5 comments about Dungeon Siege II: Sybex Official Strategies and Secrets (Sybex Official Strategies & Secrets).

1. I recently began playing DS2 and was looking for a bit of aid specifically in the Map department. The walkthroughs i found online were great and all but this book just can not be beat. It provides all the info, diagrahms, and maps needed to really get into this game and love every second of it. Thanks for the book that saved my Game. -Nick



2. Overall its a decent book. It misses some things that you can find online that would make it more valuable. Overall for maps, info on quests and spell info its great.



3. I found this product to adequately fulfill the purposes for which I ordered it.



4. Once you start playing you cant stop. Get this if you liked the first one.



5. I loved this strategies and secrets book. It was easy to understand and gave me the information and walkthroughs to play Dungeon Siege II. Dungeon Siege II is a larger game than Dungeon Siege I and the book gave me useful tips and secrets to enjoy playing the Dungeon Siege sequel. I highly recommend it.

No comments about Dungeon Crawl Classics 53: Sellswords Of Punjar (Dungeon Crawl Classics).

1 comments about Champions of the Force Booster Pack (Star Wars Miniatures Product).

1. "Champions of the Force" is the fifth expansion set in the Star Wars Miniatures Universe, which started with the Rebel Storm Starter set back in September, 2004 (see more about the minis game itself in my addendum below). There are 60 different figures in this set. Each booster comes with seven durable, pre-painted minis (including one rare OR one very rare figure).
   
   The first thing I look for in any expansion set are how many characters I recognize from the movies (vs. those that appeared only in the books). I am particularly interested in figures from the original trilogy. Unfortunately, there are only 9 figures from the original trilogy in this set. However, some of them are very good, and definitely worth getting (for example, Hoth Trooper with ATGAR Cannonn Luke Skywalker Young Jedi, Yoda of Dagobah, and Snowtrooper with E-Web Blaster). There are also a few great new common figures from the original trilogy in this set (most notably the Sandtrooper, R5 Astromech Droid, and Ugnaught Demolitionist)
   
   Further, though I am not a big fan of the prequel, there are about 15 very good to excellent new figures from these movies as well (for example, General Windu, Queen Amidala, Qui-Gon Jinn, Darth Maul, and Darth Sidious). The rest are either from the books, or generic/minor characters that I have never seen or heard of before (however, some of the generic characters are also very good - especially for use in the Star Wars RPG).
   
   In sum, this expansion set is only fair for those interested in the original trilogy, but is very good for those interested in the prequel. Also, by my count there are 25 figures with light sabers, making it among the best of the expansion sets in this regard (i.e., if that's the way you like to play this game, you will definitely like this set).
   
   ADDENDUM: (Please note that I include this addendum at the end of all my Star Wars minis reviews, so if you've read it before, there is no need to read it again.) If you want to play the Star Wars minis game as it was designed to be played, it is best to have at least one starter (each starter comes with game instructions, a map, a D20, terrain tiles that are very helpful and add great variety to the game, and more). I like the Rebel Storm Starter the best because it's from the classic era/trilogy, but the Clone Strike and Revenge of the Sith starters from the newer movies will also work. If you don't want to invest in a starter, you can also get one of the three "Ultimate Missions" books, as each comes with a double sided map and a few smaller terrain tiles (again, I like the Rebel Strom Ultimate Missions book the best because it is also from the classic era/trilogy). Or, you can buy the "Attack on Endor" scenario pack, which comes with TWO double sided maps (in addition to a scaled AT-ST that is fully usable in play). The main point here is that you'll need some type of map/grid. If you don't want to buy a Star Wars one, generic ones are also available at most gaming stores (you can use your imagination to set the scene, or draw terrain with an erasable marker right on the grid). Of course, the minis are also useful for the roleplaying game (RPG) - in which case you may not need a starter or map, but will likely need the "Core Rulebook" instead. Finally, they are just fun to collect for those who like all things Star Wars!

