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Weekend Warriors
by Victor J. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/27/2007 09:50:24

This is a good purchase if you want to run a one-evening game that's not too serious. The provided characters work very well, proving useful both to forward the plot (which, like in any good bad horror movie, is not a plot so much as an excuse to put the characters in danger). The setting is well-detailed and set out in a realistic fashion. The maps are simple in style, but quite useful.

Players who are not careful can quickly find themselves in hot water in this adventure, which is written very well to make low-level encounters quite challenging. Players with infantry training will probably make short work of the module. Mine did, but we had a blast anyway.

The layout and design could stand some improvement. There are some typos, and the enlarged excepts scattered throughout don't always contribute to the overall mood and tend to clutter up the text. However, the links which open maps to relevant sections directly from the text are very, very handy, allowing the GM to run the game off a laptop, as I did, and help one get an overall picture of the setting while reading the area descriptions.

The adventure's shortcomings are understandable, and are made up for by its strengths; well-balanced encounters, a detailed setting, plenty of maps, and a fun atmosphere. My players and I had a great time, and I'd recommend the product.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Weekend Warriors
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Ironstorm Mountain
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 08/23/2007 07:34:02

An RPG Resource Review:

This work presents a remote and complex mountain setting, ready for you to use as a base for a bad guy, or a place for adventurers to explore. Opening with a history of the mountain's original discovery by a tribe of dwarves, and the better part of a thousand years of their exploits, it moves on to describe some of the other visitors and residents. The location is remote enough that it should be simple to add it to your own campaign world even if it is well-developed - to make it easier, despite the rich history it is now more or less deserted (except for whoever you decide is based there) and so rarely if ever visited by those from civilised areas.

Despite the forsaken nature of the mountain, there is one township - rather run-down and full of the sort of people who might find it tough going in more civilised surroundings - in the area, which could be used as a base or staging point for further exploration, or as a source of supplies and a place to rest. It is definitely a frontier town, where the rough survive and prosper and others might go to the wall. However, many see this as their last chance to build a better life - so have both aspirations to better things and a strong desire to preserve the place. Should make for some interesting visits... plenty of scope for role-playing and interaction (and probably the odd brawl!).

While the inside of the mountain was delved by the dwarves, the exterior trails are in poor repair so even getting up there will present a considerable challenge. Of course, even once inside the ancient dwarf civilisation has long since been replaced by an assortment of monsters and worse who have made the place their home and tend not to be very welcoming to visitors. Plenty of ideas are provided, and of course you can mix in your own choices - or even replace the inhabitants entirely with denizens which fit your campaign intentions.

The whole thing hangs together extremely well - each creature or item has a reason within the backstory for being exactly where you'll find it and doing whatever it's doing. For the characters, naturally, that reason will not be immediately obvious, but it's there and very satisfying for the DM to be running a coherent rather than a random setting.

After the descriptions of the history of the mountain and what is to be found there now, several adventure hooks are given as ideas of how to get your characters to go there in the first place. 'Adventure hook' is a rather thin term, although each is but a paragraph long, the ideas contained therein could serve as springboard for an entire campaign if you so wish! There are also suggestions for incorporating the place into your existing campaign and world, be it a published one or one of your own design.

The last part of the book is filled with details of Horrendous Characters and Creatures - full details of the current inhabitants described earlier, should you decide to use them. There is also a section of New Monsters which dwell here (or who, of course, can be used elsewhere as required). To round things off, there are also some new spells - used by some of the residents, but who knows what spellbooks a curious visiting wizard might find? - and a few magical items to be discovered.

Overall, this is an exciting and challenging 'delve' with a setting somewhat different from the conventional dungeon but likely to appeal to those who enjoy dungeon delves. The internal consistency and coherence of the inhabitants, both with each other and with the backstory, is outstanding and a fine example of how to create believeable settings.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Ironstorm Mountain
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Flatlands 3D: Standup Doors vol. 1
by Jens H. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/15/2007 00:00:00

The enemy or friend of every roleplaying Character is just before your noses - a door. Closed and maybe trapped. What is behind that wood? A Monster or lots of treasure?

These doors are easy to build. If you dare not building some complex paper construction like those also sold on RPGNow or you just shun the price of this highend sets - THIS set is the right choice for you.

