Tackle the Temple of the Troll God!

"Temple of the Troll God" by Timothy Brown
Published and Distributed by Fast Forward Entertainment
ISBN-10: 0-971-3234-1-0 -- 48 Pages

This is the second module set in Fast Forward's "Green Races" universe. This booklet is black and white throughout. It is designed to follow "Fortress of the Ogre Chieftain" and is a lead-in to "Slave Pits of the Goblin King".

It contains seven parts as lead-ins to the mini-boss and the major boss. It is designed for characters from 4th level to 7th level. It also contains maps and descriptions of the "Temple of Afnar", and has nine new monsters including many Trolls, three others, a mini-boss, "Aatxe", and the major boss, "Afnar" or "Abraxus", who is a very powerful and very large "Outsider" ("Baatezu"). The very best that any party could do to "Afnar" is to do enough damage to him to force him to retreat back to his own plane. Note that this also creates a big time bad guy who will be able to return to their world after a year and a day seeking revenge! Talk about a recurring enemy!

Of course, Trolls make up the majority of challenges, not only in the area containing the old "Temple of Afnar", but on the roads and in the temple, and all nine of its levels! There is a very handy Monster Statistics Table on the inside front cover, and another map of the Temple on the inside back cover.

Ten new monsters are given the usual stats and can provide a GM with creatures of any level they wish. These creatures, found in six different areas, give possible occupants of the area. The Mini-Boss, and the Big Boss of the dungeon are last.

An OGL and a few advertisements conclude the booklet. Recommended for four to six characters of 4th to 7th level. One of the nice things about this booklet is that it is the centerpiece of a three-part adventure in the World of the Green Races. The other two parts are "Fortress of the Ogre Chieftain" (for four to six players of 3rd to 5th level), and "Slave Pits of the Goblin King" (for four to six players of 5th to 9th level).

Potential GMs will probably need at least the "Player's Handbook" and "Dungeon Masters Guide", along with the "Green Races" campaign world book. Consideration should be given to the remaining two booklets. I cannot recommend this without also recommending the others.

As part of a much larger realm, this serves as the best adventure to follow "Fortress of the Ogre Chieftain". If you want to use the "Green Races" book without making it a campaign setting, or if you want to make these an integral part of the "Green Races" world as its own campaign setting, these booklets can't be beat! Unfortunately, Fast Forward has been out of business for some time, but if you look long enough, you can generally pick these up relatively cheaply! A good recommendation if you want to use the "Green Races" book as either a part of your world, or as its own campaign. Recommended.

OSE Core Rulebook

"Old School Essentials - Core Rulebook" by Gavin Norman
Published and Distributed by Necrotic Gnome
ISBN-13: 978-3-96657-004-6 -- 80 Pages
The First 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 ran several of them, and this is one of the best.

This remake takes the old Tom Moldvay Basic and Expert ("B/X") rule sets, 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 Core Rules for all of the Necrotic Gnome Retro Adventure Games and is totally indispensable.

Creating characters for use in whatever type of game your GM wants to use is first, and is the way the person you create becomes more realistic and can be used in the game. The most popular genre is the "Classic Fantasy" Core Rules, which comes with the boxed set, Necrotic Gnome packed all of these books full of very useful information. There are even charts on the inside front covers, and the inside back covers! These placements of rules is a very nice touch!

This book is about the basics of how to create your character, combat, magic, monsters, adventuring, and treasures. A good Table of Contents, which also serves as the Index, starts the book, with a short introduction about the game, and other primary rules.

Players are covered next with core rulebook information. Once everyone has created a character they like, and giving that character life and possessions, they may move on to the next phase.

Adventuring follows, and has parts on player and group organization and other rules for their characters.

Next comes Magic, which has basic info, but if the GM wants actual info on the spells your character may cast, that is in Book Two.

General notes on critters follow, and merely mentions them, because they are covered in more detail on each of them in the Third Book.

The next chapter is about actual play of the game. It focuses on running adventures and quite a bit about being a Game Master. The Game Master is like a referee. They are generally supposed to be a neutral party that is the final arbiter of the rules, and they handle the game as a Judge, a Jury, and occasionally an Executioner. They control all the items, the monsters and NPCs, and the game's system (which in this case will be the Old School Essentials books), and the setting - whether it may be outside traveling, in cities and sewers, in crumbling ruins or dungeons, in the wilderness and the villages, towns, and cities, and awarding Experience Points ("XP").

Assorted treasures rounds this book out. It includes where to place treasures, and what kinds are there, including Magical Items, Armor and Shields, Gems and Jewelry, Potions, Rods, Staves, and Wands, Rings, Scrolls and Maps, and finally Swords and Weapons.

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

I've played some 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 very necessary tables. I feel as though my experience 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.

Begin your Adventures in the World of the Green Lands!

"Fortress of the Ogre Chieftain" by Timothy Brown
Published and Distributed by Fast Forward Entertainment
ISBN-10: 0-971-3234-0-2 -- 48 Pages

This is a module set in Fast Forward's "Green Races" universe.

It contains four preliminary encounters as a lead-in to the main event. It contains maps and descriptions of the Ogre Fortress. It also has mew monsters including "Spirit Dragons", "Ghost Dragons", Goblin Chieftains, Ogre Chieftains, Shamans, Fungi, and Molds!

Sixteen new monsters are given the usual stats and can provide a GM with creatures of any level they wish. Tables of creatures normally found in two different areas give possible occupants of the Goblin Southlands and Troll Lands.

Of course, Ogres make up the majority of challenges, not only in the area containing the old "Sun Fortress", but inside the watchtowers and the castle itself. Simple maps of the towers (all considered identical except for occupants), and the large Castle of the Sun King. Although no information exists about any underground area, history says the fortress was attacked from below, and it is hard to imagine that Ogres would not have expanded that area into full dungeons.

An OGL and two advertisements conclude the booklet. Recommended for four to six characters of 3rd to 5th level. One of the nice things about this booklet is that it is the beginning of a three-part adventure in the World of the Green Races. The other two parts are "Temple of the Troll God" (for four to six players of 4th to 7th level), and "Slave Pits of the Goblin King" (for four to six players of 5th to 9th level).

Potential GMs will probably need at least the "Player's Handbook" and "Dungeon Masters Guide", along with the "Green Races" campaign world.

But as a part of a much larger realm, this serves as a good adventure for post-beginner characters from the "Green Races" book and/or the Players Handbook. If you want to use the "Green Races" book without making it a campaign setting, or if you want to make these an integral part of the "Gree Races" as its own campaign setting, these booklets can't be beat! Unfortunately, Fast Forward has been out of business for some time, but if you look long enough, you can generally pick these up relatively cheaply! A good recommendation if you want to use the "Green Races" book as either a part of your world, or as its own campaign.

Return to the B/X edition of D&D!

"Old School Essentials - Black Box Edition" by Gavin Norman Printed and Distributed by Necrotic Gnome ISBN-13: 978-3-96657-016-9 --- Total of 304 pages "Old School" Role-Playing games are coming back in a big way! There are probably literally dozens of current RPG's that try to duplicate that 'Old School' feel of games like Original Dungeons and Dragons. One of the better ones out there is Necrotic Gnome's "Old School Essentials". It distills the old "B/X" rules (the Moldvay/Cook Basic/Expert (B/X) rules) into a very replayable version of one of the first editions of Dungeons and Dragons. The Black Box Edition was first offered on Kickstarter and was so successful that it spawned quite a few books of its own, and even made it to your Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS). The box contained five books: 01) Core Rules (ISBN-13: 978-3-96657-004-6) 02) Genre Rules (ISBN-13: 978-3-96657-006-0) 03) Cleric and Magic-User Spells (ISBN-13: 978-3-96657-008-4) 04) Monsters (ISBN-13: 978-3-96657-010-7) 05) Treasures (ISBN-13: 978-3-96657-012-1) Many copies of the Black Box also contained an introductory adventure: "The Hole in the Oak" (ISBN-13: 978-3-96657-021-3) The original Black Box contains hardcover copies of the five main books. "Core Rules" has the rules for creating characters and magic, battles, and exploration and requires the use of one of the genre rulebooks available, The one included in Classic Fantasy. "Genre Rules" has sections on Clerics, Fighters, Thieves, Dwarves, Elves, and Halflings. Yes, even Dwarves, Elves, and Halflings were each their own class! "Cleric and Magic-User Spells" is exactly what it means. 34 Clerical Spells and 72 Magic-User Spells are detailed. "Monsters" is, of course, the creatures your characters will run into! Many different types are described - from Acolytes (some good and some not), to Zombies. A few very good Encounter Tables are included. "Treasures" are what your party may find after encountering (and surviving) the monsters above! From Armor and Shields to Weapons and small parts about Sentient Swords and magic weapon powers. I've seen quite a few of these attempts to recreate the flavor of the old game some of us remember, and this one is by far one of the best. I'll be also posting reviews of each of these separately, but whether you are a fan of retro-clones or just beginning to try them out, I can't recommend any other book or series about this any higher! My =very= highest recommendations!

