5 comments about *OP Children of the Night (Vampire, the Masquerade).

1. I found the information in this book very useful, however I don't think that it was necessary to give this much detail on some major powers in the world of the Vampires and taking that power from the individual Storytellers.



2. This is a wonderful gallery of important storyteller run characters, with full stats and background histories that give a good feel for the characters' personality and outlook. There are exquisite portraits of each character by artist Christopher Shy (which earned this book another whole star from me.)

   The book still does maintain mystery about powerful figures like Caine (of course) or the Regent of the Sabbat (no more information about her or her predecessor either, apparently) but they have some really well detailed Sabbat cardinals as well as the current crop of Camarilla justicars and their archons. Some of these are characters who have been mentioned in past source books but never detailed. (The Gangrel Xaviar, for example, or Cardinal Strathcona.) There is also an independents section with examples of the Inconnu monitors for various cities. They assume that you can fiddle with these as needed and provide a basic formula for calculating the typical level of abilities for ancient vampires so that storytellers can make their own.

   My main nit to pick with this book is the fact that the selection of the characters listed seems arbitrary. Some are favorites culled existing source books and fleshed out or updated here. Others seem to have been made up just for this book, perhaps because there are future plans for them in or because they would seem to make interesting story hooks or because they are examples of a bloodline or character type. There seems to be a disproportionate number of Assamites- even a Methusalah whose stats are supposed to be mere suggestions of what it can do. (I guess they have plans....) Omissions are curious, too. Theo Bell is here, for example, (he's an archon) but Jan Pieterzoon is not. There are Setites but not Hesha. Or how about this- three of the four figures on the cover are Anatole, Lucita and Beckett. Their stats are NOT GIVEN in the book (? ) but those for Lucita's friend Fatima are given (she's an Assamite, right?) And these are just examples.

   So go figure. But don't worry. You'll find lots of uses for what's here.




3. This is an excellent resource, but, as stated in the book itself, if your players characters are powerful veterans, these archtypes don't have a chance against a PC with a Shotgun and Level 7 Celerity, but if you're players are mature, which they should be if they've played long enough to achieve Level 7 Anything, its wonderful to roleplay politics within the World of Darkness and this book helps a lot with the key NPC's.



4. This book contains detailed backgrounds and portraits of some of the most powerful cainites around. While some of the vampires such as caine and the regent along with the inner council aren't here (for obvious reasons) it is still very uselful for playing politics and when your players start killing everything they see just have a justicar roll on in and whoop his arse. If they can take the justicar then just spruce him up a bit so he can "compete". The information in this book is not meant for players and they should probably not read it if you plan on incorporating any of these power forces into a chronicle.



5. The way that Vampire: The Masquerade works gives a storyteller a lot of freedom to create. But sometimes it is good to have the help of a few pre-created characters too, especially lower gen ones. A very helpful section of this book gives guidelines for designing low-gen characters which I wished I'd had sooner. The book is divided into three sections: Sabbat, Camarilla, and Independent important/powerful figures. But it could really use an index so you can find clans or roles more easily. I'm intergrating into our game this summer in fact.

1 comments about Game Master's Screen (Serenity Role Playing Game).

1. I've never used the GM screen--I stick with my favorite RPG rules for the setting--but the deckplan of Serenity is a beautiful piece of art. It's not just useful for playing out fights on shipboard, it sets the mood at the table and makes players think about where their characters are working on board.

2 comments about Tasslehoffs Map Pouch Legends (Dragonlance).

1. Beyond the excellent graphical job made by Sean MacDonald, every map has the "feeling" of being for a Dragonlance fan (novels and roleplaying games). The annoted map of Ansalon from Tasslehoff wins the day with the hand-writings from the kender an his toughts about the locations!



2. This pack is a great buy. Made specially for the RPG campaings, it has many usefull maps for DM's, and even some hand-outs for the players. Many people may complain about the size of most of the maps (Standard A4 size) but I like it better than the big folded maps, because the larger ones tend to thorn apart after a few uses.
   
