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You can never have too many monsters! But it's a real treat when you get thoughtful well-designed ones that can really establish themselves as living (usually) creatures within your world rather than mere cannon-fodder to wheel out when it's time for a brawl.
Each of the twelve comes with a wealth of background detail about how they fit in to wherever it is you'll find them, as well as an illustration and full stat-block. All the entries lack is a pronunciation guide, a few are tongue-twisters.
Perhaps you would like a dragonleaf tree in your garden. I can see some puzzled mail carriers when they see a 'Beware of the tree' sign... just before an oculo swarm happens by. Maybe you'd like a salt golem for a butler, or a pet star drake. And there are several others, some capable of interaction, others mindless marauders with whom you'll have to do combat as soon as they come into view.
Just reading through the descriptions sets ideas into motion, how they might be woven into existing plots and locations or even spawning ideas for side-adventures or whole plotlines of their own. This is what monster books ought to be like!
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An orc is an orc is an orc, surely, and good for nothing more than target practice, right?
Well, even if your only use for an orc is as a sparring partner, here are a full 34 orc personalities to make that brawl a little more interesting... and if you put that sword away and maybe try having a chat over an ale or three, you might discover that orcs are people too. However if you hold - as do many adventurers - that the only good orc is a dead one, these 34 are all combat-ready and come in a range of CRs from orc young at one-quarter of a CR to an assassin or spear master who both weigh in at CR 7.
Starting with a page on how to read stat blocks (most of us have grasped this by now but handy if you are starting out in the game) next there is a page about orcs in general. Apparently an adult male orc is roughly 6 feet tall and 210 pounds, and quick to anger (sounds remarkably like my husband, but I don't think orcs cook as well as he does!), and should you wish to play one there are some notes on orc characters.
Then, on with the stat blocks. Each comes with a brief description as well as all the stats you need to use that orc (in combat or otherwise) along with the weapons, armour and other notable possessions he might have with him. As you might suspect, many are barbarians and so have the altered stats for raging included as well as their regular ones. Most are fairly scruffy and unpleasant-looking, and if you do fancy getting to know them over some ales you may have difficulty finding a tavern which will let you in!
Still, if you want some variety rather than wave upon wave of indentikit orcs to fight, this is an easy way to have some distinctive combat-ready orcs at your fingertips.
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There's plenty of scope here. Basically it's a workshop/hideout that could be a base for just about any modern, near-future or superhero character, particularly one of a technical bent. It could serve as a hangout for a group of characters or even as someone's home if they don't mind roughing it a bit. Naturally, you can choose whether it is the player-characters or NPCs who occupy the place.
Drawn to a near photo-realistic standard, you get 3 multi-page versions (plain, hex grid or square grid) as well as a giant single JPEG image suitable for virtual tabletops or if you have access to a commercial poster printing facility, and a neat 360° view option that's excellent if you want to give your players a good look at the place through their characters' eyes.
Games that could easily find a use for this range from Spycraft and Leverage through Night's Black Agents, any number of superhero games or anything from a thriller genre. It may not be stylish enough for a vampire, but at least there are no windows!
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There's a lot packed into this little work - a whole collection of Asian weapons as well as that staple of adventure, ninja weapons and devices!
It starts off with a note on concealment and on the frequent use of Asian weapons in pairs, and continues by describing a whole range of blades, budgeoning weapons, polearms, entangling weapons and ranged weapons - including a whole array of different arrows. If you do like Asian weapons, you'll probably find your favourites here (my particular love, the kukri, is there... so I now know the M&M stats for the one lurking under my desk!) Most weapons are Japanese or Chinese in origin, but the Indonesian kris makes an appearance, as well as famous items like nunchaku, the chakram and the war fan.
Next comes the ninja section (although for some reason shuriken appear under ranged weapons). This includes notes on the way they are good at concealing and improvising weapons as well as some of the gadgets for which they are renowned. There are also notes on weapons shaped like animals and the use of animals as weapons (with the common mistake of referring to POISONOUS snakes... hitting someone with one of the very few poisonous snakes would have little effect, use a VENOMOUS one if you want to annoy the poor serpent into biting your target with dire effects!) .
