5 comments about Frostburn: Mastering the Perils of Ice and Snow (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement).

1. I kind of think WOC is really starting to Micromanage the D&D universe with so many specialized supplements. It's almost like they want to take all possible work and imagination out of the hands of the DM. Frostburn, as the name implies contains supposedly all the information you could ever want...in fact you WON'T want a lot of it...about adventuring into cold climates. There's info about dealing with the cold, hypothermia, snow blindness...There are frosty (and I really can't think of a better term...) versions of the standard demi-human races like glacial dwarves, snow elves, and ice gnomes, along with some new races such as the Uldra.
   
   There are a number of new feats(32 in all I believe) and prestige classes but their really only usable in these colder climates so I'm thinking there's not much value there except maybe to the DM for NPCs unless your entire campaign is set in the arctic. The next two chapters deal with new equipment and spells. I didn't find all that much of interest in the equipment chapter but some of the new spells are pretty interesting such as the Column of Ice spell and Iceberg. There are also a couple of new domains for clerics: winter and cold.
   
   Chapter six details new monsters although a lot of them are ones you're already familiar with such as the Yetis, as well as cold version of typical monsters like spiders, undead, etc. There are a couple of adventures included which I'd say may be about the best thing in the book. The Iceraver scenario has characters going to a haunted city on an iceberg.
   
   As I mentioned...I think a lot of it is simply overkill. This could easily have been just an adventure with new spells, monsters, etc, without all of the rules about dealing with cold that most people will never use.



2. I am VERY happy with this book. Not only are the new critters exceptionally cool, but the conditions added ontop of the core DM's Guide, but the PRC's are well thought out, the new classes and races available are impressively balanced. Overall I would give this another 2 stars totaling to 7 out of ten possible but my limit is 5 so, there it is.



3. I'm a big fan of the Frostburn, Sandstorm, and Stormwrack series. If you're not planning to DM, the books provide interesting alternatives for your characters. If you DM and plan to do your writing for the campaign, these books are an excellent way to add flavor to your campaign.



4. This is a very good product that fleshes out the actic. WotC has spent a lot of time lately trying to flesh out various aspects of "standard" campaigns (likely because the aging professionals who play their games have less and less time for extraneous things--like building campaign worlds), and this product does a fine job of helping out DMs and players alike. It has a number of fairly interesting prestige classes, and a some very good feats. The neantherdal race is a very interesting PC race. The spells are pretty good, though rather standard and typical. Frostburn really shines, however, in its new monsters, and there are quite a few of them. Unlike some complaints, I felt the writers did a pretty good job of fleshing out the effects of extreme cold (though, perhaps, not good enough--but it's difficult to really know what -50 degree temperatures can do, especially week after week, unless you've lived in them, like I have). I highly recommend Frostburn.



5. I bought all three of these books: Frostburn, Sandstorm, and Stormwrack, and this one was easily the best. It can appeal to a lot of different players and DMs, but obviously not everyone will like it.
   
   For those of you that love intricate description, it has plenty of that. It has a lot of new settings and rules for playing in cold. It comes up with a lot of new and interesting ideas: strange types of snow, frightening ice bridges. Little things like that to include in a campaign.
   
   Once you pass all of the new intricacies of cold, you'll find that Frostburn is much like other D&D books, but for me that was a good thing. It had lots of new monsters and prestige classes, and while this may seem, for some, like a cop-out, it's quite necessary for running a freezing cold campaign. You'll need those new monsters and of course your players will want to play those prestige classes. Some of the prestige classes and monsters are actually very cool and innovative in my opinion.
   
   Of course the new spells and equipment, while not spectacular, are useful and a good counterpart for any of the prestige classes.
   
   All in all, while this is not the best D&D book, I think it is very interesting and could be well-used in a campaign. If you're trying to decide on one of the three for a setting, I think this has the best blend of information and new prestige classes, monsters, etc.

1 comments about FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates Official Strategy Guide (Bragygames Official Strategy Guides).

