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Swords of Almuric: Barbarians of Lemuria Edition
Publisher: Red Ram Studios
by JERRY M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/25/2018 10:43:49

First of all, I was a sponsor of the Kickstarter and I also purchased the original version of this book that was for sale a year ago. So, I'm talking about this version as someone who likes the genre, the system, the original books, and someone who forked out some $$$ to get this updated.

That being said.

This is a big improvement and a good value for those who are looking for a little more BoL fun.

With some caveats...

The artwork is better (much much better), there is a better fleshing out of the world of Almuric, there are random tables for encounters and cutom Aluric beasties, and there is a nice mini gazeteer and map of the area north of the Girdle.

The new artwork was funded via a kickstarter campaign, and, except for the horrible cover, I think it's a very nice improvement. The characters are mote dynamic, the detail is more in line with whatyou'd expect from a pulp fantasy setting, and the style is fairly consistant. I especially like the portrayal of the Akki.

The bestiary is a little more fleshed out, and there are simple rules for madness from some of the creatures. And there are rules for playing the Guras, Yagas, Akki, and Dogheads as PCs.

And the rules and setting for exploring the rest of Almuric are expanded on a little. (And the annoying-"Your character dies before the game begins" rules from the original PDF are completely gone...thank gods)

And the editing and writing are, for the most part, Much, much better than the original PDF.

And there is a little mini-campaign and some PCs in the back of the book for jumpstarting a campaign.

The best part is having a nice collection of information gleaned from the Almuric novel on one, easy to acces place.

However, there are a few places I'd like to have seen some better layout and editing.

To begin with, there are a lot of nice tables, but most of the tables are 1d6 instead of 2d6 or d66, meaning that there are only 6 limited options for each table. This could have been fleshed out a lot with a little effort and there is plenty of room in this book to expand it without increasing the page count to one that would make it difficult to print...

It would have also been nice to get some better firearm rules. They seemed a little thin.

As far as new careers, there is only a couple of lists, with nothing to flesh them out. This would have been a great place to include a bunch of victorian careers and some nice rules for includeing them, but instead, it reads like a set of notes from an outline. (And he had planety of leftover space to fill this in). And some new Boons and Flaws for the new races would have been a nice addition as well. Expecially since the new races seem to default to +1 AGL. -1 APP instead of using the BoL format of favored Boons and Flaws to get the same efects.

This is still the major failing of the Almuric project, while much of it is laid out well, and the references from the Almuric book are nice, some of it still feels like the writer just included a sentence or paragraph on some topics just to "include them" instead of actually fleshing it out a bit more.

I also thought that the madness rules could have been better fleshed out. And some of the monsters seem to be missing stats. (They have the 4 basic stats, but no Melee or Defence...)

And the pre generated characters take up a lot of space in the book. One character has an entire page devoted to his lackluster backstory. Again, this may be useful, but there are other things the game could have used more.

One last note, and its a thing that has no bearing on the actual game, but it needs to be said to satisfy the salesman in me: the cover of the book is horrible. If this were ever on a gamestore shelf or use to promote the book in any way, it would be an enormous FAIL. Its a dark cover, with Dark writing and a dark illustration. None of it either jumps out at the viewer or brings them in to look at it.

(With the hardcover, I opened the box the book came in and I was sitting in my car with the overhead light on and it took me a few seconds to be able to read what I'd just been sent becasue the cover is so hard to read. This is less of a problem with the PDF, but it sucks up an enormous amount of ink without giving a decent picture in return.)

When you print this, I recommend skipping the cover entirely...

And the cover artwork is not only dark, but also non-dynamic. The artist for the actual interior illustrations did a better job than Ryan Landvatter, who painted the cover.

Yes, I'm splitting hairs with that, and it doesn't mean the book is not worth reading, but this is not something that would catch your eye on a shelf. (And as one of the backer for the artwork on Kickstarter, I feel that if he paid much for that cover, it was NOT money well spent.)

