Ring of Thieves is a 42 page d20 pdf urban adventure set in The Game Mechanics' City of Liberty. The adventure is suitable for four 3rd level characters and involves the shady elements of the city's Old Quarter. Details of the City of Liberty can be found in The Game Mechanics' other products, most notably Temple Quarter and Thieves' Quarter, although none of these products are required to successfully run this adventure.

The product comes as a single pdf file. Presentation is excellent - the maps are gorgeous, the writing and editing very good, and the layout very professional. No bookmarks are unfortunately included, although there is a hefty table of contents that allows some ease of navigation. Artwork is good as well, with some fitting pieces of quality art, although it's the full-color maps that steal the show in terms of art. The pdf also includes not only statistics blocks for all the encounters in the adventure, but also Initiative Cards - these are very useful for running combats at the table.

The adventure takes place in the Old Quarter of the City of Liberty. There PCs will get involved with the more dangerous and seedier elements of the city as they get involved in a plot involving some important members of the city's population and the Thieves' Guild. The product provides a complete and detailed adventure summary and background, enabling the DM to have a complete overview of the nature and scope of the adventure.

The adventure itself is divided into parts, and once PCs have completed a certain task, they can move on to the next aspect of the adventure. While there are many ways one would assume the adventure could be completed, the write-up assumes a more linear approach and this does not entirely do the good adventure justice. A more freeform approach would've been better, though naturally one would expect that to require more information on the Old Quarter and its people.

The PCs will get the opportunity to explore many parts of the city, and get involved with lots of NPCs in their investigations. These investigations will allow the PCs plenty of roleplaying opportunities, as well as the chance for strong-arm tactics. Player and DMs that like investigations or mysteries will enjoy what this adventure has to offer, and as the PCs close in on the truth, the adventure captures well the air of urgency and excitement that's evident in the final stages of the adventure. NPCs are extensively detailed, as are the various locations of the adventure, providing the DM with lots of useful roleplaying material.

Ring of Thieves is an exciting adventure with some thrilling elements and good scope for a mystery/investigation adventure. The adventure features interesting locations, NPCs and encounters, which combine to make a solid and enjoyable product. Here and there things seem a bit forced or linear, but for the most part the author does an excellent job of keeping the pace moving and allowing the PCs to work for the information they require. A very good adventure and an enjoyable product.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Ring of Thieves is a enjoyable and quality adventure featuring a good mystery, lots of intrigue and excitement. Presentation and maps are gorgeous, roleplaying opportunities plentiful, and good scope for PCs to use their skills and brains to unravel the mystery. A very good adventure with lots of attention to detail.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Slightly linear in places, and a more freeform approach would've made the adventure even better than it is. No bookmarks are included in the pdf.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Horrendous Habitats: Forsaken Hwellan is a 44 page pdf product and the first product in Silven Publishing's new Horrendous Habitats line. Each product in the line introduces an arch villain and its habitat to your d20 game, complete with history, other inhabitants, and more. This first product looks at Forsaken Hwellan, an evil den of madness occupied and run by priests of a plague god. Forsaken Hwellan is habitat suitable for 10th level characters.

Silven Publishing provides both a screen and print version of this product. The latter contains no bordering or art, thought the full text and maps are included. Writing, editing and layout is very good, something that Silven Publishing have achieved almost from their very first product. They certainly deliver something professional and well-presented. Some very good art in contained within the product, and it's bountiful as well, and the artists have done a good job to enhance the look of the product. The maps are good as well, clearly marked and labelled, with no omissions or discrepancies. Overall, a good job and a quality presentation.

Forsaken Hwellan is a seemingly deserted village that was once a meagre little village where inhabitants spent their time tending crops and livestock. Now Hwellan holds a dark secret and sinister people, and this product provides an extensive overview of the village, its history, its interesting location, its people and much more. And when I say extensive, I mean it - no stone is unturned, detail is everywhere (probably more than one would conceivably use) and lots of background and current information is included. It makes for a complete package, even including new spells, magical items, monsters etc. related to Hwellan and the priests of the plague god.

The pdf starts by providing sound advice on using Hwellan, including scaling details, a variety of plausible plot hooks, and hints on incorporating the location into your campaign. The pdf then moves on to provide an extensive overview of getting to Hwellan, including dealing with all aspects of the frozen weather of the forsaken village. The surrounding are detailed, and wandering monster encounters are provided for the journey there and through the mountains around Hwellan.

The next chapters deal with Hwellan itself, providing a thorough history on the plague that struck Hwellan, the rise of the plague priests, the current status of Hwellan and a location-based overview of all the important locations of Hwellan. There is lots of atmosphere here, each encounter written well and clearly to describe in detail the locations of the forsaken village. The locations and encounters make sense within the context of the village's history and present status, and provides a dynamic location for all the horrors that wander around the village. There is good opportunity for roleplaying interaction in the adventure, and certainly more than one way to handle the many perils that the village provides. I quite enjoyed reading through the product, as it provides a thorough and entertaining overview of a cursed place.

The latter parts of the pdf deal with all the new spells, monsters, NPCs, statistics and the like. Full statistics are provided for all the creatures possibly encountered in Hwellan. There are a few stat block errors here and there, but certainly not many and all very minor. New magical items are presented such as the Staff of the Ice-Mother, wielded by the Daughters of Ice, and Bottled Plague. Spells (almost entirely necromantic spells and many associated with the new Disease clerical domain) include Greater Contagion, Wave of Pain, Seven Plagues and Wall of Flies, all spells fitting within the scenario context.

