4 comments about *OP Book of Worlds (Mage - the Ascension).

1. A note to players: This book is not for you. There is nothing, at all, in this book that it would benefit you to get. Unless you're a Mage storyteller, don't so much as TOUCH this book. Got it? Unless there's no chance you'll ever be involved in an Umbral campaign. Got it?

   Beyond the Barriers: The Book of Worlds is an absolutely incredible Storyteller's resource for everything lying within the Umbra, for any of the WoD games, not just Mage. Unlike its partner Umbra: The Velvet Shadow for Werewolf, it actually covers the entirety of the spirit realms, not just one layer. Mages usually involve themselves most in the Astral/High Umbra and the Horizon Realm, and both these are described, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. The Shadowlands and Tempest of Wraith are in here (the Low Umbra), as are the Middle Worlds realms that the Garou are familiar with (but only those that mages have some business in, and from a willworker point of view; for example, the Abyss, Aetherial Realm, and the Cyberrealm are all presented, but they're known to mages as the Chasm, the Aetherian Reaches, and Dystopia), and even the Dreaming of the Changelings is put in its place among the other spirit realms. But in this book, you also find the Hollow Earth, Technocracy outposts on the moon (Darkside Moonbase), in orbit on the opposite side of the sun from earth (Autocthonia), and even a Dyson Sphere the Void Engineer's 'created' around one of the Centauri suns. Each planet in the solar system, the asteroid belt, and a bunch of moons are described, as are the Shard Realms they coexist with and the Shade Realms they reflect on earth's Horizon.

   A very comprehensive, coherent, and in-depth work; absolutely fascinating material, and very useful. Between the Barriers is presented almost completely as an in-character narration from a bunch of different sources; there are two main writers (a Daughter of Ether and an Orphan Technomancer) who are compiling a traveller's guide to the Umbra, and they call in a bunch of other mages to write about topics in their specialty (a Euthanatos to talk about the Shadowlands; a Celestial Choruster about the astral Heavens and Hells; an ex-Void Engineer to blab about Technocracy realms). The bulk of the book is flavor text and descriptions with very little rules (applying too much system to the spirit realms kills the mystique and bogs down the experience), and what rules are needed are presented in an appendix in the back. An awesome, awesome book.




2. While the folks at White Wolf have always been a little guilty of playing hack-fiction-writer when they should have been writing a gaming book, the book of Worlds takes the cake. The artwork is mediocre as well. A large majority of the material therein is covered elsewhere better.



3. A great book which explores the different places you can meet in the Umbra. I specially loved this book because it lets you get your Mages in whole new universes, where rules can be as twisted as you can devise. It also brings information about what Mages seem to know about more obscure subjects, such as the Dark Umbra (Shadowlands) and Maya (The Dreaming), and even information about the worlds beyond the Horizon, which can become a very interesting setting for a chronicle (a deep space etherite exploration vessel chronicle anyone?).

   The style is also great, resembling a scientific article compilation made by Alexis Hastings, etherite extraordinare, with the colaboration of several of her contacts. Each section is written by an "expert" in that area.




4. This book is a must for Mage fans interested in dimensional adventures. Whether you're a Void Engineer, Son of Ether, Dreamspeaker, a sleeper etc, this book has something for you. The book is presented as a guide by a charismatic Daughter of Ether and her associates. Not only is it an entertaining book, it also provides a tremendous amount of information on various dimensions, worlds, starships, and creatures from the Void. Story possibilities are endless. Don't hesitate to obtain a copy of this book.

1 comments about Victory At Sea.

1. Victory at Sea (VaS) is a good introduction to World War 2 era naval wargames. VaS is designed to play quickly and easily and therefore it ignores a lot of details that other, more traditional games do not. I have played two games of VaS so far (with one win and one loss) and both of them have been entertaining. VaS is a great starter game for Dad's looking to introduce their children to naval wargaming or for gamers looking for a fast and simple naval combat game.

5 comments about Character Record Sheets (Star Wars Roleplaying Game).

1. These Character sheets are very crisp and have amazing detail. They are great for groups of RPGers and allow for easy photocoyping. The sheets are the same in the Core Book, but this provides the Gamer the chance to make several characters and to experiment with them without having to make many copies. They are a great buy and I recommend for serious gamers to buy more than one.



2. Yeah, the sheets allowed me to not have to try to copy the page out of the core rulebook, but how about some variation with sheets made specifically for each character class. At about a dollar a page, that's pretty stiff just for copies. The vehicle/starship sheets are nice, but certainly not worth the money.



3. The sheets for droids, starships and vehicles are nice, but 10 copies of the SAME character sheet?! C'mon!! Why do we need multiple copies if permission is given to photocopy? I think WotC could have spent a little more time on this and produced a separate character sheet for each class (like with D&D 3E).



