5 comments about Dalamar the Dark (Dragonlance Classics, Vol. 2).

1. This is definitely one of Nancy Berberick's best -- which, as a longtime fan of her writing, is saying a lot. The evolutionary years of one of Dragonlance's most intriguing, disturbing characters are finally revealed, taking the reader through the tortuous process of shaping the man he will become. This book is pure delight, from start to finish, and sure to please the many fans of the Dragonlance line!



2. This Dragonlance Classics book tells the story of Dalamar's youth in Silvanesti and his eventual calling to the dark arts. He is cast out of his Elven home and left on his own to pursue his fate. He goes to the Tower to be tested, and is willingly used by the leadership of the Tower to complete a task that would allow more than one person the revenge they seek. Berberick's telling is good although her characterization of Dalamar falls slightly short of his personality from what we know of him from other stories. Her perspective of the fall of Silvanost and Lorac's Nightmare is insightful and well written, and ties well into the Chronicles storyline. This is a good book for someone who has already read the core books of the Dragonlance series.



3. Had Nancy Varian Berberick played D&D before or read up on Dragonlance before writing this?
   
   One of the most painful moments in this book is reading about Dalamar taking out a Blue Dragon by himself, by casting lightning bolts!
   
   There is also the parts about not one but many dwarven mages running around the realms.
   
   The portion about Dalamar taking the Test at the Tower of High Sorcery was not too bad though.
   
   The book started off well enough. After a prologue which basically recapitulated what readers of Legends already know, the first chapter set Dalamar as a lowly servant in a caste-rigid society of Silvanesti. The elven kingdom was under threat by the dragonarmy - and Dalamar suggested strategy to hit the rear of the enemy when it was clear the elves were overpowered. The strategy was carried out but the sheer might of the dragon against the elves meant it could not turn the tide after all.
   
   The book followed with Dalamar fleeing along with the rest of refugees from Silvanesti to Ergoth where the haughty elves enslaved the wild elves inhabitants of Ergoth.
   
   Through the process, until the elves returned to Silvanesti, the author made repeated shows of Dalamar losing faith and totally put off with the Silvanesti's obsession with the worship of Eli, or Paladine. However, the true clerics had long ago been removed from Krynn prior to the Cataclysm and elven societies were supposed to have given up on the gods as well. They may preserve the memories, but no cleric received any spells until (1) the Dark Queen granted her followers spells, and (2) Goldmoon became a cleric of Mishakal through the staff and the Platinum Discs were recovered. Clearly the author missed out an integral aspect of the settings of Dragonlance. An author may reserve her own creative license, but when writing within an established fictional setting, should either comply or set up her own.



4. Having been a huge fan of the original DragonLance books back in high school, I couldn't wait to read this one, and it didn't disappoint me. I enjoyed finding out what it was that made Dalamar become the mage he was. If you're a DL fan, I think you'll like this one, too.



5. I don't remeber much of this book because it's been awhile since I read it, and because I dind'tenjoyed it. I bought it and was happy to have a book about Dalamar, who I liked so much in "Legends", but the book was a huge disappointment. Boring and repetitive, and when it began to be addictive is when Dalamar goes to Raistlin's Tower... where the book ends.
   
   Don't waste your money on it unless you're a really HUUUUGELY ADDICTED fan of the Dragonlance series.

5 comments about Baldur's Gate Official Strategy Guide (Bradygames Strategy Guides).

1. This book is incredibly bad. Its mostly just the manual reprinted. Under the character section I didn't find how to make a good character, I found the exact same descriptions used in the game. People say this book is good because it doesn't hold your hand. This book just pretends your inept. The "walkthrough" was mostly the exaact same stuff that your journal gives you, with the other being the decisions that the person who played the game made.
   It just tells you some of what you need to know to beat teh game, and the rest it jsut hints at. The guide just names the side-quests, it doens't help with any of them, also everything is piled around so that you don't have a cohesive, chapter by game chapter guide, rather parts of the chapter all over the book. For crying out-loud, they made two seperate walkthroughs, neither of which is very helpful.

   Save your money, because this book is just an expensive manual.




2. This book doesn't even come close to giving away all the Baldur's Gate secrets. It seems as though it tries to help guide you without giving away too much. To me that defeats the purpose of a strategy guide. In my opinion, a strategy guide should list ALL the treasures, ALL the traps, ALL the hidden items, ALL the subplots, etc. This book doesn't, and I felt it was a waste of money. I found better strategy guides on the web.