I quite liked this product. It's an all-in-one package, containing all the detail you want, and presents a flavorful location that can be used to great effect in any game. DMs should have fun running the encounters within the village, and roleplaying the various NPCs and creatures while creating an atmosphere of dread. Forsaken Hwellan is an enjoyable product, and a good start to Silven's new line of products.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Horrendous Habitats: Forsaken Hwellan provides an interesting village and location-based encounter area filled with flavor and dynamic creatures and NPCs. It's a solid product, a complete package filled with detail and supplemental information, and an atmospheric premise.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Nothing much. A handful of minor stat block and editing errors, but overall a solid product.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

The Koboldnomicon is a 64 page pdf product that expands on the lore, knowledge and applicability of the lowly kobold in the fantasy d20 game. It claims to be the ultimate tome of kobold lore, and aims to provide players and DMs alike with a plethora of new ideas, concepts and mechanics to elevate the status of the kobold to something to be reckoned with. Inside the pages of this product from Bards and Sages are new feats, prestige classes, core classes, spells and even something dreadfully more sinister - kobold poetry!

The product comes as a single pdf file. There is no cover, no bookmarks, and very little in the way of anything that makes this product look great and feel very professional. The layout is simple, the editing good although a few things were missed, and the writing satisfactory. From a presentation point of view the only thing that really stands out are the numerous art pieces of kobolds scattered throughout the book. Certainly I felt a lot more could've been done to make the product presentable. If this is supposed to be the ultimate tome of kobold lore, at least let it look the part.

Despite the rather lacklustre presentation in parts, the product is filled with a lot of content. Included in the product as well are numerous fictions elements as well as something completely unheard of - kobold poetry. The product runs a fine line between being humorous in places, and the serious writing required to portray such a profound book on kobold lore. Somehow the mood and feel of the book get lost a little between the humour, occasional silliness (wolverine battering ram, for example) and the presentation, but that's not taking away from some interesting and very useful content. The fiction is all right, nothing special, and the poetry much the same. I don't think it adds or takes away anything from the book - it's just there, to a certain extent. Where the product really comes out is in the wide variety of new ideas for kobolds presented in its pages, and that's thankfully the majority of the product.

The first section of content takes a look at kobold players characters and introduces a number of useful and interesting kobold sub-races. Good advice on playing kobolds is given, and the three races are distinct enough in flavor to make them stand out from the typical kobold. The races are given plenty of support as well in terms of feats, for example, so they're not just standalone additions to the product. It's always good to see new ideas developed and explored in full.

Next are a handful of new prestige classes. These include the chosen of the dragon father (dedicated warriors of the Gnome Destroyer), kobold trapsmith, and the painted witch doctor (a kobold spellcaster who applies pigment to his face, granting him special abilities). Three different paragon kobolds are presented as well for additional variety, and a new core class, the vermin kin - a ranger variant with a vermin companion and suitable abilities. There are some good ideas here, and lots of potential to catch players off guard with new kobold madness. The mechanics is generally good, and only in one or two places did things look dubious or could've been given more flavor such as the vermin-kin.

The next few sections deal with feats, skills, spells and equipment. There's a very good selection here, although some of the material, in particular the spells, has some rather niche spells that might find limited utility (Speak with Weasels, for example). The feats and skills tie in nicely with the sub-races presented, and give them expanded options that enhance their racial abilities. The pdf introduces a new skill, called Acrobat, that allows the user to add a circumstance bonus to his AC as a move action, and the Kobold Engineering skill.

The equipment section starts by dealing with traps, complete with diagrams, and this was good to see. These should prove interesting for the next time that a DM uses kobolds in his game. The kobold 'bio-weapons' are rather silly, and resort to using live animals as part of weapons. Cats flung by their tails or wolverines tied to battering rams are not exactly concepts that many will find appealing. The last sections of the pdf deal with a kobold pantheon, and a variety of new monsters and kobold NPCs, most of them fairly high in CR, but highlighting the mechanics explored in the pdf.

The Koboldnomicon provides an expansive variety of new ideas and concepts for the kobold-minded player or DM. While there's plenty going for it in the ideas department (prestige classes, sub-races and feats, for example) there is also a lot of lacklustre implementation or less useful ideas (some of the spells and equipment). The presentation is quite poor, which doesn't really enhance the overall feel of the product. Is this the ultimate tome of kobold lore? Not really, but it is a tome, and should provide some fun and exciting options to enhance the kobold in your game.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The variety of new ideas is good and useful, and builds on the kobold's strength. The book expands on ideas nicely, illustrating the concepts clearly through, for example, NPCs and additional feats and spells to support concepts. Overall utility is good, as is mechanical balance, and most players and DMs should find some useful material in these pages.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Presentation is quite poor, and a lot could've been done to improve it. Bookmarks and a flavorful cover would've been a good start at getting that done nicely. From the product thumbnial it looks like there should've been a cover, though I'm not sure what happened to it. Some material is niche, or just not that useful, and one or two ideas could've been developed further (the vermin kin is too 'ranger-like', for example).<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Faery's Tale is a 66 page pdf roleplaying game where players take on the roles of faeries in an enchanted land, and battle against the dark faeries and their sinister plots. This roleplaying game is aimed at children of ages 6 and over, although it is equally suitable to adults as it is for children, and should make for a very easy way to introduce younger children or non-gamers to roleplaying.

Faery's Tale comes as a single, fully-bookmarked pdf file, although there is no table on contents. It does, however, provide a useful index at the back of the pdf, something that I always appreciate in a gaming product. Writing, editing and layout are all very good, and this product is easy to read and clearly explains the underlying system to both adults and kids. Plenty of advice is given with regard to the latter, something that will help adults make the most of the material when playing the game with their children. Artwork is also very good, and the artists have done a splendid job of creating a magical world of imagination in their art.

In Faery's Tale players take on the roles of one of four different fey creatures - pixie (pranksters), brownie (industrious and hard-working), sprite (faery knights with suitable mounts) and pooka (naughty shapechanging fey). As faery creatures they protect the enchanted land of Brightwood from a variety of different creatures, including the dark faeries, goblins, giants, hags, dragons and trolls. Faery's Tale is a game of high-adventure and interactive storytelling, and the game even provides plenty of advice on running LARP (Live Action Roleplaying) games using this system. Plenty of background information, interspersed with elements of fiction, are used to describe and detail the various creatures of Brightwood, as well as the society, fey court and the queen that rules the land. It's written in such a way as to draw you into a magical world, and leaves very few stones unturned in sketching a fantastical world for the imagination.

