5 comments about Toon: The Cartoon Roleplaying Game.

1. This is the only rpg Ive seen that anyone can master in one or two tries. Your dreams to be bugs bunny or Daffy come true in this classic rpg. A must buy!



2. This game is the best. The only problem I have is that every page you read falls out after you turn the page. Spiral binding would be great for this game because the game master has to use the book often if he is following any of the preplaned adventures. I would give it 5 stars if the binding were better.



3. Toon: The Cartoon Role-playing Game was published by Steve Jackson Games in the mid-1980s, and many copies of the sourcebooks are still available with a little effort. This RPG primarily focuses upon American-style cartoons where truly anything goes!!! The entire focus of Toon is to be funny and to do and say things which are funny... and many anime characters and series fit quite well into this worldview: Debutante Detective Corps, Project A-ko, Otaku no Video, Galaxy Fraulein Yuna, Idol Project, the Slayers saga, City Hunter, D4 Princess, Mezzo Forte, etc.

   One of the most popular Toon campaigns is the Toon Olympics. Those familiar with the Hanna-Barbara Laff-a-Lympics series already have an idea of the premise of Toon Olympics: Bring together many animated characters from various series/genres and have them compete in a number of sporting events. When I first played the Toon Olympics, one player created his own cursed medieval knight character with a sentient sword which didn't always do as he commanded (which he later played in a Sailor Moon RPG campaign I was then running), someone else played a unicorn (who eventually had to drive a car), another played as Lara Croft, and I personally played as A-ko - truly an eclectic bunch!!!

   However, anime fans should NOT overlook Toon as a role-playing option. Granted, Toon is not as adaptable to a wide variety of campaigns (for campaign genre/character adaptability, see the Big Eyes Small Mouth second edition sourcebook); however, for a change of pace, Toon can be used to give almost any anime character (pre-existing or original) a chance to be a comedian. For example, when I played in another Toon Olympics as A-ko, I called upon B-ko to fight a Pokémon in my place, with the promise of conceding C-ko to her if she should win (that was funny enough to earn me an extra Plot Point)!!!




4. This is a great game for anyone who has ever wanted to be a chartoon character. Or just for anyone who loves cartoons. Like the best board games (Balderdash, Malarky), the important thing is having fun and making the other players laugh. ...



5. Loony Toon the RPG is wonderful fun for all ages. Prepare to laugh till you hurt.

2 comments about Dungeon Crawl Classics 28: Into the Wilds (Dungeon Crawl Classi).

1. I used this module in my first attempt at DMing 3.5 D&D. It worked like a charm. It is loosely-inspired by the classic Keep on the Borderlands, featuring a frontier keep surrounded by evil denizens. The encounters are varied and fun, and Wildsgate Keep serves as a great base of operations for the characters, filled with interesting NPCs, and potential for intrigue. I recommend this module as a fun beginning to a campaign, with many opportunities available for expansion.
   
   IK



2. Another great design bu Harley Stroh, one that re-imagines an old "classic" in clever ways. The truth is modern product like this one is an improvement on the original. It has the same great detail, but is smarter (more than a "dungeon crawl," whatever the series title may say) and more professionally done (amazing maps!). So you get to relive the past and improve it at the same time: Good deal!
   
   While modules like these may be more than Dungeon Crawls, they also keep it mind that fun is what it's all about, and that means tough fighting and smart tactics against some cool bad guys. I hate this new tendency in adventures with so much emphasis being put on negotiating with NPC's with endless back stories ("soap opera" you might call it--I think it really started back in the mid-80s with Ravenloft and its sequel). Too much today seems geared to "role-playing" and pretentious backgrounds, with what little actual fighting there is completely uninspired. So many modules the last twenty years or so seem like they are written by frustrated, would-be fantasy novel authors or amateur thespians. "Role-playing" has its place, of course, but some of us still believe that at heart the game is about good dungeon adventures: Putting one's life in peril and coming out on top. Apparently that's too "competitive" for some people today!
   
   Into the Wilds is a smart adventure, and it doesn't forget it's about the fighting. It's written by a brilliant craftsmen, who knows that dungeon creation is a craft. Goof dungeons call for someone who understands the mechanics of design: traps, puzzles, tricks, etc. If anything really revives the Old Style, it will be great works like these, by the people who remember the old classics, but have also learned from the good things in the newer works (there are some!).

No comments about Narrator's Screen (The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game).

