5 comments about Savage Species: Playing Monstrous Characters (Dungeons & Dragons Supplement).

1. Well, the book starts out with a great concept- Monster races as PC's and how to balance them. It also introduces the idea of "monster class progression"- which allows one to start a beginning campaign with a "first level rakshasa" if one gets DM OK.
   
   How did this brilliant idea go so very wrong? First is the literaly scads of typos & mistakes. Nearly every "monster class" has several very significant errors (the Rakshasa does not have any natural armour listed, for instance). WotC has also failed to do any Errata on this book- so far (and it seems doubtful- see next paragraph).
   
   But worse is the timing and planning. The book was pushed as being compliant with 3.5, but after the 3.5 MM came out, it was clear that Savage Species was anything but. Thus, a fairly expensive book became mostly obsolete within months of it's publication.
   
   Still, there is an extensive system the DM can use to design his own "monster classes", and this remains useful. But the timing & errors make this book a bad buy for the player who has updated to 3.5.



2. If your playing with the 3.5 player's handbook, monster manual, and dungeon master's guide; this book is unnecessary. Because many ELs and LAs have been adjusted, and the entire system for LAs has been simplified with 3.5, this book has been rendered somewhat obsolete. It's best remaining features are some of it's example content (spells/feats/example progressions), but this book isn't going to be as helpful at a 3.5 table running a game using level adjustments.



3. Though this text is a handsome volume, packed with cool ideas and tons of crunchy bits, and moreover though I happen to like it quite a lot, it does not fully overcome the charges levelled against it, namely:

   --it is a partial rehashing of 2E's *Complete Book of Humanoids* (which is less serious than the following, since 3E is basically just a rehashing of 2E in general),

   --its unfortunate partial obsolescence (3.5E does indeed provide LA for each "playable" creature in the most recent *MM*--though *Savage Species* will ultimately consider all creatures to be "playable," whereas *MM* clearly does not), and

   --the sad fact that WotC invests what must be approaching $0 in copyediting.

   Those reservations noted, it must be said that the text opens up in 3E a new vista; instead of relying on the vanilla races of the *PH*, one can now, say, run a party of harpy infiltrators, a band of trollish barbarians, a medusa rogue, or (gods forbid it) a hive of illithids, demons, or some other uberpowerful beasties as PCs. (Though the *DMG* hints at such a vista, its suggestions proved to be unwieldy, incomplete, and generally confusing to most of us gamer-geeks.)

   The text has many virtues in this regard:

   1) new feats, spells, items, and prestige classes for monstrous folk, all generally well conceived.

   2) some fair-to-middling notes on how to run a campiagn centered on the misadventures and cross accidents inevitably encountered by a group of bugbear PCs, for instance.

   3) loads of bombass templates (these really are worthy of attention).

   4) the reconceptualization of the game system entirely in terms of class--now, everything is a matter of class--no more monster advancing by the nebulous Hit Die (but this still doesn't resolve the bizarre aspect that Hit Die never correlated with CR; recall that level in a PC class always correlates with CR--why the inconsistency?).

   5) tons and tons of statistical tables (the true value of the text). These also come with a set of guidelines to produce similar "class template" tables for any monster in the system--a very high degree of diversity for any game, which is surely a plus.

   6) the introduction of both the "half-ogre" and "anthropomorphic animal" standard PC races (very good additions to the rules).

   7) some very fine artwork

   In these respects, there is value here, but unfortunately the aforementioned problems will limit its appeal and utility.




4. It's a good aid for dungeon masters. Expecially when characters want to play something other than the standard character classes.
   Many worked out examples and lots of guidelines for setting up your own monsters as player characters.



