1 comments about Shadowrun: On the Run (FPR26003) (Shadowrun).

1. It does what it says, for players new to Shadow Run 4th edition, or Shadowrun in general, it has encounters that are designed to step the players through different parts of the rules. Very complete. I like it.

1 comments about GURPS Cops.

1. This isn't a review, per se; it is a description. Take the stars with that grain of salt.
   
   Cops is about portraying a police officer, detective, or federal agent in a role-playing game setting. The tone is dramatic (think NYPD Blue or Alien Nation), but cinematic play (Lethal Weapon, Supercop) is possible too.
   
   Chapters include:
   
   A short history of policing and police duties
   
   Campaign set-up, departments, sample police agencies (US, UK, Japan, Soviet model), types of officers and agents, and adventure ideas.
   
   Character templates, equipment, and notes on adapting GURPS to a police adventure or campaign.
   
   Typical adversaries, crimes, and other adventure ideas.
   
   A guide to solving crimes including basic crime scene investigation, interviews, and interrogations.
   
   A guide to trials in an RPG context, also a quick guide to doing time, jailbreaks, and extradition.
   
   Four densely packed pages of sources and recommended reading/viewing.
   
   Cops was published in December, 2001. It was in final editing on 9/11 and does not address the significant changes in policing caused by the war on terror, the Patriot Act, and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
   
   The book is designed as an RPG supplement, but may also be useful to writers and those interested in police and crimes.

1 comments about RuneQuest: Companion (Runequest).

1. Mongoose has revitalized this great system, the 2nd most popular after d20 and a nice change from that system when you weary of its unrealistic hit point system and city-leveling magic. RQ has always been a more subtle and more realistic system (and hence more lethal). Some tweaks were made, most of which enhance play balance, but old fans of RQ will have no trouble using their old material with the new. The new methods to resist magic and poison through new skills representing that ability does away with the Power vs. Power mechanic that I never liked, and Hero Points mirror some of the better parts of level-based systems. For purists, you can completely jettison the Hero Point mechanic if you wish, and no one will be the wiser.
   
   I recommend RQ to those who want a change from D20 and to those who have never played an RPG. RQ uses a simple percentage system to represent skills, with critical chances derived from the level of skill. Damage really hurts -- your hit points come from your health (Constitution) and how much of you there is (Size), meaning that Giant is always going to be able to absorb more damage than you. Your ability to dodge, parry, and otherwise avoid getting hit does go up, however, to make you more survivable as you gain experience.
   
   I would still prefer a beefier magic system that lets RQ mages be somewhat more useful. I'm toying with house rules to do that and would like to see something official on this topic soon.
   
   Overall, I'm very pleased with this tune up of an old favorite.

1 comments about Throal: The Dwarf Kingdom (Earthdawn Roleplaying).

1. This is a great book for all Eartdawn fans. The book is wery throughout, and covers a lot of difrent aspect. From the early history of the Throal kingdom to the dayly life of the common dwarf. The difrent fractions, noble houses and important caracters is also introduced. The book has a lot of small adventuring ideas, and that is great for giving your players a feeling with the kingdom. I have rated it 5 starts, because it is a tresure trove of information.

No comments about The Cairo Guidebook: A Guide to Cairo in the 1920s (Call of Cthulhu).

3 comments about *OP Convention Book: Iteration X (Mage: The Ascension).

1. I'll preface this by noting that I have only skimmed this book, reading the bits that automatically interest me.

   However, what I've seen impresses me. The first convention books (especially _ItX_, _Prog_, and _VE_) seemed to have been designed solely with the idea that the Technocracy should be made out to be soulless and distateful as choices for PCs. _Guide to the Technocracy_ turned all that around, and ever since then, I have been waiting desparately for the new series of Convention books.

   _ItX_ delivers. It's one-person narration, but the one person seems to be broad-minded enough that you can take his views as being somewhat repesentative of the convention. The authors seem to be trying to play down the whole "soulless machines" idea and playing up the "engineer" idea, bring the convention back around to its roots from _Sorcerer's Crusade_.

   On the whole, an excellent book. Highly reccommended to anyone who is interested in the Techs. I hated ItX, but this book makes them interesting, and (more importantly) playable.




2. i found this book at my store and was immeadently smitten by it, i had allways loved implants, so i buy it and i go into more details. it answers almost every question out there about the Clockwork Convention.

   this book is awsome and is a must by for anyone who is interested in The Technocracy in the whole.




