|
|
|
 |
| Other comments left by this customer: |
|
|
|
|
|
Just about every fantasy campaign I've ever played in has involved a cave system or cavern at one time or another. And though I'm a fan of dungeons, I really like it when there's more of a natural element to them. The "Five Room Dungeon" technique I first learned about in Johnn Four's Roleplaying Tips newsletter offers a great way to structure a quick dungeon (whether naturally formed or hand-made). But sometimes it's tough to come up with natural formations or challenges to even fit in the 5-room format.
That's where Caves & Caverns comes in from Creighton Broadhurst and David Posener. This resource for Pathfinder campaigns would most likely work in just about any D&D/OSR-inspired system, but offers a ton of options to consider when building cave/cavern systems for your adventures. Though it's designed for the "Ebon Realm," it's really synonymous with areas like "The Underdark" in D&D-speak, but can really be applied to any world with accessible areas underground.
So what do you get in this 88 page tome? A wide variety of bits and pieces you can use in multiple contexts. Descriptions and details about different features and hazards of the underground world, along with a sample cavern that includes many of the features included. 60+ stat blocks for creatures that are CR 1 to 13. Nearly 30 ready-made encounters EL 4 to 12. Whether you use the different features described here, the NPC stats and the various encounters are great to have in your bag of tricks for the occasional improvised adventure scenario.
And Raging Swan does a great job of making things easy to find. Even though there's no index, there are multiple tables designed to get you to the page you want to go to... Random encounters? Check. Roll a d100 on an appropriate table (or pick randomly) and run with the encounter given. Designing a quick cavern for your next session? Roll d100 to see which features might add a bit of spice to the night. Of all the random tables however, it's the "Cave & Cavern Dressing" table that's my favorite. Little things that will drive players insane or give them hope that things will turn out all right... "A faded chalk arrow on the wall points in the opposite direction to the PCs' travel" or "Faintly carved into the cavern wall is the Undercommon word for danger. The last letter of the word is missing and a smudge of dried blood on the ground hints at the carver's fate..."
...
The rest of this review is at Game Knight Reviews here: http://www.gameknightreviews.com/2012/01/supplement-review-c
aves-caverns-pfrpg-by-creighton-broadhurst-and-david-posener
-from-raging-swan-press/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Before I get into the Kobolds of the Fallen Halls in depth, let me bring up one thing. The back cover and inside the front cover, you get a quote: “In the cloying dark of a dwarven hold long lost to fang and claw, two degenerate tribes of furtive kobolds fight a brutal war of deadly traps and sudden ambush…” This sentence alone got my creative juices flowing because I had to actually look up a word in the dictionary. When I was first starting to play Dungeons & Dragons, I would read those books with a dictionary by my side and seriously broadened my vocabulary while I did so. In this case, I had to look up “cloying” – which is both poetic and descriptive of the intense darkness you’d find in a lost Dwarven stronghold. But it brought me back to my beginnings as a gamer, which I love.
The story itself involves a couple of tribes of kobolds, a green dragon, a black dragon, and a lost Dwarven mine-hold in the deep dark places where only adventurers tread. When I think of kobolds, I think back on all the various little draconian creatures my characters have slain over the last 30 years. Suffice it to say they have never been the brightest critters on the block, but they’ve always had the potential for offering trouble in many forms. Creighton’s kobolds are no different.
In the depths of Vongyth, the Dwarves were displaced by a pair of green dragons that decided they wanted whatever treasures were buried within. That lasted a while until a group of adventurers went in and killed the brood of dragons that had spawned in the dark and were then terrorizing the neighboring lands. Unfortunately, they didn’t get them all...
For the rest of this review... http://www.gameknightreviews.com/2011/03/review-kobolds-of-t
he-fallen-halls-from-creighton-broadhurst-and-raging-swan-pr
ess/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Why do people, rulers, and nations go to war? Is it to defend their homes and borders against the incursion of ideas, faith, or undesirables? To expand their domains for riches or land? Or simply because they feel the need to spill blood? More often than not, it’s less black and white than some might think. And who gets caught in the middle? Soldiers. Whether they are idealists volunteering for a cause or mercenaries simply seeking a paycheck, it’s the warriors usually doing the fighting for whatever cause their leaders choose to follow.
Matt James has experienced life as a soldier, which puts him in a unique position to understand not only what it’s like to put your life on the line but the many rationales used to put armies in harm’s way. In Soldiers of Fortune he eloquently expresses methods of introducing real world motivations into roleplaying games to not only make soldiers, mercenaries, and war more believable, but perhaps inspire new storylines that might not have been previously considered.