5. The idea of playing monster pcs is really neat and interesting, but most of how to do that is covered in the monster manuals and is much easier to understand. I was a little befuddled at the many templates, which are neat unto themselves, I just don't really see spending time creating these creatures in a campaing. They are plenty of monsters and other supplemeants to create baddies for your pcs to deal with. A flying dog? Okay, so just have a dog with wings, no 'winged creature' templete really needed. Are you really going to use a gelatinous bear? Do you have the time and patience to come up with an appropiate balanced creature with all the stats and adjustmeants involved? To me, the templates are a long involved process that doesn't really lend to the creative process. A spectre lurker? Neat, but a little much for most players to accept. It was just wayy out there for the most part. Also not starting out at level one can be a bit confusing and these levels in monster are a bit much to grasp and handle. So you advance in levels, but don't get any benefit of a class until you reach 'x' level. So that means (and I'm not entirely sure on this one) you would have to play extra smart until you got your class going and what hit die would you use? 10, 12, 4? It doesn't usually say as far as the 'humanoid' is concerned. Also how would this monster character fit in? Wouldn't every civilization pretty much be afraid of them and try to kill them or run from them? It doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun and lots of requiremeants and stats and rules to keep up can seem like a nightmare propisition. I really felt like it was a rehash of the monster manual and the prestiage classes are a little to esoteric in a diverse game world. But if you just have a hankering to play monster characters, then perhaps this will help you, but otherwise they are other supplemeants to introduce you to various races that are d20 in nature and also done by wotc that you could include in your campaing without upsetting balance and causing confusion. I mean, Palladium fantasy has TONS of races that would fit right into your world, with of course appropiate adjustmeants with the stats and that is just one example, I'm sure there are plenty more that would fit the bill. This one, in my estimation, is like a steak that is just overcooked.

1 comments about Swords and Scimitars: Field of Glory The Crusades Army List (Field Of GLory).

1. While not my favorite period, like all the other supplements to the Fields of Glory series by Osprey, it is well done and includes information from their books series (Elite) throughout. Designed for a 4' by 6' battle area and 15mm to 28mm figures. If you like the Crusades, get it.

5 comments about Scion 1 Hero (Scion).

1. Scion:Hero
   
   Roleplaying games are facilitators of imagination. You immerse yourself in a charachter in a certain genre of fiction; from high fantasy, to post apocalyptic science fiction. This charachter is typically a protaganist in a story that unfolds in real time. Most people reading this probably know these basics...
   
   When people think roleplaying they typically think Dungeons & Dragons. High fantasy that has roots in Tolkiens LOTR for it's various settings. But lately World of Darkness and White Wolf Studios are becoming just as much a common name, due to the settings of casting the role of the charachters as the typical antagonists. Spirits, Vampires, Werewolves...pulling from various sources they created there own genre of personal horror.
   
   
   This is nothing like either. This is Scion.
   
   The setting is contemp modern day. Your charachter is a son or daughter of a God or Goddess from Greek, Egyptian, Norse, Aztec, Voudoun, or Japanese cultures. They Gods have been busy away from the earth fighting the escaped Titans of Greek Myth fame. Your divine heritage drives you to the Heroes that the world has been lacking, as the fates pull you to where you are needed. With roots in the primal stories of the most evocative mythologies the stories this game allows you to create and take part in are intense.
   
   Highly recommended.



2. Scion is like cable tv. In order to get what you want, you have to buy a package that contains a lot of stuff you don't want, don't need, will probably never use and which only serves to drive up the price of the total package. Ideally the Scion manuals would consist of a player's handbook, a separate Storyteller's guide, and maybe a softcover campaign pack. Unfortunately that's not how the Scion books are packaged. Instead all three of those elements are combined into a set of three books which are divided based on power level rather than target audience. What that means is that if you're a player, you've still got to buy all three books, with a combined list price of over $100, just to get the full 200-250 pages of information (100-150 pages from Scion: Hero and 50 pages each from Scion: Demigod and Scion: God) that players need. That's not very good value for your money. For Storytellers the situation is a little better. Most Storytellers will find about half of every book useful because they'll be getting an additional 200-250 pages of information aimed at helping them run an ongoing Scion campaign. Still not that good a value in my opinion.
   