Monster Geographica: Marsh and Aquatic

"Monster Geographica - Marsh and Aquatic" by Various Published and Distributed by Expeditious Retreat Press ISBN-13: 978-972-937-633-7 Digest Sized - 208 Pages This slim volume is simply a collection of creatures and monsters from several other sources. 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 a description of a creature anyway. The format of the book is digest-sized, making it easier to carry around for outside the home gaming. This particular book lists creatures the prefer Marsh and/or Aquatic 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 the book is a "Lurking Lizard" CR rating 1/4! The final entry in the book is for a Northern Sea Dragon, 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. This is the first of these that I have bought, but it will =not= be the last! Even though the statistics for creatures is for D&D 3.5, most GM's can convert these easily. Based on my reading of this volume (#2 of 5), I shall be looking for the other four very soon! My recommendation for GM's needing a few unusual monsters is very high!

Monster Geographica: Underground

"Monster Geographica - Underground" by Various Published and Distributed by Expeditious Retreat Press ISBN-10: 0-972-9376-2-5 -- 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 gaming. This particular book lists creatures the prefer Underground 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 the book is a "Barrow Rat" CR rating 1/4! The final entry in the book is for a "Quickner", 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 (this volume) 2) Marsh and Aquatic 3) Forest 4) Hill and Mountain 5) Plain and Desert This is the second of these that I have bought, and the first published, but I am certainly looking for the remaining three! 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!

Could this be the most monsterous campaign ever?

"Green Races" by Timothy Brown and James M. Ward Printed and Distributed by Fast Forward Entertainment ISBN-10: 0-9719598-1-1 --- 224 Pages "Green Races" is an entire campaign setting for D20 in which races that are generally considered monsters are trying to outdo one another to control the world. Fifteen factions are described, with quite a bit of background, classes and prestige classes, their armies, and at least one location for each that this race protects. The major races that are attempting to do this are: 01) Bugbears 02) Derro 03) Dragon Goblins 04) Drow 05) Duergar 06) Gnolls 07) Goblins (Group 1) 08) Goblins (Group 2) 09) Half-Orcs 10) Hobgoblins 11) Kobolds 12) Ogres 13) Orcs 14) Trolls (Group 1) 15) Trolls (Group 2) There are also many races trying to keep all of the above from accomplishing their aims. These include Humans, Dwarves, Good Dragons, Demonic races (believe it or not), and Evil Dragons! Not to mention the non-aligned races, such as Efreeti (called "Azazel's Horde"), Elementals, Fire Giants, Hill Giants, "The Hives" (a collection of bug-like races), Nameless Ones (mostly Undead), Necromancers (led by "Pearat"), Stone Giants, and Swamp Folk (mostly lizardfolk). A few maps, the OGL, and three pages of advertisements end this book. There are also three 'modules' set in the world of the Green Races: "Fortress of the Ogre Chieftain", "Temple of the Troll God", and "Slave Pits of the Goblin King". Yes, a few good aligned races are scattered throughout, and a very crafty GM and intelligent players could make for a bang-up series of adventures, and even a campaign! If you believe that this combination of races at each other's throats creates a world filled with battle, danger, and pure excitement, you're right! I've managed to collect all of Fast Forward's books, and this is by far the best! Your characters may become =any= of the races above, and make them their own! In addition, each race has at least one prestige class! The book begins with a two page spread map of the world, showing where each of the races dominate. The fact that this book is designed for monstrous characters, and primarily evil characters, makes this an attractive volume for GMs who are tired of the "same-old-same-old" campaign. Fast Forward Entertainment had created many books for the D20 system, and it is very unfortunate that it appears to be lost in space. Fast Forward did such a good job of creating material, that I ended up owning them all! Of that list, "Green Races" is at the top of the heap! One of my very best recommendations for D20!

Not just a Gazetteer

"Demon Wars - Gazetteer" by R. A. Salvatore and Others Printed and Distributed by Fast Forward Entertainment ISBN-10: 1-932201-54-8 --- 128 Pages The fourth and final book in Fast Forward's Demon Wars series, this book also features art from "Crossgen Comics". This supplement is designed to add new material to the first book, "Demon Wars Campaign Guide", the second book, the "Player's Guide", and the third book, "Demon Wars - Enchanted Locations". A short introduction leads you directly into the first major part of this book, the creatures section. Following that is another section about three of the places in the world, and finally more unusual creatures, and the Open Gaming License and four pages of advertisements. The first section covers four of the creatures you will find in this world in depth. They are: 1) Goblins 2) Powries 3) Elves 4) Giants Each of the creature sections has info on the regions of the world they are commonly found in, a history of the race, their outlook on life, their society and culture, their relationships with other races, their equipment, their magic and lore, and a look at one of the places they reside. There are differences in each race description, in that some include other material about that race. There is a single page about humans that divides the two types of entries. The second part has detailed info on three of the locations in this world: 1) Alpinador 2) Honce-the-Bear 3) Behren Each of these sections includes the regions within that part of the world, its history, the area's general outlook on life, their society and customs, their equipment available, their magic and lore, and concludes with a part on one location within that region. Other creatures take up the final info from this book. This book is ideal for GMs who want even more material to fill out the world of the Demon Wars, and also can be used in a campaign that has nothing to do with Demon Wars! I must say that I love R. A. Salvatore's stories, so getting these books was a "No-Brainier" for me. These four books cover just the first trilogy in the series. Salvatore wrote a second series in this universe that takes place after the original trilogy. There is no material from the newer four books included. Yet another book from my older collection that may make it into a part of my campaign world. If I can use this book then you can, too! Recommended. Your mileage may vary.

Six locatioms for Demon Wars

"Demon Wars - Enchanted Locations" by Thomas M. Reid and James M. Ward Printed and Distributed by Fast Forward Entertainment ISBN-10: 1-932201-53-X --- 128 Pages The third book in Fast Forward's Demon Wars series, this book also features art from "Crossgen Comics". This supplement is designed to add new material to the first book, "Demon Wars Campaign Guide", and the second book, the "Player's Guide". The short introduction explains what you need to play and also the start of an adventure - "The Bridge Adventure" which continues on through the book. Info also includes how to use the included locales in your campaign, and even a paragraph on using these sites in other campaigns. A major boss NPC is introduced, who is designed to perplex the characters though the six locations and eleven parts of the whole adventure. The book shows the suggested order of the eleven places to visit. A two page spread black and white map of the known world of Corona is last. The six major places include: 1) St. Mere-Abelle 2) Andur'Blough Inninness 3) The Barbacan 4) Tymwyvenne 5) Path of Starless Night 6) Walk of Clouds Each of these sites has an introduction, a mini-history, a prominent NPC, a map or two, material on what it is like today, a layout, and another part or two of the Bridge Adventure. Five of the six locales have two-part adventure sections. Six creatures fill out the rest of the book, except for the Open Gaming License, and three advertisements. This book is ideal for GMs who want some locations to fill out the world of the Demon Wars, and also can be used in a campaign that has nothing to do with Demon Wars! I must say that I love R. A. Salvatore's stories, so getting these books was a "No-Brainier" for me. These four books cover just the first trilogy in the series. Salvatore wrote four other books in this universe that takes place after the original trilogy. There is no material from the newer four books included. These six locations, along with the material on each section, make for a great book to add to your collection, especially if you are running the Demon Wars campaign. They also could serve as locations in another campaign, making this book quite a bit more useful. My personal favorite place to use from this book is the Monastery near St. Mere-Abelle. The primary use of this structure is to train Monks. That makes this an ideal start to a campaign in which one or more players want to be a monk. The full page map of the monastery indicates the huge size of the building and grounds, although the site only has one dock and pier, this pier is quite large enough for almost any ship to visit. It is a deep water wharf, with room for two large sailing vessels, one on each side of the pier. The breakwater that sticks far out into the All Saints Bay is totally man-made. An extremely long first wall protects the residents from attacks fro the west, and the almost equally wall extending from it protects from attacks from the East, or the Sea. At every turn of either wall is a guard tower that is always manned. Quite a few farms and fields stretch north and south from the Monastery which provide food and drink for the citizens. In addition, there are three underground levels that continue almost from every corner from the building above. The quarry that is in the third subterranean level provides the rocks that are shaped from the granite walls and are then taken to use as replacements for worn down pieces of the walls. Yet another book from my older collection that may make it into a part of my campaign world. If I can use this book then you can, too! Recommended. Your mileage may vary.

Expand the Demon Wars!