As can be expected from a game aimed at kids, character creation is easy and straightforward, with each character possessing attributes of Body, Mind and Spirit, and a certain amount of magical essence (a faery's life force). The game system only requires the six-sided die for all mechanical resolution, although a handful of those will be needed in most cases. The three attributes determine how skilled a faery is in a particular area, while the faery's essence can be used for many supernatural tasks, for example, by using one of the gifts of the four forms (races) of Faery's Tale.

Each form in Faery's Tale has certain strong-points and weaknesses, as well as gifts. Pixie's for example, are strong in Spirit, though weak in Body, and pixies have the gift of Pixie Dust which allows them to perform magic. The various fey forms can choose additional gifts beyond those associated with their form, allowing a broad range of customisation for each faery character.

Mechanical resolution of challenges or conflicts is done using a dice-pool system, where dice are rolled to determine a success or failure and the number of successes measured against a challenge difficulty. Setting the task difficulty and handling the challenges is very much the task of the narrator and largely freeform, although some general advice regarding the matter is given. The pdf covers a certain number of common challenges and how to handle them, although I suspect that in the case of younger children many of these things are best handled without too much attention to detail.

The latter parts of the pdf cover a range of topics including boons, titles and charms (magical items of sorts). This adds some additional elements to the game, although once again the full Faery's Tale system is probably more suitable to slightly older children, since 6 year olds might not understand all the intricacies of the full system. Faeries in Brightwood can earn titles such as Knight, Lady or Lord, and can also gain boons, by for example, winning a duel. A large number of different creatures are also detailed, including their attributes, essence and gifts, and some helpful advice is given on creating adventures in the lands of the Faeries. A sample adventure, Jack and the Beanstalk, is also helpfully provided at the end of the pdf.

Faery's Tale is a simple and easy to play roleplaying game in an enchanted land of faeries and sinister creatures. This is a very good game for younger children, although not necessarily as young as 6 given some of the rules, and should make a fun way of introducing players and children to roleplaying. The product succeeds admirably in its aims, creating a fun and easy to use system for all to enjoy. The only limitation is the imagination of the players, and knowing children, the world of Brightwood awaits. This is an enjoyable product with a lot to offer - good presentation, solid mechanics, easy task resolution, fun story elements, sense of wonder and more.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Faery's Tale is an enjoyable roleplaying game for younger children and non-gamers, that's fun, easy to learn, and easy to play without any significant requirements of rules. It's well presented, well-written, and provides an enjoyable gaming experience for the whole family.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Some additional rules might make this product over the top for younger children, but otherwise nothing much negative to say about the product.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Ptolus Deluxe Map Pack is a 168 page pdf product that contains more than eighty maps originally released in Ptolus: Monte Cook's City by the Spire. SkeletonKey Games have released several map products in support of Ptolus, and given the quality of these products, this further one does not disappoint in terms of high quality maps. The product provides two versions of each map, one containing all the details, and the second having any names and other details removed, implying that they can be used for other non-Ptolus campaigns. So even those that are not jumping onto the Ptolus wagon will still find these maps very useful.

This products comes as a single pdf file weighing in at around 38 MB, so it might take a while to download if you're on dial-up. The product contains only maps, and each map presented is accompanied by the chapter and page reference from the Ptolus campaign setting. Some initial advice is given on printing and page orientation before the product dives into the maps. Unfortunately, there are no useful bookmarks, meaning that the utility of this product is greatly hampered even by those that are using these maps for Ptolus. Lack of bookmarks in a product such as this where each map is pretty much unrelated to the previous one makes it really difficult to navigate and find what you want.

The maps themselves are gorgeous. There's no doubting that there are some high quality maps in here, and the variety is impressive as well. There are overland maps, city maps, building maps, dungeon maps - you name it, it's probably contained within the pages of this product and you'll certainly have a good chance of finding a type of map you're after. Some of the maps are very large, meaning that to fit them onto one page some of the detail is lost, and even if you zoom in to see the detail, the resolution starts to get grainy. Thankfully, these are few and far between.

I was generally very impressed by the scope and quality of the maps, and whether you're a Ptolus or non-Ptolus user, this product is bound to be useful (for example as player handouts), accepting that it's going to be difficult to navigate without extensive bookmarks. Full-color maps in stunning quality can really enhance your game, and while there is not black-and-white version of this product, that shouldn't deter anybody from picking up this value-for-money product.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: High quality maps and overall utility of the product make it a good buy and well worth it. The maps are stunning, and variety is excellent. You're bound to find what you need in terms of maps within this product.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The lack of bookmarks makes this really difficult to navigate, and on the 'non-Ptolus' versions it would have been nicer to leave out the Ptolus chapter and page reference. Some of the very large maps show a minor loss of detail at their resolution.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

APG City Tiles is a 19 page pdf product featuring a number of map tiles for building a city block. The aim of the product is to allow GMs to easily construct a city block consisting of merchant and freeman homes, inns, taverns, streets and others using well put together maps that can be printed and placed straight onto a gaming table. Alea Publishing Group (APG) are not new to the 2D tile/map market and have produced several other lines of products, including paper tiles and figures for different gaming genres.

This product comes as both a full-colour screen version and a greyscale printer-friendly version. The latter allows you the saving on colour ink, although contains exactly the same product as the screen version. Some of the details in the printer friendly version go missing or are hard to distinguish, so to gain the most benefit from the product, printing the colour tiles is recommended. In addition to the seventeen map tiles presented in the product, Alea Publishing have also included an brief overview on medieval life and buildings, information that can enhance the flavor of the game. Layout and presentation is very good, and from a presentation point of view this product should not disappoint.

