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The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=27914.
Renaissance Deluxe is the extended version of the Renaissance SRD and is the latest addition to the d100 family that includes RuneQuest, Legend, OpenQuest, and Basic Roleplaying. In regards to those systems, it was built off the OpenQuest system and resembles a mash-up of OpenQuest and RuneQuest or Legend. To me, it seems like a simpler version of Legend or a more intuitive version of OpenQuest (essentially it lies somewhere in the middle). Renaissance is designed for black powder (fantasy) settings and nominally set in the early modern period of Earth’s history (which includes the Renaissance era).
Renaissance is a roll-under d100 system where the majority of dice rolls are made against a list of common and advanced skills formed by either adding two base characteristics or by doubling a single characteristic. Each character then receives a number of skill points to improve those skills and thus create their own character archetype. Each character is defined by a social class, profession, and faction. Social classes are a character’s background that defines what professions are available. Professions define what a character did BEFORE they became an adventurer. Factions define what the character’s believe in the most. All of this defines a character’s background and beliefs but does not hamper their ability to advance and become whatever they want. Obviously they don’t get the inherent bonuses for social class and profession, but characters are never limited by a given character class or archetype. This is the same method as the aforementioned d100 systems.
According to Cakebread & Walton, Renaissance Deluxe has expanded content in Factions, Equipment, Alchemy, Witchcraft, and Bestiary. The Sanity and GM chapters are new plus quick rules are included for combat and naval combat.
OVERALL
I hate to say this because it sounds biased, but this is by far my favorite implementation of the d100 systems that include OpenQuest and Legend. For as much as I like both of those systems, Renaissance removes the things I don’t like about those systems. It removes some of the combat complications of Legend while adding more options compared to OpenQuest. The only drawback I see is that it’s tied too heavily to Clockwork & Chivalry in terms of only offering Alchemy and Witchcraft along with equipment that is tied heavily to to early modern Earth. While this is a slight drawback, it does mean that other settings will require new mechanics/options in those areas (although remember that Renaissance is designed to recreate the early modern era with a fantasy twist). However, due to its inherent compatibility with OpenQuest, RuneQuest, and Legend, you can easily pull from any number of already available sourcebooks and core setting guides for that information.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 9 out of 10
I applaud Cakebread & Walton with their continued improvements to their publication quality from their beginnings with the 1st edition of Clockwork & Chivalry up to Renaissance Deluxe and beyond. There are some very little things in regards to cleaning up the formatting, but they’re completely minor and by no means interfere with the content. However, this is just a sidebar to what is truly awesome about Renaissance Deluxe. Early Modern and Black Powder Fantasy artwork is something you do not come across very often. Following with the style of artwork found in Clockwork & Chivalry, Renaissance Deluxe has an excellent collection of rustic feeling artwork depicting Early Modern times and the technology within the core mechanics. While you may not think that means much, Black Powder Fantasy and the Early Modern period is somewhat rare in role-playing games and you don’t see a lot of period-appropriate artwork.
Mechanics: 10 out of 10
This may sound a little biased, but the Renaissance system removes all the mechanics I find to be bulky in Legend (RuneQuest II) while avoiding the overly simple implementations from OpenQuest. It is an excellent implementation of the d100 mechanics that harken back almost 35 years. Yes it is tied directly to the era it’s meant to represent, but it can easily be modified for similar eras or other interesting settings due to the strength of the core mechanics.
Desire to Play: 8 out of 10
If you are looking for black powder or historical fantasy set in the early modern period, then Renaissance is the perfect fit. However, it does have a slight drawback in that those themes are integral to the system and are difficult to avoid. If you want to change the flavor to match a slightly different theme, there are lots of bits and pieces that need to be adjusted. In addition, I hate to say it, but I find the d100 mechanics in Renaissance, compared to its counterparts, to be much more favorable for quicker game play and more flexibility (depending on which one you’re comparing it to). Renaissance’s familiarity due to its core mechanics predecessors can make for some quick starting games as you don’t really need to learn a lot of new mechanics.
Overall: 9 out of 10
I definitely recommend the Renaissance d100 system as an excellent comparison to its predecessors. I also definitely recommend it for those wanting a game set in a black powder setting. These are two things that Renaissance Deluxe does very, very well and it’s worth taking a look at if you’re shopping for a new game system.
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The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=28036.
The Crypts is actually a collection of three different crypt maps, all with a horrific fantasy appeal. The first map is a set up like a maze with one of the rooms given over to a collection of sarcophagi. The second map is a dungeon-like room, completely open and filled with pillars to hold up the ceiling. Any number of nasty villains could call this home. The third map is another dungeon-like room with a center containing a flow of lava and one side has a large opening beneath a bridge. This particular map reminds me of a cult hideout from a pulp thriller.
Starting with the first map, this one is similar to The Ossuary map with a collection of sarcophagi, what appears to be the ossuary built into the extreme walls, two bone pits in the room with all those sarcophagi and a couple of statues that look like they guard the room. While I’m not thrilled about the stairs (they don’t feel convincing due to the lack of shadowing), the whole map is exquisitely creepy and just feels like it belongs in a horror adventure.
The second map is open and simple, with any number of possible uses. There are a few skeletons including one crushed by a fallen pillar, a nice added touch, but otherwise the room is mostly empty (aside from the puddle and the pillars). This is not a bad thing as it is large enough to be used for a wide variety of purposes. The overall stone design of this room makes it good for dungeons or underground lairs.
