3 comments about GURPS For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies)).

1. After having read the lackluster reviews of D&D for Dummies, I was a bit hesitant to purchase this title sans any exisiting reviews, however, I took the leap anyway, and was not dissapointed.
   
   The first thing you notice when you open the book is the great three-panel double sided pullout cheat sheet containing a ton of information that is invaluable to have at your fingertips during play! This alone is worth almost the cost of the book, and for new players gives them their options in a succint little package.
   
   The book basically appeals to two audiences: Players and Game Masters and the six sections of the book are divided amongst the two.
   
   PART ONE introduces GURPS and gives a player tips on how to come up with the foundation of a character, that is the concept and role the character will play in the story. This information is applicable to any role playing game, and the advice is clear and uncomplicated. This section continues on to describe how to use the GURPS rules as the building blocks of the character, not by teaching the rules or by repeating the rules (you need the GURPS books for that) but by telling you how the different elements work in the game and interact together. In other words, they tell you how to use the game mechanics to recreate what is in your imagination. Its almost like having an experienced player actually helping you through the process step by step, explaining what each thing in the rulebook REALLY MEANS and how it will REALLY WORK (or not work). You are told how high is high, and how low is low.
   
   PART TWO builds on Part One by going into more detail on magic, powers, technology, and non-humans. This section is basically a much deeper exploration of all the different ways the elements of the game (advantages, perks, talents, skills, etc) can be put together, and how each one works. The authors also provide insight on how to use the different game mechanics to achieve the vision you have for your character, and the possible ways to get there (as there is usually more than one).
   
   PART THREE gives solid advice on role playing, again, relevant to any RPG. Combat is explained, with very detailed information given to how different elements works together in combat and how combat flows in GURPS (which can be much different than other RPG's). I would have liked to have seen more information regarding the various reach ranges, because they can have a major affect on swords and sorcery type games. The combat chapter teaches you how to choose armor, what choices there are in combat and more importantly, why you would want to choose certain options, when and how to defend yourself, and how to make wise weapon choices. In fact, there is an excellent chart describing what the solid weapopn choices are for each character strength level. This is perfect for those countless times I have heard players say "What weapon should I choose?". There is a great section on how to solve common combat problems (too many opponents, can't penetrate armor, etc) and a section on how best to use healing magic. This section also describes good ways to keep track of all the information used in GURPS.
   
   PART FOUR is where the Game Mastering (GMing) section begins. This section and the next should be read by every GM, no matter what the game they run. I've been GMing and playing for almost 30 years, and I found the advice in this section and the next to be invaluable. Part Four describes how to be a GM, gives an EXCELLENT chapter on how to design an adventure with an example of how that would play out.
   
   PART FIVE describes how to build the campaign, that is the world, or epic, or whatever that will be the focus of why the story is, what the story is, and why are the players even creating characters to begin with. The advice is once again solid, and while there are references on how to use GURPS, as in Part Four, the information is applicable to any Role Playing Game/GM.
   
   PART SIX are three short chapters containing the authors' preferences for spending points, their top ten favorite advantages, and top ten favorite disadvantages. There was to be a chapter on the "10 skills no PC should be without" but it was apparently cut. Seeing the chapter released in electronic format would be a great addition to the book.
   
   Overall, this book is a "must have" for anyone even contemplating playing or running a GURPS game. New players will find the answers and help they need to bring their imagination to life, and old veterans will find an angle they hadn't thought of. The GMing section really could have been "Game Mastering for Dummies", because the tips and advice here go beyond what do do in GURPS. I wish I had seen this advice when I first started GMing oh-so-long-ago. This book should be considered the third of the core books (Characters and Campaigns being the first two) and is a book no gaming library should be without.



2. It's a great view of role playing in general. GURPS is already an easy system, and GURPS For Dummies makes it idiot proof. A must for folks playing or running GURPS games.



3. GURPS is already a great system, but the massive volume of data can easily overwhelm someone, especially if this is their first RPG. GURPS for Dummies provides the perspective needed to digest and begin taking advantage of this great system. Be aware that several important source books have been released since the publication of GURPS for Dummies, but the consistency of the GURPS rules don't significantly impact its effectiveness.

5 comments about Vampire : The Masquerade (Revised Edition).