The main body of the product contains the seventeen map tiles that can be used to construct a city block or just used as is for an individual building. Each map tiles is 300 dpi, making for easy printing with good quality at the same time. Tiles include a grass base, common inn, freemans' homes, merchants' homes, common tavern, eating hall, and a small collection of streets. Most of the homes have upstairs and downstairs portions, and contain the minimum level of detail so that DMs are not restricted by the contents of the maps. Typical features included beds, barrels, tables, chairs and fireplaces.

The quality of the maps is good, although the variety could've been increased a little bit. All tables and other furnishings, for example, look the same and use the same map components. A little variety here would've made a city block more unique rather than a conformal collection. Layout and design of the contents of the maps makes sense, and there are more than enough rooms to use for a variety of different purposes. The streets are a little disappointing in that there are too few to construct something realistic or even logical. A few more different types of streets and general variety on the interior decorations would've made this product much better. Overall, though, the maps are good, very useful, and would make a good addition to any GMs arsenal of props to enhance gaming at the table.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Good quality maps with high utility value. Some additional added value in useful information regarding medieval lifestyles and buildings.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Variety is lacking in places and features are often repetitive. Could've done with a few additional street designs, and more variety in the structure and furnishing of the houses and buildings.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Pocket Adventures #1: The Temple of the Eternal Flames is a 18 page d20 pdf adventure from Eridanus Books, a new publishing company entering the d20 market. This is one of their first products, a simple and short adventure with a twist that can quickly and easily be used to fill a gap in a DMs preparation or even for a brief one-shot adventure. Adventures seem to be increasing in availability in the d20 scene these days, so it's good to see new companies try their hand at adventures as well. This adventure is suitable for characters of level 1-4.

This product comes as single pdf file. There are no bookmarks, although the table of contents allows you to navigate through the short pdf. Layout and presentation is good for a first product entry, and a few pieces of custom art are included, of which the full-color cover is the most spectacular. Organisation of the adventure is good, although in places still a little sketchy and the author could've added more details here and there to make the adventure location more dynamic. Stat blocks are included in the adventure body text, and most of the errors noticeable were very minor. There are quite a large number of editing and language errors in the pdf, though, some detracting but others less noticeable. Maps are generally good and clear, providing all the information required for their use, including legends. Overall, an acceptable effort on the presentation front for a first product.

The adventure itself takes place in an abandoned and ancient temple. The PCs travel there to stop the machinations of a bugbear and his hobgoblin raiders, but quickly learn that not all is as it seems. The product provides a number of adventure hooks to lure the adventurers to the site based adventure, and also includes a detailed synopsis and background details on the temple and the main antagonists. This allows the DM an upfront understanding on the nature of the adventure. Scaling details are also included for higher or lower level parties. As written the adventure is likely to be tough for 1st level PCs, but probably too easy for 4th level PCs. 2nd level is probably a good average party level to aim for.

The design and structure of the adventure is generally good. Some of the traps and locked doors have rather high DCs in the high 20s or even 30, which, while there is nothing wrong with it, puts it out of the range of low level PCs even when taking 20 to open a lock or search for a trap. Most chest are also locked but apparently have no keys either, despite the fact that they belong to some of the inhabitants of the temple. Minor problems with the adventure aside, it makes for a entertaining, though somewhat straightforward adventure, and does allow some opportunities for roleplaying while interacting in the adventure should the PCs choose to approach the adventure this way.

There are a total of 23 listed encounters within this temple complex, meaning that it shouldn't take too long to play through. The adventure is challenging from a combat perspective, though not necessarily so from a thinking perspective. Nevertheless, it's solid, and I look forward to seeing what Eridanus Books can come up with in the future for their Pocket Adventures series.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Temple of the Eternal Flame is a solid and enjoyable site-based adventure for low-level parties. Elements of the adventure are interesting and there is certainly something of a twist to the initial premise of the adventure. From this point of view the adventure succeeds at its aim.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Some minor errors particularly in the use of language and editing, and a few minor errors in the design of the adventure. Here and there more information would've been useful to create a more dynamic adventure.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

None so Vile: Disciples of Darkness I: The Ravenous of Agramogg is a 16 page pdf product providing an extensive write-up of the Ravenous of Agramogg prestige class. This product is the first in the None so Vile line of products, of which Disciples of Darkness is the first series in the line. The Disciples of Darkness series present four devotees of dark and evil deities, the first being the Ravenous of Agramogg, the faithful of the deity Agramogg. This pdf is intended for mature audiences, mainly due to the horror/grotesque nature of the material.

This product comes as a single pdf file containing a limited set of bookmarks (essentially the first and last page are bookmarked). The product comes without a printer friendly version, although given the black-and-white pencil art and the short length of the pdf, this shouldn't really be a problem. Art is very good, particularly the image of the vile ravenous of Agramogg, Isked Doomtongue, by artist Erik Nowak. Editing and layout are very good, although there were one or two minor errors. For example, the stat block for Isked Doomtongue lists as one of its items gauntlets of ogre power which won't stack with the enhancement bonuses gained from the prestige class. Overall, a very good presentation with some good writing.

As mentioned earlier, this pdf contains a detailed write-up of the ravenous of Agramogg prestige class. The concept is that a devotee to the dark god Agramogg gradually transform into a bloated, flesh-eating giant living off the flesh of intelligent creatures. Over the course of the ten levels of the prestige class, the servant of Agramogg grows more disgusting and more powerful. The write-up is detailed and vivid, providing a clear picture of what the prestige class entails, how to play it, how it fits into the world and loads of other information on how the ravenous of Agramogg work together in their 'cult'.

This is a very useful and entertaining concept, and certainly one that will create memorable encounters. The ravenous of Agramogg will be fun to run, give players a few surprises and make for challenging and rewarding encounters. The detail presented allows DMs to know exactly how to interpret and run the class, and it offers a lot of versatility in designing and building encounters that use this prestige class. The class itself looks good, with some solid mechanics and interesting abilities as the ravenous of Agramogg grows in size and hunger.

