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Valence
by Ron M. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 06/10/2009 12:27:24

Valence - Science-Fiction Roleplaying From: Valent Games Reviewed by: Ron McClung Valence - Science-Fiction Roleplaying is a new PDF Core Role Playing Game (RPG) book from Valent Games. Right off the bat, I was impressed with Valence because of the inspirations the author sites - Babylon 5.   I am a huge fan of Babylon 5 and, in fact, just got my first adventure published for B5 d20 in Signs and Portents #19. It also had an initial Traveller look and feel. I like Traveller as well. In the basic sense, Valence is another epic sci-fi space opera, with some elements of hard sci-fi and some elements of science fantasy. Apparently, there is a long history behind this game (as I guess there is with every game), and this is the second edition of Valence.

From the website: “The year is 3029 AD - Galactic Year 592. The Human Empire fell 125 years ago, and it is a time of rebuilding.”

Content:  After the standard introductory information, the What is Roleplaying? section every game seems to have, and a short history of the galaxy, the alien races are introduced in detail. I have to say that I am pretty overwhelmed by the originality of some of these races. Each are generally described below.

The Inuueliting are said to be the galaxy’s oldest species. They are physically human-like, generally, but there are several subspecies within the Inuueliting species that populate each of the five castes. From the winged Dai to the short Maltec, each have their own function within the Inuueliting society. In reality, they are five races in one.The Budetug are a insectoid species and are said to "match some of our worst nightmares, with a dozen legs, great crab-like pincers, and a hard exoskeleton." However, they are very innovative and pragmatic and are less fearsome in personality than in appearance. They are the workers of the new galaxy.

The Caractingessen resemble a dinosaur crossed with a dragon and are just as fearsome as they appear. Divided into two distinct types (Greats and Serpentine), all are apparently characteristically high tempered.   Another species somewhat like humanity in appearance, the Halla are smaller and their skin is quite wrinkly. At one time, they commanded a great trading empire, however it was short-lived, collapsing a few hundred years before Humanity reached the stars.  

The Valorians are an amphibious, quadruped, tentacled species who are said to be the most quiet race in the galaxy. They are also very intelligent and rarely involve themselves with galactic politics.

The mysterious Archangels as described as a race of animated plate mail. They apparently are a warrior culture that have a built-in inability to lie and a strong affinity to the arcane ability of Lording (see below). When discovered, it was determined that they were not native to the world they called home.

The Nesti are a plantlike race that are interestingly warlike, argumentative, and unintelligent. Although I can see plants as being dumb, I struggled to see planets as warlike.  "Attack of the Salald! Arm yourself with tongs!" Allied with the Caractingessen, they are quite bizarre and counter-intuitive. Anyone see the Day of the Triffids?

The snake-like Sa’crontor are a young race compared to most species. They are ambitious, characteristically talkative, agile, and inquisitive. They average about three meters long and even have a cobra-like hood.

There are three Ogre species - Titans, Trolls, and Draconians. Just prior to the discovery of the Humans, these species were discovered. They had served the Caracts as bodyguards and shock troops before they were liberated from the service of the dragon-beasts. All humanoid and ape-like, they are the youngest spacefaring species in the universe. Initially just two races evolving in parallel on one world, a third arose when the Caractingessen sought to create a slave race - the Draconians.

And then there are the Humans of Earth. It also makes a short note about Minor Races, indicating there is room for the GM or player to make up his own race(s).  Cultures are explained in terms of the mega-corporations or the governmental organizations that colonized the stars centuries ago - Genetech, Ægis, Coalition, and Armageddon Industries are examples. Each are explained in detail. The author makes it a point not to make too many blanket statements. His philosophy on culture is that he does not assume that species and culture are the same thing. So each species has as many varied cultures as humans do. I find that, although realistic, it is difficult to represent that fact in a role playing game. I think he discovered that because in some cases, he goes back on his statement. Case in point, the Caractingessen culture - "the Caractingessen culture is shared by nearly every Gess in the galaxy." (pg. 49) I guess in some cases species and culture are the same, while in others they are not.