3. Dude seriously whats up with these people and complaining about a book? First of All This Guide Is The BEst one realeased cuz like some one else said it lets you chose you own decisions and some idiot also said it didnt show how to find an ankehg plate mail, well Mr Idiot if you Had Actually Bothered To Play the game you would have found that there is a monster called just that.......no not idiot.....called ankehg and if you even maneged to kill him you would have found that you get its Shell...and once again if you had played the game you would have hear that thunderhammer smithy makes "special"armor and incase you didnt even know WHERE he Was Well He's Located In Beregost that building in the east just click on the door and open then you pay him money give him the shell wait a tenday and there ya go........and i hope this helped other people too who werent sure how to get this mail plate. And If Your Gonna Whine About A Book That This Person Maybe SO it could help you and all you do is cry well make a guide of your own then whine as much as you want if you even get to make a guide that contains 1/12th of the entire game:P So yeah to Those Interested In This Guide Give It A chance and Dont Listen to these guys who haent even tried playing every single quest i hope this was helpful to all you thinking about buying this book!:D



4. The Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn Guide by Versus is absolutely brilliant. It gives you all the secrets, tells you exactly where everything is, exactly what needs to be done to get what, how much XP you get from each quest, etc. It's nigh on perfect.
   
   By contrast, this guide for Baldur's Gate tells you next to nothing. It has a "journal" where it tells you what there sample character did. I've always found such things to be useless. You have to comb through it to find any usefuyl information. The rest of the book is better. It does give you some good information in an organized form, but it's sparse. I want a guide to give me precise maps and give me all the little details of what it takes to do what and what's worth what, etc. This guide did virtually none of that.
   
   I suppose that this guide is better than nothing, but if you're looking for a good guide for Baldur's Gate, look online. For instance, http://www.pottsland.com/baldur/ has a good collection of useful info. It's certainly far better than this guide.
   
   In short, this guide is absolutely abysmal. Don't buy it.



5. Well, from all the reviews here, I must be the only one who actually likes and uses the book. I actually liked the journal form as well as the chapter sections. It actually shows what area you should be looking in without actually telling you the exact coordinates. I always prefer to look around the game world myself than have someone tell me the exact location. It has a list of all the quests and what area to find them in. For me at least, this guide was great.

5 comments about Vampire: The Dark Ages.

1. When I discovered Vampire: the Dark Ages, I wasn't sure what to expect. Vampire (like most White Wolf core games) is based upon our own society and a group of creatures which exist secretly beneath it.

   This books is not like that. It takes the more traditional medieval time period, with a bloody twist. This is a fragile time; clan ties are stronger and clan stereotypes run rampant. History is twisted by the Lasombra and Ventrue, the Tremere are newly created and the Salubri still exist with reasonable numbers. The Cappadocians, now long forgotten (except as the oddly mysterious Harbingers of Skulls) are a powerful clan.

   Why five stars? This is not a mock-up of Vampire: the Masquerade. It's something else, something different, something unique. It's a time of chaos in the world of the unliving, a struggle that predates the Camarilla. These are not the Kindred you think you know, they are Cainites to the core. They embrace their unique abilities and use them to command, to conquer, and to thrive.




2. I have nothing but praise for this book. Down with the Masquerade! Up with the Medievil madness! Gee, this is a really difficult decision... Do we want to walk around, selectivly feeding off of who won't be missed, cowering in the shadows praying (to god?) that we are not seen? Or do we want to go back to when vamipres were at the top of the food chain (where they belong), feeding off of who we please, and the greatest delemma is who is going to dust while you are sleeping all day. Aaaahhhh, the good ol' days!



3. I wholeheartedly recommend the Whitewolf Vampire:The Dark Ages guide over every other rulebook in the Whitewolf ensemble.

   It manages to encompass all of the magic of the original Vampire edition and also adding a fantastical, middle-ages flair to it. The potential for great storytelling is increased ten-fold and when complimented with the Mage:Sorcerer's Crusade it makes for an almost unbeatable tabletop roleplaying experience.

   The Dark Ages guide contains a set of modified rules for playing several hundred years previous to the modern Vampire rules (rules on blood, enhanced generation, skills/talents etc) and includes the chance to play some of the vampire clans who had been phased out since the modern times (Salubri, Baali, Capadocian among others. Though they have their own clanbooks as well, enough information in the dark ages guide is included to effectively play them).

