DriveThruRPG.com
Browse Categories
$ to $















Back
pixel_trans.gif
Other comments left by this customer:
You must be logged in to rate this
pixel_trans.gif
Savage Rifts: Savage Foes of North America (SWADE Edition)
Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment
by Jason E. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/05/2016 12:33:55

I got this from the Savage Rifts Kickstarter, and it is awesome! I played Rifts for years a decade or two ago (or maybe more), but lost interest as my RPG tastes changed toward "balance" and "reasonable rules" that "make sense." So when I saw Savage Rifts, the combination of the well-regarded Savage Worlds ruleset merged with the awesome gonzo, over the top setting of Rifts, I jumped on it immediately. I've made a bunch of characters and GMd a one-shot, and it was pretty much just as fantastic as I hoped. I'm excited to see all of the other books from the KS come out soon.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Savage Rifts: Savage Foes of North America (SWADE Edition)
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
Iron Kingdoms Unleashed Roleplaying Game Core Rules
Publisher: Privateer Press
by Jason E. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/01/2015 19:09:07

This book is great! 480-some pages of IKRPG in the wilds of Immoren.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Iron Kingdoms Unleashed Roleplaying Game Core Rules
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
Construct Mechanus
Publisher: Ronin Arts
by Jason E. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/17/2003 00:00:00

Summary: Construct Mechanus is a great source of ideas and concepts, and has beautiful artwork and layout, but the rules as presented are not usable without tweaking.

Disclaimer: I have not playtested any of this. These are only my opinions.

Most of Phil Reed's products are works of art. I really like the style he and Christopher Shy bring to RPG "books." He also has a definite flavor to his writing that I like. In those respects, CM shines.

However, I don't think that a lot of the rules in CM are usable as written. Take, for instance, the Stilts "race." It is pegged as having a +4 LA. It gets an effective +4 attack bonus with a given melee weapon (+2 Str, +2 racial bonus, free Weapon Focus), a +5 AC bonus (+2 Dex, +3 natural armor, +1 deflection) and four free feats (Endurance, Expertise, Toughness, and Weapon Focus). In addition to all of this, Stilts are built using a point-based system that allows them to have quite a few extras with little penalty to offset the benefits. Given those gripes, I still really like the Stilts, and their bigger cousins, the Abombinus.

CM also includes two core classes, specially designed for mechanus characters, the Tanker and the Mystic Defender. I have some reservations about both of them. The Tanker has d12 HD, Ftr BAB, a non-standard save progression, and one special ability per level. At 20th level, these abilities amount to +11 armor bonus to AC, +6 HP, DR 6/-, a charged magic item/weapon that does 1d10 damage as a free action, +2 damage on all ranged attacks, Fireball 2/day as a 10th level caster, and a few free feats. And honestly, the Mystic Defender is even less balanced. Bonus Feats every other level, Clr BAB, quite a few spell-like abilities (usable only once per day, but still), a frightening Absorb Magic ability. Worst of all, the Mystic Defender can cast spells as a wizard (up to 7th level spells) with only requiring three hours of rest in between.

There are also a number of feats, some better than others. The final chapter includes rules for firearms that are pretty good, I think. Alas, there are no images for the cool sounding weapons (Flair, Imp, Marauder).

Anyway, Construct Mechanus is an extremely atmospheric work that has a ton of great ideas. It just suffers a bit from lack of experience with the d20 system. I still recommend it. After all, for $5, how can you go wrong?

Jason jason_aults@hotmail.com



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Construct Mechanus
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
Book of Fools
Publisher: Split Eye Productions
by Jason E. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/14/2002 00:00:00

I'm sorry, but this is a horrible product. The PrCs, while often based on a good concept, display the authors lack of knowledge of the d20 system. I also find it... annoying that the author (Matthew Lynn) entered a favorable rating for his own product here on RPGNow...

Jason



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
Book of Fools
Click to show product description

Add to DriveThruRPG.com Order

pixel_trans.gif
Displaying 1 to 4 (of 4 reviews) Result Pages:  1 
pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif Back pixel_trans.gif
0 items
 Gift Certificates