For younger children, I think taking the choice away and simply dividing the pool into half is probably a good work-around. Older children shouldn?t have too much trouble with this.
Faery?s Tale takes place in the Enchanted Forest of Brightwood. The setting is given a modest amount of detail, and well-written short fiction helps set the tone of the game. Stats are included for a handful of creatures both magical and natural, and the entire book is nicely illustrated with black and white drawing of faeries and their enemies and allies.<br><br>
<b>LIKED</b>: Faery?s Tale works pretty well as a roleplaying game for children. The system is simple enough that your average 8-year-old can play without any problem, and the setting should be appealing to children of all ages and both genders. The book itself is nicely illustrated, and the short fiction adds to the mood of the game and gives the GM inspiration for adventure design.
There is advice throughout the book on designing and running adventures for children, which seems to be this game?s primary target. The advice is well written, and included ideas for eliminating death, teaching lessons through play, and other considerations. Faery?s Tale could also work as an introduction game for older but inexperienced players. For them, the game?s strengths are its nice balance of rules detail and simplicity.
<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Although the authors state that the game is geared toward children 6 years and older, I think the average six-year-old may find some of the game?s concepts are a little beyond him/her. While I found the game entirely playable with my 6 ? year old son, I had to give him significantly more help than I probably would have were he just a few years older.
Of course, my three-year-old was there in the background the entire time, loudly explaining what HE would do if HE was facing a giant (which involved wrapping him up with a magic rope and pushing him over, by the way), so even very young kids can contribute if you?re willing to give them some patience and throw a few rules out the window.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>
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Battle on the Bay Bridge is a mini-adventure consisting of a single encounter: the heroes against the meglomaniacal Dr. Null and his army of robot bugs. It's designed to serve as a prequel of sorts to the full length adventure Day of Dr. Null, but it would also work as a self-contained one shot adventure.
The premise of the adventure is pretty straightforward. The mad scientist Dr. Null has unleashed his hoard of destructive robots into the city, and the attack begins on a large suspension bridge. While this is a simple scenario, there are plenty of things to make it interesting. First of all, the bridge itself adds a level of danger: characters who can't fly could fall off, and suspension cables could potentially snap in the ensuing battle and do damage to anyone standing nearby. Dr. Null's robots have a couple of surprises up their sleeves as well. They have an interesting means of replicating, plus a potentially explosive ability that becomes important near the end of the adventure.
In addition, there are a number of what the designers call ?action schticks.? An action schtick is a kind of mini-encounter within the adventure proper. They are dramatic events that can add to the tension regardless of the specific plot. They include citizens in peril, the aforementioned snapping cables, quickdrying cement, and other hazards.
I really like the way Battle on the Bay Bridge is designed. The adventure is done in something resembling an outline format with a general sequence of events, a single set encounter, and a lot of extras that the GM can use as he sees fit to jazz things up. This gives the GM a lot of freedom to let the players move the action along, while still giving him enough guidelines to keep things moving.
As a bonus, elements of Battle on the Bay Bridge can easily be mined for use in other adventures. Dr. Null, the main villain, is a mad scientist with a great origin. He's a power-mad sociopath with literally no emotional attachment to the human race. Even if you don't have any intention of running this adventure or its sequel, Dr. Null is worth stealing for your own purposes. Besides the evil doctor, there are stats for the bugbots and a tripod walker. Finally, the bridge itself is an exciting encounter location that can be used for a different battle if you so choose.<br><br>
<b>LIKED</b>: Battle on the Bay Bridge is an excellent mini-adventure that can stand alone, serve as a prequel to Day of Dr. Null, or simply be mined for useful bits. I appreciate the innovations that the authors have worked into the adventure design. From the adventure's structure to the annotated maps, there are some neat ideas that went in this product.
Since it is free, there's no reason not to download it and use it in whatever way you see fit.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: A mad scientist and his army of robot bugs is pretty four color and might not port well into every campaign, especially if you're running something grim and gritty. Other than that, its a solid little effort and worth 4 ? stars for what it is.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>
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"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning. For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north...Yet thou shalt be brought down to Hell, to the sides of the pit."
Untold ages ago, angels and mortals lived side by side in the realm of heaven. Then the archangel Lareniel succumbed to the sin of pride and led 1/3 of the angels in rebellion against God. After 1,000 years of war, the forces of heaven were poised to defeat the rebels when a second rebellion sprung up, turning the loyal angels against one another.
In the ensuing chaos, heaven itself nearly fell. Five mortal prophets, one of each race, foresaw the fall of heaven undertook a great ritual to save it. They sundered the world into three: heaven, hell, and the mortal realms. Now, many ages later, the war between heaven and hell rages, the church is split into warring factions, good and evil vie for the hearts and minds of the mortal races, and the mortal realm is the great stage upon which all of history will be decided.
Echoes of Heaven is a well-written, fantastically interesting campaign setting. While downloads are available for four game systems (d20, HERO, H.A.R.P., and Rolemaster), the brunt of the book is system-neutral. The setting itself is well wrought, with a level of detail on par with Wizards of the Coast's official campaign settings.
Religion, being a major part of the setting, gets more attention than it typically receives in a d20 fantasy setting. The major churches (which are actually competing divisions of the same religion) are described along with their dogma, structure, and history. While Echoes of Heaven was obviously inspired by judaeo-christian ideas, the author has done a good job separating the fantasy churches of the mortal realm from any real world religions. There are echoes to be sure, but no more so than what already exists in standard D&D.
Other setting aspects receive a similar level of attention. The various nations of the mortal realm are described, complete with some nice looking Campaign Cartographer 3 maps. There's an interesting section of feudalism, which I thought contained just enough information to give the game a medieval feel without getting too bogged down in intricacies. Overall, Echoes of Heaven contains all the information a DM should need to run an effective campaign in the mortal realm.
One innovation that I really liked was the book's clear definition of what plot hooks will and won't be advanced in future books. That way, a DM can create his own adventures without worrying about being trumped by some future development of the setting's metaplot. I thought this was a nice idea that I'd like to see implemented in other campaign books.
