An entertaining adventure with a fun premise, albeit one that relies on a TPK. It would also work pretty well as a one-shot without featuring any existing characters. The adventure doesn't look particularly challenging and it certainly isn't very complex, but the simplicity is probably more plus than minus here.

A fighter subclass with an interesting theme (devotee of Odin) that feels like a combination of eldritch knight and diviner wizard. Some of the higher-level powers feel like they could use a little refinement (the 10th level feature borders on being purely roleplaying with only minimal mechanical benefit, and the 18th-level feature doesn't say when it stops working - although I assume it lasts until the end of combat), but overall this is pretty solid. Could be useful for a campaign relying on Norse myth.

Some cool new and variant spell concepts for D&D 5th Edition, with a pretty clear anime influence and fairly interesting mechanics. Unfortunately, the balance of many spells is off, with a few underpowered for their level (like Celestial Armory) and a larger number overpowered (like Dimensional Rend), so you would likely have to adjust them a bit for your campaign. (Oliver E.'s review has some good specific advice.) Fortunately, this is a PWYW product, which makes its flaws pretty easy to forgive.

A neat selection of new magic items for D&D 5th Edition. There are minor issues - some grammar problems, and some of the mechanics seem overly complicated, and the rarities seem off here and there - but they're balanced out by the creativity of the items, as well as the included story hooks. A worthwhile addition to a 5th Edition library, especially for $1!

When D&D 4th Edition came out, I didn't like what I saw. So, rather than "upgrading", I skipped that edition, only returning to the game when the D&D Next playtest began. Before that, however, I did take notice of the Essentials line, an attempt to give 4E a new coat of paint and lure back lapsed players. I was encouraged to buy the rulebooks (partly because Borders was going out of business and they were discounted), but I never got around to actually reading them before I was won over by 5th Edition. Now, nearly four years into the 5E era, I figured I'd give 4E a fresh look.

First things first, I do appreciate the design of this edition. 4E was clearly designed to be streamlined from D&D 3.5, and carefully structured for ease of use and balance. Every class and every foe has a role, every rules subsystem is laid out in a straightforward manner. Statistics are easy to determine. The layout of powers and monsters and items and the like makes it easy to pick them up and use. Encounters and rewards look to be a breeze to design. As for the Rules Compendium itself, everything is very clearly explained, with very few areas that are confusing or ambiguous.

That all said, the game has two major flaws. (IMHO, of course.)

One is more objective - there is still too much of the detail-oriented 3.5 in it. Mainly it's a matter of having too many rules to remember - too many specifics with skill use, too many situational modifiers, too many conditions, too many specific action options. Certainly there are fewer fiddly bits than 3.5, and certainly everything is better explained and easier to apply. But having to remember or refer to these rules during game events stands out all the more when other stuff, like powers or monsters, have everything you need in one convenient stat block.

The other is more subjective - I don't like the focus of the game. They decided to take 3.5's grid-based miniatures combat, and turn it up to 11. Movement and positioning are meticulous, and many actions (such as those that move other figures, er, characters) seem particularly game-y. The assigned combat roles may make assembling parties and encounters easier, and the powers (what used to be spells, but for all classes) are nice and balanced, but they add to the sense that this is a miniatures wargame rather than a RPG.

Now, if combat is the main thing you're into D&D for, then I'm sure 4E made you very happy. (It's no coincidence that Combat is the longest chapter in the Rules Compendium by far, nearly triple the length of the others.) But if you want a focus on other stuff, like skills, the best support you get is in step-by-step "skill challenges". (Which are a neat structure, admittedly... but also limiting and overly mechanical.) And if you want an emphasis on role-playing... you're largely on your own. The Rules Compendium does try to push role-playing in earlier chapters, but in the end it doesn't seem like their heart is in it. It seems you're here to fight things, upgrade your loot, and level up. It's no surprise many accused 4E of being a tabletop MMORPG.

However, there are admittedly some things I disliked about 4E at the time I can view more favorably now. One is the default Nentir Vale setting (a.k.a. "Points of Light") and its cosmology, which threw out the old D&D multiverse for something new and reimagined. Now that the old cosmology is back in 5E, I can appreciate Nentir Vale for the lean, mean "greatest hits" setting it is. And I do like that 5E kept the Feywild and Shadowfell. (On the other hand, I still don't like 4E's overly simple five alignments.) And there are some rules ideas here and there I do like: a "bloodied" condition for monsters at half HP, where special powers can kick in; minions, monsters with 1 hit point; the structure for XP overall, including clear guidelines for handling non-monster challenges.