1. This is not a white wolf book, rather it is the conversion rules for people who are interested in playing vampire but not in learning a new system and who are already competent with the GURPS rules. If you are new to role playing and want to play a vampire then I suggest you find the world of darkness rules for this game as they are more expansive and complex.

   However, if you already know GURPS and are interested in playing a vampire then I strongly suggest this book. The rules are clearly laid out for people to read and understand. Though it is not a stand alone product, it's not trying to be. And it allows people who like WOD but who don't want to learn a new system to use a system they already know to play it.

   For those unfamiliar with vampire I'll do my best to give a rough over view. There are many different types of vampires known as Clans. Each clan has separate special powers which give them an edge up on one another. Some people find this system to be stereotype based, I have found, however, that the point is not to play a typical Brujah, Tremere, Venture, Lasombra or Toreador (just to name a few), but rather to create one who falls with in the lines of the clan but also is a unique individual. The Storyteller then guides the players though an advanture just like any other roleplaying game.

   As for the format of the book it is a bit confusing for those who aren't used to the way White Wolf sets up books. Unlike most WOD books, however, the index is surprising useful and can be used to find just about everything that is needed in the book. I do suggest the use of sticky notes for some sections as quick reference or your can write in the margins if you don't mind writing in books.

   One last thing for those with young children, Vampire is an intense rather dark game. It's not happy or light and fluffy. The plays are playing vampires who do kill people, and it is a horror based game. The book is dark and intense and probably not suitable for children under the age of 14.




2. I wasn't a vampire player at first in fact a freind and I were at each others throats for a while over the diferences between mage and vampire. but after taking a closer look at the two games I have come to realize that they coenside with each other quite well and are very easily mixed together.
   
   And as for the stupid assumptions of this Jonnhy traunt character he probably hasn't even played the system under a descent game master. His arguments are pethetic as well and heres why.
   
   
   1)you are of course going to run into a lot of gothic players. if he read the book then he would know that it says you are playing in the gothic punk world of darkness on page# 28 the paragraph labled in BIG BOLD LETERS stating "Gothic punk isperhaps the best way to describe the physical nature of the World of Darkness". So thus endeth that stupid assumption. I think I speek for all of Us Goths out there Christian Goth or not that this is definatly a Highly goth game and that this guy has just insulted the population of Goths.
   
   2) Munchkins, Power gamers, Rules lawers, and Dicers are all varyiants that the Game master should have to syphon through. I know this because I am A GM for vampire, Mage, Werewolf, Shadowrun, and heros unlimited. It even states in the GMs guide that the GM has to take care of that problem and Either remove them or deal with it. Note that comprimises are acceptable.
   
   3) This game is set for mature gamers not for beginners. This jonnhy guy really must of started with it and thought that its rules were to complex. Wrong the rule are simple. you just gotta be smart.
   
   So last Dont take any of the whining gibering of Jonnhy truant. BUY THIS BOOK. Oh yeah and Jonnhy be smarter than the equipment you opperate, or, in this case learn to read the whole book before you try to give a stupid opinion that has no good reasoning. can we say hollow?....... Come on I know you can do it. never mind.
   
   
   To the rest of you i leave this
   
   
   Life is short, But death is eternal.



3. This was the first version of Vampire that I played, and I absolutly love it. Yes, the dice is a little confusing, but as with all systems, it all comes down to how each individual player chooses to interact with the system. My favorite part of the system is the merit/flaw system that allows characters to have twice as much depth as some other systems.



4. A novel approach to the role playing game, that was quite successful, with a different feel, style and mechanism. Vampires are a popular theme, and this had more crossover appeal to more of the population it seemed than something like Dungeons and Dragons, so a definite breakthrough at the time this was produced.



5. Ok, here's the honest deal. Some people love this game above all others. Others hate it. There are few people in the middle ground. I am certainly in the middle on this one. I will play Vampire if I am invited to a game, but there have been multiple times when I was unsatisfied. Typically, I play Malkies or Setites. That comment right there will probably stop most hard-core Masquerade fans from reading the rest of this review, but these are the clans that interest me.
   
   Ok, on the mechanics. A storyteller, and even players, need to know the White Wolf D10 system pretty well to run any of their Storyteller games properly. This becomes more true with Vampire, because this is one of the few games with huge amounts of social powers to listen in on distant conversations, dominate another person's mind or make them love you, or even drive them mad with a glance. With perhaps the exception of Changling, no other White Wolf game requires so many roles in non-combat situations. I do consider this a weakness to some extent since it really does slow down game sessions considerably while the two parties roll, and inevitably counter-attack, and so forth. Frankly, it does seem like there is a roll for everything in Vampire, which is not really the case for many of White Wolf's other storyteller system games.
   