In the end though, it's a deent value for the price and it includes some new stuff to expand on the BoL universe and rules and it has some nice reference for Howard's Almuric world.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
Swords of Almuric: Barbarians of Lemuria Edition
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Accursed: Frost and Fang
Publisher: Star Anvil Studios
by JERRY M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/21/2016 08:05:35

Another good sourcebook from Melior Via.

Frost and Fang adds describes two more nations of the world of Morden.

In a nutshell, this gives you more background, more character hooks, and more flavor for your Accursed games, along with some fun Hinderences and Banes.

The price point is excellent for what you get, and as Accursed is a game where the mood and tone of the world is an important part of the game, Frost and Fang makes that part much easier and fun for the GM.

Well worth it.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Accursed: Frost and Fang
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Compact & Worn Starship Deck Plan 6x6 Tiles
Publisher: Inked Adventures
by JERRY M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/12/2015 20:08:33

A must have for any SCi Fi RPG.

Billiam Babble never fails to impress me with the style and functionality of his sets.

This one is simple and fun and very, very playable. In effect, small starships for SCIFI rpgs designed for 25-35mm miniature play. (Or Lego Minifigures if you are so inclined.)

You get 12 ships with 4 backgrounds each. the ships are a variety of styles, with a very GW/ 1980's Rogue Trader feel to the artwork and a Star Wars/Firefly/Traveller feel to the design.

I'd recommend these to any fan of Sci fi tabletop gaming.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Compact & Worn Starship Deck Plan 6x6 Tiles
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Beasts & Barbarians Set Two: Nandals and Cultists
Publisher: Okumarts Games
by JERRY M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/08/2014 21:44:52

I love the cultists and especially Dave's use of color layers to allow for lots of variants.

The terrain and the big snake are also pretty cool and I can see lots of uses for them as well. Though variant layers of color for the snake and trees would have been cool too. (Would have gone well with the treemen set and the fall variants)

The only thing that loses this a star are the neanderthals. I don't see much use for them in games and so I can see myself not printing many of this set due to the "I want cultists but to get them I have to waste ink on neanderthals I'll never use" problem.

Maybe making a layer with other weapons for the neanderthals would be useful.

Seriously though, how often do neanderthals show up in games?

Other than that, a good set.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Beasts & Barbarians Set Two: Nandals and Cultists
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Forest Cut-Up Sheets (Inked Adventures)
Publisher: Inked Adventures
by JERRY M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/18/2014 18:17:36

Like all of Mr. Babble's sets, this is reminiscent of the old-school Dungeon Floor Plans. (In fact, some of the pages look like they would fit right into some of the forest sets.)

What you get are pages of assorted foliage in different hues (and pages of B&W so you can color them yourself) and some grassy pages as well. The detail is excellent, and overall this is a simple, but useful set. And the price is good too.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Forest Cut-Up Sheets (Inked Adventures)
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Crypts, Tombs & Catacombs Cut-Up Sections
Publisher: Inked Adventures
by JERRY M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/17/2014 21:27:08

Another great set from Billiam Babble!

Even though this is a new set, it brings back memories of the 80s and 90s, when Games Workshop released their iconic Dungeon Floor Plans sets.

This is an amazing full color set of corridors, intersections, vaults, and rooms done up in a dungeon/ tomb motif, with detailed brick/stone walls or bone borders.

I also like all of the additional dungeon dressing as well as the 2.5 d/ 3d doors, statues, and coffins.

Well worth the price for any minis adventurer!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Crypts, Tombs & Catacombs Cut-Up Sections
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Creator Reply:
Thank you for your review. The period you mention has a mighty influence on Inked Adventures. I\'m really glad that you like the modest but fun 3d/2.5d pieces as well. :)
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Heroes Of Hellas
Publisher: Power Glyph Studio
by JERRY M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/06/2013 22:21:45

I eagerly awaited this book and I was not disappointed.

This is not a game for laying historically, 100% accurate Greek adventures. It is for playing the Greek Adventures of Myth, Hollywood, and Harryhausen. Clash of the Titans meets Troy meets 300 meets Jason and the Argonauts.

