Wednesday, March 25, 2015

They should have waited for Ragnarok...

"Ragnarok! Tales of the Norse Gods" by Various
Published and distributed by Avalanche Press
ISBN = 097079611-0 - 48 pages

Table of Contents
Intro
The Race of Lesser Gods
The Campaign
The Gods

Ragnarok!, a D20 booklet for version 3.0 of "The World's Greatest Roleplaying System". It is meant to be a whole campaign by itself - an adventure module for high level characters.

When they say "High Level Characters" they mean it.  Players take the roles of lesser Gods in the Nordic Pantheon.  Although this means that they cannot play Gods such as Thor, Loki, or Odin, the player's roles are so powerful that the 5th to 8th level lesser gods that they run are actually equivalent to about a minimum of 12th to 14th level "regular" characters. 

The booklet really shines when describing the Nine Worlds of Yggdrasil.  There is good info here about Alfheim, Svartalfheim, Nidavellir, Jotunheim, Muspelheim, Nifleheim, Asgard, Vanaheim, and, of course, a large section on Midgard.

One of the things I really like is the small section in the center of the booklet on Runic Magic.  The 24 Nordic Runes have a possible beneficial or a possible baleful effect.  This small section could be used in any campaign that includes Nordic backgrounds.

One of the things I really hate is the cover.  It has a titillating almost naked female displayed in the center.  The booklet states inside that this is a representation of Aesa Lokisdottir who prefers to wear "armor" that will totally distract her usually male opponents.  If I had judged a book totally by its cover alone, I probably would not have bought this booklet.

Although I may use some of the info from this book in my own campaign in the Nordic-like areas, if you are planning to use this book as a stand alone campaign, I can't recommend it - especially for newer GM's.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

More for your Rogue...

"Player's Advantage: Rogue" by Charles W Plemons III
Published and distributed by Mystic Eye Games
ISBN = 1-932374-03-5 - 104 pages

Note: I do not see any references to Mystic Eye's "Hunt: Rise of Evil" campaign, but this could fit into it very nicely.

Basically, this is a collection of Rogue types and Rogue sub-types.  The nine chapters deal with:

1 - Archetypes
2 - Classes
3 - Prestige Classes
4 - Killer Combos
5 - Feats
6 - Equipment
7 - Powers, spells, and magic items
8 - Monsters
9 - NPC's

There are 8 new archetypes, 7 new classes, 6 new prestige classes, 18 "Killer Combos", about 50 new Feats, a few new pieces of equipment, a couple new spells and magic items, 6 new critters, and 9 great NPC's.  Considering that this book is only slightly more than 100 pages, they packed plenty of info in it. 

GM's - this would make a very welcome addition to one of the more underused characters.  It's been a =long= time since I've had anyone wanting to be a thief.  Take a look if the price is right.

A host of new Prestige Classes

"Librum Equitis" by M Jason Parent
Published by Ambient and distributed by Mystic Eye Games
ISBN = 0-9719238-2-5 - 64 pages

This short booklet contains only 23 new Prestige Classes and 11 new Feats.  Prestige Classes range from the Bounty Hunter to the Zombie Master.  Although the subtitle says: "Volume 1", I can't see any references online to other volumes.

GM's - if you're putting together a new D20 type campaign, then this book deserves a look.  Although I, personally, would not allow players to use these Prestige Classes, they are darned near perfect as NPC's.  There's even an entry for an NPC for every new class, making the GM's job much easier.  This booklet does not seem to be part of Mystic Eye's "Hunt: Rise of Evil" campaign, although it easily could be. 

My favorite possible NPC in this book would have to be the Psycho Pyretic.  Imagine, if you will, combining a Psychotic character with a character able to use =all= PSIonic abilities and you'll have a good idea of what this class can do.  D20 GM's should look at this book for great possibilities for NPC's.

Add Mystic Warriors

"Mystic Warriors" by Various
Published and distributed by Mystic Eye Games
ISBN = 0-9713241-5-8 - 144 pages

This is part of their "The Hunt: Rise of Evil" series.