"Demon Wars Players Guide" by R. A. Salvatore and Others Printed and Distributed by Fast Forward Entertainment ISBN-10: 1-932201-52-1 --- 128 Pages The second book in Fast Forward's Demon Wars series, this Player's Guide features art from "Crossgen Comics". This supplement is designed for adding new material to their first book, the "Demon Wars Campaign Guide". There are three new races, six new classes, six new Prestige Classes, a guide to Earth Magic, seven new magic items, twelve new creatures, and a few pages on how the saga continues. That makes eight sections for you to consider adding to your Demon Wars Campaign. Most, if not all, of the material in this book is supposed to be for players. A GM should look at this book to see if it will fit into their current campaign. GMs could use any section, or all of this book to allow players to expand their characters, including choosing one of the new races, and/or new classes, and/or making a mage into an Earth Magic specialist. A canny GM could use this material for another campaign that is not Demon Wars. The seven new magic items add two new stones for rings, twenty-four new weapons, nineteen new types of armor, twenty-two new rings, and fifteen new types of other types of jewelry, twenty-six new wondrous items, and thirteen new artifacts. Several of these new items will need to be looked at by the GM to make sure they will not unbalance their campaign, especially the Wondrous Items, and the Artifacts. The next section is for New Creatures. Fourteen new monsters for the GM to decide to use. All contain one piece of art to show the GM what the creature looks like. The challenge level of these new creatures ranges from a measly 1 to an impressive 15. The book concludes with quite a bit about how this book, and this material, fit into the Demon Wars Campaign Saga. Starting with a glance into different timelines,(PS: This book, being a new part of the Demon Wars saga, is a bit further forward in the timeline created by the Demon Wars Campaign Guide}. The "Trial by Fire" storyline takes place sometime after the Demon Wars Campaign. The Trial by Fire mini-campaign contains five sections that are designed to work one right after the other, bur a canny GM could put aside quest in between any of the parts, A section about the races and their ways follows, each race having info on their history, their culture, their religions, and four new races for NPCs. It also contains six NPCs for GMs use. The book concludes with the usual Open Gaming License, and three pages of advertisements. If you are considering running a Demon Wars campaign, this book adds plenty of new material for both players and GMs. There is plenty of art from Crossgen Comics that looks great! I just wish all of these books to be in color! This book doubles the information about the world of the Demon Wars! I must say that since I love R. A. Salvatore's stories, so getting these books was a "No-Brainier" for me. These four books cover just the first trilogy in the series. Salvatore wrote four other books in this universe that take place after the original trilogy. There is no material from the newer four books included.

Begin the Demon Wars!

"R. A. Salvatore's Demon Wars Campaign Setting" by various. Published and distributed by Fast Forward Entertainment. ISBN 10: 1-932201-51-3 128 Pages Details a complete world setting based on R. A. Salvatore's first "Demon Wars" trilogy. The "Demon Wars" trilogy includes "The Demon Awakens", "The Demon Spirit", and "The Demon Apostle". Although there is another series, ("Mortalis", "Ascendance", "Transcendence", and "Immortalis") those books are not included in this volume. Although you'll still need the 3.5 edition of the Players Handbook from D&D, there are many places where the info in the PH is basically useless and has been replaced with new info from this book. Chapters include: "A Song for Sadye", Characters (and you'll be surprised at what is and is not included!), New Skills and Feats, Gem Magic (a big factor in the novels), Magic Items, Treasure, Creatures, and The World. There's also a short summary of the first three Demon Wars novels. The large section on gem magic, gems, and what they do is well worth considering even if you take it out and drop it in your own campaign. The chapter on Creatures even includes the Demon, Dactyl, the series' major bad guy. The tables in Treasure give enough random examples so as to not have a lot of duplication. The art is very good, even though it is black and white. Note that there are three other Fast Forward books about the Demon Wars: "Player's Guide", "Enchanted Locations", and "Gazetteer". Also note that "Demon Wars: Reformation" although set in the same universe, is =not= D20 compatible, although a good GM might be able to make it work as a continuation of the series. Altogether, this 128-page hardcover is a very well put together tome. For fantasy gamemasters, I'd say this one is well worth picking up. Highly recommended.

Discover the Secrets of the Mistborn

"Mistborn" by Brandon Sanderson Printed and Distributed by Crafty Games ISBN-13: 978-0-9826843-9-9 -- 584 Pages Folks, I think you almost can't go wrong when deciding on a new role-playing game, when the game is also written by the same person who wrote the novels it is based on! Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn" novels are a six-book (so far) collection of good solid fantasy. I can't recommend them highly enough! So, I also bought the Mistborn role-playing game published by Crafty Games. The usual short fiction piece, called "The Eleventh Metal", begins the book. It gives flavor to the remainder of the text. An introduction to "The Final Empire" follows, with info on the people, the land, and the world. It also mentions the four novels that had been printed before the game's release. Between the intro and the fiction, this takes up the first 42 pages of the book. Then we jump right into Book One - "The Mistborn Adventure Game". Here you build your character, improve your character, find the basics of the rules, how to use contests, setting up conflicts, including physical conflicts, social conflicts, and mental conflicts, how your characters can change the world, and a special new character called a "Kandra". Kandra are natural shapeshifters and must adhere to a strict contract of conduct. Kandra are interesting characters, but I would only suggest them to a player with some role-playing experience. Book Two contains "The Treatise Metallurgic", which is the gist of magic use in The Final Empire. Magic-Users are also limited to a narrow band of classes. "Allomancy" allows mages to eat (yes, =eat=) metal and use the properties of that metal to cast spells. Less common is "Feruchemy", which uses metals as storage containers for various traits and capabilities which can be used to release that stored energy - granting the user superhuman abilities far beyond those of Allowmancy. "Hemalurgy" is the rarest type of mage, who can drive steel spikes into people, killing them, and stealing their characteristics or abilities, then subsequently drive it into another person's body (without killing them) and then passes its contents on to that person as long as they have the spike driven into their body. Following that is a section on the metals and what characteristics each possesses. These fall into four categories, Physical Metals, Mental Metals, Enhancement Metals, and Temporal Metals. There are also two so-called "God" metals. Nineteen known metal descriptions are next. Book Three, "Always Another Secret", dips into what wizards have hidden behind the curtain (which, I may assure you, is not the "Wizard of Oz"). This whole civilization has secrets on top of secrets, underneath secrets, next to secrets, and hidden secrets galore. This is a section primarily for the Game Master. It also has example characters, including the heroes of the Mistborn Trilogy, the Rogues Gallery, and how to create NPC's. An appendix ends this book, and has a rules summary, and sheets such as a Character Sheet, other record sheets, and a good index. A nice feature of this book are the black marks where each chapter is divided, making looking for that elusive rule a bit easier. To give you an idea of how much I love this book, I had Brandon autograph it (as well as the rest of my then trilogy). The concepts of the very unusual mages makes for a very different feel to this fantasy. Some prospective GMs may find this book a tough sell to players, but run correctly, it could make for a very interesting long term campaign, especially due to Mr. Sanderson's new books in the series. It's not based on any other game system, and has three categories for statistics, Attributes, Standing, and Resilience, each of which is broken down into three other stats. My suggestion on this one is to pick it up in a store that has a good place to sit, and scan it to see if you might like it. Fans of Sanderson's books may also want to take a look. Recommended - but only to players and Game Masters with a bit of gaming experience under their belts.

Agents of the Apocalypse

"Catalyst" (Boxed Set) by Alexander Jerabek Printed and Distributed by Cherry Picked Games ISBN-13: 978-1-304827-28-9 --- 270 Digest Sized Pages Including 142 "Action Cards" In the near future, a 'portal' or 'doorway' opens between the known Earth and the world of Demons. This near-future post-apocalyptic setting really tweaked my interest. Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of Demons and their "friends", invade our world. Also, their arrival brought with them a disease that claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of humans. Very few remain. The good news is that opening the portal between our world and theirs also brought an awakening of magical and/or Psionic powers in most remaining humans. So - we can fight these beings from another world or another dimension with their own abilities. I don't know what "possessed" me to buy this game, as except for one or two, I generally dislike Post-Apocalyptic settings. But, because it reeks of something that might have been caused by the finale of the End of Time, I decided to get one. This game also uses a unique system - there are no dice - but a deck of 142 cards (in the base boxed set) serves as your actions. Each player and the game master place one of the cards in their hand on the table face down and then flip them all at the same time. Once down on the table, you cannot change the action you have chosen, even if it does not do much of anything - or if it somehow causes one of the other players in the game to take the damage you meant to hit the villain with. Ideally, you hit one of the 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 Catalyst starts with a piece of fiction set in the time of Catalyst. Only four pages, but it still manages to give readers a sense of the 'now'. A section on the world is second, with parts for Humans and their roles in the game, as well as for Demons. The third is information about playing and running Catalyst. The Game Master is featured first in this category. Then info about creating characters, their attributes, their "veins" or magical abilities, spells, skills, abilities, talents, and traits. Chapter four is info on combat. One of the nice things about this chapter is that the first entry gives 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 described, including maps. An explanation of how to use the included cards to complete each turn follows. A flowchart for combat might make it easier for GMs and Players to execute a turn. Complete definitions for mapping battles and the conditions they may create are given. Equipment is fifth, where weapons, explosives, clothing, and other gear are located. Here are the tables for firearms, melee weapons, explosives, clothes, magic items, and weapon enhancements, clothing, and other things. The Appendices follow, starting with advice to GMs, a small bestiary, some sample characters, a background creation section, the spell descriptions, ability descriptions, and supplements, and, believe it or not, finally, at the very end of the book are the credits! As I said, I'm not generally fond of apocalyptic games, but this one grabbed me and won't let go! I'm already deep in the process of creating a game to run for my friends with it! I'll probably use some material from other games ("Delta Green" without the Cthulhu creatures) springs to mind as a source center for the Agents that will be part of the apocalypse and being Delta Green agents fighting the demons, I believe will 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 machine, and the only other physical thing I might get is the cards that go along with the PDFs. Folks, if you like post-apocalyptic games, this one deserves a close look! Highly Recommended!

