|
|
|
 |
| Other comments left for this publisher: |
|
|
|
|
|
I started "gaming" back around 1980. Stayed active until 1997 but remained as a collector and reader and wanna be gamer. It wasn't until 2007 or so that I actively returned to gaming. Even before I was "returned to active duty", I had found Castles & Crusades and my door to what would become the OSR had opened for me.
I am OSR through and through, and I'll be the first to admit that we have a huge variation of rulesets in our niche of the RPG hobby. When I saw that the Old School Renaissance Handbook had been released, I was psyched. Not because I thought I needed it, but figured it might remind me to take some second looks at rulesets I may have quickly passed over previously. Sometimes having a huge selection to choose from leads you to inadvertently limit your choices.
I'm happy to have been reminded about games like Dungeon Raiders and Dungeon Squad (this was not a reminder - somehow I had never previously heard of Dungeon Squad). It makes me want to take a second look at Microlite74. It does so with a nicely bookmarked PDF and a convenient listing of the games looked at, along with hand links to find them online (and their pricing). Very handy stuff.
Now "print friendly"! Huzzah!
It's a quick read, especially if you are like me and find stated out characters to be a bit boring after the first few.
Still, the information is good, especially if you want to show an non-OSR friend the different styles of rules available. It's like a "cheat book" of OSR cataloging info.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
I've purchased all five episodes of this first season, and quite frankly, I'm impressed with how this story has developed so far. I'll be careful not to spoil the narrative as it has evolved to this point, but if there's one thing I would love to say, it's this: Only five episodes in, and author/lead voice actor "Dr. Worldcrafter" Brent P. Newhall has already shown me some fine character development with the way he has portrayed the story's protagonist Andreas, who's not only proven to be a very dynamic character within the mere 24.2 minutes I've become familiar with him, but also a pretty likeable one. The guy's no "Gary Stu," that's for sure, considering his scholarly (One might even say "sheltered.") upbringing, but even so, there has been a good moment or two where he has proven his worth when the chips were down for him and his adventuring companions, all of whom have relatively distinct personalities of their own as well, even when considering the fact that the listener only hears the words of Andreas as he chronicles his adventures to his patron via the letters that Brent narrates. Of course, Quinn Conklin's editing and sound effects only add to the podcast's overall atmosphere, as does the podcast's theme song, "To The Ends" by Kevin Macleod. All in all, then, this podcast is superb, and in spite of my tardy review for it (My apologies, BTW, Mr. Newhall), I'm DEFINITELY looking forward to subsequent seasons of it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
The rules are satisfactory, although I would appreciate more explanation on how the four pieces of paper apparently needed for the game actually are used in the game.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
I checked out 'Voidjumpers of Space' and I have to say that I liked a lot of the ideas there and plan on using 'em in my current campaign! I'm playing 3.6(3.5 w/house rules) and currently have involved my players in Spelljammer. Nice work!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
After reading through this "first version" I can not wait to bring my players into space. There are some great mechanics outlined here and the options are limitless. I look forward to more and wait patiently for updates. Great job!
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Publisher Reply: |
|
Thanks very much! I'm honored.
The next version should have even more material and tighter mechanics. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Apposite as I sit in Cheshire in late October, herein the tale of a village caught by unseasonal snows even if in this fantasy world the opportunity exists for some adventurers to do something about it!
Opening with an atmospheric piece of text of hardy travellers making their way through a young blizzard and seeing the welcome lights of a village ahead, it launches into the adventure proper with little ado. You may have to do a bit of ground-work to get your characters here, as the introduction assumes that the villages have requested aid for their plight and that the characters are there in response to the plea. On a wider scale, you may also wish to determine how widespread the abnormal weather effects are, and who else might be affected.
