This contains a new template for the general concept of a Revenant with three specific types that each have their own further game tweaks: the Organ Retriever, Guardian and Animal Revenant. (I include these details partly because I would really have liked myself to see them in the blurb in the first place.) Though created by evil deeds, the Revenant is vicious in return and is no tragic hero. The Animal Revenant, created from animals (one or many) killed by cruelty, is the best of the three for me and also features in the included Pinebox News items.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: I could do without yet another noble but foreboding ancient Indian shaman spirit as a gratuitous plot device.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

The book opens with an overview of curses from Egypt, Greece as well as Judeo-Chirstian, Voudoun and the evil eye curses. Each area is only given a few paragraphs but this provides a good general overview.

There are a number of new spells and a new spell type (curse) and a list of which core spells are curses. The spells, all curses, and well thought out and flesh out the spell selection of a curse-based spellcaster, offering a good range of new low level and high level curses to supplement existing curses.

Many of the new feats are curse themed variations on existing staple feats. They increase the caster level for curses, increase the saving throws against curses or increase caster level when trying to defeat curses. These are all very good feats for spellcasters working with or against curses. I especially like Power Word Master feat but I don?t want my DM to know about it. The Death Curse Contingency feat provides the infamous dying curse ability. While many players might not choose such a feat, it is very appropriate for a spellcaster specializing in curses.

There is a solid block of prestige classes. I liked the evil eye because rather than giving the spellcaster 1 extra spell of each spell level that specialist wizards get, they have done something different that fits the theme of the evil eye. The spellcaster gains uses of evil eye per day and has a variety of curses he can cast with it, and a cost in uses for each curse.

The book comes as a set of 4 PDF files, one for viewing, one for print-on-demand and another for home printing. The last is a high-resolution version of the cover. <br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The book is very compatible with core d20. The curse based feats, spells and prestige classes are built very much like a new school of magic, with a few new mechanics that makes them different. Nothing appears to be over-powered or game unbalancing. I very much like the new spells which round out the spell list for a curse-based spellcaster.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: I would have liked to have seen more historical information on real-world curses. Where is the origin of turning people into toads? Why do they call them ?curse words?? Why do people spit in relation to curses? What is with biting your thumb?

It is a minor detail but I would have enjoyed a curse-based class, especially a curse-wizard specialist. The prestige classes do the job, but they are not available right away. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Another great adventure from the 12 to midnight guys. This is a short adventure ideal for a one-night get together. It also showcases the horror rules developed by 12 to midnight. Overall, it was well written and I would recommend this to anyone who wants a quick modern horror to put into their campaign. Great for the price.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: I really liked the short paragraphs that emphasized main points. They help the GM by reminding him/her about important events that develop the plot.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: A little on the short side but thats what it was intended to be and what it was priced as.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Fear Effects presents new rules for fear and horror in your d20 game. At its essence, the new sub-system presented here is fairly simple. It?s based on the idea that a Will save is necessary when presented with a fearful/horrifying situation. Fail the save, and you roll on the Horror Table presented in the book.

One of the major strengths of the system presented is its simplicity. The basis system itself has four levels of horror. While the save DC is the same for all of them (and rather low), the level of horror depends on the situation, which is essentially GM fiat. You then roll on the Horror Table for the results, and the greater the level of horror you?re rolling on, the more likely that you?ll get results further down the table?

The book is quick to introduce additional options and variants. The variants are largely based around the Alternate Horror Table. Whereas the first Horror Table has four colums (one for each level of horror), the Alternate Horror Table has a single colum that you roll a d100 on. The variants presented are almost all for rolling on this table, mostly with different rolling methods. A variant for the duration of the effects of horror is also given, as well as the results of a critical success (natural 20) on the Will save, and modifiers that could apply to the Will save.

The next section talks about recovering from permanent effects. This covers how much treatment you need before you can attempt a new save against your condition. It also outlines some bonuses you could have to the check, and how a critical failure (natural 1) means that mundane treatment can never remove your condition.

Finally, the Horror Table and Alternate Horror Table are given. Each table has the same 100 insanities in the same order, but the former uses four columns based on the level of horror, where each column has a different range. The second table has a single unified column with one effect per number. The effects of fear listed here are quite imaginative, and run the gamut from having a sudden religious experience to hysterical blindness and more.

In terms of technical aspects, the product has no bookmarks or table of contents, but is so short that it doesn?t require them. Likewise, a printer-friendly version is included with the download, showing that the people at 12 to Midnight went the extra mile for their product.