   This is a nice buy for those hardcore (and even causal) readers of the novels, because sometimes you may fell a little lost in the vastitude of the world of Krynn, and the Tas Maps Pouch is a nice tool, for understand a bit more about dragonlance.
   
   I just felt that more maps could have a more "Tas touch", or even give the fell that they were hand drawn.
   
   Having said all that - 4 stars

1 comments about Professor Dalrymple's Deluxe Patented Fairy-Catching System (Professor Dalrymple's).

1. I gave this Fairy Catching Kit to an 8 year old little girl for Christmas -- she really loves fairies. Her Mom said she has not stopped playing with it since she received it! What's especially so cute -- is the tiny cage!! Even her (almost) 50 year old Aunt said she would like one for her birthday...so it seems like it's the perfect gift for fairy lovers of ALL ages!

3 comments about Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Panel to Panel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse)).

1. This book is huge (read as: ginormous). And when I say huge, I mean huge in every way. The pages are thick, making the 190 pages feel like 300, and as far as height, this is the Yao Ming of trade paperbacks. I'm not going to go on and on about how big this thing is, but I have to add that I literally cannot fit it on ANY of my shelves.
   
   The book is pretty much made up of huge renditions of certain covers, panels, and promotional pics from the original Buffy run by Dark Horse. The art is of varying quality, but the way it was put together was quite masterfully. Scott Allie takes us on a trip down memory lane as he explains certain pieces, giving us background info on the artists or what was the reason for each cover. Often, his commentary offers some really cool tidbits, but other times he leaves us wanting a bit more. Many pieces that I would have liked to know more about were left unexplained, which isn't really that cool in a book like this. However, that little flub is made up for by the sheer quality of this book, because when it comes down to it, we do get a lot of new factoids from the man with the plan.
   
   There are many different styles in this book--some great, some good, some okay, some...not so much--from a long list of different artists who have contributed to the title. One of the most interesting aspects of the book is that it shows how the long term artists have evolved over the course of the series, often drastically changing their styles. The best part about this book is probably the painted covers from the later issues (post-Season Five and on), specifically the art taken from the wonderful illustrated prose novel "Creatures of Habit." Overall, this won't disappoint. Even if a lot of the art isn't good, it's amazing to see so many different takes on our favorite characters.
   
   With the quality, size, and very low price of this book, all I have to say is: "Don't be a goon. Buy it."
   
   8/10



2. The artwork is gorgeous. Great for any fan of the series.
   (The only downside is that it's a paperback, and a big one at that, so it's going to get frayed around the edges)



3. Oversized, you can really see the artistry that's not always as easy to perceive in the comic books these images are drawn from. If you're into Buffy the TV Series, this will feed your cravings for new Buffy stuff. If you appreciate comic art, you don't even have to be that into Buffy.
   
   Dark Horse Comics used many different artists to produce the ongoing Buffy series of comics. The artists vary in style, some are immediately likeable, some stretch the Buffy "look".
   
   I got into this book after discovering the comics, revitalized by Joss Whedon's participation in a new series of comics that extends the tv series. Joss and friends are now continuing the story in comic form (multiple Buffys, thousands of Slayerettes, evil Slayerettes, Zander as Slayerette Watcher, etc etc etc - great stories). I've never been that into comics before, but these give me a good hit of Buffy and take the "Buffyverse" in some interesting new directions.
   
   Here's links to the comics- note- there are a LOT of Buffy comics, I suggest the Omnibus volumes to read the back issues.
   
   Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 1: The Long Way Home
   
   Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, Vol. 1

2 comments about Future Player's Companion: A Sourcebook For d20 Modern.

1. The future is a big and scary place for some of us. For others it a place with no boundraries and as many opportunities to discover new things as there oppurtunities for these discoveries to kill us. Literally hundereds of futuristic novels, short stories, movies, television programs, radio programs and cartoons have been made and dedicated to the future or at least the futuristic. In fact the future is so big no role playing game can ever hope to encompass all of it. All it can do is give us the GMs and Players some tools to forge our own stories in the worlds of tomorrow.
   
   Roleplaying is all about collective story telling. And some of the greatest stories are seen through the lens of science fiction and science fantasy. This book gives you more tools to forge those stories. You need D20 Future to get the most out of this book. Future Tech would be nice but is not required.
   