While Echoes of Heaven contains the typical trappings of a fantasy setting, it uses them in clever ways. For instance, in the world's early history, a group of fiends took the form of dwarf-wives and seduced the returning dwarven warriors. The resulting union gave birth to the first giants, who then waged war against their mortal fathers. Thus was born the racial animosity between dwarves and giants. There are many other examples of common fantasy ideas applied in unique ways to the setting's history. From the cambion origins of the various evil humanoid races, to the incorporation of deadly sins into the personalities of the mortal races, there is good stuff here.
While I appreciate the non-system aspects of the book, some of the d20 aspects are vague and underdeveloped. There are no prestige classes, no spells, and no feats to speak of. In addition, several campaign details have system implications that are glossed over or difficult to find. For example, alignment-detecting magic and spells that are used to divine the true nature of creatures aren't as effective in Echoes of Heaven. The book gives some advice on dealing with this, but it doesn't ever come out and give any hard and fast rules. If detect evil doesn't actually detect evil, what does it do? There are other examples like this. The book gives lots of suggestions, buts its very light on actual rules content.
As a bonus, the download comes with an adventure and a series of Campaign Cartographer files. The inclusion of the Campaign Cartographer files allows anyone with that program to access to the setting's maps. This is a nice addition, as CC maps can be zoomed, cropped, and otherwise altered for adventure design and other purposes. The adventure, called The Throne of God, is the first in a series meant to take PCs from 2nd to 20th level over the course of a campaign. It's well-written, and it does a good job incorporating various elements of the setting into an interesting plot. DMs not planning to run the entire adventure series can probably use Throne of God as inspiration when setting the tone of his own adventures in the Echoes of Heaven Setting.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Echoes of Heaven is a campaign setting with a neat hook and a lot of detail. This book contains a level of information comparable to Wizards of the Coast's official campaign setting books, which I think is a high compliment for a small press, third party product like this one. The authors have done a fantastic job taking the idea of a war in heaven and turning it into a D&D campaign. The art is good, the layout is professional, and the writing is fairly solid. Bonuses like the CC map files and the free adventure make this a great bargain for the price.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: While Echoes of Heaven is great when it is being system-generic, it falls a bit short when its trying to be d20. There are interesting knightly orders, but no feats or prestige classes to reflect them. There are notes on changes to the magic system, but the actual work on editing and altering spells is up to the DM. I think the authors have a great setting on their hands, but the actual rules mechanics just aren't there.
If Echoes of Heaven had a simple and clear set of d20 rules to back up its detailed and inspired setting, this would be a five star product. As it stands, I'm calling it 4 1/2 stars and rounding down.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>
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Creator Reply: |
Thank you very much!
Just for the sake of those buy the product, detect good and detect evil detect only divine or infernal force. So detect good will detect anyone with a Divine Spark or Angelic Spark. The person possesing this attribute CAN be evil (although if they are really evil they will lose it eventually). It would also detect anything Holy for game purposes such as holy ground or a bless spell or holy water.
Same for detect evil, it will detect the Infernal Taint (though you can have good cambions), Ulcers, the Unholy and the like.
Thanks you for the input, again, both positive and negative. I'll make that clearer when we do our first major revision. |
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The Koboldnomicon is either a dread tome of unspeakable secrets, penned in blood by a yipping and yapping monk from an eastern land?or a somewhat tongue-in-cheek sourcebook of all things kobold. Based on the feats, spells, and prestige classes, I?m leaning toward the latter. Still, it never hurts to be too careful, so I?m checking over my shoulder from time to time as I write this.
Seriously, though, the Koboldnomicon is a book that I?m surprised didn?t come out years ago. It?s just such an obviously good idea to create a sourcebook based around D&D?s lowliest humanoid antagonist. The idea of the book as a kind of forbidden tome gives the Kobolnomicon a neat hook and, when it works, adds a little humor to the sourcebook.
This product was written by a number of different authors, and at times you can tell it?s a compilation effort. While the book as a whole is well-written, it lacks cohesion. The contents are divided into sections: sub-races, classes and prestige classes, feats & skills, etc. Scattered throughout are kobold themed fiction and poetry (yes, kobold poetry). While it?s all organized logically, everything comes out feeling sort of cobbled together. Maybe it?s the sparse design style of the PDF, which is positively drab and uniform.
Fortunately, the actual rules and contents of the Koboldnomicon are pretty good. The Kobold Trapsmith prestige class is a logical addition, and I thought a number of the spells were clever. Every section contained more than a few things that I liked, and everything seemed balanced and well-written. Even the things I didn?t care for (such as the kobold sub-races) would probably work fine for someone else?s group and campaign.
I also found a few things that, while I didn?t really like them at a casual glance, eventually won me over when I read them in more depth. The best example is probably the section on ?kobold bio-weapons.? These are traps and weapons incorporating living animals. At first glance, I found them a little too silly. After all, they include in their number something called the ?angry-wolvering-strapped-to-a-battering-ram?, which is exactly what it sounds like it is. After reading through the bioweapons, though, they kind of grew on me. An angry wolverine strapped to the front of an imposing battering-ram would make a fairly terrifying contraption, after all. My favorite bioweapon is the caltrop-toad, which really is quite clever.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The Koboldnomicon accomplishes what it sets out to do: help the DM make the lowly kobold a threat. Between the prestige classes, new spells, equipment, gods, and other new rules and ideas the Koboldnomicon should make the kobold more interesting, if not worthy of the respect of PC adventurers everywhere.
There are a lot of ideas crammed into the Koboldnomicon?s 60ish pages of rules, poetry, and other nonsense. Most of them are pretty darn good and, assuming you?re looking to spice up the kobolds in your campaign, you?ll find more than a few cool things here to help you. The writing is solid, the ideas are clever, and the rules seem pretty well balanced.
Overall, the Koboldnomicon a nice little PDF.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The Koboldnomicon is built around the idea of an evil, necronomicon-style book dealing with the forbidden lore of the kobolds. It?s a clever thought, but one that the book?s design fails to use to its advantage. The opening introduction (by the mysterious Simon) supposedly came in the form of letter written in shaky handwriting and stained with brownish-red spots. So why not present it on a cool background, in a hand-written font? Some clear divisions between sections, along with a better use of art (which is good, but seems randomly placed) would have gone a long way toward making this book look more professional.