I enjoyed reading the pdf, although some of the content is not for the squeamish. It's a rich and detailed prestige class that presents a flavorful cult, deity, and prestige class. The pdf provides a sample NPC based off the prestige class, as well as a complete write-up of the deity Agramogg. This is a very useful pdf, and can make for some interesting NPCs that both players and DMs will enjoy. Worth a look at.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The pdf provides rich and detailed information on an interesting prestige class for evil creatures. The writing is vivid and imaginative, the prestige class flavorful and interesting, and the pdf gives many ideas for using this material in game. A good pdf containing a prestige class most DMs will want to try.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: One or two editing errors or stat block errors, and the bookmarks aren't great.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

The Kings' Ransom: Complete is a 74 page pdf product from a relatively new publishing company, Cerberus Games. This is one of their first offerings to the pdf market, and is the complete King's Ransom product. The product contains thousands of magic item concepts, ideas, and mechanical sketches aimed at being usable within any gaming system. Cerberus Games' other products include these items released according to item type, essentially splitting the complete product into several smaller products for those only interested in a specific item type.

The product comes as a single pdf file complete with a brief table of contents. There are no bookmarks in the product. The product makes extensive use of art from a variety of different sources, most of it very good and fitting to the different item types presented in the product. Writing and editing is good as well, and for a first product Cerberus Games have created a solid presentation and layout design.

Given that the product details magical items for largely fantasy campaigns and games, there has to be some underlying system of mechanics that allows one to evaluate the functionality of each item. Cerberus Games have aimed this product to be suitable to all game systems, and as such have provided a generic mechanical description summary that will allow readers to asses the mechanical function of an item. The conversion to a specific game system, such as d20, is then left to the particular user. In essence, therefore, this product provides limited description of mechanics, but hundreds of useful ideas of magical items.

The items are grouped into a number of different types - armor, melee weapon, missile weapons, ammunition, rings, temporary items, miscellaneous items and equipment, and wands and staves. Each section contains scores of items covering a large number of interesting and sometimes intriguing ideas. Having read through the product, and taking the example of the d20 system, a lot of the items convert quite easily into the system, many perhaps as minor artifact and most certainly as custom items.

Having said that, while the conversion in places should be easy enough, given the extensive range of magical items in d20, for example, there's very little here that can be classified as 'new', and a lot of items just simply don't convert well. Pricing these items, as in the d20 system, would also be a headache for most users. The conversion issues are to be expected, although I'd have hoped to see more items that don't just convert to standard items (or mimic spell effects) or items with combined abilities in another system. Essentially, new item properties or abilities would've made this pdf much more useful.

Overall, though, this is a solid product with some useful material. There are some interesting ideas, although given the fact that this product requires lots of work on the DMs part to convert magical items, some will not find it to their liking. Given the hundreds of items presented, you're bound to find something of use, but in most cases some sifting will be required to remove the more 'standard' items from the more 'unique' that are not already covered by your chosen game system.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: This product offers a good variety of different items and some new ideas in a generic system. The product's suitability to lots of different systems is in a way both a blessing and a curse, depending on the system you're using. Some unique and interesting items within the huge offering provided. Solid presentation.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: This product requires what can be time-consuming work on the part of the DM, although in some systems it's expected to be easier than others. These items may not all convert that easily to the game system of choice, but the majority should do so for most systems. I'd have appreciated seeing more 'unique' items, in the sense that many of these are based on known concepts.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

The Treasures of Elbard is a 40 page d20 pdf adventure. This adventure was originally released by MonkeyGod Enterprises but has been re-released in unaltered form by Highmoon Media Productions. The adventure is suitable for characters of 8th or 9th level, and involves searching for the lost artifacts of the County of Elbard, a place originally overrun by goblinoids and other humanoids. This adventure, having been released in 2001, still uses the 3e revision of the d20 rules.

The product comes as a single pdf file that contains the adventure. There is a brief table of contents although no bookmarks have been included. About 25 pages of the pdf are the adventure itself, while the remainder is NPC statistic and write-ups, maps and other details. Writing and editing is generally good, as are the maps and art, but the most glaring feature missing from the product is decent organisation and summary. An adventure summary would've gone a long way in making the adventure clearer and easier to run, and gives some idea as to how the adventure is scoped or organised. In addition, such a summary would at least include details on how the players are expected to make their way through this adventure, and cater for any other eventualities regarding how to tackle this search.

The adventure starts by presenting a brief history of the region and its people before plunging into the adventure itself. The County of Elbard was a prosperous nation eventually overrun by goblinoids, and the three treasures of Elbard, minor artifacts, were spirited away in the wake of the battle. The PCs, for reasons of their own, are in search of these artifact treasures, and venture to the County of Elbard to find them. The plot is straightforward and simple, and the execution as straightforward. On their journey through the County of Elbard, the PCs gradually uncover the history and locations of the Treasures of Elbard, and eventually work their way through several locations and encounters to find them.

The adventure is location based, featuring a handful of location that the PCs can explore as they search for the missing treasures. For the most part the adventure is entirely PC driven - there's nothing really that forces them in any particular direction, although the random encounters in the forests of Elbard might force the hand of the DM in revealing the locations of interest. Once there, the locations offer a challenge based on their nature, and characters with good sets of physical skills will fare well in the locations of the adventure. While the locations are not particularly innovative or unique, they are challenging, and characters should enjoy them.