   So what about the other half of the content in the Scion books? Well, each book begins with around 40 pages of mediocre fiction that you'll probably read once, if you read it at all, and then never look at again. The rest is a mini-campaign. The inclusion of this campaign completely baffles me. Its like the folks at White Wolf don't understand how roleplaying groups work. While its customary for RPGs to include a few sample adventures that GMs and Storytellers can use as a basis for creating their own adventures, I've never seen anyone devote half of every game manual to a campaign and with good reason. First, there's absolutely no reason for anyone in the group to have a copy of the campaign except the Storyteller. Its a waste of money for every person in the group to buy a copy. Second, campaigns are one shot items. You use them once and then discard them because you really can't run your players through the same adventures over and over again. So who wants to buy a campaign packaged in an expensive hardcover format? Finally, this particular campaign assumes your players will want to use the characters provided instead of creating their own which is simply unrealistic. I've never seen players opt to play pre-generated characters unless the characters in question are popular figures from some favorite book, movie or television show which these aren't. What's really annoying about the campaign is that there's so much other material that White Wolf could have included in its place that would have been of more use to players and Storytellers alike. More Pantheons, more Purviews, more Boons at every level, guidelines for setting Scion campaigns in different time periods ranging from the distant past to the far future, and so on.
   
   If you're a Storyteller, you'll want to buy all three of the Scion books. And be prepared to spend a lot of time flipping back and forth between books while you try to remember where a certain bit of information is located. If you're a player, I can really only recommend buy Scion: Hero. The other two books just don't contain enough player information to justify spending a lot of money on them.



3. This book is a prologue from Scion Trilogy...
   
   Different from any White-wolf games, Scion gives hope to achieve...
   
   So, for a powergamer RPG pen n paper, Scion is a must play games...



4. Scion: Hero is the first installment of the Scion series, to include Demi-God, God and soon to be released Companion and Ragnarok.
   
   I'm going to break down the book by a few categories, feel free to use the headings to guide you, or read it all.
   
   Presentation:
   The book is beautiful. The cover art and depiction of the deities is wonderful and illustrations throughout highlight scenes of gameplay and are generally entertaining. Very similiar to the new World of Darkness books.
   
   Concept:
   The gods of old (Japanese, Aztec, Loa/Voodo, Greek/Roman, Egyptian, Norse) have been preparing for war with the recently escaped Titans whom they'd sealed away for thousands of years. In step with their preparations the gods of come to the material world to create children endowed with some of their god like power and the ability to transcend their own human limitations to god hood. These concepts should be pretty familiar to someone who has read American Gods by Neil Gaiman or who has played Exalted. Some of the other themes of the game include coming to terms with your divine heiritage, creating a legend for yourself as you grow in power, and the idea that fate has a purpose for all of the scions.
   
   System:
   The system is -VERY- similar to the Exalted 2nd edition system. It is not terribly unlike the new WoD system and with a working knowledge of old or new world of darkness the game should be a breeze to pick up, combat works differently and the difficulties are set and different but otherwise it's very simliar. The combat system can slow things down a bit, but my group has never had any real complaints. I would recommend that your players (and you for NPCs) write down dice pools and page numbers to help speed things up. As you become more familiar with the ins and outs combat speeds up dramatically- sure it's probably still slower than D&D 3.5 but it's also epic and entertaining instead of the same old grind (IMO).
   
   "Powers": This section is a quick snapshot of the cool abilities that Scions have. First, Scions get their powers from their ever growing Legend, which is both a trait and an expendable value of points. Legend allows players to fuel their powers and also add dice to rolls, reroll, or improve defense value (an armor class of sorts). Willpower works much like it does in other White Wolf systems, and virtues can also aid the character.
   
   'Super powers' if you will are sort of divided among 3 areas.
   The first of which are boons. Boons are special powers relating to certain purviews (Sky, Earth, Death, Moon, etc) and at this phase the power's aren't PHENOMINAL but are very handy and if used by a clever player can make quite a difference.
   
   Next are Knacks. Players get Epic Attributes (Herculean Strength for example) and in addition to getting bonuses for sheer strength, wits, charm etc they get super human knacks associated with the attribute.
   
   Lastly are birthrights. These include animal companions (i.e. Pegasus), followers (spartan warriors), guides(obi-wan kenobi), and relics. Relics seemed the most interesting and most important. They have two ratings, one might improve the over all accuracy or damage of a weapon, while the other allows the Scion to channel purviews and use their boons. An example would be a katana that allows access to death and fire puriews that is also enhanced in accuracy and damage.
   