As it was, I felt as though I was looking at some kind of printer friendly version, wondering what happened to the layout and color. Also, where the heck are the bookmarks?
Finally, while the d20 ruleset has the level adjustment rules for handling the benefits a player gains from choosing a monster race, it has no counterpart for boosting those players that want to play weaker races such as kobolds. I would have liked to have seen this addressed. Kobold-themed feats, spells, and abilities are fine and well, but some kind of ?reverse LA? or experience bonus would have gone along way toward making up for the basic Kobold?s statistical shortcomings.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>
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I like Dr. Null, the villain in Lame Mage production?s Day of Dr. Null. Well, I don?t like him per say (he?s an amoral sociopath, after all), but I think he?s a cool character. By necessity, super hero roleplaying games have to rely strongly on clich? in order to stay true to the medium that inspired them. Characters like Dr. Null, the evil genius bent on world domination, are a dime a dozen in comic books. In order to stand out from the pack, a memorable villain must have something?unique. In the case of Dr. Null, it?s his backstory that draws me to the character.
Dr. Null was once a genius with unlimited scientific potential until a freak accident erased his memory?and his humanity. With no knowledge of his previous life and no emotional connection to anyone or anything, the doctor became a textbook sociopath. Dr. Null is probably the smartest man in the world, and he?s filled with a dangerous combination of self-importance and utter disregard for human life. These are the makings of a truly depraved and memorable villain.
When writing this adventure, the designers chose to use a very abstract style. There are no maps, and scenes are described in very generic terms. Fine details are glossed over in favor of a focus on action and moving things along. Most of the time, this works well and captures the feel of comic book adventures. In a few cases, it requires some tweaking and may not work as written.
For example, the big climatic battle near the end of the adventure is intended to run without maps or miniatures, even though it involves potentially hundreds of participants. The designers offer advice on how to keep the action flowing, and they?ve included a clever means of keeping track of the fight without bogging things down with tactical movement. I really like this section, and appreciated the vignette-style sample encounters where the heroes rescue helpless citizens.
I would have liked to see some kind of maps, however, if only as a point of reference. While I agree with designer?s philosophy here, I like to use a battle mat to get a vague idea of where the PCs are in relation to their surroundings. Collateral damage, after all, is one of the most fun parts of comic book battles. I can create my own improvisational maps for this purpose, but it would have been nice if the adventure did the work for me.
There is also big pseudo chase scene that suffers from lack of detail In this part of the adventure, the heroes are up against the clock in a race to thwart Dr. Null?s plans before they come to fruition. The problem is that the adventure gives very little consequence for the heroes taking too long to reach their goal. If they arrive late, the worst that occurs is they miss the initial part of the doctor?s attack. This doesn?t make things any harder for the PCs, it just makes the surprise attack less surprising, and therefore less exciting. On the other hand, a speedy handling of this section is swallowed up by the Deus ex machina and the big surprise attack occurs anyway.
Finally, there is a body switching scene that, as written, would play out a little clumsy in my home campaign. I don?t relish the idea of putting one character into solo mode while the others sit around and pretend not to know what?s going on. Its not bad design, it just wouldn?t work very well with my group. Fortunately, the adventure suggests a few other ways of handling his entire scene. With a little tweaking, I could make this work without a problem.<br><br>
<b>LIKED</b>: Overall, the good of the adventure outweighs the bad. The abstract style, as I said above, really matches the flow of comic book style action. All of my problems with the adventure itself are easily fixed, and it certainly isn?t uncommon for a GM to need to tweak a published adventure to best fit his group and campaign. I also should give the designers a ?thumbs up? for including some character art. Art is especially important in comic book RPGs, so I really appreciate the villain illustrations. The art itself isn?t the best I?ve seen (its black and white, for one thing), but it serves its purpose and I appreciate its inclusion.
Also, did I mention that I like Dr. Null? I think he?s a compelling villain, and I?d be happy to use him in my campaign. The adventure assumes that he?s someone of prominence, an infamous bad guy in your campaign world. I would prefer to have him make his debut as a new threat to the world, and Day of Dr. Null is a good way to do that. With just a bit of prep and customization, this adventure looks like it would be a lot of fun to play.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The GM must do some work to make this adventure run properly. This is not really a plug-and-play module in any way. If you want an adventure that holds your hand and does all the work for you, or you need such an adventure because time is short and the game is at hand, Day of Dr. Null won?t work for you.
It?s also worth noting that the adventure is pretty four color, and some of the elements would not work well in other types of campaigns. I have no problem with four color adventures, but it does limit the module?s versatility a bit.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>
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Creator Reply: |
Thanks Andrew. As you point out, aspects of Day of Dr Null are a bit experimental. One of the goals is to help GMs escape the "map trap" and run something that really feels like comic book superhero action, not like a D&D game with capes. The Battle Tracker allows you to use a mix of small battlemap "street corner" battles (if you prefer), orchestrated through the strategic view of the Battle Tracker. If a GM wanted to lay out a whole map of their fair city and run the battle wargame-style, that would require a lot more preparation and it would be a pretty slow game - the adventure is designed to avoid that and keep the action dramatic. The mind swap section might not be for everyone, which is why the scenario includes more traditional ways to run that part of the adventure, but it might turn out better than expected. When our playtest groups tried it, the GMs had reservations ahead of time, but when they ran it players enjoyed it and reported it was like playing a scene from a comic book. Anyone who has more questions about Day of Dr Null can visit this forum (http://www.atomicthinktank.com/viewtopic.php?t=17983) for more info. |
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Adventure hooks are a useful thing. Sometimes, all you need to craft a good scenario is a push in the right direction. Bloody Hooks provides just over 20 short adventure ideas for the horror genre. Each is about a paragraph long. Some give only a hint of whats going on, while others offer a little more explanation. In all cases, the brunt of the work is up to the gamemaster.