The third map is cool in concept but I’m not thrilled with the execution. The floor texture is very blurry and I have a hard time connecting a floor that looks severely cracked and weathered with a bunch of pillars that look as though they haven’t weathered at all. I think the texture is supposed to represent the cracking of the floor due to the lava, but the lava flow is very isolated to a center “stream.” The map is still very cool and can definitely be used for a number of things. It definitely gives off a vibe of chaos in a room that could house any number of villains.
OVERALL
The Crypts is a good collection of battlemaps. One major strong point is that it contains three different crypts with a variety of uses. In fact, if you look at the whole collection, they can easily be used outside of the standard fantasy or horror settings to include pulp fantasy, gothic sci-fi, and a lot more.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 10 out of 10
The three crypt maps contained within The Crypts are all rectangular and subsequently cut very well to fit within the different pages. The third map, with the bridges, even contains a set of closed bridges to layer on top of the open ones found in the actual map. As always, the maps come in both square and hex grids.
Visual Appeal: 8 out of 10
The stone textures used throughout all three maps are superb. The floor on the third map is a bit tricky to discern, but that could easily be part of its appeal. The walls are well-done and properly shadowed and all the little extras, like the skeletons, have been rendered wonderfully. However, the stairs are not very convincing as stairs, maybe more like a ramp. It may also help if they stood out a little more.
Desire to Use: 10 out of 10
From a utility stand-point, these are a great collection of maps to use for dark, crypt or dungeon-like situations. They just look terrifying! One very valuable thing to consider is that these maps are generic enough to cover many types of use and house any number of lurking beasties.
Overall: 9 out of 10
It can often be difficult to find maps that are more horrific in their design than just fantasy or dungeon. DramaScape has done a good job of presenting another map (three of them in fact) that carry that darker side of gaming and truly bring out the horror that could be inherent to any questing situation. After all, if you want the mood to be dark and terrifying, you should have a map that matches it.
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The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=27578.
Rite Publishing’s In the Company of Lurkers by Steven Russell and crew for use in the Pathfinder system brings to the table a fully developed character race concept that began some years ago with the Bastards and Bloodlines supplement by Owen K.C. Stephens. Lurkers are a combination of gnomes and cloakers.
This is a very good product. There are descriptions for three different sects of lurkers, the racial traits and appearances of the race, the race’s society, racial traits and alternative racial traits, favored class options, racial feats, and three archetypes.
OVERALL
Very good product for both players and GMs. It gives the GM a new race of spies and assassins to throw at the PCs and it gives the PCs a new race to play. This is a product that anyone who likes gnomes will either love or hate. It detracts from the pure-blooded gnome but it adds so much more than what it takes away. If you like odd combinations – half breeds – you will like this race.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 9 out of 10
Very good descriptions and some good artwork to support them. It is 12 pages of really good material. There are some typos – words omitted or misspelled and some missing spacing – but they do not take away from the playability of this product, they just hamper the readability slightly. Also, the product is written in the 1st person perspective of a lurker. Some of the text is quite well written and some of it is very simplistic – like there were two hands doing the writing. Whether this was intentional or not I do not know but it is noticeable in the reading.
Mechanics: 9 out of 10
The product sticks very solidly to the Pathfinder game mechanics. The only issue I have is the favored classes section – I think the lurkers are short changed a slight bit in some of them. For example, in the Ranger favored class, the lurker adds 1/3 dodge bonus to the AC against the favored enemies. At low levels this amount is negligible. This system of favored class benefits is given as an option instead of adding a skill or hit point as favored classes normally do. Additionally, this race could be very easily adapted into any campaign.
Value Add: 10 out of 10
Absolutely great value added to the game with In the Company of Lurkers. Players and GMs alike are going to want this product. This product will make players want to play a gnome-like character or a stealthy character just to try out this new race and the new archetypes.
Overall: 9 out of 10
Very good product. Gamers of all types will want it, especially those that like unusual races. The production quality, game mechanics, and value added to the game in general are very good and will make for a great addition to a gamer’s collection.
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The following review was originally published at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=27566.
Rite Publishing’s 30 Battle Standards by Steven Russell’s crew for use in the Pathfinder system brings to the table a slew of different types of battle standards. There are the general banners, cavalry guidons, garrison flags, infantry guidons, pennons, sashimono, and vexillium in addition to new equipment related to the battle standards, a new feat, and an NPC. This is a product designed for paladins and cavaliers in Western settings and Samurais and ronin in Eastern settings.
This is a great product. The artwork is spectacular and the descriptions of the different types of standards give the player and GM alike fantastic information on how to use them in the game. Additionally, the game mechanic used is an aura enchantment giving the legendary “magical” feel that warriors felt in days gone by when they saw the standard for their units in the vanguard.
OVERALL
Wonderful product for both players and GMs. It will enhance those moments when the PCs get themselves in a situation where having their own standard will be a benefit, where they are serving under a standard, or where they encounter large scale fighting where the GM can use the standards against the PCs.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 10 out of 10
Great descriptions and the artwork just makes it even better. It is 13 pages of fabulous material. There are a few minor typos – a word or two was omitted or misspelled – but that does not take away from this product in any way.
Mechanics: 10 out of 10
Each standard has a descriptive text and some of them have a table where all of the different effects are listed for the standard that has levels to it. Each of the magical auras associated with the standards are easy to use with very typical effects from the Pathfinder system of magic.
Value Add: 10 out of 10
Absolutely great value-add to the game with #30 Battle Standards. Players and GMs alike are going to want it. The original design is for paladins, cavaliers, samurais, and ronins, but I can see its application to other character classes as well if the GM is planning on a large scale war for his/her players to encounter.