1. A nice strategy guide for an excellent game.
   
   The strategy guide is very informative, and makes sure that nothing is missed through the story-line of the game - with two exceptions. At a certain point, the story moves on to a new area of the game and it never goes back to the previous section. While the book does say to finish the tasks in the first section, it doesn't say that you will never have the opportunity to come back.
   
   The other exception is an event where Zack (the main character) has to save a boy's mother from a fire. But this event will only happen if you have completed another task and reported back to the boy. The book specifically says that there is no need to report back to the boy, but if you don't, you don't get the "fire event". I had to go back to a previous save when I realized what had happened.
   
   The above two exceptions are the only details that were deficient/incorrect though. The guide gives excellent instructions and tips for the rest of the story-line.
   
   The best part of the guide is the mini-strategies for the 300 missions in the game. There were no errors, and the strategies were accurate and helpful.
   
   The one big down-side of the guide, is the scant attention it gives to materia fusion. Part of it is the fault of the game itself, given that they made materia fusion so complex. But the guide could have shone here, by making it more understandable. However, it just provided explanations which were very basic, and difficult to understand. There was also a pull-out section that was nothing but horribly confusing. I had to get better instructions online. Even now, after I get the whole materia fusion thing, I still can't make head or tail of the pull-out fusion guide.
   
   Even so .. I did not regret getting the guide. Apart from the materia fusion let-down, it was otherwise an excellent guide. I would recommend it to other people, without a doubt.
   
   Oh, if anyone from Brady reads this ... you people have got to consider the over-40s people with your font-type sizes. I can't even see a lot of it with reading glasses, and have to resort to a magnifying glass. The over-40s demographic is fast being recognized as a major video-game consumer, so strategy guides are no longer the realm of "young eyes".

2 comments about Fantastic Locations: Fane of the Drow (Dungeon & Dragons Roleplaying Game: Rules Supplements).

1. buy it with an open mind, good for beginners. advanced players can skip this...



2. The maps included work great with miniatures and classic D&D game scenarios. The module that comes with the maps is not that great, is a fair adventure scenario for new players. First: The enemies are just that... enemies, no twists or interesting plot that might hook the players more than killing guys. Second: It doesn't motivate the players or Dungeonmaster to work on the characters. It's just Hack and Slash. But the maps are GREAT! Two of them are favorites among my players.

5 comments about Deluxe Dungeon Master's Screen (Dungeon & Dragons Fantasy Roleplaying Accessory).

1. Generally my opinion is that a screen is a screen is a screen. However, this screen is actually better than most. I like the landscape, 4-panel format because it means I can see and be seen over the screen, while it still hides my map, my notepad and my dice rolls. It also has a better center of gravity since it is lower and wider, which means it almost never falls over, even when struck by a handful of dice or my marauding 18-month old. That is not a claim that most portrait-oriented screens can make.
   
   Is the screen a black-out room and cone of silence rolled into one? Of course not. If you need the full height of the older-styled 11" screens, this one won't work for you. But really, if you are playing with people who can't keep their eyes off the occasional flash of paper behind the DM's screen, don't blame the screen; get new friends.
   
   For my part, the most important part is that WoTC (a company I don't think much of normally) actually gave some thought to what was on the screen. The inside is well thought out, with useful charts and tables easy to hand. Easily the best part is the full listing of all actions, and whether they are free, standard, or movement equivalent, and whether they provoke an Attack of Opportunity or not. The table with hardness ratings for standard items is also useful for those spur-of-the-moment actions when the PCs want to break down a random door, chop that chest open, or split a table in two.
   
   Normally I wouldn't bother to review a screen, but this one has such an unfairly low rating that I almost feel sorry for it. It's a good product; I use it in every session, it keeps the players' eyes off the important stuff, and it's durable enough that even after 2 years of use it's in quite good shape. If for some reason you don't have a screen already, you could do a lot worse than this one.