4. I enjoy the new version of Star Wars and play it frequently, but I made a mistake buying these sheets. An option is to instead photocopy the one given to you in the core rules ten times. If you do that, you pretty much have this supplement.

   There is a vehicle/starship sheet in here, but let's be honest, you don't like the vehicle/starship rules anyways, and are anxiously awaiting the update this December to see if they address it in any reasonable fashion.

   .




5. This is product is nothing more than a way to squeeze a little more money from the pockets of die-hard Star Wars RPG fans. The character sheet is already available in PDF format for FREE from Wizards.com, (which could have easily been done with the vehicle sheet).

   Bottom line. Don't waste your money. Download the PDF and print free copies.

No comments about Dungeon Crawl Classics #17: Legacy of the Savage Kings.

1 comments about Dark Ages Inquisitor Companion (Dark Ages Vampire).

1. Kraig Blackwelder and his colleagues have put together an indispensible supplement for players wanting to find a home in the world of Dark Ages Inquisitor. Kudos to Blackwelder for bringing in one of the field's heavy hitters, Jonny Shepherd, to offer his own unique perspective and clever writing. The play samples in this book are interesting, and explained well. And the parallels raised between the mythos of the Buffyverse and Dark Ages are compelling; both use the structure and symbols of Christian legend and rituals, but by subverting/reinventing their contexts, they imbue them with a bizarre new relevance.

5 comments about Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri: Prima's Official Strategy Guide.

1. It would be charitable to say that the book had more than twenty pages of useful information. Most of the materiol is taking the information within the games own rather good help files and rewriting them, and the tips they give are excrutiatingly obvious.

   Just don't bother.




2. This SG's maps are hard too read, and the stratageys are dumb. it is not good at all, although it does have cool discriptions of the techs. bottom line; unless you are a billionair, dont buy this



3. Go to ZDNet: GameSpot: Game Guides for a free, downloadable and far superior guide to SMAC. We're (the reviewers) mostly in agreement here that this guide doesn't do enough "right" (like faction strategies, unit design, etc.) and does too much "wrong" (like trivial descriptions of already available game info with little or no explanations of how a player might best make use of the info). I would have appreciated a book half as thick but with opinions on the how and why for designing well-equipped armed forces, choosing government types, allocating research, and so on.



4. The official strategy guide to SMAC was a disappointment. In retrospect, I realize I should have heeded the warnings in the other reviews. The beginning is good, with nice tips on general gameplay and the various victory types, but then it reverts to nothing more than a rewrite of the game manual and online help.

   The Alpha Centauri strategy guide pales in comparison with the corresponding book for Civilization II, which is required reading for any Civ2 fan.




5. The book is a good reference when playing the game. The information in the strategy guide contains more information than the game's on-line help. The strategy guide has a cross reference to easily find information in the guide and in the software manual. For me, the quick reference makes the game play more enjoyable.

   I particularly liked Appendix C, which gives insight on how to modify the game play. Alpha Centauri has seven players. The computer players have certain personalities. Quite frankly, there is one personality I do not like to play with. By changing a file, I was able to change offending personality.

5 comments about Vampire Storytellers Handbook.

1. Welp, this book is like a combination of the dirty secrets of the blackhand and the elysium. I found it really helpful in making elder vampires and dealing with the new changes produced ever since the 3rd edition came out. They had little detail ruling, e.g. does a vampire have fingerprints? Plus some inside information on the changes happening. It describe _a lot_ of the bloodlines and what happened to them, including Baali, True Brujah and Nagaraja. I recommend this book to storytellers, not players.



2. This helpful book includes information on elders and their society (from ELYSIUM mostly), mechanics for century-spanning chronicles (scattered and without as much detail as in other sources, unfortunately), an informative FAQ section, a section on how vampires interact with other World of Darkness creatures, advice on creating short (tournament size) games and possible alternative settings. There is a discussion about bloodlines including the modern Baali and the Daimonion discipline and material salvaged from SECRETS OF THE BLACK HAND- True Brujah, Nagaraja and their unique disciplines. A chapter covers the Hand's secret history and recent demise as an independent sect. The book offers suggestions for using free-form techniques to make the chronicle less numbers driven and more story driven- alternatives to merits and flaws, game balance treated as giving player characters equal story attention rather than equal powers, etc.

   Unfortunately, some material seemed organized in a haphazard way. For example, elder society was in the chapter on vampiric existence but vampiric authority structures and power wielding techniques were over in the storytelling chapter. Things like this made it difficult to get an overall sense of where things were without reference to the index.

