|
|
|
 |
| Other comments left by this customer: |
|
|
|
|
|
Wherever White Moon Cove is, I think I want to visit it! This is a beautifully-detailed large fishing village with plenty going on, the sort of bustling yet quite sleepy place that sounds so real that it must be somewhere... mustn't it?
There is an overview of the settlement, a standard town statblock, and lists of notable inhabitants and locations; then village lore and rumours. This is followed by a map of the place - a little small, but it is available as a standalone art product from Raging Swan Press as well (look for Village Map: Fishing Village) if you need a larger one or perhaps want to annotate it further.
Next the notable locations get a lot more detail, and this is replete with those wonderful little snippets that both bring the place to life and provide resources for interactions, encounters and even whole adventures if you wish to let them spawn! There are also notes linking White Moon Cove to an adventure, The Sunken Pyramid - but even if you don't intend running it, there is plenty reason to include this village in your campaign world and plotlines.
And there's more... notes on law and order, and a table of events that might happen. All stuff that can sweep your characters into the life of the place. Overall, this is well worth adding to your files however you intend to use it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is one of those maps that as soon as you look at it you start figuring out what's going on there!
Let's see: 2 small 'dormitory' rooms, a larger chamber with a single bed, a colonnaded hallway, a room with a tiled(?) floor and another room with a corridor leading off. Oh, and a flight of stairs as an entryway.
What could it be? I'm thinking 'living quarters' in maybe a temple or monastery, with the senior member of the community having the large single-bedded room and some more junior ones in the dormitories. It could equally as well be a secular lordling's quarters or those of a military commander. The stairs may lead outside, whilst the passageway leads off to more public areas of whatever facility this is a part of... and then comes the fun of fleshing out whoever lives there and why our brave adventurers have reason to visit their private quarters.
I like maps like this, that start spawning adventure ideas rather than merely being the best fit amongst published offerings for whatever location you have in mind. It's all beautifully-drawn too, managing to be both clear and attractive. Nice work!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Going by this introductory material, Foreven Sector is going to be a place I shall enjoy visiting!
The product begins with an introduction in which author Donavan Lambertus starts by explaining in some detail how the name 'Bastards' of Foreven came about - ship nose art developing into some pirates which led to a mixed group of mercenaries... If you delight in peeps under the hood, seeing how game developers' minds work, there is a fair bit to fascinate you here. The really fascinating bit is how every effort has been made to make Foreven Sector as compatible as possible with the Official Traveller Universe (OTU), particularly places like the Spinward Marches which it abuts on to, but also in terms of the history and culture of the region... and yet making it its own self: you won't be confused for one moment as to where you are!
That done, we have a section on Standards and Assumptions, laying out the basics under which the setting has been developed. Mongoose core rules, of course, but also details of how Jump operates, stealth in space, the use of fighters and battleriders in space combat and so on. It's always good to be sure of your basic assumptions, but rare to have them laid out so explicitly: both a useful and a refreshing approach.
Next some flavour text introduces a section in which we learn the history of Foreven Sector going right back to speculation about the Ancients and then pre-Imperium exploration by Zhodani and Darrians, and early incursions by both the young Imperium and the Zhodani with the inevitable butting of heads upon occasion. Whilst at the moment there is peace between them, it is somewhat tenuous and it is highly possible that this is where the situation will boil over to open warfare should it come to that.
This is followed by a look at the major polities here, interspersed with more flavour text, all of which makes fascinating reading. Despire continued incursions by Imperial and Zhodani forces, most of Foreven is occupied by smaller but rising powers, and this is where we find out about them. Some are but single worlds with ambition, others have taken at least the first steps towards realising that ambition. We also learn of other pivotal groups - megacorporations, criminal gangs including pirate bands, and groups of mercenaries.
Now we get down to serious appetitie-whetting with a sample world: Akadi. It's a largish water world which orbits a red dwarf (binary system actually, paired with a white dwarf) with a thin atmosphere and a distressing attaction for comets and asteroids: their impacts not only do damage but tend to generate tsunamis as well. Complete with maps and pages of detail, this world is all ready for an extended stay or to play a major part in your adventures in some other way. Biosphere, settlements, government, culture, products, system data, a timeline and more are provided to put everything you need to know at your fingertips.