   On the plus side, this game has an amazing backstory. From the fall of man, and more specifically Cain, to modern nights, the history is great. It ties in things from actual history that make this stuff seem almost believable. The only problem I have with this is, to get most of that history you need to shell out some hard cash to get the supplement material. You can easily find yourself lost or just relying on another player on points of Vampire history and society most of the time. Some more development in the base book on this deep history and culture would be appreciated. That said, as long as the ST of your home game is aware of this information, you should be fine.
   
   A comment on the players of this game is needed. A number of reviews have been blasted because they discussed the players being goths or just in general complained about the players. It is a valid point, however. You can't play Vampire by yourself. That is called day-dreaming. Many of the players are devoted fans with deep knowledge of their clans' histories and can tell you all didn't want to know about them. This is not a real problem, but for a new player it can be very daunting. I was fortunate that my first game only had two such people, and one was the ST. If you are the only new player in the game, however, be afraid.
   
   I should also point out, since most of the negative reviews complain about LARPing, this is NOT the Vampire: the Masquerade LARP manual. Go look for Minds Eye Theatre stuff. This is the table top version. If you are more comfortable sitting around a table with your friends with chips and pizza somewhere, this is the version for you.
   
   This game is part of a larger world created by White Wolf. The meta-plot of the World of Darkness has many other games in it. If Vampire isn't your cup of suspiciously red and thick tea, but you enjoy the world or the system, try looking into the other games. Werewolf: the Apocalypse is great for combat oriented folk in defense of nature. Mage: the Ascension is a deep thinking look at subjective reality. Changling: the Dreaming is a call to return imagination to the world. The list goes on. White Wolf's games are not like D&D or some other RPGs. What game you play gives your character preset goals. There are stereotypes, especially in Vampire, to play with. If you haven't tried one of these games yet, Vampire is a good starting place, but if pseudo-political drama-queen blood-suckers ain't your style, move on down the list until you find something you love.

2 comments about Legacy of the Force Booster Pack: A Star Wars Miniatures Game expansion (Star Wars Miniatures Product).

1. High quality minies from the Legacy series comics, as well as the Legacy of the Force series of books from DelRey books. Most characters have been created to some degree of acuracy. Some characters from other story arcs have been included, which doesn't make the most amount of sense, considering the fact that they do not show up in either the books or the comics. It would have been nice to see characters from the Dark Nest trilogy, seeing as how mostt of those characters return in the Legacy of the Force series to reprise their rolls.
   
   I find it disapointing that there are no large or huge size minies included like a Krayte Dragon, or a chiss Claw craft... It would have also been nice to see a "ships of Legacy" pack too fill in what's still missing from the RPG saga edition books.
   
   There are a few beautiful minies, but at the end of the day you are left unfofilled.



2. This latest set introduces some more veteran versions of our favorite characters, while introducing some new faces to minis.
   
   The faction that seems to benefit most from Legacy is the Galactic Alliance. Kyle Katarn is just a beast, especially if you include Spirit Luke. Cade Skywalker from the Legacy comic makes a very strong mark on this game.
   
   This is not the best set to start with, but is a very good set to tide us over until the Knights of the Old Republic set that comes out in August.

5 comments about Scourge of the Howling Horde (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Adventure).

1. This is definately the funnest 1st level advenvture I've ever run as a DM. I'm new to the DM game, and I absoultely can not express how great it was to literally buy the adventure, pick everyone up, and start playing (all within a few hours). The format and monster tables are great, I really look forward to buying more of these adventures that cater to DMs that want to let their player have a great time, without 3 months of preparation for the campaign. 5 stars!



2. I have not been playing D&D for many years as I am rathe rnew at it but I was considered good enough to start DMing by my group. That being said this book was excellent in that it lays everything out very effectively and the adventure started within a few hours. My regular DM with years of experience was impressed with how good I ran the game and I could not have done that without this book making things much more simple for me. If you are brand new to being a DM or to D&D in general this is a great book. If you are a veteran of the game this book probobly will not be that beneficial to your campaign.