In addition, from a historical standpoint, it's interesting to see how significant a step D&D 4E was in the game's evolution. You can see a lot of the concepts featured in 5E getting started here, such as a unified bonus based on level; the "unaligned" alignment; a simple trained/untrained division for skills; two types of rests (a short one and a long one); the ability to recover health during rests (through healing surges in 4E and hit dice in 5E); an action economy centered around a move, a standard, and a "minor" (bonus) action each turn; the simpler list of skills; and death saves (4E, surprisingly, is actually more lethal here). There's also a section on fleshing out characters that feels a lot like a precursor to 5E's backgrounds.

All in all, this is a fine game, and for a certain type of player, I can see how this would be an amazing version of D&D. But had I read this rulebook at the time... I don't think it would have convinced me to come back. It took the very different 5E to do that, which simplified the combat much more, and emphasized more role-playing... a decision that does seem to have paid off.

As for the Rules Compendium itself, this looks to be a great reference for the D&D 4E game. Well-organized, clearly explained, and (for the most part) one of the more readable and interesting books of pure game rules I've seen. If you're a 4E fan, I strongly recommend this. If you're not a 4E fan... well, you may want to at least skim it. (But it probably won't change your mind.) (Originally posted on Goodreads)

(Full disclosure: I was a backer for this on Kickstarter.)

Breachworld is, at its core, a streamlined, more modern take on the Rifts RPG setting. Like Rifts, it's set in a post-apocalyptic future following the mass opening of portals to other dimensions, and the resulting influx of beings from those worlds. Unlike Rifts, which glories in being a genre mashup world where you can have cyborg dragons fighting superheroes, Breachworld is much more down-to-earth, and effort was clearly put into making the character options and world consistent and sophisticated. As examples, many of the supernatural elements are tied together into something called "aether," and the economy is mainly barter-based with values treated as approximations.

The game uses Mini Six, a variation of the D6 System, which is fairly straightforward to use (with some exceptions - for example, the "scale" rules could be tough to use on the fly, and there are odd bits like horses being treated as vehicles). The system also meshes well with the more realistic tone of the game (slow recovery from injury, for one) and includes some distinctly neat ideas (like characters getting one piece of starting equipment for each skill they have). The only significant design issue is that the core game provides just one "advanced class" option, the "Epic", essentially a psychic/spellcaster that manipulates aether; this suggests all characters should choose this option, or else put themselves at a serious disadvantage. (It sounds like there are further "advanced classes" in later supplements, but this first book should have either had more than one, or the Epic should also have been left for later works.)

The combination of a well-thought-out setting and (mostly) straightforward rules creates a solid game. It doesn't quite have the gonzo charm of Rifts, and may be a little too restrained for folks hoping to replicate that experience, but Breachworld is still a good game and setting and worth a look. (Originally posted on Goodreads)

An interesting third-party sourcebook for Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Edition, with a lot of new ideas for the game. The book is mainly aimed at options for supervillains, including expanded rules for minions and building headquarters, but there's also some neat general options as well. Some of the new rules are much more detailed than I think I'd use in a typical game, but it's still useful to have them available. (Originally posted on Goodreads)

A wonderfully detailed third-party supplement for the Mutants and Masterminds 2nd Edition game. Intended for martial arts-focused campaigns, it provides tons of new character options and combat rules. There are some extremely tiny flaws here and there in editing and organization, but by the time you've absorbed the massive quantity of quality content in this book, you won't even care. Highly recommended! (Originally posted on Goodreads)

The first game produced by the Old School Revival that really caught my attention, Monsters & Magic combines an old-school D&D sensibility with more modern narrative-focused mechanics. The core system, called the Effect Engine, features a ton of innovations that make it one of the most interesting variations on D&D I've ever seen.