You'll probably find some of these more to your liking than others. It's not that any of them are bad, in fact they're all pretty good, but some probably won't fit whatever type of horror game you're playing. A few are rather grim while others seem a bit campy. Fortunately, many of the ideas can be tweaked with relative ease to fit your campaign. Out of the twenty-two hooks, a creative GM should be able fashion a half dozen or so into lengthy adventures.
The writing here is top-notch, and does a good job inspiring the reader's creative mind. The few typos are minor and don't take away from the main text. Of the hooks, Video Diary was probably my favorite. Its a longer hook, and sounded like the plot of good paperback horror novel (more Koontz than King). It could be easily stretched into a series of adventures. The only drawback I saw was the plot's solo nature. The GM would have to modify things a bit to include a group of player characters.
Normally, I would say that a collection of horror hooks really belongs in a full-fledged rulebook. Perhaps tucked into the appendix of a set of horror rules, or maybe in a large setting / campaign book. Bloody Hooks is, after all, only six pages long. In this case, I'm willing to overlook the small page count and narrow focus of the product because of the very low price. At a meager $1.35, these hooks are priced somewhere in the neighborhood of $0.06 each. I think that Bloody Hooks would make a good article in a professional gaming magazine, and its priced about perfectly from that perspective.<br><br>
<b>LIKED</b>: Bloody Hooks contains several well written adventure hooks that capture a wide variety of ideas from the horror genre. While the product is short, and the hooks require a lot of work to turn them into full adventures, the book's low price makes up for the brevity.
The author clearly knows the horror genre, and he's done a good job here giving just the right amount of detail to inspire while letting the GM take the adventure in whatever direction he thinks is best.
Also, for whatever it's worth, I really like the title. Bloody Hooks is both evocative...and it makes me chuckle.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: While I gave Bloody Hooks a bit of a pass because of its low cost, I would have liked to see a longer product. I would have even been willing to pay more money for a longer product. $1.35 for just over 20 hooks is a good start, and certainly worth the money, but I think a much longer book would have greater longevity and thus moved this book from a ?pretty darn good? to ?must have.?
Also, you may recognize some of these hooks from actual horror stories / movies. It isn't that Bloody Hooks is too clich?d, on the contrary it's fairly original, it's just that the horror genre itself tends to cut all its stories from a similar cloth.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>
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In the opening line of Secrets of the Squirrel, author Peter M. Ball writes a sentence that I don't particularly agree with. He says:
?There probably doesn't need to be a product full of rules for people who want to make interesting characters or NPCs with squirrel traits, but why should simple things like common sense get in the way of a good time [?]?
You see, I've been secretly hoping for such a product for a long time. Back in the dark(er) era of Second Edition Dungeons & Dragons, one of the annual softcover monster books that TSR put out contained a race of squirrel-folk known as the Kercpa. For whatever reason, the Kercpa became a minor but beloved addition to my home-brewed campaign world. My rarely played centaur PC even gained one as a follower, and the two went on to great adventures together.
Why am I telling you this? Well, because if you haven't dismissed me as some kind of looney by this point, then Secrets of the Squirrel may be just the book for you. Picture squirrels in war paint, firing down upon evil goblins with tiny squirrel-crafted bows, defending their forest realm with a bravery and gusto far larger than their apparent size. Still with me? Have I lost all credit as an RPGNow staff reviewer?
If not, then read on, gentle...er...reader, and add some squirrels to your game. You know you want to.
Secrets of the Squirrel contains a number of squirrly rules. There is a new Kercpa-like race of squirrel-people. There are squirrel themed spells! Heck, there are even squirrel-themed feats!
While this book is obviously written with the author's tongue firmly in his cheek, it's not really as silly as it might sound. Any humor is secondary, a kind of side effect, and the various rules are well designed and generally quite clever.
First off, we have the return of the squirrel people. This time, they're called Toski. The name Toski, as all squirrel enthusiasts no doubt recognize, is a reference to Ratatosk, an actual character from norse mythology. The vikings, you see, were also fans of squirrels.
The author has taken the core of this myth and used it to create a pretty clever PC race. The entire psychology of the Toski is tied in with the legend of Ratatosk. They are a clever, furry little bunch with a misunderstood (and probably completely fictitious) divine legacy. In other words, they sound like a lot of fun to play.
Next, the author presents a handful of squirrel-themed feats. This is the section of the book I found to be the most outright silly. There are feats here called Scamper, Squirreling Paws, and Stowe (among others). It should be noted that the feats themselves are well designed, its just the images that they bring to mind that might seem a bit...goofy. Squirreling Paws, for example, gives a character a bonus to Sleight of Hand checks. The explanation is that he is adept at hiding small things about his person. The silliness, then, is in the details.
The spells section is probably a little more useful to those not wishing to play (or introduce) Toski characters. The most flavorful spell is, in my opinion, Cesil's Squirrel Swarm. This spell was created by a druid to aid him in gathering his evening meal of acorns. It can, of course, be put to more offensive uses should the caster choose to do so. Other spells, such as Acorn Avalanche or Fafnar's Secret Chitter are less serious but no less useful.
Secrets of the Squirrel contains pretty much every other kind of squirrel rule imaginable: Squirrel equipment, dire squirrels, squirrel swarms, etc. The only thing that I found missing was rules for lycanthropic squirrels. Where are the weresquirrels?<br><br>
<b>LIKED</b>: Alright, so I admit that this review, like the product it covers, is a bit tongue in cheek. In all seriousness, Secrets of the Squirrel is very well written and very well designed. Its subject may be a bit out there, but it does a great job presenting it all the same.
The Toski are a neat race that would fit in just fine with all the other strange intelligent beings in a typical D&D world, and some of the spells would make a fine addition to the spell roster of even the most serious-minded druid. Its also nice to have a d20 stat block for squirrels, which were curiously overlooked in the Monster Manual.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: This is a niche product and, by the author's own admission, probably didn't need to be written. If you aren't interested in adding a new race to the sylvan realms of your world, and you don't think that the gnome barbarian in your campaign would be interested in gaining a Squirrel Totem, you probably won't get much use out of this book.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>
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The Mastermind?s Manual is a book of optional, variant, and expanded rules for the Mutants & Masterminds game written by M&M creator Steve Kenson. The book is geared toward game masters, and it contains plenty of advice on creating and successfully running Mutants & Masterminds adventures and campaigns.
