No comments about The Clone Wars: A Star Wars Miniatures Booster Expansion (Star Wars Miniatures Product).

3 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. This book has all sorts of great details on monsters and their cultures. It gives you tons of interesting hooks to use to explain behavior and explanations for various "givens" about traditional D&D monsters.
   
   There are few game mechanics, but the ones that are in the book, such as the feats for bugbears, do a lot to reinforce the background material in the monster's descriptions.
   
   Speaking of the bugbears . . . while its fun to have goblin songs and kobold phrases and even games that ogres play, the bugbears are really inspired in this book, and retain the classic role of the bugbear while putting it in a brilliant, scary context.
   
   Highly recommended for any DM what wants to know why his monsters do what they do.



3. The title of my review is quoted from the back page of this book, and is one I wholeheartedly agree with. I remember the first times I ever played D&D and the sense of danger that came with running into ANYTHING. As time has gone on, many of the 'early monsters' that characters run into become little more than XP generators and necessary filler on the way to the big things.
   
   Classic Monsters Revisited tries to change that by providing more background to some of these classic monsters. First, I'll explain though why the book only gets 4 stars from me (probably closer to 4 1/2, but not close enough to 5 to allow for rounding up). As alluded to above, this book is really about the 'early creatures' that players will run into. So there are 6 monsters covered that are Challenge Rating 1 or lower (Goblins, Hobgoblins, Orcs, Kobolds, Lizardmen, and Gnolls). The rest are the Minotaur, Bugbear, Troll, and Ogre. The emphasis on the 'cannon fodder' races, combined with D&D 3rd edition's method of 'leveling up' the NPC races means that most of these monsters can remain challenging for the players for quite some time. But I wouldn't have minded a slightly more varied group of creatures power level wise (giants replacing one of the others) and even some classic 'non-humanoid' creatures. While their sections could be shorter, coming up with interesting oozes, cubes, spiders, etc would have added some variety.
   
   The above said, I do think this was a great book. There's very little crunch. There are a couple of new feats for one or two of the races, there's the racial template (with usually a few variants described in the rules - though they don't get their own templates, the rule changes to the main template are just described with each variant), and the Orcs get a bonus for fighting within range of their 'battle standard'.
   
   Instead you get an Overview, Ecology, Habitat and Society, Campaign Role, and a section on where they are found and what they tend to be doing in Golarion (the 'Pathfinder' campaign setting). Some of these are more interesting than others. My favorites were the Goblins (a strong touch of "Gremlins" was added), Bugbears (they get a bit of Freddy Kreuger + Monster in the Closet or Under the Bed), Lizardmen (they feel a bit Native American or Aboriginal), Gnolls (loved that the worst crime a Gnoll can commit is forcing another one to actually do work) and Kobolds (the weakest of the races seem to have the best work ethic). Even though I liked the racial backgrounds for Minotaurs and Trolls, it feels as though it would be pretty hard to create an adventure where the characters would find out that information and where it would be important other than them noticing that they're fighting all female trolls and younglings, but no adult males. Orcs, Hobgoblins and Ogres felt pretty traditional except for the strong penchant for torture and cruelty by Ogres.
   
   The book itself, if you have yet to pick up a Pathfinder product, weighs in at a pretty slim 64 pages for the price. However, the text is pretty dense, the writing is quite good, and every page is glossy and full color.
   
   If you're expecting crunch, you won't find it. If however you're interested in adding a bit of zest to the old first level recipes of "Some Kobolds here, Goblins here and an Ogre or two in the final encounter", this book might very well be just what you want.

4 comments about D20 Dark Matter (d20 Modern Supplement).

1. Did you own Alternity Dark Matter? If so, you may not need this book. It's largely a straight-forward conversion of the original Alternity Dark Matter book-- it even has the same sample scenario, "Exit 23!" I'd say about half the art was lifted from the original book.
   
   That said, the Dark Matter setting has always been really nice, and if you never bought the Alternity book, or are looking for a supported conversion, this is the book for you. In the vein of the X-Files, you and your party are working for the mysterious Hoffman Institute, investigating paranormal phenomenon and defending the ignorant humanity from supernatural threat. The "real" history of the Earth is presented, as well as the various cults and conspiracies that thrive today, hidden in the shadows. You can investigate mysteries involving traditional unknown such as Greys (Fraal), the Men in Black and the Sasquatch, or Dark Matter-specific entities such as the Kinori, the Sandmen or the many secret societies.
   
