2 comments about Mage Chronicles, Vol 1: The Book Of Chantries, Digital Web (Mage The Ascension).

1. This book compiles both "The Book of Chantries" and "Digital Web", older books for Mage: the Ascension, into a single volume. At the time it was released, this book was an excellent deal. Now, it's more for the collector. Digital Web has been revised, and Book of Chantries is good as source material, though you will have to adapt it to the new Revised Edtition ruleset. It's a good book, but you'll have to do some work to make use of it.



2. This is a compilation of two early Mage supplements. The Book of Chantries is about the guild houses of the Awakened and the Digital Web is about the virtual reality realm of the Virtual Adepts and the Technocrats. Overall, this is a good bundle for players and storytellers interested in exploring and creating settings for their games.

   The Book of Chantries was about a handful of Tradition, Technocracy, Nephandi, and miscellaneous strongholds. This was a very old book that still painted the Technocracy as a repressive and antagonistic group. Over looking this, the chantries detailed were very interesting for all of the factions. The section on how to create your own chantry should be especially useful for players and storytellers. The sample story was not bad but didn't really show how life in a guild house was like. The Book of Chantries may be old and outdated, but it's rules can be easily updated for Mage 2nd Edition and Revised.

   The Digital Web (1.0) was another setting book like the Book of Chantries but it was about virtual reality. Considering the fact that this book was released in the early/mid-1990s, it's still quite good for modern games. It introduced an entirely new playing field for technomancers and traditionalists alike. There were rules on formatting sectors and how to use magick in virtual reality. The overall feel of the realm was similar to those described by William Gibson in his cyberpunk novels. Instead of the Internet, cable modems, high-speed network connections, the book talked about BBSs and modem dial-ups. This was understandable considering those were the cutting-edge fascinations of computer users at the time. The information on the Spy's Demise and the two sample stories were interesting. Overall, the Digital Web was a fun read with many neat ideas. It must have been revolutionary for Mage the Ascension back in early days of the game. This book has since been revised and released as the Digital Web 2.0.

1 comments about Monty Cook Presents: The Iron Heroes Bestiary (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Iron Heroes Setting).

1. If your looking for just another book of monsters to bamboozle your players then you will be doing this book an inservice. Designed to be used with Iron Heroes, the Iron Heroes Bestiary is a valuable guide for incorporating monstrous foes into your Iron Heroes campaign.
   
   While the bulk of the book details 34 monsters, its benefits don't end there.
   
   Chapter 1 provides you with information on how to select monsters in the magic poor setting of Iron Heroes, weighing up special attacks, normal attacks, sustainability and other factors when judging when a monster from other sources would make a good challenge.
   
   Chapter 2 includes three villian classes. Villians classes were first introduced in Mastering Iron Heroes and are essntially like a character class but allow you to make an opponent (be it creature or NPC) with any CR required. Rather handy if you find making leveled NPCs rather tedious.
   
   Chapter 3 has all the monsters. Now while some contain information specific to the Sword Lands setting introduced in the Iron Heroes book, it would not take much to incorporate them into other settings, something which I intend to. As a bonus some of the monsters even have call-outs delineating adventure ideas that may be useful.
   
   The Appendix has some final notes on converting monsters from other monster books as well as a chart of all the monsters and which book they can be found in released by Malhavoc Press. Handy if you follow everything that Malhavoc puts out, but as I don't I thought it a bit if a waste.
   
   All-in-all, if you have purchased Iron Heroes I believe that it is thoroughly worthwhile getting this book as well.

2 comments about Dungeon Crawl Classics 28 (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!).

5 comments about Slavers, Second Edition (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Greyhawk).

1. I reccomend this book because though slavers are an "evil" thing, they do exist. TSR is doing a good job by releasing this. It also gives some great information that will be easily converted to provide a host of enemies for third edition.



2. There are all kinds of contradictory feelings about the original A1-4 series. My group's experience in particular was not very good.