The Treasures of Elbard is one of many MonkeyGod Enterprises print products now released in pdf by Highmoon Media Productions. This particular adventure is pretty standard fare, although more by the standards of yesteryear rather than today's adventure standards. This adventure is a long treasure hunt and exploration, which has very little unique or even interesting in terms of execution, encounters or locations. Having said that, some of the combat encounters may present a challenge to players, although that might not be enough to keep them interested.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The Treasures of Elbard is a well-presented adventure with good maps and general layout. It offers and quick and standard adventure for those interesting in an evening or two's gaming.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The adventure is lacking in several areas, including an adventure summary, but mainly in the organisation and interest level. It's pretty standard stuff really - find lost artifacts - and the adventure provides very little guidance to the DM running it.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>

Paths of Power II: Monstrous Paths is a 106 page pdf product and the second product in the Distant Horizon Games' Paths of Power series. The first product in the series introduces the concepts and mechanics behind magical spell paths, and is a free download from their website. This second product aims to expand on the concept of paths presented in the first book, and includes not only expanded path options, but dozens of new spells. Paths of Power II: Monstrous Paths, contains a lot more than the title suggests in terms of paths, in particular the numerous spells the product contains.

This products comes as an archived file containing a screen and print version of the product. A complete set of bookmarks and an extensive table of contents is provided to facilitate finding the information you require. Writing, editing and layout is generally good, although the green background color might not be to everybody's liking. Presentation as a whole is good, and the product comes with a lot of art taken from a variety of classical painting artists (credits given at the end of the pdf to the relevant painters, including Rembrandt van Rijn). While the art is bountiful, it's not always entirely fitting, and has a feel of 'filler' art rather than 'enhancing' art. Overall, though, a solid, but not spectacular, effort on the presentation front.

As mentioned earlier, Paths of Power II expands on the information given in the free Paths of Power pdf. Essentially this means that this is not a standalone product since it contains no details of the previous product. While this can be quickly remedied, it would've been useful if the pdf had at least contained a summary of the mechanics behind paths. In a nutshell, though, paths are themed groupings of spells (generally one or more per spell level) that can be used to replace or enhance the existing d20 magic system. A path wizard, for example, starts his career knowing one or more paths, each with their associated spells, and as he progresses he can learn new paths either as he levels up, or taken as feats. The system allows for very thematic builds, and a lot of flexibility. For the most part, the system conveys the core d20 feel of the various classes well with the paths, and allows them more flavor and theme than your regular wizard or ranger.

Paths take on a variety of different themes, from race and alignment related paths, to personality paths and paths associated with certain creature types, such as undead or monstrous humanoid paths. This product contains a wide selection of different paths, although about two-thirds of the product is taken up by the more than 200 new spells rather than the spell paths. The pdf immediately dives into the details of the spell paths, essentially lists of spells from level 1 to level 9 with summaries, and as mentioned earlier, could've done with a summary of the methods of acquiring paths at the start of the pdf by way of introduction.

The first six chapters of this pdf contain the new paths, and include personality paths (e.g. The Entrepreneur, The Sneak, The Thinker), creature type and subtype paths (e.g. aberrations, aquatic, shapechanger, undead, fey), specific paths for different creatures (e.g. centaur and winter wolf), paths for prestige classes (e.g. assassin path and blackguard path), elder paths (more powerful paths such as the blood sacrifice path and the warmage path) and a number of other random paths (e.g. dispelling path). For those interested in expanding or using the path system, this offers a lot. Even if you're not interested, there are plenty of ideas for the normal gamer to use, such as books containing the various paths, or other ideas. Given the number of new spells presented in this pdf, the paths system is a useful way of introducing new spells, so, for example, characters can use a feat to gain access to new spells from a particular path.

The latter section and indeed the larger section of the pdf contains more than 200 new spells, as well as a small number of new feats (Path Expertise, for example). The spells are all generally good and versatile, although in places the mechanics is dubious and it would've been useful if the spells carried a class designation rather than a level designation only. For example, most spells indicate on that it is a level x spell, rather than specifying if it were useful for a Wizard, Bard, Cleric or any combination thereof. While these spells are naturally for use with the paths system, the pdf would've had some added flexibility with that information included, or at least saved a DM some time in assigning them himself. Within the sheer volume of spells there are good and bad, but given the volume any player or DM is sure to find a lot of useful material to use here.

Overall, Paths of Power is a neat product with a lot of useful material in, whether or not you wish to use the paths system or just mine the product for spells and ideas. The paths system adds interesting thematic elements to a class, but can also easily be used without converting the spells system to paths exclusively. A very useful product.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Paths of Power II: Monstrous Paths contains a huge variety of useful spells and spell-related material. The paths concept is expanded and explored in stunning detail, and offers flavorful thematic elements to the gaming experience. A very useful pdf with some interesting material.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: A brief summary of the rules for paths would've been useful to include at the start of the pdf, and the spells could've done with a more complete execution in terms of the core d20 system and assigning certain spells to certain classes only. Here there were a number of editing errors, and some weak/incomplete mechanics, but overall nothing significant or that which cannot be altered with ease.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

A Turn of Events: Actions Cards for Adventurous Souls is a 51 page pdf product for the d20 system. The pdf provides a number of printable cards that aim to add a fun extra dimension to your gaming session and increase roleplaying opportunities. The cards within the pdf can be used by DMs to increase the elements of chance, be it fortune or misfortune within a gaming session. Players and DMs are given or draw these cards during the session, which allows for a large number of different results and outcomes, both positive and negative.

The product includes a printer friendly and screen version of the pdf, along with an advertisement pdf for some of Silverthorne Games' other products. The main pdf is a fully-bookmarked pdf that contains mostly printable cards and the rules for using these cards within a game. Editing and layout is good, while the cards provide a simple and easy to read layout for use in gameplay. Mechanics on the cards is good as well, and generally these cards, when used within the framework of the suggested rules, should make for fun gameplay. Blank cards are included for those DMs that wish to make their own cards.

The concept of expanding on gameplay by allowing for extraordinary events is not a new one - hero points or action points have been around for some time, and this product is in essence no different from those systems, although vastly expanded on what can be done or not done. Three types of cards are included within the pdf - Boon cards, that allow characters to perform extraordinary actions, Critical Hit/Fumble cards for when a natural 20 or 1 is rolled, and Curse cards, for those times when the DM just needs to punish a player. Each set of cards comes with its own rules for when or when not to use these cards. By a rough count, more than 100 boon cards, more than 25 critical hit/fumble cards, and more than 25 curse cards are included in this pdf, allowing for ample variety in your gaming sessions.

