Coliseum Morpheuon, presented as an adventure for higher level characters, quickly took on more of a feel of a full setting waiting to be realized. Looking through support material, it isn't hard to see I wasn't the only one thinking along that vein, as an entire series of NPC's have sprung up to make sure that there are new and fresh faces awaiting your players for further exploits within the Dream Plane.
Weighing in at 130 pages, this PDF is crammed with an immense amount of material detailing the setting, it's inhabitants, new and variant rules, and of course the adventures that await your players. With how many reviews have already gone into extensive detail, rather than rehash upon what has already been said both here, and throughout the comments thread from the actual product posting, I thought I would touch instead on a few thoughts.
First off, the book is flat sexy folks. With page borders that, honestly, set a new standard in the concept of layout and background design. Scattered throughout the book we are visually treated to thematic artwork designed to take us along for the visual trip into a realm of possibility. Several of these pieces are very, very good. Good enough that they make up for the ones that, to be blunt, should never have been put anywhere near this book, Lady Puzzledeep comes to mind. The Pasha of Swirling Ashes ranks up there in my top ten for all time favorite NPC illustrations, the piece is simply fantastic. There is also the concept of the drastically different art styles represented within this book, going from a standard I would call semi-realistic, to cartoon. And, if the two from the cover are going to make so many appearances, shouldn't they be statted somewhere in the book? And, while we're discussing stats, why no monster illustrations for our new critters?? That's a huge downer folks, new monsters need new artwork, lol. And speaking of monsters and artwork, the one new creature we get identified with art, has no stats, the Dream Horror....that thing is freaking creepy, I want stats!!!!!!!!!
Now, layout and formatting follow the dual column approach with embedded artwork. The few hiccups in grammatical and editorial are minor enough to barely even register, which is pretty impressive in a book of this size. I did find it odd that the image of Lady Puzzledeep reveals more on the back cover than on her actual stat page though.
The real question, all comments regarding how pretty or not the book is, is it worth the price? Because at the end of the day, that's what it boils down to, is a product going to provide you with enough material, that has been designed well, to make the price worth paying. I can answer that easily by saying, this is what high level enthusiasts have been waiting for. Contained within this book is a playground for those characters that currently have nowhere to go, and we all have a pile of those from past glories and quests. Truly, one of the most aggravating concepts of playing a character is getting to that point that there's nothing left, and you have to again say goodbye to an old friend. Well, no more. The beauty of this product is it's re-usability, as it is more setting then simply adventure, and more than easily adaptable to fit the feel of many different playgroups. Well thought out NPC's, encounters, trials, and challenges all make sure there will be plenty to do for quite some time within the lands of dreams.
More than happy to add my 5 star stamp, for even with my issues with artwork, the pros of this book far, far outweigh such minor cons. Honestly people, even if your a new GM with brand new characters, add this book to your library, and give them something to work towards, it will be worth it.
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!] |