The playing surface looks a bit odd with just doors and some shelves standing an NO Walls- BUT IT WORKS:-)

For the purists among Dungeoncrawlers who justs want to konw where they are and what is in their way- i recommend this set. For the gamer who needs a beautiful set to behold ( and often forget to play:-)! ) and a lot of "optical realism" - i suggest you buy this set to improve other products;-)!<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Printing and building is really easy and quick<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: In my opinion you should keep producing this way, but also some walls, that can be put between those doors:-)!<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Flatlands 3D: Standup Doors vol. 1
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50 New Ways to Blow Things Up: Evocation
by Malcolm M. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/14/2007 00:00:00

50 New Ways to Blow Things Up is a well-packaged, humorous product outlining some new ways for d20 magic-users to do what they love best; namely, doing harm in dramatic ways.

It's hard not to like this product. As above, it's charismatic and it does "cut to the chase" of dramatic damage-doing.

Unfortunately, a GM will have to look over these spells individually before allowing them into his or her campaign. Not all the spells seem balanced or appropriate for their power-level, and if you have rules lawyers and/or jerks at your gaming table, some of these spells could end up being misused or abused horribly, throwing your game out-of-whack.

As a minor example, consider Armor of Light (one of the only non-blow-uppish spells in the PDF), a 3rd level spell available to Wizards and Sorcerors (as well as Clerics and Paladins). Not only does Armor of Light grant a +1 Defensive Bonus per four levels (to a maximum of +5 at level 20), it also dazes all who look at it (-1 to attacks, Spot, and Search) for 1d6 rounds, with no save allowed.

Never mind that the text doesn't say anything about whether or not the spellcaster's companions are walking around in a constant state of dazedness or not, any time I see the words "with no save" in a spell description, I can only think about the numerous weaselly manipulations this will encourage in certain players.

I don't think the author intended to open up any loopholes with these spells. The concepts are clever and refreshing, for the most part. Just be advised that you'll have to look over each spell individually, and consider its impact on your game, before you allow it or forbid it at your gaming table. <br><br> <b>LIKED</b>:

-- Clever, with a welcome dash of humor in the presentation (although the spells themselves can easily be played straight). It's also nice to see someone directly address the real reason so many players choose to play spellcaster characters -- blowin' stuff up real good!<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>:

-- You'll have to review each spell and decide if it fits your campaign's game balance. The ideas are good, but the execution can be a bit sloppy, with some of the spells seeming unbalanced and/or overpowered.

-- The book feels a tad pricey at $8.00, but then again, that's only 16 cents a spell. You'll have to make your own decision.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
50 New Ways to Blow Things Up: Evocation
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Flatlands: Modern Tiles and Tokens Megaset 1
by JD S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/04/2007 00:00:00

Very good quality. I use a lot of the illustraions as pogs and items with MapTool on my Virtual Desktop. A good buy for the buck. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Flatlands: Modern Tiles and Tokens Megaset 1
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Flatlands: Fire for Effect
by JD S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/04/2007 00:00:00

Unless you're getting this for the specific supported scenarios, the main pack is a better buy.

Excellent quality of materials.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Flatlands: Fire for Effect
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Innana's Kiss: Savaged edition
by Silvia S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/02/2007 13:23:31

A really good Savage Worlds scenario! What makes it so good is the fact that you get to deceive your players - you tell them it's contemporary military adventure, they approach the game in a somewhat sober mood because it's set in Iraq, and then you chuckle while they slowly realize it's not about fedayeen and weapons of mass distruction, but ancient Mesopotamian cults and alien invaders. Great stuff!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Innana's Kiss: Savaged edition
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D20 Mini Games: Casino
by Shane O. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 06/18/2007 00:00:00

D20 Mini Games: Casino is a short supplement from Silven Publishing. The zipped file is not quite half a megabyte in size, and contains a single PDF. The supplement is thirteen pages in length, including a page for the cover, a page for the credits/legal, and page for the table of contents, and one for the OGL. No bookmarks are present.

Casino is a book that's very light on artwork. The only actual picture in the book is the full color cover, depicting four men playing a card game. Beyond that, there's not much else in terms of visual design. The pages have a grey border on alternating sides of the book, and sidebars are in a greenish-grey color, but that's it. There's thus little fuss to this book having no printer-friendly version.

Gambling is somewhat underrepresented in typical RPG games. Whether in the modern genre or in fantasy worlds, there?s certainly plenty of it going on, and it's not too much of a stretch to say that whatever town you?re in has a casino in it as well, whether it's in the middle of a magical metropolis or at the edge of the suburbs. As such, d20 rules for gambling make sense if your PCs want to spend excess cash (left over from buying new equipment) on more than the stereotypical ale and whores.