   There are three new starting occupations, rules for four non-human character species, twenty new Feats, two Advanced Classes, three Prestige Classes, a few pages of specialized equipment and...85 pages of setting, twenty or so pages of GM advice and plot hooks, and the Exit 23 adventure. They don't even give any, repeat, ANY stats for creatures, referring you to the d20 Menace Manual.
   
   All in all, it's a GOOD PRODUCT, but be aware of what it is and decide for yourself whether or not you should buy.
   
   P.S. The front and rear covers glow in the dark, and are pretty cool.



2. This is a remake of the Dark Matter book for Alternity, and it is still a fantastic gaming setting. If you like X-files or any sort of conspiracy theory alien invasion book, this is the one for you. This book incorperates magic, psi, high tech, alien species, even extra dimensional creatures all seamlessly.
   
   Reasons to buy this book:
   
   1) Fantastic new rules, feats, classes, etc. This book doesn't dissapoint there.
   
   2) Brilliant art. I know, I know, gaming isn't about the art, but this book has art second only to some high end WOD books.
   
   3) It's very true to the original Dark Matter from Alternity. I played D20 modern for years using the old Dark Matter book and transfering evertying to the D20 system. The original book is more thorough, but this one has every major thing you'll need in it, and you won't need to juggle between gaming systmes to do so.
   
   4) The timeline of the "true history of the earth" is really brilliant. All you need to do is pick a date on there, and you've got yourself an adventure. (A few years ago, we ran what we called Dark Matter 1942 and set the entire campaign in WWII at the birth of the OSS and the downfall of the Nazis who really weren't quite human...)
   
   5) The Hoffman Institute (the group your characters are supposed to work for) is well thought out, and it's founder Dr. Nakami ends up being a very interesting character when you put him in the game. Normally, I hate this type of thing and come up with my own hooks, organizations, and NPCs, but this stuff is so well done, I used it all.
   
   6) This is VERY well researched and thorough. If there is a strange place (there's a whole atlass of strange places and their histories in this book--very cool!), and odd event, or a mythological creature anywhere in the world, this book somehow manages to weave it in to it's all encompasing conspiracy. Vampires? Sure. Big foot? No problem. Gray aliens? It's got you covered. Everything to Tesla and Tanguska to the Masons and a moon base are tied in here!
   
   Weaknesses:
   
   1) The only one I can think of is a lack of enemies in a creature section. Having said that, however, most of the key creatures and aliens you'll encouter are already published in other D20 modern creature suppliments, so they're out there! Go buy the menace manual, and you'll be covered.
   
   2) The original was a real no-holds-barred gaming experience. The PCs were never safe, and even minor creatures could kill the most advanced of characters. This led to some real spooky and intense gaming moments as players were genuinely worried about their characters. The D20 translation isn't quite as nice here. Your 15th level tough character is simply NOT going to be threatened by a gun or even a Weren. Even in a fantastic setting, realism lends a lot. I'd suggest playing it in the D20 Cthulu system for some more brutal rules and less powerful characters.
   
   All in all, this is a book like no other. If you like aliens and modern day conspiracies, this book will change your games forever. I've run two full Dark Matter campaigns now, each lasting a few years, and I'm bearing up to do my third. This is, quite simply, as good as gaming gets!



3. This book gave an excellent setting, especially for any conspiracy buffs. By keeping it so varied, DMs can add whatever additions (such as arcane magic or psionics) that they wish.
   
   Also, the "True" Timeline section can easily launch several campaign ideas.
   
   Overall, a thoroughly well laid-out and thought-out book.



4. As a huge fan of the Alternity Dark Matter source book and novels I picked this up as soon as it was released. That being said if you have the Alternity version that you really don't need to pick this one up as well, it is almost the same book, just converted to the D20 rule set. It is a great source book book though and very well presented. The book is clearly laid out, presented well and easy to read. There are a good number of illustrations and little side sections that better explain some items of interest. If you are looking for a good conspiracy type campaign and don't want to go as fantasy as Urban Arcana or as true spy and the Sprycraft series then Dark Matter is for you. Try it, you won't be disappointed.

5 comments about Baldur's Gate Official Strategy Guide (Bradygames Strategy Guides).