All in all, Fear Effects accomplishes almost everything it promises, and does so fantastically. The system is easy to use and keep track of, and the rules are solid and simple. My only major complaint is that this is fairly obviously intended to be used for Modern d20. The section on treatment used a mechanic (Knowledge (behavioral sciences)) from Modern d20 without giving us a Fantasy equivalent, and discussed modern hospitals and medicines. Likewise, no coverage was given for magical or supernatural ways of causing, preventing, or curing the madness presented here. While the system presented here is complete unto itself and is easily dropped into any sort of d20 game, the GM will have to determine where supernatural effects fit into the system.

That said, I can?t hold that against the product. It does everything it set out to do, and does so perfectly. Players who want a supplement to add the effects of horror into their games need look no further. Fear and loathing in d20 has arrived. <br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The Horror tables, with their myriad effects. Also the many small variants and options that allowed for a high degree of customization.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Aspects of fantasy d20 weren't given in contrast to the few modern d20-specific mechanics presented. Issues of how supernatural effects interacted with the presented rules was largely ignored.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

When it comes to gaming, Horror is the genre that I like best. As such, I?m always looking for new products that cater to this particular interest of mine, thus I downloaded Fear Effects. Fear Effects is a simple, straight forward, 13 page set of OGC rules designed to serve as a toolkit for simulating fear and madness in a number of genres, as well as for simulating the early chart-heavy systems of tracking such sanity and madness found in first generation roleplaying games. Fear Effects meets both of these design goals admirably.

The lynchpin of the Fear Effects system is a simple Will save verus an average difficulty class of 10. This never changes (i.e., the DC is not adjusted up or down), but that?s okay - the real strength of Fear Effects isn?s some gimmicky die mechanic, but rather a series of random roll tables that reflect the outcome of a failed Will save made in the face of a frightening situation. While some may deride this as a throwback to design of the early 1980s, others (such as myself) will see it as a tried and true feature of game design making a long awaited reappearance.

In its capacity as a toolkit, Fear Effects presents numerous optional rules for expanding and altering the basic mechanics so that they may be custom-tailored to fit your game. From alternate methods of rolling dice to rules for recovery from the effects of fright, Fear Effects covers a lot of ground here, greatly increasing the utility of an already versatile system. Honestly, I can think of more than a few occasions when rules such as those found in Fear Effects would have come in handy during actual play.

Finally, the last noteworthy feature of Fear Effects is that all of the rules are designated Open Gaming Content (i.e., the rules themselves are OGC, but trade names, artwork, and the like are designated Product Identity). This makes Fear Effects a worthwhile investment not only for the casual gamer, but for the budding OGL product developer, as well. If you like Horror and you like gaming, you owe it to yourself to grab a copy of this versatile, well-written, rule set.

<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The re-apperance of randomly rolled insanities and effects of fear. The simple, elegant, mechanic that doesn't stray from the core system's roots. The flexible nature of the rules and the options presented for custom-tailoring them to my own games. The inclusion of a 'printer-friendly' PDF in the downloadable ZIP file (a no-graphics, minimalist, presentation of the standard Fear Effects PDF). <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: To be honest, I liked all of it - and remember, this is coming from a guy who tends to be overly critical of most Horror gaming material, as I'm an admitted genre fanboy (i.e., i don't hand out high praise for game products in this category without good reason).<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

This ?book on books? is an extensive resource for developing a real aspect of the world in a way that goes far beyond anything else I have seen on this topic. If you have thought about trying to expand on books in your campaign this is the product to grab. Then you can take these rules in full, or apply your own vision onto the framework provided here. Admittedly, this will not interest everyone, and the current $12 price is slightly discouraging; but if this is a theme you want to explore I heartily suggest this product. If you purchase the download, you will receive the full and printer friendly version. This review is based upon the full PDF version.

?Libem Liborium? contains eleven chapters, with the last chapter being solely a collection of charts and random generators. Throughout the book there are text blocks called sidebars that are intended to provide ?hints and tips? for using the guidelines provided.

Here is a quick description of the contents broken down by chapter:

Chapter 1: Backdrop - This chapter covers a wide variety of background questions that run from how widespread is literacy in your world, to what printing methods exist.

Chapter 2: Writing While Adventuring - This chapter includes guidelines for, among other things, players writing journals, keeping notes, publishing books while adventuring, and determining the value of books in your campaign.

Chapter 3: Where Writing can be Found - This chapter discusses bookstores and actually provides floor plans for a bookstore, public library, and private library. It has further information on topics such as the impact of the elements, pests, and people on the books.

Chapter 4: Skills and Feats - This chapter adds two subcategories to the knowledge skill categories and presents new and revised skills pertinent to writers, collectors, librarians, scribes, etc. The feats range from new item creation feats, such as Craft Tome and Scribe Cipher (see below), to general feats that will improve skills or change the mechanics of your skills use. (For example, change which modifier is applicable.)