   If only we had own Slavers! instead of A1-4 everything would have been different. The new module is more challenging but undoubtedly more fun than the original, with unexpected twists. All in all, it is more juicy.




3. At once I was pleased to find that several of the original Slavelords had survived and had rebuilt the organization. This super module provides enough action and plot to put together an entire Greyhawk campaign for characters that are roughly 3rd or 4th level. It also provides plenty of side adventure hooks and ideas to keep the action going and to come in and out of the campaign to keep things fresh. Several key towns and cities are described to provide locales for action and to act as bases of operations. Several slave lords are familiar and several are new. The story will take the characters on a ride across several parts of Greyhawk during their quest and serves as a good means of "jumping" in to the setting. All in all this is an excellent module that should provide players and DM's with many sessions of thrills and action.



4. At last, a sequel to the epic story of modules A1-4, Scourge of the Slavelords! I was so excited to see this finally make it into print that I bought 7 copies. A brand new Greyhawk adventure, based on the modules of old, but an entirely new experience, with no rehashing! How long had I been waiting for this? The enthusiasm wore off a bit as I plowed through the module's 128 pages. I haven't had a chance to play this adventure yet, but I have a few reservations about the experience. The adventure begins well. The humanoid clans of the Pomarj, scattered into chaos once again by the heroic depredations of the adventurers of 20 years ago (A1-4), have once again been reunited by a Slavelord - this time, it is the grim, charismatic Turrosh, a half-orc princeling who shows ingenious savagery as both lord and conqueror. The dreaded yellow sails, not seen on any armada for years, have once again become the symbol of death and slavery throughout the Wild Coast, and even as far as the Nyr Dyv. It's time for a new generation of heroes to put an end to the menace! Things get a little sticky as the scenario continues. A bit more reading reveals that this isn't really a heavily-scripted adventure; actually, it's more of a sourcebook with detailed encounter keys. The PCs are given no single incentive to go from point A to point B - and although the work is impressive for its non-linearity, a bit of frustration sets in as the DM realizes that at least 10 hours of preparation will be required (after the preliminary reading) to make this adventure come to life. But don't let that throw you off! The more you read, the more you realize that the book is set up so that it can be perfectly customized to your campaign. Even better, it gives exhaustive, detailed, and imaginative settings, many of which are famous and well-known to long-time wanderers of Greyhawk: Hardby, Elredd, Highport (at last!), and more are revealed for the first time with well-planned encounters and many pages of lore. What's mostly lacking is the dungeon crawls - there's a few slaver outposts highlighted, but the book's pages are mostly spent detailing the settings of the adventures, rather than detailing the adventures themselves. One of the most impressive aspects of the sourcebook is the great ideas. We're treated to the ruined, shipwreck-dotted coastal village of Cantona, whose non-Euclidean angles and magical wardings prevent summonings and teleportation; the Yellow Tooth Kobolds of the Pomarj, who create makeshift floating villages with which to harass the unwary; the Temple District of Highport, where we get to read about the intriguing worshippers of Vecna, Iuz, Incabulos, and more; and the return of Stalman Klim, with his insidious plots to spread the Cult of the Earth Dragon throughout the heartlands of the Flanaess. The final "dungeon," the Temple of the Earth Dragon, is creative, fun, intense, and well-planned; but, this section is abysmally short. The hopeful DM is left with the idea that someone cackled, threw a handful of ingenious ideas into a cauldron, and then... forgot to stoke up the fire. If you're looking for flashing blades, sizzling spells, and piratical scenes of mayhem and drama, you'll likely be disappointed. But if you want an outstanding sourcebook that provides lavish detail on some of the most eternally mysterious corners of Greyhawk (which happen to be very close to the Free City itself), you'll find Slavers to be an excellent resource, with the seeds of many potential adventures. May it live long and free!