The Ways of a Witch

"Way of the Witch" by Janet Pack, Jean Rabe, Megan Robertson, and Christina Styles Printed and Distributed by Citizen Games ISBN-10: 1-929474-39-3 -- 104 Pages "Way of the Witch" is a D20 sourcebook that adds Witches as a playable character class. Although set in the fictional world of "Myrra", it can be plugged into any D20 type campaign. Nine chapters make up the body of this work: 1) Introduction 2) Witch Classes 3) Skills and Feats 4) Witch Magic 5) Candle Magic 6) Familiars 7) The Way of Witches 8) Witch Organizations 9) Witch Adventure Ideas No index, but a very good Table of Contents. The front cover shows a witch with two wolf companions. According to this work, only Witches may have two familiars. The art throughout the book is black and white but does an extremely good job of conducting to the viewer a mood for this volume. I was very impressed by the art, and it added a lot of 'color' to the book, even if all the art is black and white. Like most more modern volumes, the first chapter is an introduction to the book in the form of a fictional portrayal of events, including a world timeline. Classes, the second chapter, has the usual 'how to create a character' part, but presents it in a very unusual way. Items about Witch language, definitions of Witch creation, good and bad karma, and creation of a spellbook before the Witch levels table, the Witch spells per day table, and the spells known table. Classes are next, with four entries: Black Witches (your evil-aligned sort), Brown Witches (almost like druids), Gray Witches (almost True Neutral in nature), "Vitae" Witches (who serve as guardians of covens), and finally White Witches (your good-aligned kind). The skills and feats you can take are most of the Third chapter. A small set of new skills and what each does, a collection of new feats, and a table for poisons. The Witch spell list is Fourth, describing all-new spells with a handy list of Witch spells by level. The remainder is just a list of spell definitions. Candle Magic, the Fifth chapter, is one of the ones I found very useful, not only for Witches, but as something you could pull out and place in your campaign even if you decide to not have Witch in it. Candle color properties and what each does is described. I may allow Witch player characters in my next Fantasy campaign, but I will use this section even if I decide to not allow players to have Witch characters. Sixth is Familiars, another chapter that could also serve in campaigns that do not allow Witches as PCs. There are tables for normal Witch familiars and what they are and what each can do. I can't even begin to tell you what this chapter will do to my next fantasy campaign, but I can tell you that I will use this info regardless. The ways of Witches is Seventh, and contains Coven membership and formation, a great section of musical and moon goddess types, clothing, holidays, and accessories. Witch Organizations - called "Gatherings" is Eighth, and gives large sets of covens specific names and what each believes and does. Seventeen gatherings are described. These large international groups could really spice up the various Witches that belong to them, each with their own ends, means, and ways. Characters do not have to belong to any of these groups, and could even decide to start their own. Finally, in the Ninth chapter are eight possible adventures and some sample characters probably best used as NPCs. These six NPCs are good examples. The appendix has a glossary and the Open Gaming License. I did not know quite what to expect from this book before purchase. The back cover, strangely enough, has a fiction component as well as a short bit about what lies inside. There was one sentence that made me hesitate - it indicated that this book had its own setting. But, I've always wanted to use Witches as NPCs or PCs. so I bought it and took it home and read it. Now, I =really= want to use this book as a resource for PCs and NPCs. The mood of this book was set by the art, which was drawn by Thomas Denmark. It stood out as a wonderful work, and I may go so far as to look for other art by Thomas. If you are thinking of adding Witches to a campaign, I can't think of a better choice than this one. Highly Recommended.

Are Witches Fated Souls?

"Witch - Fated Souls" by Elizabeth Chaipraditkul Printed and distributed by Angry Hamster Publishing ISBN-13: 978-90-824628-0-7 208 Pages If you have a strange bent of mind (and you know I do) then at least check out "Witch - Fated Souls". Set in the modern world, this book takes a hard look at the type of person that would be willing to 'sell their souls to the Devil'. This is a truly dark fantasy setting, in which players create witches in the modern world. The trade-off here is that =all= of your players are evil! This book should probably be marked as "For Mature Audiences Only". Several of the illustrations are quite graphic, and at least a few have nudity. Like quite a few gamebooks today, there is a short piece of fiction in the front (six pages) that might give prospective buyers a feel as to whether or not this book is for you. There is a short Chapter Overview that is supposed to serve as a Table of Contents but has no page references. Once past the fiction, there are nine chapters: 1) Character Creation 2) Vital Statistics 3) Magic 4) Higher Spell Levels 5) Mechanics 6) Expanded Mechanics 7) Setting 8) Animals, Entities, and Foes 9) GM Guide Within Chapter One, "Introduction" are small sections about the game (an intro to the game), the basics of Character Creation, and a handy "Character Creation Cheat Sheet" with a summary of what the beginnings of your player's character ideas might be, and a bit about Fates. Following that are seven sub-sections about the seven-character types: 1) Djinn 2) Druids 3) Heks 4) Liches 5) Seers 6) Sosye 7) Yokai The color illustrations for this part are very nice, and the two-page spread on each tells prospective players what each character type is and what part they play. This is a 'leg up' for both players and GMs. Chapter Two covers your player's vital statistics: what the attributes mean, what skills are available to each class, which pursuits they might like to follow, and what talents each possesses. Another part is about experience and skill levels. Chapter Three gives everyone information about magic - the spells broken down by class, Rituals known, both spiritual and practical, what potions can be created and/or used, a two-page chart of potions, and finally, magical alterations. Fourth is about higher-level spells. These are called "Deireadh" spells. Although small, these spells should only be learned or attempted by fairly high-level characters. GMs especially should look at them and find out if learning and casting these spells might unbalance their campaign. Chapter Five explains all the basic and advanced mechanics in your campaign. How Players and GMs should roll, Non-combat skill use, Combat specifics, and a food selection of weapons, explosives, and armor. Six is about expanding mechanics. Wishes, the "Devil's Deck" (which is an ordinary deck of Tarot Cards), Familiars, and artifacts. There is a two-page spread of what can happen when using artifacts, some of which are very good, some are good, some are just mediocre, some are bad, and some are very bad. Chapter Seven is about the setting for the game. The prospective GM should really pay close attention here, as it includes the back story, the present day, the Cosmos, which has three kingdoms, the kingdom of man, the kingdom of the dead, and the kingdom of the Changing Ones. The normal "planes" (if you will) of the Changing One, including the inner and outer planes of existence, and some notes on places and spaces, which include six cities. Eighth contains material about the Demons (with some very nice color plates), the monsters of the world, (with one totally nude being), and a few notable NPCs. The GM's Guide is Ninth, a smattering of information about the campaign's feel and plot, how a GM would handle negotiating with Demons and dealing with the "Deireadh" spells if they want to include them. Finally, there is a short appendix, in which you find a Lexicon,a very good index, and how to use a character sheet, and, of course, the character sheet itself (managing somehow to be only one page!). My take on this book is that, first of all, it contains a lot of information that may not be suitable for younger audiences, and may require the GM to decide if they want to run this at all (!). If you have the proper audience, you probably should go over the prospective campaign system and settings with your players to see if anyone has any objections to this type of system and setting. For instance, I am just twisted enough to try to run this system and setting, but I have no idea whether or not my current players would want me to. However, one place where this book would really shine, is as an extra piece of a another game that you want to run. Although meant for the current day, it would be easy enough to set this whole book into a fantasy medieval campaign, or as an adjunct of a post apocalyptic setting. My recommendation is to let the buyer look at it carefully enough to want to spend money on in order to either run it separately or as a very good part of their own world (although I would not recommend it for a science fiction setting). Your mileage may vary.

Underground denizens for D&D 3.5

"Monster Geographica - Underground" by Various Published and Distributed by Expeditious Retreat Press ISBN-10: 0-972-9376-2-5 Digest Sized - 200 Pages This slim volume is simply a collection of creatures and monsters from several other sources. 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 the book is a "Barrow Rat" CR rating 1/4! The final entry is for a "Quickener", CR 20! 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 just a description of a creature anyway. The format of the book is digest-sized, making it easier to carry around for outside the home gaming. This particular book lists creatures the prefer Underground locations. This unique idea allows a GM to quickly seize a book that complements the environment that players are passing through. A good majority of these creatures are not from any of the regular sources, such as the various D&D "Monster Manuals", but from other sources that GM's may not have in their current collection! 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 the book is a "Barrow Rat" CR rating 1/4! The final entry is for a "Quickener", 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 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. Although this is the first in the series, this is the second of these that I have bought, but it will =not= be the last! Even though the statistics for creatures is for D&D 3.5, most GM's can convert these easily. Based on my reading of this volume (#1 of 5), I shall be looking for the other three very soon! My recommendation for GM's needing a few unusual monsters is very high! You should also consider looking for the remaining volumes: #2 = "Marsh and Aquatic" Creatures. #3 = "Forest" Denizens. #4 = "Hill and Mountain" Types. #5 = "Plain and Desert" Beings. There seems to have been a plan to do a sixth volume called "City" but I do not believe they ever did that one.

Marsh and Aquattic Creatures for D&D

"Monster Geographica - Marsh and Aquatic" by Various Published and Distributed by Expeditious Retreat Press ISBN-13: 978-972-937-633-7 Digest Sized - 208 Pages This slim volume is simply a collection of creatures and monsters from several other sources. 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 a description of a creature anyway. The format of the book is digest-sized, making it easier to carry around for outside the home gaming. This particular book lists creatures the prefer Marsh and/or Aquatic 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 the book is a "Lurking Lizard" CR rating 1/4! The final entry in the book is for a Northern Sea Dragon, 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. This is the first of these that I have bought, but it will =not= be the last! Even though the statistics for creatures is for D&D 3.5, most GM's can convert these easily. Based on my reading of this volume (#2 of 5), I shall be looking for the other four very soon! My recommendation for GM's needing a few unusual monsters is very high!