   
   Here's a few quick guides as well
   If You've Played...
   
   Dungeons and Dragons- this game will seem off because of the modern settings and in general White Wolf games allows for more creative and innovative playing (and story telling). Instead of just throwing fireball to wipe out a horde of enemies try collapsing the ceiling, instead of just attacking the game rewards you for being descriptive in your actions.
   
   Exalted- Some people call Scion Exalted modern, which isn't too difficult to see. Instead of different parts of the solar system representing deities it's the gods of old (see above) and you won't be AS impressive to start with but it adds to the excitement.
   
   World of Darkness- The system will be a bit different unless you have Exalted under your belt, but shouldn't take long to figure out. The game can easily catch the darker themes presented in WoD but can be more light hearted as well, playing to a more heroic crowd than sulking goths but that's not to say the game is all sunshine and rainbows- Scion can be a very dark game indeed.
   
   In conclusion Scion is a great game with diverse attractions and easily correctable flaws. Pace of combat can be corrected with experience and attentiveness, extra Pantheons can be found as fan published materials on the scion wiki and story ideas can be drawn from numerous sources.



5. Ever wanted to be a Hero in modern life?
   Well at least you can play one with SCION:Hero.
   
   This awesome and direct game is a kind of a new RPG material. In it you are described as a child of a God that has the potential to uncover its Legend in the world and save it from attacks of hidden mythic monsters. The book is full of powers, knacks, epic attributes, ideas, stunts, relics and cool ideas as how to develop your starting human into a full fledged Hero.
   
   Imagine jumping several yads in a single hop, throwing sewer crates with ease, been the most beautiful (or dreadful) person in a Red Carpet Event, controlling the wind or breathing underwater, sustaining massive damage, saving people, commanding with your presence or voice, etc..
   
   Definitely a MUST for the Hero-kind of players who want a quick system and a easy storytelling feel.

5 comments about Races of Destiny (Dungeon & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying).

1. Races of Destiny is the second book in the series, which started with Races of Stone, and which will be continued by Races of the Wild. This book presents humans, along with half-orcs and half-elves, and also a brand new race, the illumians.
   
   For most players and DMs the chapter on humans, half-elves and half-orcs will not have too much to offer (this is the weak point of the book). However, those who are new to the D&D game, and especially young gamers will find it interesting and useful.
   
   The next chapters offer more for players and DMs alike. The new race, the illumians are really interesting, and I just know that most players will create at least one illumian character to find out the unique versatility of the race.
   
   The chapter on other races is a matter of taste, if you like exotic races, you will like it, if you do not like them, you will find it unuseful.
   
   Prestige classes, new feats and spells are pretty good, and useful. Together with the chapter on illumians, these chapters will be the only ones that older gamers will use.
   
   The chapter on medieval fantasy urbane settings is mostly for new DMs, but it can give new ideas even for veteran DMs. One should never be too old to learn.
   
   Overall, this book is more useful for new gamers, but old gamers will also find interesting things among the pages. It is very difficult to write a fantasy handbook that addresses new and old gamers alike, and this book is a good example of a half-success.



2. The first section of this book, a discussion of human culture is an interesting and well thought out essay about humans in the fantastic culture of a D&D world. This part of the book shines in being useful to everyone and I was excited because humans are often overlooked for these sorts of manuals.
   
   The second section does the same for Half-elves and Half-orcs but without the excitement or engaging writing of the human section. I think (in my opinion) the trouble here is the brevity of this section and focusing on both races. As primary core rules races, this was disappointing.
   
   Consider the next section, which covers a new human variant race, the illumians. This is the largest section of the book focused on one topic and the work here is excellent, but since this is a variant, and a new addition that is not nearly as important as the core information, why spend the pages they did on all this information when they skimped on so many other things? This for me is the most disappointing aspect of this book. The new race is certainly interesting but it takes away from the books focus, which should be on the expanding of options to established parts of the game.
   