Now, whilst there's a brief mention in the section on weapons shaped like animals, the main focus here is real-world mundane weapons. If you want ones that are themselves superpowered, or which accentuate superpowers, you won't find much here. But the wise superhero remembers that there are times when cold steel will be more effective than any weird ability!
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Do you ever find that your mind goes totally blank when the characters roll into town and strike up conversations with the locals to find out what's going on? Or worse, all you can think about is the next adventure you intend to run so that every rumour is about that adventure - the only variety being that some are true and others are not!
Help is at hand, in the shape of some ready-crafted gossip and rumours that you can sprinkle around with gay abandon without running the risk of derailing your plot... and into which you can weave the pointers to said plot without giving them undue emphasis. So if you have characters in your game who are assiduous at gathering local information whenever they get the chance (unlike one party I had many years ago who'd walk up to the first person they saw and asked directions to the roughest part of town, went there and started a brawl!) you will now have something to serve up to them.
It's designed to be used with random die rolls, but you could of course bypass that and have your locals talk about whichever rumours interest you... but here I think the random approach is best, even if you roll ahead of time and know what will be talked about when the characters strike up a conversation.
To start with, there are a host of modifiers to apply to the characters' Diplomany checks to work out how many rumours there are to unearth, and further rolls to decide what type of rumours are to be had. To add life to it all, a few local gossips are provided, complete with statblocks and notes on playing them.
Then comes a whole bunch of tables based on what type of rumour you are looking for: rumours about other adventurers, about local events and festivals, about local legends, about local nobility and so on. Each is replete with quite detailed tales that the local gossips will fall over themselves to share. Now, are they true? That's for you to decide and the characters to figure out for themselves. Many could spawn adventures of their own, and it will be a trivial task to weave similar tales regarding adventure seeds or other information that your plot requires the characters to discover and insert them seamlessly into the flow of gossip their inquiries will generate.
Like all true gossip, much has a harsh edge to it. The characters will have to decide if the harshness is justified. You could have fun making up a few rumours in similar vein about the characters, especially if they are known in the area. Twist it just enough that they will wonder if it is about them or someone else...
As a bonus, there are a couple of new spells as well... along with the rumours that will lead curious mages to discover them! An interesting addition to the well-prepared GM's bookshelf.
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This is a mapset of a charming rustic tavern, the sort you might find on a woodland trail. You can never have too many interesting taverns for your characters to drop in to, have an ale or three, pick up the local rumours, get hired or have a brawl... so add this one to the collection.
It's a large sprawling single-roomed establishment. The only person to sleep here is Mine Host, the tavern-keeper himself (his bedroom is tucked away behind the bar), it's a place for drinking and socialising not for stopping the night. There is plenty of flavour-full detail in the interior, tables and chairs and all manner of items strewn around (keep a handy list of how much damage everyday items do, in case a brawl breaks out and someone starts improvising!).
The maps come in hex grid, square grid and plain multi-page versions as well as a vast JPEG image for those using virtual tabletops or who have access to a poster-size commercial print facility. Everything is crisp with good detail, a realistic addition to the 'Good Ale Guide' for your campaign world!
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Opening with one of the best reworkings of 'Your group of adventurers is sitting in an inn one evening when someone approaches you with a job" that I have read in a long time, this is a charming little adventure that manages to play up the comedic side of fantasy without falling into the trap of outright silliness or merely playing things for laughs.
It's all based around a gnome village that has developed a specialism in mundane clockwork devices... only they have recently encountered some difficulties in their production, difficulties of the sort a party of adventurers are best suited to resolving. Needless to say, the stated problem is not the only one, and the party will find plenty to keep them busy. There are several factions and individuals jockeying for control and economic dominence of the area; the characters will have to pick their way through carefully, deciding who to support and how to accomplish their goals - guile will be required as well as competence in combat. With battles a-plenty (at least two, maybe more) and places to investigate and a wide range of unusual and interesting people to talk to, nobody should find this adventure boring.