1. This book is incredibly bad. Its mostly just the manual reprinted. Under the character section I didn't find how to make a good character, I found the exact same descriptions used in the game. People say this book is good because it doesn't hold your hand. This book just pretends your inept. The "walkthrough" was mostly the exaact same stuff that your journal gives you, with the other being the decisions that the person who played the game made.
   It just tells you some of what you need to know to beat teh game, and the rest it jsut hints at. The guide just names the side-quests, it doens't help with any of them, also everything is piled around so that you don't have a cohesive, chapter by game chapter guide, rather parts of the chapter all over the book. For crying out-loud, they made two seperate walkthroughs, neither of which is very helpful.

   Save your money, because this book is just an expensive manual.




2. This book doesn't even come close to giving away all the Baldur's Gate secrets. It seems as though it tries to help guide you without giving away too much. To me that defeats the purpose of a strategy guide. In my opinion, a strategy guide should list ALL the treasures, ALL the traps, ALL the hidden items, ALL the subplots, etc. This book doesn't, and I felt it was a waste of money. I found better strategy guides on the web.



3. Dude seriously whats up with these people and complaining about a book? First of All This Guide Is The BEst one realeased cuz like some one else said it lets you chose you own decisions and some idiot also said it didnt show how to find an ankehg plate mail, well Mr Idiot if you Had Actually Bothered To Play the game you would have found that there is a monster called just that.......no not idiot.....called ankehg and if you even maneged to kill him you would have found that you get its Shell...and once again if you had played the game you would have hear that thunderhammer smithy makes "special"armor and incase you didnt even know WHERE he Was Well He's Located In Beregost that building in the east just click on the door and open then you pay him money give him the shell wait a tenday and there ya go........and i hope this helped other people too who werent sure how to get this mail plate. And If Your Gonna Whine About A Book That This Person Maybe SO it could help you and all you do is cry well make a guide of your own then whine as much as you want if you even get to make a guide that contains 1/12th of the entire game:P So yeah to Those Interested In This Guide Give It A chance and Dont Listen to these guys who haent even tried playing every single quest i hope this was helpful to all you thinking about buying this book!:D



4. The Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn Guide by Versus is absolutely brilliant. It gives you all the secrets, tells you exactly where everything is, exactly what needs to be done to get what, how much XP you get from each quest, etc. It's nigh on perfect.
   
   By contrast, this guide for Baldur's Gate tells you next to nothing. It has a "journal" where it tells you what there sample character did. I've always found such things to be useless. You have to comb through it to find any usefuyl information. The rest of the book is better. It does give you some good information in an organized form, but it's sparse. I want a guide to give me precise maps and give me all the little details of what it takes to do what and what's worth what, etc. This guide did virtually none of that.
   
   I suppose that this guide is better than nothing, but if you're looking for a good guide for Baldur's Gate, look online. For instance, http://www.pottsland.com/baldur/ has a good collection of useful info. It's certainly far better than this guide.
   
   In short, this guide is absolutely abysmal. Don't buy it.



5. Well, from all the reviews here, I must be the only one who actually likes and uses the book. I actually liked the journal form as well as the chapter sections. It actually shows what area you should be looking in without actually telling you the exact coordinates. I always prefer to look around the game world myself than have someone tell me the exact location. It has a list of all the quests and what area to find them in. For me at least, this guide was great.

5 comments about Races of Faerun (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying, Forgotten Realms Setting).

1. This book is a great resource for any lover of Faerun and the Forgotten Realms. The background on the human subraces adds some great flavour to the Forgotten Realms! The feats and prestige classes are good. And the information about the different races of Faerun is also very helpful (particularly about the planetouched - tieflings, genasi, and aasimar).



2. It should be called SOME of the Races of Faerun. The book offers a great deal of information, however it leaves gaps here and there just so it can fill them through another volume. For the price tag of this book I feel it is a bit incomplete. It could contain a lot more info on a lot more races. If you're only looking for general information on the most prominent races of Faerun, this is for you. However it should not be considered THE source of info, as it is anything but complete and thorough.



3. This book contridicts the Forgotten Realms book written by Ed Greenwood. The elves inpertcular.
   The book is put together well, but WoC should get their sources straightened out before they publish them



4. This book is quite useful.
   It expands on some races and reintroduces some old classics. like the Winged Elf, the water elf, the Wemic, and the centur.
   