Each chapter is devoted to a different aspect of the game, and each correlates with the chapters in the M&M rulebook. There are a lot of options here, running the gamut from simple rules additions like new skills and powers to entirely new methods of running the game like card-based task resolution. Some of these rules are pulled from other open-source d20 products, taking the best of the d20 market and applying it to M&M.
If you like Mutants & Masterminds overall, but are bothered by some individual aspect of the game, chances are the Masterminds Manual has a variant that you?ll like. The aforementioned card-based task resolution system uses playing cards instead of dice for determining the outcome of character actions. This system reminded me of the old Marvel Super Heroes SAGA rules, and fans of that game will probably like these mechanics. There are also different methods of ability score generation, a hit point system, alternate saving throws?the list goes on.
Of the rules that I recognized from other open source products, I like the skill challenge system the best. Skill challenges allow a player to accept a voluntary penalty on a skill check in order to perform the skill with some added benefit, such as a reduced action time. These rules reward characters for putting high ranks in their skills, something that the core M&M rules overlook. In addition to skill challenges, I also noticed wound points/vitality points and extended skill checks. These rules aren?t just SRD reprints, but are tailored to fit the M&M game. I was also happy to see the quick and easy crime and punishment rules from the 1E Annual.
There are some good new rules in the Mastermind?s Manual as well. I thought the rules for hacking (an expanded use of the Computers skill) were simple and elegant. The rules for power creation were also a welcome addition. As a matter of fact, the sample powers are so good that they?ll definitely find their way into my campaigns. Probability Control is my favorite, but the martial arts themed Dim Mak and Chi abilities are very cool as well.
Finally, I welcomed the gamemastering advice spread throughout the book. Many game-book authors are skilled GMs, but the advice of the original designer of the rules system is especially valuable. Steve Kenson really knows his stuff; not only comic books but super hero games in general. While the information on running games doesn?t go too deep, it?s well-written and informative. I particularly appreciated the way the Mastermind?s Manual calls out potentially troublesome powers and gives advice for dealing with them. M&M, due to its versatility, is a game that requires a great deal of GM oversight to run. It?s nice that Kenson has already done the legwork in helping you deal with potential issues before they come up.<br><br>
<b>LIKED</b>: I?ve tried to express the sheer volume of optional and variant rules that appear in the Mastermind?s Manual. There are easily hundreds of rules here. Of course, you won?t want or need to use them all, but chances are you?ll find at least a couple dozen ideas to expand and improve your game.
The biggest strength of this book is its author. Steve Kenson knows Mutants & Masterminds inside and out, and his love and understanding of superhero comics and RPGs really comes across in the text. Fans of older supers RPGs will appreciate some of the variant rules systems, and rulers tinkerers will find plenty to keep them going over the course of many campaigns.
If you GM Mutants & Masterminds, the Mastermind?s Manual is really an essential rulebook.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: This book features the stunning art and professional layout we?ve come to expect from Green Ronin?s M&M books. That?s a positive thing, of course, but your printer ink supply may disagree with me. The price on this PDF is perfect for those looking to download this onto a gaming table laptop, but those wanting a more tangible copy may want to skip the PDF and just buy the hardcover.
That?s really my only complaint with this book and, since I intend to use it on my laptop, it?s not really a complaint at all.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>
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Let me preface this review with a quote from Sean K Reynolds Games? mission statement:
?The goal?is to publish quality games that help you make better choices about your gaming. They may teach you something about game design in general, the d20 System in particular, or even some part of the real world; ideally, my d20 System products should leave you understanding the rules better so you can make better choices for your game, whether in designing your own material or evaluating published books to determine if they're balanced, campaign-appropriate, or worth reading at all.?
I wanted to include that paragraph because it really sums up what I like best about Curse of the Moon. Throughout the book, the author takes the time to explain his motivation for writing it, what he sees as the shortcomings of the lycanthrope template in the core rules, and his reasoning for the design decisions he made in changing that template. Sean?s insights are interesting and informative, and they?re of great value to anyone wanting to tweak these rules.
Sean?s answer to the lycanthrope template is something that he calls the ?Simple Lycanthrope.? Basically, all that this template grants at its core is the ability to change shape into an animal or animal-humanoid hybrid, heightened senses, a bite attack, and a hit point boost. A simple lycanthrope isn?t that much more powerful than the base creature.
From this basic starting point, the DM (or player) is free to increase the lycanthrope?s power by taking special feats that add hit points, expand movement, grant special attacks or abilities, etc.. This design style insures that a simple lycanthrope?s CR is based entirely on its character level. A werebear isn?t inherently any more or less powerful than a wererat. Compared with the overly complicated rules in the Monster Manual, the Simple Lycanthrope template is brilliant in its simplicity.
Another of Sean?s goals in designing these rules was to make lycanthropes more palatable to players wanting to run were-creature PCs. As Sean points out, the addition of animal hit dice in the Monster Manual template makes the LA of most lycanthropes a burden many players don?t want to bear. The templates in this book, by tying most of the lycanthrope abilities into feats, keep the LAs fairly low.
Perhaps the most innovative new mechanic in Curse of the Moon is the addition of ?Moon Hit Points.? These are a special kind of temporary hit points that the were-creature gains whenever in its animal or hybrid form. Most kinds of damage take away Moon Hit Points first, making the lycanthrope hard to kill via conventional means. Silver weapons, on the other hand, ignore Moon Hit Points and go directly to regular HP damage. Moon Hit Points are a clever alternative to the Damage Reduction rules, and they?re one of my favorite things about Curse of the Moon.
In addition to the Simple Lycanthrope template, Curse of the Moon contains two more templates meant to simulate different kinds of werecreatures. There is an entire chapter of feats, a few were-creature themed magic items, and a handful of gods (original and historical). There?s also a miscellaneous assortment of sidebars, rules discussions, and interesting observations.<br><br>
<b>LIKED</b>: Curse of the Moon meets the goals set out in Sean K. Reynolds Games? mission statement. It?s well-written, informative, entertaining, and it gives great insight into the decisions behind the design process. I really like the new rules, particularly the Simple Lycanthrope template. I wish some of the larger RPG companies would take a cue from Sean?s design style. Rules explanations are infinitely helpful whether you?re trying to assess a particular rule?s power, create house rules, or simply understand why the designer did what he did.