1 comments about Shadowrun: Shadows of Asia (FPR25007) (Shadowrun).

1. Even though the "Shadows of..." books are now, in the game timeline, five years out of date, they still provide excellent background information for Shadowrunners to use to flesh out their characters.
   
   "Shadows of Asia" is a good resource for those 'runners coming from -- you guessed it -- Asia, providing the history of things to come for every major country in the Middle East, India, China, Japan, Russia, and southeast Asia. With so many different countries presented, though, certain sections seemed like they skimped a bit -- there's very little on some of the smaller nations like Vietnam, whereas the Japan section is huge. China's numerous small nations have individually little information presented for each, but on the whole, the China section is actually longer than it looks. Likewise, the section on the Middle East isn't very long. Russia is presented here and not in "Shadows of Europe," which is something to remember for those who want to run characters from the wrong side of the Iron Curtain.
   
   One disappointment of mine was the lack of information on Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Rim; no information at all is given about the ANZAC, its surrounding islands, or Hawaii.
   
   Overall though, it is worthwhile. It gives players a good idea of the Asian shadows as well as the usual assortment of redrawn maps in case your next run takes you to the PacRim. As usual, there are dozens of little hints and off-hand comments throughout to provide GMs with ideas for plot hooks and shadowruns.

No comments about The Game Inventor's Guidebook: How to Invent and Sell Board Games, Card Games, Role-Playing Games & Everything in Between!.

1 comments about Tribebook: Uktena (Werewolf).

1. Honestly, I may be somewhat biased as the Uktena are my favorite Tribe, but I would have to say this is the best Tribebook that was printed for Werewolf: the Apocalypse. The intro fiction was quite enjoyable, introducing us to Erishka Derr, a young Choctaw Uktena who just liberated a stolen Native American fetish from a museum and is acting as a body guard to Jolon, a kinfolk travelling to various Uktena septs around the world (and to Erishka's journal, a very clever plot device the authors used to insert differing opinions and commentary into the book). Together their travels help to introduce the Uktena Tribe in a really enjoyable manner.

   Chapter One: Smoke Talk takes our protagonists to a small Seminole Sept in Florida where they learn about the Tribe's history from their arrival in the Pure Lands to the present debate about the Red Star, and everything in between. The Tribe's claiming of Uktena as a totem, the Anasazi, the arrival of the Wyrmbringers (Aztec Uktena were the first to meet them, starting with Shadow Lords who followed the conquistadors), the fall of the Croatan, the Trail of Tears, the War of Tears and the Tribe's arrival in Australia, the war for the Plains and much more gets covered. Even details on the Uktena's decision to include worthy outsiders. In addition, several sidebars provide info on stuff like a small Uktena cult that ate the hearts of it's enemies, the Ghost Dance (allegedly started by their Paiute kin), occult practices in the modern world, slavery and even opposing views on creation and the arrival of the Wyrmbringers. The chapter also closes out with a nice timeline, showing major events both in Uktena history and Native American histroy, with a definate focus on Nations of the california, southeast, southwest and Central America, like the Aztecs, Cherokee, Choctaw, Comanche, Navajo and Hopi. Enough here for any historical game, even if you know next to nothing about Native American history.

   Feathered Dances, Hidden Hearts, covers the culture and society of the Uktena Tribe, and finds Jolon and Erishka going to a Cherokee Sept in Appalachia, a Navajo-Hopi Sept in Arizona, a Hawai'ian Sept, a Sept on the Texas-Mexico border and finally an Aboriginal Sept in Australia's Outback. Along the way we learn about Uktena views on the Litany, Auspices, Rites of Passage, Moots, Breeds and the Triat. A deeper look is taken at Uktena Totems, including Uktena himself and his home realm of Galunlati, and theres lots on Kinfolk both Native and non-Native. Theres also a look at the Camps, like the Earthguides, Bane Tenders, Scouts, Ghost Dancers and others. A new Camp, the Web Walkers (who study the Weaver), has formed, and the Society of the Bitter Frost has fallen to the Wyrm (a lesson in the dangers of hatred). Info on the Uktena's territories, from the Americas to Siberia and the Pacific Islands, is also given. It closes out with a look at outsiders, including other Tribes (even the Bunyip and Croatan), other Fera and various odds and ends like vampires, Nunnehi, shaman and witches.

