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

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



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



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



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



5. As other reviewers have said, this book plays to the stereotype that most women are shopaholic airheads. Personally, I couldn't care less whether the narrative persona is faked or real: it's disgusting either way. My biggest problem is not that she's "reaching out" to very feminine, conventionally ladylike would-be gamers, but the ways in which that goal is attempted.
   
   I am friends with several intelligent women who happen to like designer clothes/bags, mani-pedis, and other stereotypically girlie stuff. I don't believe this makes them so stupid that they need a special, pink, drooling-moron's version of the PHB...some of these people are actually Physics majors, etc. and can hack the math quite well, thanks. So giving this to a girlie-girl under the assumption that she'd be intimidated or confused by actual D&D simply says to her "I think you're weak, stupid, timid, or all of the above."
   
   I also happen to be a rather geeky, bookish, fashion-missing D&D player. The woman is fairly mild in her criticism of her male co-workers/fellow players, but it is in her treatment of female WotC employees and fellow female gamers that she really sparked my wrath. Yes, there are women out there who don't use makeup or define themselves by their handbags. Attacking those women, particularly when they are attempting to include you in their subculture and their game, is out-of-line. WotC publishing this was probably a bad idea, given the amount of time the author spends bashing unladylike or non-stereotypical women. Geek girls who aren't hyper-femme may walk away from this book feeling personally insulted for their lack of cute heels and earrings that coordinate flawlessly with every outfit. I know several of this woman's jabs at people like me hit home.

5 comments about Domains of Dread (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft, Campaign Setting/2174).

1. Though this book does restate a lot of what has already been set down in many boxed sets and modules, it is an invaluable guide, at the very least for condensation's sake. I'm a compendium person, myself, so I appreciate the value of an "all-in-one" source for the Demiplane of Dread. With an even half-experienced, half-talented DM, this, and some office supplies is all you need to run a long-lasting, fully enjoyable campaign. I strongly recommend purchasing one, along with some mechanical pencils, and a case of Jolt Cola. (Having had recent experience, this is the second best solution to a long evening of thunderstorms, power outages, and insomnia.)



2. I have always been interested in the Ravenloft campaign settings, but never much felt like buying each individual module just to have a good view of the Core. I picked up this book a couple of days ago and have not put it down since. This is a must buy for any D&D people who want to run a Ravenloft game, or even just for DM's who need ideas to add a touch of horror to their own games.



3. I collect Ravenloft stuff so I already had the first two boxed sets ("The Red Box & The Black Box") when I bought this book. DOD goes in to more detail on the various domains and offers a nice selection of player classes and races. The drawbaks that I have include the interior art and the repeating of some material from other sources. The interior art of earlier Ravenloft products is a bit more in tune with the Gothic setting than the art in DOD. I wish the would have included a nice map with the book. Overall, this is a great book for anyone looking to get into Ravenloft for the first time.



4. If you are a Ravenloft DM, this book will make your life MUCHeasier. Everything you'll need for quick reference in your game ishere and INDEXED (Yes, they finally made it easy to find what youneed!) I love this book and it's made my life much easier. Watch for the "Fear, Horror, Maddness check" sections - they've made them a bit separated for each class so that can muck you up a bit the first go-round, but it's TONS better than those 50 odd books from separate box sets. If you were considering buying all of those "accessories" forget it - this book covers nearly everything you could even need. Players do not really need any books for Ravenloft, and if your DM has this one you can borrow it for the rare times you may need it.



5. Domains of Dread takes TSR's popular gothic horror Ravenloft setting and gives it a new soul: an evil one, naturally. Imagine a city whose sewers materialized from another dimension, a heart-eating mummy who retains her beauty, or a lithe and limber Frankenstein's monster as lord over his own land, and you'll start to get an idea of the new and improved Ravenloft.

   This expanded version of Ravenloft contains a much wider geography of the Demiplane of Dread, and for the first time includes the option for playing characters who are Ravenloft natives. Included is a chronology that sets all previous Ravenloft publications, whether novels, adventures, or accessories, into context as the history of the current campaign book. Earlier Ravenloft material is also tied in, item-by-item, to each description of a land, realm, island, or kingdom (called domains) and the lord of each region. Enough background is presented so that an inventive dungeon master can proceed from the material given, while those interested in the novels and available adventures may single out which products they may be interested in buying.