Overall: 10 out of 10
Wonderful product. Gamers of all types will want this product, especially those that like the extra effects the standards bring. The production quality, game mechanics, and value added to the game in general are superb.
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The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=26985.
The Expanded Shaman builds on the shaman class that Kobold Press introduced in Kobold Quarterly #21. While the shaman has many things in common with its druidic cousins, they are two distinct classes that will help any adventuring party get their green on!
OVERALL
Who doesn’t like new character classes? The Expanded Shaman brings us a character class that has appeared in most editions of most fantasy RPGS in one form or another. This 16 page Pathfinder supplement has just the right amount of information to really make the Shaman feel like a fully formed and well thought out character class.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 9 out of 10
I really loved the cover of this product; Christophe Swal really captured the spirit of the shaman. The green title area with the yellow writing feels right. The addition of the green tree top and the standing stones below it reflect the multifaceted nature of the druid. The plant inspired light grey page border on the left is classy and really enhances the impact of the page. The shaman squatting on the rock looks just wild enough to be mysterious, but just wise enough to seek advice from. The inclusion of the iconic shaman staff festooned with fetishes didn’t seem forced.
The interior color art maintained the feel that the cover gives the reader. My only disappointment, art wise, was the black and white owl used on page 9. If it had been done in color this would have been 10 out of 10. The books layout is standard for Pathfinder support materials and it works. The base class description was a good call. I have seen several publishers produce a product like this and not include the base class description. Seems like a no brainer, unless you are trying to make people spend more money and buy two of your products. I applaud Kobold Press for not trying to stick it to us! The Inclusion of the useful Spirit Guide and Wildshape sheets is really useful for both player and GM. I have seen players who have sworn off playing characters who shapeshift because it is so difficult to track your shifted stats. This isn’t the first time someone has developed a sheet to track these items, but I’m glad it was included.
Mechanics: 10 out of 10
Because this is considered a base class, I think the mechanics are much easier to deal with than they would be if this was a prestige class. The class is well-made and has some interesting abilities that will satisfy a player who wants to change things up a bit without getting freaky. The shaman’s ability to cast any spell they know is balanced out by their limited amount of spells. This is a simple mechanic that makes things a bit more interesting. The use of the druid spell list was the right call. As a player I do find it hard, when I have so many spells to cast, to be able to quickly pick the best spell for the task at hand.
Value Add: 9 out of 10
Shamans are an interesting class that can add to most parties. I would not classify them as specialists but more in the utility category. From a GMs stand point there are some minor aspects of this class that will cause some extra work, but if you are in tune with your players it shouldn’t be an issue. The inclusion of the base class and the extra “tracking” sheets for a character sheet/portfolio make this worth $3.99 USD. Add feats, Archetypes and new spells and this is a good financial value as well. This is a Pathfinder product and it is focused for that setting. This product would have been perfect if some general non-Pathfinder shaman information had been included as well as a bit of information on specific places in the universe where shamans might be found.
Overall: 9 out of 10
When I received my review copy of this product I really looked at it as a straight forward character class supplement. As I started to delve into it, I could see that it was a straight forward character class supplement; that happens to be done really well. I was disappointed that shaman personality traits based on spirit totems were not introduced. I would have enjoyed seeing the requirement for shamans to have a few taboos to maintain their powers. Kobold Press has done a great job of summoning the shaman as a character class for Pathfinder.
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The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=27357.
Steven D. Russell gives GMs 101 “bad guys” from the organization known as the Fold of Mother’s Pride – a member in the criminal cartel made up of mostly monsters – to throw at the adventurers. 101 Not So Random Encounters: Urban is intended for GM use in Rite Publishing’s City of Questhaven for the Pathfinder system. It can be adapted for other use as well with a little bit of work.
The city is always scary and now it has gotten nastier. 101 Not So Random Encounters: Urban gives the GM more creative flexibility and more encounters freak out players with the city’s criminal underworld organization known as Mother’s Pride. Theencounters range from CR 23 to CR 1/2 with the ability to scale all of them upwards two more levels and some of them downwards two levels. There is some artwork within the product – some of it is good, some of it is okay.
OVERALL
101 Not So Random Encounters: Urban brings gamers a vast array of new options to astonish even the most jaded of players with unique encounters. It gives the GM creative vigor, and it’ll give the players something to talk about for a long time. The big issue with this product is its lack of complete statistics for all of the entries and there isn’t artwork to go with each encountered creature. Unfortunately, this product does not give a very detailed description of Mother’s Pride in the introduction.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 8 out of 10
The order of the content flows beautifully from the head of the Mother’s Pride down to the latest “youngling” that has been taken into the criminal organization’s membership. However, the lack of artwork within every monster entry is a deterrent to this product. Also, some entries are not as detailed as others; consequently, you will have to have the Pathfinder Bestiaries in order to look up statistics for most of the creatures (about 70 – 80%) used in the product.
Mechanics: 8 out of 10
The mechanics listed are typically the standard statistics from the Bestiaries or if they have been adjusted, it is because of the scaling of the creature, up or down.
Value Add: 8 out of 10
The aim of this product is GMs and those players who plan on becoming GMs. If Steven Russell had given players an extra section with more information specific to the criminal cartel system in Questhaven, the product would have the ability to be expanded by the GM if needed.
Overall: 8 out of 10
If there was more artwork and all of the statistics were given for all of the creatures, this product would have been rated much higher. One of the good things is the ability to scale the encounters up, and in some cases down, so that the GM can adapt them to the needs of the game. The other really good thing is that all of the members of the organization are listed and there is flavor text (individual personality and hangouts) for each of them.
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The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=27024.
