Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/12/review-hyperborea-referees-manual.html

Yesterday I covered the Player's book. Today let's go with the Referee's Manual.

HYPERBOREA Referee's Manual

PDF and Hardcover. 308 pages. Color cover, black & white art with full-color art pages.

Chapter 10: Introduction Again, this is our introduction this time for the Game Master or Referee's point of view. What the Referee does for the game and more.

Chapter 11: Refereeing This get's into the Game Mastering process in detail. This covers grant experience for the characters and setting up the campaign.

Chapter 12: Bestiary Our monster section and truthfully one of my favorites. The expected ones are here, but there are also plenty of new ones. This covers roughly 130 pages. There are interesting new takes on some classic "D&D" monsters, plus many new ones like a bunch of new "lesser" and "sublunary" demons. The format is most similar to Basic or Labyrinth Lord, and it is full of the usual suspects with some Lovecraftian Horrors, and even remnants of alien and bygone ages. "Demons" are here, but no devils.

Chapter 13: Treasure Covers treasure types and magical treasure. Among the magic items are things like Radium Pistols and other sc-fi artifacts. Very pulpy. It also includes some rules on scribing spell and protection scrolls. There is even a small section on Alchemy in Hyperborea. Very useful to have really.

Chapter 14: Gazetteer. The lands are a pastiche of Howard, Vance, Lovecraft, and Smith. If these names mean anything to you, then you know or have an idea, of what you are going to get here. This section has been greatly expanded from the previous editions. Included here are the gods again and a little more on religion. Basically, you get the idea that gods are either something you swear by (or to) or get sacrificed to by crazy cultists. So yeah, you know I am a fan.

Appendix A: Weather in Hyperborea. Likely more important here than, say, other game worlds. Weather in Hyperborea is dangerous.

Appendix B: Hazards of Hyperborea. There are horrible things waiting for you in Hyperborea and they are not all monsters or the weather.

Appendix C: Waterborne Expeditions. Covers waterborne adventures and combat.

Appendix D: Warefare and Siege. Your characters have built their strongholds. Now someone wants to know it down. Here are the rules.

Appendix E: OGL Statement. The OGL statement for this book.

Nearly every aspect of this game has seen expansion since the 2nd Edition; some sections more than others, but it is a great upgrade.

Just a couple notes on why this book is just as awesome and high quality as the Players Manual:\

Refereeing

• Greatest hits of refereeing advice, not just for this game or even just OSR games. I found this chapter to be one of the best versions of this type of GM advice and really recommend giving it a serious read no matter your experience level! I was impressed anyway.

Bestiary

• Given the Sword & Sorcery setting, this is comprehensive. Most old favorites are still here plus lots of new and unique monsters, and there is something like 20 pages of just demons, so. Old school stat blocks are very easy to read at a glance.

Treasure

• I am a huge fan of these treasure tables. Very detailed if desired, and I do not feel nervous about rolling random hoards. Items are awesome without being overpowered (or if they are it's for a limited time or at least a good purpose).

Gazetteer

• This is a dauntingly imaginative, vivid, complex, and somewhat challenging world. Certainly complex in that it is built from the flotsam of around 100 years of Sword & Sorcery fiction; this is a world to savor. Here is an example:

There is a particular section explaining a random location that is far from the beaten path. This section is three sentences long. The first sentence explains the location and where it is relative to the rest of the world. The second and third sentences detail an entire alien race, their physiology, where they come from, specifically what they are doing near this world, and how they might run afoul of the players. This is not a setting to try to drink in all at once, is what I am saying.

General

• Fantastic art throughout!