   I would suggest that any fan of the Whitewolf games pick up this book. It is masterfully written and even engrossing to read despite being a set of rules.

   -Zilean




4. This is the core book, and it succeeds in its purpose wonderfully. It contains enough information for the tried-and-true Storyteller to dive right in and start running games with a more medieval flair. For the new Storyteller, there is a plethora of information available in the book. However, it did seem to lack the depth of knowledge that may sometimes be desired for games. There is enough to run a game, but some Storytellers may find that there is not enough information given on Cainite politics. This is, in fact, the time when Cainites ruled almost openly. There is no Masquerade, Camarilla, or Sabbat. The Dark Ages were a fine time for Cainites to live. I would highly recommend obtaining this and the Companion if you wish to run a Dark Ages game.

   As with all game books, there is a section outlining each Discipline as it was. Many players will find that the Dark Ages may have been more deadly and open Cainite warfare raged all over, but their powers are not as violent as expected. While advanced players will try and find new ways to bend the rules, there are lovely counters included, such as Celerity costing far more blood than in modern times; so much for the whirling dervish attack! Along with the Disciplines, there are drastic changes in the clans themselves. Since there is no Camarilla - Sabbat division, all clans interact on a rather equal footing. This means players can use the fiendish Tzimisce right along side the artisan Toreador. Many games may find a Magister waging verbal battle with a Patrician. This book helps show that Cainite society has not always been the way it is under the Masquerade.

   The only drawback to the book is that it does cover Cainite society and illuminates the rules for hand-to-hand medieval combat, there is very little on mortal society. It does cover their views and outlooks, but many details seemed to be lack (or I missed them!). A few pages to outline medieval currency and weapons broken down by time would be vastly helpful. After all, few people used rapiers in 966 CE, at least as far as I can tell.

   In summary, this book is perfect as a starting point and fulfills its duty wonderfully. You will find the clans are well defined and the disciplines have been renamed and in some case restructured for a more primitive feeling. This review will hopefully show a bit more about the book. At least from a gamer's perspective, it is highly useful and one of my most used books.




5. This is an OUTSTANDING addition to the Wod; VTM series...

   For one thing it takes the main core rules of VTM and combines them with an age in time that already had horrors that we as modern men and women can not relate to..

   it insures that it gives you enough advice to properly set a game based on a time that had Kings, Queens, Princes, princesses, Dukes, and well the list could go on.. It is also a time where it was not uncommon to find a "old" vampire running around within the confines of the church directing the slaughter of rival clans and humans.

   if you are into the SCA and love VTM then you WANT to add this to your collection

4 comments about Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Old World Bestiary, Vol. 1.

1. I have to say I like this "monster companion" much more than some of the other rpgs that are out there at the moment. Instead of giving one or two paragraphs about the monster, and the main focus being on the statistics of the monster, this supplement to the WFRPG is a delight. It examines the ins and out of what makes up a creature in the Warhammer world, whether the normal orc style bad guy to the demons and the dragons. This is not an index of monsters, this is (and this might sound silly) the National Geographics of monster exploration. What makes up a creature in the Warhammer world? What provokes the creature on and off the battlefield or dungeon or city, what action does the creature normally take in day to day, why does the monster do as he does? A GM worth his or her salt will look at this book and truly see villains and creatures to be encountered in the vast campaign of Warhammer, not some lvl 2 goblin that is placed in room 5 like some games are designed. We GMs are tired of just having creatures for the sake of placing them into some room to be encountered, after encountering another creature beforehand in the earlier room. We GMs, like this book hands us, want meat in our creatures, we want them to have their own reasons and whys, we want them to have their own character for the sake of the game world's dynamics. What might be a simple orc encountered in a dungeon in another game, becomes a 3-dimensional villain in this game's makeup.



2. First thing: Amazon is mistaken, this isn't a Warhammer Novel. It's a supplement for the second edition of the Warhammer RPG.
   
   That being said, it's the best supplement they've put out (the line is currently in the process of putting out the Skaven sourcebook: Children of the Horned Rat)
   
   It's also the best "Monster Manual" I've ever seen, a must for all Warhammer FRP GMs, unlike the rest of the series (which honestly has been quite hit-and-miss, unfortunately).
   