   Domains introduces four new character classes (avenger, anchorite, gypsy, and arcanist) as well as one new race, the half-Vistani. All changes and effects pertaining to spells, items, and character traits in Ravenloft settings are included, along with special rules applying only to Ravenloft. New sections explain the rewritten fear, horror, and madness checks for characters. However, dungeon masters will find that some of the other Ravenloft products, particularly the Monstrous Compendiums, are necessary in order to use this campaign book.

   The emphasis is, of course, on creepy: many of the characters and situations in Domains will be familiar from classical horror literature, with different names of course. Vampires and lycanthropes abound; Dr. Jekyll's spiritual brother is here; and Dr. Frankenstein, as Victor Mordenheim, seems to have acquired an unwanted empathic link with his creation. Other classic characters with a delicious horror twist appear here, such as a domain lord called "Pinocchio" who led his wooden brothers and sisters on a murderous rampage.

   A "nice" romp on the dark side for fans of horror and things of the night.

   --Sharon Daugherty for Skirmisher Online Gaming Magazine

5 comments about Call of Cthulhu (d20 Edition Horror Roleplaying, WotC).

1. Okay, I'll be honest. I do prefer the original Chaosium CoC to Wizards Of The Coast's adaptation. What I supremely loved about the original Call Of Cthulhu was that knowledge that reading that obscure occult tome was NOT a good idea and that nothing at all was what it seemed. Yes, characters either died or went insane, but that's what made it fun. The original Call Of Cthulhu was about the journey rather than the end. The new d20 Call Of Cthulhu takes away from that paranoid feel of the original game, making it a bit more combat-intensive and less mood-oriented.

   However, let's be honest here. It's the GM that creates the mood for the game. It's all about imagination, baby. It's easy to create a more mood-oriented d20 CoC campaign - the book even gives pointers. The rulebook is quite adaptable, including tips on incorporating the Mythos creatures, deities, and Sanity rules into a D&D Campaign (I imagine that they can be added to a d20Modern campaign as well).

   If you already have Chaosium's core CoC rulebook, there's no need to get this unless you want to incorporate the Mythos into D&D. If you're a D&D3E fan and don't own Chaosium's rulebook and/or have never played Call Of Cthulhu but want to learn it in a familiar framework, you can do far, far worse than WotC's adaptation of a classic game. The d20 adaptation features gorgeous artwork, a recommended reading list, and even adaptations to older CoC supplements.

   Enjoy!




2. First, a word of warning to the shopper--although Amazon doesn't make it clear in the title, this is the d20 version of the Call of Cthulhu RPG.

   That out of the way--the greatest thing in this book is John Tynes' articles on how to GM a Call of Cthulhu game, and the background info on the Mythos. They are actually better than what's in the regular (non-d20) Call of Cthulu rulebook. Also, the rules for psychic characters are intriguing, and it's kinda kewl to have all those Mythos monsters and gods statted up for d20, so you can spring them on your unsuspecting Dungeons and Dragons characters.

   Those good points are so very very good that I give this product 5 stars, despite one very serious flaw: the rules are lame. Oh, Tynes and Cook do good things with them--many of their ideas were later used in other d20 products, and they certainly make some small improvements with the d20 rules. But it's still d20, and thus far clunkier and less elegant than the original Call of Cthulhu rules. Now, those CoC rules are far from perfect, but still, they are so much easier to learn and to use, and really, the *only* thing you need to buy to play CoC is the rulebook--no, not the "core" rulebook, because there *aren't* any other rulebooks! Oh sure, there are supplements, but unlike D&D, none of them is crucial to play. And unlike D&D, when Chaosium does a new edition, they don't change it so much that it's completely incompatible with previous material. Most of the changes are in gathering together published spells and monsters and equipment, so that (gasp!) you won't *have* to buy other supplements!

   So, I didn't actually buy it for the d20 rules--although that will allow me to introduce my local gaming group (some members of which refuse to play anything other than D&D) to CoC. I bought it as a supplement for the regular version of Call of Cthulhu--something entirely unnecessary, but beautiful and fun to have. Looked at that way, it's 5 stars, easy.




3. Very simple. If you want to roleplay, love character (personality) development, truly love the horror of Lovecraft's brilliant world and want a memorable experience, buy Chaosium's original, elegant game.
   
   If you want a combat oriented game with a clumsy, ugly gaming system, go d20.
   
   Your choice.



