2 comments about Tasslehoff's Map Pouch: The Age of Mortals.

1. I must say that I got really disappointed when I got these maps. First: I was expecting at least some kind of cardboard box for protection...C'mon, even coke 12 packs have cardboard boxes, so they can't be that expensive! But no, it's just a plastic wraping and nothing more. Then, the small maps: I hated the "computerized" look. They do not agree with the fantasy feeling, and worse, some of them I could have done better myself with graphical software and a spare day. And again, the paper quality is not the best. Why not use thicker paper, and then put two maps back to back, since they all have a blank side (wich could also hold some short descrption of the place or something like that)? Why not make them to last, even at a higher price? Now I understand why there was people at the Dragonlance forum buying two copies.
   
   Then comes the bigger map...it's the only reason I gave 2 stars instead of one. At least is the most complete map ever done for Dragonlance, and is indeed well done, tough it still all digitally made. Is that much difficult to get an artist and a cartographer to hand draw one map?
   
   Another sad thing...the other side of the map is blank. Does someone remember the old boxed set map, with encounters and other info at the back? The "random campaign generator" or something similar?
   Why not? Why not some closer shots of some areas, even if it is done in black and white? Or the climate maps? Or the reduced maps with the dominant groups in different ages? Or a pre-cataclism map? Anything, but the big white blank space. Seriously, the whole product have room for so much improvement that it doesn't even look like an official product. Again...I'm dissapointed. (Sorry about english mistakes, I'm not a native english speaker).



2. I really like the huge map of Ansalon that comes with this, along with all the smaller ones. I can't wait for the new one to come out in March.

5 comments about Crucible: The Trial of Cyric the Mad (Forgotten Realms: The Avatar).

1. Bon un petit commentaire en français sur ce livre en anglais étant donné la rapidité incroyable de la traduction...

   Je dois dire que en tant que 5ème livre sur cyric, ce livre est vraiment super bon et remonte le niveau de cette suite après le prince du mensonge que je trouves moins bon... Je conseil ce livre à tout ceux aimant Cyric, voulant savoir ce qu'il devient une fois fou ou qui aime tout simplement les royaumes.




2. If you enjoyed The Avatar Trilogy- Shadowdale, Tantras, and Waterdeep, and the Prince of Lies, you will love Crucible: the Trial of Cyric the Mad, which is the conclusion to this wonderful series set in the magical world of Toril! The books are so incredibly well written that the reader feels that they have been transported to another plane of existence and are actually present among the characters, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel, sensing what they sense. The authors have truly outdone themselves and have presented us with a masterpiece of literature the likes of which we have seen only in JRR Tolkien's work, RA Salvatore's The Dark Elf and Icewind Dale trilogies, and in authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends trilogies. Magic, Gods and Heroes are all about. In conclusion, it's what Fantasy reading SHOULD be. A GREAT book indeed and a "must read" if you love Fantasy and especially if you love the Forgotten Realms! DON'T MISS IT!!!



3. I might rate this series too low just because I've seen one of the best in Salvatore's Dark Elf series.
   Whereas in Dark Elf's series the stories was so believeable that reader will feel involved and plunged into that world, the avatar series, while deal with a great story that will impact the whole Forgotten Realm, thus making it even worst, comes with so many logic flaws that will make reading the book torturing.
   
   I think the real problem with the series is that the writers tried to tell the story about the gods and goddess of Faerun and their struggle against each other. Creating a story about a mere mortal is much different than telling stories about deities.
   The flaws come in describing the deities' capability and their limits. So much time the deities are either so powerful yet other time they are so pathetic that they can't resist magic weaved by humans.
   I think with making story THIS big, a writer should really sit down and write it properly, do the research, re-write, re-edit and re-write again before submitting it. Some stories are not made to be written while utterly drunk or stoned.
   You can't make a story about a trial, let alone a trial held by deities without any research of what a trial IS and not making oneself looks like a fool.
   
   I can give tons of example of logic flaws, but that will mean that I have to give a spoiler.
   
   
   
   minor SPOILER WARNING!!!!
   Lets just say that
   1. A goddess of magic that can stop another god from being able to use magic with a blink of an eye won't have to worry about book written by human that supposedly has enough magic that it can even affect god to believe what's written in it. Let alone not having ability to just destroy the book.
   