This D20 supplement includes:

Intro
How to use this book
Mystic Warrior Rules
Congulair
Crimson Cloak
Dancing Knife
Gogiyo
Harvester
Holy Knights of St Bathipus
Iron Fist Academy
Infernal Sons
Order of the Leech
Order of the Lone Wolf
Cult of Madness
School of Many Eyes
Brotherhood of Moving Stone
Novus Ordo Somnium
Revenant Guard
Shiva's Chosen
Brotherhood of the Sparrow Hawk
Stone Soldiers
Totem Warrior
Warrior-Soldier School
School of Wind
Sisterhood of Xan-Rhea
Playing Without Vitus
Techniques
Feats
Special Items

and others...

The lion's share of the book is about the new secondary classes available to Warriors.  There are 18 all together, from a Nordic Fighter type to a group of Amazon-like female warriors.  There are over 50 new techniques available to these secondary classes. 

The art is black and white, and varies in quality.  I found these new fighter types to be very refreshing.  Although they are meant to be part of "The Hunt: Rise of Evil" campaign, almost anything out of this book could be dropped into any D20 campaign.  Especially if you mix and match - you do not have to use them all... 

Personally, I moved virtually directly from the "Vitus" chapter (basically a system for using Mana) to the chapter about playing without Vitus.  I liked the "Stone Soldiers" the best - after completing training as a warrior, they transfer their "essence" into a Golem-like body.  I know I'll be using this book in my campaigns from now on.

Adventuring in the Dry Lands...

"Dry Land: Empires of the Dragon Sands" by Becky Glenn
Published and distributed by Mystic Eye Games
ISBN = 0-9713241-5-8 - 144 pages

Although this does not appear to be part of their "The Hunt" series, it easily could be. 

This D20 supplement includes:

Intro and Overview
01 - No Man's Land
02 - Granite Kingdom
03 - Burning Sands
04 - The Dragori Empire

and a host of appendixes:

01 - NPC's
02 - Hazards
03 - Arid Regions
04 - Classes
05 - Creatures
06 - Equipment
07 - Feats
08 - Languages
09 - Magic Items
10 - Races
11 - Spells
12 - Skills

There are a few maps, and =many= Places of Interest, and peppered with quite a few creatures and NPC's, the art is black and white, and good, and compliments the text well.  The Classes appendix has both PC and NPC types.  For instance, I almost always include some type of Shaman into my campaigns as a PC, and this one would be very acceptable.  The 14 new monsters would make great additions to a desert environment.  There's even both a Table of Contents and an index.  If you are thinking of running a desert campaign, or even an adventure, I think this book would be worth your while. 

Different Strokes for Different Folks...

"The Year's Best D20 Volume One" by Monte Cook
Published by Sword and Sorcery and distributed by White Wolf
ISBN = 1-58846-798-8 - 96 pages

Generally, when I see the name "Monte Cook", I know I'm getting a good RPG product, but I think this book is a mixed bag of stuff from at least 18 other D20 books.

Chapters include:

Intro
1 - Character Classes
2 - Feats and Skills
3 - Magic
4 - Monsters
5 - Variant Rules
Appendix

In chapter one - Classes, we find seven new ones - the Arcane Warrior, the Cosmographer, the Gemcaster, the Knight of Tears, the Reliquarian, the Urban Ranger, and the Yogi.  I, personally, didn't find these as appealing as I have come to expect from Monte Cook, however, they would make great NPC's.

Next, within the Feats and Skills section, there are 16 new player abilities.  I'm not going to list them all,, but I again found about half to be useful to me.

The Magic chapter primarily contains 27 new spells.  Once again, about half were usable by me.  The "Awaken Tome" could serve useful for enchanting a spellbook before the players discover it.  There are even a couple wondrous items. 

There are 23 new monsters, everything from the Arcanoplasm to the Warding Visage.  Most, if not all of these creatures would make a great one-shot adventure focus.

There are only eight new variant rules, Although short, I liked the Combat Defense maneuver.  The pages about Incantation would make your villains memorable. 