4. This d20 Call of Cthulhu is probably not to the liking of purists since it presents, to begin with, a set of different rules. As you know, people don't like to change of game mechanics. So, if you really like the d20 / D&D 3rd rules, this d20 supplement is for you!! In fact it is an excellent product, with nice layout and illustrations, and well written. Just if you wanted to add the Mythos to D&D 3rd ed., this book is worth the purchase. Now, as much the purists want to see a Call of Cthulhu game as one where player characters are expected to die within a couple of sessions, some others don't!! There are also players who like games where the PCs survive and thrive. As such, a combat oriented d20 CoC is not necessarily a bad thing! Anyway, if you really would like to do a "pulp" Cthulhu, you would better add some d20 Modern to it, since d20 CoC nonetheless goes for characters who are weak and nearly hopeless.



5. I had the Chaosium Cthulhu book for a few years when someone recommended that I get the WotC D20 Cthulhu book for additional ideas. After buying and reading it, I feel that it stands well on its own. So I won't be reviewing it in comparison to Chaosium's BRP book, or recommend which one is better, but just to review it as it stands.
   
   First, the externals. It is a nice book - a solid hardback, with art to look like a grimoire or other tome. I like a sturdy rulesbook that structurally feels in flavor for the game it is made for. The interior art is in color (!) and is mostly very good, with the chapter heading paintings looking particularly realistic. The layout is readable, the paper feels dependable, and the page coloration changes subtly by chapter (for quick flipping). In short, it looks and feels like a book you might like to own (sometimes I feel guilty about owning ugly books).
   
   Next, I'll note that the mechanics are included. That's good, because I don't intend to buy any more d20 products (wait, that's a lie. I have already bought another d20 book to use with this one; I definitely wouldn't have if the d20 rules weren't spelled out). Everything you need to know about generating a character, advancing in levels, acquiring skills, and combat is included (which I didn't necessarily expect when I bought it - I guess it's a true stand-alone). It was difficult to sort through, and not terribly well organized. I assume that the mechanics were squeezed in so that more could be spent on Cthulhu than on d20. I did feel that my old AD&D 2E book was more clear (not saying the mechincs were better, just that I understood the presentation better after reading it). Feats and skill ranks are new to me, so I can't really review that section other than to say that it's there. I personally think that for all the rules, tables, and modifiers, the DM is just going to pick a dice check number that matches the difficulty he/she thinks the situations should have relative to your skill, so why bother with all the crunchiness? But I'm not a big shot like Monte Cook or John Tynes, and this is d20, so I'll take their word for it.
   
   Guns and other equipment is covered in excellent detail - nice to have it all in one place.
   
   Magic - tomes are covered very well, and even BRP Cthulhu people might benefit from reading the section on how sanity loss from reading Mythos books occurs. Specific tomes are covered, along with all the spells from the BRP game.
   
   Creatures - all the major critters have entries. I think the stats are a little silly, and not consistemt with descriptions or at appropriate levels relative to other monsters. Also, given the deadliness of some monsters' descriptions, the challenge ratings seem much too low.
   
   The Mythos - the idea of Lovecraft's vision is explained. Also, each decade is explained in terms of the progression of the End Times, and how each decade might be played along with movie and literature references that are appropriate for inspiration.
   
   How to run a game - this is probably the most useful chapter in any game book I've ever bought. There are 40 pages on how to create backstory, create good horror, keep a game going, and please your players. I wish all gmaes came with this kind of explanation about what are the elements of a good game with lots of examples. Even if you never play d20, this is great for any other horror game.
   
   The two scenarios are well-designed with plenty of investigation that is also accessible to the players. All useful details are included for what may be a first-time GM.
   
   At the back are a Monstrous Compendium of deities for use if you want in a D&D game. I feel like they need to be in the book, and the stats hardly matter anyway. There is also a conversion table for BRP and d20, as well as a bibliography of Cthulhu books to read.
   
   Excellent presentation, excellent material, useful to more than just d20 players but contains everything needed to play d20. An excellent buy for anyone in horror gaming, I think.

3 comments about Age of Mortals (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.? Fantasy Roleplaying, Dragonlance Setting).

1. I am planning on running a DL campaign using 3e rules but after reading the campaign setting book, I had a lot of questions. One example - do all wizards of high sorcery have to specialise?

   This book answered all the questions. It is quite literally an extension of the campaign setting book (think of it as book 2).

