Wield these Rings of Power!

"Rings of Power" by Various.

Printed and Distributed by Fast Forward Entertainment.

ISBN-10: 0-971-3234-4-5 -- 160 Pages

The first in the "Powers" series, Rings of Power does not disappoint. The Powers series is: this book, "Swords of Power", "Wondrous Items of Power", and "Occult Items of Power".

This book is divided into nine major sections:

1) "Rings of Legend".

2) "Beast Rings".

3) "Dragon Rings".

4) "Necromantic Rings".

5) "Artifact Rings".

6) "Heroic Rings".

7) "Rings of Destruction".

8) "Fey Rings".

9) "Ruling Rings".

There is a short Preface and Introduction at the front, and another short section in the back for "Creating Magical Rings", "Game Statistics", and the usual OGL. The Preface, and the Introduction are only one page each.

Altogether, there are 78 Rings of Power. Each section has a very short definition of the type of ring. Each ring has one or two pages each. Each ring also has a photograph of the ring. Yes, a real photograph. These rings could actually be found in the real world! Although powerless, imagine the shock of your players when you drop a =real= ring on the table!

At the back of the book are pages for "Magical Ring Creation", Game Statistics for each ring, and a Price List for the once supported purchasing of a prop Ring of Power (which no longer are available), and one advertisement.

I like Fast Forward Entertainment enough to buy every single thing they ever produced. This one is no different. It's nice to have a larger Treasure Trove have at least one magical item. These make great treasure fillers, especially the ones that seem to be good, but end up being bad! It's very nice to have a large list of special treasures for players to fight over. Do not forget that either you must use the ring, or you must have it identified. Once again, one of my higher recommendations!

Equipment for Everyone!

"Ultimate Equipment Guide" by Matthew Sprange.

Subtitled: "Supplementary Rulebook 3"

Printed and Distributed by Moongoose Publishing.

ISBN-10: 1-903980-81-X -- 256 pages.

Now I know why these three volumes (This one, "More Equipment" and "Ultimate Equipment Guide 2") are so hard to find inexpensively. No one wants to part with them!

Ultimate Equipment Guide is probably one of the best deep looks at equipment there is. Almost every piece of Equipment is illustrated, giving Players and GMs a real look at what these things look like!

It is broken down into nineteen chapters, some of which contain other information.

01) Introduction.

02) Equipment in Your Campaign.

03) Designing D20 Equipment.

04) Arcane Sorcery.

05) Bards and Theatres.

06) Clerics and Temples.

07) Food, Drink, and Herbs.

08) Honor Amongst Rogues.

09) In the Wild.

10) Knick-Knacks of the Little Folk.

11) Psychic Mastery.

12) The Armoury.

13) The Dwarven Forge.

14) The Elven Retreat.

15) The Fighters Trade.

16) The Monastery.

17) Tools, Trades, and Crafts.

18) Rules Summary.

19) D20 and OGL License.

Just by this list alone, you can tell that this is a much more comprehensive look at all types of gear, ranging from items for Wizards, Mages, and Sorcerers; to Items for Common NPCs and the Tools, Trades, and Crafts that use them.

I'm not going to give you a detailed list, but I am going to tell you that this is one of the best books available for Equipment, both benign and deadly, and everything in between!

Items for every class, and a part about Designing D20 Equipment make this almost an indispensable book for GMs!

The very handy Rules Summary at the back of the book shows the ordinary tables of details for all of the Equipment above. But 36 pages of tables? You bet!

There's also a good Table of Contents, and a fine Index. The normal OGL is at the back.

Some of this material is from Third-Party publishers, too! Twenty-Eight different Third-Party Publishers! The addition of this other material makes this even more interesting.

As it is, I consider this book to be a godsend, but there's more! Believe it or not, there was enough material left over to make a second book, "More Equipment", and later a third book, "Ultimate Equipment 2!"

You do not need the other two books, as each can stand alone as a great resource of Equipment, but together they make up what amounts to an encyclopedia of gear! One of my very highest recommendations!

Venture In If You Dare!

"The Dread House" by Danny O'Neill.

Printed and Distributed by Hammerdog Games.

ISBN-10: 1-59180-057-9 -- 288 pages.

In the darkness, an old ruined manor house sits -- waiting for its next victim.