   Whereas Future was really just a basic overview that was expanded in the subsequent books in varying degrees of detail, most of that was more geared for the GM who runs things behind the scenes than for players who actually play in these universes. Future Companion is geared towards the Player almost exclusively. More ways to get the most out of the mutation rules from the original future, more occupations to give an idea as to what the heck brought the character to beginning of the story and the obligatory gear and classes.
   
   On a personal note, I have been buying D20 Modern books from Game Mechanics since they first put out Modern Players Companion and I have yet to get a bad book from them. Future Players Companion is no different. Many of the people that worked on the Future books help make this as perfect a primer for the game as their first book was. As a player, this book gives me a wealth of options for my character to be the best he or she might be in the collective story. As a Game Master this book is a wealth of information for my own NPCs and to help my players finalize their characters so the whole game runs smoother. It also helps as a spring board of new ideas, especially possibililities I would never have thought of otherwise. If you seriously want to D20 Future, your campaign will be all the poorer for not purchasing this book.



2. I GM a d20 Future game and this book just arrived on my doorstep. I spent about 10 minutes perusing the book and found at least 20 ways to spice up my campaign just from that preliminary browse. And this is supposed to be a player supplement! By no means is this book essential for your campaign, but it will save you the time and effort of making this crap up on your own (e.g., this book is full of new gear, cybernetics, occupations, feats, skill applications, prestige classes, and much, much more).
   
   If you GM a d20 Future campaign or are a player in a d20 Future campaign, I recommend that you purchase this item. You will not be sorry.

5 comments about Plot and Poison: A Guidebook to Drow (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying).

1. Just reading the discription, and looking at the cover has me excited about getting this book. My group of players are usually up to there necks in drow intrigue. So this should help flesh out our adventures nicely. Not to mention that on occasion, I have a drow player character.



2. This is a good source of material to create either your own drow characters or a group of marauding villains. The first chapter gives you details for making them "real". It includes sub-races, being a drow elf,and a history from their point of view among other things. It also has alternate natural spells for YOUR drow elves. ie fire spells to replace what they normally start with. Chapter two gives a pantheon of gods for them to worship(no Lolth).Chapter three gives you new and old creatures of the underdark. It includes a template for drider characters and of course drow elves as well. Chapter four has prestige classes. Includes a new kind of bard called the deepsinger and something for every other class as well. The last four chapters detail spells, equipment(repeating hand crossbow), skills, feats, and magic items. All in all this is a wonderful source of ideas and can help fill in the blanks for your own band of merry marauders.



3. Whether you're a casual fan of the Dark Elves or a long time lover of the Drow this book will have something for you. It grants amazing insight into playing this mysterious race as well as presenting a mind numbing number of options for character customization. From prestige classes(such as the mutating Creature Cultist to the demanding Dominant) to sub-races(such as the barbaric Drey and rules for creating Half-Drow of any race) to martial art styles, new magic spells and domains and finally new magic item descriptors and even a new magic item type(the verminous magic item which are magic items created from living verminous creatures). One of the few books I feel warrant a "must have" status.

   The reason I drop it down to 4 stars instead of 5 is due to the header font type they use. It's a bit difficult to read. Aside from that this is simply a superb book.




4. I was really torn to buy this book, I bought a drow book from one company before and it was terrible. So I was alittle afraid to buy Plots and Poisons but because it was Green Ronin's and I always am impressed by their products I decided to go ahead. All I can say is that once again Green Ronin put out a book that takes a wonderful creation to greater heights. For the first time in a while I am afraid for my player's character and they should be too.



5. Once again, WotC's D20 system claims another casualty. This book carries on the crass misportrayal of the Drow as a race of dominatrixes in Boris Vallejo strap outfits, whose primary vise of their universe is sexual perversity. They mutilate the Drow pantheon, and while much of the artwork is indeed beautiful and well-done, there is a particular emphasis placed upon depicting pointless nudity and fetishist situations. Much of this book, I found sickening, and it wasn't the graphic descriptions of violence.
   