Casino opens with simplified rules for gambling, basically reducing it to an opposed skill check (most of the time) with a DC that grows the longer you play. It then covers slightly more detailed rules for blackjack, roulette, poker, craps, and slots. These detailed rules are basically the aforementioned simple rules, with an additional second roll on a results table that is specific to each game. Each game has a few paragraphs of description to help unfamiliar readers understand the basics of how the game works. This section closes out by discussing the use of gambling as a skill, which aids the initial check.

A small amount of new crunch is presented next. Four feats related to luck are given, along with two new spells. Several paragraphs are given to the subjects of how casinos deal with characters who win too much, as well as trying to use magic to enhance your gambling skills. A few minor variants for the aforementioned games are then given, noting that these would work well in a fantasy setting, along with plot hooks and a few minor adaptations to use the rules more effectively in fantasy games.

Altogether, Casino does what it sets out to do in that it brings rules for gambling to d20. However, the end result is short and fairly simplified, even using the more detailed rules. This might be unavoidable, considering this is a game abstraction of a game, but in the end it boils pretty much all gambling down to two dice rolls and checking how much money you won or lost. The smattering of new feats and spells doesn't really help the fact that there's very little here. Casino is, overall, a good product, but a fairly anemic one. <br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The new crunch was nice, if a bit too sparse, and the ideas on magic in casinos were fun to read.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Ultimately, this product couldn't help but boil gambling down to very simple terms. The basic nature of it, along with only a couple of new feats and spells, just makes this product feel empty. Casino isn't bad, just thin.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
D20 Mini Games: Casino
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The Beast Within
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 06/16/2007 09:30:37

An RPG Resource Review:

This is a fine, fast-paced adventure with a heady mix of investigation and combat which should keep the interest of all manner of players. It starts with a bang (almost literally, the recommended 'hook' is involving the characters in a road traffic accident!), and sweeps them along as they start out thinking they are just clearing their names from a minor traffic infraction and maybe investigating a murder to attempting to stay alive and, possibly more importantly, sane.

After a comprehensive overview describing the background, major NPCs and a likely course of events, the adventure is presented in a comprehensive manner. It is broken down into sections, with plenty of options to account for both character choices and the outcome of die rolls, and includes checklists of what information should be available at each stage. This makes it easy for a novice GM to use, and frees up the more experienced one to manage the flow of the adventure and concentrate on the role-playing aspects of creating his alternate reality, while knowing that every necessary detail will be to hand when needed.

Every NPC is provided with a 'profile' explaining what he is like, and a couple of in-character quotes; most have full statistics (except those who are not going to engage in combat for whatever reason). There are also comprehensive maps of the complex that the characters will either have to break into or out of... and a note on the in-game versions of insanities they may develop. There is also a rather neat police accident form which can be personalised (well, you need to print it out and write on it) to suit the precise incident that starts the adventure off.

Overall, this is a good fast-paced adventure with a lot going on for the characters to investigate... and plenty of ways in which it can be made personal, this is not one they will want to just walk away from. The ending rather lets it down, being a bit weak and trying to claim with no real reason that "Nothing really happened," but an inventive GM will be able to be more creative and find a way to round things off in a more satisfactory manner - perhaps the characters will attempt to sell their story and so encounter interesting people and further adventures...

This adventure is well worth using as a one-off, in starting a campaign based in Pinebox, or as something that starts off as a mild annoyance on the way to do something else and turns into a full-blown and quite scary adventure with no warning.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
The Beast Within
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D20 Mini Games: Casino
by Michael S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 06/06/2007 00:00:00

Nailed it right on the head. Two quick and painless methods for resolving five different casino games. This is a good product which provides some simple mechanics for resolving a single spin of the roulette wheel all the way up to a full night of tournament poker, all with just a few simple rolls of the dice. The product delivers on its promise. For those times when you don't want to game out an entire casino game, this is perfect, and it relies on the CHARACTER'S abilities, NOT the PLAYER'S. Great effort! Good execution! Excellent product!<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: I found the ability to resolve a night's play or a single hand with the same game mechanic to be extremely useful.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: I would have liked to have seen more gambling feats, perhaps card counting?<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
D20 Mini Games: Casino
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D20 Mini Games: Casino
by Peter I. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 06/05/2007 00:00:00

D20 Mini Games: Casino is a 13 page d20 pdf product for both fantasy and modern gaming. This product features new rules for gambling in casino-like games, including familiar games like poker, blackjack and roulette.