Could this be the best Membrane Keyboard?

The Very Best of the Membrane Keyboards As an amateur Gamer, I find the Apex 64121/64124 Keyboard to be one of the finest I have ever used! This keyboard has an absolutely amazing 26 (twenty-six!) separate individually programmable keys! Roll right? Roll Left? Roll and shoot right? Roll and shoot left? Jump, Duck, Run, you name it. Instead of a more complicated manner, just program a key and go! I can say that a mechanical keyboard has many advantages over a membrane keyboard, but I've never seen a Mechanical Keyboard with more than a half-dozen programmable keys, if any! What's better, is that if you download the accompanying software, you can have three different alternate patterns! I've got one for Real-Time Shooters, one for RPG's, and one specifically for the web, in addition to the default setting. If you can still find a new one, try it! I believe you'll like it!

Follow up on "Shelter in Place" laws.

OK - I've been informed that these "Shelter in Place" laws were originally enacted to help the citizens of the US in case it was attacked by a foreign power. Most of those laws date back to World War Two. Who knows how well they would have worked if the bombs started falling? Bruce

"Shelter in Place" laws

Hi! I'm not exactly sure how "shelter in place" regulations are legal - or Constitutional. Apparently, individual Governors of each Sovereign State can =order= citizens to stay in their homes except for things like groceries, drugs, and other medical necessities. OK - someone tell me why =any= government official can do this. These "shelter in place" regulations restrict my God-given freedom - a freedom guaranteed by the United States Constitution. What happened to "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness"? 'Liberty' should mean I do not have to listen to these orders. They are also restricting my 'pursuit of happiness' by restricting me to my home. I have heard that it is possible for police to issue a citation, in the form of a misdemeanor, which could, in some cases, remove my driver's license! Please! If someone knows why this is legal - contact me! Bruce

The Best of Both Worlds

"Amethyst Foundations" by Chris Dias Published by "Dias Ex Machina" and distributed by "Goodman Games" ISBN = 978-0-9841127-4-6 - 286 pages Table of Contents 01 - The Choices 02 - Races 03 - Lifepath 04 - Classes 05 - Paragon Paths 06 - Skills and Feats 07 - Equipment 08 - Expanding Characters 09 - The World that Changed 10 - The Look of the World 11 - Monsters 12 - Adventures Appendix A - Aliens and Cowboys Appendix B = Index Appendix C - Maps Appendix D - Character Sheets This system/setting is a wild and weird combination. It combines a true-to-life modern setting with realistic fantasy settings. The author postulates what would =really= happen if a magical world were to suddenly appear in a technology-based world like our own. Strangely enough, it does an extremely good job at conveying this change. Most larger cities (about 25,000 or so) survive normally (more or less). But smaller cities and towns are 'absorbed' into the new fantasy realms. In the cities that do survive, technology continues to work normally. Appliances, Computers, and anything based on modern conditions continues to work the way they always have. But, life outside the cities quickly transforms into fantasy realms. Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, and creatures and monsters exist just like they do in all of our fantasy literature. In fact, those Fantasy Realms =are= real fantasy literature brought to life. Oz, Narnia, Middle-Earth, Earthsea, Greyhawk, Blackmoor, and =all= the rest can be found if you survive long enough to find them. Some things change rapidly. No communication with any other city on the planet with each other works. Going too far outside the cities can be very dangerous. Every creature and monster that ever existed in our fantasy literature is =real=. There are two major ways to use this game. One is to assume that player characters are all from a modern realm. Soldiers, mercenaries, adventurers, and many others venture outside their walls into fantasy controlled realms. This part of this book reminds me of a game called "Morrow Project" where people from our time get suspended in time and then re-emerge later (=much= later than expected)! The other way assumes that the PCs are from one of the fantasy realms. If you can get everyone to be from just one of these realms, that makes life a little easier for a GM. This part of this book reminds me quite a bit of "Shadowrun". Of course, things can (and do!) go wrong. A team of researchers may decide to 'go rogue' and begin a new life with the 'outsiders'. But, if they do this, they risk a chance that a rescue party could come after them. On the other hand, a group of Chaparrans (sort of like Elves) could decide to leave their beloved forests and travel to the nearest techno city to make contact and perhaps more. This whole setting reminds me of "Numenera". But in Numenera, both magic and technology exist side by side. However, in "Amethyst", the distinctions between techno realms and magic realms are quite vivid. Magic generally does not work in techno areas. Magic is considered by this book as 'chaotic' and generally will not work in a technological city. The reverse is also true. Technology-based equipment begins to malfunction. Sometimes, they just don't work at all. But there are very rare times that a Techno gadget can explode! Techno equipment - from pistols and rifles, to complicated vehicles, will also begin to malfunction. They are considered "order" based. In other words, science works! They very rarely explode, but they can 'freeze up' enough so that it will not work at all, even if it is returned to a Technology-based area. In case you didn't know it by the other parts of this review, I =love= this game! So far "Numenera" is as close as I have ever gotten to the kind of campaign I would love to run! But I believe that this game is even closer to my ideal world. I remember running the old "Judges Guild" D&D settings for my friends. In the Wilderlands, you =may= be able to find the occasional old high tech gadget or ruins. For the record, then, this book and setting and system (although originally released for D&D fourth edition) has one of my very highest recommendations!