   The reason it's so great is that there's a beginning section detailing all the monsters using the "peasant superstition" method WFRP players have come to love (and sectioning them off by "Chaos Beasts", "The Undead", etc), and leave all the monster stats alphabetized in the back of the book for quick reference by the GM.
   
   While the whole line is a bit pricey, the Old World Bestiary easily merits it's purchase to a WFRP GM, especially at the Amazon discount.
   
   Here's a list of the monsters outlined in the Old World Bestiary:
   
   Banshees
   Beastmen
   -Bestigors (leaders)
   -Centigors (centaur beastman)
   -Gors (horned beastman)
   -Ungors and Brays (barely-horned and non-horned beastmen)
   Chaos Cultists - 4 different cults
   Chaos Dwarves
   -Bull Centaurs (dwarf centaurs)
   Chaos Marauders
   Chaos Warriors
   Daemons - 5 different types
   Dire Wolves (undead with skull-like heads and glowing red eyes)
   Dragons
   Dragon Ogres (Ogre/Dragon centaur)
   Dryads
   Elven Corsairs
   Fenbeasts (basically a swamp-golem)
   Ghouls
   Giants
   Giant Rats
   Giant Spiders
   Giant Wolves
   Goblins
   -Night Goblins
   Great Eagles
   Griffons
   Harpies
   Hippogriffs
   Hobgoblins
   Hydras
   Manticores
   Minotaurs
   Mummies
   Mutants
   Ogres
   Orcs
   -Black Orcs (biggest and strongest orcs)
   -Savage Orcs
   Pegasi
   Rat Ogres (exactly what the name implies)
   Skaven - 4 different clans
   Skeletons
   Squigs (big furry balls with big mouths)
   Snotlings (kobolds)
   Spirits
   -Ghosts (not usually evil)
   -Poltergeists (tricksters)
   -Spectres (mostly insane ghosts)
   Treemen (treants)
   Trolls
   -Chaos Trolls
   -River Trolls
   -Stone Trolls
   Unicorns
   Vampire Bats
   Vampires - 5 clans
   Warhawks
   Werecreatures (the Were template)
   Wights
   Wild Boars
   Wraiths (look like death himself)
   Wyverns
   Zombies



3. While I feel this book could have been longer, overall I've been impressed with the book and it is already one of the more extensively used in my Warhammer collection. Like most GM's who create there own material, (even if it is just as filler between pre-fab adventures) I find a useful guide to critters is indispensible. This one fits the bill nicely, although I do hope they follow it up with Volume 2 as I am looking forward to an even wider array of creatures to select from.
   
   For those familiar with WFRP, most of the old favorites are here. Some of the more esoteric ones which were never popular have been removed to make room to expand on the more popular ones, and a few new creatures which are popular in fantasy genre in general have been added.
   
   For those who are new to WFRP, the 'Slaughter Margin' is a useful tool for guesstimating the challenge of various encounters for a beginning party so that you don't inadvertantly annihilate your party before they really get hooked on the game and all it has to offer. It's also somewhat handy for experienced gamers from the first edtion who are still getting their hands around the second edition rules for much the same reason.
   
   The book is laid out in basically two sections, the players section and the GM's section. This is a bit of a misnomer, since really neither is really meant for player's eyes. However, it is handy in that it seperates knowledge for the GM in a very convienient fashion. The 'players section' includes different viewpoints of the monsters which can be used to give the players background without giving them a list of the monster's statistics. The GM's section contains ways to modify individual encounters to make them tougher (or easier) without sacrificing credibility. It also holds all the stats of the monsters in a concise format including their armor, skills, talents, mutations, weapons, and any special rules.
   
   The Player's Section includes a 'Common View' which is how the monsters are percieved by the inhabitants of the Old World in the form of quotes from various persons ranging from a retired mercenary, to a farmer, to a church official, to a scholar. The interesting thing about these is they are not always based in fact, and some are flat out wrong or misguided, which is in keeping with what the characters would 'know' when encountering a new creature for the first time. These are good for player's who use their 'Common Knowledge' skill successfully to find out how much they know about what they have just encountered in a dark alley. (As a GM I also find this section very handy when foreshadowing an encounter.) It also has a 'Scholar's Eye' section which is a supposedly informed perspective by a researcher of the monster in question which can also be mistaken but is generally more reliable and is useful when players make an 'Academic Knowledge' skill test. Finally, there is an 'Our Own Words' section which gives a paragraph or two describing the monster from it's own perspective. This is particularly handy when a player decides to capture or otherwise parley with a monster rather than simply destroy it and move on.
   