The simple yet flexible and very role-playable Barbarians of Lemuria game engine provides the perfect set of rules for adventuring in Hellas and the publisher exploits that to the full extent.

You get several new careers as well as some excellent takes on old options. Add to that a very nice and detailed set of origin countries, some new twists on boons and flaws, and you get an easy-to-understand character generation system that lets you quickly make up complex Hellenic Heroes in only a few minutes.

The author adds some new abilities, like Kreos and Fate, to help round out the characters as they adventure, and some new abilities, incluing Greek Bardic Magic, allow for some nice additions to the BoL line as well as being fun on their own.

Mass combat, followers, and sea travel (and battle) are expanded on in the 106 page rulebook, along with pages and pages of monsters and creatures from greek and Hollywood mythology.

I'd say this is a must for any fan of BoL or Greek Adventure roleplaying or Harryhausen film adventures...



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Heroes Of Hellas
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Better Than Any Man
Publisher: Lamentations of the Flame Princess
by JERRY M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/09/2013 15:51:47

Another great LOTFP adventure from Mr. Raggi. I admit, I use these in some of my other games and sometimes modify the outcomes so that there is at least a small possiblility of surviving (sorry Mr. Raggi) but this is one of the best.

One question though.

The version I got here had the color illustrations disabled for printing. How do I get them to print?



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Better Than Any Man
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Osd Dungeons Minis
Publisher: Old School Dungeons
by JERRY M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/29/2013 15:40:04

While the artwork in this product is pretty good, with some interesting detail, the set loses a lot when it comes to quality.

1) Black background on every page is a huge ink-eater. Anyone printing these is going to waste a lot of ink and have some pretty saturated paper or cardstock to deal with.

2) Lack of variation in the monsters. The orcs look identical. Not even a color change on the clothing or (what would be better yet) a weapon swap. Same with the wolves. And the Ogres. The goblins have only two color variants. Though the undead have a few color scheme changes, again, no variant in pose or weaponry. And many of the monsters (especially the orcs) are in a static pose intead of something more action oriented that would fit a combat where these are likely to show up.

3) Lack of back poses or backshadow. This has been covered in other reviews.

All in all, this would be an acceptable set for $.99 or $1.50, but the lack of variant in monsters leaves a lot to be desired. And the black backing makes this a waste of money.

If he corrects the backing problem, I'd come back and review this higher, but that's just a poor choice all the way around.



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
Osd Dungeons Minis
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Inked Adventures Hand Drawn Geomorph Tiles (small)
Publisher: Inked Adventures
by JERRY M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/12/2012 10:47:49

Some very cool dungeon mapping accessories from Inked Adventures!

I love the artwork and the old-school feel of the maps.

However, the scale put me off...I'd love to see an option to print these at 1" = 5' scale so that we could use these with minis...



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Inked Adventures Hand Drawn Geomorph Tiles (small)
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Dicey Tales #1
Publisher: Dicey Tales Productions
by JERRY M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/21/2012 17:36:14

OK, this one took me a little by surprise.

Evil DM took an already great system (BoL) and adds another genre (Pulp Adventure) to the list of playable games! Nice, concise rules, some nice boons and flaws that capture the feel of everything from Indiana Jones and Amelia Peabody to the Shadow and the Phantom...

The adventures are also fun and well-written. I might even adapt them both to be good BoL roleplaying adventures. (Easy enough to replace San Francisco Museum with some city-state building...)

All in all, funa nd well worth it.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Dicey Tales #1
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Dicey Tales #2
Publisher: Dicey Tales Productions
by JERRY M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/21/2012 17:26:37

Another great BoL product from Evil DM

And it not only fleshes out the Pulp Era, but the core BoL as well.

You get some great new rules (some of the Boons and Flaws will be modded for my own homebrew BoL adventures) and not one, not two, but 3 adventures: one each for BoL, Pulp, and Legends of Steel.