   The following section skims some other races and gives almost no more detail than the monster manual already has and really seemed uninspired.
   
   The feats are interesting and useful for players. The racial themes are expanded and aided by these choices.
   
   The prestige classes are all interesting but suffer from the problem of being too narrow for entry. Each one is so devoted to a specific class or race or place that they must undergo a lot of changes to be useful to most campaigns. I will be using several, but only with considerable adaptation.
   
   The spells generate some interesting ideas for city themed play, but barbaric humans are almost entirely overlooked here (as in the rest of the book).
   
   Finally, the section on cities. This added almost nothing to the worth of the book. I appreciate DM'ing advice but this information rehashed what tons of other books have already done (as well as a free web enhancement right on the Wizard's site).
   
   Overall, I feel the book is worth buying, and as usual, you can tell the authors really enjoy their work and care about what they are doing. I don't really agree with all the choices as being the best for their consumers, but the quality of what they do produce is excellent.



3. Were there some gems? Certainly. Were those gems worth what I paid? NO. (And, I bought it here with a significant discount). Far too much 'fluff", and hardly any crunch. Tons of fluff on humans and half-races; which is non-campaign specific, and thus nigh worthless to many.
   
   One new race which is complex, came out of nowhere, and is nigh incomrehensible. Why?
   
   I do love the human destiny feats. These were a long time due, IMHO. Some PrC's of interest, a couple spells, and another feat or two. Hmm, that's maybe a chapter.
   
   But, oh WotC, WotC- ye fooled me once now. No longer will I buy without a careful lookie-loo. You need to remember you have a core of loyal customers that will often pre-order and buy any core material you come out with. You can't abuse that trust. I think you did so with this book.
   
   Should you buy it? Well, the gems are there. If you have one guy in your group with deep pockets, and he takes advantage of the deep discount here- then sure, your group should have one to share. But it is hardly a "must buy".



4. WOTC offers more options for your PCs. The races books are a must have for Living Greyhawk writers and DMs but for everyone else its a nice to have if you play any of the races of destiny but if your more into dwarves and elves than you can skip this book for now.



5. Describing humans as a fantasy race faces certain hurdles. This book clears none of them except avoiding too many real world ethnic stereotypes. Humans are basically viewed through the biases of Western civilization and have little essence compared to the other races in the game. Illumians are a fairly interesting addition, humans whose lives revolve around knowledge and magical symbols. Little worthwhile is added about half-orcs and half-elves. Aasimar, tieflings and the like do not get expanded at all from their Monster Manual descriptions. Mongrelfolk get an unwanted, nonsensical rewrite. The book includes yet another version of the Half-Ogre, this one fairly balanced at LA +2.
   
   In the chapter Campaigns of Destiny, I would expect to find an exploration of the questions and opportunities raised by various sections of the book. It begins with a description of cities and cityfolk, cities being dominated, in the traditional D&D game, by humans. There are also some pre-made NPCs of various races and professions, such as a human blacksmith and an Illumian cabal guard. And that's it. I'm not sure what all belongs in a chapter titled Campaigns of Destiny, but I had hoped for more than a town to buy potions in and some encounter tables.
   
   I might have expected to see a section talking about the idea of human ascendency and the waning of other humanoids. Perhaps a description of societal fringes might have helped position half-elves, half-orcs, aasimar, and tieflings in the campaign. A few pages might have been devoted to the throughtful creation of human cultures and an exploration of national conflict among humans as a source of drama.
   
   This book is really only useful for running games in urban, cosmopolitan settings or adding Illumians. It actually adds very little to playing a human and offers little in the way of guidance as to what makes humans a race of destiny.

5 comments about Fantasy Football For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies)).

1. I have always been curious about just what is fantasy football, and have passed up a few opportunities to join in because I lacked the confidence to join a league. Martin Signore spells out all of the ins the outs the dos and the don'ts in a very easy and understandable way. I can't wait for the season to start and hone in my newfound skills!



2. The author REALLY knows his stuff as oppossed to some of the other writers of "for dummies" books! He truly has a love for the subject and it shows!
   
   Highly recommended!
   