   In places, it seemed overly long on theory and short on specifics. After reading the section on theme, concept and mood I was thankful that there wasn't going to be a quiz and wondered if this is really something you can learn from a book- especially with only broad suggestions about using music, props and (what'll they think of next!) descriptions. Specific suggetions for darkening a chronicle that seems too "nice" (and the reverse) might also have been more helpful than all the sidebar reminders to keep it cynical.




3. Until many other role playing games, "The Worlds of Darkness" are story based. Thus the storyteller is the single most important person in the group and players will often join or leave a group based on the personality of the storyteller and their ability to create an intriquing journey. But it is also very challenging to be a storyteller, especially if you are used to the less story-focused role-playing games where the DM or guide focuses on technical matters over characters or plot. This is a great book because it makes a lot of good suggestions, gives some needed guidelines, and also spends a good deal of time being honest about the storyteller's role, power, authority and the dynamics of players in this system. Does it answer every question? No, but it will help you become a better storyteller and everyone in your group will benefit.



4. I have been reading gaming books since I was nine and gaming and gamemastering since I was in Junior High School (I am now a senior in college). In that time, I have read dozens of gamemaster guides for different sci-fi and fantasy worlds. The Vampire guide is the best of all of them, and it is one that everyone running a campaign, Vampire or otherwise, should read. Most gamemaster guides are the same thing as all of the others: they have the same campaign generation and adventure writing advice, the same NPC advice, just with the flavor text appropriate to the game in question added in. The Vampire guide is different. In addition to providing all of the behind-the-shield knowledge relevant to Vampire and its storylines, it also has sections on topics like 'How to deal with Problem Players.' It touches on the interpersonal aspects of gaming in a very blunt manner that all other gaming guides seem too squeamish to handle. Included herein are sereotypical 'problem players' that most of us have seen (or been) at some point and advice on how to deal with each of them. Three clans new to this edition (the Baali, Nagaraja and True Brujah), new advantages (age, military force, arcane) and new disciplines related to the new clans (all with powers detailed up to ten dots) are provided, as well as Vampire history and the like. In the history section, there are tips for gaming in any era from prehistoric to the present. In true White Wolf spirit, there is a good bit of humor in the book. The 'Problem Player' section in particular provided great entertainment.



5. If you like to play vampire and like to play often you will eventually run into the problem of the GM and other veteran players getting into fights, moving, getting bored with the game, or getting married. This leads to the break up of groups and then it is necessary to find another group.... or make your own. Some times its hard enough to find other experienced players, much less match up everyones schedule. I think the next best thing to do is teach new people. This is more true to the game anyways. When first embraced the vampires know nothing about kindred society and the powers that vampires wield. This sets you up for a very realistic game.

   You know all the times you were playing in someone elses game and thought "I could have done that so much better" here is your chance. BTW Its harder than you ever imagined, but also rewarding when you do a good job. If you just want hack-and-slash vampire campaigns, though, the players handbook has all the info you need. This book is almost too much information but if you want a very complex and detailed story it is highly recommended.

2 comments about Greyhawk Adventures (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Rulebook).

1. Though it's a 1st edition book, there are many things in this book that can easily be adapted to any AD&D game. This book has a number of new monsters, spells that can't be found anywhere else, Deities of Greyhawk, magic items, and in-depth descriptions of several interesting characters (who, unfortunately need to be adapted) who can be used for great stories and adventures. Also included are a number of locals that can provide interesting and dangerous adventures for your PCs. All in all a great book from a great campaign world.



2. Ah, yes... seconded closely by Oriental Adventures, this is the FINEST supplemental hardcover ever produced by TSR! This one includes excellent, EXCLUSIVE information on the most intriguing aspects of Greyhawk. Best of all, this one includes only the secrets the players themselves requested! Tantalizing topics include: the 12 clerical orders of the most popular deities, all with unique powers and spells, including the Priests of Iuz; 13 great monsters unique to the Flanaess (including the Greyhawk Dragon, and the ever-notorious Swordwraith); the Free City of Greyhawk, the Valley of the Mage (with stats and history on the Magus himself!), the Scarlet Brotherhood, over 100 Archmage spells (Bigby, Rary, Otto, Nystul, etc.), 95 magic items unique to Greyhawk (Red Dragon Armor of the Hellfurnaces, Cheetah Cloak of Amedio, Black Arrow of Iuz, etc.), 15 pages on the most intriguing geographic locations of Oerth, including the secrets of the Sea of Dust (at last!), lots of mini-adventures in Greyhawk, plus: beginning a "veterans-challenge" campaign with zero-level characters! Your jaw will drop when you realize just how much is here. Highest recommendation.

No comments about Paranoia - Sector Zero (Paranoia).

No comments about Classic Battletech: Technical Readout 3058 Upgrade (FPR35015) (Battletech).