There is also a sample vehicle, a TL10 Veridion Class ATV. This is a popular planetary surface workhorse for transportation and exploration, or of course as a combat vehicle. Notes, statistics and extensive drawings of all three versions are provided. This is followed by a 'TAS Documentary' extended piece of flavour text, a sample starship (again with considerable detail) and a sample adventure. This, Last Flight of the Junyo, is designed not only to be an enjoyable adventure but also to serve as an introduction to the Foreven Sector as a whole. Here in space is the abandoned lifeless hulk of an Iridonnian diplomatic ship, the characters' task is to investigate and find out what happened to it. (Iridonia is one of those small but burgeoning polities mentioned earlier.)
Finally, there's an entire sample subsector, complete with 2- or 3-line entries about each system.
If this doesn't make you want to explore... well, you're not cut out for space exploration! A fine beginning and I am already looking forwards to the next book.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is a charming hand-drawn map of a largish fishing village, centred around its harbour. There are several jetties and a wooden dock, and one substantial pier. Away from the harbour proper the shoreline is quiet rocky, soon rising to cliffs. There are a few small islands in the bay, none appear to be inhabited.
Inland, the village has a really big market square - perhaps it serves as the major fish market for a considerable hinterland - and boasts numerous homes and other buildings of various sizes. One clifftop has a structure that could serve as a lighthouse... or a wizard's tower, overlooking the sea.
The map comes in two versions: one plain and one with a few numbers beside some of the locations depicted, all ready for you to add your own legend (map key). You also may wish to source and include a compass rose (to indicate which way is North), and to work out the scale for the map if distances are to be of importance.
It is very clear and well-drawn, and if you need a fishing village but are quite happy fleshing it out for yourself but lack the skill to draw one, this should serve you well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Something spooky, technological perhaps, to play in the background during those creepy moments as deserted buildings or spacecraft are investigated...
... or something to play when writing such adventures, get those creative juices flowing!
I like custom background music, if I use it at all, because you don't distract your players by having them trying to identify a half-remembered track.
The tempo varies, slowing towards the end. Is it that you have found something... or is it that everyone's dead already?
Enjoyable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is rather fun... in the quest to add greater detail and variety to that most iconic of monsters, the dragon, here is a selection of templates to apply to your base dragon stats, to give all manner of additional features to them. Some will create 'variants' or 'sub-species' of known dragon types, while others add little quirks and different abilities to whatever dragon to whom you choose to apply the template.
Starting off with the Albino - NOT a white dragon but one of any shade born without pigmentation - there is a whole range of things you can do with your dragons. Maybe he's amphibious, or has a weird breath weapon that literally encases its target in quick-setting amber. Maybe it was too mean to die and has become a ghost. Or it can blink (as in the spell), or it appears to be made of glass...
There's a lot of fun to be had here... Now, dragons should always be the high spot of an adventure, something exciting to encounter, but these templates can be used to make them even more interesting and unusual... and we've only got to 'H'! Look out for more...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Each player can lavish care and attention on their character, making him a rounded and believeable individual within the context of the shared alternate reality the whole group inhabits during game sessions... the poor GM has to cope with what can be a 'cast of thousands' and however much time he has to devote to the game, he's never going to have time to develop all the NPCs to the same level. So, here's something to help!
A full EIGHTY characters, all with name, stat block, backstory, description, tactics if involved in (or instigating) a brawl, notes on using the character and a neat sketch... all conveniently filling a page apiece (or on 2 pages but kept separate from other characters) so that you can print individuals out as needed to tuck in your game-night file.
They come in three sections: town, travel and tunnel. The Town ones are of various levels and occupations, all people you might encounter in a built-up area, or folks you might seek out if you have a specific need for a service, an item or some information. The Travel section consists of people you might encounter on the road. Other travellers, people whose occupation or location means that they'll meet travellers and so on. Again, they come in an assortment of levels.
Finally, the Tunnel section is a little different. Some are the sort of folks you might encounter by chance during a delve - the fellow who's farming mushrooms perhaps, or a big lad who offers his services as 'pack mule' for a party - but others are designed as 'Boss' characters, the ones who might be the whole reason (whether or not the party knows it!) that you're going delving at all.
