A Good Addition to the Wrong Side of Town

Let's see, we have 23 pages, 2 for covers, 1 for a Table of Contents, 1 for the OGL, and 1 for an in-house ad, leaving 18 pages of taverny goodness.

We begin with a description of the tavern itself (rundown), the food (bad - as a bonus eating one of the house specials may actually make you sick), and a couple of tables of rumors and events surrounding the tavern itself. You also get a criminal organization connected to the spot, for the characters to take on as either allies or foes.

The section of this book that really makes having it worthwhile is the descriptions of our proprietor, Tuffy, and the various characters who spend a majority of their time in and around the tavern. These folks are not just a collection of names and stat blocks with individual, unassociated goals; they are each a piece of a whole that is organically woven together to make this place feel like your PCs can have an effect on and be affected by what happens here, if they choose.

Next, there is a write up of a mercenary group, the Stunning Blades, that hangs around the tavern at various times. Again, you can introduce them as either allies or foes, but they have a very different flavor from the criminal group that houses at the tavern.

The book closes with an appendix that had an additional write-up of some of the major characters around the tavern at higher levels, which goes a long way toward making this place usable with a group that is beyond just starting out, or if you want the characters in the book to keep pace with the PCs.

One thing that I really liked: There are sketches of the different characters associated with the tavern. I am not very good at pulling descriptions out of thin air, so I am very appreciative of having a visual to use when trying to describe these folks, or simply to give to the players and say "This is what he/she looks like."

One thing that could have been better: I noticed a handful of typos as I was reading, including a couple that made me go "wait, what?" and read the sentence over again. They are not pervasive, and not bad enough to change my opinion of the book. It just seems that it might have benefited from one final, polishing, editorial pass.

Tuffy's Good Time Palace is very much what I expected of a "Last Chance Saloon" that this place puts itself out to be. A place where the drunkards, the undesirables, and those who want to disappear come together in a space seething with adventure possibilities. I can easily picture dropping this onto a wharf where you go when you have no where else to go. I'll be using this in my campaign, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming books in this series.

This is a series that is getting better over time, and I hope the author plans to continue for some time. This entry is a look at the necromancer staple Animate Dead, with a backhistory, spell secrets, and related research sections that suggest additional rules, including interception of a necromancer's control of undead created with this spell.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The fluff/crunch mix for this was nearly perfect for me, with plot hooks and the rules to hang on them. I also like the developing voice of the narrator (a gold dragon).<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The few usage errors are still there, as with other parts of this series, but it does not interfere with enjoyment of the product.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

A good look into the origins of the Fireball spell, with a couple of suggestions for spell variants and an interesting variant rule for intercepting a fireball before it reaches its target.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Mr. Boyd lengthened this entry in the series a little bit, and moved the OGL to a separate page. When printing my PDF's, it's a little thing, but I like that.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: As with other products in this series, there were a few usage errors, but it doesn't take away from the value of the product.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

An excellent look into the origins of the Mirror Image spell, plus a couple of variant twists for use in gameplay.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: I really like the historical bent of the fluff in the product. There is also a good mix of fluff and crunch, to appeal to both your chocolate- and peanut butter-lovers.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: I ran across a couple of usage errors when reading the product (specifially, the consistent use of an apostrophe with a particular plural -s in the text), but it's not enough to ruin enjoyment of the product.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Excellent work by Mr. Boyd -- well worth the $1.00 asking price.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: I like my history fluff in gaming, so this product is ideal for my tastes. At the same time, the crunch is interesting enough that I will use that as well.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: It's a small point, but I noticed a couple of usage errors as I was reading the product -- not nearly enough to make a huge difference, but present.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

As someone has already pointed out, each of these classes seems to be a piece taken from the comic book realm (dark avenger=batman), but they are still well-done bits easily added into an existing campaign.

As someone has already pointed out, each of these classes seems to be a piece taken from the comic book realm (the dreadnought=the hulk), but they are still fun bits easily added onto an existing game.

As someone has already pointed out, these pieces each seem to be taken from the comic book realm (emerald warlock=the green lantern), but they are still fun bits easily added into an existing campaign.

As someone pointed out before, these classes each seem to be concepts taken from the comic book realm (Dark Avenger=Batman, etc.), but these are still fun pieces easily added into any campaign.

This book is probably about as exhaustive a volume as one will ever want to see on mazes -- with the material in this book, you can probably stat up about any kind of maze or labyrinth you can imagine.
Because of the specialized nature of the material, the classes, feats, etc. in the book are also very specific, and won't have a broad application unless one were to run an entire campaign centered around mazes (an interesting thought exercise, at least).

This idea seems to come straight out of Hobbiton, and adds some interesting ideas and mechanics IF your characters are the types to go in for little role-playing nuances (i.e. smoking). Don't expect power gamer tips here; this one's for outside the dungeon.

A good addition akin to 101 Spellbooks, but obviously with a divine focus.

This piece certainly holds up to the high standards of the Forbidden Arcana series, but, by definition, this one is going to be somewhat limited if one doesn't have a solid place for the bard class in the campaign. That said, it may give you a few ideas about using classes other than the bard in the bard's traditional role.

This is a great add-on to a campaign, putting back some of the uncertainty of the 1st/2nd edition games when your players are brave/stupid/foolish enough to wonder just what happens if one combines two potions, or, more likely, desperate enough to down a second potion before the duration of a first has ended.

This will give your players a jolt, especially if they're in the habit of not paying attention to what they eat at the inn beyond blithely ordering the best meal in the house --