A Role Playing Games Blog
Reviews & First Looks
What time is it? Jade Regent time!
0August 1, 2011
I just got an e-mail from Paizo promoting their upcoming Adventure Path, Jade Regent. Curiously I organized my RPGs today (part of the ongoing get the library back into a semblance of normalcy project) and I gave Pathfinder its own very own shelve; before it used to be grouped with all the other D&D editions. Looking over the Pathfinder Adventure Paths I noticed that I won the very first one, Rise of the Runelords (I got the first part at Gen Con when I went for the first time) and then a smattering of issues here and there, mostly when a topic they covered appealed to me.
I am NOT their market for adventure paths. I rarely, if ever, play pre-published adventures. I may read the occasional one for an idea, stealing a map here, a trap there, but let’s just say the last adventure I ran ALMOST straight from the book was an AD&D 2nd edition adventure. Still I find the format Paizo uses intriguing because each adventure installment is accompanied by other gaming material. I have also recently become more interested in Golarion. While I doubt I will ever run a game in that setting, it’s one of those worlds I love reading about for inspiration and just for the sheer fun of it.
One thing I love from all adventure paths is the free Players Guide! Who doesn’t like a freebie! This one is no different. This time around the traits are tied to some key NPCS. The NPCS are very nice and can be used for any campaign. The guide also has rules for caravans. Yes you read that right, caravans… Their statistics, events, job, combat, the idea seemed farfetched at first but for a campaign where the PC will be making the long journey overland to a distant land it seems like a good mechanic to add. I will need to read it better to see how I could put this to use. Interesting!
So if you like adventure paths and are interested in one out of the adventures of Marco Polo, and you want to visit the distant Asian themed lands of Golarion, this Adventure Path may just be up you alley. Me I’m sitting down to read the Player’s Guide. Enjoy…
PS- As I was re-reading this post for typos I noticed I had originally written Rise of the Rune Lords as RIDE of the Runelords… That adventure path would have been very different if the protagonists were a bunch of Harley ridding guys with big beer bellies. Just saying…
Review: Midgard Bestiary Volume 1
3July 25, 2011
If you haven’t been living under a rock for the last few years, you surely heard about Green Ronin’s Dragon Age Roleplaying Game. Instead of trying to copy the system used in the Dragon Age computer games, Green Ronin designed an original system, called AGE, or Adventure Game Engine. Even though the system has been designed with a specific background in mind, people started to use it for different settings basically from day one.
Open Design and Kobold Quarterly have been supporting AGE with new material for a while now, and the upcoming Midgard Campaign Setting will not only be designed for Pathfinder but for AGE as well. Open Design’s latest release, the Midgard Bestiary Volume 1 by Josh Jarman is a 58-paged PDF containing fifty monsters drawn from five years of Open Design projects.
What about Might of the Magus? A review…
0July 21, 2011
When I reviewed the Complete Advanced Feats, and I wished I could see an Advanced Feats type book on the Magus, I had no idea that the awesome kobold crew at Open Design were working on this book. Maybe they had announced it and I missed it, but I was really happy to see my wish become a reality. Sigfried Trent worked his magic once again and produced a great and concise overview of the new class presented in the Ultimate Magic book for the Pathfinder RPG (and like I mentioned in this post available in the Pathfinder Reference Document) with 30 new feats and three character builds. This book is excellent for the new player wishing to explore a class that combines magic and might, or even an experience player wishing to explore all the new options, with concise practical advice, neat options for the player who enjoys tinkering with builds, and the sample builds are great NPCs usable in any campaign. Actually a great way to introduce the Magus into a game!