After the species, the author presents several short sections of life in the galaxy. In order, these are the subjects he covers - Love, Mega-Corporations, Religions, Entertainment, Timeline and The Fall, a section on interstellar space travel (Tesseracts), Interplanetary Communication, and Galaxy Cartography. The Timeline is in terms of Earth years, dating as far back as 10 million years BC.

Aside from the time period and the races players can play, the top three things I look for in a science fiction game are (1) what supernatural stuff it has; (2) what technological equipment it has; and (3) what weapons it has.  

The supernatural facets of Valence is called Lording. Lording is power that stems from another dimension. It is basically magic with several schools linked to it and several ways to approach the powers. There are many schools of Lording as well as spells. Up front, it tells you that the powers of Lording is limitless by supplying you with a spell creation system. However, it does provide over forty spells including Ice Storm, Force Shield, Flame Generation and Invisibility.  

Technology in Valence includes genetic engineering, cybernetics, a galaxy-wide cybernet call the Lattice, and a short chapter on basic equipment. What is missing is any kind of detailed chapter on starships. I am the type of game master that could play a sci-fi RPG without ever needing a ship construction system or a complete list of stat'ed out starships, but I know there are tons of gamers that require it. You will find neither in this book. The genetic engineering aspects are represented in terms of "templates" - there are two: ultramercs and demons. The cybernetics is reasonably thorough, including cybernetic equipment and weapons one can add to their character. The Lattice section includes sections on computers, building them, building programs and using them, which is more than I can say for most sci-fi games. Weapons are ever-present in sci-fi.  Valence includes a good number of weapon types - lasers, disruptors, and plasma weapons as well as ancient weapons. Also included is a unique concept called entropy weapons (at least unique to me) - a weapons that increases the entropy of its target, which reeks havoc with force shields, as well as a short weapons modification system with seven ways to modify your weapons. 

As the standard counterpart to weapons, Valence supplies the players with several styles of armors. From light armor to heavy powered armor, there is more than enough to work with. On top of that, it has an interesting armor modification and customization system, which is not always found in many sci-fi games.  

The remaining content are sections with GM Advice and sample characters. Things that are missing: starships, vehicles, a variety of equipment and robots.

System: Character generation is somewhat class-based, but not as restrictive as that classification would imply.  Each class gives a set of skills, some base levels of Charisma and Knowledge, and a special ability.  Classes are categorized in three areas: Soldier, Rogue, and Scholar. Soldier classes include the Arctic and Star Commandos, Space Troopers, Furies, Paladins, and Space Jockeys. Soldiers are strong in discipline and their combat abilities, of course. Rogue classes include Assassins, Bounty Hunters, Merchants, Ninja, Operatives, and Street Thieves. Rogues are strong in ingenuity and stealth. Scholar classes include Archmagi, Bio Docs, Diplomats, Interface Knights, and Tech Docs. Scholars collect knowledge and avoid combat, traditionally. In this system classes define what skills are easier to get and what skills are harder to get, but there is no limitations to what one can be skilled at. Characters spend points to buy skills and how much is based on class, level at which he wishes to buy the skill, and any other outside factors.  Multi-classing is possible, but not easy. It is considered leaving one's class into another and costs a lot of experience and game time.

Ability scores or attributes are determined through point allocation. There are eleven attributes. They are typically ranked from 0 to 10, though they may rise above 10 for exceptional characters. Attributes are Agility, Charisma, Creativity, Dexterity, Intelligence, Knowledge, Lording, Mental Endurance, Stamina, Strength, and Visualization. Skills are based on these attributes and are categorized in several areas. Combat, Athletic, Engineering, Computers and Leadership are examples. Skill levels start at 1, of course. At level 26 and beyond you are considered Grand Master of that skill. Tasks or Checks are a roll of a d20 die plus one's attribute and skill level of applicable skill and is compared to a difficulty level. In my experience, this type of mechanic is a sound system, because it leaves a lot of freedom to the GM to control the situation and power gaming. 

Another key element in character generation is background generation. There is nothing more important to me than a solid background generation system. I am a huge fan of Task Force Games Central Casting series of books.

From page #9: “The galaxy is picking itself up from one of the biggest disasters it’s ever faced.”

