Roleplaying Books

I read/played through this adventure probably about 15 years ago and still remember it vividly. It is a well written, challenging and original representative of its genre. A great deal of the originality comes from the players inability to control the bestial savagery of the "creature of havoc" the story is based around. This deepens the players immersion and helps overcome some of the limitations inherent in "pick-a-path" books.

Creature of Havoc has a well-earned reputation as one of the best and toughest gamebooks. It's longer than most Fighting Fantasy books; there's a small degree of filler between set pieces, with many dead ends and red herrings. Meticulous note-taking is a must -- as is a fair dose of luck.

The detailed backstory is integrated beautifully into the main story. You play a monster trying to master its instincts and gain understanding of its nature and control of its fate. This is more than just a gimmick; it sets the scene for a masterful adventure and memorable climax.

Newcomers to Fighting Fantasy will find a more forgiving intro elsewhere -- I recommend City of Thieves, Citadel of Chaos or Steve Jackson's Sorcery! series. Aficionados who haven't yet played this one are in for a treat.

Creature of Havoc has been on the top of many fighting fantasy lists, and is well deserving of this recognition. However, this is also one of the most difficult fighting fantasy books and beginners to the series may be frustrated. Nonetheless, this book has a very intricate storyline which is set up by many pages of background material. Even with the background material, you start off as a creature unknowing of the world, and begin a quest for identity. There are a diverse number of environments that you will traverse. This updated book does correct a glaring error in the previous edition which made the book extremely difficult to solve. Also, the production value of this book is top notch, from the wonderful cover to the quality of the paper. A must for any fighting fantasy or gamebook fan.

This is an Awesome Adventure for starting DM's

This adventure for starting DM's gives you all you need to run an adventure!!!

"Fast Play" is the best D&D tutorial series I've ever played. Knocking down the learning curve, EotW is a module adventure, with "as needed" instructions on playing D&D. Not only are game mechanics presented this way, but also gaming and roleplaying tips, and information on mundane basic things, like armor and weapons. The module also has ample opportunities for roleplaying NPC's (non-player characters, who interact with the players), as well as standard combat. The only drawback is that the special dice you need to play are not included, but even so, the module comes with alternatives using six-sided dice!

This is basically GURPS Magic, book 2. It provides great additional material in the way of new spells for the current colleges of magic such as the Elementals or Necromancy. In addition, the new schools of magic (Gate and Tech magic) are interesting new additions. This gives your characters the advantage of not only having the right spell for the right occasion, but also having a selection of tricks up their sleeves.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear: This book is a companion volume to GURPS Magic. In order to fully appreciate (and make the best use of) this book, you need GURPS Magic as well. Now that that is out of the way, on to the praises. This is where you will find the odder and more esoteric spells (as well as some of the more powerful ones) that Magic just didn't have room for, or that handn't been thought of yet. Some of these spells are exceptionally powerful, others are just plain sneaky, but all are useful. As I said before, the odder corners and more advanced levels of magic are more fully represented in this book, along with optional rules. Here you will find things like techno-magic, radiation spells, acid spells, spells to literally rain fire down upon your foes, a spells to create an imprisoning circle around your foes, spells to fascinate and control your enemy, shapeshifting spells, elaborate illusions, divination spells, and even a spell to plunge a target into a morass of incapacitating pleasure.

That little list only scratches the surface, my friends. A few new schools of magic are added, and almost every one of the schools of magic presented in GURPS Magic has additions in this book, and all of them are worth looking at. If you want to be the best magic-user that you can be, this book will help you on your way.

Used with GURPS Magic and the GURPS Basic Set it provides a complete, varied and well integrated set of spells for roleplaying. Without being tied to specific genres it still manages to offer a wide range of dramatic possibilies from which many a plot could be spawned.

Great book with a map inside that you can tear out. I used this book exclusively for a CoC group I ran for a whole year long. I really appreciated the block to block set up with the various places of import and the mythos related possibilities. This is a great place to have players start from and explore.

First, let me say that this is a huge book. At 250 pages, you are really getting your money's worth. The town info is great, lots of useful characters, and the scenarios are excellent. I do have some complaints - the layout is more primitive than the other books, especially the neighborhood maps. On the other end of the scale, all the portraits are computer generated. First, it looks pretty hokey (maybe CGI was not as good back then?); second, the facial proportions are wrong for many of the people. This isn't a big deal for, say, Dunwich, but Arkham is somewhat repesctable and misproportioned faces just clashes with the attempted realism of CGI.

The standard layout of these books is to have a story by HPL featuring the town, to discuss town history, to break down the town into neighborhoods and show each one in detail, and then to have scenarios.