5 comments about Core Book (The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game).

1. While the rulebook is very nicely presented, the game they are presenting lacks a great deal of substance. They have pledged to use only information available from the books and/or the movies in fleshing out their system, and this is where the true weakness of the system lies. This means that no material will ever cover any location not visited in the books or movie. No inns beyond the Prancing Pony or Green Dragon will be described, which means that it is entirely up to the gamemaster to invent things that happen beyond the path that the Fellowship themselves traveled. The book provides no real help in developing your own campaign settings and adventures. It is also assumed that the only magical spells available are ones actually used in the books, which is an unfortunate assumption that Gandalf never had anything else in his repertiore. While I assume the limitations on the game are the result of licensing restrictions, it causes the world to completely lack depth or any sense of wonder; everyone who read the books or saw the movie know what everyone else is capable of. My advice is to use the rule setting you prefer, find some old ICE/MERP campaign materials, and run your own Middle-Earth campaign. This book may have some value as an occasional inspiration or sourcebook, but I wouldn't count on it being very much.



2. This is a fabulous book. It is beautifuly laid out, the pages decored with wonderful photos from the movies. The rules are surprisingly easy to understand, largely due to their flexibility (e.g. you do not need to look up every modifier and TN [target number], you can just use the tables as sort of guidelines and trust your own judgement). I especially like the 'qualities of heroes' pages, and though it is quite difficult to get across all of these attributes they do add to the 'Tolkienesque' flavour of the game.
   
   When I first read the Coda rules I thought that the combat would be quite tedious and dull before you memorised the rules, yet no, it flows quickly and furiously, leaving your heart pounding as if it were real! Yes, sometimes you have to look up rules, but it isn't a huge encumbrance to your enjoyment of the game.

   However, the most importent attribute to the game's level of fun is the pacing. My group made the mistake of letting our charcters converse and discuss every little thing, and though this was fine at first it soon became quite dull. You've got to find a balence between dialogue and and combat/tests, and once you do the game is amazing. We played for four solid hours and it merely felt like 1 1/2 - 2 hours at the most. I have read the book six times, and this is a must-buy for any Tolkien or game fan.

   [Oh, and by the way, my titles in Quenya (High Elven). 'The most beautiful and best book of all']




3. The Core Rules of the Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game is an OK try at turning a series of fantasy books into a game. It has the basics down - character creation, a simple system of rules, a magic system and rules of combat.
   But the background information is too simplistic. There is no way, if you wanted to make a whole story, that you could get enough details from the book. If you planned to make your own epic story you would need to use Tolkien's books for finding the ideas and giving you the knowledge to fill them out.
   Also, I think the rules about mass combat, in dealing with the major battles of Middle-Earth, also seem too simplistic. This book is great in the hands of a person who already knows how to design and run a game. But a person new to roleplaying will need more help than found in this book.



4. I wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, while beautiful and alluring, it does not stand up to extended scrutiny. Certainly, it seems to play better than it reads. However, I simply cannot get beyond rushed playtesting problems (the Warwise edge is insanely good, Loremasters are like magicians only lame, etc), copious errata (affecting nearly aspect of character creation and most weapons), and an overly strict license that prevents it from expounding on Middle-Earth in depth. It might be inspirational, but as reference, it is hamstrung, and as a game design, it is strictly second rate. A lot of love and intelligence went into this product which unfortunately did not get developed to its potential.
   
   The book's strongest points are its description of epic fantasy, Tolkien-style, and the flexibility of the character creation system. I think you could mine a good campaign out of this book, but I have a hard time really investing in a game that is basically broken, when better games and better ME references are out there.



5. Being a very new roleplayer I wasn't sure what to look for. When I tried Middle earth roleplaying I found a brick wall. It was hard. So I did a little more searching and found this delightful game. Its easy and fun to do! The pictures are excellent! But there are scattered typos (but hey, who cares)You're able to play a good variety of 'Orders'(Wizards, Loremasters, minstrels, warrior, etc...)
   Perhaps a bore for veteran roleplayers but still it is a good way to adventure into middle earth....