The ingenuity of Valence comes in its core system, from combat to the Hero Point system; from Renown to Battles of Conviction. Combat is handled like any other RPG, in rounds, with dice rolls to determine success. It allows for passive or active defense and in the case of active defense, opposed rolls are made. Many people like this approach as opposed to the static defense stat in WotC d20. Initiative is not rolled but is a number from 1 to 10, and determines the number of actions a person can do in a 10-second round. The damage system is based on a series of numbers added and subtracted together including weapons damage, the target's armor rating and defense shields. The damage system is fairly realistic and deadly.  

One interesting aspect that Valence supplies is something called the Battle of Conviction - a system of political and social battling that can have interesting results. Conducted like combat, this system can be used as an alternative interaction system. West End Games's Masterbook system had a similar interaction system. I tend to like systems that supply alternative systems for combat. Valence also has a Renown system, which is similar to the d20 Reputation system in Star Wars. Hero Points can be spent to effect rolls in a variety of ways on a one-to-one basis. Characters start out with 20 Hero Points. I have seen many hero/action/force point systems. Some are too powerful and balanced out by giving very few of the points. However, the GM always runs the risk of giving out too much and unbalancing the game. This system, although restrictive in its effectiveness, is a little more balanced than most. The GM doesn't run the risk of giving out too much unless he gives out multiples of tens of points.

The Lording system works with skills - specifically Lording Control Skills. Powers or spells are the result. It is fairly simple and concise, but like all other supernatural abilities in sci-fi, it tends to cause some imbalance in the game. In my experience, only the GM can counter-balance that with equally power items for non-supernatural power users. Layout: The Layout is reminiscent of Traveller rulebooks. Its not bad, but not very flashy. They obviously had a lot of information to convey because there is very little artwork in it. The art that is there is acceptable but nothing to rave about. The racial pictures needed to be a little more clear and some do not have any pictures at all. It was obvious the author was concentrating on content and not appearance. Not bad, but it is kind of plain.

In conclusion, I found Valence interesting and inspired, but there was not enough there to drive me to want to play. It had some unique qualities, and there were some very inspired aspects of the politics, social structure and environment, including the attempts to make the socialization of people in the far future realistic. Combine that with a more complete sci-fi game, and I may be interested, but it just did not feel complete to me. It is obvious that this author put a ton of work into the game. I have done similar work myself. In and of itself, it had a feel of the old Star Frontiers in a lot of ways, although I felt that Star Frontiers had a little more than this did in some areas. I sympathize with the author on the subject matter of realistic alien societies and galactic spanning societies as a whole. It is a well-done piece of work but missing a few key aspects of sci-fi to make it complete. The technology of a sci-fi game defines the universe, and gives that sci-fi fan the first taste of the feel of the game. The missing sections were key in that. I also did not find many of the character races very inspiring or desirable to be played. Most were either odd or simply unoriginal. I probably would find myself trying to convert other races into the game system. 

To his credit, he attributes one of the best sci-fi TV shows of all time (in my opinion) as an influence - Babylon 5 - so if in game, it plays like that universe, it has hope. It is a complete roleplaying game, more or less, however. Although not a complete sci-fi game, it does include all the elements one would need to play a character in a relatively rich and well-imagined universe in epic chronicles of galactic conquest and exploration. It encourages the players and GM to play out a story and not concentrate on the usual trappings of sci-fi, like star ships and vehicles. It is quite apparent that the author is more a role-player than a roll-player. I commend him on his effort overall.

For more details on Valent Games and their new PDF Core Role Playing Game (RPG) book “Valence - Science-Fiction Roleplaying” check them out at their website http://www.valentgames.com/.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Valence
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Creator Reply:
Thank you for this incredibly detailed review! I really appreciate it.
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Sufficiently Advanced
by Darren K. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/14/2008 14:39:51

A very solid and innovative ruleset that, for the first time, makes Ultra-High-Tech Sci-Fi setting playable and fun. Simple core mechanics that cover a huge variety of situations, and story/theme driven plot mechanics that manage to keep the feel of supertech societies without sacrificing the drama or human element.