   2. A witness or evidence given in a trial has to have something to do with the trial. Didn't see any relationship between a trial of a god neglecting his duty and the god reading a book about his biography regarding his ascension from mortal to godhood. Surely a god of justice can see that and reject the evidence as irrelevant.
   
   O well, I think I rant enough about this book.



4. I love the Forgotten Realms, and this novel is an excellent example of the high-quality fiction for that setting. The interactions between the gods of Faerun gives a new perspective on what the gods are truly like, and they have never seemed so vivid and real. The story will absolutely draw you in and have you begging for more.



5. What the hell is wrong with this writer!?!?!?!?!?
   Is this the type of person who thinks 'What a great series! Now to screw it all up!!'? The original series was very good and 'Prince of Lies' put a brilliant end to it, but then along comes this guy who is unsatisfied with the whole story and decides to wreck it. Writers like this really get on my nerve and should refrain from writing rubbish like this piece of trash. My opinion? If you read the previous books, leave this one in the 'bargain bin' where it belongs....

No comments about CBT Jihad Hot Spots 3072 (Classic Battletech).

5 comments about Streams of Silver (Forgotten Realms: The Icewind Dale Trilogy, Book 2).

1. This one really surprised me. I'm usually not one for second books, but this was really better than the first to me. I guess because Salvatore had more room to build on charachter in this one, considering he got all the intros out of the way in the crystal shard. I LOVE Artemis Entreri! He is such a great character! He is like a negative Drizz't. I like it when authors or directors build on these forecoming showdowns, gets you excited about the future. Anywho, this is another Must-Read from Salvatore. I know i say that alot but the man is just good!
   Tolkien would have wanted fantasy to evolve like this, i just know it! Read it, but read the crystal shard first.



2. After reading The Crystal Shard I couldn't wait to read the second book in the Icewind Dale Trilogy. And Salvatore does not disappoint. Another epic villian, a new adventure, and a little more insight into Bruenor's past. The book has all the fast-paced action and adventure we have come to expect from Drizzt and company is here. Another great book in a great series.



3. As I have stated about all of the previous R.A. Salvatore novels that I have read and reviewed. This book was excellent! It was a very enjoyable and quick read for me. The action and adventure is second to none. The thing I enjoyed most was the continued character development of both protagonists and antagonists without any type of sensuousness or adult content being part of the story. As-far-as being a straight sword and sorcery, hack and slash type of adventure, this novel gets an A+.
   
   I can't stress enough how fun it was to read this book. Great read!



4. I read this trilogy a while ago, and I re-read it once, and it was a pleasure. But as I've said in Book 1's review, it's not in my favorites and I do think it's a little dry and it has dull moments. All in all, a good book, with good characters and interesting themes. Enjoy it in winter with a blanket.



5. I began reading the Drow series after reading all of Robert E Howards Conan series from the 20's and JRR Tolkiens LOTR and All the Original Dragonlance novels by Weis and Hickman.
   I thought I would give RA Salvatore and hid Drow a try.
   I fell in love with the stories right off the bat, starting with the Dark Elf Trilogy which is actually RAS 4-6 release , but the story goes that way first with book 4 being one in order.
   The Ice wind Dale Trilogy is as good as the next Trilogy which I was hopping would be.
   I did notice a lot of JRR Tolkien's The Two Towers in this book though
   (which is hard to not do these days when writting fantasy)
   with the dwarven mine and the dark other worldy creature that the dwarves unearthed in there digging... very Tolkien in many other ways also.. but I dont want to add spoilers..
   This book has some real gut wrenchers and tear jerking moments as well that are perfect.
   2 thumbs up here
   PRO:
   Good Plot
   Lots of well written action scenes
   magic and Evil and Good
   Well fleshed out characters
   Awesome landscapes
   CONS:
   a lot like JRR Tolkiens The Two Towers
   Some typos ( not a major issue.. look at my writting +))
   
   Over all.. 5 stars..; a great read

5 comments about d20 Past (d20 Campaigns: d20 Modern).

1. I had high hopes for this book. Too bad it didn't live up. Once you see how skinny the book is, you will start to be concerned.
   