The Articles of Confederation

This is the complete text of the original Articles of Confederation. It was, essentially, the first "Constitution" for the united States of America. Many of the current Constitution's clauses and amendments are based on it. I highly recommend that you read it completely. It gives much-needed insight upon many of the clauses and meanings of the Constitution. Articles of Confederation July 09, 1778 TO ALL TO WHOM these Presents shall come, we the undersigned Delegates of the States affixed to our Names send greeting. Whereas the Delegates of the United States of America in Congress assembled did on the fifteenth day of November in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy Seven, and in the Second Year of the Independence of America agree to certain articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia in the Words following, viz. "Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia". Article I The Style of this confederacy shall be "The United States of America." Article II Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every Power, Jurisdiction and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled. Article III The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their Liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever. Article IV The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and intercourse among the people of the different States in this union, the free inhabitants of each of these States, paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from Justice excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several States; and the people of each State shall have free ingress and regress to and from any other State, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the same duties, impositions, and restrictions as the inhabitants thereof respectively, provided that such restriction shall not extend so far as to prevent the removal of property imported into any State, to any other State of which the Owner is an inhabitant; provided also that no imposition, duties or restriction shall be laid by any State, on the property of the united States, or either of them. If any Person guilty of, or charged with treason, felony, or other high misdemeanor in any State, shall flee from Justice, and be found in any of the united States, he shall upon demand of the Governor or executive power, of the State from which he fled, be delivered up and removed to the State having jurisdiction of his offense. Full faith and credit shall be given in each of these States to the records, acts and judicial proceedings of the courts and magistrates of every other State. Article V For the more convenient management of the general interests of the united States, delegates shall be annually appointed in such manner as the legislature of each State shall direct, to meet in Congress on the first Monday in November, in every year, with a power reserved to each State, to recall its delegates, or any of them, at any time within the year, and to send others in their stead, for the remainder of the Year. No State shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor by more than seven Members, and no person shall be capable of being a delegate for more than three years in any term of six years; nor shall any person, being a delegate, be capable of holding any office under the united States, for which he, or another for his benefit receives any salary, fees or emolument of any kind. Each State shall maintain its own delegates in a meeting of the States, and while they act as members of the committee of the States. In determining questions in the united States, in Congress assembled, each State shall have one vote. Freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall not be impeached or questioned in any Court, or place out of Congress, and the members of congress shall be protected in their persons from arrests and imprisonments, during the time of their going to and from, and attendance on congress, except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace. Article VI No State without the Consent of the united States in congress assembled, shall send any embassy to, or receive any embassy from, or enter into any conference, agreement, or alliance or treaty with any King, Prince or State; nor shall any person holding any office of profit or trust under the united States, or any of them, accept of any present, emolument, office or title of any kind whatever from any king, prince or foreign State; nor shall the united States in congress assembled, or any of them, grant any title of nobility. No two or more States shall enter into any treaty, confederation or alliance whatever between them, without the consent of the united States in congress assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for which the same is to be entered into, and how long it shall continue. No State shall lay any imposts or duties, which may interfere with any stipulations in treaties, entered into by the united States in congress assembled, with any king, prince or State, in pursuance of any treaties already proposed by Congress, to the courts of France and Spain. No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace by any State, except such number only, as shall be deemed necessary by the united States in congress assembled, for the defense of such State, or its trade; nor shall any body of forces be kept up by any State, in time of peace, except such number only, as in the judgment of the united States, in Congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison the forts necessary for the defence of such State; but every State shall always keep up a well regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and accoutered, and shall provide and constantly have ready for use, in public stores, a due number of field pieces and tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammunition and camp equipage. No State shall engage in any war without the consent of the united States in congress assembled, unless such State be actually invaded by enemies, or shall have received certain advice of a resolution being formed by some nation of Indians to invade such State, and the danger is so imminent as not to admit of a delay, till the united States in congress assembled can be consulted: nor shall any State grant commissions to any ships or vessels of war, nor letters of marque or reprisal, except it be after a declaration of war by the united States in congress assembled, and then only against the kingdom or State and the subjects thereof, against which war has been so declared, and under such regulations as shall be established by the united States in congress assembled, unless such State be infested by pirates, in which case vessels of war may be fitted out for that occasion, and kept so long as the danger shall continue, or until the united States in congress assembled shall determine otherwise. Article VII When land-forces are raised by any State for the common defense, all officers of or under the rank of colonel, shall be appointed by the legislature of each State respectively by whom such forces shall be raised, or in such manner as such State shall direct, and all vacancies shall be filled up by the State which first made the appointment. Article VIII All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be incurred for the common defense or general welfare, and allowed by the united States in congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by the several States, in proportion to the value of all land within each State, granted to or surveyed for any Person, as such land and the buildings and improvements thereon shall be estimated according to such mode as the united States in congress assembled, shall from time to time direct and appoint. The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the several States within the time agreed upon by the united States in congress assembled. Article IX The united States in congress assembled, shall have the sole and exclusive right and power of determining on peace and war, except in the cases mentioned in the sixth article-of sending and receiving ambassadors-entering into treaties and alliances, provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made whereby the legislative power of the respective States shall be restrained from imposing such imposts and duties on foreigners, as their own people are subjected to, or from prohibiting the exportation or importation of any species of goods or commodities whatsoever - of establishing rules for deciding in all cases, what captures on land or water shall be legal, and in what manner prizes taken by land or naval forces in the service of the united States shall be divided or appropriated - of granting letters of marque and reprisal in times of peace - appointing courts for the trial of piracies and felonies committed on the high seas and establishing courts for receiving and determining finally appeals in all cases of captures, provided that no member of Congress shall be appointed a judge of any of the said courts. The united States in congress assembled shall also be the last resort on appeal in all disputes and differences now subsisting or that hereafter may arise between two or more States concerning boundary, jurisdiction or any other cause whatever; which authority shall always be exercised in the manner following. Whenever the legislative or executive authority or lawful agent State in controversy with another shall present a petition to congress, stating the matter in question and praying for a hearing, notice thereof shall be given by order of congress to the legislative or executive authority of the other State in controversy, and a day assigned for the appearance of the parties by their lawful agents, who shall then be directed to appoint by joint consent, commissioners or judges to constitute a court for hearing and determining the matter in question; but if they cannot agree, congress shall name three persons out of each of the united States, and from the list of such persons each party shall alternately strike out one, the petitioners beginning, until the number shall be reduced to thirteen; and from that number not less than seven, nor more than nine names as congress shall direct, shall in the presence of congress be drawn out by lot, and the persons whose names shall be so drawn or any five of them, shall be commissioners or judges, to hear and finally determine the controversy, so always as a major part of the judges who shall hear the cause shall agree in the determination: and if either party shall neglect to attend at the day appointed, without showing reasons, which congress shall judge sufficient, or being present shall refuse to strike, the congress shall proceed to nominate three persons out of each State, and the secretary of congress shall strike in behalf of such party absent or refusing; and the judgment and sentence of the court to be appointed, in the manner before prescribed, shall be final and conclusive; and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit to the authority of such court, or to appear to defend their claim or cause, the court shall nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence, or judgment, which shall in like manner be final and decisive, the judgment or sentence and other proceedings being in either case transmitted to congress, and lodged among the acts of congress for the security of the parties concerned: provided that every commissioner, before he sits in judgment, shall take an oath to be administered by one of the judges of the supreme or superior court of the State, where the cause shall be tried, "well and truly to hear and determine the matter in question, according to the best of his judgment, without favor, affection or hope of reward;" provided also that no State shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the united States. All controversies concerning the private right of soil claimed under different grants of two or more States, whose jurisdictions as they may respect such lands, and the States which passed such grants are adjusted, the said grants or either of them being at the same time claimed to have originated antecedent to such settlement of jurisdiction, shall on the petition of either party to the congress of the united States, be finally determined as near as may be in the same manner as is before prescribed for deciding disputes respecting territorial jurisdiction between different States. The united States in congress assembled shall also have the sole and exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin struck by their own authority, or by that of the respective States - fixing the standard of weights and measures throughout the united States - regulating the trade and managing all affairs with the Indians, not members of any of the States, provided that the legislative right of any State within its own limits be not infringed or violated - establishing and regulating post offices from one State to another, throughout all the united States, and exacting such postage on the papers passing through the same as may be requisite to defray the expenses of the said office - appointing all officers of the land forces, in the service of the united States, excepting regimental officers - appointing all the officers of the naval forces, and commissioning all officers whatever in the service of the united States - making rules for the government and regulation of the said land and naval forces, and directing their operations. The united States in congress assembled shall have authority to appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of congress, to be denominated "A Committee of the States," and to consist of one delegate from each State; and to appoint such other committees and civil officers as may be necessary for managing the general affairs of the united States under their direction - to appoint one of their number to preside, provided that no person be allowed to serve in the office of president more than one year in any term of three years; to ascertain the necessary sums of Money to be raised for the service of the united States, and to appropriate and apply the same for defraying the public expenses - to borrow money, or emit bills on the credit of the united States, transmitting every half year to the respective States an account of the sums of money so borrowed or emitted - to build and equip a navy - to agree upon the number of land forces, and to make requisitions from each State for its quota, in proportion to the number of white inhabitants in such State; which requisition shall be binding, and thereupon the legislature of each State shall appoint the regimental officers, raise the men and clothe, arm and equip them in a soldier like manner, at the expense of the united States, and the officers and men so clothed, armed and equipped shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the united States in congress assembled. But if the united States in congress assembled shall, on consideration of circumstances judge proper that any State should not raise men, or should raise a smaller number than its quota, and that any other State should raise a greater number of men than the quota thereof, such extra number shall be raised, officered, clothed, armed and equipped in the same manner as the quota of such State, unless the legislature of such State shall judge that such extra number cannot be safely spared out of the same, in which case they shall raise officer, clothe, arm and equip as many of such extra number as they judge can be safely spared. And the officers and men so clothed, armed and equipped, shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the united States in congress assembled. The united States in congress assembled shall never engage in a war, nor grant letters of marque and reprisal in time of peace, nor enter into any treaties or alliances, nor coin money, nor regulate the value thereof, nor ascertain the sums and expenses necessary for the defense and welfare of the united States, or any of them, nor emit bills, nor borrow money on the credit of the united States, nor appropriate money, nor agree upon the number of vessels of war, to be built or purchased, or the number of land or sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a commander in chief of the army or navy, unless nine States assent to the same: nor shall a question on any other point, except for adjourning from day to day be determined, unless by the votes of a majority of the united States in congress assembled. The congress of the united States shall have power to adjourn to any time within the year, and to any place within the united States, so that no period of adjournment be for a longer duration than the space of six Months, and shall publish the Journal of their proceedings monthly, except such parts thereof relating to treaties, alliances or military operations as in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the delegates of each State on any question shall be entered on the Journal, when it is desired by any delegate; and the delegates of a State, or any of them, at his or their request shall be furnished with a transcript of the said Journal, except such parts as are above excepted, to lay before the legislatures of the several States. Article X The committee of the States, or any nine of them, shall be authorized to execute, in the recess of congress, such of the powers of congress as the united States in congress assembled, by the consent of nine States, shall from time to time think expedient to vest them with; provided that no power be delegated to the said committee, for the exercise of which, by the articles of confederation, the voice of nine States in the congress of the united States assembled is requisite. Article XI Canada acceding to this confederation, and joining in the measures of the united States, shall be admitted into, and entitled to all the advantages of this union: but no other colony shall be admitted into the same, unless such admission be agreed to by nine States. Article XII All bills of credit emitted, monies borrowed and debts contracted by, or under the authority of congress, before the assembling of the united States, in pursuance of the present confederation, shall be deemed and considered as a charge against the united States, for payment and satisfaction whereof the said united States, and the public faith are hereby solemnly pledged. Article XIII Every State shall abide by the determinations of the united States in congress assembled, on all questions which by this confederation are submitted to them. And the Articles of this confederation shall be inviolably observed by every State, and the union shall be perpetual; nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in any of them; unless such alteration be agreed to in a congress of the united States, and be afterwards confirmed by the legislatures of every State. AND WHEREAS it hath pleased the Great Governor of the World to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in Congress, to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify the said articles of confederation and perpetual union. KNOW YE that we the undersigned delegates, by virtue of the power and authority to us given for that purpose, do by these Presents, in the name and in behalf of our respective constituents, fully and entirely ratify and confirm each and every of the said articles of confederation and perpetual union, and all and singular the matters and things therein contained: And we do further solemnly plight and engage the faith of our respective constituents, that they shall abide by the determinations of the united States in congress assembled, on all questions, which by the said confederation are submitted to them. And that the articles thereof shall be inviolably observed by the States we respectively represent, and that the union shall be perpetual. In Witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in Congress. Done at Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania the ninth Day of July in the Year of our Lord one Thousand seven Hundred and Seventy-eight, and in the third year of the independence of America. On the part and behalf of the State of New Hampshire: JOSIAH BARTLETT JOHN WENTWORTH JUNIOR. August 8th 1778 On the part and behalf of The State of Massachusetts Bay: JOHN HANCOCK SAMUEL ADAMS ELBRIDGE GERRY FRANCIS DANA JAMES LOVELL SAMUEL HOLTEN On the Part and Behalf of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: WILLIAM ELLERY HENRY MARCHANT JOHN COLLINS On the Part and Behalf of the State of Connecticut: ROGER SHERMAN SAMUEL HUNTINGTON OLIVER WOLCOTT TITUS HOSMER ANDREW ADAMS On the Part and Behalf of the State of New York: JAMES DUANE FRANCIS LEWIS WILLIAM DUER GOUV MORRIS On the Part and in Behalf of the State of New Jersey, November 116, 1778: JNO WITHERSPOON NATHANIEL SCUDDER On the Part and Behalf of the State of Pennsylvania: ROBERT MORRIS DANIEL ROBERDEAU JOHN BAYARD SMITH WILLIAM CLINGAN JOSEPH REED 22nd July 1778 On the Part and Behalf of the State of Delaware: THOMAS McKEAN February 16, 1779 JOHN DICKINSON May 5th 1779 NICHOLAS VAN DYKE On the Part and Behalf of the State of Maryland: JOHN HANSON March 1 1781 DANIEL CARROLL On the Part and Behalf of the State of Virginia: RICHARD HENRY LEE JOHN BANISTER THOMAS ADAMS JNo HARVIE FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE On the Part and Behalf of the State of North Carolina: JOHN PENN July 21st 1778 CORNs HARNETT JNo WILLIAMS On the Part and Behalf of the State of South Carolina: HENRY LAURENS WILLIAM HENRY DRAYTON JNo MATHEWS RICHD HUTSON THOMAS HEYWARD JUNIOR On the Part and Behalf of the State of Georgia: JNo WALTON 24th July 1778 EDWARD TELFAIR EDWARD LANGWORTHY