1 comments about Alliance and Empire Booster Pack: A Star Wars Miniatures product (Star Wars Miniatures).

1. "Alliance and Empire" is the seventh expansion set for the Star Wars Miniatures game, which started with the Rebel Storm Starter set back in September, 2004 (see more about the minis game itself in my addendum below). This set was released to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Star Wars. As such, these figures have a special square bases with "Star Wars" written on the front. HOWEVER, THIS SET IS STILL FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH THE OTHER STAR WARS MINIS SETS. There are 60 different figures in this set. Each booster comes with seven durable, pre-painted minis (including one rare OR one very rare figure).
   
   The first thing I look for in any expansion set are how many characters I recognize from the movies (vs. those that appeared only in the books). I am particularly interested in figures from the original trilogy, and I am happy to say that there are at least 40 figures from the original trilogy in this set. Most are interesting and/or more powerful variations of earlier figures (for example, Boba Fett, Lando Calrissian, Jabba, Wampa, R2-D2 with C-3PO, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Imperial Governor Tarkin, three different versions of Han Solo, and three different versions of Luke Skywalker). But, some of the figures have never been released before (for example, Wicket the Ewok, Ewok Hang Glider, and Jawa on Ronto). Notably, there are even a few great new common and uncommon figures from the original trilogy in this set (for example, Death Star Trooper, Death Star Gunner, Rebel Commando Strike Leader, Talz Spy, and a variation of the Ewok with a bow -- rather than just melee attack).
   
   The rest of the figures are either from the prequel, the books, or generic/minor characters (however, some of these characters are also very good -- especially for use in the Star Wars RPG).
   
   In sum, this expansion set is excellent for those interested in the original trilogy, and fair for those interested in the prequel.
   
   ADDENDUM: (Please note that I include this addendum at the end of all my Star Wars minis reviews, so if you've read it before, there is no need to read it again.) If you want to play the Star Wars minis game as it was designed to be played, it is best to have at least one starter (each starter comes with game instructions, a map, a D20, terrain tiles that are very helpful and add great variety to the game, and more). I like the Rebel Storm Starter the best because it's from the classic era/trilogy, but the Clone Strike and Revenge of the Sith starters from the newer movies will also work. If you don't want to invest in a starter, you can also get one of the three "Ultimate Missions" books, as each comes with a double sided map and a few smaller terrain tiles (again, I like the Rebel Strom Ultimate Missions book the best because it is also from the classic era/trilogy). Or, you can buy the "Attack on Endor" scenario pack, which comes with TWO double sided maps (in addition to a scaled AT-ST that is fully usable in play). The main point here is that you'll need some type of map/grid. If you don't want to buy a Star Wars one, generic ones are also available at most gaming stores (you can use your imagination to set the scene, or draw terrain with an erasable marker right on the grid). Of course, the minis are also useful for the roleplaying game (RPG) - in which case you may not need a starter or map, but will likely need the "Core Rulebook" instead. Finally, they are just fun to collect for those who like all things Star Wars!

5 comments about Player's Guide to Faerun (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Forgotten Realms Accessory).

1. A USEFULL GUIDE FOR FAERUN PLAYERS
   
   This book contains 3 specification
   - 3.5 Updates of FR Realms Campign Setting
   - A gathering book from other FR Rule Books
   - Some new addition things
   
   The most important thing of this book that is care us; it is a gathering guide book from main books of Forgotten Realms. (FR Campaign Setting, Faiths & Pantheons, Races of Faerun, Magic of Faerun) This Guide takes the important things for players from these 4 books and collects together. It is a Summary of them.
   
   Player Guide to Faerun includes nearly all things for Forgotten Realms players. The players can find necessary knownlodge for their characters in one book. But if they wants more details and other specific things they should to have ektra books.
   