The clockwork inventions - several of which are described in detail at the end as well as being incorporated within the adventure - have a certain charm, creative and redolent of craftsmanship and a sheer delight in making intriguing things... if you like elaborate mechanical clocks with little parades of figures, you'll enjoy these inventions too.
A gentle charming beguiling adventure, I shall be looking out for Mr Myler's work in the future!
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Publisher Reply: |
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Megan,
Thank you for the glowing review! I didn't notice the 'Reply to Review' button until just now as I trawl the website eager to see my second publication (Magical Armaments Compendium Volume I) reach 100 downloads (although admittedly, it is free), so please forgive my lack of punctuality. I really appreciate your enthusiastic critique and hope you do keep an eye out for my other work. The struggle to find another illustrator for the next book (The Mysterious Peaks of Baranthar) is holding things up, but we're shooting for a release by the end of the month.
Thank you again for the kind words!
Sincerely,
Mike Myler |
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This is an intriguing adventure involving the watery depths, a beautiful sea queen pleading for release... and much that is not what it seems to be at a first glance. Plenty to tax the brains, as well as the sword-arms, of your adventurers.
It all begins with dreams brought on by possession of an artefact - which makes it easy to embroil any party by placing said artefact in the next treasure hoard they discover, or amongst the possessions of the next individual they loot or rob. Provided they are in a coastal town, finding out a little more, just enough to set their feet on the path to this adventure, should not be too difficult... and the adventure is afoot!
To rescue the beautiful captive, they need to infiltrate a sorcerer's lair... by third level, this ought to be within their capabilities provided they are careful and use their skills and resources wisely. It is a weird place, the former residence of someone fascinated by the sea and redolent of the strangeness that is to be found beneath the waves. Being able to swim, at the least, will be an advantage against some of the foes encountered... and of course, this is but a stepping-stone to finding out what next must be done to effect the rescue.
Boat rides and even more exotic places. strange curses and more await the intrepid adventurers in an epic sweep of events that should serve to remind the players that their characters are in a truly magical world quite unlike the real one - and yet, within itself, consistent and real enough to care about as well as stare at in wonder. Plenty of challenge awaits under and around the sea in this memorable adventure which will give those who survive and succeed a feeling of accomplishment.
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The product, Solace Games's first for the Legend RPG, is a collection of fascinating ideas and resources that will come in useful when including woodland adventures or indeed elves in your campaign.
First up are some general rules for use in forests. Things like line of sight, survival in a forest environment, perception, stealth and tracking are covered, with separate notes distingusihing between lightly and heavily wooded areas - as anyone who's spent much time in the woods can attest, how dense a woodland is can influence things like how far you can see and how well you can track.
We then meet - in considerable detail - three sub-types of elf. These are grass elves, savage elves and tree elves. The tree elves are the commonly-held ideal of rather wild and reclusive beings who live deep in woodland, whilst the grass elves prefer open plains and lightly-wooded areas, moving into deeper forests only when threatened... and being said to burrow underground rather than live up a tree! Savage elves are actually as civilised as anyone else, although more inclined to be militant and given to such heresies as chopping down trees to build their homes! Each of the three elf types is described in sufficient detail, including game mechanics, to run one as a player-character or to make a tribe of that type a major influence in your game world with potent NPCs easy to design.
Next is a section on equipment, armour and weapons, providing some interesting items made and used by elves. Watch out for elven bows: sought-after by many archers whatever their heritage! There are also some spells and then extensive details of new cults and factions popular amongst elves. Perhaps you will be seranaded by a member of the Grass Singers, counted amongst the most cultured and peaceful members of the community. Or you may run foul of the Nature's Wardens, tree elves who enforce firm environmental standards, or meet the sorcerous tree elves of the Order of the Tree who believe that magic and forests are inextricably intertwined... and there are several other groups as well.