3. This like Howweling Horde. Is great for begginers,but it also can be used for those players who have been looking for a launching site for a campaigning group with moderate experince.



4. Scourge of the Howling Hordes marked my second attempt after a long period of time in running the game rather than just being a player for many years. And this is a good module for the beginning DM... whether they have many years of experience or are truely beginning. However, it does suffer from a couple of problems.
   
   1. Getting the party to the caves where the Horde is. As written, the townspeople aren't sure just where the attacks are coming from. Second, unless someone picks up on the trail from the initial ambush that is some distance out of town, it may be hard to get the party to go back to that point and investigate to get a lead on to the location. Possibly there should be a ranger or other woodsman connection in town that can give some guesses as to the location. Or a recent attack in the village that can serve as an in town jumping off point for finding the trail.
   
   2. The layout and tactics of the goblins are fairly well designed and laid out. The entrance to the complex might need further description as I had to come up with something that also made for some interesting plans as the party had to attempt to approach unseen as long as possible across a semi-open stretch of lightly forested land next to a cliff.
   
   3. The final encounter was a severe let-down. Its a wonder that the goblins ever accepted Noax as someone to be feared... even for them. There were several more difficult encounters through out the complex (either as written or through the use of tactics that caused the fight to become more difficult). The party had as much trouble with Noax as kicking a puppy. They almost felt sorry for how much of a push-over Noax was... This was in part because the module stresses warning the party what they are about to encounter in several ways and having them fully prepared to face Noax. Also, Noax chose his lair very poorly... which only made the party all the stronger against him. I feel that a modification in the lair and less warning would have made the encounter with Noax more of the climax it was supposed to be. Also, some way that Noax might have been able to better able to join in or in some way be a presence in other sections of the module would have been nice... some way to build him up to be something more important or dangerous. When running it, I did have Noax make a retalitory strike on the village after the party withdrew to heal and prepare for the next assault on the complex. However, even then, the best he was able to do was drop alchemist's fire on a house as his own abilities were too weak to really cause any real effect... though the party trying to figure out what happened in the absence of any tracks was somewhat interesting.
   
   So, while a good module and having a lot of nice points, it also misses some others. But then that is where the DM has to step in and make changes or come up with something.



5. First, just to be clear: if you have ever run D&D campaigns in the past, do not get this adventure. Contrary to the marketing, it is purely for first time DMs.
   
   And while I'm contradicting the marketing... this adventure has nothing to do with The Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde. Do not buy Scourge of the Howling Horde if you're looking for an introduction to The Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde. I fell for this, and was extremely annoyed.
   
   For experienced gamers, this adventure has little to offer. Aside from the simplistic concepts that even a novice DM could have created, there are significant gaps in logic that really ruin this for me. The final encounter is a great example, as was previously commented on. Another example is the hobgoblins wielding long swords and wearing studded leather armor, while in a chest (but only if they have the key to) are a magical long sword and magical studded leather armor.
   
   They may be hobgoblins, but they are not that stupid.
   
   There are additional issues, I am avoiding any spoilers in the players might take advantage of.

5 comments about Baseball Hacks: Tips & Tools for Analyzing and Winning with Statistics (Hacks).

1. This book's purpose is to show you all the baseball-related stuff that you can do free of charge or close to free. Just as open source projects such as Linux, MySQL, Open Office, and R have made great software freely available, collaborative projects such as Retrosheet and Baseball DataBank have made great data freely available. This book shows you how to take advantage of these data sources to research your favorite players, to win your fantasy league, or just to appreciate the game of baseball even more. Many of the hacks in this book deal with statistics, and others will require that you install a baseball database. The following is the table of contents:
   
   Chapter 1, Basics of Baseball - some easy hacks showing how to watch and score baseball games, and how to find some simple baseball data on the Web.
   Hack 1. Score a Baseball Game
   Hack 2. Make a Box Score from a Score Sheet
   Hack 3. Keep Score, Project Scoresheet-Style
   Hack 4. Follow Pitches During a Game
   Hack 5. Follow the Game Online
   Hack 6. Add Baseball Searches to Firefox
   Hack 7. Find Images of Stadiums
   
