5 comments about Vampire Bloodlines The Legendary (Vampire: The Requiem).

1. What can I say, when I reviewed Bloodlines: The Hidden I said that if Legendary was even half as good as it, I would be pleased. Well, this book blows The Hidden out of the water, completely. The descriptions to the new bloodlines are more in depth, even more elequent, and extremely informative. The added Disciplines are a major plus, and even the illustrations are remarkable. The introduction does state that the bloodlines are "legendary" due to certain stories, not because they maybe over powerful (although a couple of them are extremely powerful). The "legends" that come with the bloodlines are in depth and descriptive, and they truly do make the bloodlines what the book titles them as. This book is a must have for anyone who runs a World of Darkness game. And those players who wanna sneak something unique into the game, this is what you need. The introduction also leaves it up for yet even more Bloodlines books which is some what disappointing and exciting. Again, I reiterate what I have said before, White Wolf knows how to market well, and yes, with these two books, I would buy everyone that comes out after them.



2. I love to make wacky, "out there" characters, and I was hoping that, with bloodlines: hidden being mostly unimaginative templates, I had high hopes for the Legendary. And I was disappointed. I know that many complained about the brevity of the Bloodlines listed in Hidden, and that Legendary was trying to overcome that. However, when most of the fewer bloodlines in this book, less than in hidden, are ridiculous and just plain gross, and not the good kind of gross either. I think my biggest disappointment was the lack of Tremere, which I was hoping would be in this book. There ARE a few exceptions, that are better than even those in (the good ones) in hidden, but overall, it was a disappointment. For those who want more story about a bloodline, this book doesn't disappoint.



3. Well I had initially bought this book in the hopes that it was on the same level as Bloodlines the Hidden, but this book fell short of what my hopes were. There were only a few intresting bloodlines that really stood out to me that I think I'll use in my chronicles. However to start with, the opening story that was put into this book was lacking and wasn't really that good, in fact after reading it I went back and reread another one of the better ones in the books (that being the Lancea Sanctum and Bloodlines:The Hidden). The only Bloodlines that really stood out to me are The Children OF Judas, a group of Deava who were born out of Suicide, The Galloi, a group of horrificly beautiful Nosferatu, The Macellarius, A group of Gluttonous Ventrue who weigh 300+ pounds and can eat human, werewolf, vampire or any other flesh, And Finally the PLayers, a bunch of Mekhet who get off on being the stereotypical vampires (they have the nicknames of: Wannabes, Posers, and other less printable names. And there character concepts made me laugh!. The other down side was the lack of Gangrel and Nosferatu bloodlines (it seems as though those are few and far between anyway) If however you really need to add more bloodlines, then Buy Bloodlines:The Hidden, thats the better book. However if you TRULY need this book, at least buy it used to save you some heartache and wallet ache out of the dissappointment you'll receive.



4. Bloodlines: The Legendary presents nine new Bloodlines for Vampire: the Requiem, all focused around the theme of "legendary." Think more in terms of urban legends than epic Bloodlines and you're on the right track. The Bloodlines here are creepy and odd, the sort of Bloodlines vampires whisper about and give a wide berth. Stories of their odd powers and often horrific origins precede them and, in many cases, make it difficult for the Bloodline to interact with Kindred society.
   
   Most of these Bloodlines are, however, very playable which is a strong mark in favor of this product. Additionally, their histories and the bits of fiction and rumor associated with them are all very well done. While it is a small number of Bloodlines, each one is given enough attention that they feel very cohesive and escape some of the vagueness often found in other Vampire products.
   
   [...]



5. I don't know what it is with White Wolf but they seem to be having a really hard time coming up with bloodlines that players will actually want to play as. This book is filled with interesting possibilities, but they are ultimately largely used solely by the storyteller to make colorful NPCs, as the majority of players don't really see much appealing in the chapters. My favorite bloodline out of this book is the "Players," where their disciplines are geared toward pretending to be something they aren't, which I find appealing from a player character standpoint. Otherwise, though, the book's use has been largely limited.

