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Secrets of Necromancy V1.1 $1.50
Publisher: Zodiac Gods Publishing
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by Kevin S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/13/2009 09:04:49

My son has been itching to play a necromancer since the introduction of 4e, so he and I were particularly interested in this product when it was released. However, we were both profoundly disappointed after reading the material. Although we never found the content particularly intriguing, there are some powers and "fluff text" that are usable in a campaign. However, in many instances, we simply found "Secrets of Necromancy" to be poorly written and ill-conceived in regard to both game mechanics and its overall presentation. Some modification to these powers can remedy most of the issues.

Unfortunately, the "breaking point" for my son and me was the inclusion of artwork that perpetuates the objectification and culture of violence against women. Images of half-naked women, even 'fantasy' women, being threatened with knives is an old and outdated cliche that needs to be eliminated from the "gaming culture." It reinforces the paradigm of the marginalization of women that is already an over-powering force in the gaming community, let alone society at large. This image had no direct tie to the content of the book and did nothing to add to the aesthetic value of the product. Instead, it only serves to represent an archaic and damaging patriarchal ideology that needs to be exercised from our "hobby of heroes."



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Hi Kevin, thanks for your review. Although I had attempted to provide a disclaimer in the ad type for this book, I think I failed to emphasize that the book is not intended for children and so do apologize.

The Revision 2 update will be out soon, and despite my wife's protests (she was the artist) I will be removing the picture in question. Although I feel that it is not at all representative of what you claim (it is, as you say, a single picture which is evoking a strong response amongst a certain percentage of people here; to contrast, the other illustration she provided offered no comments, even though it portrays violence in a different way with gender reversal) I nonetheless certainly don't wish to offend anyone on such a matter, and the book will work just fine without it. Not a Big Deal, as they say. Sometimes, the intent of an illustration is better reflected in the interpretation of the audience, and in this case, enough people were offended by it that I'll take that as my queue to remove it. I had originally believed the piece in question would work in context because the book itself, dealing with the subject of revivification of the dead and a variety of unambiguously dark and evil topics would be clear evidence that this book wasn't intending to "play it safe," but I think I see now that enough 4E gamers out there would prefer a more sanitized version of the subject. Needless to say, revision 2 will be at least more cautious in its imagrey!

With regards to the mechanical design: I've received comments across the board on this both pro and con, and plenty of useful advice in the mechanical implementation of the class in 4E. Actual playtests have revealed that the class is, if anything, slightly under-powered as I used certain mechanics such as the inability of most necromancer spells to distinguish friend from foe as subtle control mechanisms.

The release of the PHB2 and Arcane Power have shed a great deal of light on the underlying structure of 4E's class system, and the second edition of the book will reflect this with a new approach, in which the book does not introduce a new class but instead provides power/spell paths for wizards, warlocks and other classes, instead.

It's been an interesting (and I wish I could say fun) experience with this first 4E project of mine, and I am still very glad for the feedback you have provided, as harsh as it was.
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Secrets of Necromancy V1.1
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