   Chapter 2, Baseball Games from Past Years - shows you where to get databases of career statistics and introduces some tools that you'll find helpful in working with this data.
   Hack 8. Get and Install MySQL
   Hack 9. Get an Access Database of Player and Team Statistics
   Hack 10. Get a MySQL Database of Player and Team Statistics
   Hack 11. Make Your Own Stats Book
   Hack 12. Get Perl
   Hack 13. Learn Perl
   Hack 14. Get Historical Play-by-Play Data
   Hack 15. Make Box Scores or Database Tables from Play-by-Play Data with Retrosheet Tools
   Hack 16. Use SQL to Explore Game Data
   Hack 17. Use Microsoft Access to Run SQL Queries
   Hack 18. Get a GUI for MySQL
   Hack 19. Move Data from a Database to Excel
   Hack 20. Load Baseball Data into MySQL
   Hack 21. Load Retrosheet Game Logs
   Hack 22. Make a Historical Play-by-Play Database
   Hack 23. Use Regular Expressions to Identify Events
   
   Chapter 3, Stats from the Current Season - how to get data on current baseball games. It's easy to get data on old games because they're already in databases. It's hard to get data on this year's games because you have to scrape it off the Web. This chapter shows you how.
   Hack 24. Use Microsoft Excel Web Queries to Get Stats
   Hack 25. Spider Baseball Sites for Data
   Hack 26. Discover How Live Score Applications Work
   Hack 27. Keep Your Stats Database Up-to-Date
   Hack 28. Get Recent Play-by-Play Data
   Hack 29. Find Data on Hit Locations
   
   Chapter 4, Visualize Baseball Statistics - R is a free data analysis and visualization tool. This chapter introduces R and shows you a lot of cool tricks that you can use to analyze baseball data with R.
   Hack 30. Plot Histograms in Excel
   Hack 31. Get R and R Packages
   Hack 32. Analyze Baseball with R
   Hack 33. Access Databases Directly from Excel or R
   Hack 34. Load Text Files into R
   Hack 35. Compare Teams and Players with Lattices
   Hack 36. Compare Teams Using Chernoff Faces
   Hack 37. Plot Spray Charts
   Hack 38. Chart Team Stats in Real Time
   Hack 39. Slice and Dice Teams with Cubes
   
   Chapter 5, Formulas - Formulas have a special place in baseball history. Many baseball writers have spent months or years searching for the perfect formula to measure some aspect of the game. This chapter covers a few of the most popular formulas.
   Hack 40. Measure Batting with Batting Average
   Hack 41. Measure Batting with On-Base Percentage
   Hack 42. Measure Batting with SLG
   Hack 43. Measure Batting with OPS
   Hack 44. Measure Power with ISO
   Hack 45. Measure Batting with Runs Created
   Hack 46. Measure Batting with Linear Weights
   Hack 47. Measure Pitching with ERA
   Hack 48. Measure Pitching with WHIP
   Hack 49. Measure Pitching with Linear Weights
   Hack 50. Measure Defense with Defensive Efficiency
   Hack 51. Measure Pitching with DIPS
   Hack 52. Measure Base Running Through EqBR
   Hack 53. Measure Fielding with Fielding Percentage
   Hack 54. Measure Fielding with Range Factor
   Hack 55. Measure Fielding with Linear Weights
   Hack 56. Measure Park Effects
   Hack 57. Calculate Fan Save Value
   Hack 58. Calculate Save Value
   
   Chapter 6, Sabermetric Thinking - discusses many baseball problems, some classic and some new.
   Hack 60. Calculate Expected Runs
   Hack 61. Calculate an Expected Hits Matrix
   Hack 62. Look for Evidence of Platoon Effects
   Hack 63. Significant Number of At Bats
   Hack 64. Find Clutch Players
   Hack 65. Calculate Expected Number of Wins
   Hack 66. Measure Hits by Pitch Count
   Hack 67. OBP, SLG, and Scoring Runs
   Hack 68. Measure Skill Versus Luck
   Hack 69. Odds of the Best Team Winning the World Series
   Hack 70. Top 10 Bargain Outfielders
   Hack 71. Fitting Game Scores to a Strength Model
   
   Chapter 7, The Bullpen - comprises a few random topics that didn't fit anywhere else: fantasy baseball, widgets, and other sports.
   Hack 72. Start or Join a Fantasy League
   Hack 73. Draft Your Fantasy Team
   Hack 74. Make a Scoreboard Widget
   Hack 75. Analyze Other Sports
   
   Appendix A, Where to Learn More Stuff
   Appendix B, Abbreviations



2. I recently purchased this book hoping to be able to apply some of my recent work-related statistics training to baseball stats. It promises step-by-step instructions that 'anyone' can follow. While the instructions are step-by-step, if you have no computer experience outside of Windows (like me) you will almost certainly be frustrated very early on.
   