   More classes, races, prestige classes, etc More magic items, more history, more info in general, FANTASTIC art (MUCH better than the art served in the campaign setting). Infact the art is the best I've seen in any Dungeons and Dragons (3rd edition) book to date.

   I loved this book more than the campaign setting itself and it was this book which really sold me on the idea of a Dragonlance under the 3rd edition rules.

   Highly recommended. Especially so if you buy the DL Campaign setting.




2. I haven't read this book but, i've read the war of the souls and that was great.(I can't wait to get this one)



3. Dragonlance is my favorite campaign setting. I have read the Dragonlance Campaign Setting d20 manual, and despite its poor reviews, I thought it was still useful, and was not sadden by the loss of money. This book is completely different.
   The biggest problem with the Age of Mortals, is the constant repetition. The book relates the history of the Dragonlance setting from the end of the Chaos War to the death of Takhisis, and the sacrifice of Paladine. The story itself is rather interesting, but it was already written in the main Dragonlance Campaign Setting book. As if repeating it once was not enough, the authors decided to place the story in several places of the book. The story is written in the introduction. The story is repeated in the beginning of the chapter on religion. The book also has a time table of events, which tells the same tale with the slight difference of separating events by the years on which the event took place. Further, on almost every character profile presented in the book, parts of the story were repeated again.
   The art also is in need of repair. It isn't so much that the quality of the drawings is poor, as the quantity is. There are very few pictures compared to that of a typical roleplaying manual. This wouldn't have been a big deal, but there is obvious room for the pictures in the book. There are huge gaps at the end of each chapter, where there is nothing but blank page. This space could have easily been occupied by a picture or two. Had the book cut down on the repetitive story, even more room could have been made for art work. To top the space issues, the problem of the first d20 Dragonlance book was not corrected. This book still has inch thick margins.
   The meat of the book lies in the few prestige classes presented. There is also a page of feats, and a couple pages of spells. The balance of the spells and feats is in question, but since I have not yet gotten a chance to use any of them, it would be unfair of me to grade them on their usability. Still even if all the spells and feats were the best feats and prestige classes ever written, this one chapter would not be enough to make up for the poor planning of the rest of the book.
   There is a chapter on towns, cities, and strongholds. This is by far the best chapter in the book, but a few of the descriptions of the cities repeat larger parts of the main story. This wouldn't be so much of problem if it weren't for the boredom of having read the story several times already. This chapter had a major flaw. It doesn't have enough maps. Only three cities, or so, actually had a map of the city. Further, this chapter would have been helped greatly had it contained a map of the world, which showed the location of each city in the chapter. The only world map in this book contained directions of seasonal winds, followed by a small description of weather and climate.
   There is a chapter of descriptions, which seems to say that the Dragonlance setting has the same main qualities of any other Dungeons and Dragons setting. This Chapter talked about the weather and the people. The only thing new was a small description of a few plants, and their nativity in Dragonlance. It isn't really important to the average gamer, but to someone who likes the poetry of Dragonlance, they might have some uses.
   The religion Chapter describes each deity and their new role in the world. The Dragonlance Campaign Setting book already listed the deities. Thus, it was another disappointment that the deities were described again. Luckily a few of the descriptions had insight into what the deities planned for the future, instead of just telling who the deity was.
   The structure of the book was also poor. It was rather annoying reading about a race description or a city description and then moving strait into a character profile. Why put Goldmoon's profile in the introduction of the religion Chapter? There really should have been a "Hero" chapter of the book, which contained all the character profiles instead of plugging them into random sections of the book.
   By eliminating the unused space, and the repetition of this book, the publishers could have made a decent soft cover book, and lowered the price by a good 10 to 15 dollars. Even with Amazons low prices, this book isn't worth the money.

1 comments about Spawn Of Azathoth: Herald of the End Of Time (Call of Cthulhu Horror Roleplaying).

1. Chaosium has a reputation for producing some of the finest RPG adventures and "Spawn of Azathoth" for the Call of Cthulhu game is no exception. Originally released in 1986, this world-spanning campaign of nine linked adventures set in the 1920s places the players' investigators into a cruel catch-22 of cosmic proportions - literally. Circling around the Earth is a piece of the god Azathoth - its spawn, as it is generally known - that appears to be a twin dark star circling our own sun. The spawn has caused mass destruction on our pale blue planet for eons and will do so in its future. Once the investigators are drawn into adventure's plot they discover that there are individuals and groups that either want the spawn of Azathoth to destroy the Earth, or that want to save humankind from its ravages by putting them into a form of magical suspended animation. Neither prospect is very promising for the fate of humankind, but like all good investigators, they must take action to help the better of the two.
   