   
   :)



3. If you are thinking about playing fantasy football or even if you played a little last year and want to improve those basic skills, get this book! It is a great introduction to fantasy football. It covers everything to get you started including where to play online and look online for information on players. Many of the tips are exactly what you need to draft, manage and improve your team for a winning season.
   
   After reading Fantasy Football for Dummies, it is obvious that Martin Signore has played the game for many years and his love of the hobby shines through. Once again, the winning "dummies" format makes it easy. I am amazed at how much information he provides. Martin even discusses Auction leagues which many of todays FF books ignore. He hits all the right techniques and even includes some advanced draft strategies.
   
   I usually find the "part of tens" pages in a dummies book tedious, but Martin has provided a great Top 10 list of mistakes to avoid and perhaps even more importantly ten fixes to make to your team after draft day. The draft is not the end but instead should be the starting point for a championship team. You should constantly try to improve your team through trades and/or the waiver wire. A great manager can always look back and point out a significant improvement during the season.
   
   This is definitely the book of choice for anyone who wants an introduction to the greatest hobby of all time, Fantasy Football.
   
   Sam Hendricks, author of "Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football" and "Fantasy Football Almanac"



4. Great Book. Taught my husband a few things about Fantasy Football that he didn't know and he has been playing for years. A must have for any wife who wants to learn what occupies hours of their husband's time.



5. If like me you have never played Fantasy football before this book is a must.
   It explains in clear easy to understand language the way to go about drafts, run your team etc.
   Anyone who is playing on Yahoo will find it especially useful as it is written around the Yahoo format (other leagues are covered as well).
   A good buy at the price & big help if you want to get maximum fun out of your 1st season.

5 comments about The Complete Tarot Kit.

1. I absolutely love this set. I bought it as a starter kit two years ago and still use the Rider-Waite deck and the information in the book, although I have other decks. I didn't want or like Crowley's Thoth deck (not that there's anything wrong with it, but I gave it away) but the kit is well worth it for the information, techniques and layouts. The journal was especially helpful both as a record and as a study aid, particularly when I was starting out and still getting a feel for the cards. There are some interpretations that are different than what you will see in other books, and I have modified some of the suggested practices for my own use; really, anyone using an oracle will develop a personal style over time. Still, I recommend this to any interested beginner. It would also make a nice gift.



2. This set comes with two of the most commonly known and respected tarot decks: Crowley and Waite. However, they are printed on mediocre stock and are quite small. This can be useful for an on the go, not easily missed deck should the cards be damaged but it also makes the symbolism of the cards themselves difficult to appreciate. The backs of the cards are also a disappointment, made easy to tell if a face down card is reversed or not. This destroys the sense of overall discovery when one has some idea of what to expect on that alone.
   
   Additionally, the book is highly misleading. This oversimplifies Tarot and gives horrible advice- such as ignoring reversed cards. Susan Levitt may have meant well, but her advice runs completely counter to trying to learn to truly use the cards.
   
   Final advice: save your money. For what this will cost you, you can buy two full sized decks- one waite, one crowley- and get a more sensible book in the little pamphlet types they put in for basic divination.



3. im just now learning the way of tarot...and this kit is really helpful although i do like the Rider deck better then the other one that came with... this is a great starter kit if your just learning its very helful in many ways...tells you meaning of cards how to set them up etc...and even comes with a personal journal...5 stars



4. [...]
   This kit is wonderful for those of us just starting to learn Tarot card reading. The card decks fit well in your hands, because they are standard size cards. The book is easy to read, yet very informative. This kit includes charts you can use for the card reading lay-out, and even includes a cheat sheet with the card meanings at a glance. What makes this kit even more outstanding is the card reading journal, where you study, and write in your personal thoughts and progress. This Tarot Kit is by far the best study guide, and with so many tools to use, you don't need to buy anything else. Everything you need is included!



5. I bought this kit for my teen who is interested in learning about tarot. The comparison of the cards is a little vague in parts, but it helps to show that there are differences in decks, that no one deck is "the right way." also we liked the size of the cards. They are the size of ordinary playing cards, so that for people with smaller hands (some women, and children) they are more "hand friendly." I would recommend this set for someone interested in learning more about tarot. I probably wouldn't recommend it to someone who has a ton of decks, this is definitely a beginner set.