Chapter 5: Prestige Classes - For anyone looking for a way to anchor their character concept to the world of knowledge represented by books, this is the chapter you have been waiting for. You will find five different prestige classes, ranging from the dedicated censor of knowledge to the master forger of documents.

Chapter 6: Spells - Here you will find new bard spells, cleric spells, cleric domains, and wizard spells.

Chapter 7: Tomes and Ciphers - This chapter briefly discusses the new Scribe Cipher feat and establishes the answers to what, why, and how for their use. It then goes on to describe a number of magical tomes that have a variety of magical effects. The chapter also includes charts that establish the value of ciphers and tomes.

Chapter 8: New Magical and Mundane Items - This chapter begins with a basic description of mundane items relevant to the world of books and contains charts to establish their value. (Inks, papers, seals, etc.) The magical items include bookends, glasses, and a desk.

Chapter 9: Deities - This chapter contains four deities. This is an area that I was disappointed in comparison with the rest of the book. Clearly, the gods could have been more numerous. Even with just four, the descriptive text could have been much more complete to provide dungeon masters with a complete concept to use whole if they so choose.

Chapter 10: New Monsters - The monsters are interesting and in sufficient numbers to make for a worthwhile resource. The authors hopes to focus on creatures that would be at home in a library, bookstore, or hall of records; and they range the gamut from ghosts with a hatred for knowledge seekers to printing press based constructs.

Chapter 11: Charts and Random Generators - There are charts for, among other things; treasure, book rarity, and sample book titles in a variety of different topics. Handy reference charts that show some extra thought was put into this product. Even if you elect to replace some charts to better fit your campaign setting, you will likely find some inspirations among these charts.

If the above sounds interesting then this product is for you. I had never thought to bring this level of detail to books, but having read through ?Librem Liborium? I find myself liking the idea. If the idea of making books a more central part of your gaming sessions, or even of simply handling them in a more comprehensive manner, excites you then this is the resource you must have.

To rousing gaming and ample rewards, I. Perez<br><br><b>LIKED</b>:

1. Innovative prod to ensure that this topic is taken as seriously as you want to take it.
2. Covers a broad spectrum of issues that might not come to mind if you were to attempt this on your own.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>:
3. Minor typographical and formatting errors, such as the listing of the Random Treasure Generator in the ?Contents Page?.
4. At the moment, it seems a bit expensive given its length. ($12)<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Modern Dispatch #30 ? Mob Rules By Jerry Blakemore, Preston Dubose, Craig Largent, and Ed Wetterman Layout: Preston Dubose Published by 12 to Midnight.

This is a short pdf product (12 pages) including OGL. It?s designed for the d20 modern system and released as part of the Modern Dispatch service that was started by RpgObjects. This product contains two detailed Npcs, a location (including map), a serialized adventure and mechanics for mobs (the swarm equivalent for creatures of size Small, Medium and Large).

This was a very strange product to read on first run through. In some ways, it seemed very eclectic when I first read it but as you get near the end of the product its clear that everything does link together to provide a really complete package. The product is setting in the fictional Modern Horror setting of Pinebox, Texas. This is the default setting for 12 to Midnight releases. It is a setting in development with much of it being developed pieces at a time in other 12 to Midnight releases and on their website (There is lots of supplemental information on their website).

In side the product is two ?Pinebox Personalities? or NPCs that each have their character profile, secrets, game statistics, character speak and GM ideas (hooks for the character, 3-5). The two characters in this release are Morten Decourt, a pizza restuaranteer and witness protection program client, and Jerry McGovern, bank vice-president and white supremacist. The location presented in this product is Morten?s Pizza barn. The product provides information on the history of the bar and its common practices, four adventure hooks to use the barn as your setting and detailed map at the rear of the product. The map is detailed showing all furniture and has squares for adaptation to a game using miniatures, tokens or tiles. The module is a short scene that is the 2nd in an overarching series of an adventure. The first appeared in Modern Dispatch #26 ? On the steps of City Hall. This product recaps the previous part of the serial and provides another encounter in this arc utilizing the Pizza Barn, Morten Decourt, Jerry McGoven and potentially the mob rules the close this project. the adventure portion is written for no set level and encourages the GM to select appropriate opponents from the d20 Modern book. The mob rules are mechanics for making a swarm of creatures of size Small, Medium or Large. In many ways this is an expansion/extension of the swarm rules in the SRD but a good expansion filling in an unnecessary gap in the modern game rules. Some of the mechanics of the mob seem a little unclear to my reading and I wonder if this would not have been better represented by a template. The mob is also extremely lethal to any ordinary characters that get in the way.