The product comes as a single, full-colour product suitable for on-screen viewing and reading. The product contains a complete table of contents, although there are no bookmarks. A good full colour product cover by Jeff Ward is included, although there is no interior art to the product apart from layout bordering and other layout features. Editing and writing are generally good, although there are errors, one of the more pronounced ones being that they've attributed two copyrights to this product by not removing the copyright text for one of their older products, Secret Societies, from the copyright page. Mechanics is generally good, and the fact that they've listed a mechanics editor indicates that Silven Publishing aim to pay attention to the mechanical details of their products, which is good to see. Overall, a good presentation as is generally the standard of Silven Publishing's products.

This product details rules and mechanics for five casino-like gambling games - poker, craps, roulette, blackjack, and slot machines. Most people have probably played some of the games at some point in their lives, and so will be familiar with most of the rules. The product is not an in depth look at the various games, and does not explain any of the intricacies of games such as poker or blackjack. Rather the product aims to transfer these games into the d20 system in a simple fashion, and it accomplishes this by presenting both abstracted high-level rules for lengthy periods of play, and more detailed rules to catch the action on shorter time-scales. The latter are by no means as detailed as actual play, and many DMs might just want to roleplay an actual game of poker or blackjack rather than use these rules. Still, they're useful for games like roulette or slot machines which aren't readily available at the gaming table.

The abstracted rules essentially boil down to single die role mechanics against specific DCs depending on the game played. Certain games are harder to play or rely more on luck than others, and the DCs appear to reflect this. It's very difficult to capture the role of chance in each of these games in a single die role, and to address this the product introduces the concept of regression bonuses that make winning progressively more difficult the longer you play the game. Here, for example, blackjack is far more difficult to win at than slot machines. Whether this captures the odds accurately is left as an exercise to those more experienced in these forms of games.

The detailed rules, or at least not so abstract, involve two die roles instead of one, the first serving the purpose of giving you a bonus on the second, which is used to look up the result on a table provided in the product. The table confirms the win or loss and the margin of the win as well. Higher rolls give wins where you can double or treble you bet, while lower rolls involve losing everything bet in the game. The tables again are probably not accurate from a statistical point of view. The poker table, for example, indicates that there is a higher than fifty percent chance of getting two pairs or better in a hand, which seems high for standard poker. Nevertheless, the results give a more detailed overview of what actually happens in a game, and can be used even if you aren't familiar with the games. Perhaps a more detailed overview of each game would've been useful for those that really want to understand the games. A good example of the rules in action is also provided.

The latter part of the product deals with other aspects of using casino-like gambling games in your campaigns. These include the use of magic in casinos, the Profession (gambling) skill, new spells for gambling, new gambling related feats and other useful information on gambling and game-variants. This serves as a useful support for the rest of the product, although some of the feats could've used a little more clarity and tightening in the rules to avoid too much DM fiat.

D20 Mini Games - Casino is a decent product that presents new rules for gambling for use in fantasy or more contemporary settings. It's well presented, and the rules provided are well support by additional advice and useful information relating to running gambling in your campaigns. The rules themselves for the most part achieve what they must - allowing you to play d20 casino-like games. They're not particularly detailed, and perhaps here and there they could've been more statistically accurate, but if you want a quick and dirty way to play a game then this product contains what you want. If you want anything more detailed, then perhaps playing the game itself would be easier. Nevertheless, it's a decent product that provides some 'light' and suitable rules for handling gambling in d20 games.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Good presentation, useful information and advice on handling gambling in a campaign, and satisfactory ruleset that enables quick resolution of gambling games.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: A few editing and writing errors, and perhaps the product could've included more information on how the games are meant to be played rather than just concentrating on the rules themselves. The mechanics don't always accurately portray the games involved, but they serve as a means to an end.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
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Marsh of the Wild Things
by Andrew B. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 04/30/2007 00:00:00

The premise of Marsh of the Wild Things reads something like a deliberate experiment in monster ecology. The author mixes an exceptionally intelligent behir, a superstitious tribe of troglodytes, some ghasts, shocker lizards, and a band of merrow. The resulting blend is an interesting exploration adventure filled with a wide variety of creatures, all living within the confines of a single swampy setting.