Control Room features a modern or sci-fi octagonal room with several sets of computer work stations and a central “command” stand in the center of the room. The entire room is enclosed in a bunker-like structure and the computer work stations are all very detailed including different sets of computer screens.
OVERALL
The Control Room battlemap is good, but I can’t see it being used for any sci-fi games. It has a very 1970s or 1980s feel to it and the computer work stations are not aligned against the wall like you would picture in Star Trek. As is, it could make a great pillar for a Cold War game or as a base for the threat of nuclear fallout, but the arrangement doesn’t lend itself well to sci-fi.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 10 out of 10
The Control Room battlemap is laid out exceptionally well. The map is cut in a very favorable way considering its layout across multiple pages. More importantly, the square grid is aligned to the center portion of the floor where it drops a few steps from the main floor. This is a very critical alignment as anything else would look extremely awkward.
Visual Appeal: 7 out of 10
The visual appeal for the Control Room is influenced by a number of things. On the positive side, it has a lot of detail on the computer work stations including actual monitor displays for each computer, and a series of smaller monitors and keypads to go along with it. The textures throughout are very smooth and the walls of the bunker look fantastic (as they are all decorated in a military/sci-fi fashion). However, from an overview standpoint, the Control Room looks very awkward. The inner work stations look like they’re partially floating over the drop floor (this is most likely due to how they are designed from a 3D standpoint, but doesn’t always translate well to 2D) and the outer work stations are not aligned to the wall.
In addition, the Control Room does not look sci-fi or modern; it looks more like a military bunker during the cold war. The computer stations do not look or feel modern (or sci-fi) and the arrangement is quite scattered. If I were to visualize something modern or sci-fi, I would picture large banks of computer stations against every wall where there are no breaks between the stations and everything is actually mounted to the wall (think of a modern-day cubicle). Then surrounding the drop floor I would picture a railing with possible stand-up terminals along that railing perimeter. If it were sci-fi, I would also expect to see a number of large monitors around the entire room depicting multiple scenes.
Desire to Use: 7 out of 10
If you are running a military or political focused campaign during the 1970s or 1980s, maybe focusing on the Cold War or the looming threat of nuclear weapons, this is an awesome bunker to house your top officials (maybe even your President). If you’re running a modern game, it could be a more mobile control room or something tucked deep under the ground that has been there for decades with equipment that is nothing but reliable. However, for a sci-fi game, it may not fit the bill. This control room has more of a “retro” appeal.
Overall: 8 out of 10
The Control Room battlemap is a good map for its design. It can serve many purposes and its generic design provides a lot of flexibility when defining that purpose. The battlemap has a lot of detail and finding good maps for modern and sci-fi campaigns can often prove difficult as most battlemaps are designed for fantasy use.
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The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=26974.
Issue #20 of The Unspeakable Oath magazine is much like its ancestors. The magazine is dedicated to multiple aspects of Cthulhu Mythos roleplaying with this issue only containing Call of Cthulhu and Delta Green material (made for Call of Cthulhu, for now). A lot of the same great content you expect from issue to issue is here including short scenarios, full investigations, adventure hooks, and items to spark multiple scenarios. The pillar article for issue #20 is a piece discussing Assassins and their roots in the historical Middle East.
OVERALL
If you are looking for a great collection of Cthulhu Mythos roleplaying content for a great price, there’s little need to look any further than The Unspeakable Oath; especially if you’re a Keeper or are looking to run something completely new. There is lots of information here and investigation opportunity at such a great price that there’s very little reason to not pick up each issue, if only to read the scenarios and add to your own Cthulhu lore.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 10 out of 10
As always, The Unspeakable Oath 20 is a wonderful looking book. The overall layout is kept simple and unlike some previous issues, the space is used very well providing a high amount of value for what you’re purchasing. There is no shortage of great art and some of the illustrations invoke a great amount of inspiration in and of themselves where the attached content only serves to enhance the visual aid. While I would like to say that I expect as much from Arc Dream Publishing, it’s proper to say that they did an excellent job of assembling issue #20.
Mechanics: 7 out of 10
Truly the only mechanical piece in The Unspeakable Oath 20 is The Assassins article. There’s a lot of history delving into the historical past of assassins and their roots, but it also contains a lot of content that I failed to connect to Cthulhu Mythos roleplaying. There’s a lot of build-up and a lot of explanation, but more connection to in-game use would be preferred (and provide those connections directly next to where the content appears). However, near the end of the piece there are a handful of in-game uses for what is found, but a lot of the history seems lost in regards to those mechanics. That doesn’t mean the content is bad or not useful, it just means that connecting it to in-game use may prove difficult. It borders on information overload.
Storyline: 10 out of 10
The Unspeakable Oath 20 has two full scenarios: She Just Couldn’t Stay Away for Call of Cthulhu and Let’s Learn Aklo! for Delta Green. Both scenarios have excellent storylines with plots that are filled with suspense and situations that may fry your investigators brain. They are both written in an easy to follow fashion with no shortage of interesting points throughout. Plenty of sanity losing opportunities and I will not go further to avoid spoiling anything.
Value Add: 8 out of 10
There’s a lot of meat within The Unspeakable Oath for how much you pay. This issue has lots of Keeper information while The Assassins can be a great piece for players to get involved with along with the regular series of reviews for everyone’s reference. Although if you are a player, I’d advise keeping your eyes away from the scenario content to avoid ruining your experience. There’s just too much sanity-crushing information here that you wouldn’t want your investigator to become immediately insane.