The Boon cards allow both players and DMs to draw cards that allow them an element of fortune within a game. Examples include teamwork where your whole party cannot be flanked for a limited period of time, automatically confirming critical hits, bonuses to attack, damage or skill checks, and numerous other cards. The cards provide clear and concise rules for using them, and succeed readily at creating an atmosphere where these cards can make for a more heroic or action packed game.

The Critical hit/Fumble cards fulfil a dual purpose, depending on whether a natural 20 or natural 1 is rolled on the die. Each card comes with both a critical hit and fumble action, and allow players to do something beyond the extra damage on a critical hit, or impose some sort of penalty or effect on a fumble. Examples include blinding an opponent, scoring a critical hit for maximum damage, fumbling to knock yourself on the head and suffer penalties to mental statistics and fumbling to twist your ankle. Again these generally add a fun element to the game, and can be easily used with added enjoyment for those that are interested in a more extraordinary game.

The Curse cards are cards that are intended as punishments and can be used by DMs in instances where players violate their alignment, offend deities and the like. The examples of these are quite severe in most cases, ranging from taking ability damage each day while under the influence of the curse, to becoming diseased, to having opponents always inflict double damage with a particular weapon type. While under certain circumstances I can see the use for these cards, the suggestion is also made that they can be used to 'bring the player and his PC into line'. This doesn't seem to be an appropriate way to deal with players and characters that are not 'behaving' themselves, and seems to be something more suited to DM/player discussion. While some of these Curse cards can be used as opposites for Boon cards, I would not be inclined to use them under many of the circumstances written in the pdf.

A Turn of Events is a expansive system for allowing elements of chance to affect the fortune or misfortune of players. It does a good job of providing plenty of variety in the gaming session, offering lots of opportunities to expand the horizons of the characters and their interaction with the world around them. The pdf succeeds well at its stated aim, supersedes in some way the functionality of similar systems such as action points, although the Curse cards have suggested methods of use that are dubious. Overall, a very good pdf with some interesting options and variety.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The variety of options presented by the cards provides for exciting gameplay and a fun game. Card mechanics is solid, and the utility of this product is high for any d20 game.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Some of the rules and concepts behind the Curse cards were not the best and I would not be inclined to use them as such.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Temporality is a 166 page d20 pdf product dealing with Time Travel in fantasy, modern and future worlds, although this product focuses more on the fantasy aspects of time travel. It provides a plethora of new material related to time travelling, including rules for time travel, spells, feats, monsters of time, time travelling organizations and much more. It is a solid presentation on what is often considered a tricky subject, but Temporality succeeds and creating an easy to use and flexible system for using time travel in your games, as well as useful advice on how to implement it.

This product comes as a single, fully bookmarked pdf file. Editing and writing is very good, although the occasional errors do slip in. The presentation is very professional and pleasant, while the scattered artwork gives the product added flavor. No print version is available, and a number of monsters could've required some additional artwork - particularly the creatures with the word 'Time' in the title. Overall, though, a very good look and read, with solid writing, good mechanics and creative ideas on time travel. One of the good things beyond the presentation about this pdf, is that it extensively draws from other OGL material and the section 15 is quite beefy. I also appreciated the fact that the pdf indicated which material was used from each source. A full table of contents is also provided.

Temporality is divided into eighteen short chapters, each chapter devoted to a different aspect of time travel, ranging from basics of time flows, to monsters to organisations to campaign advice. The largest chapters are those containing spells, magic items and weapons from all time periods, allowing the user to make the most of a large number of possible options. That's certainly one of the things that this pdf does well - provides a solid background to the mechanics, and then expands them with numerous options for the user to explore throughout a campaign.

Chapters One to Five deal with the basics of time travel and the associated mechanics. This covers the basic rules for time travel, for example, all time streams move forward only, but there are an infinite number of them, one for every choice made. The mechanics is simple, and provides ways to handle the most common questions about time travel, such as divergences from history, running into yourself in the past (you remain unaffected by any changes in the Flow), and other questions. Rules are provided to categorise divergences, so that changing significant things in the past can change the future in some important ways. While this may seem like a lot of work, some useful advice is provided to help DMs control and maintain shifting 'timescapes'. Reincarnation is also covered from the perspective of reincarnated characters having a memory of their past lives.

Chapters Six to Ten provide a whole host of crunchy material for use in a time travelling campaign. These include two prestige classes (the Fated, one who has seen his death and appreciates his own mortality, and the Temporalist, one who attempts to avoid time or be bound by it), new skills (Temporal Navigation for navigating time flows), new feats (general and time related, but a good collection of feats and very useful), temporal altered equipment (equipment with changed properties as a result of being left on the Plane of Time), new spells and new magic items. The latter two chapters contain a myriad of material on spells and magical items, all with some sort of time element, although not necessarily only useable within a time travelling game. These chapters provided an excellent number of option for the temporal minded DM and player, and provide a large amount of option for time travelling campaigns.

The last eight chapters cover a number of different topics related to time travel, including weapons through the ages, introducing time travel into a campaign, using time travel and alternate time flows in your campaign, the geography of time and the havens within the Plane of Time (locations with permanent wormholes), advice on temporality in your campaign, including bringing fantasy characters into a modern world and visa versa, details on time related organisations such as the Association of Temporal Observation, the Doomsayers and the Cult of Chaos, and a large number of adventure ideas and new time-related monsters.