I look forward to more products from this company, and I?ll definitely be adding some of these new rules to my home game.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: I really don?t care for photographs in my RPG books. Something about a picture takes away from the fantastic feeling of the genre. Curse of the Moon contains a number of full color photographs of wolves, foxes, bears, and other animals. While they?re nice pictures, I just don?t care for the way they look in the context of an RPG.
Other than that, my only other complaint is the somewhat limited scope of this book. If you agree with Sean and think that lycanthropes in the core rules need some attention, you?ll probably love this book. If you?re happy with the status quo, this product might not be for you. At just $5, though, it?s probably worth checking out either way.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>
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A Magical Society: Beast Builder is one of my favorite d20 books. It?s easily one of the three or so best PDF products that I own. While it might not be for everyone, it does what it sets out to do with absolutely flying colors.
Never in the history of gaming has it been so easy to self-publish an RPG supplement. The portability of the PDF format combined with the openness of the d20 license allows designers of expand on a lot of niche products. The end result is some great products that boldly go in directions that Wizards of the Coast doesn?t have the interest or the pagecount to explore. Things that were once esoteric in D&D are now open to the masses.
MS: Beast Builder is a book devoted to one thing: d20 monster design. The authors have done a great job reverse-engineering the how and why of d20 monsters and compiling everything into one easy to use resource. Monster design can often involve flipping through multiple books, cross-referencing creature special abilities, and comparing and contrasting stats. With all the nuance and detail in third edition, its easy to make mistakes when making new monsters, a truism that even Wizards of the Coast have trouble escaping.
Expeditious Retreat Press has taken all of the guesswork out of monster design. MS: Beast Builder compiles all the rules relevant to creature creation into one source. Need to rate a new animal?s natural AC? Simply find its hide (or scales, or whatever) on the Estimating Natural Armor chart. Need the list of skill synergy bonuses? It?s right here on page 76.
In addition to the raw data, MS: Beast Builder gives plenty of advice. Each statistic (base attack bonus, types of attacks, saves) is explained with game mechanics, advice on how the stat might affect Challenge Rating, and examples from the core rules. Rules that I often need to look up during monster design are explained here as well. For example, what happens when a creature with natural weapons also wields a sword? MS: Beast Builder gives you a clear, easy to find explanation of the rules. Even ?non-crunchy? bits like name and concept get some attention. There is advice on making your creatures unique, various roles that monsters fill in the context of the game, and plenty of examples from the core rules.
The book also contains a number of appendices with useful charts, checklists, and a random monster generation system. Its pretty good stuff. I find the monster creation checklist is particularly useful for helping me avoid common mistakes in my work.
While the brunt of this book is concerned with the nuts and bolts of monster design, the first 50 odd pages are devoted to the ecology and environment of animals in the real world and how these things translate into the reality of the d20 system. The book contains a fairly in-depth primer on how ecosystems work and why animals evolve the way they do.
This section is full of examples of real world creatures whose strange abilities and characteristics would fit right in with the monsters in a typical fantasy campaign. Anyone looking to develop somewhat more realistic creatures, or at least design monsters that give a nod to a realistic ecology will find this section useful. It?s well-written, informative, and a pretty entertaining read.<br><br>
<b>LIKED</b>: This book has saved me a great deal of time and helped me eliminate a lot of small errors when designing monsters. The stats are spot on, the organization is good, and the advice is very useful.
If you?re designing a lot of monsters, and you want to do things right, I can?t recommend this product enough.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Magical Society: Beast Builder is a niche product. If you aren?t interested in monster design, or you prefer to trade technical accuracy for speed, this probably isn?t the book for you.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>
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First of all, the Clash Steel PDF isn?t very pretty. The only graphics are a smattering of uninspiring clip art selections. The entire thing is presented on a pseudo parchment brown background, which looks terrible when printed in greyscale. There is also some wasted space, and some of the charts could have been better organized. This is a small press publication, and I understand that, so I?m willing to look past the presentation and focus on the rules. Still, in a world of free PDF generators and open-source word processing programs, I can?t help but think the book?s rough appearance could have been easily polished.
For my playtest, I decided to pit a small group of human rabble against a host of well-trained elven archers. The idea was to pit superior numbers against a small force of well-trained troops. When designing my armies, I can across my first problem: how many points should I use? The book doesn?t give you any idea what the rules consider to be an ?average? force. Without any frame of reference, I simply picked an arbitrary number: 500. The resulting army was too small at that number, so I doubled it to 1,000. The two 1,000 point armies looked something like this:
Humans: 20 spearmen, 10 archers, 1 scout, and a mounted knight commander.
Elves: 10 archers, 9 light cavalry, 1 wizard commander.
Not a massive host by any means, but a respectable clash of some 50 participants. More rules issues came up while I was developing the Elven force. First, I found the rules for wizards somewhat unclear. The way they are written, with a few rules before the spell descriptions and few after, makes for slightly confusing reading.
My second problem dealt with mounted characters. Adding a mount to a figure adds about 15 points (a human soldier with no weapons or armor costs 10 points). The book then gives you stats for mounts, but doesn?t tell you how those stats interact with the stats of the rider. For example, it?s fairly obvious that a mounted character should use his horse?s movement rate instead of his own. But what if the horse has a better protection value (i.e. armor)? Can enemies attack the horse, just the rider, or either? In the case of the warhorse, it?s a better fighter than a human armed with a shortsword, so why give the horse a rider at all? I can think of lots of metagame reasons why a horse must have a rider, but the rules don?t really support them.
