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Crypts and Things Remastered
Publisher: D101 Games
by Allen H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/08/2016 08:19:11

This game ranks among the best of the Sword & Sorcery genre games that I have come across.

I don't consider myself "Old School," per se. I started gaming in '81 with Moldvay Basic (well, before that, but I was ignorant of D&D and was introduced to Holmes by an older cousin). I enjoy the older playstyles, but I am also a fan of newer games (Shadowrun, Rifts, the d20 products, Fate, Cypher, etc). I never read the prior incarnation of C&T.

This game pulls from some of my favorite source material: Conan, Elric, Weird Tales, Lovecraft, etc., The O.G. Dungeonmaster's Guide, Fiend Folio, Stormbringer, music inspirations that remind me of my high school days (old Metallica, Slayer, etc). Magic is powerful and mean (no saving throws, though player characters can "test their luck" to mitigate some dangers). The selection of beasts is a mix of Howard/Lovecraft and others. Magical treasures are reminiscent of Warhammer Fantasy (unique and often consequence laden). Corruption and sanity serve as balancers to the corrupting forces of black magic (yeah, I used corrupting to define Corruption. Big C vs little c. Just go with it, it works.).

What I'm saying here is: the game has an incredible atmosphere that the rules firmly back up. This is, in my opinion, the most important aspect of a game.

The system is based on Swords and Wizardry, but it is sufficiently different to make the purchase and play worth it. I am really impressed with the author and editor (I can be fairly pedantic at times). I am not one to point out when one uses "he" as a standard pronoun (mainly because, English), although I generally dislike the he, she, or he/she alternating between chapters that some games use. The author/editor chose the route that I generally choose: using words that are completely gender neutral. I feel it shows a more intelligent choice while not catering to a more vocal segment of society (please, no offense is intended towards anyone).

Other reviews have detailed the rules.

I would favorably compare this game to AS&SoH, another S&S game that I think is fairly incredible. C&T edges it out slightly, however, mainly due to ease of rules in C&T vs AS&SoH (Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea). I could see stealing from either game to complement the other.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Crypts and Things Remastered
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Yoon-Suin
Publisher: Noisms Games
by Allen H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/22/2015 13:24:07

This is an incredible product for sandbox games. There is enough area description to get a good idea of what the feel for the region is (like 1st edition AD&D Forgotten Realms grey box, before the supplements explored every single square mile), then there are tables to randomly generate your Yoon-Suin. Every Yoon-Suin will be different. Which is awesome.

When I first looked at the pdf I was reminded of when I first looked at the Empire of the Petal Throne book (the spiral bound one). Lots of cool ideas that made me instantly want to unleash my imagination. Fantasy mixed with long buried secrets.

Don't buy this expecting to be spoon fed a setting, or for the slick illustrations (pictures are few and far between, but they are oddly evocative), or because it has random tables in it (it does, though). Get this because it will really help to get the ideas flowing. It can fit into any rules system, though it definitely has an old school D&D feel to it.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Yoon-Suin
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Dungeon World
Publisher: Burning Wheel
by Allen H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/30/2013 20:36:18

I'm split on the stars for this game, so I will solidly middle ground it. The rating will be determined by how much experience you have gaming and how much you like story game vs dice game (or traditional, I guess).

As I read through the game I kept asking myself what this game does that other games don't. The answer is that it doesn't. Everything in here is stuff that any good gamemaster already does with their own system of choice. Sure, it's written a little different and changes the words around, but the advice is, or should be, well known by now.

If I were to rate this from my own perspective I would give the game one star. I found nothing of value in the product.

If I were new to the hobby, unsure of what I was doing, new to gamemastering, etc, I would give the product 5 stars.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Dungeon World
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Contamination Europe - A Post-Apocalyptic Role Playing Game
Publisher: msGameDevelopment
by Allen H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/04/2011 17:37:51

The author did indeed rectify the editing issues and I have upgraded my rating to five stars. I'll leave the original review below, but I feel the presentation is 100% better.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: I love Post Apocalyptic genre stories, games, movies, etc.. Several favorites of mine are Metro 2033 and Fallout 3. I've been gaming for 30 years and I love to see new games.

This is a Capsule, not an actual play review, so take that as you will.

Contamination Europe offers an atmospheric background for a post nuclear war environment in Europe. It uses levels, skills, attributes (Strength, Dexterity, etc.), feats/talents, hit points, etc. Armor absorbs damage. Weapons do a lot of damage vs how many hit points a character has. Health is regained via eating, drinking, bandaging, rest, and medicines. The author gives an encumbrance system in which the character has a certain number of belt, or easily accessible, slots in which to place equipment (and conversely, hard to reach spaces such as in a backpack).

The rules are easy to grasp (skill rolls are made on a d30, roll under your skill or attribute). Beginning skills can go no higher than 13, maxing out at 26 (same as attributes). There are modifiers that can apply (such as aiming).