The text for all of these entries is reproduced from at least 18 different sources, and I believe that this caused the book to become a mixed bag for me.  My suggestion is that if you find a copy of this book, you should scan it to see if it would be useful enough to buy it.

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Wish there had been more...

"DM's Idea Pipeline: 2004 Collection" by Michael Hammes and Philip Reed
Published and distributed by Ronin Arts
ISBN = unknown -72 pages

Ronin Arts obviously meant this booklet to be the beginning of a line of idea pipeline selections, but as for as I know, there were no books either before or after this one.

The ten chapters include a host of new feats, new classes, new spells, new treasures, rumors, new contacts and NPC's, locations, events, and monsters.  I particularly liked the Specialty Priests, and loved the Elemental Priests.  There are four new Prestige Classes, but I, personally, found them to be uninteresting.  The Spells and Treasures are a mixed bag of good and not-so-good.  But, I use rumors quite a bit to start new adventurers for campaigns.  There are only nine of them, but the small amount of basic info provided makes a great jumping off place.  I also use NPC's for the same purpose, and the fifteen provided here have good info to give to players.  The ten locations are good in a city setting, and the five Events include some really good ones.  The four monsters, and one unique monster (you have to see it), have a place in many D20 campaigns. 

GM's may want to scan this book to see if the info is useful to them or not.  Personally, although I liked it, I thought it was generally a mixed bag of varying quality. 

Add realistic guilds to your campaigns!

"Guilds and Adventurers" by Various
Published and distributed by Mystic Eye Games
ISBN = 0-9708265-6-7  128 pages

This older book was supposed to be part of Mystic Eye's "The Hunt: Rise of Evil" campaign.  In its 44 small chapters, are details for 30 different guilds.  There's also a section on other groups. 

The Prestige Class presented is better off used as an NPC.  But where this book really shines is in the descriptions of the 30 guilds presented.  Everything from an Adventurer's Guild to a Weaponcrafters Guild has at least a couple good pages of design notes.  Although the art is black and white, it is good, and complements the text nicely.  About 70 pages of the 128 pages are devoted to guilds.  The remaining pages give details on Associations, Societies, and Specialty Groups. 

Every guild presented also has an icon associated with it which could be useful when in a strange city with a strange language.  The crests are universal to the guilds.  There are also tables and charts scattered throughout the book in places where they relate to a specific guild.  New feats, new skills, new items, even a new monster or two, and new spells are also included. 

I could not find anything in this book that could not be used in almost any campaign, although the book is designed for D20.  It's too bad Mystic Eye Studios is no more.  So far, I've come to really enjoy almost everything they produced.  GM's - even if you're running, say, Pathfinder, you will probably find this book to be incredibly useful.  Highly recommended even just for campaign city flavor.

Too bad there were no more...

"Sun and Scale: The Gryphon's Legacy" by Wolfgamg Baur
Published and distributed by Gaslight Press
ISBN = 0-9713526-0-7  48 pages

Generally, when you see the name "Wolfgang Baur", you can pretty much guarantee that this Role Playing Game product is gonna be a good one!

The Gryphon's Legacy was to be a start for Wolfgang's Sun and Scale world. 

At only 48 pages, plus coded maps on the inside front and inside back pages, this is basically a module for the D20 system. 

It includes:

1 - The World of Sun and Scale
2 - Adventure Intro
3 - The Gryphon's Legacy
4 - Conclusion

There are three Appendixes:

1 - Quick References
2 - New Items and New Spells
3 - The usual License Agreement

Most of the meat of this module takes place in a small castle with a tower.  The series of maps, which includes the main floor, the tower cellar, the three upper floors of the tower, and the two crypts, are keyed to the text.  There are 56 keyed areas.  This would provide for one very long session, or a small series of smaller adventures. 

As usual, Baur does not disappoint, and this is a worthy mod for anyone still using the D20 system. 

Second Storehouse of Treasures

"Adventurer's Vault 2" by Various
Published and distributed by Wizards of the Coast
ISBN = 978-0-7869-5204-5  160 pages

Adventurer's Vault 2 provides some more treasures for your D&D 4th Edition campaign. 