No comments about D&D Miniatures Game Starter Set (D&D Miniatures Product).

5 comments about WFRP Tome of Corruption (Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay).

1. Tome of Corruption is all about flavor. The book is long on setting material and mercifully short on rules and even those still amount to flavor and setting material. Running a long-term game with many of the rules included would be difficult or downright impossible. The amount of raw power that is available to the players and GMs is huge. Some of the more powerful features, in an effort to reflect their abilities in the tabletop version of Warhammer, would slaughter an entire army of PCs. Many of the careers are also ridiculously powerful.
   Gamemasters are going to want to be extremely careful in what they allow players to take from the book, but for anyone who wants to run a high-powered epic game the Tome of Corruption provides everything and more.
   
   The Tome of Corruption is also a great read. For those who don?t like rules the mechanics are presented in such a manner as to be almost totally separated from the setting material. Unlike many supplements the point of the book is not just to create more rules but to add to the setting.
   
   If you can't use it in a WFRP game then it is a great idea mine for other games or for pleasure reading.



2. I have read most if not ALL the books about Chaos in Warhammer Fantasy. I read the two tomes of Realms of Chaos. I also read Complete Liber Chaotica, WHFB Beast of Chaos and WHFB Hordes of Chaos. This one is by far the most complete on the topic and the most pleasant and interesting to read followed closely by Complete Liber Chaotica. I cannot recommand you this book enough for every fan of Warhammer Fantasy (RPG players or NOT). Even the readers interested by Fantastic universe could find this reading interesting.
   
   Tome of Corruption add also a lot of new content concerning Chaos that have never been written so far in other Warhammer books. It push the topic much more further and embrace it widely. It cover in detail many old and new aspects.
   
   You will find in this book the following chapters:
   
   A first Part: The Enemy Within
   
   1- Chaos in the Old World
   
   2- The lost and the damned
   
   3- Catalogue of Change (MORE than 150 mutations. A general random table and 4 random tables adapted for each Chaos Gods.)
   
   4- Cults of Chaos (It feature also cultist career for each four Chaos Gods)
   
   5- Objects of Chaos
   
   
   A second Part: Shadows of Chaos
   
   6- The Places between: Life in the wilderness
   
   7- Beasts of Chaos (and the template to play one as PC...)
   
   8- Menagerie of the Strange
   
   9- Defenders of the Empire (Some words about the Witch Hunters and the other enemies of Chaos)
   
   
   Part III: The Chaos Wastes
   
   10- The Chaos Wastes (The Landscape of Chaos)
   
   11- Norsca (The Norsca region and his folks and their culture are explain in details. Template are given to play a norse and specific career related to norse people are also offered.)
   
   12- Hordes of Chaos (A distinction is made between the Norsemen and the other people who follow more directly and specificaly the Chaos Gods. Template are presented to play a men of the Hordes of Chaos such as the Kurgan)
   
   13- Slaves to Darkness (This chapter have the following section that every Chaos worshiper is looking for: Champion of Chaos, Chaos Sorcerers, Rewards of Chaos, Retinues. Basicly, this section explain the path followed by those who worship the Chaos Gods. It give the career associated to this path and the advantages and dangers it represent.)
   
   14- Chaos Armory
   
   
   Part IV: Realm of Chaos
   
   15- The Ruinous powers (The four Gods of Chaos)
   
   16- Beyond the Wastes of Chaos (Walk toward the Eye like no other book have brought you before. Then enter into the Realms of Chaos themselves. Sanity is for the weaks!)
   
