I'd been wanting to check out LotFP for a while after hearing an interview with the author James Edward Raggi IV on a gaming podcast. "Weird fantasy role playing " sounded interesting, and the supposed graphic nature of the title peaked my interest. However after purchasing and reading through this product, I really wish that I had my $18 back so that I could purchase something else.

Honestly, I didn't see anything in the rules to differentiate LotFP from any of the other OSR game already out there. The same classes and races, the same list of spells, the same way to handle skills, the same way to handle combat, etc. I realize that OSR games are all fairly similar as they are all trying to capture a specific tone and feel (especially when it comes to the rules), but I really don't feel that LotFP provided anything new or innovative. This title really could have simply been an essay, system-neutral modifications, or just advice on how to turn any OSR game into a "weird fantasy" setting. It did not really need the included rules, which felt very cut and paste.

Speaking of the rules, only after purchasing this product did I discover that the author provides the full, 171 page rulebook for free. It just doesn't have any of the artwork. This really irritates me, as I now feel as if I paid $18 just for the artwork. Which is essentially what I did. Now it's true that some of the artwork in the book is pretty good, but the artwork alone was not worth $18. There are at least four different artists represented in the book which gives the product something of a random appearance in my opinion. I really wish that someone had created a style guide for the artists so that the images would all have had a similar look and feel. The layout of the book is decent for the most part, though the font used for section headers can be difficult to read at times. There is also a large graphic header that takes up the top fifth of each page, doesn't really add anything, and really only serves to waste space.

Someone who really loves OSR games might enjoy this product, but as I said before, I'd like my $18 back please.

THE SECRET FIRE was a big disappointment for me. The writing style is awkward, self-aggrandizing, and rather difficult to get through. Honestly, it reads more like someone's notes on their home-brew RPG rather than a polished, finished product meant for an audience. There are a few interesting ideas buried in the pages of this book, but none of them are as innovative as the author continuously claims they are. This book did not need to be over 300 pages, nor do I feel it was worth the (reduced) price I paid for it.

Listen to a full review of THE SECRET FIRE on the Idle Red Hands podcast, here: http://www.idleredhands.com/?p=1240