   The nine adventures in this 200-page book are fairly short, probably only taking one or two evenings to play. The two starting adventures take place in Providence, Rhode Island. From the there the players are free to go on adventures set in Montana, Florida, the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean, in the Dreamlands, and finally in Tibet for the grand climax of the campaign. Additionally, there are numerous handouts for the players - 45 in all - that serve as clues to help out the investigators.
   
   My only problem with this Chaosium product is its poor graphic design - unusual for a company that has been a touchstone for quality for so many years. The location maps have been crudely rendered on some sort of basic computer publishing program and they have a slightly blurry look about them as if the were a copied from a photocopy. Likewise, most of the artwork is amateurish and crude, and those that are not (presumably some of the art from the original issue) have the same blurry quality about it that plague the maps.
   
   Like most classic Call of Cthulhu adventures, "Spawn of Azathoth" does not disappoint. It has both mundane and exotic locales, bizarre creatures, well-developed personalities, and great plotlines. This second edition expands and updates the original 1986 issue, but since I've never seen the first edition I do not know what changes and additions have been made.

5 comments about Shadowrun (3rd Edition).

1. I liked the idea of shadowrun very much, and once I learned how to play I enjoyed the simple runs that we had; however, the advanced aspects of shadowrun (e.g. magic, decking, rigging and vehicles, etc.) had very complicated and convoluted rules. First off, the magic section makes very little sense with regards to the drain and mana system, and the aspected magician isn't explained at all. Secondly, the Matrix uses overcomplicated rules for even simple tasks. The technical jargon used was quite confusing. Another nuisance was the shotty binding (mine plus two other books are falling apart). I reccomend waiting for the next edition to come out because of these reasons. The game is fun, just not very clear.



2. Like lots of game books, this one includes two main elements, an introduction the Shadowrun setting and the rules. The setting is a creative mix of "cyberpunk" technology and fantasy, in a grim dystopic world. The rules are an awful mess.

   What I like about the setting is that it offers a detailed future history that explains how all the technology and fantasy elements ended up in the same setting. It feels reasonably self-consistent. The only serious hole is the idea that a mishap with a computer plugged into a character's brain could injure the character. Who would build a computer-brain interface without the firewalls and surge protection necessary to prevent a software-domain mishap from causing physical harm? Who would use such a product? Temporary disorientation makes sense, but physical harm doesn't. That's a common cyberpunk convention, however; even _The Matrix_ follow it.

   Along with the technology and fantasy ideas of the setting, there is the social system. The world of Shadowrun is an amoral dystopia where corporate power eclipses all governments. Money can buy anything, even military might, without meaningful restraint of laws or governments; the police are corporate employees who protect corporate interests, but protect ordinary citizens only incidentally. In short, it is pure Libertarianism.

   In the typical campaign style, player characters start as ordinary low-lifes, with just enough extra power to allow them to take jobs as deniable corporate covert forces. They take jobs that their corporate backers prefer to keep clear of their acknowledged employees -- in other words, thuggery that would be illegal in a setting where law meant anything -- in hopes of gaining greater powers with their corporate payola. There are alternatives to that campaign style -- one could even be a noble "street doctor" out to elevate the quality of life of the masses -- but the setting material doesn't offer much support for such alternatives. In short, player characters are likely to be hoods, not Robin Hoods.

   A player's liking for the setting will depend on a few things. Some people will like the fantasy-cyberpunk hybrid; others will not. The gloomy dystopia of the social setting will appeal to some players, and be depressing to others. The opportunity to be a small-time villain struggling to become a big-time villain will appeal to some, but put off those who want to be heroes. A game-master with the creativity to offer heroic opportunities to players can avert the villain issue, but removing the fantasy-cyberpunk and social dystyopia elements would make something that is no longer Shadowrun.

   While the setting is a question of taste, the game mechanics are a wreck of cumbersome rules. Anyone who likes the setting should ignore the rules, substitute something playable. GURPS, FUDGE, Hero, and even d20 are all improvements on the native Shadowrun rule set.