   First, what the book does well. It gives a nice general overview on how to translate d20 Modern occupations, skills, and feats to less modern eras. The book also does the best job yet for showing how to have a d20 Pirates/1600's setting, complete with a sample adventure. The various advanced and prestige classes (Explorer, Musketeer, Shaman, and Sorcerer) for that era are also well done.
   
   Sadly, once you are done with the section concerning 17th-century adventuring, the book drops down in value fast. Instead of giving general guidelines for the eras in question, d20 Past force feeds two campaign settings that are only moderately described. (It gives 24 pages for 17th Century, but only 16 for "Shadow Stalkers" (Victorian) and 15 for "Pulp Heroes" (1930's)) Outside of the rifles rules that were presented in the first chapter of the book, there is nothing to recommend getting this book instead of prexisting d20 books like Forbidden Kingdoms from OWC or Masque of the Red Death from S&S. The adventure models are weak for those eras, and the prestige classes are nothing special.
   
   With nothing on how to deal with the Wars of the eras (Napoleon, American revolution, American Civil War, WWI), and the exceptionally-poor-for-WotC artwork in the book, the only reason to pick up this book is if one wants to do 1600's settings using d20 Modern rules. All others should look instead at the books I previously mentioned.



2. If you are looking for new classes, vehicle stats, and Open Gaming content, then this is NOT the book for you. I was hoping to find some good stuff in this title that I could use on a broader scale, but it's pretty much just bland and useless information. The kind of information you can easily find for free online. The only redeeming section in the whole book is the part on gun powder weapons, everything else is pretty much just a miss-mash of bad ideas.
   
   What I was hoping to find were new character classes like: Pirate, Black Smith, Sailer, Merchant, Baron, etc. Instead all the book offered was a prestige class called Explorer and another for a Shaman. There are hardly any good stats for transportation devices or anything on inventions or inventing.
   
   Finally, what little in this book that is usable is not part of the OGL. So, for example, all the stats on gun powder weapons cannot be utilized into another campaign book or resource book to keep rules standardized. This is irritating because the content is unoriginal and part of western civilization's history and should therefore be part of the OGL, not copyright protected.
   
   Perhaps I was expecting too much, but I felt like a lot was missing and most of the information and content presented wasn't useful enough to make the book worth while.



3. I admit I expected a bit more...
   
   Three campaign models are discussed here in some detail - pirates, pulp fiction and...something else - gothic stuff, I think?
   
   The equipment list and monsters are a bit skimpy, tables are reproduced, artwork is nice, but the whole seems to lack a bit. On the good side, it contains descriptions of all sorts of archaic personal firearms (now I can equip my post apocalyptic mutated badgers with gatling guns and pepperbox pistols - but I could have figured that stuff out anyway, I suppose). The Sailing combat rules are solid also.
   
   I guess for the price its a good buy, but not quite what I was expecting.



4. I BOUGHT THIS FOR MY GRANDSON AND HE JUST THINKS THAT THIS IS THE BEST BOOK HE HAS GOTTEN IN A WHILE. HE REALLY IS ENJOYING THIS THE THE ONE D20 FUTURE. HE LOVES THEM BOTH AND GIVE THEM BOTH 5 STARS.



5. Like most of the WotC D20 supplements, this one is well laid out, with good presentation and art. That being said it is even more of a niche book than D20 Future. If you are planning to run a D20 campaign set in the past than it may prove useful. Be forewarned though that its page count seems to be lacking. What is here is pretty good but really its not enough to justify the price. Even the descriptions of the different time settings are far too little.

5 comments about Alternity Player's Handbook (Alternity Sci-Fi Roleplaying, Core Book, 2800).

1. The alternity game was the forerunner to D20 it wasn't even supposed to be mainstream!



2. Alternity is easy to understand, the game system is realistic, but the possibilities are limitless.



3. Alternity is the still the best Role-playing system for 'realistic' role-playing, or 'gritty' campaign settings. This is due to two main reasons... It's skill-based system, and it's adaptability.
   
   Skill based systems mean that your character gets better at skills as he advances, but doesn't become super strong, or better at everything he does. This means that in Alternity, no longer can a player simply walk over and take the gun/sword/+5 earspoon away from the minor villain, because he'll only receive 6 points of damage, and he has 45 total for his character.
   