   That said, there ARE some useful things in the book, like a description of Drow name honorifics, and some of the aspects of society have thankfully not been tampered with by the fanboys. Some of the subraces are interesting, particularly the Drey, and the martial arts styles are a blast. Just.....avoid the bits about the Drow society centering around leather and whips, and please keep the mind out of the gutter.

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

5 comments about Ravenloft Campaign Setting: Core Rulebook (d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying).

1. Recently purchasing this book I was excited because I could not get it in my area (Windsor, Ontario, Canada) no matter who I called, I had to finally order it special online. When I got it however it said it was printed in Canada, well it said Canda. There are many spelling errors in this and quite unprofessional of a publishing company I must say.

   Anyway after reading the book through I came to some conclusions. First its a good read, It reads like a book rather than a gamers guide. The stories are really good if you like the old time gothic horror. There are long quotes and you get more of the tale as you read through it.

   Second its not helpful, usually when you buy something to help you as a DM you want the information so you can apply it to your game, but in this case it gives your more questions than answers. The book speaks in riddles and hints at things but does not tell you what you need to know to. If you wanted to run a campaign and have the players uncover the secrets you would have to make them up because it does not tell you all you need to know. For instance there is a part where the book is describing a domain and it says something like this. "This is a barren realm with no life, but if there was something intelligent under the earth it would surely be a mystery." So what does this mean? Does it mean they know there is something and they are not telling us or is it up to the DM to create this? One other part that got me was when they were talking about two domains side by side and one did not have any one running it that could be seen, but there was a house that had lights at night in the forest. Ok so? Does a dread lord live here? Which one? What is he? The questions just pile up.

   Thirdly There is a lot of extra talk in here that could have been cut out to save on money, we do not need to go over the races and spells that are already in the DM guide. The monsters guide has all the statistics on the vampires and ghosts already and there is really nothing to new here, I was expecting there would be. The book is neat and if you like Ravenloft you should have it if for no other reason than as a collectable and a good read but don't look for it to help you run a great campaign or give you all the answers.




2. To start with the faults in the book itself, this book is missing a decent map (like the one in the Faerun setting) and is not particularly well structured.
   Otherwise, I have no experience with 2nd Ed Ravenloft, but I've read the novels and this book certainly captures the mood... not surprising, since it's written by the Kargatane, Ravenloft's lifeline and now, possibly, its saviors. The information is generally clear and useful, and the real meaning of a Gothic campaign is well described. So why only three stars?
   It's the price that drives it up. You can make characters with this book, but the DM must have the "Secrets of the Dread Realm" expansion (which should have been bigger and more complete with more darkords, and should have carried most of the DM-only information in this book, like Dread Companions, Power checks, monster stats etc.) and should have "Denizens of Darkness" to run a good campaign, which works out to a lot of money when you add the D&D rulebooks.
   All in all, this book is very good in itself, but it holds information it shouldn't (DM-only) and is brought down by its supplements. If "Secrets" had been more complete and this book had had maybe two or three prestige classes, I would have easily given it 5 stars regardless of the lack of a map.



3. First of all, I'm not a fan of the d20 system, but that's a debate for elsewhere. I *am* a major fan of Ravenloft - I've been with the campaign world since it was released in 1992, and began DMing adventures not long after - so I eventually caved in and took a look at the d20 version of it. Thankfully, the Kargatane have saved Ravenloft from becoming totally extinct, but this book will be of limited interest to those familiar with the campaign setting.

   It uses the same timeframe outlined in the Domains of Dread hardcover released in 1997, post Grand Conjunction and post Grim Harvest. That means there is very little (read: nil) new information in this book as far as the Ravenloft "canon" goes. In fact, this book is intended to be a "player's guide" (even though it deals with powers checks and other DM-only phenomenon), so it has only sketchy information about domains and zilch about the Darklords. Want that information? Get ready to shell out for ANOTHER hardcover book (two of `em, if you want all of them...) The rest of the book is devoted to making 3rd edition characters using some of the customized character rules and races (half-Vistani, for example) from the DoD book.