While I was actually playing, I found myself forced to improvise a lot of rules using previous wargame experience and common sense as a guide. When it came to movement, I had to assume that units (groups of more than 3 figures) move as a cohesive whole. The rules don?t actually say. Another vague area was the rules for commanders. A commander gets a higher initiative score, grants a reroll, costs an extra 20 points?and apparently does nothing else. The rules are unclear on who exactly gets the reroll. Can I apply it to any of my figures once a round, or is it only the leader? Most wargames give commanders certain bonuses that they can impart on nearby troops, or at least give some meaningful penalty for losing a leader. In Clash of Steel, the only thing that happens if your commander dies is you lose your reroll. The book does say ?some objectives for battle missions might include killing the enemy army?s commander.? Great! Except, what is a battle mission? What other objectives might they have? I guess that?s up to you, since the rules are completely silent on the matter.
There are a lot of other rules missing from the game. The spell ?Sun Rays? grants immunity to the breath weapons of blue dragons, but Clash of Steel provides no game stats for dragons, blue or otherwise. Where are the rules for charging? What benefit does flanking provide?
And then, there?s morale. To me, morale is one of the most fundamentally important aspects of warfare simulation. Few battles in reality end with one side killing off all the members of the other. In Clash of Steel, unfortunately, the morale system is just a quick, tacked-end paragraph that?s clearly labeled as optional. The system is overly simplistic and not very satisfying.
Victory itself is totally ambiguous. The rules mention that the players may agree to a certain number of turns before hand, but they give no clear means of establishing which player is the winner when the agreed upon number of turns expire. In the end, it?s apparently up to you. Clash of Steel has done about half the work for you, and leaves a lot of decisions and interpretations up to the players.
The strengths of Clash of Steel lie in the book?s only stated goal: fast and easy to learn. It?s very fast, at least partially because most characters die pretty quickly. Combat is fairly intuitive and uses an easy to learn system of hits and saves. Unfortunately, there?s very little to make Clash of Steel stand above other wargames on the market. It?s fast and easy to learn, but it really lacks depth.
There are hints of cool things in some of the supplementary rules. The rules for sieges are clever, although obviously suited to very small skirmishes. The looting and destiny rules are kind of neat as well. None of this really makes up for the rules that are lacking from the core of the game.<br><br>
<b>LIKED</b>: The main strength of this game is its simplicity. The combat mechanics are quick to learn and work pretty well on the battlefield. If you?re looking for a very quick and dirty set of rules for running a miniatures battle, you may find something you like here.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Clash of Steel feels like it was written rather hastily. While the core of the system (roll to hit, target then rolls a save) works pretty well, the rest of the rules are overly simplistic or incomplete. Some of the most common aspects of wargames (meaningful commanders, tactical bonuses, morale) are incomplete. There is very little advice on running a campaign, setting up a battle, or how to use these rules in general. In the final analysis, I really can?t recommend Clash of Steel.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Disappointing<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>
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Creator Reply: |
We are sorry you didn't like our ruleset. A couple of issues/rules are left for the player to decide and create, I agree. But this is one of the main points of the game, fast and quick-to-learn (like you mention). Also, it is intended as a springboard, to be intended to inspire the buyer to invent new rules and make the game as complex as they see fit.
Morale will be covered in a later supplement, but it was covered only slightly in version 2.0 for a reason. Most wargamers we have played with do not it when like half their army runs away in the game. They say they didn't paint minis and put them on the board to not have them fight. Yes this is unrealistic. But the genres for these rules are fantasy and science fiction.
Again, thank you for the comments and the game will updated later this year. |
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When it comes to social interaction between player characters and non-player characters in roleplaying games, there are a few unwritten rules that most successful gamemasters seem to follow. A few silly comments here and there are generally ignored. The GM may try to lead players with statements that give clues toward their character's knowledge about a situation, even if the players themselves seem to be missing the point entirely. The goal is to walk a fine line between allowing the players to immerse themselves in the role of their characters, but still let them act on context clues only their characters can perceive and utilize social skills that they themselves might not possess. After all, even a shy player should have the right to play a brilliant diplomat if he / she wants.
Skill Focus Talking attempts to gather these unwritten rules and codify them, taking some of the arbitrary decisions out of the GM's hands and tying them into the core d20 social skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Sense Motive. Some of the new rules aren't very far off from the standard uses of the skills. Idea Ventriloquism, for example, allows you to make a Bluff check in order to fool your target into thinking that he came up with an idea that you suggested. A fairly straighforward use of Bluff, but these rules give an additional mechanic bonus for using the skill in this specific way. Another example is the ?Take Back? use of the Diplomacy skill. This is more of a meta-game option that allows you to amend your character's actions after the fact, effectively altering the reality of the game.
The book's format is simple and straightforward. The authors chose to include the full d20 text of each skill, and they use pagebreaks so that each skill can be printed out individually if desired. I appreciate this kind of attention to usability. It does result in a bit of redundant text, though, as some abilities are repeated from skill description to skill description. I understand the need for this, although I question whether or not most groups interested in expanding one skill wouldn't also use the others.
The final section has brief notes on using these skills as a gamemaster. A number of the new skill uses can't be effectively used against PCs. Actually, even the standard rules for social skills rely almost entirely on your players strength of roleplaying to work, and it is difficult to ask a player to behave in an obvious self-destructive manner just because of a few bad dice rolls. The book's solution is for the GM to sort of ?cheat? by overacting in one direction or another until the players naturally assume what their characters would. It might not be the most helpful advice, especially for a novice GM, but the added structure gives the GM at least some idea what to do.<br><br>
<b>LIKED</b>: The idea behind Skill Focus Talking is a good one. Striking a balance between what a character can do and a player's own social skills is an admirable goal, and these rules are a nice way to achieve that end. They work within the current rules structure, and are similar enough that you should be able to insert them without too much added complexity.
I'd also recommend this book to a GM that's merely looking to expand the uses for the various social skills in d20. You should find more than a few things to nab from this PDF.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: My only real problem with this book is its reliance on the vague NPC attitudes system inherint in the core rules. While the authors of this product obviously didn't create that system, by leaning on it they've inherited its flaws.
In a nutshell, the d20 rules allow you to shift an NPC's attitude from, for example, hostile to friendly, but they offer you little to no information as to what that means in game. The rules as written lean heavily on the GM to interpret NPC reactions, which is fine in a game light on roleplaying, but obviously clashes with the more in depth interaction rules presented herein.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>
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A Touch of Evil: Dwarves is a collection of dwarven NPCs meant to be used as villains in a standard D&D campaign. It?s the fourth in a series.