   The main reason for to get this book is; The standard Faerun Players may use this book without need the other books. They may take only two book to games; The Players Handbook and Players Guide to Faerun. This may be second main book for them.
   Also, they can create their characters and play after for dont need the FR Campaign Setting.
   
   It is only few new additon things whose is not other books. So dont think to buy for only new additions.
   
   If you thing to have minimal number books to play in Forgotten Realms, you should buy only two books; FR Campaign Setting, Player Guide to Faerun. (After to have 3 core rule book of D&D)
   The players who have other FR books, they may also get this book if they want quick summary guide under their hand during their games.
   
   Includes the Collection of these:
   Races, P.Classes, Skills, Feats, Domains and Spells, Magic Items, Epic Levels.
   
   This was my fifth FR book, I have had before these books; FR Campaign Setting, Faiths & Pantheons, Races of Faerun, Magic of Faerun, but I want to take this guide also because I want a usefull thin guide for bring it to games. Sometimes it is some difficult to look and find your needs other 4 books, it may took time.
   
   I recommended this book for Players of Forgotten Realms Players, but not for any DM. It is a Player Guide like name. And I repeat this; it is a summary book for FR players.



2. I'm always a little leary about buying "Player's Guides" since I'm a DM most of the time, but this one was almost necessary to correct the errors and region system in the original Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (Dungeons & Dragons). Also upgrades spells from the Magic of Faerun! Very cool and worth every penny I spent so far.



3. This book was well worth the money I spent, it was delivered to me in quick timing, and was in almost perfect sondition.



4. Player's Guide to Faerun is a very good FR supplement, but it lacks any information on the facts that happened (are going to happen depending on the year your campaign is going on) after the Year of The Rouge Dragons. It focus a lot on the planes other then the material plane and prestige classes, but not much on geography and politics between the realms.



5. This is a usefull book for those useing the Forgotten Realms as there campaign world. It has info from the main capaign guide and other books to help the players. I also use it for other games when I am looking for races, feats etc.

2 comments about GURPS Ultra-Tech (Gurps).

1. Customizable armor! Like energy cloth baselayer with the fit and feel of spandex (scuba lycrasuits or the compression shirt you wear under football pads) with DR 20 (melee attacks from non-superscience weapons from non-giants, handgun bullets) to replace the star trek turtlenecks for non-combatant military crew. Personal defelector shields, neural interface helmets, chameolon armor, printed computers on armor+clothing, particle beams (GURPS blasters), plasma weapons (star wars blasters), nanotechnology and all. covers TL9-12, strict. Scale is personal to small vehicles. Superscience items (shields, contragravity, time manipulation, psionic devices) are clearly marked.
   
   This has been rushed-through the editing process, but SJGames is pretty good with errata updates.



2. The third edition of GURPS Space was an amazing effort. One slim volume included all rules needed to run a very wide range of SciFi-oriented roleplaying campaigns. This included a lot of information about: how to generate star systems, create and run starships, economics of trade between star systems, lots of science fiction equipment, character archtypes, campaign backgrounds, etc., etc. Literally to infinity and beyond. The book was like the old saying about the Platte river, a mile wide and an inch deep.
   
   While it was an amazing effort, the lack of space left the game feeling very generic and somewhat incomplete. This could be overcome with dedicated effort but most GM's didn't feel it was worth the extra work. The third edition Ultra-tech books attempted to address this problem but were not SJ Games finest efforts.
   
   I bought both 4th edition GURPS Space and Ultra-Tech with this background in mind and was surprised and pleased.
   
   The new GURPS Space doesn't cover nearly as much as the original book, it just deals with the background material necessary to set up and run a good campaign. Many people felt cheated by this because they enjoyed browsing through the old third edition's plentiful charts and building starships using the surprisingly detailed (and sometimes painful) variant of GURPS Vehicles.
   