   What this means for players is that no longer do they have to await the eventual point where they are un-defeatable, except by demi-gods, demons and all that foolishness. They can remain the space-ship captain/FBI agent/whatever-the-campaign-is for the entire time they play. The challenge remains present, the setting remains beleivable, the suspense is retained. The story becomes the driving force of the adventure, not "leveling-up".
   
   The other part of the game that is superior to many other systems is just that adaptability. The system focuses on helping the Game-master to fit the rules to the setting... If you want to play an X-files FBI-agent, a dungeon-crawling adventurer, a Star Trek starship captain, a cop drama, Alternity rules can be adapted to the system with relatively little work. No extra feats or skills to invent, or weapons to design unless you want to. You are not limited to a particular medieval or future setting, as you are with most RPG products.
   
   Alternity was the last release made by TSR before it was acquired by Wizards of the Coast (WOTC). The acquisition of TSR was intended mostly to capitalize on the already established AD&D titles, and WOTC was un-interested in continuing the launch of a new product. Instead, they re-focused their brand onto D&D, resulting in a third release of that product and the design of the d20 system. d20 is not a bad system for heroic and action settings, but this one is better for retaining drama, grit, and suspense.
   
   And as for the comment that this system was not intended for public release... That person was probably in diapers in the early nineties, when TSR advertised it nationwide in their magazines and at conventions. I still have some TSR 'Dragon' Magazines with articles written for Alternity.



4. Fan of this old series and was tired of the old d20 rules. These rules seem more "realistic".



5. If you are tired of the d&d edition wars try alternity. It is as easy or complex as you want it. Has many 4e pros (same writers) and is VERY adaptable. I have run scifi,superheros,steampunk,hary potter and D&D (with only the 2 cor books and the fx guide). It plays a like d&d with a side of gurps and a dash of FUDGE. I have played most rpgs and out of all of them this is IMO the best "all around". In the end if you want a cheaper simpler rpg than give alternity a shot. Search for "Alternity fast play rules" for a free trial.

5 comments about Unapproachable East (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying, Forgotten Realms Setting).

1. "Unapproachable East" is an excellent Source Book, full of yummy background info and flavour elements. The details and info on the various sub-regions presented are quite refined and are very interesting. The maps are perfectly made, while the Feats and Prestige Classes are of excellent quality and help you give the right tone and regional "feel" for your character.
   
   I remain disappointed at the artwork and will therefore limit my review to 4 stars.
   
   stef_bocklin



2. I am not sure were some of the reviewers get their ideas, but this book is an ideal reference book. It does go over materials that are already written, but thats the idea. The book is not suppose to create material or change what was already written. If you dont want to collect all the old materials on the East by the original TSR authors, this book is perfect.



3. Very informative of details within the area, especially like the maps of the regions. A must if you wish to base your campaigns in this area. A definate fine addition to my D&D library.



4. This Accessory gives a lot of info to go on a adventure around thay, Aglarond, Rashemen and other places with full detail.
   Just enough to make your players have a rough time being on the land of the red wizards =D.
   A great book !!! a must have indeed.



5. Unapproachable East is a fascinating setting, and this book provides a good overview. I especially like the material on The Great Dale, Aglarond, and Rashemen. There is a clear effort to give equal treatment to nations other than the most famous of the bunch, Thay.
   
   The flaw in this book is the ratio of content/page count. Now the only other FR sourcebook I own is the FRCS, so perhaps this is par for the course, but this book includes a statistics block listing the classes/levels of every inhabitant of most towns/villages. Who cares that the village of Kront has 22 level 2 Commoners and 133 level 1 Commoners? This is, in my opininon, a waste of page space. This sort of detail (in the event it is ever required) is easily generating using the guidelines from the DMG. In fact, I half suspect the authors wrote a computer program to generate these blocks. This is just one example of filler content. As a second example, the "Important Characters" blurb for each town/village is little more than a list of randomly generated names.
   
   This level of meaningless detail steals page space from the real content of the sourcebook; there are only a paltry 13 pages on "Adventuring in the East".
   
   Don't get me wrong, this sourcebook contains some solid information. Another review criticizes this sourcebook for replicating material from other sources, such as spells. The flip side of replicating material is that the consumer isn't forced to buy those other sourcebooks. In fact, the real content/page ratio could have easily been improved by including replicated material from some other sourcebooks.
   
   My recommendation is to buy this sourcebook, but only at less than full price.