In "The Dread House" book are rules for 5th Edition D&D, Pathfinder 1.0, and, believe it or not, "Call of Cthulhu"!

I cannot think of any other product that claims the distinction of having D&D, Pathfinder, and Call of Cthulhu in the same tome. Given this, there is a very real possibility of being able to have player characters cross over from one system to another system to yet another system!

There are only three sections in the book:

1) "The Time of Myth and Magic: The Dread House in Medieval Times"

2) "The Time of Mythos and Machine Guns: The Dread House in the Roaring 20's"

3) "The Time of Connected Dependence: The Dread House Today and Tomorrow".

There are dozens of full-color maps of the manor, including a master map on pages 54 and 55. Each section of the house is then broken down into smaller, but no less valuable, pieces, each appearing in an appropriate section of the book. The marvelous map of the area beneath the manor should drive prospective players who map insane, for tunnels twist and turn, frequently overlapping one another. The chosen artists have been selected well. All of the included art matches the tone of the setting.

"The Time of Myth and Magic: The Dread House in Medieval Times" - Storyline One: "The Dread Wedding" concerns itself with what happens that makes the Dread House so Haunted. This is a section that occurs in a Medieval setting. "The Dread Wedding" is presented as it happens. Characters might try to stop this from happening, but this is very difficult, since the Dread House also exists in the 1920's, and the modern day, and even possibly, in the future! In addition, in order to truly end the reign of the Dread House, they must complete the second part of the story that is also set in Medieval Times.

"The Time of Myth and Magic: The Dread House in Medieval Times" - Storyline Two: "Scions of Solaria" is also about the house, but the characters are led to find eight different parts of the prequel to the "Dread Wedding" and can take beginning Pathfinder or D&D characters from Level One to Level Six. In this chapter there are references to "Solaria", Goddess of Life and Light. Complete information about her is found in the back of the book. Copying the single page about Solaria might be a good idea, since at least one, if not more, party members should worship her.

Both of these sections includes info about 5th Edition, Pathfinder, and Call of Cthulhu. These sections, like the rest, can exist in multiple timelines simultaneously.

"The Time of Mythos and Machine Guns: The Dread House in the Roaring 20's -- Storyline Three" makes up the Call of Cthulhu section of the book, but includes options for 5th Edition D&D and Pathfinder. It consists of six parts:

1) "Piercing the Veil"

2) "13 Ghosts"

3) The Tome of the Dead"

4) The Machine Man"

5) Ghostcatchers

6) "Dread Secrets"

This part of this book can span a time of sixteen years! There is also a small piece of fiction about each of the six parts. Each of the six scenarios may also be run as a stand-alone adventure!

"The Time of Connected Dependence: The Dread House Today and Tomorrow".

Because of (I believe) the Call of Cthulhu material, the manse can also exist in modern times, and even in the future! The storyline here is broken down into two parts: "Stay the Night" and "Geist in the Group".

At the end of the book are good appendices, which include optional rules, Dread Ghosts, and the Arcane and the Eldritch. A GM toolbox has a nice summary of effects. An advertisement for their other mega-dungeon, "The Grande Temple of Jing" ends the book. There is no index, but a fairly good Table of Contents.

I was reasonably impressed enough by "The Grande Temple of Jing" to seek out any other products Hammerdog produced. This book even exceeded that book! If you like Pathfinder 1.0, and/or, if you like Fifth Edition Dungeons and Dragons, and/or you if like Call of Cthulhu, I think you almost can't go wrong by picking this book out! I now believe that this book is in my top 10 gaming books of all time!.

What is the Catalyst?

"Catalyst" (Boxed Set) by Alexander Jerabek.

Printed and Distributed by Cherry Picked Games.

ISBN-13: 978-1-304827-28-9 -- 270 Digest sized pages, and including 142 "Action Cards".

In the near future, several 'portals' or 'doorways' open between Earth and the realms of Demons and Devils. This post-apocalyptic setting really tweaked my interest. Millions of Demons and Devils invade our world. In addition, their arrival brought with them a plague which claims the lives of billions of people. Few remain.

But opening the portals between our world and theirs also brought an awakening of Magical and/or Psionic powers in most remaining humans. We now have the ability to fight them with their own powers!