2. The charts selected for the inside of the screen are surprisingly useful; basically, they selected a lot of the things that most frequently come into play during a dungeon crawl, but that most people wouldn't bother to learn or remember. Things like various item and material hardnesses, common modifiers to AC, various types of actions and whether they provoke Attacks of Opportunity, skills, movement penaltes, light, and auras for both magic and evil/good. The creators were thoughtful enough to include the book and page number for various charts in case you need to get more info. On the downside, as other reviews mentioned it is surprisingly short for a screen, and pretty high-priced considering what you get. Yeah, yeah; you get a bonus D20 modern screen. Wow. I'd say that seven bucks would be a more reasonable price; five if it didn't come with a D20 modern screen.



3. We ordered this a month ago. We kept waiting and checking.. not shipped yet. Wait some more, not shipped yet. The item said "usually ships in 1 to 2 weeks" however, in 4 weeks, still "not shipped yet". Recomend if you want this, to buy it somewhere else. We ended up canceling this order and getting it somewhere else. Amazon doesn't know how to ship this particualr item.



4. Cool looking, but you could do without them. Nice quick info on inside, but again could do without.



5. The tables include:
   
   -Equipment hardness/hitpoints
   -Substance hardness/hitpoints
   -Break/Burst DCs
   -Items affected by magical attacks
   -Size and AC of objects
   -Object hardness/hitpoints
   -Wall stats
   -Door stats
   -Turning undead
   -Increase/Decrease weapon damage by size
   -Attack roll modifiers
   -AC modifiers
   -Influencing NPC attitudes
   -Missing w/ a thrown weapon figure
   -Climb check DCs
   -Listen check DCs
   -Combat Actions (AoO)
   -Concentration Check DCs
   -Skills list (Armor check, AoO)
   -Ability modifiers
   -Movement and Distance
   -Hampered movement
   -Armored/Encumbered speeds
   -Max distance for spot checks
   -Detect Magic stats
   -Detect Evil stats
   -Light sources and illumination
   
   While the list is comprehensive, I was looking for some random encounter tables, oh well. The screen is short and while I didn't think that would be an issue, it is. I'm now paperclipping the D20 Modern screen (which has a few D&D relevant things on it, but not many) on top of the D&D one (they're the same size exactly).

No comments about Augmentation (Shadowrun).

5 comments about Secrets of Xen'drik (Dungeon & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Eberron Setting).

1. The excitement built around the mysterious continent of Xen'Drik raised my anticipation and hopes for this newest Eberron release. Baker and others wrote great pieces about the continent, much of the book outlined possible hooks for adventures, including specific destinations and NPC creation/design. The PrC list was small, and those special classes were shallow, too. Feats and spells must be lost on the Giants' Island, because I couldn't find many of them. I believe more detail and playable information about the drow was located in Races of Eberron. I like the book, but feel it's price was too high for the value of information contained within. I would have preferred a softbound book and a smaller price. I found the artwork and design nicely done, but the information for players and DMs faile to achieve potential.



2. I recently bought a copy of this book. I have read some reviews downplaying it but i give it a four and a half star rating.
   
   First of all, the book is presented in a nice way. Like all the other Eberron books it looks nice. I also like the way all the encounters and sample local's are created not in a set location but with much room to change them and locate them anywhere on the continent you please. Basically it them showing you how to do it but the world is still yours.
   
   The book is small though and wouldnt pay full price...lucky for amazon!



3. This book is great for anyone playing in the Eberron world of Dungeons and Dragons. The book covers anything you need to know about the ancient continent. There are some great new items, 3 new prestige classes (1 specific to warforged), new spells, artifact spells, and new artifacts. There is finally a map of Xen'drik, that shows the lands features. There is alot of information on stormreach and a map of the city. There are even new monsters to encounter and Xen'drik adventuring ideas. This book is great for PCs travelling in Xen'drik or DMs who want all the information on Xen'drik for the gaming sessions.



4. As a DM, I really loved reading this suppliment. There are many maps, descriptions and side bars that allow you to truely customize Xen'drik for your players and your game. It's specific enough to keep you true to the setting, but open enough to make Xen'drik unique for each gaming group.