   The next Chapter, Deep Waters, gives all kinds of gaming goodies. Theres advice for fleshing out Uktena, such as culture, tribal relations and magic/spirituality, in addition to suggestions for Backgrounds. Amongst the crunchy bits are some new Abilities (Stickball, Gesture and Tribal Lore), lots of Gifts (some adapted from the old Tribebook and the Wild West, others being entirely new; Another's Moccasins, Indian Giver and Becoming Uktena are all pretty cool!), several new Rites (Mockery Curing Way and the Rite of Bane Binding are particularly memorable) and even new Fetishes and Talens (Snake Bow, Flint Arrow Shirt, Ulunsuti and Vision Paint, amongst others, are really neat). Theres also new Totems, like Gila Monster and Wild Turkey, and new spirit allies (including a wild turkey-gaffling). This chapter goes on examining key Septs across the world, including not only updates of Uktena Septs from Rage Across Appalachia, Rage Across Australia, Caerns: Places of Power and Rage Across Russia, but also a new Caern in Arizona that studies Aztec magic! It then ends with some advice for making it scary and mysterious, and some recommended reading. The selections are all excellent, ranging from the fiction of Manly Wade Wellman and Tony Hillerman to Native American mythology, Hawai'ian native activism and James Mooney's History, Myths and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee. All are good reading.

   The book ends with Bottomless Pools, which provides five Uktena templates as usual, one for each Auspice. Suprisingly, all of them are pretty cool and innovative, and they include a healer who mixes modern medicine with shamanism, a museum curator who liberates tribal fetishes, a lupus who seeks out new indigenous kinfolk, a traditional Navajo Singer and a investigator of the occult. Theres also a look at some Uktena of note, including not only the signature character Amy Hundred-Voices but a number of the characters from the text. Theres others too, like Tysoyaha a Miccosukee Ragabash who travelled to Africa to learn about the black slaves the Wyrmbringers brought to Florida and met with one of the Ananasi! And of course, theres an Uktena character sheet you can use in the back of the book.

   All in all, this was an amazing book. Everything about it really captured the feel of the Uktena. It was especially interesting to see the focus on making them connected to Native cultures, especially the Maya, Ute, Zuni, Pueblos, Apache, Chickasaw, Seminole and other southern groups. While definately Native American feeling, the book makes it pretty clear that they are not connected to any one culture (in fact at one point they mention how sandpainting is something of the Navajo, not of theirs) yet at the same time open to all manner of indigenous peoples throughout the world. Occaisonal reference is made to Haitian voudon, the Hmong, Pacific Islanders, Maori, Lapps, Bedouin, the Ainu of Japan, Mongols, Yakuts and other native peoples the Uktena have taken in. It really is a nice book, probably one of the best resources for Werewolf. Check it out.

No comments about Conan: Argos & Zingara (Conan).

2 comments about The Warhammer 40,000 Quiz Book: A bumper book of 40K brain busters (Warhammer 40, 000).

1. So you think you're a Warhammer 40K expert, eh? You think you know everything? Well then prove it! And prove it with this Warhammer 40K quiz book and over 1000 questions of varying degrees of difficulty. There are four levels of questions: Trooper, Veterans, Commisar, and Lord High Militant. Within each of these levels are numerous pages on subjects such as Orks, Necrons, Ultra Marines, Imperial Guard, The Horus Heresy, weapons, and more, with each page having ten questions. The Lord High Militant section will challenge even the biggest Warhammer 40K with questions such as, "What is the species name of the Tyranid Norn Queen?" and "How many Necrons guarded the tomb of the Night Bringer?"
   
   But it's not just questions...you'll also find several other puzzles to keep you busy for hours such as crosswords, word searches, mazes, weapon recognition, and many more. This 160 page book will challenge any level of Warhammer 40K fan! Great fun, well-written and designed. Excellent for reference as well and yes it does include the answers, too. Pick one up today!
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson



2. If you are a Warhammer 40K fan this is a great book to have in your collection. The questions are divided into different levels of difficulty and thus have something for every level of player. You will learn more about the 40k universe than you ever thought existed.

No comments about Shadizar: City of Wickedness (Conan Roleplaying Game, 3 books + Poster Map).

1 comments about Space Master: The Role Playing Game (2nd edition) [BOX SET] (Stock No. 9000).

1. Space Master (fully compatible with its fantasy counterpart, Rolemaster) is one of the best fantasy role-playing games out there. Its versatility is unparalleled when combined with Armored Assault and Star Strike.