A fabulous resource that any GM should find useful whether they need a chance one-off encounter or a recurring NPC but want a character as developed as any player-character. And just reading through, many of them are replete with ideas that could spawn side-adventures or whole scenarios of their own. Recommended.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Herewith a neat collection of talents to entice any rogue... somewhat stereotyped in places but delightfully wicked throughout. Many are best suited to those rogues unashamed of their villany, taking their ethically challenged status to out and out badness. Others aid the rogue in full-on brawls, enabling participation in combat beyond skulking around looking for a chance to stab a back or two.
Yet others will aid the rogue in day-to-day life, such as Black Market Connections (always useful) and Heard It Through the Grapevine; whilst Flair for the Dramatic confers immunity to damage from broken glass... if that makes you stop and think, just imagine your rogue leaping through a window to attack (or, of course, to run away).
Several of the talents are beneficial to those rogues comfortable with using poisons in their day-to-day activities.
The ones I like best, though, are Meant to do That (which enables the rogue to bluff his way through performing skills he doesn't actually have), Physical Proof (which grants the ability to back up your bluffs with minor illusion magic) and Crazy Prepared (allows the rogue to always have low-value mundane items about his person just when they're needed). That's the way I like to play my rogues...
Altogether an interesting selection, and whatever style your rogue has, there's probably at least one talent that will appeal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A neat little idea that reminds all players that being the DM can involve a lot of effort both at the table and outside of the 'contact time' - preparing adventures (whether sourcing published ones and reading them or making up your own), reading about the setting, researching stuff, getting resources like maps and handouts ready...
For many years, the local group has ended with the DM thanking everyone for playing and them in turn thanking the DM for running the game. This card just takes that courtesy to the next level.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Preaching to the converted here: for me role-playing is all about creating an altenate reality and populating it with believable characters that 'come alive' within the context of that shared alternate reality... and so of course I applaud any effort to make that task easier.
Some of it seems banal, and I do question the wisdom of suggesting that you answer questions about the character you are creating out-of-character rather than in-character. If nothing else, when I'm creating a character the easiest way for me to find out what he's like beyond numbers in a stat block is to channel him and find out what he's got to say. It can also be regarded as an on-going process, I often get to know a character properly as I play him, rather than have him spring to life fully-formed from the outset.
However, the concept of using a string of questions to ferret out what a character is like as a person is sound; and the questions chosen do a good job of empowering you to look at some of the fundamental things that make him tick.
Then things get a bit tangled, as there is a section - which SHOULD stay out-of-character - about what you, as a player, are looking for from the game for which you are preparing the character. Useful information for the GM, to be sure, but something to keep apart from who that character is and what he is like.
Ultimately, the more you know about your character, the better you will be able to play him. Try to internalise as much as possible - when your instinctive response turns out, when you think about it later, to be bound up in the personality and background you've devised for him, you'll know you're getting it right.
A useful little tool to help you think about who 'you' are in the shared alternate reality you are about to inhabit.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Quarries are good places to stage a confrontation, multiple levels and nothing too much to damage appart from your opponents! So here, in Hollnbuchner's usual crisp style, is a nice fairly small one to run about in.
Pay attention to the cover illustration to get the hang of the levels, as the shadows are somewhat oddly angled and do not contribute to a feeling of depth, always a bit of an issue with a top-down bird's eye view. The lowest level, in particular, has some scattered blocks and boulders... it is very easy to mistake them, especially the boulders, for hollows in the ground rather than lumps of rock standing proud of it.
There's a ground level (complete with grass and trees) and three levels of 'hole in the ground' so plenty to play with, to take advantage of in a three-dimensional combat. There are no scaling features so you will have to decide just how deep this quarry is, and how big the blocks strewn around on the bottom happen to be.
I'm sure players in many genres will find it useful... but to be really traditional break out a Doctor Who game - many of the early episodes were filmed in quarries!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Did you think you knew all about skeletons?
You know, those low-level bony undead that clatter around, smash quite easily and aren't much of a problem once you've got a few levels under your belt (or a good cleric at your shoulder to turn them).
Think again! Here's a wealth of resources for GMs and characters alike.
Perhaps your character wants to know more about skeletons. Roll a Knowledge (Religion) check and see how much of the lore herein you can find out. Maybe you anticipate fighting them a lot... there are feats in here to make you better at doing so, not to mention spells to learn and alchemical substances and magical items that will be most efficatious against them.