Broken down, it looks like this:

In the 1st chapter, Magic Items, you find: Armor, Weapons, Ammo, Holy Symbols, Orbs, Rods, Staffs, Tomes, Totems, Wands, Arms Slot Items, Feet Slot Items, Hands Slot Items, Head Slot Items, Neck Slot Items, Rings, Waist Slot Items, Wondrous Items (including Wondrous Lair Items...), Tattoos, and Consumables.

Next, the 2nd Chapter, Item Sets, has sets of weapons and armor grouped by Heroic, Paragon, Epic, and Group sets.

The appendix has an Item Table.

I was hoping that there was more to treasures than what was in the Core Rulebooks.  This provides at least part of the answer.  There's also a first "Adventurer's Guide" with even more...

The Item Sets portion of this book was my favorite part.  I can see players scattering alll over the world trying to find that one last part... :-)

Although players can use this book, it is, of course, primarily for Game Masters.  It contains literally thousands of new items for adding to 4th Edition.  Thank the maker that someone had the idea to group the Master Table by Item Level, and sub-grouped by type.  If you want to still DM using the 4th Edition, I'd say this was a no-brainer.  GM's should try to limit player access to this book.  If you're running 4th Edition, it has my recommendation.

The first storehouse of treasures

"Adventurer's Vault" by Various
Published and distributed by Wizards of the Coast
ISBN = 978-0-7869-4978-6  224 pages

Adventurer's Vault (1) provides some sorely needed treasures for your D&D 4th Edition campaign. 

Broken Down, it looks like this:

In the 1st chapter, Equipment, you find: Masterwork Armor, Masterwork Weapons, Vehicles, and Alchemy.  There are lots of charts for all of these.

Next, in the 2nd Chapter, Magic Items, you find Magic Armor, Magic Weapons, Implements, Arm Slot Items, Companion Items, Feet Slot Items, Hand Slot Items, Head Slot Items, Neck Slot Items, Rings, Waist Slot Items, Wondrous Items, and Consumables.  Yes, more charts here.

Appendix 1 deals with Unique Items, Item Level, and Enchanting Items.  Some good higher level info here.

Appendix 2 is simply a huge chart (called a "master table") for all Magic Items in this book. 

There are only about 16 pages dedicated to Equipment.  However, at least 150 pages for Magic Items.  There are only about 28 pages for both appendixes. 

I was hoping that there was more to treasures than what was in the Core Rulebooks.  This provides at least part of the answer.  There's also a "Adventurer's Guide 2" with even more...

Although players can use this book, it is, of course, primarily for the Game Master.  It contains literally thousands of new items for adding to 4th Edition.  Thank the maker that someone had the idea to group the Master Table by Item Level.  If you want to still DM using the 4th Edition, I'd say this was a no-brainer.  GM's should try to limit player access to this book.  If you're running 4th Edition, it has my recommendation.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

The best Dungeon Master's Guide ever...

"Premium Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide" by Various
Published and distributed by Wizards of the Coast
ISBN = 978-0-7869-6245-7  320 pages

This is often called "Core Rulebook 2 v.3.5".  Within its pages are the closest thing to perfection that the 3.5 rulebooks have ever had.  In this Premium edition, all errata has been removed, if possible, and entries have been slightly altered to make rulings clearer.

There are eight major chapters in this volume:
     1) Running the Game
     2) Using the Rules
     3) Adventures
     4) NPC's
     5) Campaigns
     6) Characters
     7) Magic Items
     8) Glossary

I'm not going to bore you with long descriptions of the chapters.  But I will say that the Premium volume, with its semi-metallic cover, really stands out in my bookcases.  The art is great, as usual for WotC, and is rarely out of place.  The basics of what might be called "the ultimate D&D" are all included.  In the back of the book are several small maps and map templates, and some color floor tiles.  There's also a removable map of a dungeon.

There is a really good Table of Contents and a good index.  There's also a list of all pertinent tables, which was a nice touch - it makes the specific info you are looking for easier to find.