One of the constant challenges of adventure design is the trick of building a cohesive and usable plot while still giving the PCs some measure of control. Wild Things does well in this regard. There is very little railroading involved. Basically, the PCs must cross a dangerous area in order to rescue a group of innocent villagers. Along the way, the party encounters many of the marsh's monstrous denizens. What the PCs do with those encounters is ultimately up to them. Once the basic quest is complete and the villagers are rescued, the players then have the option of delving deeper into the adventure or moving on to other things. Overall, as long as you're playing with an adventure-minded group of heroes, you can give them the reigns and let them journey through Wild Things as they see fit.

There are a few design and layout touches that enhance the adventure's usability at the table. There are a handy sidebars that help clarify rules where necessary. In addition, each section ends with a GM checklist which lists useful reminders for keeping things on task. All adventures require some prep work, and these short lists are a big help in that regard. Its also nice to have the monster and NPC stats gathered together in the appendix. I'm a big fan of handouts and visual aids, and Wild Things does contain an old standby: a note to hand the players when their characters discover an NPC's journal. Things like this are always a welcome addition for me, although I would have like to see a few more handouts and the like.

Another thing that struck me as positive was the author's clever use of groups of monsters whose abilities go well with each other. There is at least one case where a villain's special attack really helps stack the deck against the heroes. Marsh of the Wild Things is a fairly standard d20 fantasy adventure, but its also a pretty good one. The designers weren't trying to think outside the box so much as work within the definitions of the genre to create a fun and challenging module. In that regard, I believe they achieved what they set out to do.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Marsh of the Wild Things is a good adventure. The plot is simple but well structured. The somewhat open nature of the adventure environment give players a feeling of freedom while keeping the flow of play within the GM's grasp. There is an eclectic selection of monsters with just enough backstory on their recent interactions and motivations to help the GM build a sense of verisimilitude. A clever synergy between some of the monsters, along with a few surprise tactics (which I won't spoil here), should keep things interesting for players expecting a series of easy encounters.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Some of the character dialog reads a little clunky to me. I prefer things paraphrased, since few people speak in real life the way that characters speak in fantasy games / novels. Also, the maps leave something to be desired. They're functional, but not very pretty.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Marsh of the Wild Things
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Green's Guide to Ghosts
by Chris G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 04/29/2007 00:00:00

It is nice to once again see a product that details the finer art of Ghost Busting. What really amazes me is how well the two products work together and have very little duplicated material. It is rare to see that in the d20 market. Usually books that cover the same subject cover the subject in mostly the same way. But with this and with RPG Object?s Blood and Ghosts people will get two products that work well together.

Green?s Guide to Ghosts is a PDF by the guys at Twelve to Midnight. This forty eight page book has a nice lay out and some good art. The book is well book marked and come in both a print version and an on screen version. The on screen has the art, color, and just looks really good. The print version is black and white and still well laid out. They did a nice job with the look of the book.

The book is one of the rare ones that has little for the player. It has good equipment but no classes or feats are in the book. I should probably repeat that since in this day and age of d20 a book with no classes and no feats or even skills or player options is unheard of. Heck, a lot of adventures seem to have the random feat and class in an appendix these days. The book has adventures for running this type of game. That is actually what I was hoping for from this book. 12 to Midnight has not made a lot of books, but their adventures have really been good. I was pleased to see that their style and skill for adventures was used here.

There is some really fun stuff in here. I like the template that turns a character into a ghost. The options that opens up for role playing and for seeing characters die and come back is great. There is a table for s?ances. There is a chance on it that the medium will be taken over by the dead grandmother of one of the players. There is a great ten tips for running more horror based games. It has some nice simple tips to really help the game happen and be a little more scary and less campy.

I do not like to give spoilers for adventures so I will just say there are some cool adventures here. They have three that are fully written up. None are that long but can easily be stretched out and a good DM can really use them to start some greater. Even better are the little adventure ideas in here. They have a little less then fifty adventure ideas in here.

As I said in the first paragraph I am really impressed on how well this goes with Blood and Ghosts. That one is more player oriented The equipment lists do cover some of the same material but for the most part they compliment each other nicely. I also want to mention that the book works well for Orpheus, a White Wolf game that is about ghost hunting. The rules for that game are not d20 but the ideas can be used together. Orpheus does have a much bigger plot oriented to the game with a lot of the assumptions on ghosts fully detailed in there.