Temporality is probably the definitive source of time travelling and provides an exciting, balanced and probably more importantly a playable outlook on time travelling. Within the pages of the pdf there are numerous ideas, sections on advice, new material and rules that allow one to easily implement time travelling into a campaign and make it work. While time travelling requires some additional bookkeeping and quick planning on the DMs part, the pdf covers most topics in detail and help where necessary to allow a game to run smoothly. Temporality succeeds very well at bringing time travel into fantasy, modern and future games, in an enjoyable and sensical manner.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Temporality is a very good pdf and guide to the world of time travelling. It's an excellent resource on time and time-related material, and is a quintessential guide to all things time. Presentation and material is well-written and professional, with clear and succinct use of words to bring time travelling alive for everybody in a playable way.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The pdf could've used more art, particularly in the monster section, but otherwise this is a very good pdf covering an aspect of play that most people can enjoy.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Carthaginians Set is a 6 page pdf product containing paper miniatures from Arion Games. This is the 35th set in their miniatures line of products, and forms parts of the Ancients Miniatures series along with sets such as Biblicals Set and Romans I and Romans II Sets. Each product in the set provides a series of paper miniatures that can be printed out and folded in a variety of different ways to provide an endless supply of foes and allies for a campaign set in Roman times. This particular set is suitable for the era in Roman history around the Punic Wars made infamous by Hannibal and his elephants, but can be used in other eras as well.

This product comes as a single pdf file, and for those not familiar with Arion Games' miniatures, an instruction document is required which can be downloaded from their website. The instructions provide all the details on how to fold the various miniatures, including A-frame, flat, or triagonal miniatures. The latter are pseudo-3D miniatures, containing three sides rather than the usual two for paper miniatures. Five pages of miniatures are included in the pdf, containing the artwork for the flat or A-frame miniatures, and the triagonal miniatures. A total of 22 different miniatures are included in this set. Artwork and general rendering as usual are of a very high standard.

Carthaginians Set is one of the more impressive sets I've seen from Arion Games. The set includes a good variety of miniatures with great rendering, particularly for the elephants. Included in this set are the following: Carthaginian General, two Carthaginian Marines (both armed with short swords but with different stances), an Iberian Scutari (heavy infantry - well armored with a spear), two Iberian Slingers, a Carthaginian Elephant Handler, two Libyan Spearmen (in different stances), a Carthaginian Merchant (in blue robes and carrying a pot/vase), a Numidian Archer, three Sacred Band of Ba'al (spearmen in different stances, well armored in general), a Carthaginian Sailor, two cavalry Sacred Band of Astartes (my wish remains to see the horses appear more 'combat-ready), two Numidian Light Cavalry. Two great looking Armored War Elephants and one Elephant.

Apart from the fantastic work that has gone into the rendering of this set, one of the other aspects of the set is that it has almost universal appeal. By this I mean that the miniatures can easily be used outside the scope of the Carthaginian era. While most contain elements of the time and the country of origin, they make for excellent miniatures in a more generic manner within this time-setting. Given the proportion of mounted warriors, both on elephants and horses, this is also a very useful set for generating your own fearsome cavalry charges. Overall this is a wonderful set, and highlights Arion Games' quality products and capabilities very well.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Great artwork and rendering, as well as a good variety of different miniatures to use. The elephants are particularly impressive, and I liked the fact that numerous mounted warriors were included in this set. The triagonal miniatures were wonderful once assembled and those elephants make for great charges.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The Carthaginian General was not great, particularly with that pink shirt and what looks like a headband. It looks more 'ballerina' than general. The horses are well done, but I'd have like to see more armor or battle-readiness in the horses.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Deck O' Names Anglo Saxon Places is a pdf product that allows the user to generate flavorful place names on the fly using easy to use printed cards containing name snippets. This product is the second in the Deck O' Names series, the first allowing the user to generate a wide variety of male and female names. Each Deck O' Names pdf product also has a twin generator (not included with the purchase of this pdf), a software product that fulfils the same function of the pdf. This product is for generating the names of town, villages, hamlets and the like and draws from Anglo-Saxon history to create interesting and unique names.

The product comes as a zip file containing two main pdf files - the first containing all the cards for printing, and the second containing instructions, references and other material. The cards are simple and easy to print, and the names should be authentic sounding if you can get your tongue around the pronunciation. Fortunately a pronunciation guide is provided to assist with this. General presentation of the product is good - there's even a separate page containing a box that can be printed and assembled to hold all the cards in the product. In addition to the cards, the product has added value in that it contains numerous references, a brief history of the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon runes, and pages of translation of Anglo-Saxon pre- and suffixes in the many place names.

Deck O' Names Anglo Saxon Places can generate more than 31000 names, which is more than most would probably be able to use. The names draw from a variety of sources all Anglo-Saxon, giving each one an authentic sounding name. While Anglo-Saxon names might not be entirely 'fantasy', they can easily be converted into more 'English' rather than 'Old English' sounding names by changing the spelling and pronunciation somewhat. Examples of some of the names that can be generated include Dungeard, Ceaforleage, Glinwic, and Dodbirig. Experimenting with the cards rarely turned up an odd sounding name, and I think this product succeeds admirably at providing a flexible and easy to use system for generating names.

One of the strong points of this product is the amount of supplementary information that it provides. If we take the name Dungeard, for example, the list of meanings for the various Anglo-Saxon sections translate to 'Moor Yard'. I find this to be a very appealing aspect of the product, providing both interesting place names, pronunciation guide and more English meanings for the various words. There is a lot of use that a DM can get out of a product like this. The only minor weakness would be struggling to pronounce the words (but then you can generate one you can actually pronounce) and the fact that some the words might not necessarily fit all fantasy campaign settings. Still, a good product, very useful and with expanded utility for the gamer and the historian or linguist.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Deck O' Names Anglo Saxon Places provides the user with thousands of options for generating interesting and meaningful names for places in a fantasy campaign setting. From only a deck of 100 cards, the utility of this product is high, and adding in the supplementary material such as pronunciation and meanings of words, make this useful, interesting, and very flavorful. The addition of the Anglo-Saxon runes increases the utility further.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Some people may struggle with the pronunciation, while others might find that the 'Old English' names do not necessarily fit their campaign setting, but those are both minor comments. A couple of odd names here and there, and the cards appear somewhat cramped.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>