   The rules are extremely elaborate -- more complicated than GURPS or Hero -- but also very abstract, along the lines of d20. Normally, elaborate rules are meant to provide a feeling of detailed simulation. For example, GURPS tries hard to give every rule a justification that improves the feeling of realism, and does a pretty good job of it. In contrast, abstract rules are meant to favor quick, simple play, at the cost of leaving a lot of details to the imagination, or even reducing them to statistics without a clear connection to the world of the characters. The d20 rules do a good job of this, offering fairly simple game mechanics, but offering no quantitative connection between game-mechanic statistics and measurements in the world of the characters.

   The standard Shadowrun rules provide the worst of each rule design style. They are even more complicated and detailed than GURPS or Hero. It's difficult to reduce the complexity of the rules by dropping optional rules, because cutting rules is likely to break the rules that remain. But beyond comparative differences, the game statistics lack any perceptible connection to the characters. (For example, in GURPS one inch of steel armor equals 20 Damage Resistance, and in Hero each 5 Strength doubles the weight a character can lift.) The sole exception is money, which means the same thing to the characters as to their players.

   The standard Shadowrun rules also suffer in comparison to d20. The absence of a strong link between game statistics and the statistics a character could perceive makes both rule sets abstract. But in d20 the abstraction does a good job of speeding game play. One rolls to hit, then rolls damage, with addition-only arithmetic and a linear probabilities that are comprehensible to a math-shy child; all non-combat tests are resolved with the same one-roll mechanism. With Shadowrun, one assigns dice pools, rolls initiative to calculate the number and order of actions in a round, assigns dice pools to actions, rolls damage if an attack hits, rolls dice to avoid damage if one is hit, etc. Several different systems apply to different types of non-combat actions. The pools of "exploding" dice defy anyone short of an actuarial hobbyist with a spreadsheet. And still the statistics don't correspond to anything perceptible to the characters.

   Summary: If you like the idea of blending cyberpunk and fantasy in a gloomy, corporation-dominated dystopia, and being a small-time villain struggling to join the big-time, the Shadowrun setting is excellent. If you have a creative enough game-master, you could even play a heroic character in the same dystopia. But throw don't touch the rules.




3. Despite complaints from other reviewers this game plays very well for both new and old players alike. Adjusting the rules to fit any groups taste is easy and smooth, as the rules share little dependance on one another. The setting is varied enough to allow for play as heros, villians, neutral factions, or any thing imaginable. Play from the grimy urban, to the slick corps, to the lightly associated tribes of the north west.



4. I love the Shadowrun setting, and like the rules, and can say that if you are a fan this is a great book to own, with rules changes and flavor/background text that make it worth having. However, if you want to start playing Shadowrun this is not the book to get. Produced during the final disintegration of FASA as a functioning company it is riddled with major errors and inconsistancies. It is painfully obvious that the editors were the first people layed off, and they couldn't even be bothered to offer a copy of the book to a dedicated fan to look it over before the print run. There are many small errors and huge, glaring ones, like half the text on one page being repeated, suddely and exactly, on another page. If you want to start playing the game, I recommend either the Fourth edition, for a preference, which is a new, well edited, book with a sturdy binding, produced by FanPro, along with a set of improvements and innovations that does make it better than previous editions. Alternately get the old second edition, a much more usable book than third, although with a classic FASA disintigrating binding.



5. One of a series of cyberpunk role-playing games that is also crossed with elemental summoning and magic. This Third Edition bring more clarity and speed to the players who enjoy this game, and to the referees who need quick resolution of tasks and combat.
   
   While speeding up the character creation and combat systems, Jordan Weisman and his cohorts put together an awesome resource for the proliferation of this gaming series: "Shadowrun".
   
   Bringing the Second Edition into the Third, there are tables for use to convert some of the basics from the 2nd edition to the 3rd. Magics and summoning have been refined and added to, to make this new 3rd edition a much more fluid and viscous gaming system.
   
   This is also one of many games in my RPG collection, and a MUST HAVE if your are planning to purchase 4th Edition "Shadowrun." And grab some of the supplemental material for any of the previous iterations, 1st, 2nd and 3rd. This additional information is invaluable for extended play in the "barrens of Seattle" and the twisted convolution of the world that we so knew. Science fiction at its finest!
   
   I play. I have friends who play. I am looking forward to playing the "Shadowrun" game for the XBOX 360, based in part on the 3rd Edition and grounded sharply on the 4th.