If I were to run a Metro 2033 or Fallout 3 game I could definitely use Contamination Europe.

The Bad:

The Author's primary language is not English and it shows. By no means does this make it a bad game, but it really needs to be given to an English speaking editor. Some words are used incorrectly and it can jar one from the presentation (though you can figure it out). If this bothers you, it will really drive you nuts.

The weapons are presented in a list/table format. There really needs to be some explanation as to what these weapons are, possibly illustrations of some of them. There really are a lot of them and I am not familiar with European weapons. Same thing with armor. The pictures of several Panzer suits were cool. More of that would have been awesome.

Buy it?

Depends. I do not regret it, but I love picking up rules and AP stuff. The game is a more old school mindset. The price is right for what you get. I think the author can easily expand this into a really good game. It has the feeling of a game the author would themselves use and there is no pretentiousness in the writing.

If you like slick, newer style games, avoid this. You will not like it.

I post as Bloodwolf on rpgnet if anyone has further questions.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Contamination Europe - A Post-Apocalyptic Role Playing Game
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Cannibal Sector 1
Publisher: Nightfall Games
by Allen H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/12/2011 16:45:21

Initially I had put off buying this product because I had heard some negative things about it. I really should have known better, though.

The product is excellent and gives an expanded view of Mort and the Cannibal Sector. It really explains things that I feel are lacking from the main rules book (especially the size of Mort city and the Cannibal Sectors in general).

The adversaries in the book expand the universe greatly. The Scavs are awesome. The Manchines exist in a vacuum no longer. The cannibals remind me of very bad things from very bad nightmares.

The book really gives an excellent feel for the sector, as well as giving a feel for what the rest of the city is like. It gives a real purpose behind higher level SCs. There is information buried in the sector that many people should not know.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Cannibal Sector 1
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Klick's End
Publisher: Nightfall Games
by Allen H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/12/2011 16:36:26

This is an excellent product. It really gives an incredible feel for the setting, especially the "normal" civilians of Downtown. The description of people's attitude reminds me of what some darker neighborhoods in the real world will end up as.

These products are dragging me back into the World of Progress. Now I need to drag my players in, kicking and screaming if necessary.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Klick's End
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Scarred Lands Campaign Setting: Ghelspad
Publisher: Onyx Path Publishing
by Allen H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/27/2005 17:22:24

Thus far the book seems good. Lots of information for a setting, which is what I like. Creative, as well. Low on rules, also a high point for me when campaign settings are concerned. My only concern is the scan of the main map of the continent. The scale is unreadable (invisible) at any level of magnification.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Scarred Lands Campaign Setting: Ghelspad
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MonkeyGod Presents: From Stone to Steel
Publisher: Highmoon Press
by Allen H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/27/2005 00:00:00

This is probably the best weapon/armor supplement I have seen outside of numerous historical books(which are useless as far as the game goes). Pictures of the majority of gear is included as well as descriptions of the gear and why and how it was changed.

The best feature, IMO is that the gear was broken down into historical periods, from stone age to Renassaince era, as well as a "fantastic/heroic" type period. This book is GREAT. There are so many weapons and armor types. I just printed up the master tables for reference use and it totalled 24 pages, of standard type, single space print.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Everything, now if they could do a book on equipment throughout the ages...<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Nothing, this book is excellent<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
MonkeyGod Presents: From Stone to Steel
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Heroes of High Favor: DWARVES
Publisher: Bad Axe Games
by Allen H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/26/2005 00:00:00

I did not like this book at all. I have been running dwarves for many years. This one did not help me in any way.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Poor<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
Heroes of High Favor: DWARVES
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Darwin's World 2: Survivor's Handbook
Publisher: RPG Objects
by Allen H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/26/2005 00:00:00

Much better than Gamma World d20. More old school and it didn't take a beloved game setting and destroy it. The entire Darwin's World Corebook, of which this is but one portion of 3 or 4 portions, allows a gamemaster to create their own apocalyptic setting. Good stuff. Range from road warrior to the earth of the terminator war scenes.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Pretty much everything<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The "portion" aspect of the book. I would have purchased the individual portions as one download if it were available that way.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Darwin's World 2: Survivor's Handbook
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zzz-Gary Gygax's World Builder
Publisher: Troll Lord Games
by Allen H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/26/2005 00:00:00

This is one of those books that is good if you really have no other references. As stated in other areas, this is mostly a book of lists. The old dungeon master's guide, the d and d rules cyclopedia, and the hero:fantasy books are all better resources. I have been playing for 23 years and really expected more from the creator. The polearms, something that Mr. Gygax already discussed in the 1st ed Unearthed Arcana, actually lacked the presentation quality of the earlier work. I am a fan of the older works primarily because they were meant for an intelligent audience. This work is not up to par with those earlier standards and I feel that is a shame.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: It cost less than a hardcopy<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Bad rework of already printed materials. One of the pitfalls of downloads, you cannot return them to the store.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
zzz-Gary Gygax's World Builder
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