Overall: 9 out of 10
Another excellent entry into The Unspeakable Oath library. There are plenty of great scenario opportunities and by incorporating The Assassins material into your games, you may find unexpected directions and lots of new opportunities for excitement using content you weren’t expecting (because the Cthulhu Mythos hasn’t dealt with this type of thing before).
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The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=26927.
Rite Publishing’s Adventure Quarterly #2 is turning into the Dungeon type magazine to Open Design’s Kobold Quarterly’s Dragon type magazine, and it works! This Magazine is dedicated to adventures, not character classes, or character modifications, or tons of cool and interesting gear; its focus is on really well-thought out adventures. There is some cool gear, creatures and races but they are all part of the adventures. Rite Publishing might be considered a micro publisher but they are doing big things. Adventure Quarterly is a well-done, tight product that has focus and manages to bring some old school feeling adventures for characters at varying levels.
OVERALL
Adventure Quarterly is good looking; not sexy but really clean with an almost minimalist approach. The three adventures are solid and interesting and the supporting articles are relevant to the product. The adventures are great as a standalone or as seeds for some really cool campaign ideas.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 8 out of 10
This publication fully embraces the concept of less being more. Rite Publishing was smart to stick to their fundamental layout and page borders. The focus of this product is the information. The gargoyle on the cover is well-done but it looks more mechanical metal, than stone. The pattern surrounding the picture is a bit wild, but it sticks to the magazine’s brand. The landscape behind the gargoyle seems a bit disconnected. The compass behind the “A” in Adventure Quarterly works on two levels: it looks good and is a subtle reminder that this is a Pathfinder product, without stealing the Pathfinder compass. The font used in the heading lost some readability in the smaller sizes. The map for the Ruins Perilous is well-done, but still has that old school “I drew this on graph paper” feel. I would liked to have seen some portions of the maps cut away and placed in the adventure near the room descriptions for ease of use for the GM while running the adventure. Rite switched between public art and stock or original art and the mixture left me feeling disoriented. Some of the art is better than others but there is not enough cohesion.
Mechanics: 10 out of 10
This product has really found the sweet spot in providing balanced adventures for characters from all levels. Part of the reason these mechanics work so well is the caveats that the designers include about the adventures and what the GM can expect. Most of the creatures used in the adventures can be found in Pathfinder supplements, but the stats for those creatures are included in the adventures. Things start to get complicated when you get to the higher level adventure, but that is to be expected.
Value Add: 9 out of 10
The only reason I didn’t give this a 10 is because this product is really focused on the GM. There is value for players, but not much. For a GM this is 10 out of 10. The adventures are well-written and easy to understand and follow; the addition of good, extensive background information for each adventure provides good campaign ideas. All of the information needed to run the adventures is included and there was real thought put into each one. The Dungeon Dressing segment is full of those little extras that make dungeons feel alive without burdening the GM. Simply roll % and you are good to go, don’t like the result, just re-roll. I enjoyed the inclusion of some pre-generated characters to go with the low level adventure. What a great way to dive right into a single game session. I would liked to have seen pictures of the pre-gens just to give the player a better idea of who/what they are playing.
Overall: 9 out of 10
This magazine took me back to the good old days when I could go into a book store and purchase some really well-done adventures for a reasonable price. I think putting this out quarterly is a great idea and it gives the folks at Rite Publishing enough time produce quality products rather than just throwing whatever they can out there to meet a deadline. Rite is headed in the right direction and as they grow I can see their ability to maintain cohesive art themes in their products growing with them. The mixture of the old school feel with the young Pathfinder system is really cool. By following the KISS method, Rite Publishing has done something quite professional.
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The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=26764.
The Tavern 3D is a complete paper model set / battlemap depicting everything you need to construct a fantasy or historical tavern. It is not just a series of generic walls that require you to design the tavern yourself; rather it is a defined set of walls with decoration (such as shelves, windows, and doors) and floor tiles to construct the tavern as one would expect a tavern to be constructed (although this is flexible, it is not as generic as other sets you may find).
OVERALL
The Tavern 3D is an interesting concept to the paper model design. Some paper models are so specific that you can only build them one way while others are so generic that you end up with a large pile of inch-long wall pieces requiring extensive assembly to get the finished product. As-is, The Tavern 3D can be quickly constructed to build the given tavern or you can opt for something bigger by printing multiples of the pages and assembling as desired. So what’s the difference? The wall pieces are much longer removing the need to assemble five short pieces simply to create one wall (which could easily fall apart). This construction method works well for a simple location, such as the tavern.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 7 out of 10
The textures on The Tavern look fantastic and the decorated pieces are an absolute bonus. So much that even the tables have food on them and the chairs are fully detailed. Construction looks simple enough and there are lines depicting where to fold. However, this is a 3D paper model and with a set such as this, a construction guide is extremely helpful (if not necessary) to depict how the pieces fold, fit-together, and how to keep them from falling apart. Additionally, a picture of the actual assembled product is a great reference for once you’ve finished (as then you can see if you did it correctly or not).
Visual Appeal: 10 out of 10
Lots of great-looking details and the textures on the floors, walls, and decor are superb. A lot of attention is paid to details in terms of how realistic the textures look and how well they appear next to each other (in terms of blending the textures as the pieces stand “attached”). DramaScape always pays a lot of attention to detail when it comes to visual appeal.
Desire to Use: 10 out of 10
If you’re looking for a simple tavern and would like it to be a great centerpiece, this is definitely a set to invest in (which doesn’t require a large investment). Considering how many times a game can start or come around to a tavern, having a great centerpiece like this makes your game that much more exciting. If you’re creative enough, you could even find a way to construct other simple buildings using this same set.
