With its funky, disco-like beat and riffs, this tune reminds me of cop shows from the late 1970s and early ’80s. If you like that sort of thing, you should be very happy with this track. If not … then you probably won’t be. This piece does have a fairly distinct beginning and end, but if you can adjust the endpoint (in iTunes, choose File : Get Info, click the Options tab and set the End Time to 3:52.5 or so), you can get the track to loop pretty well.

There’s nothing quite like an alien invasion to bring superheroes together (just think of the Justice League cartoon from 2001, or the JLA origin story in the New 52), and this “classic” module for Villains & Vigilantes does a good job—for the mid-1980s—of dressing an alien invasion up in spandex and dice. Well, mostly. The space invaders themselves, the Capellans, are a really stupid-looking race, with green reptilian bodies and brown, furry canine heads. Their initial strategy, though—establish a beachhead in a relatively “unimportant,” undefended area—is reasonable enough. Although the adventure is called “From the Deeps of Space,” it actually has two roughly equal parts: “From the Deeps of Space” and “Into the Deeps of Space.” Not only does author Stefan Jones introduce interstellar travel rules (modified slightly, according to editor Scott Bizar, by Jack Herman and Jeff Dee), but he also provides a starmap of the systems “near” Capella, a good aid for GMs who take their heroes into that region of space. Bill Reinhold’s artwork fits the V&V style to a T. This new PDF version of an old print product does have a very few OCR problems. Overall, the adventure is good, not great; the best part may be the interstellar travel rules.

Obviously, this map set is tailor-made for fantasy RPG campaigns in Eberron or very similar high-magic settings. The artist has done a great job of depicting both the inside and the outside of the engine and the caboose and everything that goes in between, including cabin cars, a dining car, and various types of cargo cars. The artwork is very nice, and it’s provided in both color and black-and-white, in both letter and A4, and in both PDF and JPG. It’s hard to ask for more. Well, okay, I could ask for better proofreading; some embarrassing errors (like “your party is have dinner with the captain” and the consistent misspelling of “incorporate”) slipped through the editorial process. If you’re using the letter-sized pages, you’ll need two pages to print the interior of one car, and four pages to print the exterior.

Thrill the players in your nautical fantasy campaign by setting this beautiful cardstock model on the table. You’ll need pretty good modeling skills, as this is no easy model to build. Once it’s done, though, the results are terrific. I’m not sure, though, why Fat Dragon broke out water tiles individually, and omitted a grid from them (even as an option).

If you’re running a sci-fi RPG that involves interplanetary travel and you, like me, don’t know all that much about the details of planetary physics, then you owe this resource to yourself and your players. You’ll need to track along with some science and math, but author Mark Wightman keep it simple, always with an eye on helping the GM create interesting yet basically realistic planets. Aspiring sci-fi writers would benefit from this book, too.

Like Ruined House #1, Ruined House #2 features great artwork and customizability, but requires at least an intermediate level of paper modeling skill and a substantial amount of free time to put together well. You can choose from four different wall styles, add snow to everything, and even add bullet holes to the outside walls, making Ruined House #2 a perfect companion for Ruined House #1. In all, it’s a great addition to LZW’s 3D offerings.

You’ll need at least an intermediate level of paper modeling skill and a substantial amount of free time to put this complex piece together well, but the results will look great on your gaming table. The model offers more customizable features than I first realized; you can choose from two different wall styles, add snow to everything, and even add bullet holes to the plastered/stuccoed walls. In all, it’s a great addition to LZW’s 3D offerings.

Kor-oggo-rok, the central threat in this single encounter for early paragon-tier D&D characters, is an interesting variation on the typical earth archon. Author Michael Evans has given not only Kor-oggo-rok but the encounter as a whole some distinctive features that add fun to this encounter and are worthy of emulation in other encounters. One of Evans’s best innovations is the inclusion of “taunts” that the DM can use as lines of dialogue each time Kor-oggo-rok uses a new power. On the “con” side, the formatting isn’t very attractive, and the grammar and style could use some help. Also, Kill or Be Killed seems to predate Monster Manual 3, so DMs using this encounter may want to update the “monster math” (actually, Neuroglyph Games should consider issuing an update to reflect MM3 power levels). Even if you end up not using Kor-oggo-rok at all, you can get a lot of good ideas from the way Evans has laid out this encounter.