All in all, if elves and their traditions are to play a role in your game, this is worth a look to gain new insight and ideas into what elves do and believe.
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Based around three tables - one for dungeon areas, one for caverns and one of wandering monsters - this is a handy resource for any GM who likes interesting yet balanced encounters. The monsters provided fall into three main categories, which are 'standard' by-the-book, modified or unique. The standard ones come straight from one of the core Pathfinder RPG Bestiaries. The modified ones use the advanced, giant or young templates applied to a standard monster. These templates are provided for your convenience here, so you may apply them elsewhere if desired. Finally, unique monsters have been specifically developed for this product, and come with complete statblock and extensive notes.
It is simple to use. Decide if you are in a constructed dungeon or a cavern, or if you want a wandering monster to happen by, and then check the appropriate table. If you are in a hurry or like randomicity, roll a d12; or if you have more time, sit back and read through them all and decide on what is going to work best for you... and then probably end up resorting to your trusty d12 as they're all appealing and interesting and will enhance your game with a memorable encounter!
Even the standard book monsters make for interesting encounters, more than merely a monster to bash. Take, for example, dungeon encounter # 5. It consists of two goblins and a giant spider. Then we read "Two goblins are locked in battle with a giant spider, although their tactics have been somewhat ineffectual so far. They are screaming curses at it and trying to reach their fallen companion." This brings the whole scene to life, there's something going on completely independent of this bunch of adventurers (your characters) wandering through the dungeon, a clear sense that this event is happening irrespective of whether they are here or not!
The whole product is filled with these gems. Most could spawn at least a side-adventure of their own, many could develop into much more. If you run 'crawl' adventures, you will need a constant stream of events to take place down there and this will help you deliver consistently interesting encounters.
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If you run espionage games, these are well-nigh essential bits of tradecraft... and if you run any kind of game in which radio has been invented, a numbers station message or two can add an air of mystery or intrigue to whatever might be going on. It might even have something to do with your plot - or it may be a complete red herring.
So, if you didn't crouch over your shortwave radio during the 1970s (which is when I found them on the airwaves) what is a numbers station anyway?
The short answer (at least officially) is that nobody knows. Or at least, not that they'll own up to. The most common interpretation is that they carry coded messages which could only be interpreted by the intended recipient, hunched over his radio with a one-time pad at the time he expected his controllers back home (wherever that was) would be transmitting his instructions.
So, how to use them? It could be something that your characters intercept. Or they find that an otherwise innocent-looking fellow has a shortwave radio and a one-time pad hidden away, so perhaps they'll be able to find out what he is being told to do. Or maybe they are the ones awaiting orders... you'll have to work out a way for them to decode whichever message is for them in that case.
Have fun. Meanwhile I shall have to explain to my family why I'm listening to a numbers station!
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Given that most parties of adventurers fall foul of the Watch at least once during their careers, this is a very useful set of miniatures for the GM to have to hand!
The rather startled looking fellow on the cover looks almost as if he's been discovered in his skivvies, but on closer examination it is a breastplate rather than a vest that he is wearing. His helmet is better shaded and coloured to depict metal, that's all.
The rest is a goodly array of different figures all in plausible poses. There's a fairly haughty looking Captain, a human Sergeant and a number of Watchmen of various races, including several dwarves and a couple of female guards as well. Obviously an enlighted equal opportunities city as regards Watch recruitment!
Nice crisp figures, uniform colouration - and at least the white breastplates mean that you can add city colours or badges if you want to. A useful set.
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To start with, a throne is not some trivial piece of furniture to be sat upon or pushed aside as needs be. A throne is significant, it's important, and so it ought to look that way.
As usual with the Dungeon Dressing line, this product revolves around a series of tables which you can use to define all aspects of whatever it is the product deals with. If you are in a hurry or plain like randomicity, roll some bones; if you have more time or want to create a coherent whole, read through and decide which features you want to use.