This game uses a unique system - there are no dice - but a deck of 142 action cards (in the base boxed set) serves as your reactions. Each player and the Game Master places one of the cards in their hand on the table face down and then everyone flips them at the same time. Once on the table, you cannot change the action you have chosen, even if it doesn't do much of anything - or if it somehow causes one of the other characters to take damage. Ideally, you hit one of your enemies, and possibly do damage, or even kill it.

There are only six chapters in the book:

1) "Flotsam on the Sound"

2) World

3) Playing Catalyst

4) Combat

5) Equipment

6) Appendix

First, like most modern role-playing games, Catalyst starts with a piece of fiction set in the time of Catalyst. It is only four pages, but it still manages to give readers a sense of the 'now'.

Second is a section about the world, with parts for Humans and their roles in the game, as well as for Demons and Devils.

Third is playing and running the game. The Game Master is featured here in this category, as well as information about creating characters, their attributes, their "veins" (or magical abilities), spells, skills, standard abilities, talents, and traits.

Fourth is combat. One of the nicer inclusions is an entry giving an example of a battle. Tables for a Cerberus and a Demon are first, then two example characters. Following that are twelve scenes of their battle detailed completely, including maps of each. There is an explanation of how to use the action cards to complete each turn. A flowchart for combat makes it easier for GMs and Players to execute a game turn. Complete definitions for mapping battles and the conditions they create are given.

Fifth is Equipment. Statistics for firearms, melee weapons, explosives, clothes, magic items and weapon enhancements, and other things are here.

Sixth, the Appendices follow, starting with advice to GMs, a small bestiary, some sample characters, a background creation section, the spell and ability descriptions and supplements, and, believe it or not, finally, at the very end of the book are the credits!

I don't know what "possessed" me to buy this game, as I generally dislike Post-Apocalyptic settings. But, because it reeked of something that might have been caused by the finale of the End of Time, I decided to buy it. Once I found out that this one had no Zombies, it grabbed me and won't let go! I'm already deep into the process of creating a game to run with it! I'll be using some material from other games, such as "Delta Green" without the Cthulhu creatures. Players having Delta Green agents fighting the demons might be just the thing!

I'm going to be looking for the extra material that Cherry Picked (What an appropriate name!) has made for this game, including five PDFs you can download for free! They have a good home on my computer, and the only other physical thing I might need is the cards that go along with the PDFs.

Folks, if you like post-apocalyptic games, this one deserves a closer look! Highly Recommended!

Jing is the word!

"The Grande Temple of Jing" by Danny O'Neill

Printed and Distributed by Hammerdog Games

ISBN-10: 1-59180-047-1 -- 500 Pages

The Grande Temple of Jing is probably one of the better mega-dungeon books available!

It's sixty (yes, I said 60!) levels and hundreds of traps, tricks, side quests, and monsters, make it a tough dungeon, but, since it seems to be run by an avatar of Loki (he's called "Jing" in this universe) one would expect this.

The temple gets its name from the unusual method of doing certain things, such as opening a door.

Nothing short of a nuclear bomb will open that door -- except... There is a slot on the door frame, just big enough for a coin. If you put a copper piece in it, a small "jing" (such as you would hear from an old type cash register) is heard. Something happens - and not generally what you want. A silver coin will produce a much more satisfying "Jing" noise, and generally has the effect you want. But a gold piece in the slot makes a very happy sounding, very loud "Jing!" and whatever you were trying to do is accomplished. That's the good news. The bad news is that everything else in the Temple knows you are there, and nearby monsters may descend on you as a pack!

The really interesting thing is that the entire complex was designed and built by a God! While adventuring in this temple, it is almost impossible to die! Jing will almost always bring you back to life! Don't forget, however, since this is a form of the Resurrection spell, your experience goes back to one XP lower than the top of your last level!

I couldn't help but fall in love with this. Mega-Dungeons have always appealed to me, and this one goes out of its way to please even the most sinister plans of any GM. I've been known to perplex characters with traps, tricks, riddles, and other playthings. But this book goes =way= beyond anything I've ever conjured up! One of my highest recommendations!

The Shadows are on our side!