   So its safe to say that there's very little to interest the longtime Ravenloft gamer here. Converting 2nd Edition to d20 isn't impossible - in fact, there are several freeware programs one could download to do all the hard work. For those of us who have all the old material, and can play 2nd Edition AD&D without a book because we know the rules so well (and yes, I DO have a life), there isn't much to interest us. Since it's actually cheaper to scrounge most of the 2nd Ed. materials, I say go with those, unless you are dead-set on running 3rd Ed. In that case, you better be rich...

   Final Grade: D+ (it's Ravenloft, I can't flunk it outright!)

   NOTE: I bought it anyway, because I'd like to see the Kargatane keep Ravenloft alive. Something to consider when making your decision...




4. The Kargatane did an excellent job, in my opinion, of releasing information in the first 3e Ravenloft book that should have been available to players. I'm not a HUGE canon freak, but I do like to control what information my players have... and this work does that very well. The "DM only" information derided by previous reviewers does belong in players' hands, because the Van Richten's Guides were published in Ravenloft for the common person to read. Fear/Horror/Madness checks are logical, and with the popularity of studies of psychology in the time period represented, people would have as much of a concept of how this works as a rudimentary glance-over would allow a player to recall.
   I won't game without it, but having an autographed copy ain't hurting my enthusiasm.



5. I got this book awhile back and it is wonderful. I just started played D&D again after awhile and although it's 3.0, it fits 3.5 also.
   It's great for newbies who have never played Ravenloft before.

5 comments about Fire on the Water (Lone Wolf, No. 2).

1. Este libro se podría decir que marca la pauta de la historia de toda la serie. Y es posiblemente el mejor. Un escenario perfectamente ambientado, que nos depara numerosas sorpresas. La variedad de situaciones, barco, desierto, pueblo, tunel, batalla naval... le concede un densidad admirable. Aún así a todo el que lo lee se le hace corto, no teniendo más remedio que engancharse al siguiente libro.



2. The LoneWolf series created by Joe Dever are probably the best fighting fantasy books ever written. The book #2 that is Fire on water is far better than the first one Flight from the Dark. Book #1 was too easy and short ,it took me about 40 minutes to finish it but it took me more time to finish book #2 that's just because it's much better than the first one. You'll become immediately addicted when you start reading the book, there are so many possibilities in different kinds of environment. I read it over and over again without gettting bored it's so brilliantly written. Dever takes you to a world that you are eager to explore and you won't stop until you've examined every single square feet with a magnified glass therefore I rate this book 10 it's simply the best.



3. This was about my third gamebook and up till then I was bored silly by other pretenders. I found this book simply brilliant and still read it 7 years later. It has a range of excitement going from nerve racking nail-biting stuff to simply lunch time relaxed reading. The characters are of Hercules proportions and have in depth feel as if you were there in that day and age.



4. i think it is a good book like all the lonewolf



5. I thought this book was not near as fun or as high of a quality as the first book (and the next books in the series). I found the adventure in this book to be not very exciting. However, there were some great aspects of this book that only start to unveil the potential for the entire series. For example, there is a part where you have to choose attack someone at a table in a tavern. You must choose who to attack by a picture in the book. I thought this was incredibly neat because not only are you choosing the direction of your adventure based on descriptions and visuals.
   
   Basically, the quest is to find the Sommerswerd and bring back an army to Holmgard. You meet many interesting characters along the way and fight some evil beings. Although there were times when I was bored in this adventure, it does have a nice conclusion to the introductory phase of the Lone Wolf adventures. I'm sure this book was much more exciting prior to reading all of the others many years ago.
   
   Lastly, this adventure series can be fun for youngsters and adults as well. I am looking forward to the time when I have young children and we can explore the world of Magnamund together. This book does a great job creating situations that promote imagination and stimulation of the mind.
   
   It only gets more epic from this point on. You are the last of the Kai warriors. Good luck!
   
   Finally, Joe Dever has authorized the free distribution and licensing of his Lone Wolf series which are available online. This resource has the unabridged editions which makes it great. I will not give out the URL as part of the reviewers agreement but with a little searching you should be able to find it. I still enjoy using the paper versions but it is still a fantastic resource.