Folks, if you play =any= 3.5 or D20 game, you should have a copy of this book.  The DMG contains many great hints and tips for running a campaign or adventure.    Highly recommended.

Simply put, the best Monster Manual ever.

"Premium Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual" by Various
Published and distributed by Wizards of the Coast
ISBN = 978-0-7869-6144-0  320 pages

This is often called "Core Rulebook 3 v.3.5".  Within its pages are the closest thing to perfection that the 3.5 rulebooks have ever had.  In this Premium edition, all errata has been removed, if possible, and entries have been slightly altered to make rulings clearer.

There are seven major chapters in this volume:
     1) Monsters A to Z
     2) Animals
     3) Vermin
     4) Improving Monsters
     5) Making Monsters
     6) Monster Skills and Feats
     7) Glossary

I'm not going to bore you with long descriptions of the chapters.  But I will say that the Premium volume, with its semi-metallic cover, really stands out in my bookcases.  The art is great, as usual for WotC, and is rarely out of place.  The basics of what might be called "the ultimate D&D" are all included.  In the back of the book are two pages of Monsters sorted by Challenge Rating.  There is a really good Table of Contents, making it vary easy to find the creature you want.

Folks, if you play =any= 3.5 or D20 game, you should have a copy of this book.  The Monster Manual contains the stats for all of the basic monsters - from the Aboleth to Zombies.  Don't forget that things like cats and dogs are considered 'animals' and not monsters, and things like ants are considered 'vermin'.  If you're a GM, you gotta love the monster creating chapters.  Highly recommended.

Quite Frankly, the best D&D 3.5 Player's Handbook

"Premium Dungeons and Dragons Player's Handbook" by Various
Published and distributed by Wizards of the Coast
ISBN = 978-0-7869-6146-4  320 pages

This is often called "Core Rulebook 1 v.3.5".  Within its pages are the closest thing to perfection that the 3.5 rulebook has ever had.  In this Premium edition, all errata has been removed, if possible, and entries have been slightly altered to make rulings clearer.

There are eleven major chapters in this volume:
     1) Abilities
     2) Races
     3) Classes
     4) Skills
     5) Feats
     6) Descriptions
     7) Equipment
     8) Combat
     9) Adventuring
     10) Magic
     11) Spells

I'm not going to bore you with long descriptions of the chapters.  But I will say that the Premium volume, with its semi-metallic cover, really stands out in my bookcases.  The art is great, as usual for WotC, and is rarely out of place.  The basics of what might be called "the ultimate D&D" are all included.  In the back of the book is a small section of general guidelines and a glossary.  At the rear of the book is a character sheet.

There is a really good Table of Contents and a good index.  There's also a list of all pertinent tables, which was a nice touch - it makes the specific info you are looking for easier to find.

Folks, if you play =any= 3.5 or D20 game, you should have a copy of this book.  I don't know of a single case where a 3.5/D20 book does not require the Player's Handbook in addition to whatever book you're reading.  And if you're going to need one, you may as well buy the best you can buy.  This is, quite simply, the best.  As a long time player of D&D and D20 games, I find this volume indispensable.  I think you will, too.  Highly recommended.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

The Stars are slowly dying...

"Fading Suns" by Bill Bridges and Andrew Greenberg
Published and distributed by Holistic Designs
ISBN = 1-888906-18-9  FS 202

Here is one of the more unique and unusual science fiction role playing games I have ever encountered.  In its 312 pages are details of a galactic civilization in decline for one major reason - the suns are slowly dying. 

This book was originally conceived by developers of White Wolf's World of Darkness, and thus has more than a bit of angst.  Psychic powers are called "occult" by the church, and are generally frowned upon on civilized worlds.

There are nine chapters in this volume:
     1) The Universe
     2) Rules
     3) Characters
     4) Traits
     5) Occult
     6) Combat
     7) Technology
     8) Gamemastering
     9) Planets
and a small appendix.