"Catalyst: Shadow Parliament" by Alexander Jerabek, Bennett Durlee, and Parker Thompson

Printed and Distributed by Cherry Picked Games

ISBN-13: 978-1-329-76811-6 -- 48 Pages

In the Catalyst Core Rulebook, we discovered that a vast unknown war was raging across our planet between the forces of Good (Angels, etc.) and the forces of Evil (Demons and Devils, etc.). This unusual take on post-apocalyptic games is a lot more interesting to me! I'm not sure if I ever want to look at another Zombie game again!

You should already have players that have created characters using the Catalyst Core Rulebook to use in this mini-campaign. If not, there are four characters at the back of the book they can use. This booklet is supposed to cover three to five players, and last about seven sessions. This booklet is meant for players that have characters who have already been contacted by The Shadows and what happens to them once they are made aware of the interdimensional war between the realms of Demons and Devils, and the realms of Angels on our world. No player should ever read this rulebook.

GMs should be familiar with the Catalyst Core Rulebook before reading or trying out this module. While the Shadow Parliament and Majestic-12 both work against Demonic powers, the group known as "The Illuminati" works with the other side.

There are 34 example characters at the back of the book. Four of those are ordinary people, but with the new magical powers within them awakened. There are also 17 Illuminati characters, and nine Demon types for the GM's use during play. The four shadows make the best to use for your players to become if they just want a pre-written character.

This booklet makes a good choice to use as an introductory adventure. If you bought the Catalyst Core Rulebook, this booklet would make a fine choice to get as your second Catalyst book. Highly recommended.

Exit Stage Right

"Neoexodus Campaign Setting (Color)" by Various Published and Distributed by Louis Porter Jr Design ISBN-13: 2-370-007-788-26-2 -- 268 (?) Pages

Let me begin this review with a very unusual statement. This appears to be a first edition first printing of this material. This also appears to be a color rendition of the same material. Bear that in mind when reading on.

I had to take the unusual precedent of actually physically counting the real numbers of the pages in this book. Several page numbers given are =not= correct. This is just the beginning of typos in this volume. There are banners in the upper outermost corners of the book that are supposed to contain the words "Neoexodus Campaign Setting" (which they all do), but, they are also supposed to contain the Chapter Title. No sooner than in the fourth page, this becomes "Section Title Goes Here".

Let's look at the other mistake first, page numbering. Up until page eight this seems correct. By this, I was led to believe that the full page art on the other half of the open book should be page nine. But, on the back of page nine, is page number twelve! Not only is this wrong, but it totally messes up the Table of Contents (which is also supposed to be an index) making finding any page in the book a challenge. This changes this seemingly professional looking book (great full color throughout!) into an amateur looking publication. Even a decent proofreader could have found and corrected these mistakes.

So, right off the bat, I subtracted one star for not having correct page numbers, and one star for not having correct page banners. But wait - there's more! I had always believed that "Janissaries" was a series title by Jerry Pournelle, but upon digging, found out that it had also been used during the Mongol Era, so, Ball One.

As many of my readers know, I am not a fan of Psionics in a Fantasy campaign. With this odd campaign mixture of some Fantasy and some Science Fiction, and some Psionics placed into a pot where even game balance might be hurt, made this text look like a bad "Star Wars" rip off. I have a feeling that this project was rushed through to allow the Kickstarter backers to get their product.

This is the first edition full color version. Other than being completely in color, it seems to be exactly like the black and white edition, and this edition carries the same mistakes. There is also a newer edition, called "Neoexodus: A World Divided". Even stranger, there appears to be an earlier edition from "Devils Workshop". I have not had the opportunity to look at these.

In summary, if you can get past the many page errors and other things, this might be of interest due to its totally unusual nature. I cannot recommend this edition, but will keep you posted on what I find from later editions. Your Mileage May Vary.

You might want to take an exit......