   17- Chaos Sorcery (New spells, tables and background diging about magic)
   
   18- Legion of Chaos (The stats blocks about the Major and Lesser Chaos Gods Daemons... Your player will be able to fight for the best and the worst the Bloodthirster, the Keepers of Secrets, the Horror of Tzeentch and all the other classic Daemons commonly associated to the Chaos Gods. This section also explain how to design your own new Daemons and give you the proper random table to build them)
   
   19- Masters of Chaos



3. This book provides so much info on things gamemasters need to know to to write a cool Chaos adventure. Norsca, daemons, beastmen, more nasties, and mutations and cults. So much fun. Great to read and slightly disturbing. Highly recommended.



4. This vile tome is packed with foul goodness. The massive list of mutations alone is worth the price of the book. All kinds of foul things for the fiendish GM to throw at their players! Be warned though as just a brief glimpse at the pages of this thrice damned work will cause you the loss of your sanity!!!!



5. The Warhammer Book of Corruption is easily one of the best RPG books I've ever read. I would compare it to Monte Cook's Book of Vile Darkness, or either of D&D's fiendish codices in terms of horrific, otherworldly weirdness, but the Book of Corruption seems to go beyond even those volumes. The author is unafraid to list, hint at, or describe in detail when necessary, the sort of strange and disturbing things, cults, items, mutations, and monsters present in the Old World; which goes far to portray the setting as the frightening place that it is, so that the reader can see why and how the peasantry have the unsettling superstitious customs that they do (which are also talked about throughout the book). It also does the task of revealing clearly WHY any otherwise normal person might be tempted or coerced into joining a cult, and provides numerous adventure hooks for how an adventuring team would encounter one. All of these aspects seem to flow together perfectly - without spending too many pages on any one facet - to provide a very realistic, believable, and dark setting.
   With all of the information on mutations (176 results on the primary table), and on the nature of chaos, corruption, and evil itself, this book certainly has philosophical and literary value suitable for other roleplaying games as well; and it can easily be used as a sourcebook for D&D, Ravenloft, Dark*Matter, World of Darkness, or any other RPG that has darkness, evil or fear at its core.
   As a collector my opinion is that this is simply one of the best books out there. To portray realistic, alienistic horror is often a difficult thing, and the Tome of Corruption does the job flawlessly.

4 comments about Legends Of The Twins (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Dragonlance Setting).

1. This is an awesome addition to the books made by Sovereign Press. Glad to see the alternate Krynns. This book does a lot of major things in it, including showing Tas, Caramon, Raistlin going back to the time of Istar and Kingpriest Beldinas, along with the Dwarfgate War, Abys, and the Blue Lady's War. The battle section is great. The alternate Krynn's is every DM dream. I highly recommend this to anyone.



2. All the books about the world of Krynn have entertained and this one is no exception. good action and characters give you a book hard to put down. Definitely recommend!
   
   If you like books like this one, might I suggest another I've recently come across. The Unsuspecting Mage by Brian S. Pratt. It's another fantasy adventure sure to please. I highly recommend it.



3. No where on this webpage does it say that this is a campaign setting. Yet its titled the exact same as the trilogy name. Quite decieving. Other that that I dont know about the book I returned it.



4. This book is fantastic. There is so many variations included from the main storyline that this book is wwell worth the price.

1 comments about Orpheus The Orphan-Grinders (Orpheus).

1. If you like Spectres and Wraith: the Oblivion, GET THIS BOOK! Great story also.

5 comments about Deep Horizon (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Adventure, 13th Level).

1. This adventure seems hastily written and hastily put together. It lacks a real adventure hook and is basically a collection of encounters. And it's boring. I would have given it two stars for the interesting race of bat creatures within, but one of their special attacks lacks a DC, so even that isn't done correctly. Another annoying thing about the module is that it contains magical solutions for current technology, such as SCUBA gear. Super lame. This is a lackluster effort and a real disappointment from Skip Williams.



2. I have to say, this is one lousy adventure... Skip Williams could have done much better that that. Firstly, the character hooks is really badly made, then secondly, the race of bats has a DC missing, thirdly, the whole adventure was really boring.