5. Don't pick up Slavers expecting a quick, easy-to-run module. It's not. But it can be much, much more. In fact, Slavers can serve as the basis for one of the most epic Greyhawk adventures you'll ever run.

   For me, Greyhawk stands out as a campaign world for several reasons: the influence of history, great villains, and strong plot development (though not necessarily resolution). Slavers has all three. It starts with the background of the Slavelords, relating the role they have played in events throughout the Flanaess. We learn what motivates them and what they hope to achieve. They are greedy, ruthless, power-hungry, and above all, smart -- the perfect ingredients for memorable villains. As this story of intrigue develops, the players will discover plots within plots that go deeper than they ever imagined.

   Apart from the adventure outline, Slavers holds its own as a sourcebook for the lands immediately surrounding Greyhawk. You'll find a detailed description of the Free City of Dyvers -- including its geography, government, economy, prominent citizens and more. Blackthorn, the humanoid lair hidden deep within the Gnarley Forest, is finally revealed. Slavers also does an incredible job of bringing Pomarj cities such as Highport to life, offering a realistic picture of how thousands of humans, orcs and others manage to co-exist.

   Crafting this exhaustive material into a campaign will take some work. (Chances are, you'll spend a couple nights just reading through it all.) But it's definitely worth the effort. Slavers represents one of the best releases put out by Wizards of the Coast for D&D.

5 comments about Dragonlance Fifth Age: SAGA System [BOX SET].

1. I have played this game over and over again. The only problems I see with it are the changes in the campaign world itself. The game system is better for role-playing than D&D is, but the card system is a little hard to figure out at first. Overall a good game.



2. Após conhecer o sistema SAGA de Dragonlance Fifth Age me vi completamente entusiasmado. O jogo se torna simples, não fazendo os jogadores esquecerem o enredo enquanto lutam, ou coisas do tipo. O Sistema de cartas desenvolvido torna o jogo mais justo, assim o jogador não depende só da sorte; enfim o jogo é perfeito para dramatização e horas de divertimento. Se você gosta de AD&D, experimente este revolucionário jogo!



3. Wow. They took AD&D, cut it up into little pieces, put it through the grinder along with Dragonalnce and managed to make it look good. Good is not the word - great. Superb. Marvelous. Stupendous, but enough adjectives. I realize that nearly every avid AD&Der will wretch at the mention of this game and attempt to destroy it on sight, but for those who want simplicity rather than complexity in their gaming Fifth Age is pure and unencumbered heaven. The new approach is ingenious, and despite the appearnce of "just another absurd offspring of something successful", the game has plenty of creativity, ingenuity, an fun in it. If you like new things in your life, try Fifth Age out.



4. Well, this is it; TSR's monumental 1995 embarrasment. Yep folks, you are looking at the very product that caused TSR to implode, leaving AD&D players in the hands of some n00bs from Wizards of the Coast, who went on to release a quick barrage of AD&D 2nd edition stuff in 1998 and 1999, before discontinuing AD&D 2nd ed completely, and releasing D&D 3rd ed.

   This is where it all started....well strictly speaking, that's the novel "Dragons Of Summer Flame", but in terms of game products, this is it. Krynn is ruined. The Gods are gone, so are all your favorite characters.
   That's right, no Tanis, or Fizban, or even Tas! They're all dead 'n gone. Goldmoon is still there, as is Laurana, but no one ever really liked them anyway. Caramon and Tika are still alive, but they're in their 70's now.
   Magic's gone too, replaced by a new form of sorcery, pretty much invented by Palin.

   While the saga system isn't all bad, it doesn't match up to the AD&D 2nd ed. rules. What *really* killed Dragonlance though, was the fact that Weis & Hickman felt the need to change Krynn into a cheap, post-apocalyptic 3rd rate fantasy setting. And believe me, it only gets worse from here... (I do NOT recommend reading War Of Souls).
   I applaud it when writers try to add something new to a series, but Weis & Hickman just went on a killing spree with this one. They're just taking risks for the sake of taking risks, cause that's what the critics want, innit?