Far into the future, a few major "houses" and several minor "houses" battle over the remnants of the universe.  There are five major houses: the Hawkwood, the Decados, the Hazat, the Li Halan, and the al-Malik.  In addition, a huge church-like group also has its tendrils everywhere.  Also, there is a mercantile guild that has almost a stranglehold on shipping.  This is not to mention the alien races, and the enigmatic Anunnaki.  There are "jump gates" originally created by the Anunnaki that make system-to-system travel possible. 

There is a very small table of contents, and a good index.  There are two pages of additional products for the game, and a character sheet.  There's also a D20 edition, and the newly invigorated FASA has printed a third edition of the Player's Handbook and the Game Masters Guide.  I look for more from FASA for the new third edition of Fading Suns. 

I would like to take this short opportunity to tell you that I use this game for an adaptation of "Dune".  Although I have eliminated the references to the suns going out, the Spice provides just as much, if not more, reasons to use this material.  I believe this game is just about tailor made for "Dune".  If you are looking for a different setting for a sci-fi game, look no further.

The Age of Exploration for D20

"Twin Crowns" by John Faugno and Steven Novella
Published and distributed by Living Imagination
ISBN = 0-9712145-0-6

"Twin Crowns" bills itself as "Age of Exploration Fantasy" and it delivers a nice mesh of quasi-Victorian and semi-Renaissance feel to the world of D20.

There are 304 pages, broken down into three "books" - The Player's Section, the World, and the GM's section.

In Book 1 - in the Player's section lie nine chapters:
     1) Races - there are a total of ten playable races
     2) Classes - there are 16 classes - some old and some new
     3) Skills - some dealing with rituals and some with professions
     4) Feats - Feats new to D20
     5) Equipment - including gunpowder weapons
     6) Naval Adventuring - rules for ships
     7) Religion and Magic - much on the unique religious system
     8) Spells
     9) Rituals

Book 2 - The World in four parts:
     1) History
     2) The Northern Empire
     3) The Southern Empire
     4) Other Lands

Book 3 - The GM's Section covers:
     1) Adventuring
     2) Magic Items
     3) Monsters

There's also a small appendix with maps and tables.

Right now, I can't think of a better book for Naval adventures.  Although there are only 20 pages here, it provides detailed info on ships, ship-to-ship combat, and other naval hazards.  The religious chapter has a unique take on the Gods and Goddesses of the world.  The spells included are in addition to what is normally available in D20.  The new "Rituals" section has some rather interesting additions to your D20 collection.  GM's may want to limit PC access to rituals, as they can be rather powerful.  One of the more interesting additions are the gunpowder weapons, and how they are created so as to not unbalance a campaign.  This book includes a small Table of Contents, =and= an index, a rarity to find both in a single game book. 

My take on this book is simple - should you want to move ahead in time to at least the Renaissance, if not to the Victorian age, you should highly consider this book.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Review of "More Guns"

"More Guns" by Greg Porter,
Published and distributed by BTRC.
ISBN = 0-943891-26-4  BTRC # 4002

More Guns is Greg Porter's expansion to his highly popular "Guns, Guns, Guns".  Within its 232 pages is even more info on firearms and ammo then was included with the first book. 

There are three major sections - Archaic Weapons, Modern Weapons, and The Future.  There's also a chapter on guns that never were.  Near the back are the conversion parts for Time Lords, CORPS, GURPS, Torg, Hero, Traveller, Twilight 2000, and Cyberpunk 2020. 

Within the chapter on archaic weapons are Pistols, Rifles, Shotguns, and Heavy Weaponry.  Within the chapter on modern weapons are: more Civilian Pistols, Machine Pistols, Civilian Rifles, Military Rifles, Shotguns, Machine Guns, and heavy weapons.  Inside the Future are: even more Civilian Pistols, Machine Pistols, Civilian Rifles, Military Rifles, Shotguns, Machine Guns, and more heavy weapons.  Included with the "Guns that Never Were" are, of course, Civilian Pistols, Machine Pistols, Civilian Rifles, Military Rifles, Shotguns, Machine Guns, and even more heavy weapons.  If these categories seem familiar, they are.  But the separation into the types make it easier to find that little detail you knew you missed.