The book?s brief introduction talks about the psychology of the dwarven race and how common dwarven traits relate to evil characters. There isn?t a lot to read here, but the brief notes put me in the correct mindset for imagining how the steadfast nature of the dwarven people can be twisted into villainy.
The meat of the book is the NPC stats and descriptions. There are seven characters, and each is memorable and evil in their own way. My favorite is probably Jacor Hammersong, a dwarven bard who uses his enormous charm and resourcefulness to satiate his lust for murder. Jacor is the perfect reoccurring villain, shifting his identity and moving from town to town to plague the PCs. I also really liked Durrigan Blackheart. Blackhart is a fairly straitforward character: a half-fiend sorcerer with a bullying personality. It?s his description that really appealed to me. His skin is red-purple, and twisted black horns grow from his head and sprout tusk-like from his beard. This fearsome visage, combined with the sour personality of an angry dwarf, would make a memorable NPC indeed.
Each NPC is illustrated and thoroughly described. The book includes details on background, personality, and tactics. Furthermore, each character is presented at three different points in his career (low, middle, and high levels). Stats are presented in the older statblock style, and each includes an increased treasure allotment in case the DM wants to offer them as PCs. The designers did a very good job making these characters as useful as possible to the DM.
In addition, the book includes stats for a number of generic ?rank and file? dwarven adversaries: warriors, priests, scouts, and craftsmen of various levels. Pregenerated NPCs are a welcome addition to any DM?s arsenal, and these dwarves are a logical fit in this product.
The book ends with details on two new magic items. These items tie-in with the dwarven villains, and are included here as a convenience. One of them is a major artifact, and the other is a powerful magic warhammer that, strangely, is missing a GP value.<br><br>
<b>LIKED</b>: A Touch of Evil does what it sets out to do: stat out some evil dwarves to throw at your PCs. The organization and level of detail is just about perfect. The inclusion of stats for each character at multiple levels means that they?ll be useful for low, middle, or high level campaigns (or as reoccurring villains over the course of a campaign). Each character is memorable and creative, with a strong backstory full of campaign hooks.
<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The nature of this book means you?re probably not going to be able to use more than just a little of it in any given campaign. You want your villains to be memorable, and unless you?re running Against the Dwarves or something, you won?t be able to use more than a couple of these NPCs. On the other hand, there?s very little reason you couldn?t grab one of these characters, file off the serial numbers, change the race, and have a ?nearly instant? NPC.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>
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Imagine that you have a friend that likes to draw. He?s probably not skilled enough to make a living doing nothing but illustrations, but he?s a fair enough artist that you ask him to do some character portraits for your regular D&D game. Your amateur artist friend then spends many hours carefully drawing a number of characters. When he?s finished, you have just shy of a dozen lovingly crafted full color illustrations for your game. They aren?t the best work you?ve ever seen, but you can tell that the artist put a lot of time and effort into these, and one of them will do just fine as a picture of your latest character.
The above scenario is exactly what I thought of as I looked through the pictures in Character Portraits I. The art is certainly not up to the quality of that found in a high end professional gaming product, but its light years ahead of anything I can do. The author notes in his introduction that a good character portrait can add a lot of impact to a game. I tend to agree with him. It?s one thing to describe your latest PC, it?s another thing entirely to hold up a picture and say ?this is what I look like.?
There is a nice variety of characters illustrated. All of them are male and human, but each one has a unique look, and most could easily represent a number of different classes / archetypes. I did note a certain similarity in the facial structure of a couple characters. At least two of them looked alike enough to be brothers. This isn?t a major criticism, but it could cut down on the usefulness of the book.
Art is very subjective. It?s really hard to rate what is good art and what isn?t. It?s also important to look at things in context. If this art were found, say, on the cover of Wizards latest product, I?d call it poor. As character illustrations, I?d say it?s decent. What it lacks in technical prowess, it makes up with flavor.
In the final analysis, the pictures really do look like something your artist friend drew for your home campaign. If you?re looking to illustrate your website, I don?t think you?ll find a lot of bang for your buck. If you?re trying to grab one or two pictures for your next D&D character, you?ll probably find something you can use.<br><br>
<b>LIKED</b>: A lot of time and effort obviously went into each illustration. The characters have a great amount of detail in their clothing, weapons, and other adornments. Little touches like this add to the illustrations? usefulness as PC portraits by giving each picture a suggestion of history and depth. Where did the blonde paladin get his fiery sword, and what is the significance of the sunburst on his gloves? I really thought that the artist put a lot of effort into each picture, and I can appreciate that kind of hard work.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The art isn?t that great. It?s amateurish, but it?s on the high end of amateurish. If your favorite Dragon Magazine cover is the best fantasy art you?ve ever seen, think of Character Portraits I as a mediocre Polyhedron cover. It has a lot of character, but it?s obviously not on the high end of skilled artwork.
I thought that the value was a little low on this product at well. Yes, at a cost of $5 it does work out to less than .50 per illustration. The trouble is that you?re not going to have any use for every illustration. If you only like two pictures, the cost is now $2.50 an illustration. As a consumer, I?d be more interested in paying slightly more for a whole bunch of illustrations of a wider variety of character types. To be fair, $5 is pretty cheap, but if all I?m looking for is in-game character illustrations, the internet already offers plenty of free alternatives. What I?m paying for is either style or convenience, and I think increasing the number of pictures would have led to a greater amount of convenience, and therefore a higher score in the end.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>
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Creator Reply: |
We are sorry that you found this product to be less then you had hoped for. As my old collage art professor often told me, taste is in your mouth. Or in other words, you can't please everyone all the time.
On the other hand, the amateur title is a bit fun. Amateurs are those that do not make a living selling their work. After 20 years as a professional artist, the reference made me smile. Now if I only look 20 years younger, I could be both an amateur, and young.
Buyers though can view thumb nails of all the work provided in each set by visiting our web site. (Linked by the demo buttton on each set's page here at RPGNow) If they like our "amateur" work, they can then decide to buy the set, or look for something more to their taste.
As alway, have some fun and play a good game. |
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