   Like I said, this marked the end of Krynn as one of fantasy roleplaying's most popular settings.
   Curiously, after the release of the 5th age product line, TSR's other product lines went downhill as well. Only Ravenloft and Forgotten Realms managed to maintain their high standards for a while (until the release of D&D 3rd ed), while Greyhawk made a succesful comeback in 1998.

   Krynn's magic is gone, the three moons took it with them, and it's not coming back, no matter how hard Palin tries...




5. The Fifth Age Dragonlance game system uses a card based randomizer rather than the die based system most gamers are used to. In an effort to focus more on role-playing than adventure, the game becomes incredably easy and takes most of the risk out of running your favorite character. I do not like this system at all! However, the world in which the stories of this world take place is a fantastic setting in which to place a traditional AD&D game. With the absence of thier gods (including those of magic), some variants of the magic rules should be used. Imaginative DM's and players should have no trouble coming up with these variants on thier own to create a much more balanced and enjoyable game.

4 comments about *OP Project Twilight (Werewolf : the Apocalypse).

1. Project Twilight is great for anyone who wants to cross Vampire or Werewolf with government agencies. It gives in depth source for playing a para-intellegence agent, hunting the super natural. It contains information on the postion of the FBI, CDC, NSA & CIA within White Wolf's world of darkness...

   In my opinion, a must for serious RPG'ers




2. Only one thing stands between this book and that fifth star: a good opening story. Otherwise the book reads like a conspiracy theorist's worst nightmare come true. All you need is this and the main rule book for Werewolf, Vampire, or Mage, and you're ready to make federal gov't sponsored hunters galore.

   Included are neat new backgrounds(rank, favors, backers, and equipment) along with some new numina. Pyrokinesis looks like it'll be a blast(excuse the pun). Many gov't agencies are detailed, and you'd be surprised by how little they know about the supernatural. So this game is more about discovery than just killing monsters, although there's plenty of room for that too.

   The World of Darkness's sixth standalone game Hunter:The Reckoning debuts this year, so this sourcebook may soon see a jump in demand. All wannabe gov't hunters out there(you know who you are)had better beat the rush and buy this book soon.




3. Conspiracy all over the world. Project Twilight pictures govt. agencies, first of all FBI, NSA and CIA, hunting vampires, werewolves and other supernatural beings. The organisations are described in detail. Who knows what? Whom is influenced by what? What factions do exist within the agencies? What are the goals of mortal hunters? How is their interaction? What equipment and tools do they use? Etc.
   However, I would suppose most hunters don't know that much about supernaturals as mentioned in the book, unless they had obvious personal contact. They know something is strange and they are the ones to discover it. But who sane human believes in vampires? "Maybe they are aliens or have some new bio-technical inventions" would be first explanations.
   If you always knew the true power of the world are not the governments but lies in hands behind the curtain, this book is what you want.

   Farooq.Abdullah@Assamites.de




4. I am a fairly new inductee into the World of Darkness. I really enjoy modern settings and the last one I took part in was Call of Cthulhu. This book brought back memories! If you are into the modern setting then this book should be considered a must have. It goes into pretty good detail about the FBI, CIA, and NSA as well as covers a bit of info about less secretive groups like loval law enforcement and the Centers for Disease Control. Just reading this book gave me lots and LOTS of ideas for a campaign. In the back there is also included a fairly well written scenario which will give you a feel for how government agents might be run. As I said before, it has a very cool Cthulhuesque quality. The only thing I feel is lacking is a Sanity roll... but then again, this ain't Cthulhu.

2 comments about Aberrations Booster Pack (Dungeon & Dragons Roleplaying Game: Miniatures).