   But I felt this was a good decision because Science Fiction can have such a large and varied background that is so important to the story that the GM is trying to tell that it deserved the coverage it got. Imagine trying to describe all of the technology and background used in both Keith Laumer's Bolo stories and David Brin's Uplift novels in less than 50 pages.
   
   The bigger surprise was the new version of GURPS Ultra-Tech. This is really well thought-out and interesting and fixes a lot of the weaknesses of the old system. The vastly larger space for the topic was very well used and the illustrations and short stories are worth the price of the book all by themselves. Another pleasant discovery was the extensive bibliographies in both books. The people who wrote the books knew their topics well and loved to share.
   
   Yet another piece of the puzzle in replacing the old third edition GURPS Space book was recently published in electronic format at SJ Games e23 store. I haven't bought it yet but the new GURPS Spaceships is supposed to be much easier to use and more interesting for generating ships to have adventures in. Which is the point of all three books.

5 comments about The Book of Nod.

1. This is quite an enjoyable book. The Chronicle of Caine is complimented with Beckett's alternate theory of Clan Caine and Clan Abel. The Chronicle of Shadows is full of wonderful quotes a Noddist character could recite. And the Chronicle of Secrets is perfect for bringing about Gehenna. But while this book is worth buying, I just want to point out two problems with it that bothered me.

   The first is that "The Tale of the First City" goes from pages 46-55, and has only one footnote throughout it. Some scholarly insights would have been useful. The second is minor, but worth correcting. On page 53, substitute the name Giovanni with Cappadocian. The Giovanni clan came long after the Cappadocian clan, and were not a part of the original Antidiluvians.

   Otherwise, this is a wonderful source book and a good read as well. I highly recommend it to storytellers for Vampire: the Masquerade.




2. well illustrated version of the classic liturature to those who dont read anything befor the 16th century, informative the parts "left out of the bible" or taken ut. good read tok me less than2 hours
   if any one knows of a better version of this book let me know
   Still G



3. This little book was made to be a resource for the Vampire Masquerade game but it can definitely be read and enjoyed by fans who have no idea what Vampire Masquerade even is.

   This short book, which can be read in like 30-60 minutes, shows the origins of the vampires, and their sects, and shows their 'fall from grace' from heaven and why they were shunned by all.

   And while the book might be extremely short in length, the build quality easily makes up for that. There are wonderful drawings, indexes, and footnotes litered throughout the book. And the silver lined pages, attached cloth bookmark, and smooth hardcover scream quality like no other.

   This book is a must read for any vampire or horror fan who wants to learn a bit more on vampire history and their origin.




4. Exactly like as the title says. It is a great read, but unfortunately the book will leave you wanting for more.
   The Book of Nod presents the history of the vampires as thought for Vampire:The Masquerade. This novel can be enjoyed even by those that are not familiar with the Masquerade setting and other novels. It offers the big picture, explains how the vampires came to be, has great quotes and "commandments", if you will, that vampires are supposed to live by. You will understand the vampire clans and what their traits are and the reader is bound to have a favorite one out of the bunch.



5. thare is no real story to speek of its more a colection of WoD historys and myths but thows not into the "world od darkness" may not want to or nead to read this but its still intresting

2 comments about The Twilight Tomb (Dungeon & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Forgotten Realms Adventure).

1. Disclaimer: I've just finished reading this module and haven't actually put my group through it - although I certainly intend to do so.
   
   Firstly, this is an ok adventure but is nothing special. Which is kind of disappointing for me, given that I'm a huge Forgotten Realms fan. It is published as an adventure suitable for a group of 3rd level characters, I have some reservations about that. The creatures are reasonably low level mostly skeletons, zombies, hobgoblins and orcs. Every now and then there is an encounter that I think is way to powerful. For instance the two main antagonists, would if played right, cream four 3rd level characters.
   
   Besides the power level of some of the encounters the rest of the adventure is reasonably solid. Its biggest selling point is that it's a site-based adventure so it can literally be dropped into any ongoing campaign with a minimal amount of prep.
   