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.

5 comments about Mysteries of the Moonsea (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Forgotten Realms Supplement).

1. Please, do not buy this book if you are looking for a core book. Do not make the same mistake I made.
   This is a good book if you are looking for an adventure book. But that is it. Do not spect a lot of descriptions, you will get mostly adventures, not very detailed ones but a lot of them.
   I just gave one single star to this book because it is totally mislabled.



2. As a long time follower of Zhentil Keep, the Zhentarim, and Lord Bane, I'm sure my opinion is -most- biased. But I have to say that this is one of the best sourcebooks I've read to date. As stated below, yes, this is nore a core book. However, that doesn't at all make it useless.
   
   As a player myself, I like to read up on the NPCs and lore of the Realms, and this is an amazing book for that. Covering the entire Moonsea region, this book delves into key aspects of the north, south, east, and west regions of the Moonsea. It provides maps of the cities, though not to large amounts of detail, and offers up new NPCs; in Zhentil Keep, it gives you the Slave Master of the city, an Erinyes working eagerly under Fzoul Chembryl's guidance, and the dottering old Evil head of the mage's society.
   
   All in all? A worthwhile read!



3. This book is different from most of the other supplements that Wizards of the Coast has released, and I have to say that it was a very refreshing change of pace. The best way to categorize this book would be to say that it's halfway between a regional sourcebook and a campaign module.
   
   Unlike the other regional books, it doesn't contain a random hodgepodge of information about NPCs, locations, Prestige Classes, new spells, and so on. Instead, you don't have new Prestige Classes, feats, and spells at all, which is just as well, since I think there's more than enough of all three. The book also has much narrower scope, focusing on only the four main cities in the Moonsea region and their surrounding areas. Again, this is just as well, since at least half of the material in my other regional books sit unused.
   
   And unlike the other published modules, the adventures presented in Mysteries of the Moonsea are very loosely connected. Most are nicely self-contained, and have just enough encounters for a party to face in a single day. Each adventure presents a few possible hooks to draw the players in, and I found that it was very easy to tailor them to fit the flavor and motivations of the players closely.
   
   Overall, I think that this book strikes the perfect balance between being a generic regional book that puts most of the work on the DM, and a published module that railroads players.



4. Perfect solution for busy dungeon masters that have no time to prepare whole adventure. It arrived few days ago, I've read just one chapter and complete quest is nearly prepared. As was written earlier, this book is not like other regional books - this one contains several adventures located in four part of Moonsea region guiding your PC from 1st to 16th level. I really look forward to next game session.



5. As a DM I'm getting a TON of mileage out of this book. It contains 37 mini adventures based around 4 cities on the Moonsea region of Faerun. The adventures can be linked together into a super adventure or played separately. Perfect for when your group just wants a side quest or little tomb or something to raid outside the larger campaign. Just pop one of these settings in the middle of the woods as they're traveling and you'll have a more diverse, fleshed out world. The cool thing is each of the mini adventures can be wiped out in just a couple short hours and of course you can alter them however you want to contain things they need or NPC's you want them to meet. Since it's set in Moonsea I highly recommend the Sons of Gruumsh adventure for level 5 characters to run alongside this as a larger adventure since tyour PC's will be in the town of Melvaunt and adventuring in the wilds of Thar anyway. One of the most USEABLE adventure books/regional books I have seen. It takes a great load off the DMs back. I just wish they made more like this...

5 comments about Eyes of the Lich Queen (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Eberron Setting).

1. So far I would have to say that this is the best published Eberron adventure out there. The first adventure paths starting with Shadows of the Last War were adventures in railroading if you ask me. Eyes of the Lich Queen is much better as Nicolas Logue is at the helm. You might know him since he wrote some great adventures for Dungeon Magazine.