Overall: 9 out of 10
The Tavern 3D is a wonderful paper model set for such a simple location. Plus the beauty of using a paper model set is that it’s easily reusable and easily reconstructed for other uses. This is a great alternative to the standard battlemap or the expensive resin set.
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The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=26539.
Player: Eject! Eject!
GM: Eject? What are you talking about?
Player: My Mech is about to blow up and my pilot doesn’t want to die.
GM: This is Battletech. Who cares about the pilot? Besides, there are no rules for what happens outside of the cockpit.
Wrong! Bad GM! A Time of War provides extensive rules to allow players to enjoy the Battletech universe away from their Mechs. A Time of War follows the grand tradition of the MechWarrior sourcebooks from previous editions of the game.
OVERALL
I love the Battletech universe! It is rich with back-story and canon. People have been playing in it for decades and I have always wondered what happens between the tactical battles. MechWarrior, and now A Time of War, answer those questions. This wonderful concept is thoroughly covered by this extensive rule book.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 8 out of 10
The cover of this book is mechwarriortastic! The people (who are the focus of this game) are front and center with a Mech behind them and drop ships in the sky. The color scheme is great and the Battletech logo still looks great. The pages are in color and high gloss. I was a bit surprised by the use of orange hues on some of the pages and the charts, but this book feels all Battletech. Catalyst knows how to produce a sexy product whose art will cause gamergasams. The page borders are great, and the faux tabs that adorn the right edges to show the reader what section they are in are a good touch. It would have been better if the tabs were even more visible from the outside, but that is a small matter.
There is fiction at the beginning of each section and as you can imagine, some of it is better than others. The faction cards were a nice touch though. They give a quick overview of the world of the factions in an efficient, visually pleasing way. I am normally not a big fan of some of the colors that Catalyst used but for whatever reason, they worked. There were several old school black and white pictures included, and the mixture worked well enough; however, the color is where the real power of this book came from.
There were two major things that bothered me: One was Neil Roberts’ fear of drawing eyes and the other was the use of miniatures pictures later in the book. The pictures of the minis ended up looking low rent and cheesy. I know the use of those pictures was a nod to the old school products, but they were not that great then and time has only diminished their appeal. There was a lot of art in this book, but that is no excuse for using pictures of minis combined with color as well as black and white. It was just too much. A few of the sections of the book should have been rearranged, but this was by no means a show stopper.
Mechanics: 7 out of 10
I understand the need for complex rules, especially in tabletop tactical games, but there comes a point with RPGs that too many rules kill the role-playing portions of an RPG. I wonder if this is a case of “Tactical Tabletop” gamers trying to develop an RPG or way too much cut and paste from previous editions. Up front, the system seems simple: roll 2D6, add your modifiers, and bounce them off a Target number. Where things start to get dodgy is that each target number is modified by the skill you are using, and then the skills are tiered and change as you get better at them, and the list goes on and on. I can see the logic behind some of these rules but when it was all said and done, any game that you need to keep a “supplement’s” worth of charts on hand can get bogged down quickly.
This aspect of the game alone enforces my belief that this role-playing concept was fleshed out by people who know tactical games and do not feel fettered by reams of charts and complex calculations to make one or two moves. The character creation mechanics have some merit until you get to the numbers crunching. I like the idea of the life paths and some of the backgrounds are interesting but in the end, A Time of War takes a cool concept and turns it back into a numbers game. I fully understand the need for crunchy numbers to add to realism but this system is burdened by them.
In the text, the creators explain this system is mostly compatible with the regular Battletech game. When I saw this I thought “Hey, that’s cool,” until I realized that for me, this is the cause of the role-playing-killing numbers crunch that is A Time of War. I don’t see a point where this role-playing game should be compatible with the Battletech game, especially if the tactics are your focus. Here is what I’m talking about: Let’s say you have a group that plays regular Battletech. They decide to incorporate the A Time of War sourcebook into their game to fill that time between hard core Mech combat. Do you really think they will not make a tabletop move because their Mech pilot role-playing character doesn’t have the skill to do it? Do you think they will switch out their tabletop Mech because their character didn’t have enough build points to purchase that same model of Mech? Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.
Value Add: 8 out of 10
Having an interesting and well-made rulebook that covers the time between battles is outstanding. The Battletech universe is too rich to not have a product like this. If you are looking to double your opportunities to play Battletech, this is the product for you. If you are looking for a great industrial strength setting, this book is for you. If you are looking for a game that encourages role-playing and has the mechanics to support that, stay away… far away. Over 400 pages of information is always valuable and for the Battletech junkie or even the curious gamer, this book is worth its cost.
Overall: 8 out of 10
This book looks great and is crammed with tons of great information; however, the fault lies with the mechanics. I know that mechanics can be modified, but it shouldn’t have to be that way. I really believe that Catalyst should take a second look at the mechanics of this game and revamp them in a way that does not try to to be compatible with the tactics part of the game. This sourcebook names quite a few pieces of equipment that no stats are given for. In fact, it has an entire section devoted to showing past Battletech products and where they fit in on the Battletech timeline. At its core, Battletech is about mechs.
I wonder if A Time of War would be better if it was separated into two books. The first book could be compatible with the traditional Battletech system. There is enough crunch in A Time of War’s current configuration to support that and with minor rules tweaks, I think it could work. The second book would be set in the Battletech universe and would not give the characters Mechs to drive at all. The characters could operate other ancillary vehicles, but the game mechanics would focus on people operating behind the scenes rather than the Mechs and the MechWarriors.