   My first hiccup was in hack #10, step 4, in which the author jumps to using Unix commands without mentioning that fact. Fortunately, I have a friend familiar with both Unix and MySQL who was able to get me through that particular hack by installing a GUI and importing the files through it. For those who are stumped on that particular step, jump to hack #18, install a GUI, and import the DataBank files as a script using the Query Editor.
   
   I haven't proceeded much farther in the book, largely because I can already see the frustration to come from fumbling my way through Perl. The author gives very rudimentary instructions in the language, followed by more 'easy to use' scripts. The problem is the scripts are based on filenames and information that is more than a year out of date. This will require editing the scripts, something a programming illiterate such as myself will find challenging at best.
   
   So after all these complaints, why did I still rate the book a 3? Because I'm trying to be fair. I've read through the rest of the book without trying to apply anything, and if you are at least familiar with MySQL, Unix, and Perl you'll probably get a lot out of it. The tools presented appear to be very powerful. Also, since I'm familiar with Access, the hacks for using it have been helpful. Unfortunately, the instructions in the book assume a basic level of programming knowledge on the part of the reader, despite the author's contention that they do not. If you can't tell a Unix prompt from a DOS prompt, this book is not the answer to your stat-processing prayers.



3. This book is uniquely geared toward the database-literate and technology-literate baseball fan. The author shows all kinds of ways to gather free baseball statistics over the Internet, load them into databases, and then to build reports and queries against them. If this sounds even vaguely interesting to you, this book will entertain you for hours - and it might help you with your fantasy baseball picks, too.
   
   The book contains 75 hacks to help you acquire and analyze baseball statistics. O'Reilly publishes a whole series of hacks books and in this context, a hack is basically a solution to a problem. It is an idea or piece of code that can be used to further your understanding and knowledge of baseball. If you follow the daily baseball box scores, review historical statistics, or play fantasy baseball, you will definitely enjoy these hacks.
   
   If you are a new baseball fan that likes the game but is befuddled by all the terms and statistics thrown around, Baseball Hacks can help. Even some long-term baseball fans don't understand things like slugging average, OPS, or DIPS. But Baseball Hacks explains them and how to derive them.
   
   If you are an open source proponent, and a baseball fan, you'll definitely want to take advantage of hack #10, which shows you how to get a MySQL database of player and team statistics. Rather use Microsoft Access? You'll want hack #9.
   
   Really. Baseball Hacks is a great book for the database/baseball nerd in all of us. If you are looking for a way to merge your profession with a hobby, look no further than picking up a copy of Baseball Hacks.



4. This book takes a fairly different approach to baseball statistics. The author goes thru and explains most all of the newer statistics. The real meat of this work is teaching the reader how to build his or her own data bases free of charge by importing information from various websites. My sense is that to really benefit from the data base aspects the reader must have a pretty good acumen for dealing with computer programing. Even though the author provides precise step by step help with codes. Still, I would say most baseball fans who enjoy statistics will benefit from this.



5. Baseball Hacks: Tips & Tools for Analyzing and Winning with Statistics (Hacks), which comes with download able scripts from the O'Reilly site, shows how to do SABR metrics like the big league analysts.
   
   If, like me, you wish to use only the free, or open source, programs on Linux, you are in for significant work. I could not get R, (the statistical analysis program much like S-Plus,) to work under Ubuntu. I was able to get it to work under the SuSE version of Linux. If exploring Baseball Statistics is like the Lewis and Clark expedition, Adler is your Pocohantuas!
   
   What satisfaction comes from comparing baseball intuition with computerized analysis of the vast databases of baseball statistics! The American economy would be much more efficient if lessons from Baseball Hacks were applied to enterprise management.

No comments about 1939-1945 Starter: Axis & Allies Miniatures (Axis & Allies Miniature Game).

5 comments about Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game (Dungeons & Dragons).

1. This is one of the most endearing books I've ever read! Girl gamers have been rare in my circles, but I've recently welcomed a new one to my group, and my girlfriend finally decided to embrace my geekdom and join us as well. Reading this book gave me a look into the way they may think and what they are looking for.
   