This game is a must-have purchase for anyone who wants to play a Sci-Fi game as something other than a Space Opera or Gunfest.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Sufficiently Advanced
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Creator Reply:
Thank you for the compliments! If you're interested, there's an official site for the game at http://suffadv.wikidot.com/ . It has premade PCs, plot generators, forums, and other useful items.
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The Other Side
by Anthony B. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 10/01/2007 05:52:00

This looks amazing. Just perfect for the campagin I am thinking of running. Slightly confused wwith where i gain acess to the download but I am sure it will all work out fine.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
The Other Side
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Permafrost
by Peter I. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 01/10/2007 00:00:00

Permafrost is a 42 page d20 pdf product that presents ten new base classes and setting information for adventuring in a frost covered world of ice and snow. This is a standalone product from Valent Games, and is suitable for both DMs and players alike, providing minimal setting information along with tailored classes to the world under consideration.

The product comes as a zip file containing both a screen and a print version of the product. In the latter case, all the color has been removed, but the bordering and background detail is still present. This saves some money on color ink, but will still be heavier on your black ink. The product contains no artwork, meaning that you're pretty much just as well off printing the screen version instead of the print version. In fact, the product even makes a humorous jibe at the lack of artwork, crediting the author's bank account for the contribution to the lack of artwork. Layout is in landscape format, in two columns, and is generally decent, as is the overall editing. It's by no means a spectacular looking product, but it presents something acceptable to the reader.

The product offers both a variety of new base classes for a frozen-world setting, as well as a brief background for such a world, along with a short history and other brief pertinent details. The latter is probably not fleshed out enough to run as-is, but it can certainly form the basis for a campaign world or setting with some added detail. In that sense it's more an intriguing prospect than a campaign setting, and the author certainly leaves enough blanks that anybody with a little work can make the idea their own. Some useful plot seeds and development notes for the campaign idea are also included at the end of the product. Those willing to work in a frozen world with only three known outposts of the living will find the classes presented in this product useful. These ten classes by far form the meat of the product, and as such this is more a base class compendium than anything else. In some sense I wish the organisation had reflected that more, rather than trying to present this product as anything else, but that's a minor quibble.

The ten core classes presented form an interesting mix of abilities. The classes are intended to be used as a replacement for the base classes in the core rules, and each class is designed with a background that suits the campaign arc presented in Permafrost. In this area of background details more could certainly have been said about the various classes, and most of the descriptions are brief and lacking in flavor. For the most part the classes themselves appear decent, with some acceptable mechanics, and they should form playable classes in this campaign setting but also in other artic worlds. The classes could've used a little more creativity here and there, although the spellcasting progression idea where spellcasters lose access to lower level spells as they progress is quite interesting to entertain.

The ten classes presented are core seeker (subterranean ranger), crystalhome adept (masters of crystals and ice), iceborn raider (evil ice raiders and rogues), knight of the snows (paladin protectors of the living), mad hermit (just as the name suggests), magma mage (fire spellcaster with power over volcanic magma), naga cultist (naga followers), planar initiate (other-worldly psions), reborn archon (mortal archons), and servant of death (master of death and undeath). There are some interesting ideas here, such as the mad hermit's madness or the reborn archon, but for the most part not always elegant in the execution. The latter parts of the product deal with hazards and environment, material taken from the core rules as an appendix of sorts.

Permafrost in a product that presents ten new base classes for an artic-based setting. The classes are interesting, though not always the best execution, and most of them could use a lot more detail to give them true flavor. They're presented almost like mechanical stubs, with little flavor to each class that is gained outside a look at the classes special abilities. The setting idea could be interesting, though hardly all that novel, and with some work these classes and ideas can be used to make something exciting.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Permafrost is a decent product with some interesting ideas, presenting some useful new classes and special abilities for those classes. There are a handful of mechanical ideas that are interesting such as the spellcasting progression, and the campaign concept has some merit. Presentation is not the best, but decent.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Lacking in enough flavor to make the most of the classes provided and the setting idea presented. Some weak or uninspired mechanical execution, and the product could've used a lot of fleshing out in a number of different areas.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
Permafrost
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Creator Reply:
Thank you for your comments. I and some collaborators are working on a second edition of this supplement, and we plan to address some of the issues you've raised, especially fleshing out the setting. If you have some specific points you think need more detail, or if you could say which classes you found particularly boring, please give me an e-mail and let me know! --Colin Fredericks
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Permafrost
by Nathan C. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 11/22/2006 00:00:00

Permafrost, by Valent games, is what happens when you think your homebrew world of mish mashed ideas will eclipse established settings such as Grey Hawk and the Forgotten Realms and no one utilizes the smelling salt to awaken them from this delusion.