The opening story is "Dreams in the Witch House", which is probably the best available. I really like opening these books with a story by HPL - it is a reminder of how the whole thing got started. The neighborhoods take up a lot of space and describe a great many people, places, and things to meet in Arkham. I wish they would have spent some time talking about architecture in the town history section - I still don't know the difference between "gable" and "gambrel". Some real problems: street names are not clearly marked on the neighborhood maps, even when they are referred to. The combined map is not reprinted in the neighborhood section, nor is each neighborhood map shown as one piece; we only see fragments at a time. I think the Kingsport sourcebook does this best, so I assume that the layout people were still pefecting their craft at this early stage. As always, the town directory is helpful considering especially that there are so many entries that an index is needed to quickly find anything. All of the scenarios are great, although one ("the Hills Rise Wild") really would have been better in the Dunwich book, which was short on good scenarios.

Also included is a tear-out map of Arkham on very nice paper, and an issue of THE ARKHAM ADVERTISER, which also becomes a handout.

In all, this is a very informative sourcebook, with plenty of people, places, and things for investigators to explore. The only drawback, besides the poor maps, is that the spooky atmosphere was not convreyed very well. Reading the other sourcebooks, I definitely felt the atmosphere; Arkham didn't do that for me. It could have been better, but was still great.

The wonderful thing about roleplaying games are their endless possibilities for action- one can literally do anything within the framework of the rules; the only limit is the glass ceiling of your imagination. Though there IS the limitation put forth by the necessities of playing a particular module or campaign- if the game takes place in Canada, it is probably a good idea to go there and not to Somalia. With this book, all limitations are gone.

The homebase of H.P. Lovecraft's Call of Cthulhu investigators is in all probability Arkham, perhaps being their place of employement or residence. With this new Sourcebook, H.P. Lovecraft's Arkham, we now have a literal blueprint of the town. Who lives where, what is the criminal underground like, what are the industries and buisnesses, public transporation, what do the govement and police consist of, etc. It literally creates an entire world for the player to exist in.

We have not even bothered to play any of the game scenarious at the back because just existing in the town and creating our own situations have been fascinating enough. For example, we had the investigators encounter and befriend an underground movement of Anarchist whom attempted to unionize the immigrant factory workers, wipe out the Arkham govement, simultanously blew up the three power stations in the town and the water tower, did battle with the national guard and took over!

There is literally endless possibilities for play. Think Grand Theft Auto times a thousand. The book is brilliant and besides having the original Call of Cthulhu sourcebook, I see this book as being absolutly essential. There are gangs and cults and underground movements and plenty of beasts and forbidden tomes and strange people and places to go and situations to become involved in, besides ones that the Storyteller creates herself. Included is also information on the Miskatonic University and its professors, campus, and library.

Also included is information pertaining to the surrounding area around Arkham for those Investigators brave enough to leave town, for, indeed, there is much that is truly monsterous writhing about the periphery.

Although I see this book as essential, if you dig it, there are other simular and exciting books for those wishing to expand your play world- there is H.P. Lovecraft's Kingsport, H.P. Lovecraft's Dunwich, and Escape From Innsmouth. Thus opening up the possibility to wander throughout four complete, though completly unique and hideously decadent, towns all within reach of each other. I can't wait for the release of the hardcover Miskatonic University sourcebook.

...I have been reading this with/to my grandson. He absolutely loves the intricacy and details shown and drawn... Frankly, I have NOT followed the "interactive formula" but just let him choose his favorite pages... EVERY time we read it together (usually just before bed)he and I find something we have not seen before. There is so much there that this is one of the rare books that has staying power over the years... I am fairly sure he will be looking a this when he is 18, and again when he has children of his own. It is magnificent! I will purchase anything this author chooses to draw in a similar vein.

Every time we walk into our neighborhood bookstore, my son runs over to find "Haunted Castle." I guess it started when the book originally caught my eye, and so I picked it up. I'm an artist, and the drawings are so detailed and intruiging that it drew me in immediately. To top it off, there's a game to be played throughout the book that both my son and I found extremely innovative. In it, Johnny and Jodie have to find their Uncle Barnaby, and so the journey takes you through the many twists, characters, and wonderful drawings where in the end you really don't know if you're going to actually find him. Because my son is not at the reading level the book displays, it's a great way to spend some quality time together without the TV on! I would reccomend "Haunted Castle" to you if you're one to appreciate tallented illustration, great ideas in writing, and enjoy sharing story time with your children.

Haunted Castle is a book that lets you choose your own path through a terrifying castle. Every time you read the book, the story changes because of the decicions you make. The richly detailed illustrations will keep you entertained for hours and every time you look at an illustration you notice something new. Some of the first rate drawings include a graveyard full of restless spirits, a mad scientist's laboratory, a sunken pirate ship, and a dungeon. Once you finaly find your way out of the castle, there is a surprise that explains the whole mystery!

DON'T OVERPAY!!!