   The GM's section goes into a fair degree of depth on the social structure of the greenskins, beastmen, and skaven as well as the various factions therein and their relationship to each other, as well as detailing various statistical differences between them. While it clearly leaves room for a sourcebook on each for future expansion, it is more than enough for detailing the occassional encounter.
   
   Also found in the GM's section are: the aforementioned 'Slaughter Margin' which ranks monsters in terms of difficulty (Ranging from Very Easy to Impossible) for a standard soldier with half the advances of his first career for easy comparison to help guesstimate encounters until new players and GM's are used to the new system; new skills and talents available to some of the monsters; an expanded chaos mutation table, and a selection of new spells for magic using monsters. This last section is particularly useful for getting the attention of players when they go to slaughter yet another skaven or greenskin and suddenly find themselves facing spells they have never seen before and cannot find in the core rule book. (What can I say? I enjoy keeping them on their toes.)
   
   The book is as well illustrated as any of the second edition books, and in fact may be slightly above average in that regard.
   
   Throughout the book are margin notes which detail things such as daemonic auras and chaos armor. These notes are placed well, almost always next to a relevant entry and provide useful but non-essential detail which is handy when running an encounter or for dealing with players who want to ask esoteric questions or strip every corpse for every last brass penny.
   
   I was initially annoyed at the way the monsters were organized into sections according to type. Forest creatures are grouped together, undead, greenskins, etc. Being a long-time gamer, I'm used to everything being alphabetized. However, I am starting to realize that this is not as large a problem as I had originally thought. The index is comprehensive and alphabetical, and when planning an encounter in a particular environment I find it increasingly handy that other denizens of the same terrain are close at hand. I almost never have an encounter involving a single type of creature anymore, which has the players frequently looking past the initial attackers now waiting for the other shoe to drop. Even if there is no second wave or boss running things, it creates the feel of paranoia that I like for them to have without treating them unfairly.
   
   My only real frustration with the book is that I wish it had been thicker, 128 pages is a bit light for a resource book. I was pleased however, that this is (so far) the first book they have created for the second edition which didn't contain an adventure eating up a substantial amount of the page count. As a resource book, I would have been more than a little annoyed to see a portion of the pages go to a one-use adventure which I may or may not even use.
   
   Overall, aside from the original rulebook, this has been my most used book. WELL worth the money I paid for it.



4. Yes, the old V1 had these monsters (and more) but this updated version with "what the players know" and what the GM knows is one of the best ideas I've seen in a long time.

No comments about Dark Heresy: Creatures Anathema.

5 comments about Flint the King (Dragonlance: Preludes).

1. Totally awesome story. I've never liked the other books in the Dragon Lance series where someone else attempted to steal one of the companions from Weis and Hickam, but Mary and Douglas did an excellent job in portraying the dour dwarf. All of Flint's actions and feelings really fit with his character, making the page-turning plot even more exciting. Highly recommended!!!



2. Flint the King is one of the better dragonlance books in the genre. I was a little hesitant when i first picked up this book, thinking that it would be boring the whole way through. But i was severely wrong in that thinking. Not only was the book action packed, funny, emotional, but it had a great story line that keeps you hooked the whole way through.

   When Flint goes to the lair of the mountain dwarves to investigate a murder, as well as discover what is happening to his town, he ends up getting captured. He is setenced to death, but ends up getting saved by some gully dwarves, along with a rather accentric mountain dwarf.

   Flint must make the smelly, dirty, dumb gully dwarves into an army that can help him save his village from a terror that could wipe the town off of the map. Along with the female mountain dwarf, Flint tries desperately to save not only his life, but the life of all his family and friends.

   This book is filled with just the right amount of action, suspense, and emotion, carrying you through the book until the last page flips by. Yes Flint is romantic in this book, but it does nothing to take away from the character that was established by Wies and Hickman back in the day. This book is definately up to the wonderful duo's standard, and will prove to be a great read.




3. This type of writing really shames the whole fantasy genre. It's an embarrassment to Douglas Niles, who is capable of much better writing; it's an embarrassment to TSR/Wizards of the Coast, who really detract from the quality of Krynn by allowing such drivel to be published; and it's an embarrassment to Mr. Fireforge, who deserves a better novel. I love Flint just as much as the next fan, which is why I bought this book. I would love to return it and ask the authors to put it back on the market when they have something of value to share with the fans.