Permafrost is not as much a bad campaign setting as it is an incomplete one full of plot holes the size of a glacier. It does not introduce anything that a half dozen other better written and edited books have on cold environments. It begins with a fairly crass introduction from the author detailing how there will be no other books and how the reader should either live with rules such as psionics are find something else. The background of the world is as sketchy as it is in the marketing text. We do not learn what type of planar disaster happened or how it happened. We are left wondering what type of planar example would freeze a world and how could they populate. This breeds more questions and at some point you just have to stop being logical else you will find yourself in the frozen fractal that is Permafrost.

After the Intro, the book gets to the meat of itself, which is the classes. This is somewhat boggling considering the PDF is classified as a campaign setting. There are 10 classes that seem moderately balanced to one another. Servant of death seems a bit overpowered considering the lack of turning in the book. The remainder are merely tweaks of core classes with an elemental flavor to them.

The adventure hooks are really just blurbs of what ifs that any DM could think of in such a world and are not as fleshed out as adventure hooks in other mediums.

For the Player The Planar Initiative is a decent psionic scholar alternative that will fit in well as an alternative class in a psionic campaign.

For the Dungeon Master There are some nuggets that are worth looking at. If you are looking for some crazed coot?s class for your campaign, the Mad Hermit is a bizarre mix of the barbarian class with this archetype. Class abilities include an Invisible friend and Sanity levels. The Knight of the Snows works well if there are cold areas in your campaign and you want to build fighters specific to the cold element.

The Iron Word Not everyone is a writer as Permafrost shows. The language used is not the formal type of language you read in a book. There is also serious lack of editing throughout the book. Add to that the lack of any bookmarks or navigation features and it becomes a very difficult book to traverse.

This is actually a class book for a cold world campaign setting, but not the actual campaign setting. If you are looking for a few cold whether classes there are a couple of good ones hidden in here that may be worth it if it is something you need. However, if you are searching for an artic world, dynamic cold rules and a non-class thoughout idea, look elsewhere.
<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: - The hermit, snow knights and planar initiative <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: - bad editing and crass writing. I don't need to know what you will and won't be doing with the series.

  • no bookmarks, no navigation
  • mostly classes yet claims to be a setting book. Sadly I know good setting books that include no classes
  • most of the classes are either too powerful or small tweaks to the core classes
  • <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Disappointing<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Ripped Off<br>


Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Wow. I kind of feel insulted.
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Metafiction
by Derek H. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 11/20/2006 00:00:00

For being a 2 page game, there is a lot of potential for seasoned gamers. The basic idea is the PCs either travel to fictional worlds (movies, novels, comics, etc.) or draw people or things from fiction. The rules are not what I would call great as they pit GM vs player, but the biggest complaint I have is how does drawing items and people from fiction affect the "real" world- there is nothing on the matter.

I do like it and it has spawned several ideas for other systems, but I don't think I will ever run or play it.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Metafiction
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Creator Reply:
Thanks for your review! The antagonistic relationship between GM and player was somewhat intentional for this game, since the challenge required an element of horror - part of the GM's job here is to make the characters' lives difficult. I'm glad you were inspired by the rest of it!
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Permafrost
by Chris G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 11/15/2006 00:00:00