This is a great setting and a well-done rulebook, but unless the mechanics are streamlined, it won’t appeal to gamers who like to focus on role-playing. This book has some real high points but those high points only come in one flavor and that’s extra crunchy.
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The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=26494.
Do not be fooled by the cover, Star Map is not just a great looking tabletop for your outer-space miniatures war game. For with every RPG system or setting that embraces space exploration and travel, it is inevitable that combat will ensue. Ship-to-ship combat is difficult to picture when thinking in terms of distances. Ships are so far apart that scale is key. To make it visually easier to run that combat, a battlemap such as Star Map is a great tool to use. Whether its a miniatures war game, such as Noble Armada or Firestorm Armada, or whether you are playing an RPG that includes space combat, such as Fading Suns, Traveller, Rogue Trader, and some Savage Worlds settings, this set of maps allows the minds eye to better picture what is going on.
OVERALL
For what its designed for, Star Map is a beautiful representation of near space for the purpose of having a good looking map during outer-space, ship-to-ship combat. In addition, you can use the Virtual Tabletop JPGs as a backdrop to help set the mood in any spacefaring game.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 9 out of 10
Space combat with miniatures typically utilizes a hex grid. DramaScape stuck with the hex grid demonstrating the purpose of the map in addition to the gridless JPGs that are included. The three versions depicting just outer-space, a nearby planet, and a space station allow for quick options when you decide to place this on the tabletop. These versions also mean that you’re not just fighting in the middle of nowhere, your combat is bringing you precariously close to something you either aim to protect or destroy.
Visual Appeal: 9 out of 10
Depicting a realistic outer-space is difficult enough. Star Map includes what is probably thousands of star depictions making feel as though you are actually in outer-space. The colorful nebulae make it that much better. It truly is a beautiful depiction of what you would see should you find yourself in a spaceship in outer-space. The space station looks great, although it could use a few detail additions, and the planet looks pretty good, albeit a bit fuzzy next to the outer-space design.
Desire to Use: 8 out of 10
Star Map does a great job of doing what it’s setting out to do. I would like to have seen it be bigger from a use on the tabletop stand-point for larger ship-to-ship combats, but as-is the size works well for RPGs and smaller battles.
Overall: 9 out of 10
I like the Star Map and think it can make a great centerpiece for any ship-to-ship combat. It could make a great exploration map and really has an appeal for space combat miniatures war games or RPGs with a good chance of experiencing space combat. The colors of the actual space map is incredible and the detail is second-to-none. An awful lot of time was spent putting those stars together…
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The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=25950.
Cosmic Patrol is a storytelling game set in a pulp sci-fi setting. You may say that “aren’t all role-playing games ultimately storytelling games?” While this is pretty much true, Cosmic Patrol is solely focused on the characters and the story they create. How is this done? By removing the Game Master and giving everyone the chance to tell the story according to the plot hooks that are laid out for that adventure. This is a big thing as Cosmic Patrol is meant to be more of an improvisational game whereas all you know is a description of the adventure’s framework, but everything inside is determined by whomever turn it is to be the Lead Narrator (the one taking the head spot for that particular narration). The key here is that the Lead Narrator is also a player and also telling their own story in regards to the adventure’s framework. The end result is an experience in collective narration creating a game that is not only fun, but extremely flexible in terms of how you want the setting to look and feel.
The basics of Cosmic Patrol are to use building blocks and plot points to create the story, continue moving it forward, and give players and the Lead Narrator the chance to do something spectacular. These elements are done on a narrative basis using things like cues to describe your character instead of just abilities and skills. But when the dice need to roll, there are basic abilities to aid resolution (for things like firing a weapon). When the dice are called upon, it is a simple base die (d12 or your Combat Stat Die) plus the applicable stat die and modifiers. Using a progressive die system, characters’ stats are defined by the die type, increasing as they “improve.” This, however, is only when the dice need to be rolled for particular resolutions, otherwise everything is done in narrative. It’s a simple system and quite visual (you’ll have to read about the armor and health system as they really can’t be summarized).
OVERALL
Cosmic Patrol is a great blend of storytelling and dice rolling that focuses very heavily on the characters and the adventure they have. The removal of a Game Master and taking turns as the Lead Narrator mean that everyone involved in the game is fully involved and able to drive the story in new and interesting ways. The pulp sci-fi setting means that the sky’s the limit and you can really go any direction desired with a large amount of flexibility.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 9 out of 10
Cosmic Patrol is designed as a simple but pleasing book. The layout and formatting are very simple and there is little to no “flash” throughout. The art within only covers the different character types (PC and NPC), but provide a nice collection of flavor that really represents the genre. The book is extremely easy to read and the content flows quite nicely from beginning to end. I would have liked to see some pulp sci-fi art covering spaceships (because that can be a big part of the genre too), but what was included look excellent.
Mechanics: 8 out of 10
Cosmic Patrol is a role-playing game and heavily leans toward storytelling elements. It does not focus on dice rolling outside of very specific situations and requires the players to be as involved with the game as the Lead Narrator. The removal of the Game Master means that the storyline could follow the adventure’s direction properly or end up somewhere in outer-space (figuratively and literally). The use of cues, objectives, and tags for this type of game-play is excellent for storytelling games, but what if you end up with a player that tries to take everything way off the farm? Sometimes giving everyone an equal amount of power can backfire, but with the right gaming group, Cosmic Patrol can produce hours of wonderful role-playing experiences and lots of great stories to be told.