   However it also just copies the entries for dark elves and planetouched races basically straight from the Forgotten realms campaign settingbook.
   They could have used the space a little better instead of repeating races that 97% of us have access to. (If you have an interest in this book then its pretty much fact that you already have the Forgotten Realms Campaign setting).
   
   Some of the region feats are nice and the a couple of the prestige classes are going to appeal to my players so for that regard it was worth the purchase price.
   
   Summing up it gathers all the races from the Realms campaign setting and adds in some new ones. Mixes in some new feats, some old ones tweaked and a few prestige classes.



5. Let's face it, Forgotten Realms is huge. It's hard to get your mind around so many lands and people.
   
   But this book ties everything together so well, giving you the big picture of Faerun. It really tries to cover the different aspects of each race, their history, their origin, and their ties to everyone else. From the role playing perspective, this is a must. Games are full of humans, elves, and dwarves and this book lets you fill in all the details needed to make the role playing seem real.
   
   I really love the human section of the book. Humans of Faerun have so many different personalities, appearances, and styles in Races of Faerun. You can actually play a person with his or her own culture and have interact with another human with completely different customs, heightening the realism.
   
   Other than the Forgotten Realms Core book, this is the only FR book that I would give 5 stars.

No comments about Supernatural The Hunt Begins (Supernatural).

5 comments about Defenders of the Faith: A Guidebook to Clerics and Paladins (Dungeon & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying).

1. i got this book for a paladin so i was really disappointed. the only good parts was the section on dragon mounts. but this book has great stuff on clerics, i look at them in a whole new light now. but if you want paladins, back order Dragon #199



2. i got this book for a paladin so i was really disappointed. the only good parts was the section on dragon mounts. but this book has great stuff on clerics, i look at them in a whole new light now. but if you want paladins, back order Dragon #199



3. I am referring to the Complete Guide to Paladins for 2nd edtion. That book had far more material in greater depth than Defenders does. Again, this book also seems underdone, like so many 3rd edition books. The most useful material was the section describing how the faiths of specific alignments, and deities, work. As for the rest, it is "overbalanced". Most of the feats are so "balanced" as to be worthless, as are the prestige classes. The kits found in the Complete Guide are better, I think, with real balance, not +'s and -'s canceling each other out. The organizations listed were a little better, but again, the Guide had more interesting ones. Although I have focussed on Paladins, the same holds for priests. The Complete Guide to Priests wasn't that good, so I can't recommend looking for it. Overall, I wouldn't bother buying this again just four about 10 pages of useful material.



4. In building my D&D library, I asked friends about these paperback guidebooks to the various classes. They told me to instead purchase the "complete" hardbacks now currently out. While the hardbacks may have updated 3.5 rules, they are also much more costly and filled with, in my opinion, rarely useful extras. If, like me, you're simply looking for something a cleric and/or paladin might want to see when leveling up during a campaign, I would highly suggest this book.



5. I've been playiong LARP as a Paladin for like a decade now, and I already got the overpacked second edition typical paladin described in the player's handbook. Plus with the 2nd edition Complete Paladin's handbook, it explains a day in the life of a stronghold or church paladin you can pick from. The Paladin is probably the most over rated class there is, because it's way up there in chain of command, while simply serving as an upgrade of the battle mage kit. I've heard a paladin described as a backup priest, shopkeeper, high class warrior, and missionary. I picked a stronghold paladin, it is a lot easier to play. You get a squire to do your household chores at high levels. I picked a true paladin, the one described in the Player's handbook. I didn't know the Knight class described in the Player's Handbook II existed until I looked it up online. The Paladin serves as the party's arcane and divine spellcaster with a limited selection of spells each day to pick from. I heard third edition goes up to level 30, but hopefully it is similar to the retro midevil 2nd edition. It's all right there in the 2nd edition paladin's handbook, just simply an upgrade of the battle mage kit. You acquire spells through prayer. Screw the pen and paper, I do Larp.

5 comments about Monster Manual: Core Rulebook III (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying).

1. i dont accutully want to rite a revew, just to rate it



2. The Monster Manual is labelled a core rulebook, and it truly is. Without the description and rules within, a DM would be hard-pressed to create the creatures necessary to challenge her players at various levels. The book is beautiful and well-laid-out, as you would expect from the other core books. The rules section in the front is short and concise, as most of the rules have been explained in the previous two books.