Permafrost

What happens in a world that is overrun with ice and snow? Permafrost is that answer. It is a new setting by Valent Games. It is a new setting that is in the midst of a terrible Ice Age. It is the perfect excuse to get a lot of work out of Frost and Fur and Frostburn. Permafrost is a new PDF written by Colin Fredericks. The PDF does come in a print and on screen format. It has a nice soft snow like background that helps the book out a lot since there is no art in the forty three pages the book has. I do like that in the credit it says ?Total Lack of Art: Colin?s bank account? so a little humor in admitting why he does not have art here. The background does help make up for the lack of art and the shortness of the PDF makes it so it is not so bad. The PDF does not have book marks and that is a worse sin for this book. Permafrost is an idea that just is not taken to proper level. As a Setting this is a book of a solid idea and theme but it does not take the detail the setting enough to really make it easy to use. There are no maps and only three cities left. And they are really not given the level of details to make them useful. This is a jumping off point. There are some good ideas and ways to run a campaign in the setting. But a DM will need to do a little or a lot of work to really flesh out the cities, NPCs, and come up with full adventures. In addition to the lack of some details the author has a questions and answers section in which he states that he will probably not be writing any more for this setting. That is a pity because there is a lot of really good potential here. That is one reason I mention those two other cold related books. Such resources will be helpful if one wants to use Permafrost. The majority of the book is spent on new classes. None of the classes from the Players Handbook are in this setting anymore. The circumstances of the Great Ice Age the setting is in have gotten rid of them all. Instead the book has ten new base classes. There are no prestige classes, no new feats or spells, or other mechanics in here. The writer choose base classes instead of prestige classes as he felt they were a better way to showcase the class abilities he came up with. In this case I think prestige classes might have been more useful since having just base classes really cuts the setting off from the wide variety of mechanical options the game presents. The Core Seekers are like a subterranean ranger. They have a lot of good specialized abilities that really make them good underground. Elsewhere they will be a little more limited in what they can do. I do like they get trap finding as it really fits the idea of the class. Crystalhome Adept are the new version of Monks. They are not as powerful as a normal monk and seem to be part security force. Iceborn Raiders are like rogues that live in the frozen places and steal and do whatever it takes to survive. They get invisibility powers and some have some neat ideas dealing with tokens. The Knights of the Snow are like a less restricted Paladin. They have made an alliance with a Fey god who helps them survive in the cold north and they basically help people out. They can carve weapons of ice and enhance weapons with ice. Mad Hermit is a person who has snapped under the horrors of trying to survive when his family and the people he knew have not. It is the most creative class in the book. Magma Mage is a fire bases caster. They are spontaneous casters. One odd thing the writer did is lower spell level slots go away. The writer felt it was too much book keeping for higher level casters to worry about all those spells. The known spells of the lower levels never goes away, the caster just has to spend a higher spell slot on them. I have never felt it was a problem with all the spells so this is one of the few design elements I disagree with. The Naga Cultist are another underground group. The Naga went underground away from the cold and so did their people. That is what this represents. Planar Initiates are psionics based class. They have no high level restrictions on using their lower level powers like the other casters do. They are looking for a solution to the cold on other planes of existence.

Reborn Archon is another creative class. This is like a cleric with really good healing abilities. They have no ability to turn undead. In fact, none of the classes has that. I like that the author choose to get rid of turning.

Servants of Death are casters that deal with necromancy and death. They are not good or evil.

The book has a template for making monsters cold in type and shows haw they have adapted and survive. The book also has a few pages of dealing with the cold and the weather. This is good and useful information. Lastly there are some basic adventure seeds. They are enough to get the DM?s mind going in what to do in Permafrost but I would have liked more with a little more detail.

Permafrost is a good book for someone wanted a start to a cold base campaign. The world is really not that defined so taking the ideas here and placing them in another cold based setting will be really easy. But unfortunately since this is a setting unto itself I just cannot recommend it. It has some good ideas but it just fails at what it is trying to do.
<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Some creative classes<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Just not enough of the setting to be a setting<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
Permafrost
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Creator Reply:
Wow, that was a very fast review - up the same day! I appreciate your comments. I think you might have missed the "Invoke Signature" ability that all spellcasters in this setting get, which allows them to keep their favorite low-level spells and cast them all day long. As for the bookmarks, I can easily put those in. I'll take care of that soon and post an update. In the end, game mechanics are something I'm much better at than I am at setting. Most GMs I know are really good at taking an implied setting and running with it (as with, say, Arcana Evolved), and I hope that others will feel the same way.
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Super Console
by Justin J. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/16/2006 00:00:00

Super Console is the sequal to the first console game system. The game system introduces a series of new systems that are easier to adjucate than the math intensive first edition. The bar system is ingenious, it not only makes sense but gives the rpg the overall feeling of an e-game(electronic game).