"Neoexodus Campaign Setting" by Various Published and Distributed by Louis Porter Jr Design ISBN-13: 2-370-007-788-26-2 -- 268 (?) Pages Let me begin this review with a very unusual statement. This appears to be a first edition first printing of this material. Bear that in mind when reading on. I had to take the unusual precedent of actually physically counting the real numbers of the pages in this book. Several page numbers given are =not= correct. This is just the beginning of typos in this volume. There are banners in the upper outermost corners of the book that are supposed to contain the words "Neoexodus Campaign Setting" (which they all do), but, they are also supposed to contain the Chapter Title. No sooner than in the fourth page, this becomes "Section Title Goes Here". Let's look at the other mistake first, page numbering. Up until page eight this seems correct. By this, I was led to believe that the full page art on the other half of the open book should be page nine. But, on the back of page nine, is page number twelve! Not only is this wrong, but it totally messes up the Table of Contents (which is also supposed to be an index) making finding any page in the book a challenge. This changes this seemingly professional looking book (great full color cover!) into an amateur looking publication. Even a decent proofreader could have found and corrected these mistakes. So, right off the bat, I subtracted one star for not having correct page numbers, and one star for not having correct page banners. But wait - there's more! I had always believed that "Janissaries" was a series title by Jerry Pournelle, but upon digging, found out that it had also been used during the Mongol Era, so, ball one. As many of my readers knows, I am not a fan of Psionics in a Fantasy campaign. With this odd campaign mixture of some Fantasy and some Science Fiction placed into a pot where even game balance might be hurt made this text look like a bad "Star Wars" rip off. I have a feeling that this project was rushed through to allow the Kickstarter backers to get their product. The good news, however, is that the art is very good, and would probably benefit greatly by using full color throughout the book. There is a full color version, and it will be interesting to see if it contains some of the proofreading mistakes. There is also a later edition, called "Neoexodus: A World Divided". I have not had the opportunity to look at either of these. In summary, if you can get past the many page errors and other things, this might be of interest due to its totally unusual nature. I cannot recommend this edition, but will keep you posted on what I find from later editions. Your Mileage May Vary.

There are no Sandworms here.....

"Monster Geographica - Plain and Desert" by Various Published and Distributed by Expeditious Retreat Press ISBN-10: 0-972-9376-5-X -- Digest Sized - 208 Pages This slim volume is a collection of creatures and monsters. There are 200 critters to baffle your players with. There are no drawings in the book, which might prove to be a problem, but I found that this made the book smaller and less expensive. You should normally give players only a description of a creature anyway. These creatures are from a wide variety of sources, mostly Third Party - so your players won't know what to expect! The format of the book is digest-sized, making it easier to carry around for outside the home use. This particular book lists creatures that prefer Plains or Desert areas. This unique idea allows a GM to quickly seize a book that complements the environment that players are passing through. The entries are not sorted alphabetically (there is a Table of Contents that does this), but by Challenge Rating, so that GM's can turn to an appropriate CR for the group playing their game. There's also an index of monsters by type in case you need a specific type. So, instead of seeing an Arboleth (for instance), the first creature in this book is a "Whistle Mite" CR rating 1/8! Although this seems pretty small (in fact, one of the smallest I have ever seen) it is provided for GMs to use for a dangerous unseen personal attack! The final entry in the book is for a "Mynfie Snake", CR 20! In the upper corner of every page is the creature's CR. This feature makes it easy for a GM to choose creatures that will perplex characters, and give them a workout without Total Party Kill. This unique idea is almost invaluable to a harried GM! There are five of these books altogether, making a library of various monsters that might be in your setting. At first, I thought that not putting them in alphabetical order was a bit strange, but I quickly warmed up to the idea of sorting by Challenge Rating. There are five of these "Monster Geographica" books: 1) Underground 2) Marsh and Aquatic 3) Forest 4) Hill and Mountain 5) Plain and Desert (this volume) This is the fourth of these that I have bought, and the fifth published, but I am certainly looking for the remaining one! Even though the statistics for creatures is for D&D 3.5, most GM's can convert these easily. My recommendation for GM's needing a few unusual monsters is high!

What's behind that Tree?