1. I've bought Harbinger, Dragon Eye, Giants and now Aberrations, and I find that the quality of the miniatures in Aberration seems to be much better than the previous series. The cards are in color compared to the older series, but that's not really a big deal. If you're like me and hate to paint miniatures, this could be useful to your D&D games or even for use with the Skirmish rules.



2. The abberations booster pack is an average pack. It has several nice miniatures such as the wyvern, ice troll, mindflayer, and a few others. However, it has a lot of creatures that are seldom used such as taer, chuul, and the mongrelfolk. It has it's perks but I wouldn't expect anything great to come from 1 of these packs. - Zen

1 comments about The Grimoire: Manual of Practical Thaumaturgy : 2053 (Shadowrun).

1. Considering Shadowrun has hit many updates since it was first made some may look at this book as tired and old. To be honest that would be short sighted. Considering how much it costs these days and how most of the information is still pretty valid, or at the very least useful, I would say this is a good book to get for any Shadowrun player.
   
   You get an expansion on the rules and spells that were presented in the core rules book. That includes more spells, more totems (for shamans) and most of all more ideas to better round out your character or for gamemasters to fill out their adventures. If you want the full magic picture this book is essential, even if you have the newer books.

5 comments about Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion: Sybex's Official Strategies & Secrets.

1. this book was really worth it! before i got it i had to keep using the cheat codes every time and that really took the fun out of the game. Now i am the AOE2 expansion master!



2. this book was really worth it! before i got it i had to keep using the cheat codes every time and that really took the fun out of the game. Now i am the AOE2 expansion master!



3. I love this game. You get to use Spain and they even speak Castillian Spanish just like my Grandparents speak it. Really smooth gameplay, Great Online play I could play this game everyday all day for years and not get sick of it. I have been playing it since day one when it came out and I still love it. My only favorite P.C game title I still enjoy. Lots of great stuff in this game. Create own maps, download maps, Create characters, Awesome Map editor with the ability to use triggers. This game rips and always will. Santiago!!! Guerra!!!!



4. One> I am attending an AOK TC competition in 3 days. I needed a quick reference to all the civilizations which is found in this book plus strategies against and for. Two> Knowledge is power - info in the net may be diverse but it isn't complete. This book caters to my immediate needs. Three> If your sick of your performance against a 'Hard' skilled computer - I suggest you grab this book. Ages of Empires and Kings is a thinking man's game - it is the new age Chess or Toy Soldier game in full real-time.



5. The book gave what was needed and some more: how to beat each misson with flying colors, detailed descriptions of every civilization, strategies on how to win at multiplayer, and much more. the only down side was that if you buy this the game loses some of its chalenge.

5 comments about DEMIHUMANS OF THE REALMS (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Forgotten Realms Assessory).

1. this is a good book to have if you like playing forgotten reallms.also if you like theifs you need this book.also has many figter classes and barbarians.



2. If your expecting something with any depth, forget it! If you have a DM with an IQ higher than a carrot, you've already encountered every character type in this book.



3. This is a good book for people who like to play a Thief or a warrior. It also has a lot of intesting classes. The book could of gave more info about the races.



4. Finally a book for us freaks and geaks who like playing something other than a boring human. While yes most of book is geared toward the rouges(demihumans can only be Paladins in 3rd edition so, there's no surprise here that the warrior classes are a little weak) I did find one kit I really liked. Understand that I like playing Elven/Half-Elven Rangers and for some odd reason the Houndmaster kit spoke to me. I liked it so much it made buying the whole thing worthwhile. Some of it is a little vague however and that works to its disadvantage. But all in all a good book, most of us who play humans maybe when a gun is pressed into the back of our heads will find something in here to like.



5. I have always liked the demihumans, as well as the Forgotten Realms Campaign. Although this book had quite a few new classes, there were few that I actually found useful. Yes, some of the Warrior and Rogue kits were pretty cool, some of these classes seem to be unable to use. Don't let this discourage you. You may find some interesting classes that would put the spin you want on your campaign.