We begin by a rules review: that sitting on (or getting up from) a throne constitutes a move action if you are in a combat situation - and that if you are reclining on it Middle-Eastern style, it could take even longer. As they are usually on a dais you get advantage of higher ground, and they tend to be quite solid so make good cover. As well as talking about throne construction, there is also a discussion of traps. This may seem perverse, but if you happen to be fussy about who gets to sit on yours it might be worth adding one along with a means to disable it when you are about to sit down yourself. Defensive measures may be appropriate if you have reason to distrust your courtiers as well.
Then comes a table of 'unusual features' that you can use to enhance your throne's description. Maybe the back of the throne has an intricate map of the land in which it is found, or it might have four metal rings on the sides of it so that poles may be slid into it and the monarch carried around. Or it's flatpack, a pile of component parts that will need assembly before anyone else can sit there!
The next table suggests more details, this time things that can be found around the throne or that have happened to it, while the final table and associated notes has a more detailed look at traps and other defences.
Spend some time with this and have a throne worth remembering...
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This can be approached on so many levels... from a tongue-in-cheek poke at reality tv to a serious role-playing game in which a reality tv show happens to be the backdrop against which stories are told and plotlines played out. What's here is a simple - perhaps even simplistic - set of rules for making it all happen.
Those looking for a serious game set in the context of reality tv might prefer to use elements from another role-playing game to provide the rule mechanics, at least those of character generation and conflict resolution. The system for determining the popularity of your fictional reality tv show, however, is excellent - hang on to it whatever you decide to use for core mechanics.
Many people like to be snooty about reality tv... and then you find that if there's one on an area of interest, you end up watching it anyway - my particular vice is MasterChef, if you must know. But there's a lot of fun to be had for the gamer in the concept whether you are going to play THIS game for laughs or take it a little more seriously.
From the role-playing point of view, there is actually quite a lot of mileage to be had from reality tv as a concept - or at least, as something which might happen during a rather more serious game. For example, I used a 'So You Think You Could Be A Spy' reality tv show in a Spycraft game, with real spies (or at least, characters who were spies) asked to compete in a series of challenges which ended up being a front for a certain foreign power actually trying to recruit spies from amongst the natives of the characters' own country! (Just to make it even stranger, the outline was written on the train home from the auditions for a reality tv show called SpyMaster which I'd entered on a whim!)
Jolly good fun for a one-off joke game, but food for more serious thought as well.
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If you delight in playing a dhampir (or want to make NPC ones more interesting) you will find some useful odds and ends here. They are all rooted in tradition, the various legends that are told about vampires and their ilk, and fit well if you have a 'traditional' approach to such beings in your game.
We start off with three feats: Blood Stalker, Deathsight and Unholy Toughness. These grant the ability to track a creature whose blood you have drunk, see undead and withstand more damage than usual... all abilities which have been recorded in legend about vampires.
Next the character traits. Four are presented: Desecrated Birth, Horrific Sire, Left for Dead and Morbid Curiosity. Being born under the auspices of evil apparently gives you greater resistance to spells tagged as 'good' so make the most of it. Your sire may not have technically been horrific, but if you choose this trait you are able to access appropriate abilities of whatever race he did come from as if you were one of them. Left for Dead is rather fun - if as a youngster they thought something wasn't quite right and abandoned you, you may have been raised by creatures of the night (wolves or bats for example) and so have a special relationship with them - again something common in vampire tales. Morbid Curiousity allows you to study an opponent and work out where to apply that coup-de-grace you're itching to give him.
We also have three racial traits. Bloodhunter lets you track creatures who are bleeding or have suffered constitution damage. Again like the stories, Climber makes you very good at, well, climbing; and Shadowless means what it says: you do not cast a shadow.
Finally there's a racial archetype, the Pale Rider, who is a gunslinger with sort of Hellrider aspects and - if you play a game that allows gunslingers - could be rather fun to play.
Well rooted in tradition concepts, this is a useful addition to the options open to dhampirs.
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