4 comments about Dragonlance Knightly Orders of Ansalon (Dragonlance Sourcebooks).

1. As a suplement to the Dragonlance Campaign Setting, this is a good book.
   It explains in-depth about knighthood in general and also specifically about the orders for which it's named.
   The most notable thing this book does is it fixes the Solamnic Knight prestige classes. As it is in the campaign setting, if you wanted to make a high-level sword or rose knight, you would be highly restricted and you'd have no room for feats you want to take outside of prerequisites and the same goes for skills depending on your character's INT score.
   The Legion of Steel is also fixed, from a simple 3-level prestige class to four 10-level classes--a marked improvement.
   The Knights of Neraka's three core classes; Lilly, Skull, and Thorn, aren't affected by this book, though a few new prestige classes are introduced to compliment the Dark Knights' armies.
   I give it 4 instead of 5 only because I think the prerequisites for the Solamnics are still too strict, however they are a lot better off than the ones outlined in the campaign setting.
   Overall, the book has a much better layout than the campaign setting and Age of Mortals books; the margin is only 1" instead of the ungodly 1.5" margins in the other two, and they didn't leave half-pages of white space either. There's a good amount of artwork in the book which is worth admiring as well, especially a full-page print at the end. I won't spoil it for you, but anyone who's read the Chronicles will reccognize the scene.
   Reccomended buy.



2. This is a damn good sourcebook if you wish to play one of the three Knightly Orders in your Dragonlance game. It details the history of each knighthood very well. The Prestige Classes are excellent, though I was hoping for an updated set of Knight of Neraka/Tahksis (Lily, Thorn & Skull) PrC's. All in all it is another excellent book from the people at Soverign Press/Margaret Weis Productions.



3. Good book if you would like to know a lot of information about the three major order of chavalry in Krynn



4. This book is a great resource for anyone wishing to enhance their fighter in the world of Krynn. It gives a nice set of options for making knights, either dark, or Solamnic as well as Steel Legion and various others. Knightly Orders also provides an array of options in feats and customizations that will make any fighter or fighter-type better in battle and able to hold his own against the challenges thrown against him.

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

1 comments about Cbt Mercenaries Supplemental Update (Classic Battletech FPR35028).

1. I just plain like Battletech supplements like this one. Let's you flesh out your opposing force a bit.

3 comments about Silver Age Sentinels RPG.

1. If, like me, you've been looking for a solid rules-light approach to the supers genre in role-playing, this and only this is the book for you! The fast and slick Tri-Stat engine from Guardian of Order's multi-genre anime game Big Eyes, Small Mouth has now been put to use for the supers genre. I've played Hero, I've played Aberrant, I've played Trinity, I've played Heroes Unlimited. This is the best supers game I've played thus far. Rules light, fast playing, with an emphasis on emulating not only the powers and mechanics of comics supers but how and why supers are, well, super *heroes*. Definitely worth your money. Buy one for yourself and another for a friend.



2. Long, long ago I picked up the little gray book for Big Eyes, Small Mouth. I fell in love with the simplicity of the rules. Then I thought, "I wish they would add skills to the game, that would be cool." Ta-daa, out came BESM revised. I fell in love again. Then I thought, "BESM would be perfect for a super hero game. Again, wish granted. They came out with the Tri-Stat superhero game to end all superhero games. The history is rich, the characters are interesting and best of all the system is easy on the eyes. You won't find mind numbing table after table to make your PC. You can be as complex or easy as you want. After reading SAS I thought, "I wish that I could work out the stats for The Authority." I wish I had four wishes because they just got the rights to Stormwatch and The Authority.



3. It's too bad Guardians of Order (GOO) has ended support for thier fine entry into the Supers RPG field. I helped playtest this edition along with my RPG group in Cincinnati, Ohio.
   This is a terrific and underrated game. The GM does have to put alot into it to make it work as some of the powers can be a little vague. The tri stat system works well here and if you have played BESM, you should have no trouble picking this up.
   Like any RPG the players are what can make or break a game. The rules are well written and easy to understand. The interiors have some great art work (bested only by Green Ronin's Mutants & Masterminds) and the layout is easy on the eyes.
   There are many sample characters within as well. The back ground info in the book is very interesting and the book is just a good read in general.
   Pick yourself up a copy. You will not be disappointed.