3. An interesting premise, poor execution. Maps are hard to follow. Very few interesting traps or encounters. Very stingy on the rewards that the PCs may acquire. The only redeeming aspect is that this module introduces the desmodus, a cool race of bat-like men who dwell in the Underdark. But if you pick up Savage Species, the appendices in that book fully describe the desmodus.



4. An interesting premise, poor execution. Maps are hard to follow. Very few interesting traps or encounters. Very stingy on the rewards that the PCs may acquire. The only redeeming aspect is that this module introduces the desmodus, a cool race of bat-like men who dwell in the Underdark. But if you pick up Savage Species, the appendices in that book fully describe the desmodus.



5. I've never head anything but hate for this module, but after reading it I think the haters are wrong. It has an interesting ecology, and well-developed new monster species (which has since been reprinted in a monster manual, but it was a good addition to the game at the time). The intrigue between the flame salamanders and the bat-people is fun, as is the murder plot by the rival adventurers.
   
   I plan to use the loose, somewhat free-form encounters in my present underdark campaign. I'm pleased with this adventure, especially at today's prices.

1 comments about Grimm: the Roleplaying Game.

1. Grimm has been on the list for a long time. At one point, it looked like vaporware but the folks at FFG finally made it a reality. This is a full game version of the d20 setting book they put out several years ago. By full game, I mean that it has its own system and it expands upon the material that was in the original setting book.
   
   The book is a beautiful hardcover. Most of it is in black and white with the first 15 to 20 pages in color. While most of the art is from the original d20 setting book, the art ranges from average to good. The print is easy to read and the book is well laid out. The binding is solid.
   
   The player characters are children who have been caught in the twisted realm of Grimm's fairytales, where Humpty Dumpty, the Rotten King, rules; Cinderella is now his evil bride; and the Wolf continues to prowl the great forest.
   
   Character creation involves choosing an archetype for you kid. These range from the Jock to the Bully to the Nerd. The archetypes determine starting abilities, which range include Scrap (fighting), Scamper (running or dodging), Boy Scout (making fires, first aid), and others. The characters are rated in their abilities by grade, as in the grade system for American schools). Along with this, archetypes also get bonuses to certain actions, as well as special abilities. The Bully is better at intimidating others while the Nerd is good at anything involving knowledge, and the Dreamer may channel their imagination and become a legendary warrior.
   
   The game system is a fairly static with the random chance that is encountered in other RPGs having less impact. The creators took the attitude that a character is usually going to function at ability level all the time. There are ways to improve your grade temporarily by concentrating on a task or expending an attribute. Another way to improve your grade temporarily is through teamwork, which is an important part since your characters are children that are coming up against creatures of great power.
   
   The setting is very well done, sticking with the feel of Grimm's fairytales. This isn't a very child friendly world, and neither were the original versions of the tales. Cinderalla punishes her stepsisters with a cat-o-nine tails, Jack has forgotten who he is and works as an emmissary of the Rotten King. It is a world where the NPCs are caricatures of real people and most people are either in awe of children or cruel to them.
   
   The authors also go into the structure of stories and give advice on running fairytale adventures. While some old hands might find it repetitive, it does help since the game system and the fact that the characters are children may require an adjustment in thinking.
   
   Overall, this book is a great buy and well worth it if you are looking for a game of traditional fairytales and children but not something as dark as Little Fears or as light as Faery Tales (where characters play faeries) or Changeling (where the players have returned from the realm of the fair folk and have been changed by the experience.

1 comments about Dice World of Darkness.

1. These are the dice set for the new World of Darkness, commonly known as the "mortals" game line. There is a felt bag with the nWOD icon (regular skull) and ten 10-sided dice. The dice have the same steel-gray color as the mortals game-line books have, with blue numbering for 1-7 (a failure in nWOD mechanics) and white for 8-0 (a success in nWOD mechanics). The successes are very easy to read in dim lighting. They don't take up a lot of space and the felt bag is just big enough to hold them all; small dice is good when you need to roll 12 at a time. My only complaint is that the dice look similar enough to the Mage dice that the two don't feel distinct enough, but that is a very minor issue. Overall, I am pleased with the quality and that I now have "mortals dice" for my mortals to roll.