   This book is not really meant for experienced gamers; it is meant to give to those females in your life that you may not think have an appetite for adventure. Once they read about a "normal" (and I use that word for Shelly loosely...) professional woman that enjoys shooting magic missiles at her foes (complete with sound effects!) they may be willing to give it a try.
   
   Shelly's reverence of her Dungeon Master reminded me of the importance and responsibility of that position.



2. I'm a male D&D player who bought this book for myself after seeing some of Shely Mazzanoble's articles on the Wizards of the Coast website. Her writing style struck me as comedically exaggerated, but with a genuine affection for the game.
   
   To that end, the book absolutely did not disappoint. Mazzanoble's tongue is planted firmly in her cheek as she takes her girly-girl spin on longtime male-dominated hobby.
   
   For the existing enthusiast, Confessions is an interesting "outsider-looking-in" sort of book. I found it gave me a different perspective on how women see the game and has actually helped me change up my gaming habits to make the female players more welcome.
   
   For the non-player, it's a quirky look at how the writer found her place in a weekly D&D game... helped along by a touch of writer's embellishment.
   
   For either audience, the book also provides very real-world analogies of some of the rules of the game, and culminates with an appendix that gives us a peek at the character sheet for Astrid, the titular sorceress.
   
   It's a unique offering from the normally rules-and-boys oriented Wizards of the Coast, but one I hope to see more like in the future.



3. The purpose of this book is to counteract D&D stereotypes. The author decided to fight fire with fire. There are negative reviews written by people who do not understand the purpose of this book. The author deliberately counteracts antisocial cheetos-snorfling loser-monkey stereotypes with airhead shopper girl stereotypes. The reason is not because she has any real belief in the airhead stereotypes. The reason is that if you counteract Stereotype A with Stereotype B, any reasonably intelligent person is going to say, "OK. Let's look beyond the stereotypes."
   
   The purpose of doing this is to **introduce new people to Dungeons and Dragons.** If you already play D&D this book is useless to you; it's like being introduced to somebody you already hang out with. But if you want to loop people into your game and they don't know much about D&D, this book is a much better Player's Handbook than the Player's Handbook, for **some** players.
   
   The author is not really an airhead. The voice she takes on during the book is the voice of a character, devised for a particular purpose. You would expect people who play role-playing games to recognize when an author is playing a role-playing game. Please keep this in mind as an antidote to the negative reviews. This is a silly book, but it is a **deliberately** silly book, and the D&D community needs more books like it. This is a fantastic propaganda piece which can rescue you from boring-as-hell sausage-fest games. It is a GOOD THING.



4. I am mostly through the book at this point and it reads more like a commissioned project than a labor of love.
   
   Ignoring the fact that the book seems to be targeted at the vapid, materialistic, celebrity-fixated girlie girl who would NEVER play D&D (apologies to the vapid, materialistic girlie girls out there who do) it reads more like a dumbed-down version of the DnD player's guide than as a tribute or a testimonial. I get the sense that the marketing guys at Wizards of the Coast wanted to reach out to a different market and tapped Mazzanoble to write a guide that could be passed off to people outside the traditional game audience.
   
   Problem is, it doesn't actually make the game very appealing. I'm one of those snotty, beat-a-dead-horse RPG players that never quite jibed with DnD and I'll be the first to admit that the rules can be very intimidating to new players. Rather than discuss the joys of sitting down, using your imagination, and playing games with your friends, the writer is frustratingly vague about the appeal, the mindset, or actually HELPING people enjoy their first game. Worse, the group she plays with strike me as a very unpleasant group of people to spend an afternoon chained to a table with. The writer (and by extension her character) seems to enjoy the passive aggressive sniping between herself and Helena, but I would find that table very uncomfortable and the experience unpleasant.
   
   The book's strong point is Mazzanoble's clear, conversational prose. Unlike the dry, legal-brief language of the DnD rulebooks, the book has tremendous wit and personality. Unfortunately there is very little depth in the hopefully fictitious persona she creates of herself, and instead we get a deluge of brand names and gossipy asides. These elements are almost apologetic, given the subject matter. It's as if she's trying to communicate to the reader "It's okay that I play dragons and make-believe. I'm normal too! I'm into normal stuff we can all relate to! I'm a girl and I value important girl things. Please empathize with me so you will identify with my experiences and you'll want to play too!"
   