4. From the preludes series, I have come to expect average books. They don't live up to the original chronicles series or the legends series, but they manage to stay in a quality worth reading. Flint the King is no exception.
   
   Some of the problems:
   
   Flint goes through the darken wood with no difficulty. Darken wood is supposed to be so dangerous few people have actually gone through it and lived(chronicles) but the book treats it like any other trip.
   
   Flint becoming king/protector of the gully dwarves and getting along with them doesn't fit in the least with his stance toward bupu and the others in the chronicles.
   
   Flint is too strong in this book. He manages to fight off a troll at one point, yet this is set before the chronicles in which he has difficulty fighting the low end draconians.
   
   Despite all of this however, like the other preludes books, if you just read it on its own and ignore all the contradictions with earlier and IMO better books, you will find that you are reading an all together enjoyable book.



5. This book really shows you a side of Flint that we don't get to see in the books with the companions. If focuses on his leadership abilities, his compassion for other races (especially the gully dwarves)and even shows him over coming his own prejudice towards his cousins (mountian dwarves). It also shows that Flint is capable of love. Very adventurous, funny and might even shed a tear for him. If your a fan of the companions then do yourself a favor and read about Flint. :) Youll see Flint in a whole new light.

5 comments about The Complete Ranger's Handbook (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition, Player's Handbook Rules Supplement/PHBR11).

1. Excellent book with a lot to add for anybody that is playing a ranger or wants to play one. Some very strong kits (pathfinder, stalker, mountain man, etc) and a few week ones (what's up with the plant ranger?) Also recommended for a DM that wants to add an interesting ranger NPC into play.



2. The book is excellent, I have always been a fan of Rangers( all of my most successfull characters have been of this class) I think it is the outdoorsman in me that draws me to them like a magnet. The book was put together well, I especially liked the entries about forgatherings and the times of the year they fall under, another thing I respected about the forgethering entrys was that they left you only with a vauge impression of how they opporate, leaving DM's such as myself with complete artistic freedome, It's a must buy for anyone even considering playing a Ranger of any type



3. The book is well organized. Writing style is reader friendly. However, over 60% of books is of interest only to players running Rangers above 7th level. I bought the book because I knew nothing about Rangers, and wanted more information for running a beginning level character than found in the Player's Handbook, or the the Skills & Powers book.



4. The PHBR (Player's Handbook Reference) series is one of the most highly-regarded, and yet much-maligned, series of supplements ever created. Each sourcebook takes one of the races or classes of the AD&D game, and adds to it huge amounts of new detail - new equipment, spells, kits (sub-classes), lore, new rules, etc. The problem is that the players love these so much that the DM often feels compelled to buy into the rest of the series - an expensive proposition! Fortunately, these works were "reprinted" in the excellent AD&D Core Rules CD-ROM. This one includes everything you need to know to design and play a Ranger - chapters include requirements, level advancement, spell use, weapons and armor, tracking, animal empathy, natural lore, strongholds, followes, kits (such as the Explorer, Falconer, and Giant Killer), proficiencies, new spells and magic items, equipment, role-playing, religion, forgatherings, and more! An indispensible tome.



5. This book provides a great look inside the persona of a Ranger. It's a great reference for Role-Playing and a handy guide for a few new proficiencies, skills, and items. In addition to being a great guide through the life of a ranger, this handbook also features some of my favorite art work.

5 comments about Arms & Equipment Guide (AD&D 2nd Ed Rules Supplement, DMGR3).

1. I was a bit suprised becose of the babble about every thing. Every armor has one entire page of text and another page for a drawing, still it adds a few weapons that I was suprised that were not in the Player's handbook, for an example Bolas and Caltrops



2. this guide doesn't even have all the weapons in the players handbook. It mentions the ability of some weapons to break other weapons but never gives rules for that, and pretty much leaves out everything about all weapons except their history. the armor pictures are pretty good though, but that just isn't enough



3. I had been searching for this book for a while, so when I finally acquired it, I was looking forward to making the re-acquaintance with this accessory. On reading the guide more thoroughly I was both impressed and disappointed. Impressed by the comprehensive history, more comprehensive barding coverage, addition of detail, and expansion of the often dubious area of spear/pikes & damage they inflict. However, once the euphoria of looking in these areas and descriptions of weapons and arms, the document disappointed as a whole. It had little that would add practical elements to adventuring, and would probably only stand one or two thorough reads, weapon summary excluded, and that alone does not make for a lasting document. A great idea, but could have been advanced further then it has been in this production.