Now, if you sit the other side of the GMs screen, don't despair as your characters tool up with all this anti-skeleton kit. For herein you will find three new types of skeleton - including a rather potent Skeleton Lord - to send into battle along with several rather cracking adventure ideas.
Everything you ever wanted to know about skeletons but didn't dare ask... get this and find out!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The finest inn in Rybalka burned down a year ago and has now been rebuilt, despite various strange incidents plaguing the construction. These events have delayed the re-opening of the inn, although with the arrival of a Prince, no less, in town it has been decided that the doors of Rybalka Lodge must open once more...
... and that's where the characters come in, the Mayor would like them to get to the bottom of all these mysterious lights and smashed dishes and compelling images of the place on fire that mysteriously leave no trace when anyone arrives with a fire bucket. So, folks, it's time for some ghost-hunting if not ghost-busting.
The characters will have to use investigative skills as well as combat to solve the mystery. There is plenty for them to do and see during the course of this investigation, and everything is clearly presented so that pertinent details are at the GM's fingertips as the adventure proceeds. NPCs/monsters are dual-statted for both D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder RPG, with opportunities for skill use signposted well with results for differing levels of success laid out well.
It will be worth spending the time to prepare to run this adventure. The various encounters and opportunities to gain information that will help unravel the mystery are presented in a rather linear manner - first you meet X and then there's a chance to question Y and next you can go poke about in location Z - so if the characters decide to do things in a different order it helps to know where all the clues are!
It's a cracking haunted house mystery and when all is revealed a surprise is in store! The whole adventure is very atmospheric and ought to conjure up some real terror as the characters explore the Lodge (especially if they go round at night...). I want to rush off and run this at once, even before I've finished writing this review....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you are running a game set in Ancient Rome, grab this at once! If your game is set in another place or time, it's still worth a look as the dishes presented are exotic enough (yet strangely familiar) to offer up as the height of culinary arts in some remote orbital station in the far future or the capital of a mysterious fantasy kingdom.
There are occasions when it might be politic not to tell diners the precise details of what they are eating. (After seeing my mother's face when I told her what 'calamari' was when eating in Venice, I didn't tell her about the snake a few years later in China...) Of course, evil GMs might tell the players how delicious the meal served to their characters was, and only reveal what was in it later... (and then call for rolls to avoid vomiting!).
Now Mustard Beans (green beans cooked with crushed mustard seed, honey, nuts, and vinegar) served alongside Poached Sole (sole poached in wine and broth) would be a treat for anyone, but one might be a bit more cautious about Sow Womb (pig uterus, udders, and belly are cooked with broth, pepper, and loveage). There's a tendency to eat odd bits of pig, there are several others that I'm not sure I'd fancy, at least, not if I heard what was being served before I'd tried it!
It's these little things that make the alternate reality of your game world come alive: dig in and make use of them!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here are presented truly gorgeous and sumptuous illustrations of two magic items: a book and a... well, it's either a very ornate shield or it's a shield-shaped brooch. Presented large in both colour and greyscale (with the colour versions either on white or a beige square), they are beautiful and objects to treasure, never mind what magics you decide they contain.
The book is a heavy mediaeval-style tome, bound in wooden boards with metal corners and a lock. Maybe it's a spell book, or some other treasured volume... a religious text treasured in a temple, or some other magical tome. Being passionate about books myself, I can well image whole adventures built around it - finding it or protecting it from harm, or just making sure that it reaches its intended recipient.
Likewise the other item, shield or brooch (I still haven't made my mind up!). Dragon-inspired, with gold fittings and a background that may be dragon leather or enamel, it's beautiful work... and what magics it could contain. Perhaps I'll split the difference and call it a brooch which confers a defensive bonus on its wearer... or maybe it's dragon hide and protects against the breath weapon of the dragon type whose hide was used in its making. Again, there are plenty of adventure ideas to be contemplated.
The licence is straightforward, you may use it in any commercial or personal work provided you give due credit (and don't just dump it in a clipart collection), and is given on the product page, not after you've bought the thing!
A delight to look at and with considerable plot potential... nice, indeed!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 0 items |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Log In 
![[PFRPG] Dragon Templates - Volume 1 - A to H](images/3475/112838-thumb100.jpg)
![Class Expansions: 20 Rogue Talents [PFRPG]](images/3827/112756-thumb100.jpg)
