It's been some time now since I've been "wowed" by an RPG supplement. I've been gaming since the late '70s, so I've had plenty of opportunity. Simply Thieves is simply amazing. Now I'm an old school gamer experimenting with a class-less, XP-less system that uses Labyrinth Lord as a skeleton, so adapting this supplement to my upcoming campaign will take a little technical work on my part. But so far as content is concerned, Simply Thieves is stellar. The sections on Adventuring Thieves, Equipment, Magic, and Monsters are particularly well-done. There's a sinister ouvre to the spells and creatures herein that can heighten atmospheric tension (and player's hypertension if they aren't very careful). Since I run darker campaigns (think LOTFP "mood"), this merges well with my needs. Another thing that really sticks out is the sheer diversity of thief "types" that the book highlights, from Catburglars to Dagger Masters to Contortionist. The different subclasses (I'll call them this because I don't frankly know what a prestige class is - excuse me for being behind the times) highlight the fact that one thief is not built the same as another. In fact, I could see an entire party of "thieves" made up of the different types outlined here. Such a party would still be composed of wildly different character skills that would complement each other and serve well in adventuring, especially in the kind of adventuring outlined throughout the book.
All-in-all, I think the last time I was this impressed with a supplement was . . . let's see . . . Lost Cavern's of Tsojcanth, maybe? Arduin Grimoire, perhaps? It's been a long time.
I hope that Mad Scotsman does a spellbook and/or a creature compendium at some point in the not-too-distant future. My players would love the spellbook and hate the creature compendium. So here's to hoping . . . in the meantime, beware the Shadeslime and the Clockwork Lich!
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