5 comments about Starships of the Galaxy (Star Wars Roleplaying Game).

1. Campaigns set on one planet are fine, but what if you want to step offworld, or duke it out with Tie Fighters? You could hop into a Corellian YT-1300 or an X-Wing Fighter for the Nth time, but what if you want some spice?

   Starships of the Galaxy gives you all sorts of options. That's what most of this book is about. There are a few new feats, the mandatory prestige classes, etc., but most of SotG is dedicated to building starships and giving stats to Established ships of the Star Wars Universe.

   SotG is an excellent reference book, and great for building your own ships. The rules for modifications are scant, but they are there and can be worked with.

   The new space combat rules are about 50/50--They can help as much as they hurt. It's nice to have the options, though, and they are strictly at the GM's discretion.

   This is a must-have for any Star Wars D20 GM/Gamer who wants to keep it fresh or build their own ship for gaming purposes.




2. This could have stood to feature more starships, but it is useful for a lot of GM NPC ships and the like. The new combat system is confusing, but my RPG group ignores it anyway, and uses the original system from the Core Rulebook.

   This features many lesser known vessels, including the recently-added Defender Star Destroyers, and offers some help for customizing and modifying vessels. For those who can't find the YT-1300, you are just too lazy to actually read the Core Rulebook. The YT-2400 is nice to see, but others like the older Clone Wars vessels, YT-2000 and YV-666 would have been nice to see. Overall, if you just want to yank a lesser seen vessel into an RPG, this is helpful.




3. Where to Begin...
   This book is not what you want. Granted, this book has About 150 or so Spaceships described, With Basically full stats and a short biography for each, There are very few inaccurate pictures of Each. Each picture may contain up to 7 ships, with merely a sidebar to say what ships are included in the picture.
   While i don't actively play The Star Wars RPG, I am interested in simply learning the rules so that it may be adapted to D&D, or some other RPG World. This is Not what i expected. I expected More ships to be explained, More pictures, and better descriptions. If your looking for an indepth book thats worth the time to invest money in, Look somewhere else.



4. It is out of date. The Starships of the Galaxy worked with the original rules for Star Wars RPG d20. Since the revised rule book came out, many of the things in this book are no longer valid, just as the range increment or even the Starship record sheet. But is it still worth it? well that's for you to decide.

   I write many different types of campaigns, and one of the types i write cater towards those people who put a lot of points in Pilot and Astrogate skills, as well as those who ventured into the Ace Pilot or Jedi Ace prestige classes. With this book i have managed to come up with so many varieties of craft and made so much available to my heroes. This book gives you guidelines for creating small craft (starfighters and transports) capital class (Star Destroyers, Frigates) and space stations (Executor, Hosk). It comes in very handy when for a reference on how to modify a craft. I use it a lot when writing these types of campaigns to try and provide a craft for the heroes on a budget. It list out many things about creation of starcraft that i wouldn't be able to write these modules without it.

   It lacks in many departments as well, partly due to the outdated rules it was based off of. First of all, the combat system for space combat and airspeeder combat has changed dramatically, from abstract to a grid. So range increment is no longer needed and now the Speed needs to signify how many squares the ship can move. Since Ramming is the fastest Ion engine in this book, you're left wondering why a Ramming-class ion engine in the X-wing only moves 10 squares while the Ramming-class ion engine in the Millennium Falcon moves 12 squares. (RCR p 277 & 230). There is no clarification for this. As well many craft have a different atmospheric speed, this book doesn't even mention that. Another smaller problem are the prestige clases, they're outdated and you have to get the official Errata from WoTC.

   Final verdict? I use it a lot when writing. I use it for the creation purposes of starships, capital to small, and even installations. I've already created my own starship record sheet. See if you can find this book for a cheaper price... becuase right now it really isn't worth what many places are asking for it...




5. I never truly enjoyed this book, and even though Amazon doesn't carry it any more, I feel compelled to write a review of it for the sake of completeness. If you're looking at it now, the main reason to get it would be as a reference tool for the wide variety of starships described within. It is, at least, useful for that purpose. There is also a rule system that one can use for custom starship construction, and while it is overly complex, at least it's available.