One of the best things about Evil DMs adventures, is that they are adaptable. Even the Pulp Adventure could, (with a little tweaking of the main badguys) be used as a fun BoL exploratory adventure.

All in all, well worth the $$$ and the time. A great resource for fans of any of the BoX games.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Dicey Tales #2
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Mega Townscapes: Human Town
Publisher: D20 Cartographer
by JERRY M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/13/2012 08:59:08

I really liked this set. Lots of buioldings with exterior and interior views.

However,

Because of the layout of the town, a lot of the buildings end up being split onto multiple print pages with only a small portion of the building on each page. This becomes even more apparent in the "individual buildings" files where you end up with a lot of whitespace and then just a corner of the building.

Some of this comes from the unusual alignment that the buildings are laid out in in the town. However, for individual files, I'd much rather have the plans laid out in standard up down left right format. MAny of the plans would have fit easily onto one or two pages that way instead of on 1/4 - 1/3 of 4 to six pages at odd angles.

Its a minor thing, but it really adds to the prep time needed for a GM to print and sort and arrange the plans.

It would have been nice to have printable building interiors that were easy to use to make your own town layouts with this.

Other than that, its a nice set. (But maybe you could update it with the separate maps realigned better?)



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Mega Townscapes: Human Town
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Creator Reply:
Hi there! I wanted think thank you for your review and talk about the format for the "easy print" files. In order to ensure maximum compatibility, the 'easy print' PDF files are designed with the standard required margin for most printers (.25 inches on all sides) built in. One of the outcomes was that smaller buildings (say, 11x8) just barely couldn't fit on one page. Once spread across two (or more for larger buildings or multiple levels), it does seem to have a lot of white-space and require a small amount of taping. A lot of experimentation was done to try and minimize the number of pages that any particular building may require: given that the map was designed artistically first and formatted for print second, this ended up being the best layout. (for anyone who is unclear on what we mean, definitely check out the free sample Tavern download. It should be a good visual aid for the formatting of the rest of the buildings) Should you be interested in building your own maps by rearranging furniture, definitely check out the individual building files in the VTT portion of the download: these empty building 'shells' come as a full, single .jpg files, and dragging/dropping the included objects should be a piece of cake! One of the added bonuses of doing it this way is that you can print from from a single image, tiling it across multiple pages or applying any other print options/formatting/cropping you would like! Thanks again for the feedback, and happy gaming! --D20 Cartographer
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Greek Hoplitas - Hoplitas Griegos
Publisher: Reivaj Minis
by JERRY M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/28/2012 17:51:49

This is a nice set of greek soldiers. You get 5 different poses with front and back art. The detail is good and the models have decent action poses.

For a free set (or even $.50 - $.099) , this is an excellent value.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Greek Hoplitas - Hoplitas Griegos
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Vexing Sands
Publisher: Escape Velocity Gaming
by JERRY M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/21/2012 08:53:10

For the price, I thought this was a nice value.

Now, I am a propo whore, and I love extra floorplans, so I am a bit biased. And I also like Billiam Babble's artwork and floorplans with Inked Adventures, so bear in mind that this style fits my own preferences.

That being said, the maps are nice. Simple, but nice. and the additional props are interesting too, between the ponds, the fish, and the fort, there are things that would fit in to other floorplan sets as well. A lot of this would work well for non-desert adventures as well.

(Even the sands would make nice beaches for a Pirates adventure or the scrubland for a steppe/wasteland encounter.)

And of course, the artwork blends well with not only Inked Adventures products, but all of the old GW Dungeon Floorplans/ Caverns/ Dungeons/ Halls of Horror/ Caverns of the Dead/ Nightmare at Blackmarsh/ Tragedy of McDeath/ etc. sets, so there is a lot of reuse there as well with some old school stuff.

Lastly, the floorplans are worth the $1.99 alone. The addition of scenario ideas and variant floorplans make this a decent value with a lot of reuse and some creative suggestions.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Vexing Sands
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