No comments about Tales of the Loremasters, Book 2 (Shadow World Exotic Fantasy Role Playing Environment, Stock No. 6008).

1 comments about Cyclops Vale and Other Tales (Shadow World/Rolemaster).

1. A game set in the Peligris region of Emer Eastern mountain range...it has all the opportunities for the players to kill themselves.An adventure which is more set for player level 3 or above. All in all,a good campaign or a series of stand alone adventures. P.S Watch out for the traps ;)

No comments about Tales of the Loremasters, Book 1 (Shadow World Exotic Fantasy Role Playing Environment, Stock No. 6004).

No comments about Star Crown Empire and the Sea of Fates (Shadow World Exotic Fantasy Role Playing Environment, Stock No 6005).

No comments about Quellbourne, Land of the Silver Mists (Shadow World Exotic Fantasy Role Playing Environment, Stock No. 6001).

No comments about Norek, Intrigue in a City-State of Jaiman (Shadow World Exotic Fantasy Role Playing Environment, Stock, No 6014).

No comments about Demons of the Burning Night (Rolemaster/Shadow World).

1 comments about World of Darkness: Shadows of Mexico (World of Darkness).

1. I never really looked at Mexico as this land of shadows and legends but once you start getting into Shadows of Mexico for the World of Darkness, you see that Mexico's history and legends are every bit as colorful, and even more cloaked in history than nations of the Middle East, the cradle of civilization. And give the writers of this wonderful hardcover supplement credit, the first chapter is a lush, fifty page plus overview of Mexico's diverse history, and its terrifying legends. As duly noted in the opening pages of chapter one's overview, Mexico's human history goes back more than 10,000 years, yet unlike Egypt or ancient Babylon, we know so little about the cavitations of the Olmecs and Toltecs who predate the Aztecs.
   
   Besides Mexico's history, the opening chapter delves deeply into many other subjects such as it's often harsh lands, border towns, common myths, gangs and organized crime, the Policia, crime and the drug trade, ancient Mexican deities and monsters and all sorts of other weirdness. I found myself truly fascinated and incredibly impressed by the research that went into the opening chapter. This isn't mere fluff but rather meaty material you can sink your teeth into.
   
   Chapter Two is the player's guide to Shadows of Mexico and deals with how players and player types fit into the Mexican milieu. All the standard types of characters in World of Darkness are covered including Werewolves, The Awakened, Mexican vampires, the new Prometheans, and more, making it a fit for any WOD setting. The vampire clans and types are as eclectic as I've seen in any RPG system from the savage Gangrel to the tyrannical Ventrue. There's a wide array of dark and vampiric powers that are detailed that are as terrifying and as colorful as their names, such as The Scream of the Dying Sun, and Harbinger of Fear.
   
   Chapter Three is mainly for the Storyteller and details the lands of Mexico that range from jungles to deserts and everything in between. Throughout the book, and not just in the Storytelling chapter, there are various sample adventures hooks and sample settings provided to help get the gaming session going. Again, as with the preceding chapter, the lushness of the material is amazing. Players can go from ancient Mayan ruins to stiflingly oppressive modern Mexico City.
   
   The final chapter highlights some of the very unique characters and powers operating in Mexico. One of the most interesting I found was the Dead Desperado, a being that is not the typical undead, but whose origins are shrouded in mystery. He, or it, lives,,,um, or un-lives, for nothing but revenge, no matter whose revenge it is.
   
   Shadows of Mexico completely took me by surprise. I had expected little from this supplement as it seemed to be so minor in scope but I was proven very wrong. This book is richly detailed and will provide players and Storytellers plenty of great game experience.
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson

No comments about In the Shadow of the Devil (Arcanis; d20; PCI1006) (Arcanis: The World of Shattered Empires).

1 comments about WoD Shadows of the United Kingdom (World of Darkness).

1. White Wolf's new and revised 'World of Darkness' game line has been full of creative and useful ideas, and this first book to highlight the 'World of Darkness' beyond the US is nothing short of brilliant. The authors, mostly Brits themselves, do a wonderful job mixing the nation's rich cultural heritage, folklore and myth with thematic material, mysteries and the outright bizarre.
   
   The first chapter gives a wonderful overview of the British Isles as they exist in the World of Darkness, paying full attention to Vampires, Mages and Werewolves (though there is a strong focus on werewolves), along with other stranger things like alien big cats, the owl man of cornwall, great lake worms, fox-spirits, djinn, ghosts and tantalizing hints of the fae. Things like the blood farm and 'the other city' of Glasgow are outright brilliant, but equally interesting are cultural changes that make British Vampires, Mages and Werewolves unique from their American counterparts. Notes are given on social changes, prominent individuals, rumors and even a few Bloodlines and Legacies, like the Pakistani Brothers of Sadr-Ud-Din and the 'chav' Tanners, though none are actually written up. As I said before, many of the writters on this book are Brits themselves, and it shows. Gone are many of the stereotypes that older books sometimes suffered from.
   
   Like I said, this book is really aimed at the Werewolf audience (though others will get use out if it too), and the second chapter highlights this. It focuses on the Uratha of the region, even goes as far as to make write-ups for each Tribe, mentioning things like how British Bone Shadows study human ghost lore and take tokens from fallen foes, or how the British Iron Masters have adapted to the cities. Several new Lodges are written up, like the Lodge of the Howling Death, who fight the Pure to the death over territory, and the Lodge of Scavengers, who are cunning urban survivors. A small number of lesser Lodges are also mentioned, but not written up, like the Lodge of the Baital, Bone Shadows who study Asian myth. There are also a number of British Totems, Fetishes and Rites given, even some cultural notes on Klaives.
   
   The third chapter gives some more setting information for Great Britain, including notes for American players, historical games, and bringing foreign characters into the UK. Once again, there is a strong focus on the setting for Werewolf, showing different cultural variations on typical foes such as the Beshilu (the idea of the Rat God thing is horribly creepy) and the Pure (such as inbred, aristocratic Ivory Talons who hunt two-legged prey on their estates, and Fire-Touched with a different fervor from their American brethern). Theres more ST material in the fourth chapter, which includes information on prominent NPCs and antagonists in the British Isles, and other useful crunch (like a new Cruac Ritual). All in all, theres alot of good stuff to throw at players, and for developing the United Kingdom as a unique supernatural landscape. But the creepiest stuff are the unexplained and bizarre things that have no real connection to other supernaturals. Things like the Drowned Men, who may or may not be the Fomori of Irish legend, and the hints about the Fae.
   
   Like I said before, the authors have a deep sense of what's 'British' and really draw on alot of obscure regional folklore - like the Green Children of Woolpit, alien big cats, ghost stories, and the like. They also do a good job making mention of material from other books that can be brought in - like the Bron and Melissidae from Bloodlines: the Legendary, or the Sodality of the Tor, Daksha and Pygmalian Society from Legacies: the Sublime (and Wood's signature character Lucy Sulphate even gets mentioned). I was a little disappointed we didn't get write-ups for the Tanner or the Brothers of Sadr-Ud-Din, but theres always room for me to make up my own stuff for that. The vague hints and allusions to the Fae are also a great tie in with the forthcoming Changeling game (if the ST is so inclined that is). So yeah, this is a great book, an essential for Americans planning on running a game set in the UK. Even so, Brits will still get a kick out of many of the things in this book too.