"Monster Geographica - Forest" by Various Published and Distributed by Expeditious Retreat Press ISBN-10: 0-972-9376-7-6 -- Digest Sized - 208 Pages This slim volume is simply a collection of creatures and monsters. There are 200 critters to baffle your players with. There are no drawings in the book, which might prove to be a problem, but I found that this made the book smaller and less expensive. You should normally give players only a description of a creature anyway. These creatures are from a wide variety of sources, mostly Third Party - so your players won't know what to expect! The format of the book is digest-sized, making it easier to carry around for outside the home use. This particular book lists creatures that prefer Forest living areas. This unique idea allows a GM to quickly seize a book that complements the environment that players are passing through. The entries are not sorted alphabetically (there is a Table of Contents that does this), but by Creature Rating, so that GM's can turn to an appropriate CR for the group playing their game. There's also an index of monsters by type in case you need a specific type. So, instead of seeing an Arboleth (for instance), the first creature in this book is a "Stinging Woodfly" CR rating 1/8! Although this seems pretty small (in fact, the smallest I have ever seen) it is provided for GMs to use for a swarm of these! The final entry in the book is for a "Humbaba", CR 24! In the upper corner of every page is the creature's CR. This feature makes it easy for a GM to choose creatures that will perplex characters, and give them a workout without Total Party Kill. This unique idea is almost invaluable to a harried GM! There are five of these books altogether, making a library of various monsters that might be in your setting. At first, I thought that not putting them in alphabetical order was a bit strange, but I quickly warmed up to the idea of sorting by Challenge Rating. There are five of these "Monster Geographica" books: 1) Underground 2) Marsh and Aquatic 3) Forest (this volume) 4) Hill and Mountain 5) Plain and Desert This is the third of these that I have bought, and the third published, but I am certainly looking for the remaining two! Even though the statistics for creatures is for D&D 3.5, most GM's can convert these easily. My recommendation for GM's needing a few unusual monsters is very high!

What? More Demons and Devils?

"The Encyclopedia of Demons and Devils 2" by Various Published and Distributed by Fast Forward Entertainment ISBN-10: 0-971-9598-5-4 -- 224 Pages Just as the title suggests, this is the second book containing Demons and Devils for your campaign! Fast Forward's fourth book, the Encyclopedia of Demons and Devils (Volume One) had sold well enough that Fast Forward decided to follow up with this volume, which also contains Demons and Devils from many cultures. As if there wasn't enough Demons and Devils in the first volume, FFE has 136 =more= Demons and Devils to think about! There is a one page preface and a three page introduction before diving right into the second collection of Demons and Devils. There is a different format for the pictures of the assorted demons - each is in a box that reminds me a bit of Magic the Gathering cards. The good news about this is that it standardizes the renditions of the Demons and Devils, but the bad news about this is that it limits the art to be contained into each square, making all the same basic size, regardless of the size of the creature. Each is in a rectangular frame accented by stars at all four corners, and places the name at the bottom of the box, but I believe that this allows for more text about the creature. Starting with "Aamon" and ending at "Zu", each has one or more pages of descriptions. Some are minor Demons or Devils, and only have one page of info. Some are Major Demons and Devils, and have two - or more - pages of info. Only one being has five pages of material, several have four pages, a few have three pages, many have two pages, and many have only one page. This creates a hierarchy of beings from low level one page "deities" to one of the higher level demons - who control many creatures. Also, in many of the descriptions are magic items, new spells, new Prestige Classes, and more. Each of these 136 characters has an agenda, or more than one agenda, which is found in the Introduction. The 13 (Lucky or Unlucky) agendas given allows a crafty GM to use that creature over and over again! Remember, these beings cannot truly be killed while in the Prime Material Plane! At best, they take enough damage to be forced to retreat to their home plane, causing the Demon or Devil to remain there for one year and one day, and then, they will probably return seeking vengeance! Although there are many books that contain Demons and Devil now, I still feel as though Fast Forward has really hit the mark! Although this is for D&D 3rd Edition, good GMs could still get a great idea of good info for their campaign here. Recommended!

Dare you go into The Hole In The Oak?