   Put bluntly, the kind of people who tend to play this game have interests and personality types that are very dissimilar to the one Mazzanoble creates in her book. I had heard positive things about this before reading it and I recommended it to a smart, sophisticated lawyer I knew whose husband was a devoted DnD player. She bought it and then later told me she felt insulted. I can now see why.



5. I loved this book. I play computer games and console games, but never really tried Dungeons and Dragons. The book, was funny hilarious and easy to read. Some of the shopping references were over the top but thats what made them so funny. Guys give this too your girlfriends if you want them to play D&D with you. Trust me. But, just tell them its so they can understand what you're doing a bit more. They'll have fun :)

5 comments about Cityscape (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement).

1. this book is great for guilds and city information allows you to wip up a city in no time.



2. Like Dungeonscape, this book is just about useless. Nothing in it is new save for a few things nobody will use. I haven't used it since I got it the day it came out. A waste of shelf space. Anyone want to buy mine?



3. As mentioned in other reviews, this is a DMs resource. This is not the book to come to if you want more base classes or advice on how to adventure in a city. As with all reviews, choose this based on what you know. If you are inexperienced and need advice on how to run urban campaigns, or if you have run urban campaigns before and merely need more ideas this is the perfect book to come to. It presents new and interesting feats, NPC prestige classes, and tips for running different types of urban settings.
   
   In this book you can find advice for:
   Flying cities
   Race-based cities
   Specific environment based cities
   Different Locales within the city
   ...and much more along those lines
   
   I am preparing for a campaign and this book is exactly what I needed. I have several years of experiance DMing and find that this and Dungeonscape both provide interesting ideas. Keep it up Wizards!



4. This product is a DM resource, despite the description. I didn't need help with rules. I wanted help conjuring up urban details to treat my players to. I wanted lists of buildings, fun encounters, maps, common city locations, business and NPC names--and tips to keep them all straight. The book offered that, but it also offered useless detailed rules, feats, classes and magic.



5. Well, in my personal opinion, DnD is not a urban game, so i don't like this book. The artwork is really good, but the game mechanics are poor, we have a few new feats, prestige classes and spells. The rules for city construction are kinda of complicated and burocratic. With the 4ed. this is a dead supplement, a collector's item only.

1 comments about Pathfinder Chronicles: Classic Monsters Revisited (Pathfinder Chronicles Supplement).

1. Too often in fantasy role-playing games, be they Dungeons & Dragons or another system, the most popular monsters end up being little more than clones or parodies of one another. Orcs end up being slightly tougher versions of goblins, and ogres are just bigger orcs. Classic Creatures Revisited seeks to put this problem to rest, and does so admirably.
   
   Technically, this book uses the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons rules. However, outside of a few sidebars, the book is almost entirely role-playing information and adventure ideas, meaning it can be used in any edition of D&D -- or, really, in any fantasy role-playing system. What this book offers is a chance to look at the old standards differently. Bugbears go from being big goblins to the bogeymen that hide under children's beds. Kobolds are sneaky, devious creatures that strike from the shadows using traps and stealth. Goblins are psychotic and dangerous, but somehow cute in their own gremlin-esque way. Each entry has details on a monster's culture, ecology, and how they can be fit into the campaign. While the book is intended to be used in the Pathfinder setting of Golarion, it is almost entirely generic, and can be ported over to any game.
   
   This book offers the most valuable resources of all: the chance for Game Masters to get a fresh look on creatures and new ideas for all manner of terrific adventures. From a player's perspective, it's a wonderful read and a chance to get some insight on some classic fantasy monsters. I can't recommend it highly enough.

2 comments about Exalted: Compass of Celestial Directions 3, Yu-Shan.

1. I cannot speak for others, but I was profoundly pleased with Compass of Celestial Directions III: Yu-Shan. Editing errors abound (as always with White Wolf) but the entire book makes for an enthralling read. The chapters provide a discussion of history, a discussion of Yu-Shan itself, and sufficient material to run a campaign entirely within the Heavenly City without getting bored or frustrated. The book culminates with a brief who's-who of the Bureau heads and other important figures, and this section is [i]rife[/i] with plot hooks and suggestions. Perhaps the only downside is that there is not more information about the various questions we might have.
   
   A very solid book. Even the delays have not ruined the flavor.



2. The book arrived VERY quickly and in perfect condition. Couldn't have asked for anything to be better.