The only thing that I would count against Super Console is that it being developed as a video game knock, is only really concerned with combat as far as dice rolling goes. Normal world challenges arent handled well.

Dont forget to use your imagination. The game itself is made to mimic a famous 13 game series, but with a tweak here and there you could remake any e-game with it.

Over all, if you are looking for a game system to imitate a videogame, look no further (especially since returner games' final fantasy will never get done ;-) ).<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Its ability to mimic e-games. The bar system was great. Cheat sheet included for quick refrence.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: No real way to handle non-combat actions without feeling like it compromises the system.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Super Console
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Creator Reply:
Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you liked it, and I hope others will find your comments useful. I'll agree that there's not much in the game to handle social or athletic actions. The primary reason for that is that, in console RPGs, these are a non-issue. Either you pick the right options, or you spend time in the mini-game, or you wait until you're the right level - but one way or another, you're going to climb Mt. Murderhorn, because the plot doesn't progress without it.
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Console
by Adam L. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 10/26/2005 00:00:00

Console is a well-written, tongue-in-cheek take on the RPGs I used to play on the Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Playstation, and now the Playstation 2. And the best part is, this game works for pen-and-paper gaming, in those digital worlds. I would have liked to see more art along the lines of general illustrations instead of the Adventurers! Comics, but that?s nothing more than a personal quibble. If you love video game RPGs, buy this now! It?s cheap.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Just about all of the rules.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Nothing that wasn't just a minor quibble.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Console
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The Four Magics
by Sean M. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/21/2005 00:00:00

I don't have much to say. I was a little disappointed in this product. I was hoping for something, I don't know, more. More than what I could have just come up with myself anyway.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
The Four Magics
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Creator Reply:
Can you be more specific as to what you were looking for?
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Above and Beyond
by Brian W. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 05/26/2005 00:00:00

Above and Beyond is really good for anyone using a cosmic M&M RPG campaign.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The artwork was very good.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Above and Beyond
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Mutatis Mutandis (Minigame issue #3)
by Selma M. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 01/22/2005 00:00:00

I loved this one. It is an imaginitive look at how it might be in a universe where everybody has powers. While most of what I play is not M&M centered, this is something that I could adapt to a lot of settings.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: While not completely original, it is an entertaining read, and in this case the minimal crunch made it that much more appealing.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: There were a few typos that I spotted, but I liked it overall.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Mutatis Mutandis (Minigame issue #3)
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The Other Side (Minigame issue #1)
by B. C. R. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 12/06/2004 00:00:00

This is funny! As the cover blurb states, it's also a really good introduction to what goblinoid society would be like in a "traditional" fantasy setting. Everything is painted with a really broad brush, but it's done well enough to integrate into any campaign.

And the price is worth reading it, even if you don't intend ever to use it for your game.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
The Other Side (Minigame issue #1)
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The Four Magics
by Steve W. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 11/18/2004 00:00:00

i down loaded this game and it won't open. really pissed me off that the people here at the mall have refused to respond to my emails<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Disappointing<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Ripped Off<br>



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
The Four Magics
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Creator Reply:
I'm really surprised that it won't open. The last time I heard of this problem was with someone using Acrobat Reader version 4 instead of 5, so you may want to try updating. If that fails, or if your computer won't run version 5, give me an e-mail at fredericks@valentgames.com and I'll take care of things for you. --Colin Fredericks
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The Four Magics
by Krister K. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/30/2004 00:00:00

Good, very creative use of the M&M power construction rules and no powers that are obviously priced wrong. This booklet contains magic powers that are much more exciting than anything I'm likely to make on my own. More flavour than sorcery, and much more fun than just using Energy Blast and calling it "Eldrich Bolts".



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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