If some of you are scratching your heads and saying, “Well this isn’t exactly a timely review!” You are right, the gracious folk at Open Design had provided a review copy on PDF of this book some weeks ago and I had been unable to review it. I apologize to them, real life has just not let up, and I hope that this is a better late than never situation and I can do my part to spread the word of this excellent supplement. How awesome is it? Read on to find out…
What about Kobold Quarterly #18? A review…
2July 19, 2011
Ah the change of seasons, the passing of time. Maddening heat and unending rain have descended upon my tropical island paradise, but there is another sign that summer is here. The new issue of Kobold Quarterly is out. Michael posted about this here, and the publishers were so kind as to provide the blog with a review copy. Since he knows I love fantasy, and I’m in a very bad need of a fix since I’ve been playing supers for over six months now (and I love it, but I miss my wizards and dragons), he let me review it… Happy blogger!
I review a lot of Open Design books, and I make no qualms about admitting how much I enjoy their products. I am a Pathfinder fan true and true, and well they simply publish so many awesome books for my favorite fantasy RPG I can’t help myself. The 18th issue of Kobold Quarterly does not disappoint. This issue weights in at 100 pages with content not only for the Pathfinder RPG but to the other two big players in the fantasy RPG field, Dungeons & Dragons 4th Ed and the newcomer AGE system from Green Ronin. I am a fan of AGE as well and I am happy to see more options for fantasy RPG lovers out there and I applaud Open Design for supporting it. It’s chock full of goodies…
Want to learn more? Read on…
Starblazer Adventures Storyteller’s Screen
3July 18, 2011
Following the advice of fellow blogger GeneD5 I ordered the Starblazer Adventures Storyteller’s Screen. I plan to run the first session of that game next Tuesday, so having a Storyteller’s Screen probably wouldn’t hurt. I have to admit that I haven’t read any reviews of the Screen before ordering it, I trusted that it would be of the same quality as the core book itself. And I haven’t been disappointed at all.
The screen is extremely sturdy. Most GM screens available are printed on pretty flimsy cardboard, but not so in this case. The cardboard is comparable to the one used in hardcover books. The front side shows four full-color images taken from the Starblazer Adventures comics. I included an image of the screen above.
The back side of the screen contains basically all tables a Starblazer Adventures Storyteller could ever need. I am pretty sure that aside from checking up some stunts or stats you’ll never even have to open the book to run the game. It’s all there on the screen. There’s even a Play Summary, that summarizes all basic FATE rules including FATE point costs, Conflict actions, and Stress.
The Storyteller’s Screen sets you back $14.95 and should be available from your FLGS or directly from the Cubicle 7 store. In my opinion it’s definitely worth it.
Review: Dark Harvest – Legacy of Frankenstein
6July 15, 2011
In late May the postman brought me a mysterious package from Cubicle 7 Entertainment. When I opened it, I found a copy of Dark Harvest – Legacy of Frankenstein inside. There was no note included that told me why I got sent this book and I was wondering if I placed an order by mistake. In the end I decided to contact Cubicle 7 and get to the bottom of this. And it turned out that the book was actually intended as a review copy that has been sent on behalf of the game’s author Iain Lowson. At this point I wish to thank both Angus Abranson and Iain Lowson, but not only for the free copy of the book but also for their patience and the very nice email conversations we had over the last weeks. You guys rock!
Review: “Crime Pays: A Godfather’s Grimoire”
0July 13, 2011
Do you remember the first time you saw “The Godfather”? I remember it pretty we
ll. I think I was about seven or eight years old. The movie was too long and I was totally bored by most of it, but I was utterly terrified by the scene with the decapitated horses head. That was some scary sh*t. Fast forward ten years later and I enjoyed the movie a whole lot more; who doesn’t? IMDB lists the Godfather as the 2nd highest rated film of all time (right behind The Shawshank Redemption). So, who wouldn’t want to play an RPG where you get to play the role of a fantastic version of the Don?! That’s right. Nobody.
Crime Pays: A Godfather’s Grimoire, brought to you by Goodman Games, is exactly what every aspiring Godfather needs to run a mob. The book is designed to be used with 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons; it contains a lot of game system specific content, such as numerous stat blocks for made men and specific NPC’s. However, much of what is covered in the book could easily be applied to virtually any fantasy style game system; hell, a lot of it could be applied to virtually any system that you could come up with.
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