Desire to Play: 10 out of 10
For those looking for a story-heavy role-playing game, Cosmic Patrol is an excellent blend of simplicity, flexibility, and narration. I feel that a story-telling game such as this works extremely well in the pulp sci-fi realm (given its inherent fantastical appearance and virtually impossible scientific feats), blending the game’s mechanics perfectly with the setting. Take this game into another genre, and it may not be as exciting, but pulp sci-fi really allows the mind to be as creative as possible. If you’re going to tell a story, this is a great place to do it without forcing the players to roll the dice or make mechanical decisions.
Overall: 9 out of 10
Cosmic Patrol truly fits in with the storytelling crowd. It will be interesting to see what directions the game takes in future supplements, but for now there is a solid base to start from and an excellent amount of material to get your games running. I can see these types of games being extremely popular at conventions and random gamer gatherings with its ease of understanding and the ability to provide flexibility to the players and the Lead Narrator without being bogged down in rules.
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The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=25670.
Floorplan Tiles is a collection of battlemap tiles of various shapes and sizes usable for constructing a castle or palace. Although it claims to be usable for creating a dungeon, the style and texture of the tiles is more akin to what you would find in a castle where things are clean-cut and designed to be shown off. The collection is quite vast and the tiles vary greatly in purpose from a square room to a stone walkway over moving water.
OVERALL
Floorplan Tiles is designed for maximum flexibility and positioning by only creating hallways when necessary but allowing the tiles to overlap in a way that the hallway can cut directly into the wall of the adjacent tile to form a new doorway. This means that more tiles can be created without worrying about creating separate ones for 1-doorway or 2-doorway rooms. Additionally, the doors are designed as actual tiles that can be laid atop the walls to present a doorway to an adjoining tile. The end result is a lot of tiles with specific purposes (such as the kitchen or private chambers) next to a lot of tiles that can be virtually anything using overlapping tile and included doorways.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 10 out of 10
Floorplan Tiles is an excellent collection of battlemap tiles with lots of flexibility. Some space could have been saved by not including so many replica hallways, but there are still a lot of different rooms and tiles that allow for a maximum amount of flexibility within the design of the finished product. Additionally, there are a lot of scenery accessories including doors, lighting, traps, and drains allowing you to finish off those empty rooms with your own design.
Visual Appeal: 8 out of 10
The floors and every little accessory look fantastic. I like the use of colors and the jumbled desk in the chamber room looks very cool. I don’t particularly care for the walls as they look a little flat and look too much like the floor. However, if you are building a multi-level castle, this is a great set of tiles to use to demonstrate how wealthy a castle should appear.
Desire to Use: 9 out of 10
Floorplan Tiles is designed for construction of castles, palaces, dungeons, and villages according to the description. The texture of the floor and the walls are not conducive to that of a dungeon. They’re more like a basement would be if it was truly an extension of the castle above. This is due to the smooth, marble-like effect of the textures on the tiles. With that in mind, this rating is based on using the tiles as what they appear to be designed for: castles and grand palaces. You wouldn’t want your castle battlemap to look rough would you? So go in style with these tiles and show off how a true king would construct his abode.
Overall: 9 out of 10
Floorplan Tiles is an excellent collection of tiles for constructing the home of nobility or royalty (or whoever runs the land). There are tiles for many types of rooms in a medieval style including a vast kitchen with heaps of meat on the butchers table. These tiles are truly a work of art and can be a great centerpiece to any fantasy adventure.
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The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=25668.
Square Dungeon Tiles contains a collection of 31 hand-drawn tiles plus a collection of scenery options in a single, handy collection. The tiles use a common grey-stone floor texture along with a darker grey-stone/brick wall. The entire thing is hand-drawn and uses perspective and shadows to represent walls and stairs. To avoid visual boredom, the floor stones are “textured” in a way that makes them feel much more “realistic”.
OVERALL
The collection of tiles is enough to sell you on the Square Dungeon Tiles kit, but the addition of the scenery options truly seals the deal. With these options, you can add real doors, remove hallways from the tiles (or add a secret door), and add other bits and pieces to make the assembled dungeon more appealing. The hand-drawn style look beautiful and the method of shadowing and “texturing” the floor really helps keep it from looking static and boring as if all the stone was smooth and polished. All in all, it is a great collection for a great price when you want to set your explorers into a dungeon using a battlemap.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 10 out of 10
The size consideration of these tiles works very well. Each tile is essentially 8×8 with the edges actually cutting down the middle of the last squares, allowing them to meet-up with adjacent tiles. More importantly, the wide variation from tile to tile means you can add a lot of different rooms.
Visual Appeal: 10 out of 10
The hand-drawn style truly gives it that old-school appeal while remaining clean and clear for the non-OSR fan. The use of shadows on the tiles and stairs give a sense of depth while the perspective of the walls clearly define the height of those walls. The design of the doors also enhances the visual appeal of the set as a whole, providing a sense of the types of wooden doors you’d expect in a dungeon.
Desire to Use: 8 out of 10
Square Dungeon Tiles is an excellent collection for building dungeons. The addition of the scenery is fantastic although it could probably use another page or more variety (although you can get these from other Inked Adventures products). I would like to see more room dividers such as archways or something rough leading into a cave or cavern. In addition, all the hallways are 2-squares wide, although this is fairly standard. It is common to create dungeons that have varying sizes of hallways such as 1-square or up to 4-squares wide. A very minor thing and doesn’t really detract from the overall usage.
Overall: 9 out of 10
If you’re going to design an old-school styled dungeon crawl using a detailed battlemap that spans multiple sessions, Square Dungeon Tiles is one of the best tile collections you can get. The price is extremely reasonable and you get a lot of options aside a beautifully hand-drawn design. It should be noted that you also get a set of tiles that allow you to create a flexible-sized room in 8×8 chunks.
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