Green?s Guide to Ghosts does a nice job of presenting the supernatural for a D20 game. They also have the book designed for Savage World and while I have not seen that version, it is really cool to see other game systems being supported for this book.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Green's Guide to Ghosts
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Green's Guide to Ghosts
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 04/28/2007 04:11:22

An RPG Resource Review:

This work provides a good overview of ghost-hunting for pleasure or profit, presented in the main as if narrated by Jackson Green - a recurrent ghost-hunter NPC used by 12 to Midnight. He offers an interesting throwaway line that GMs who enjoy conspiracies as well as the supernatural might like to exploit: that the book is aimed at 'real' would-be ghost-hunters but dressed up as an RPG supplement to avoid the attentions of certain government agencies...

The first section deals with the 'tools of the trade' - all the equipment that the well-prepared ghost-hunter might wish to have along with him. There's a wide range of stuff, from the practical to exotic electronics, and the necessity of a container to carry it all in is not forgotten. The only flaw is that there's no price list for those groups who don't like the D20 Modern 'Resource' system, but as most of the items exist in the real world it shouldn't be too difficult to knock up a price list.

Next comes a good introduction to the art and craft of ghost-hunting... how to go about it, precautions to take and even a few tips on how to avoid getting arrested! Much of this is of equal value to player or GM, although some GMs may prefer that their players don't read the GM-specific bits. It's unlikely to cause too many problems if they do, however.

The next section looks at Ghosts, with details of the different sorts that may be encountered including their statistics in monster terms. Only a very knowledgeable ghost-hunter would have much of this information at his fingertips, so players might do well to avoid this section until they have at least met a few ghosts in game.

Next comes three adventure outlines. Unless you like to improvise, you may wish to develop them a bit further before use, although the main details you'd need are provided. While intended to be run in Pinebox, 12 to Midnight's campaign setting (a fictional Texas township), they'd transplant readily to any other location that you prefer.

The final part is a glossary of 'supernatural' terms, which is liberally provided with one-paragraph adventure seeds based on many of the terms mentioned. There's a lot of good stuff there, which can be sprinkled into any modern campaign where the supernatural happens, or used as extra adventures in a ghost-hunting oriented campaign if that's the way you've chosen to go. Naturally, you'll need to work out a lot of the details for yourself, but the starting points are there to get you thinking.

Presentation is excellent, although it does look as if someone was careless with his coffee cup! There are some photos - including supernatural events and the sort of pictures that ghost-hunters present as evidence of the existence of ghosts. Oh, and there are links to some real ghost-hunting websites for those looking for further realism to add to their game, or to research a few more ghost stories to present to their players.

If you intend to run a campaign in which the supernatural is even possible, let alone an actuality, this book is well worth reading (even if D20 Modern isn't your chosen game system). It could even provide a good basis for a bunch of ghost-hunting NPCs who pop up and pester characters doing something quite different in a contemporary setting... the thought of some turning up someplace where a bunch of spies are conducting espionage activities, for example, has possibilities...



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Green's Guide to Ghosts
by John G. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/24/2007 00:00:00

"The one thing I?m sure of is that you have gotten your money?s worth from this product..." - Ed Wetterman, co-author

You said a mouthful, brother! Ever since Skinwalker, which was a complimentary review copy for me, I've expected great things from 12 to Midnight and Green's Guide to Ghosts is no exception! Whether you are a real-life ghost-chaser (a term I prefer) looking to introduce such activities to your game, or a gamer with an interest in the supernatural, this book is a resource that simply must find a place on your gaming shelf!

Inside, you will find a wealth of information on the subject of ghost-chasing, all drawn from real-world equipment and experiences! All the goodies the professionals use can be found herein, as well as five ghostly templates, three adventure ideas (in enough detail that you could run them off the cuff), a lexicon of ghost-chasing terms, web resources, and of course, everything you need to know to add a little haunting to your game. And if you happen to be interested in real-world ghost-chasing, consider this a primer to the field. The material may be fictitious, but the resources are real.

Don't even THINK about trying to run your next modern-day horror campaign without consulting this book first!<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Everything! Although, if I had to choose one thing that stands out for me, I like the way that the material is presented as though Jackson Green (your "guide") were a living, breathing person. Those of you familiar with other 12 to Midnight products will know what I'm talking about. If not, pick up one of their PDFs and see. It really make a difference.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: If I had any problem at all with the product (and it's a stretch), I would have to say that I would like to have seen more details on other kinds of ghosts and perhaps a few notes on real-world "haunted" locations, such as Borley Rectory.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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