"The Hole in the Oak" by Gavin Norman Published and Distributed by Necrotic Gnome ISBN-13: 978-3-96657-0021-3 -- 32 Pages -- Digest Sized Introduction to the Mythic Underground The Hole in the Oak is a starter module for Necrotic Gnome's Retro Fantasy Adventure Game. GMs! There is a very nice two-page spread of the Dungeon that can be reached from the Hole in the Oak, as well as other entrances and exits. The color coding is a nice touch, and informs the GM what to prepare for their players in each area! The book is indexed from the Table of Contents, which is a numerical list of the 60 places in the dungeon characters may visit. This book is for characters from beginning to 2nd level. GMs should also have the 'Core Rulebook' and the 'Classic Fantasy: Cleric and Magic-User Spells' books. The 'Monsters' and the 'Treasures' are given in the module. There are no less than 60 different places to visit which gives this book a bit of replayablity, since it is doubtful that the players could visit the entire dungeon in a day. Wonderful random occurrences pop up here and there, and the area descriptions are good enough to give players a general idea of what the are looking at. The color tinted artwork is very good, and seems to fit the subject matter well. There are even factions within the dungeons, giving GMs the interesting idea of having the PC's stumble into a room filled with combat between the various factions! There are many mysteries to find, including the =real= owner of the dungeon! Random happenings in the dungeon are given, and the 20 different ones are easily expanded. The dungeon descriptions are very simple, and thus allow each room to be customized by a crafty GM! Only the first level of this dungeon id explored by this booklet, and there are three ideas for GMs to ponder using to expand it. GMs may use their own ideas at this point, and the paragraphs about what lies beyond the waterfall, the Crypt Level, and upstream are only the tip cf the iceberg! Of course, this is a great jumping off point to use with a new campaign based on Necrotic Gnome's Old School Retro Fantasy Adventure Game. I really enjoyed this booklet, and hope to find a group of players that don't have their noses stuck into nothing but 5th Edition of the World's Greatest Role Playing Game. I'd love to run this version, perhaps with a group of older gamers that miss the good old days! The entire collection of Necrotoc Gnome's Old School Rules is highly recommended!

Do Treasures make your players drool?

"Old School Essentials - Treasures" by Gavin Norman Published and Distributed by Necrotic Gnome ISBN-13: 978-3-96657-012-1 -- 48 Pages -- Digest Sized The Fifth Book of the Retro Adventure Game Books There is currently a revival of "Old School" type rules for Dungeons and Dragons. I've bought and/or looked at and/or played and/or ran several of them, and this is one of the best! This remake takes the old Tom Moldvay Basic and Expert ("B/X") rules and dissects them into five Retro Adventure Rulebooks. This is available separately and as part of a great boxed set! This book covers possible Treasures within Necrotic Gnome's Fantasy Retro Adventure Game. After a very short introduction, this gets right into possible items. Starting with Armor and Shields, then Miscellaneous Items, Potions, Rings, Rods, Staves, and Wands, Scrolls and Maps, Swords, Other Weapons, Sentient Weapons, and Special Things that can be applied to magical weapons such as Sensory Powers and/or Special Purposes. There's nothing like the look on player's faces when the Paladin draws his new sword and it starts singing! Sure, it has pluses to hit and pluses to damage, but the singing is loud, and might attract even more Monsters! Cursed Weapons can even more fun! Imagine what would happen if a player drew a sword that heals monsters! The Open Gaming License and a handy Index of Tables complete this work. Once again, Necrotic Gnome has packed this book as full as they could get! You will find treasures of various types on the inside front cover and more on the inside back cover for quick reference! GM's - if you are looking for possible treasures to award a successful adventure, in a specific area that is not in the rules. this is it! I've played other games, and I've been gaming for over 40 years! I started in 1976 with what is commonly known as "The Little White Box" which contained four digest-sized booklets: 1) "Men and Magic", 2) "Monsters and Treasures", and 3) "Underground and Wilderness", and a small white pamphlet with necessary tables repeated. I feel my experiences with gaming and role-playing, in particular, give me memories of the game as it was originally published, and thus real-life experiences to use in this review. I supported this through Necrotic Gnome's Kickstarter, and also received a module for the adventurers to explore called "The Hole in the Oak". Right now, I cannot think of a better retro-clone of older D&D. It reminds me of the original red booklet which was one of the first types of the first edition. Highly Recommended.