No comments about Classic Battletech: Technical Readout: 3067 (FPR35009) (Classic Battletech).

5 comments about Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game (Battlestar Galactica).

1. A few things right off the bat that are missing:
   
   1) No stats for Pegasus.
   2) The weapon list is woefully incomplete.
   3) No list of the ships in the rag-tag fleet.
   4) No Blackbird.
   
   The game system is good. I'm REALLY hoping for some support system for the game, even downloadable updates and source material will be appreciated.
   
   Still and all, its a start, and a fairly good one. If you're looking for some sort of comprehensive guide to the BSG (rebooted) universe, look elsewhere.



2. The Good:
   Nicely organized: Chapter and section headings match what they are about. Also, an index. This might seem like an odd point, but... I've seen some things over the 30 odd years that I've been gaming to lead me to believe otherwise.
   Pretty pictures: Stills from the show showing the topic at hand, also, the schematics of the Galactica and Colonial One are nice.
   System: While not a huge fan of the system, it seems workable.
   The tonality: Nicely done, and the way it's written, brings home the points of the series. While no direct comparisons are made, the point is brought home to avoid the technobabble - this is not Star Trek, where the problem of the week will be solved by reversing the polarity of the subspace transfusion warp capacitors, the problem will be solved by people.
   
   The Bad:
   Ship Design: Rules forthcoming... want to design your own ship, or fill out the fleet? Wait till that book is published, or, do what I'm going to, and fudge the Serenity ship building rules.
   Sometimes the "in game" tonality of the rules is a little intrusive. On some occasions I find that I feel like Saul Tigh is growling the rules at me... take that how you will.
   The Quick Start rules feature an introductory scenario, and sample PCs. Perhaps a continuation of the scenario and more sample PCs would have been a good idea.
   
   Edited to add:
   Among the other Good features is a lexicon listing common terms from the show and the game, like what exactly DRADIS stands for.
   There is also semi-official support at this website: cortexsystemrpg.org, which includes the official errata list.
   
   The Ugly:
   I'm not a grammar or a spelling Nazi... but dear lord, for the price, and coming from professionals, I expect more. There's a typo in the introduction by Richard Hatch ( which, by the way, I think is pretty cool that they got him to write one). There's misspellings, the wrong use of words ( I don't think the character is "knew to the fleet"), lack of spaces between words, etc. I had the same experience with the Serenity RPG - the feeling that the book is already late, and there's just not time for one more pass by the proof reader. Well, for the record, take the time.
   
   Overall:
   Why the 4 star rating? Because they don't offer a 3.5, the bad and the ugly don't outweigh the good. A statement up front that the RPG only covers the events of the first season (and I'm not sure it even goes that far) would have been good.
   Hopefully, later printings will see a cleaned up book, and the supplements will fit out the cracks. A search on Amazon shows a GM screen for the game, but no due date.
   
   I'd recommend this game for people looking to role play in the reimagined BSG universe.



3. The Battlestar Galactica Roleplaying game is simple, yet manages to cover the essentials for gaming in the Galactica universe. Character creation is quick and can give you a nice array of personalities through the use of the asset and complication mechanic. The task resolution is easy and swift, as is combat. Another review complained about the lack of a comprehensive weapons list, but I found it to cover the guns seen in the show -- there are more than enough examples to extrapolate other weaponry.
   
   There are a few limitations to this core book: there is no ability to play humanoid Cylons (although it is easy enough to reverse engineer one using the examples near the back of the book.) The space combat system is slick and designed for cinematic combat, not tactical gaming. There are no spacecraft creation rules -- those are pending in another book. This is understandable for the page/word count of the book. Editing is occasionally sketchy, something more and more common in the publishing industry. I would like to have seen more on the Twelve Colonies, but since the show focuses on the rag-tag fleet and post-invasion Caprica, it is no surprise that they have little to work with.
   