He starts out with motivations and plot hooks to get mercenaries (your typical band of heroes) involved in a potential conflict and he doesn’t mess around… Magic portals spewing evil creatures out of ancient mindflayer prisons? Missing or kidnapped leaders or heads of state? Unstable currency and theft by neighboring nations? These are but a few potential hooks to sink into the PCs in your campaign. And what happens when the party is misled and unwittingly does something evil? Will ethics and morality win out over greed and bloodlust?
Once you have an idea of how to get your party engaged, Matt describes the challenges of being a warrior-for-hire and potentially becoming a pawn to selfish forces all too willingly to sacrifice you in whatever game they are playing. Honor and glory are just the beginning. Discovering what more you’re fighting for is essential – whether it really is just for the money or in the name of some higher ideal.
Anyone who has thought about incorporating larger-scale battles into their own campaigns knows it’s not easy to do...
For the rest of this review, check out http://www.gameknightreviews.com/2011/03/book-review-soldier
s-of-fortune-by-matt-james-and-open-design/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Though I have to admit I’m more of a fantasy roleplayer than anything else these days, I used to dabble in futuristic worlds from time to time. That list included FASA‘s Battletech and Mechwarrior, Dream Pod 9‘s Heavy Gear, R. Talsorian Games‘ Cyberpunk 2020, GDW‘s Traveller, West End Games‘ Paranoia and Star Wars Roleplaying Game… and I’m sure I’m missing a few.
But it’s been a while since I’ve seriously looked at anything in science fiction. So Battlelords of the Twenty-Third Century from writer Lawrence R. Sims and publisher SSDC Inc. was a bit of a shock to the system. That said, as I read through the rules it was a bit of a throwback to older, more complex systems and the setting was quite intriguing. It hit me a bit like the webcomic Schlock Mercenary meeting the backstory of Aliens or Blade Runner where the corporations run everything.
The Battlelords rulebook weighs in at 292 pages with a crisp, clean technical look and feel that reminded me of the Cyberpunk 2020 books. The artwork really sells the setting well for me, with art scattered every few pages throughout the book. With a product of this size, the amount of artwork was refreshing.
For the rest of this review, check out http://www.gameknightreviews.com/2011/04/book-review-battlel
ords-of-the-twenty-third-century-rulebook-by-lawrence-r-sims
-and-ssdc/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Way back in what must seem like the Dark Ages of D&D, I was introduced to the “figurines of wondrous power.” These expensive trinkets were, like the Eye and Hand of Vecna, unreachable goals that all players aspired to at some point or another in their gaming careers. And yet, these artifacts have magically found their way into every edition of D&D I’ve ever played.
What are they you may ask? Like the genie from Aladdin (“PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWERS! [shrinks] Itty-bitty living space!”), each figurine is a small sculpted item mirroring an animal or monster. For example, the tiny bronze statuette of a griffin becomes a normal-sized griffin when put on the ground and the command words are spoken. These statuettes come in a variety of shapes – everything from lions and elephants to ravens, owls, and goats. It’s something that can be carried easily and offer instant help when needed.
So it was only a matter of time before some enterprising person converted these wondrous items for Pathfinder and Creighton Broadhurst and Raging Swan Press have done just that. With Figurines of Wondrous Power your Pathfinder characters can scrimp and save to have a figurine of wondrous power for their very own! All they need is somewhere between 3,800 and 28,500 gp and one of these powerful artifacts can be theirs!
Don’t get me wrong. I love these things. It’s like lusting for a Ferrari when you have a Ford Focus. I’d just hate to break one after I bought it. After all, it’s not like I’ve ever had a character that had nearly 30,000 gp on him at any one time.
Broadhurst has, in a 20 page PDF (roughly 13 pages of actual content), clearly and cleanly presented all the information you might need for any of these nine iconic items. And I love the artwork – each figurine is presented with an image of what it might look like in a crisp and clean black and white ink drawing...
For the rest of this review, check out http://www.gameknightreviews.com/2011/04/book-review-figurin
es-of-wondrous-power-by-creighton-broadhurst-and-raging-swan
-press/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What is it about the frozen north that has always been so enticing to explorers? The danger? The sense of the unknown? The fact that you will die unless you keep your wits about you and prepare for the worst? Or could it be myths and legends of the Norsemen who not only survived, but thrived in that unforgiving environment?
Personally, I think it’s the challenge of going where humankind obviously isn’t made to survive easily. And in roleplaying terms, there’s a lot to be said for the allure of places we’re not supposed to go. In a fantasy or pulp setting, there’s that need to be the first to discover some new place, beast, or item, or rediscover something ancient mankind has forgotten about.