Its best ideas include character-related traits that can be applied to checks; certain degrees of success allowing you to add narrative effects to the results; mental hit points, used in social combat and other forms of mental stress; and alignment focus and drift, allowing you to better define what alignment means for your character as well as what tempts them towards other alignments. This is also one of the few RPGs I'm aware of that makes a serious effort to integrate large-scale play into the core rules, through a concept called Constructs - allowing characters to plausibly affect everything from gangs and armies to cities, nations, and even worlds. (Usually, this is treated as a separate subsystem.)

This is such a great system that I wish it wasn't trying to be compatible with old-school D&D... because I think that's seriously holding it back. While they try their best with new takes on concepts like Treasure Types, it still feels like certain aspects of classic D&D should have been abandoned to make a better, standalone fantasy RPG. Perhaps we'll see something like that in a future evolution of the system?

Speaking of old-school compatibility, my other major complaint is the limited amount of monsters, spells, and magic items described in the book. They expect you to use existing D&D sourcebooks for additions, but I would have appreciated more conversions, to better compare this system to its relatives.

All in all, though, this is a very cool and inspirational system, and I look forward to using it! (Originally posted on Goodreads)

Unlike previous Marvel RPGs (and unlike most superhero RPGs), the goal of MHRP is to replicate the feel of comic book storylines, with the assumption that you will be playing an existing superhero character in a limited event. (There are rules for going outside that, but it's clearly the default.)

The basic mechanic is for a player to assemble a pool of dice from any relevant attributes (both powers and narrative elements); this determines the scale and effectiveness of their chosen way of affecting the narrative (usually inflicting physical, mental, or emotional stress on foes). They are opposed by the Watcher (GM), who has access to a "Doom Pool" they can use to escalate the situation (and which grows as the players fail). In this way it's similar to games like Fate. Characters can earn XP by meeting certain character or event milestones - these can be used to increase the character's abilities or unlock benefits during the course of the event (such as helper characters).

These basic mechanics are all fine, but there are a few things that bothered me about the book. First of all, there are a lot of ways to affect the dice pool (such as the many power SFX), and it was overwhelming. I actually wish there had been fewer, and the system had been even more abstract. I also wasn't a fan of its apparent assumption that you wouldn't want to make your own material, rather than adapting existing characters and storylines - and their guidelines for making your own stuff were only functional.

Most significantly, the rules explanations weren't always clear. Several times I had to reread sections to get what was intended, and even then it often didn't click into place until I read an example. Had there been more examples at every step, that would have been mitigated. In fact, the chapter midway through that brought everything together should have been at the beginning in a condensed form; it would have provided some useful context for the rest of the book.

Overall, MHRP looks like it could be fun to play, but I'm not sure it's a game I'd want to run. There are a lot of fun ideas in it - the doom pool and the way they handle stress, among others - but a slightly simpler game probably would have served those ideas better. Still, I can see that it'd be appealing to certain gamers, and I won't say it's a bad system at all. Just probably not for me. (Originally posted on Goodreads)

Very interesting subclass idea - an anti-magic sorcerer - with fun mechanics. It might be slightly underpowered, but it's hard to tell without playtesting. Recommended - especially since it's free!

An adequate attempt at a kitsune race, hampered by writing issues and being a bit too powerful (particularly the Zenko Clan). They do get bonus points for the details on a western-themed variant, however, and the price is quite fair.

This interesting selection of elemental spells includes some that are obvious variants of existing spells, and some that are new concepts. The mechanics seem solid for most of the spells, although a few have problems with their wording, and others seem too strong or too weak for their level; a DM that plans to use this material will need to check closely and modify as needed. The only other issue is the choice not to assign the spells to any particular classes, though a DM can also figure that out - but shouldn't have had to. All in all, a product with neat ideas that needs a little work - just enough to make this seem slightly overpriced for what you're getting. (If it were cheap, I'd probably have been more forgiving.)

A welcome attempt at a generalist wizard subclass, but it steps on the territory of other wizard subclasses (particularly Abjuration) and just seems too strong overall.

This is a nice attempt at a monk subclass that emulates martial arts characters from shonen manga/anime and video games. It's built to be similar to the Four Elements monk and features some interesting abilities, such as Psychic Resonance. Unfortunately, the presentation could use some polish, and it lacks a strong unifying theme, probably because it's trying to cover too many different archetypes at once. Still, there are good ideas in there that are worth looking at.