New Feature for Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn

Song of Soaksend is the beginning of a new feature for Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn. Song of Soaksend adds custom dice to the already good matrix of characters, and this feature begins here! The dice, although including a random element for this deck, adds a bit of flavor to the older additions. This new feature makes Ashes even more exciting! I, for one, cannot wait for more of these 'second edition' characters! If you like Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn, my guess is that you will love this new feature to the game!

A Blend of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, and Space Opera, and Mythology

OK! Is it Science Fiction? Is it Fantasy? Is it Mythology? Maybe a combination of all of the above! On the good ship "unity" we have all three! And a good bit of humor and a good bit of raunchiness as well. This story hops along with the motley crew from one adventure to the next, reminding me a bit of the old 'serials'.With the cast of one human, and several minor (and even an appearance by major) gods and goddesses, they go from an extended look at the inhabitants of the main world on which the action takes place. There are many scenes where Rekar'ree attempts to stop them - even appearing to kill them once. But eventually, our heroes triumph and continue on to rid this sector of the galaxy of one more group of bad guys. However, it was not any of this which kept me reading, it was the humor. Humor is used to good effect in several places in this novel that left me wanting to see another. Highly Recommended!

The Beginning of the Loki series by C. Gockel

Atomic: An I Bring the Fire Short Story (A Loki Series) by C. Gockel I was not ready for the complete theme change after the prologue, but when it happened, so early in the story, I kept reading this short story which has only four chapters. My love of all things Nordic captured me at once. The relationship between Loki and Sigyn was told very well. Loki, like a lot of other Asgardian Gods, takes many lovers. As Sigyn is standing in the middle of the atomic holocaust of Hiroshima, she is almost at her limit of handling the psychic cries for help. Although this is only a short story, I found myself drawn into the story of Sigyn and her relationship with Loki and her memories of a time long ago. However, she cannot ignore the whirlwind of the destruction of the first atomic bomb blast. If this is any indication of the series of books she has published about Sigyn, you can be sure I will look for them! I'll put "I Bring the Fire Part I: Wolves" very high on my 'must buy' list!

Xro Dinn Chronicles 2: New Horizons

"Xro Dinn Chronicles Book 2: New Horizons" by Matthew Webster Published and Distributed by Ionian Studios ISBN = 0-96599-17-2-5 - 236 pages Table of Contents Part 01 - Foundation Part 02 - Characterization Part 03 - Props Part 04 - Stage Setting Part 05 - Theme Setting Appendix A = Tables and Charts Index and Character Sheet This book is an addition to the previous Xro Dinn Chronicles setting. The first book in the series was called: "Xro Dinn Chronicles Book One: Awakenings". See my review of that book elsewhere on this site. It has great color covers, but the remainder of the book has black and white illustrations. Not only do these illustrations help you to imagine what you are looking at, but they add a 'flair' to the book. This is one of the rare books that have a good Table of Contents -and- a good Index. There are many new features added to the game by this 'sequel'. In addition to allowing young Xro Dinn as player characters, this book has four other new Player Character Races. There is very detailed information on all of these new Player Characters. The new races are: Borloan, Kordron, Krik, Vajjra, young Xro Dinn, and the Ingenii. One of my favorite parts is the extremely detailed work on each of the possible Player Characters. This section also includes a great look at the "Ingenii", another good bit on Nanotechnology, quite a bit on Starship Construction, info on Cloning, a nice section on Martial Arts, and a good look on including Psionics in your campaign. Many new Professions are also included. Nine new character classes: Investigator, Martial Agent, Military Officer, Pilot, Scholar, Security Specialists, Simulacrum Agent, Soldier (which looks to me like a Mercenary), and Spacer, make the cut to player character status. The book itself is laid out well, and info from each section is a logical step to the next section. The new alien races as PCs are broken down into sub-sections about each new race. I believe that this is a nice touch, and gives potential GM's a way to decide whether they want to include any of or all of the new races. New professions are added, and a detailed look at using the Ingenii in your campaign - either as PC's or NPC's, or both! Finally, the section about Psionics and its advantages and disadvantages and five new Psionic character classes. In Props, the author adds a bit on Tech Levels, Cloning, and Computer Interfaces. Then the props section is broken down into sub-sections with equipment for each new race. Even if you do not want any of these characters, the equipment section deserves a look because the items could still be found and/or used by current PC's. This equipment section is also broken down by race. The next deals with "Staging" your setting. This includes organizations and three new sub-sections broken down by race. This is a 'prequel' to the theme of this setting, which looks at Creating Campaigns, and also has two NPC info sections, one for the Sharr'dann and one for adult Xodar Xro Dinn which cannot be player characters. Finally, there is a part of all the tables and charts a GM might need. If you can't tell, I love this setting. I cannot find anyone in my two Friendly Local Game Stores that know about it, either as an item they sold, or a game they have played. This one advantage to the Xro Dinn Chronicles makes them even more interesting to a potential GM. None of their players is likely to have these books - in fact, I'd be willing to say that they have never even heard of this. Unlike many games such as Star Wars RPG, Star Trek RPG, and others - have a universe the players are probably going to be aware of. The unfamiliarity factor is important, as a good GM can make the players see what they want to see. One of my higher recommendations.

Xro Dinn Chronicles 1 - Awakenings

"Xro Dinn Chronicles - Book One: Awakenings" by Matthew Webster Published and Distributed by Ionian Studios ISBN = 0-96599-17-1-7 - 268 pages Table of Contents Part 01 - Foundation Part 02 - Characterization Part 03 - Props Part 04 - Stage Setting Part 05 - Theme Setting Appendix A = Tables and Charts Index and Character Sheet "The Dawn of a New Age is Upon Us." (Quoted from back cover.) It is always best to start at the beginning. Before the main sections of this book are two text pages. The first is called "The Sleeper Chronicles" and the second is "Conversations at Nightspawn". I'd suggest reading these two more than once. They give valuable insight into the points of this game. This is followed by short sections on Basics and Game Mechanics. Then charts for Racial Reactions, Intensity Levels, Technology Levels, a paragraph or two on your Primary Attributes, Secondary Attributes, and Other Attributes. The final part is about Combat. At the end of this is a chart for combat modifiers. Section Two is the meat of the book - How to create a player character of the allowable classes and races. A chart about Racial Age Attributes and Perception Modifiers for each of the seven races is included. Honor and "Face" are very important. Then this tome goes on to explain each of the available races. Middarians are first, followed by: Pjanji, Quiizbenqq, Sehlmna, and Terran - both Male and Female. Then calculate your skills. Each skill you take will have a cost, There are Basic Skills, for which have no prerequisites, and Advanced Skills which do have prerequisites. If taking an Advanced Skill, make sure you have the necessary prerequisites. Then there are Professions, which also have prerequisites. A wonderful section on all skills (in alphabetical order!) and their meanings follows. Sometimes, it might be better (and cheaper!) to buy a life skill package. The next part includes Professions, and, most importantly, the equipment necessary. Look at the Corporate skill package, or the Engineer skill package, or the Freelancer skill package, or the Ingenii skill package, or the Intelligence Agent, or the Medic, or the Merchant, or the Rogue, or the Scientist, or the Technician, or the Psionics Specialist (if you are allowing Psionics in your campaign), or the Psionic Sensitive skill package. Next is the Props section, which is broken down into fourteen parts. 01 - Weapons, 02 - Defenses, 03 - Computers, 04 - Robots, 05 - Bionics, 06 - Cybernetics, 07 - Interface Tech, 08 - Transportation, 09 - Medicine, 10 - Equipment, 11 - Middarian Tech, 12 - Pjanji Tech, 13 - Quiizbenqq Tech, 14 - Sehlmna Tech, and 15 - Terran Tech. Following that is the Stage Setting and the many pieces of the universe, including Cybertronix, Mind Tech (if you are allowing Psionics), the Arcane, and a good look at the components of the Frontier worlds, broken down into each part of the frontier as claimed by alien races. The main theme of the game is storytelling the various parts of the explored spaces. If you are a player, do =not= look at this section, as it includes information about the "bad guys" of the universe. Here lie the major NPC's: the Sharr'Dann, the Metamorphs, and the Xodar Xro-Dinn. A good index and a character sheet finish off this work of genius. If you can't tell, I love this setting. I cannot find anyone in my two Friendly Local Game Stores that know about it, either as an item they sold, or a game they have played. This one advantage of the Xro Dinn Chronicles makes them even more interesting to a potential GM. None of their players is likely to have these books - in fact, I'd be willing to say that they have ever even heard of this. Unlike many games such as Star Wars, Star Trek, and others have universes players are probably going to be aware of. This unfamiliarity factor is important, as a good GM can make the players see what they want to see. One of my higher recommendations.