Northlands by author Dan Voyce captures that sense of frozen mystery beautifully, weaving in myths and legends of the Norse traditions and adding plenty of magic. But what’s always kept me curious is the dagger dangling above the heads of gods and monsters alike… Ragnarok. It’s an apocalyptic event where many major gods will die and a new world with new and reborn gods will be left in its wake. I was very interested to see how this book took that into consideration.
The Northlands is not a kind place. You either fight for everything you need and want or die trying. Even good and evil are mostly set aside for the “might is right” philosophy, and yet the boundaries between order and chaos must still be maintained. The gods know this and are watching. As a result, there is a place for heroes and villains both grand and terrible. I can’t imagine a world that contains the wisdom of Odin, the strength of Thor, and the trickery of Loki without PCs and PCs fighting for the very same things.
The amount of research that went into the writing of Northlands is impressive...
For the rest of this review, check out http://www.gameknightreviews.com/2011/04/book-review-northla
nds-by-dan-voyce-and-open-design/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Up to now, I’ve somehow managed to miss any of the RPG supplements from Louis Porter Jr. Design (LPJ Design). This past week I was given the opportunity to review one of the LPJ Design books for the Pathfinder RPG – Monsters of NeoExodus: Necrostruct – and I decided to take advantage of that fact.
Overall I liked what I saw. Necrostructs basically boil down to evil undead magical constructs. Based on the creature displayed on the front cover, I have to say it reminds me a bit of the Warforged from Eberron or a flesh golem, but with an evil undead twist.
The recipe is simple… Take one recently deceased body, put it into a specially constructed armor, and add negative energy to bake until angry. Generally they aren’t very intelligent on their own but will fight back if attacked and have the urge to find and destroy magic. When you add an intelligence to the mix, these undead critters become much more dangerous – similar to how golems under wizard or cleric control can use strategy and tactics to cause more trouble than they do on their own.
You get three variations on the Necrostruct. A Lesser Necrostruct (CR 7), a mid-level Necrostruct (CR 10), and a Greater Necrostruct (CR 13). Each level above lesser adds more destructive power to the mix. And if a Greater Necrostruct is involved, you’re probably going to want to call in the cavalry.
I was impressed by the vibrant, full-color artwork by Yama Orce and the writing. The Necrostruct descriptions were concise and clear from writers Marc Radle and Louis Porter Jr. himself. In addition to the monster statistics, you also get a page each of combat counters, initiative cards, monster cards, and a combat & initiative tracker. All of these things are great and make it easy for a GM to just drop a Necrostruct or two into a combat encounter without much trouble.
For the rest of this review, check out http://www.gameknightreviews.com/2011/04/book-review-monster
s-of-neoexodus-necrostruct-from-louis-porter-jr-design/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Atmosphere is important in gaming. Those little hints, whether physical, verbal, or even musical can set the stage for a good gamemaster like nothing else in the world. But with only a few exceptions, it’s rare to find a book for a roleplaying game, whether a rulebook, setting, or supplement, that does the same thing.
Wolfgang Baur and the design crew from Open Design have done it again with Courts of the Shadow Fey. Billed as “A 4th Edition Adventure for Levels 12 to 15,” I think it should be used as a template for any book seeking to describe not just a setting but a campaign leading a party of powerful adventures into realms unknown. From the beautiful cover from Stephanie Law and the poetic quote from Lord Byron’s “So We’ll go No More A-Roving” on the first page inside, I was in the mood for some fey magic… And as with all trips into faerie realms, I did not come back the same as I entered.
Without a doubt, there’s always been something magical about the world of faerie. Baur and his kobold helpers managed to take the light and dark of the faerie courts and twist them to make a different statement. This is the Realm of Shadows, a place of halfways and no absolutes. The two courts of Winter and Summer make nobles in the mortal realms seem pale in comparison, seeking stability in their immortality in an unstable place. When you add in the fickle nature of mortals’ brief time upon the stage, there is much there to enrage the immortal courts… The Moonlit King of the Winter Court does not take kindly to agreements broken in some petty revolt for rule of the Free City of Zobeck. When the fey come to claim what the King believes is theirs, things start to go off the rails.
Of course, the party gets drawn right into the middle of it as the battle begins between the fey and the mortal realms…
For the rest of this review, be sure to check out Game Knight Reviews here: http://www.gameknightreviews.com/2011/02/book-review-courts-
of-the-shadow-fey-by-wolfgang-baur-open-design/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Log In 