   Unfortunately, Starships of the Galaxy stops delivering about right there. Not only is it softcover, a fact that I despise, but all of the content within is in black and white. At least the old Alien Anthology, a book cut in the same mold which I also disliked, was full-color. The interior artwork is composed mostly of rough sketches showing several ships squashed together in the same frame, leaving the reader to determine which vessel is which. No offense to the artist, Matt Hatton, but he has really done much better work elsewhere. There are a few new feats and a few new prestige classes, but none of them really stand out as anything special. It's also important to note that this book uses the older rules from the Original Core Rulebook, not the Revised Rulebook. If that doesn't turn you off even further, then there is a PDF rule update for the prestige classes on the Wizards of the Coast website, in the Star Wars RPG section archive.

   In short, unless you are really dying to get at this book, I'd suggest spending your money elsewhere. While there was a point two years ago where this book might have been considered merely adequate, it was never much better than mediocre, and has now fallen far into obsolescence. Of course, that is merely my opinion. In the meantime, we can only hope that at some point in the future we see an improved, revised version of this book that succeeds in taking advantage of the topic's potential.

5 comments about Inn-Fighting: The D&D Tavern Brawl Dice Game (Dungeons & Dragons Game).

1. This is a fantastic game that is quick and easy to play once the rules are understood. This game is a great way to pass time while you are waiting for other members of your D&D group to show up. Some of the rules are a little vague, but the answers are to most are available on WOTC Q&A. If you are really stuck you can ask WOTC a direct question and get a quick response. Once the rules are understood by everyone games usually finish in about 15 minutes. My D&D group plays this before every session, usually at the expense of roleplaying time as we find it so enjoyable.



2. Inn-fighting is a great product: players have a character who brawl until they die; at that point you just draw another one and start kicking butt once again. You character can also be boosted by bystanders (meat-shields) who grant minor boons. You might also gain action cards which often interrupt and change actions taking by you or by others. adding more to the chaos. Although devising a strategy is a good idea, the game is too dynamic and chaotic for any long term progress. Options of what you can do in your turn is determined by the dice; therefore, at times restricting what you can do from what you want to do. Also the great thing about this game is that it is quite easy to attack the person on the lead, you heal your character from his/her victory points. Your characters power attack is aimed only at the person with the most points. This chopping at the legs, provides for chaos, uncertainty on who is going to win, and also the irony of being targeted when yo don't expected. It's all great fun.
   Note: You will need tokens or coins to play this game.
   
   The game is loosely based on d&d mechanics. I have played with non-DnD gamers and they had great fun with this game.



3. I purchased this product because I also own Three Dragon Ante by the same publisher. I was not dissapointed! Inn-Fighting has been great fun and is engaging enough to play for several hours in one session if you felt like it.



4. I bought Inn-Fighting shortly after it came out and have played it 10 or so times. Games usually take from 45 minutes to an hour, but I have had games last ten minutes and two hours. It seems that the more players, the longer the game takes, kind of like in Munchkin.
   
   For those of you not in the boardgame community, a "beer and pretzels" game is a fun rules-light game that you can play while socializing or sitting in a pub. Inn-Fighting excels at this description, and the flavor of the game makes it perfect to take with you to a local pub.
   
   You will need plenty of counters, I'd say around 25 per player should be enough. I bought 150 blue glass counters and a dice bag in which to hold them at a local gaming shop. I would complain about the counters not being included if the price was $25, but for $15 it's not a problem and most gamers have a lot of counters anyway.
   
   I liked Three Dragon Ante as well, but feel rules are too structured for what is supposed to be a fantasy card gambling game that you can also play in-character. I can never get my friends to play 3DA, but I have no problem getting them to play Inn-Fighting with me. Inn-Fighting is not designed to be played in-character, but it is a great game to play when waiting for a late arrival to your RPG game or for postgame.
   
   Overall it's a pretty good game that is recommended if you're into D&D or fantasy in general. Another good "drinking game" game with great mechanics is Red Dragon Inn, but it doesn't have as much replay value.
   
   Since Amazon is not currently offering a discount on this game, I recommend purchasing it from a friendly local game shop(FLGS) instead of Amazon. These shops offer places to hang out and play games, and many have gone out of business by the e-commerce boom. I buy stuff online when the discount is greater than 20%, but otherwise I try to keep the local guys in business.