   The plot is reasonably good although the storyline weaved around the plot is a little wishy-washy, but a creative GM can certainly get around any difficult questions the players might come up with as to how certain people/creatures got to be involved.
   
   The guts of the adventure are that a person/thing has gone missing in the forest and the characters are hired/instructed to retrieve them/it. They discover a stone circle of menhirs and wham-bam find themselves in the demi-plane of night with no way home. There is a citadel comprising of four towers (linked by bridges made of glass - in fact the entire citadel is made of glass - glass that you can't smash mind you!) over a raging sea which the characters get to explore, learning as they go that there are two factions at war in the citadel.
   
   The original occupant and a mercenary band led by a mysterious half-orc. As I mentioned above the general level of the encounters shouldn't challenge most groups. GM's will have to be careful with the encounters that feature the Shardcaster, Mourel (original citadel owner) and Savera (mysterious half-orc). In fact if the characters aren't fully healed with lots of protection magic in effect then Savera will probably clean them up.
   
   The adventure concludes once the characters have killed everything, secured the key that will allow them to travel back to the material plane (hopefully with the person/item they were sent to retrieve!)
   
   One other thing has just occured to me as a little gripe. Towards the end in the description of one of the major bad guys it describes how 'it' got out and ended up capturing a certain item. Yet there is no explanation as to why the bad guy decided to return to the demi-plane?!? The creature comes from the Unapproachable East sourcebook and so further details might be in that which might add some contex.
   
   Overall, it deserves its 3 stars, but nothing more.



2. I tried running my group through this adventure, but none of us got very excited and we had to scrap it 25% through. There just isn't a really strong plot motivation for the characters, as none of the "suggested hooks" really have a lot to do with the adventure. In fact, the whole point of the hook is really just to kind of fool the PCs into appearing in this magical place, and then their primary motivation is really just to figure out a way to escape. On top of that, the module would have the PCs searching through the wilderness for about a month before finding this area(25% per day of finding a half-elf village, 20% of having that village know anything about the area, and then 1-2 days travel time to get there.
   
   So, the PCs have little reason to find the place, have to spend a lot of effort finding the place, and once they're there, the only point is for them to figure out a way to leave.
   
   Edit: I believe that the only other review implies that good DMs can create a more plausible reason for why their PCs are here. That's a valid point, but is still a negative to me. A published module should minimize the amount of work that the DM has to do to prepare- that's the point to buying a pre-written module, isn't it, to save prep time? If the basic pre-packaged hook can't even really stand on its own with most groups, then the module is flawed.
   
   Also, this is adventure has a *LOT* of quirky plot. This wouldn't be so bad if it more than just a small bit of it was easily learnable by the PCs. Unfortunately, without some strong DM creativity, most of the reasons for the goings on will be lost on the PCs and I'd guesstimate that 90% of the plot will only be known by the DM. I believe it's likely that the PCs will either treat it as a hack and slash or simply be confused as to why NPCs are acting certain ways.
   
   Also, there are MANY sourcebooks other than the Core Rulebooks referred to in the module. Although the book says that only a few of them are "required", many monsters don't even have descriptions as to what they are, which would cause you to need these random books or search online thoroughly before playing.
   
   Edit: Since it seems to me that it would be fairly easy to give a short, one-paragraph description of what a monster looks like and its basic reason for being, the absence of this seems to me to be a method of ensuring additional book purchases. Really, it is absoultely ridiculous to have a monster appear, and not even be able to describe what it looks like to the PCs.
   
   In addition, and possibly most important, there are numerous challenges that are WAY too hard for the 4 3rd level characters recommended. Almost all of the major fights (4-5) are at least Challenge rating 5 or 6, and include monsters who can either do area of effect attacks, or do an attack/spell which has an 80% chance or so of killing/disabling one character per round.

No comments about Dark Heresy: Creatures Anathema.