Be that as it may, the situation as far as the villagers know it, and spellcasting can reveal, is soon laid before the characters. Two fairly straitforward but lively encounters later and all should be well again. For each brawl, the opponents are detailed concisely and clearly, and with a spread of levels so that you can tweak affairs to suit the strength of your characters - after all, it's a winter adventure and if you want to add it to an ongoing campaign, who knows precisely what level they'll be when the evenings begin to draw in?
A neat little piece, good for a side adventure or as a stand-alone evening's play. Evocative descriptions too, it makes you feel chilly reading them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Haven't played this yet, but it looks like a fairly straight forward, clearly written and fun adventure, with a nice added complication in the. This is what I'm looking for (almost - see below) in a module... it's really pretty much ready to play and very easy to fit into an existing campaign. The encounters are pretty clearly laid out and look readily scalable to fit any Heroic tier party.
My only complaint is that I wish the outdoor maps were a bit better. They are functional, but don't convey the thickness of walls or much flavor - they just look like some basic textures underneath thin computer-drawn lines. The overview map of the castle is pretty minimal, and there's no map of the town (though the module doesn't really call for one - I just find that players like an idea of the layout of places like that, and if you don't provide it, you're pretty much guaranteeing them that they're pretty safe there).
All said, this module has what is most important: a fun diversion for the players for a few sessions, good color and environment, even suggestions on complications that could arise after the module has been completed. My rating is based on quality vs. price. I certainly feel like I got mt $5 worth, but wish some of those maps were a little cooler. I'd recommend this module.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
The Goblins of Summerkeep is a 4e GSL adventure that sees the characters attempt to liberate a noble's keep from the clutches of a small goblin tribe. The adventure is suitable for character levels 1 through to 10, and the author has gone through considerable and welcome effort to provide stat blocks for a variety of different character levels. Unfortunately the remainder of the adventure doesn't scale that well, although, to be fair, there aren't really any skill checks, puzzles or traps that would need to be scaled. As one would expect, the adventure holds a far more sinister secret, and the players are left to uncover the truth and save more than the keep from the powers of evil.
I guess there are two main things to say about this adventure - first, it's very well organized. The author has put a lot of effort into making it easy to run, easy to work through, and easy to play. From that perspective the adventure is in a way more suitable to beginner party's and DMs. I expect that 10th level characters will expect more of a challenge than the combat encounters this provides. That level adventure should play differently - it should challenge more than just the brute force of the party, but also their ingenuity and their available resource. Which leads me to the second point - the adventure is awfully linear. There's almost no scope for playing the adventure differently than scripted and no dynamism in the script that would challenge the players to think about their strategy for invading the keep. If the goblins had a better prepared battle plan, making use of their cunning to avoid such incursions (which they must assume will be coming) the adventure would've played out a whole lot better.
It's a decent adventure, very well organized and presented, with useful maps and even battlemaps for miniatures. I wouldn't be tempted to challenge higher level parties with something this simple, or at least not without modification. I did like the tension created once the characters discover the true purpose behind the keep, although again I wish there had been more opportunity to reflect, and more of a threat. Stumbling from one major encounter to another without the possibility of the characters getting it wrong or being able to control their own actions is unfortunate. Good effort, more for beginner players and DMs, and well designed with true ease in running and playing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
The author of this adventure, Brent Newhall, deserves props for trying to make life easy for DMs who wish to run this adventure. He's provided an adventure outline, well-written descriptions of NPCs and settings, stat blocks in three different levels across the heroic tier, follow-up adventure ideas, and printable battlemaps. However, the adventure itself is very linear and one-dimensional; the PCs' biggest decision point is whether to attack the bad guys' castle from this angle or that angle. Failure to gain PC buy-in at any stage can scuttle the entire adventure. The scenario boils down to a series of combat encounters. There are no traps, no hazards, no skill challenges, just one combat after another. The battlemaps are useful, and competently produced, but not up to the aesthetic level of most of the printable battlemaps available nowadays. This is one of those middle-of-the-road products: not bad by any means, but not great, either.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Log In 