4. Simply stated: If you want to play this game, you need to have this book. There's no way to do the game any justice without (You could always borrow a friend's, but you will eventually need to get one of your own if you are a serious player).



5. Interesting, but not as useful as I'd anticipated. Good basic descriptions of different armor and weapons. Would have liked more on the wonderous items and non armor, no weapon items.

2 comments about Starship Troopers: Mobile Infantry Field Manual.

1. The ST:MI Field Manual presented some interesting information based upon equipment from the movie, animated series and book. However it could have contained a bit more data about the various items. For instance in the weapons section the book could have given stats on dimensions (length, width, height) of the weapons presented. Compared to sourcebooks such as those for Star Wars, Battletech or Rifts it was a disappointment. Still I gave it three stars as a medium between terrible and outstanding.



2. I'm struggling to give this book a two star rating. I'll describe the contents (with a little bit of editorial comment) and you tell me if I'm right or wrong.
   
   The book is divided into 10 chapters (although using the word chapters is probably way too generous).
   
   Chapter One (all of two pages) is about equipping MI squads is 'standard' formats. Basic and to the point - only one game mechanic is included, for requisitioning equipment.
   
   Chapter Two is all about the various weapons that the MI use. This is the largest chapter by far and most of it is a waste of space. Running at 36 pages it comprises of full colour pages with one weapon or type of ammo on each page. The pictures are ridicously over-sized and the descriptive text woefully inadequate. Each page includes a pointless little box titled, "Career Sergeant Zim says"...groan.
   
   Chapter Three details the various armour suits that the MI employ. Again each suit is given two full pages (featuring a huge picture and a decent amount of descriptive text). The standout feature is the picture of the 'Pathfinder' suit - very cool (a pity the artist for this picture couldn't have done them all).
   
   Chapter Four details all the general equipment that the MI employs from flags to duct tape to field rations. Again most of the space is taken up with pictures, which cuts down on the amount of items listed. However, given the uniform nature of military equipment I understand the logic behind limited lists. Interestingly, this chapter also includes Neodogs.
   
   Chapter Five deals with cybernetics, which is probably the best chapter in the entire book. Whilst the list of cybernetics isn't large it certainly provides enough inspiration for creative GM's. I would advise you pick up a copy of the FASA's 'Shadowtech' book for the Shadowrun game or one of the many 'Gear' books for Cyberpunk - these volumes include hundreds of various cybernetic 'enhancements' that would make fit brilliantly with SST.
   
   Chapter Six describes the various vehicles that the MI use, everything from combat dingy's to CHAS combat robots to self-propelled artillery guns. Again, oversized pictures and very little descriptive text. This chapter also includes the various Marauder suits used by the MI.
   
   Chapter Seven is an extension of chapter two, except it deals with emplacement style weapon systems - the big twin .50 machine guns, rotary cannons, heavy laser weapon systems, etc. Like all the other chapters, it includes oversized pictures and very little descriptive text.
   
   Chapter Eight covers Cross-Training. Cross-Training is probably one of the best concepts introduced to the d20 game mechanic (it beats the prestige class concept by a country mile!) While many of the cross training concepts included in the base rules are repeated here, there's the great addition of the 'Chaplain' - one of whom I'm currently playing and enjoying immensely as I bring the wrath of God down on the souless bugs!
   
   Chapter Nine covers promotions and decorations. Nothing to flash here, lots of pretty pictures - although for a military heavy game such as SST, quite essential and it certainly adds a bit of colour to any ongoing campaign when the characters begin to rack up medals. However, again I go back to the oversized pictures...
   
   Chapter Ten is another two-page wonder that is the reference section. Wow, no pictures here, just game mechanics for all the weapons and other equipment...now if only they had cut out chapters two through to nine...
   
   Esentially, the writer needed to write an equipment book, but didn't have enough equipment to fill 160 pages, so all the space is taken up with oversized pictures. On the plus side, at least there was a picture for every piece of equipment - many books (Star Wars d20 in particular) are guilty of having massive lists of equipment but no pictures.
   
   Geez I'm a fussy bugger ay?
   
   Anyway, this book could have been a great addition, but it falls far short of it's intended purpose, which is very disappointing for a SST fan like myself.
   
   Enjoy.

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