This large (40" x 26", if I counted correctly) map depicts a small inlet on a frozen coast, with stairs leading up to an ancient temple. (For the temple itself, get Fantastic Maps — Illfrost: Ancient Temple.) This exterior map would make a great stage for an initial incursion into the temple (if the temple is defended) or for an attempted escape from the temple (if that escape is hindered by enemies). You don’t need the Illfrost setting to use the map; you just need an ancient temple in a snowbound or tundra-type setting.

This is a nice piece, with the feel of an energetic Irish reel and a great rhythm. However, it has a very distinct ending and beginning, so it doesn’t loop well—a liability for a gaming background track. If the looping issue doesn’t bother you so much, use this track as the score for a lighthearted, or at least non-threatening, tavern scene.

This small expansion set includes eight easy-to-build sarcophagus models, variously decorated. The largest version has a removable lid and cleverly accommodates four inserts to allow for different things (skeleton, treasure, map, pit) inside. The printable pages have been divided into five different PDF files to make use of layers, but the only thing you can customize is whether or not each sarcophagus has a blood spatter on top. For maximum reusability of your models, omit the splatter (which is turned off by default).

That’s a funny subtitle there—“Lava, Water, and Poop”—but it’s accurate, since Fat Dragon leverages PDF layers in this product to let you choose whether lava, water, or sewage flows through the recessed spaces on the 2D tiles in Expansion Set 7. You can also turn off all the “fluids” and just have stone floors if you wish. Those 2D tiles, by the way, come in 6" or 8" squares, giving you additional flexibility. This pack also includes some 3D elements, chiefly an ornate set of double doors and a dragon-headed fountain embedded in a wall; again, you can choose (using layers) whether the fountain spews lava, water, or sewage. This isn’t a set for complete beginners at cardstock modeling, but it’s not difficult to put together, either. You’ll want to practice on a couple of more straightforward models, probably, before tackling the fountain.

You get two sailing ships for the price of one in this nicely-done pack by LZW. As in all LZW products, the artwork is quite good. Due to the nature of the maps, this pack doesn’t include isometric views, nor would they be especially helpful. LZW did, however, include exploded views to help you see how the decks stack up together. You can choose to print the ships with or without water, and with or without a grid in both cases; you cannot, however, get rid of the cannon. The ghost ship is essentially the pirate ship redressed with glowing green furnishings. Unfortunately, LZW hasn’t yet taken steps to improve the English in the instructions and annotations; a product published in English needs to use good English. In the ship diagrams, for example, the bowsprit is mislabeled as the “bowstrip.”

Down a curving corridor lies a hidden harbor with a broken pirate ship and plenty of loot—an excellent stage for a series of encounters with a gang of thieves. The artwork lives up to LZW’s usual excellence, and you get both top-down and isometric views of everything. JPGs are included for online virtual tabletops. The tabletop battlemap measures 40 inches square when assembled, and should be a big hit in your game. The product even includes a couple of rowboats that you can mount on foam board separately and use to stage the PCs’ incursion into the thieves’ den. Unfortunately, LZW hasn’t yet taken steps to improve the English in the instructions and annotations; a product published in English needs to use good English.

This adventure for Villains & Vigilantes combines super-powered piracy with superspy-like intrigue to form a fairly engaging story. The best type of GM for this adventure is one who can really ham up a wide variety of NPCs. Enough “if/then” decision points are built into the adventure to allow for a good range of PC choices, all ultimately leading down parallel paths toward the climax. You need relatively mature players for this adventure—not due to anything objectionable, but just because young players aren’t likely to get the jokes, pick up the more subtle clues, or understand the villain’s plot (without additional explanation). Author James Bishop also contributes the artwork, including figure flats; Bishop’s black-and-white style works well for the retro feel of V&V. Despite its strengths, this adventure isn’t a “must-have.” It’s got a good story, and would be fun to run and play, but it doesn’t really compel attention. You won’t regret running it, but you probably won’t regret passing it by, either.