3. The Clockwork Convention has been reworked, for the better! Not only are Iteration X characters more 3-Dimensional, the entire philosophy of the convention has returned to its roots. They are once again the men and women who are out to empower humanity. Though the convention is still the Technocracy's main source of firepower, they have expanded their horizons significantly. In the first Iteration X book, it seemed as though the human spirit was lost in the machine. In this book, the spirit has been found. I highly recommend this book to Technocracy fans with Rose-colored mirrorshades. We are not the adversaries of humanity, but the ones who empower it.

3 comments about A Light in the Belfry (Ravenloft Audio CD Adventure).

1. For the DM it will jerk a tear in your first reading...for the players - they will have to work through it - then afterwards they will be a bit in confusion saying "Did he???? Oh that's terrible!!!" Anyone with a heart will feel the tragedy of this game



2. This damn thing has everything that will make any DM and PC go mad! - and not only... You will evoke my words when you will hear the CD playing. It has everything that a good adventure needs: spooky background sound tracks and FX, nice plot and senario, mood setting, nonstop terror, a great range of beasts to haunt you forever, it is adaptable for any setting (even if the DM knows nothing about Ravenloft), lots of tragedy -lets see how really strong you are, mystery... and more, and more that cannot be described with simple words. A MUST FOR TRUE AD&D PLAYERS.BUY IT! BUT...BEWARE-



3. Maybe I simply have VERY demanding players, but they seemed to enjoy it, simply not as much as other adventures I've them through. The sounds on the CD, while very nice for mood are all very short. The repeat option only works if you have a CD player thats easy to get to while you're playing so you don't hear the "turn the page" sound when the sound is about to repeat. If you have the time, then you can edit the tracks to loop on a mixer, and then copy them onto a CD. Unfortunately I don't have access to one, and it took me away from the moment of the adventure trying to use the sounds. Also, the first part of the CD is simply an introduction to a decent story line, which really just ends up being something to listen to. My players lost interest in the intro, I guess they'd rather hear it from my mouth. For the most part, we ended up dropping the CD and playing the adventure itself, which was very enjoyable. I'm not wanting this review to sound negative, because the adventure itself was nice, I just thought I should talk about the CD part since this is the only Ravenloft adventure that I've seen with that addition.

No comments about Beyond The Wall: Pictland & The North (Pendragon).

4 comments about Resident Evil 2: Unauthorized Game Secrets (Secrets of the Games Series.).

1. Unofficial s.guides dont work, they have inadiquit and/or wrong information. Only get official s.guides trust me.



2. I felt that this strategy guide was great! It had great maps for all the areas, detailed item locations and descriptions, and even a breif though very helpful walkthrough for the B scenarios. I'm a die hard for anything with the Resident Evil name on it, and this strategy guide didn't dissapoint me. Anyone who says otherwise must need a complete-straight from the programmer strategy guide, because they can't be much of a player.



3. It's unafficial, most of the cheats don't work, and it's an over all disapointment!Take my word for , it's not that great!



4. Prima Games did well on their Syphon Filter, Pokemon Game Boy, and Silent Hill strategy guides as well as their Breath of Fire III guide. However, they bombed on this one. It stinks! It has a crappy-crappy $$#@!^%$ guide for the "B" scenarios and lots of it are off. The walkthrough's good, but everything else sucks. $##@!&^%

2 comments about *OP WoD: Gypsies (Vampire).

1. I had high hopes for this book and although it truly didn't live up to my expectations I'm still glad that I got it before it vanished from the shelves. If you like the World of Darkness genre this is a classic giving you information on a group of mortals (though partially awakened ones) that often seem to know more than the supernaturals (Kindred, Garou, Mages, etc.) put together. It's nice to see the humans get the upper hand occasionally. It also give some info about the Ravnos vampires, and Silent Strider werewolves so if you're into these factions it warrants a look. The major drawback is the absence of an experience chart and a few inconsistancies in the rules (but, hey, it's White Wolf we're talking about here). Gypsies are a great way to add mystery and mysticism to a game without having to add a good deal of power. Let's hope White Wolf puts out a second edition...or at least reprints this one.



2. I loved this book. It has so much stuff about Gypsies and their powers I recommend it to anyone. The world of darkness just isn't complete without these characters and I think anybody playing a Gangrel or Ravnos is nuts if they don't first make their character a Gypsy with these rules and then Embrace their character (I think it's a 2 point merit on the Ravnos web site, WELL worth it). The Evil Eye is particularly nasty, especially used in a group of Gypsies.