Although there is no index, the Table of Contents should allow readers to quickly access the info they want.  If you already own Guns, Guns, Guns ("3G3") and like it, you owe it to yourself to get a copy of More Guns.

Review of "Guns, Guns, Guns"

"Guns, Guns, Guns" by Greg Porter,
Published and distributed by BTRC.
ISBN = 0-943891-19-1  BTRC # 4001

3G3, as it is affectionately known to its fans, provides weapon and ammo statistics for role playing games such as CORPS (Greg Porter's own game), Cyberpunk 2020, GURPS, Hero, Traveller, Time Lords, Torg, and Twilight 2000.  In its about 136 pages lie hundreds or even thousands of firearms and ammo.  Remember, this is =far= before the advent of the Open Gaming Licence. 

It starts with a section on basic terminology, and moves from that beginning to a section on conventional weapons.  This is the meat-and-potatoes for people wanting to use this book's highly accurate statistics for running games other than the ones included.  Fade that into a section on Lasers, followed by sections on: Particle Beams, Railguns, and melee weapons. 

Then starts the games sections with conversions to: Time Lords, CORPS, GURPS, Master Book, Hero, two flavors of Traveller, Cyberpunk 2020, Battlelords of the 23rd Century, Nexus, and Heavy Gear.

Although it has no table of contents, the index is good.  In the back of the book are charts for ammunition, and design sheets for several types of weapons and ammo. 

Although this does not include ay D20 Modern conversions, the info on the weapons and ammunition are easily converted into almost any game system.  I would recommend this book (even now!) to GM's who want to add more than a dash of realism to their modern campaigns. 

Review of The Book of Fiends

"The Book of Fiends" by various,
published and distributed by Green Ronin.
ISBN = 1-932442-09-X  GRR # 1025

Although the Book of Fiends is an older book, I think it is one well worth considering.  Here are some details.

There are a total of nine chapters in this volume, which I will look at in four sections.

The first four chapters deal with "The Armies of the Abyss" - a section based on Green Ronin's earlier book, "Armies of the Abyss", but it has been revised and expanded for this book, and has some new material as well.  Some of the more important features of this section are the new Thaumaturge class (which I only recommend for NPC's), and the denizens of the Abyss, including some info on the rulers of the Abyss and detailed info on the creatures of the Abyss - namely Demons.  There are 21 entries for the rulers of the Abyss, and 43 various creatures of the Abyss.

The next two chapters are concerned with the never before seen "Hordes of Gehenna" and its residents - the Daemons.  There are entries for 44 totally new monsters that you can perplex players with.  There's also info about the plane of Gehenna, its rulers, and inhabitants.

The next two chapters deal with the "Legions of Hell" - material formerly presented in Green Ronin's "Legions of Hell" book, and once again it has been revised and updated for this volume and includes some new material.  There are 51 more residents detailed. 

The final section deals with the appendices, including three new Prestige classes (better off left to NPC's). info on Angelic choirs, the most useful section - info on the Unholy Warrior (think "Anti-Paladin"), two fiendish cities, and monsters ranked by challenge rating - all the way from 1/2 to (believe it or not) 40!

There's a useful Table of Contents, =and= an equally useful index.  Altogether, there's over 130 various Devils, Daemons, and Demons.  The black-and-white art is a bit put-offish, but I think that it is put to good use to illustrate things in this volume.  I think this is a very good book for details on the Underworld races and rules.  Although 3.5 is a little out of date nowadays, it can be converted easily to other systems. My recommendation to GMs - buy it.

Monday, December 8, 2014

It's been a =long= time since I posted here, but I'm rebooting my 13th Age campaign on Sunday Dec 14 2014 at the Dragon's Horde in Staunton VA at about 12 noonish.  I have pre-gens and blank sheets for new players, and plan on using this as a springboard for Pelgrane's Organized Play scenarios.  If you need directions, please do not hesitate to ask.  The only thing that might get in my way is a storm, so keep the Shenandoah Valley in mind when traveling.