5. Good product, but it fails in the same way many gaming products fail: they tease you but then don't tell you everything there is to know.

4 comments about Sons of Gruumsh (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Forgotten Realms 4th-Level Adventure.

1. Quite fun an adventure, not too long not too short



2. The adventure is a pretty good one. There is plenty of information. The most impressive part was the cost. There was a lot of reward for the price



3. I just ran my group through Sons of Gruumsh, and it was a very good couple of sessions. The module includes a lot of good detail, interesting foes, and tactical information which is very helpful when running the large-scale combat involved.
   
   The only caution is the difficulty for 4th-5th level characters. A cleric or two in the party is an absolute must, and IMHO a wand of CLW or a slew of healing potions will probably be required to survive the quantity and quality of foes involved.



4. Although this was the first adventure written for the Forgotten Realms, I read it second after The Twilight Tower and boy am I glad that I did! This adventure is much better written than Twilight Tower. Additionally, the plot and story-line are superior and the addition of a plot twist at the end makes this a very good adventure.
   
   However, there is a downside. Like most of the published adventures, Sons of Gruumsh tends towards the overly dangerous. Most of the encounters are reasonably low level - a host of different Orcs. However, its the frequency that will probably kill a party rather than any particular encounter. As a previous reviewer mentioned, you NEED a cleric for this one. Potential GM's would be wise to offer their PC's chances to rest, especially as the party gets towards the end.
   
   The nastiest encounter will occur just after the PC's have fought their way through a horde of guards and other Orc brutes and if played right, the Orog Warlord and his two lieutenants would be able to cream a standard 4th Level party that was slightly weakened.
   
   The best part of this adventure though is the ending. Well-after the characters have defeated the bad guys, taken the treasure and rescued the nobles, the author offers GMs a nice plot twist - which could be quite deadly if the characters aren't quick thinkers - however, the rewards for completing the main part of the adventure are (funnily enough) suitable for getting themselves out of this encounter with minimal amount of fuss. During the adventure, GM's are offered a chance to warn characters about the twist, my advice is don't take it!
   
   Overall, it deserves its four stars. If the author had done a little more work on the part covering investigations in Melvaunt then it would have deserved five stars.
   
   Enjoy.

5 comments about Drow of the Underdark (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying).

1. This book offers some really good incites on drow life. I liked the feats and the equipment listed. I find it to be a good resource book.



2. ...which is actually exactly how it should be. For hard-core role-players, it's really more about the story, and this book does add some really poignant perspectives and insightful ideas about Drow society and methods of using them within a campaign. Unfortunately, there is a tendency in RPG's (and D&D is the prime example of this) to feel obligated to include new character mechanics, new equipment, and new rules in every supplement. Ultimately, all this does is weigh down an RPG whose core books might be well-balanced and graceful, but with the addition of each supplement becomes unbalanced and clunky. Most of the new classes and feats offered in this book are frankly not worth reading, let alone including in a campaign. Sadly, this content takes up space which could have been used to expand upon the truly solid foundation of story content and flavor that the book does deliver.



3. By and large it is a good comprehensive look at Drow society. That having been said, I think that the Drow are a fascinating villain in any campaign and one book really isn't enough to do justice to them. To really get a good idea of their mindset, I recommend more reading... Anything by R.A. Salvatore or the War of the Spider Queen series.



4. I bought this book expecting it to have the Forgotten Realms: Drow of Underdark from 2nd Ed feel and content. It really wasn't that kind of book.
   
   It's informative and a decent read. But as others have said it doesn't have any real new material or expand upon interesting locales or NPC's from the novels that are out there.
   
   So it's ok, not bad but it could have been way better. It's got a nice cover though.
   
   -Joe



5. Drow are certainly the coolest villains in the DND universe, and this book adds more detail and features to flesh them out. New feats, skills, spells, equipment, and lots about their culture. Perfect for running an Underdark campaign, but still useful if you just throw drow in every once in awhile as enemies in your normal campaign.