5. ok yup if you buy this game look for the suggested additional rules on the net. They help explain some of the finer points of the game. It can be a bit confusing for what appears to be a simple card game but it is worth it. My wife and I have played a couple times with friends and enjoyed it. I was once a AD&D player but the others have never played but still had fun and understood the game. I do so wish the character creation template was actually available on the wizards website but oh well.

5 comments about Core Book (The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game).

1. While the rulebook is very nicely presented, the game they are presenting lacks a great deal of substance. They have pledged to use only information available from the books and/or the movies in fleshing out their system, and this is where the true weakness of the system lies. This means that no material will ever cover any location not visited in the books or movie. No inns beyond the Prancing Pony or Green Dragon will be described, which means that it is entirely up to the gamemaster to invent things that happen beyond the path that the Fellowship themselves traveled. The book provides no real help in developing your own campaign settings and adventures. It is also assumed that the only magical spells available are ones actually used in the books, which is an unfortunate assumption that Gandalf never had anything else in his repertiore. While I assume the limitations on the game are the result of licensing restrictions, it causes the world to completely lack depth or any sense of wonder; everyone who read the books or saw the movie know what everyone else is capable of. My advice is to use the rule setting you prefer, find some old ICE/MERP campaign materials, and run your own Middle-Earth campaign. This book may have some value as an occasional inspiration or sourcebook, but I wouldn't count on it being very much.



2. This is a fabulous book. It is beautifuly laid out, the pages decored with wonderful photos from the movies. The rules are surprisingly easy to understand, largely due to their flexibility (e.g. you do not need to look up every modifier and TN [target number], you can just use the tables as sort of guidelines and trust your own judgement). I especially like the 'qualities of heroes' pages, and though it is quite difficult to get across all of these attributes they do add to the 'Tolkienesque' flavour of the game.
   
   When I first read the Coda rules I thought that the combat would be quite tedious and dull before you memorised the rules, yet no, it flows quickly and furiously, leaving your heart pounding as if it were real! Yes, sometimes you have to look up rules, but it isn't a huge encumbrance to your enjoyment of the game.

   However, the most importent attribute to the game's level of fun is the pacing. My group made the mistake of letting our charcters converse and discuss every little thing, and though this was fine at first it soon became quite dull. You've got to find a balence between dialogue and and combat/tests, and once you do the game is amazing. We played for four solid hours and it merely felt like 1 1/2 - 2 hours at the most. I have read the book six times, and this is a must-buy for any Tolkien or game fan.

   [Oh, and by the way, my titles in Quenya (High Elven). 'The most beautiful and best book of all']




3. The Core Rules of the Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game is an OK try at turning a series of fantasy books into a game. It has the basics down - character creation, a simple system of rules, a magic system and rules of combat.
   But the background information is too simplistic. There is no way, if you wanted to make a whole story, that you could get enough details from the book. If you planned to make your own epic story you would need to use Tolkien's books for finding the ideas and giving you the knowledge to fill them out.
   Also, I think the rules about mass combat, in dealing with the major battles of Middle-Earth, also seem too simplistic. This book is great in the hands of a person who already knows how to design and run a game. But a person new to roleplaying will need more help than found in this book.



4. I wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, while beautiful and alluring, it does not stand up to extended scrutiny. Certainly, it seems to play better than it reads. However, I simply cannot get beyond rushed playtesting problems (the Warwise edge is insanely good, Loremasters are like magicians only lame, etc), copious errata (affecting nearly aspect of character creation and most weapons), and an overly strict license that prevents it from expounding on Middle-Earth in depth. It might be inspirational, but as reference, it is hamstrung, and as a game design, it is strictly second rate. A lot of love and intelligence went into this product which unfortunately did not get developed to its potential.
   
   The book's strongest points are its description of epic fantasy, Tolkien-style, and the flexibility of the character creation system. I think you could mine a good campaign out of this book, but I have a hard time really investing in a game that is basically broken, when better games and better ME references are out there.



5. Being a very new roleplayer I wasn't sure what to look for. When I tried Middle earth roleplaying I found a brick wall. It was hard. So I did a little more searching and found this delightful game. Its easy and fun to do! The pictures are excellent! But there are scattered typos (but hey, who cares)You're able to play a good variety of 'Orders'(Wizards, Loremasters, minstrels, warrior, etc...)
   Perhaps a bore for veteran roleplayers but still it is a good way to adventure into middle earth....