   Therein, actually, is my biggest complaint about the book. I feel that, unlike the DMG, far too little explanation is given in the MM about how to create new monsters and balance them against each other. Even sketchy guidelines like the magic item creation rules in the DMG would have been a wonderful addition to the book. As it is, you can only create a monster, then compare it to all the other monsters of a comparable skill level, and guess whether yours is about right. It's a good metric, but it's cumbersome.

   The third core book, I feel, has too much in the way of tables and not enough in terms of flavor text and rules explanation. While still a great resource for what it is, I think it is lacking the flare that made the first two core books a pleasure to own.




3. Being someone new to the Dungeons and Dragons scene, I had great hope and joy when I opened my amazon.com package containing the Player's Handbook (PHB) and the Monster Manual (MM).

   First note: all the D&D books are quite hard to understand without playing first. That would be why you buy the "Adventure Game" using the same ruleset. The MM is the shortest of the D&D books, which makes sense, as it mostly talks only about monsters. The content is hard to understand first hand, however it is quite detailed.

   Now, we go onto the quality of the book. Both the DM Guide and the PHB have a hard cover binding and high-quality full-colored pages. The MM has this too, but in my recent experiences, the binding at the spine (the binding that is holding the pages together) is quite loose. So loose that in fact, one player of mine has all the pages completely out of the binding. True, out of 12 NEW MM's that I have seen, all of them had an extremely loose binding, especially with the pages in the back. You can see the rope that is holding the pages together there. Just note: a lot of the pages in this book will fall out with heavy use. something not too normal with hardcover books.

   My suggestion, since you are looking at this, is to wait until July 2003, where a new, revised MM will be avaliable. That MM will have 108 more pages, and hopefully a better binding with that many pages. All the D&D core rulebooks are being revised and released in July 2003 (at the end of the month). If you want the D&D books right now, then I suggest the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's Guide, and the Monster Manual II. The MM II will not be revised, and was released recently, so it will be easier to understand. If there is one rulebook that you should not buy, it would be this one. Wait for July 2003 and reap the rewards.




4. The Third Edition (3E) Monster Manual is a great purchase for any DM. It has a good amount of monsters, pretty descriptive stats, yet...it seems one caliber less than the 2E Monster Manual.

   On one hand, the 3E Monster Manual delivers over 200 monsters to terrorize your campaign setting. They have some awesome new monsters. My personal favorite, is a devil, and is known as a Kyton. He is demonic humanoid with hundreds of chains drooping from his body, and his mode of attack is flailing those chains. Pretty hardcore.

   On the other hand, the 3E Monster Manual doesn't seem to give enough. Some of the monsters just plain [are bad], and they aren't unique in any way. Also, the amount of creatures do not come near the amount that were in the 2E monster manual, which is frustrating.

   On the FINAL hand, It is a must for any DM playing 3E. It isn't a bad book at all...it just seems lacking. The monster stats are good...the amount of monsters are good...but don't expect much more. (If they had 3.5 stars I would give this book 3.5)




5. A: Include all monsters from the previous edition's manual
   B: Introduce a few new and interesting monsters (10-40 would suffice)
   C: Make the layout flip-friendly for rushing GMs
   D: Make sure the monsters go beyond combat statistics (as in their habitats are listed, form of society, mating and etc. Like a National Geographic Mag.)

   I think if at least one of these is followed, it's worth the same as the original. If all are followed, it's a goldmine. I have the great annoyance to tell you that none of these were followed.

   There are 1/3 the number monsters in the new manual as the old one (I hear that if you add this manual, 2, and the Monsters of Faerun books together you get almost as many as the old 2nd edition MM.) I believe that the creators argued "The original MM only had 40 monsters in it!" My answer to this is simple: the first edition didn't have 25+ years of books and two editions in front of it to help.

   The new monsters (which ended up drowning out old favorites) are way too underpowered or overpowered, lack depth, and generally seem a little too sci-fi (remember, this is a fantasy game)

   The layout definately sucks, it took me an hour to find anything. One monster a page is definately a better road to travel.

   Last but not least, the monsters BARELY go beyond the numbers. I suggest you either buy all three of the above mentioned "Monster Manuals" (have fun shuffling books!) or just play 2nd edition AD&D.

No comments about WoD Dogs of War (World of Darkness (White Wolf Hardcover)).

No comments about Monster Manual - Deluxe Edition: A 4th Edition Core Rulebook (D&D Core Rulebook).