A to Z Monster Encounters

"Old School Essentials - Monsters" by Gavin Norman Published and Distributed by Necrotic Gnome ISBN-13: 978-3-96657-010-7 -- 80 Pages The Fourth Book of the Retro Adventure Game Books There is currently a revival of "Old School" type rules for Dungeons and Dragons. I've bought and/or looked at and/or played and/or ran several of them, and this is one of the better ones! This remake takes the old Tom Moldvay Basic and Expert ("B/X") rules, and dissects them into five Retro Adventure Rulebooks. This volume is available separately and as part of a great boxed set! This book covers the Monsters within Necrotic Gnome's Fantasy Retro Adventure Game. As it says on the cover, the large majority of this book is to present Monsters for the system. A very handy chart at the front of the of the book shows a matrix of Attacks by Hit Dice and their saving throws. Charts are available explaining their stats and other items. The chart at the back of the book breaks the monsters in the book down by their hit dice, a very handy thing if the GM wants to put a creature in the players path that will slow them down or even stop them cold. Counting the individual monsters themselves, there are over 140 different types. Many of the monster stat blocks have leaders, or the same monster, but of the opposite sex, different creatures of a similar type, such as the different types of Great Cats. at least seven types of dragons, the usual four types of elementals, six Giants, Were-creatures are treated under Lycanthropes. Other humanoids are found in such places as Merchants, and includes merchant guards and animals. Even Nobles are listed here. Pirates include the Ship Captain, and the Fleet Commander. Most creatures from Earth are present, too. Many snakes are here, and several others. It treats all humanoids as being possible antagonists. After the monster descriptions are encounter tables by type, NPC encounters, and Strongholds. The "Dungeons" are broken down by Dungeon Level, and the Wilderness areas are broken down by terrain type. The NPC's have Class and alignment tables, and the Stronghold by Class. The Open Gaming License completes this work. Once again, Necrotic Gnome packed this book as full as they could get! Even the inside front cover, and the inside back cover have important tables for easy access! GM's - if you are looking to populate a specific area that is not in the rules. this is it! I've played other games, and I've been gaming for over 40 years! I started in 1976 with what is commonly known as "The Little White Box" which contained four digest-sized booklets: 1) "Men and Magic", 2) "Monsters and Treasures", and 3) "Underground and Wilderness", and a small white pamphlet with necessary tables repeated. I feel my experiences with gaming and role-playing in particular, gives me memories of the game as it was originally published, and thus real life experiences to use in this review. I supported this through Necrotic Gnome's Kickstarter, and also received a module for the adventurers to explore called "The Hole in the Oak". Right now, I cannot think of a better retro-clone of older D&D. It reminds me of the original red booklet which was one of the first types of first edition. Highly Recommended.

Cleric and Magic-User Spells for Old School Essentials

"Old School Essentials - Cleric and Magic User Spells" by Gavin Norman Published and Distributed by Necrotic Gnome ISBN-13: 978-3-96657-008-4 -- 48 Pages The Third Book of the Retro Adventure Game Books

There is currently a revival of "Old School" type rules for Dungeons and Dragons. I've bought and/or looked at and/or played and/or ran several of them, and this is one of the better ones!

This remake takes the old Tom Moldvay Basic and Expert ("B/X") rules, and dissects them into five Retro Adventure Rulebooks. This volume is available separately and as part of a great boxed set! This book covers the Genre Rules for Spells within Necrotic Gnome's Fantasy Retro Adventure Game.

As it says on the cover, the large majority of this book is to give Clerics and Magic-Users the spells that they can use. The Cleric section gives players up to 5th Level Spells, and Magic-Users up to 6th Level Spells. A very handy Spell list at the front of the main part of the book shows a list of the Spells available for each class.

After a two-page spread picture, it gets right into the spell names and descriptions. Including the reversible spells, Clerics get 43 spells, and Magic-Users get 78 spells.
Now, here's a section that really appeals to me! I frequently play some type of magic-user, and an overview of this section shows it to be almost verbatim from the B/X rules. If you want to run an old school type of campaign, you have to look at this book, and, for that matter, this whole system!

The Open Gaming License and a handy index of Spells complete this work.

Once again, Necrotic Gnome packed this book as full as they could get! Even the inside front cover, and the inside back cover have important tables for easy access!

I've played other games, and I've been gaming for over 40 years! I started in 1976 with what is commonly known as "The Little White Box" which contained four digest-sized booklets: 1) "Men and Magic", 2) "Monsters and Treasures", and 3) "Underground and Wilderness", and a small white pamphlet with necessary tables repeated. I feel my experiences with gaming and role-playing in particular, gives me memories of the game as it was originally published, and thus real life experiences to use in this review.

I supported this through Necrotic Gnome's Kickstarter, and also received a module for the adventurers to explore called "The Hole in the Oak". Right now, I cannot think of a better retro-clone of older D&D. It reminds me of the original red booklet which was one of the first types of first edition. Highly Recommended.