   Overall, the design of the book is solid, with good use of screencaps and decent text layout. The system is complete and where it could use expansion we should be able to expect new material in the scheduled books from Margaret Weiss.



4. I must give the authors of this book at least a little credit. The prose is witty, exciting and true to the spirit of the "modern" version of the TV series.
   On the other hand, I could not figure out why a game book had to rely on so many swear words and profanity just to seem "real." The subject matter of the book is great and the earthy comments that invade every single paragraph do nothing but pull the quality down. Mayne the authors were trying to write an "adult" book that would make younger folks feel older because of the verbal filth.
   
   The Cortex system (a modified d20 rule set)is one of the book's greatest assets because it was well tested and received in the Serenity game that the authors published previously in MW press series. ignoring the things I mentioned above, this is a game system that is complete in every way. Multiple web sites for fans provide extra materials and helps to get a beginning GM started in the world of BSG. Better yet, the book contains vital future historical information on the Federation, the Cylon wars and the wars between the tribes. The game is very limited by the fact that it is a little hard to create original, non-TV, characters.
   
   As a drama-based game, this product is impeccable. Even the writing seems fluid, fast-paced and full of feeling. I recommend this book to anyone who passes by it on a shelf or rack at the local hobby store or large chain store. I gave this title two stars because the incessant profanity in its pages serve no purpose to the theme of the game. The authors were very lazy in writing this book, and I would not recommend it to anyone under the age of fifteen.
   The more you read this book, however, the game engine speaks for itself and is a great value warts and all.



5. Let me preface this review by saying I am a fanatic of the new Battlestar Galactica series. I wasn't aware of it at all until I picked up the first season. I was instantly hooked and burned through three seasons in less than a week.
   
   I began searching for more material and found this book. I like pen and paper games and ordered the book from Amazon. I was very impressed with the Cortex Gaming System. It's very straightforward and doesn't take time at all to learn (I was used to D20 and D10 systems.)
   
   It goes into good detail about the Colonies, character creation, skill and combat resolution. Like some of the other reviewers stated, the ship combat resolution area is somewhat sketchy, but you can manage through. The really nice thing are Plot Points which allow characters to change the story in subtle ways to aid themselves by basically buying off the storyteller. The book also has a system of merits and flaws which I find interesting and can really impact game play if characters and the storyteller don't ignore them.
   
   I would have preferred more information about society prior to the fall, but the game is based on the series which plunges you into humanity's fight for survival post-nuclear holocaust.
   
   However, with the material in the book, I am running a pre-nuclear attack game taking place on Canceron (the Colonies' tylium planet.) I believe in the future more books will be coming out that will flesh out military and other faction details and I hope more information will be available about the specific colonies.
   
   Now on to the bad. The book indicates that Liz Wilhelm was responsible for proofreading. I certainly hope she was paid in potato chips, because she did an absolutely atrocious job. I'm not perfect by any means in my writing (as you can tell), but the grammatical and spelling errors are so numerous and some so glaring that it's a wonder if this woman can read at all. A great example is in the back of the book in the reference section where they go over the Colonial Phonetic Alphabet. Alpha is spelled Aplha instead. Horrendous.
   
   My only other complaint is more narrow. In my job I deal with a lot of firearms. The book lists some firearms, such as the Picon Five-seveN (a pay on the real-world FN Five Seven.) The picture presented, however, is clearly a Beretta style 92FS pistol. The LEO M12 submachine gun is picture as an H&K MP-5, the Leo Storm Carbine as some variant of the AR-15, and the Milirem 700 is clearly a picture of a Remington 700 rifle. Again, this is something that most people won't mind, but it greatly irritates me. I've resorted to scrapping some of the weapons entirely and building others from scratch.
   
   Despite all of this, I am impressed with the book and gaming system. I plan on purchasing additional books as they become available.