No comments about Traveller: Mercenary.

5 comments about Dragonmarked (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Eberron Supplement).

1. Dragonmarked was another strong entry in the growing Eberron saga. As a player-oriented sourcebook, the player options were of course many and varied -- from the dozen prestige classes to the host of new feats and spells -- and on the whole, added to the setting precisely what one would expect the new mechanics of such a book to add. Unfortunately, some of the "meat" of the individual houses was thin if not outright gamey (no pun), in a few places. Here was a great opportunity (THE opportunity, in fact) to reveal the real deal behind some of the more intriguing and mysterious of houses, and it seems like the developers failed to capitalize on that opportunity at times. As a player in the setting, yes, I wanted more dragonmark-related goodies, but I wanted the depth of narrative that I've been waiting for since the corebook was released. Did the writers try to do this and were edited "down" by the developers? We'll never know, but the end result is a bit of a missed opportunity when it comes to such explication. In particular, the places where the tone retains its mystery -- "It might have been this, or it might have been that" -- were especially aggravating. That's what we've heard all along, folks; this was the place to stop prevaricating, and show us the hidden truth. If you don't intend to reveal it, don't make the promise that the book makes by its very design. All in all, the book is 5 out of 5 stars in game content, as one might expect from WotC; but as one might also expect from WotC in the 3.5 era, the narrative leaves a little something to be desired in some places (though a few house descriptions, such as Sivis, don't disappoint at all). And so it must needs drop from 5 to 4 stars, though it's still a very good sourcebook.



2. I like the product. It tells a lot more about the Dragonmarked and would be a good addition to any Eberron campaign. I only gave it three stars because of how limited it is in scope. While some history is explained, it doesn't go far enough. What about the thirteenth mark? It's all but unmentioned and it's a significant part of the past. A prestige class from another product is referred to several times but I only stumbled on it by luck when I was looking at the other book. It's a book that you can do without and that's a shame since the Dragonmarked are in interesting idea.



3. I'm really disappointed that this book didn't contain information on the lost mark. I have planned a resurgence of the lost mark in my campaign setting and I was looking forward to an official breakdown of the least, lesser, and greater mark of death.
   
   This book does contain a great many new and interesting feats for characters who have dragonmarks. Though, once again with the recent release wave of WOTC, there are issues with balance in regard to feats. Some feats are lame, some are very obviously uber.
   
   Who wouldn't want to take a feat that grants Damage Reduction 5/magic or Damage Reduction 5/byeshk. Dm's will need to tweak things here and there to make them more balance minded.
   
   There are some very promising prestige classes in this book. My personal favorite is the combat oriented prestige class for House Orien. Reminds me of Nightcrawler from the Xmen.
   
   Since this book lacks information on the 13th mark...this is what I'm using...feel free to implement it in your campaign!
   
   +2 knowledge(religion) checks
   least mark - 1/day command undead or invisibility to undead
   lesser mark - 1/ day animate undead or halt undead
   greater mark - 1/ day create undead or undeath to death
   siberys mark - 1/ day create greater undead or control undead
   
   Overall...I feel this is a strong addition to my Eberron campaign and will enrich the setting.



4. If you're going to run an Eberron campaign, you absolutely must have this book. One of the hallmarks of Eberron is the Dragonmarked houses, and you can't really understand the Houses until you have this book.
   
   It's well written, and the consistent format makes it easy to find what you are looking for. Plot hooks abound, albeit in a slightly more subtle manner than a section entitled 'Plot Hooks for House..."
   
   If you like Eberron, you'll love this book.



5. The book is good, but my major issues with it is its lack of depth in describing the Dragonmarked houses. It gives you good information, but I wish they had taken more time to describe major players in the individual houses, perhaps intrigue not only within the houses, but between the houses. In the game I am playing in I created a character within House Deneith with monarchist views. They do mention a member with the house that has similar views but it's brief and not as detailed as I'd like it. I also wish they had mentioned more about the houses goals and views from perhaps several of the elders with each house.