More than just a six month campaign!

Although a bit dated now, the world setting of "Ruins of the Dragon Lord" is one of the better boxed sets to come along in a long time! Although it said "6 Month Campaign", I suspect it could be turned into a world you could run quite a bit longer than that! This little known giant boxed set from "Complete Campaigns" (and distributed by Mongoose) includes one 64 page and two 128 page rulebooks, nine double-sided "A4" sized maps, and a giant double-sided poster map that details all twenty levels of the dungeon of "Mount Moru", another double-sided poster-size map of the area, and a full-sized version of the cover! This boxed set is quite capable of taking characters from first level all the way through to 20th level and still giving them a challenge! I suspect prospective GM's will not regret getting this! One of my highest recommendations!

The Starship "Warden"

Here's my latest (and probably my last) Kickstarter favorite! Written by my Facebook friend, James Ward, it will be a huge setting for Troll Lord's "Star Siege" system and includes conversions to Metamorphosis Alpha rules! This Generational Ship is probably one of the very largest settings for a Science Fiction game in a long time, if not ever! The "Warden" is forty-nine =miles= long, twenty four =miles= wide, and six =miles= high! It is capable of allowing a prospective GM to run a campaign that may last a lifetime! It is currently at over $63,000 in pledges, and contains expansions that will allow it to go even higher! The latest expansion to these rules is more Deck expansions, which can carry it to $70.000 in pledges! There is still plenty of time to get a pledge in if you are interested! Still seven days left to pledge! Tell them Bruce sent you! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/676918054/the-starship-warden?ref=cgqssh

Resolutions for 2020

Friends: My check allowance (twice a month) is going from about $250 per check to about $100 per check. My expenses are about the same regardless of how much "allowance" I receive. My first check, which comes on or very near the first of each month, still contains a $60 smart phone contract, leaving me about $40 for myself. My second check, which comes (for some strange and unknown reason) on the second Wednesday of each month, has a credit card payment of $50, leaving me $50 for myself. This means that I'll be going from about $390 of spendable cash each month to about $90 per month. Basically, this means I'll have to cut out most (if not all) of Kickstarter. It will have to be something so absolutely fabulous that I feel like I =must= pledge. One example of the "must pledge" category recently was the "Divinity Original Sin Board Game" by Larian Studios and Lynnvander Studios. I have spent (wasted?) countless hours with Larian's computer games, starting with the original "Divine Divinity". I got into this at the highest level I could afford. They may put up a late pledge, but right now they are recovering from the shock of the amount of their success. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/larianstudios/divinity-original-sin-the-board-game?ref=user_menu Another good example is Troll Lord's "Starship Warden" project. I know James M. Ward and really like his work. I can't wait to put PCs in the generation ship and see what happens. Their pledge drive is still going on: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/676918054/the-starship-warden My final example is Imperial Publishing's "Red Outpost" board game. The setting was so original I could not resist. Heck, to be honest, I hope to use material from this in an RPG. I may write it myself! Their pledge drive is also still going on: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sleevekings/red-outpost-the-2-4-player-communist-utopia-board-game I highly suspect these may be some of my final pledgings for Kickstarter. My Mileage May Vary. The same is true for eBay. I have a =lot= of items on my "want list", but I'm going to have to pick and choose the very best in my new budget range. My wife is helping me with this by setting up 'camp' on eBay and selling off some of my old stuff (mostly gaming books) and I get to keep ten percent of what she makes, because the household budget is also very tight. If you want to see what we have on eBay right now, check below. My wife is also selling some art and art prints there. https://www.ebay.com/sch/nitelvr/ However, if you follow this blog at all, expect to see a =lot= more from me in 2020. I'll be increasing my reviews of games and gaming items quite a lot, and I'll also be posting other insights here. Hope to see a lot more people reading this in 2020. Keep on Trekkin! Bruce

Eight Elements!

The Eight Elements by Aleksandar Petrovic November 2019 - True Mask Games Available on Drive Thru RPG I had already developed a five-tier system - Air, Earth, Fire, Water, and Void. This small booklet gave me my "Void" magic. Their "Duul" seems fairly close to my Void Magic, and then adds two more - 'Nature', and 'Metal'. I've read the "Malazan Books of the Fallen" and know a bit about how their magic system might work. The addition of Nature (green growing living things) and it's opposite, Metal (no growth here - just solid metals), seemed to me to be even closer to what I want for my setting! Elementalists are one of the most respected and powerful magic users in my world! This was great! I'll be using this quite a bit in my newest campaign worlds and settings!

A "Captivating Guide"

"The Anglo-Saxons" by Matt Clayton ("A Captivating Guide to the People Who Inhabited Great Britain from the Early Middle Ages to the Norman Conquest of England") Published by "Independent" ISBN-13: 978-1096156635 This small, almost pamphlet-sized document tries to put the entire history of the people and lands finally known as Anglo-Saxon into one place. In its mere 136 pages, Matt Clayton manages to put more of the history of these people, how they lived their daily lives, and how they defended their territories against invaders, into one place. The people who became known as the Anglo-Saxons were from primarily Germanic stock, the Angles and the Saxons. This covers from the time period when both the Angles and the Saxons came to Brittania in about 450 AD, to 1066 AD, the Norman Conquest. Since this covers a great deal of history, one cannot expect this 136-page booklet to go into very much extended detail. But this booklet should stimulate the reader to find out more about these people and this time. Its chapters include: 0) An Introduction 1) The Anglo-Saxons Arrive 2) Early Anglo-Saxons 3) Culture of Anglo-Saxons 4) Everyday Life 5) Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms 6) Anglo-Saxon Legacy 0) A Bibliography, Reference Works, and Notes Oddly enough, the author begins by referencing what seems to be a totally unrelated book - or is it? The inclusion of George R. R. Martin's masterwork, "A Song of Ice and Fire" makes obvious comparisons between that work and the real history of the Anglo-Saxons. Martin based his whole story (more or less) on the history of the Anglo-Saxons. For instance, "Westeros" is clearly the Island of Britain. Then Clayton's book heads back to the main points. First, we seen Britain under the rule of the Romans. But with the declining power of the Roman Empire, they paid less and less attention to ruling Britain. It is said that the end of Roman Rule in Britain was the year 410 AD. After that, the story of the Sub-Roman rule follows. Many examples of culture and social structure are given. Finally, a glimpse into the legacy left behind by the Anglo-Saxons is presented. Reading this study, one can get a sense of what life might have been like in that era. By addressing their culture, what they did in life, their religions, the fracturing into small kingdoms and from there to the growth of larger kingdoms, and leaving off with the legacy left us by the Anglo-Saxons (including much of what was to become the English Language) makes the remainder of the work provide the casual student a good idea of what went on, and also provides for a great jumping-off point for a more thorough study of those times. This is one of many "Captivating Guides" by Matt Clayton available. I rather liked this one, especially when presented with the similarities between the real Anglo-Saxon beginnings and their connection to one of my favorite novels. Recommended.

Worth More Than it Looks

Men and Monsters of Ethiopia by Michael O Varhola Skrmisher Publishing - 50 pages ISBN-13: 978-1935050698 Although small, this booklet packs a very large information database for both the men (tribesmen, etc) and the Monsters of Ethiopia. Ethiopia is an extremely old area of the world and has a very rich history of the country of Ethiopia at its beginnings, and also the legends and myths of the Tribesmen that populated that area. The author, Michael O Varhola, has included first-hand research of this nation, its peoples, and its mythology. Cracking in at only 50 pages, you will be amazed at this small, but comprehensive guide. My high recommendation!

Always Remember

On this solemn day, everyone should take the time to remember those who perished in the 9/11 attack, and those who perished =because= of the 9/11 attack, and their families. A moment of thought from the GURPSGM.