Overall, 12 to Midnight has provided a very content rich product in a little amount of space. It enhances their campaign setting as well as providing you a complete location and adventure piece as well as plenty of hooks and detail to adapt it beyond the scene presented. <br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Very detailed information on NPCs and setting. Filled with adventure hooks. Generic enough to be relocated or scaled easily. No obvious editing issues (professional look and design).<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Some mechanics seem unclear and it unclear if they could have been developed in a more straightforward way. (The mechanics are only an issue for me in the Mob Rules section, and are far outweighed by the other quality material) Some hooks were bland<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

I didn't like it. Others might. Not much more to say about it really.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Disappointing<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>

This is a fun bit of pop culture that has the potential to be truly creepy, though by my reading it's not a character-killer.

The mechanical aspects of possession and reality-bending are described briefly and provided with some limitations, though it leaves a lot to the GM's judgement. After the initial description and hook, the GM and one of the players will have to do a lot of work to come up with inspiration for the events that follow, since the adventure doesn't provide much help. That may actually help to provide this event with a certain psychological kick by bringing out a side of the players that's not often seen. The adventure also forces the action back into the midst of the players' group interaction by having relatively few NPCs for the genre. There are no disposable victims.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The important character of Lana has technical problems, starting with not enough skill ranks to cast the ritual that she's required to cast. The character-speak for the NPCs is weak, with only about one line from each list that I'd want to use.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

I've been skeptical of paper minis ever since I tried to build a construction paper village for a Warhammer and it came out looking like the the battle was over before it began. However, Flatlands is a whole different ball game. These look great and the options available are unbelievable. I kept looking at the PDFs expecting to find images that I couldn't or wouldn't use, and never did. Each person, vehicle, and the accessories are great looking. For the first time, I feel like I can show my players what something looks like without drawing it with a pencil on a peice of scrap paper. I highly recommend this one and I'm looking forward to more sets.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: There's enough images here for just about any modern game I like to play. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

This adventure looks like a lot of fun and easily placed in any modern-era campaign where a random alien appearance could be justified. There are some sly historical and pop-culture references, and excellent uses of props, that should give players and readers a thrill.

As the Introduction explains, it uses 12 to Midnight's Fear Effects, but stands alone very easily without these rules (or with another set of Sanity rules of your choice).<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Greens Guide to Ghosts works extremely well, in my opinion, with d20 and the horror genre as a whole. It's style of writing is very much a 'Ghosts for Dummies' format which shouldn't turn anyone away.

When you run as many games as I have in the past you often find players drawn to the genre, but incapable of playing it.

Green's Guide to Ghosts fills that void excellently by giving players terminology, facts and opinions, and real gadgets used in todays world.

While Green's Guide to Ghosts wont cure the lazy player who can't be bothered to study a little, it definately wraps the subject matter in an attractive and tempting morsel to draw them out.

A must to own if you want to run d20 horror and/or have new players you need to break in.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Pretty much everything. Pictures were well done. Glossary in the back was a great addition. Equipment list was good. All in all, a great buy.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: One major quirk and this might be me personally. But I did -not- like how the book jumps narrative back and forth, sometimes in the same paragraph it seems. If I want to read remarks from the character narrating the subject to me, mark it as such so I can follow. I caught myself having to re-read a couple of spots that seem to jump back and forth from a game creator to NPC telling me about the book.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

A great utility for any modern day campaign. The images on the tiles are all computer generated, very crisp and clear. While the product carries the d20 system logo, and has some d20 specific statistics for vehicles, it's mostly generic and usable for any system.

This is the first product I've bought from 12 to Midnight, and I'll surely be buying from their great looking horror product line.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Generic tiles for flooring, furniture, vehicles, characters, creatures, etc. And plenty of blank tile templates for your own use.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: I won't get much (if any) use out of the d20 vehicle stats, or the "sci-fi" creature tiles, but I knew before buying the .pdf that it would contain some things I'd never use.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

WOW! I loved this well thought out and chilling adventure. There are lots of player handouts which I and my players love. Even with over 120 pages there is no wasted space. Buy this even if you're not into d20 modern horror (yet). This adventure got me out of the regular D&D grind. Its written in a very helpful way that makes it easy to run. If you're looking at this page then stop here and just buy it. You'll be happy you did. I just wish it were possible for small publishers like this to make more of these quality adventures faster.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

12 to midnight has delivered a very useful guide here. Its everything you need to run a good ghost hunt. I found the equipment list very useful as well as the different game/story ideas. There are three extensive story ideas as well as numerous short ideas. I'll be using a few of these. It is also entertaining in the way its written. Its written from the point of view of one of 12 to midnight's main characters. This makes it more fun to read than the usual bunch of dry rule sets that are out there. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>