2. This seems to be one in the latest trend of WoTC adventure products for its various gameworlds. Once again, this is a set of adventures that make up a mini-campaign taking the players through various levels. It uses the latest formatting design from WoTC. That is, having encounters in a separate area, at the end of the chapters, complete with maps. Honestly, it is confusing at first, having to jump back and forth between the non-combat description and the tactical scenarios. It takes maybe two sessions to get the hang of it, in my opinion.
   
   The adventure itself is very intriguing to read, and hopefully this will translate to the gaming table. The encounters are challenging, and the authors seem to have made very tough, and memorable opponents instead of your basic cookie-cutter monsters. There are a few typos and omissions in the text, which unfortunately, bring a good quality product slightly down.
   
   In summary though, well worth purchasing. Plenty of surprises for players, and so far, loads of fun to run.



3. This is a well written adventure with some extremely good ideas on DMing and keeping the story moving. My only real problem with it is the price and the fact it is a soft bound book. If I wanted to overpay for something I would have bought this at a comic book shop.



4. Eyes of the Lich Queen is a campaign/adventure book designed for the Eberron setting although with a little creativity and work, it can really be dropped into any fantasy campaign of your choosing if you do not play in Eberron. You'll require all of the standard books to play. The adventure is designed for four 5th level characters although five or six may be more reasonable. This is a good ol' fashioned quest adventure with the players seeking an artifact called The Dragon's Eye. The ancient artifact was created during the age of Demons and its said the Eye can give the holder total domination over dragons. The dragons are none to happy about someone finding the artifact that had been considered mere legend. They set out to find the Eye for safekeeping. Meanwhile, the lich queen Vol is dead set on finding the Eye for herself and has set her agents about finding the artifact.
   
   The adventure is plated out over four parts and at 126 pages, is a fairly lengthy adventure, designed to take the player characters from 5th to 9th level by the time the campaign is finished. The journey will take the group over 5,000 miles in their travels although DM's are encouraged to give players a sense of the vast distances they are traveling without bogging them down with random encounters every step of the way. The designers are looking for an epic feel to their adventure, not a tedious one. The players will be drawn into their adventure with the promise of a great treasure, hired by a Silver Dragon named Sur'Kil, who will appear to them in the form of a middle-aged human.
   
   The first target is the Temple of Kha'shazul, located in the jungles of Q'barra, and home to various tribes of Lizard Folk. Sur'Kil speaks only of ancient relics to be found within the temple but does not mention the Eye specifically. With the ancient temple is where the players will first hear mention of the Eye and, should they survive the temple, report their findings to Su'Kil. Sur'kil then sends the players on the path of another ancient artifact hunter who sought the Eye. Next up the players go island hopping, encounterin pirates, and eventually finding themselves at the prison fortress of Dreadhold, searching for an old gnome who has important symbols and notes tattooed into his skin that will lead the players to their next clue on the trail of the Dragon's Eye.
   
   Like the other adventure books, Eyes of the Lich Queen presents the locations in full, and in brief overview, with the specifics of each encounter area coming after that. The thing I like most about the book is the sense of wonder and scope of the entire adventure. This isn't just a jungle crawl but a truly epic, world-spanning quest to exotic locations, cities, and yes, dungeon settings as well. There's also a strong sense of intrigue as well. The players are not only pitted against the creatures they encounter along the way, but also against the forces of the Lich Queen Vol and her deadly agents who believe the players may have already located the eye. Of course, it will take a deft DM to really bring this all home to the players and hopefully, yours is one!
   
   There's a lot to do in Eyes of the Lich Queen and it need not be followed in linear fashion...again, a skilled DM can really make this a great time for the players. There are scores of maps in the book! I personally don't play Eberron, but as I said, it's no big deal to drop this into, say, a Forgotten Realms campaign or even one of your own designs. One Beef...I'd have liked to seen this at around $20 rather than $25.
   
   REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON



5. This is a great twist for Dragonmark and non Dragonmark races alike. The four pc's I am running through it are loving it. The new encounter system is great. You don't need to lug around all your monster books, it has everything you need to know in the book itself. From tactics to different scenarios, depending on what the pc's do. This adventure will easily take characters from 5th to 9th. Keeps the pc's rockin with little down time.

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