While this book is out of print, it has been compiled by the publisher into a mega book (called the horizon essential collection) along with the rest of the horizon line. For $39.95 you can get this book AS WELL AS:

Spellslinger
Virtual
Redline
Mechamorphosis

If you are buying this book for more than $39.95, you are probably paying too much (unless you want the purity of the book alone, without 4 other books in addition).

How is it that so few know of this expansion to the d20 system? With a wonderful selection of youth-based classes, fantastic imagery and fairy-tale peril, Grimm stands out as one of the best roleplaying sourcebooks yet written.

You play a child stuck somehow in the dark and mysterious world of Grimm. You must rely on your wits and imagination if you want to get back home. Along the way, you'll meet familiar faces wrapped in a shadow of evil. Humpty Dumpty rules with an iron (..err... eggshelly?) fist, Cinderella has gained a taste for the sadism once pushed on her, and the Big Bad Wolf isn't the only one with fangs anymore.

Designed to be played as a mini-campaign (the character levels are capped at 6), Grimm would be a perfect introduction for adult heroes in a d20 Modern campaign. Think Stephen King's "It". The selection of classes, feats and equipment makes for a truly individual setting- I highly recommend this book.

I call myself a slightly above average gamer. I played AD&D 2.0, 'cause we had nothing else. I've played a few White Wolf systems. Even played the old Star Wars d6 game. Currently, I do stuff with 7th Sea (d10), the new World of Darkness systems, and a D&D 3.0 game.

D&D 3.0 and 3.5, and d20 in general, leave a bad taste in my mouth. I don't like class systems, leveling systems, XP you can't spend. And d20 is all of these. Granted, it made 3.0 years better than 2.0 (and the God-awful 2.5). But still...

Then I read Grimm. Grimm is a short book, just 62 pages, and uses the d20 Open Game Licence. But it is so much better than any other d20 that I've ever seen.

The Grimm Lands were created when the Grimm Brothers in our world created records and stories of the nightmares and fantasies that exist, and by chronicling them, banished them to anyother place. Here, the fairy tales became twisted and evil. Cinderella is a slaver, Rapunzel a hollow husk controlled by the spiders of her tower, Red Riding Hood a vampire, and much more. The land is ruled by a very insane Humpty Dumpty, who lost his mind upon falling off his wall.

Into the twisted (but clearly justified) world, children from our world can sometimes fall, fueled by the imagination of the young age. And this is where the players come in.

You play children, between ages 8 and 12, who find themselves trapped in the Grimm Lands, desperately searching for a way home. Hopefully, you'll find one, or find a new reason to exist in the Grimm Lands.

New feats and skills have been added to the d20 core rules; others are merely revisions. For example, the skills Survival and Heal from d20 have been lumped together into the new skill Boy Scout Stuff.

But the most endearing part is the new character classes, seven in all. They are the Bully, the Dreamer, the Jock, the Nerd, the Normal Kid, the Outcast, and the Popular Kid, each with ther own brand new powers, strangths, and weaknesses. They are too intricate to go into here, but I assure you they are amazing.

But what really sets this apart from most d20 games (besides the amazing classes, world set-up, and underlining charm of everything) is the leveling system. The rules suggest that you don't give XP to the players; instead, at the end of every game, everyone just goes up one level. Each character class has but six levels, and the rules suggest that you should never run a story for more than six games. This kills all munchkin options; no ore "Look what my character can do now!" and no more "We must kill everything so we can level faster." Pure and simple gaming for the sake of gaming, and it's a pleasure with everything they've loaded this book with.

Get the game, and amaze yourself. This is something no one who does RPGs should miss out on.

This is the first edition of the game, which, out of the three editions, is my favorite. The system is amazing in its abilities and flexibility, the world is vast, going beyond even D&D when it comes to the sheer potential of the universe. You can literally pull together the most disparate parties, featuring vampires, normal every day people, D&D style mages, cyber punks and so on with little effort. Perhaps the only complaint with it is the mechanics (though I will say, I am working on a conversion to old World of Darkness for simplicity).

The game has a history that spans 65 million years and covers all sorts of goodness like the rise of Immortals, their formal rulers, the Abzulim, the enemy they fight through the infinite nights. Add in the Mantles and the Dominions and you have every imaginable alternative history you could want at your fingertips. Characters and NPCs can range from average mortal to beings with globe spanning senses and earth shattering powers. Also, in relation to another review that was posted, you don't -have- to play yourself from a parallel universe. The system does allow for totally fictional characters.

So...in summation, I have to say that the world/setting is definately a 5. The concepts in the game are also definately 5. For character playability and GM options it's also a 5. The only weakness of the game is the mechanics, which are easily scrubbed and cleaned if you want, so I'd have to put it as a 3. The rest of the game completely outshines this one problem, especially if your more a role player than a roll player.

This game has amazing flexibility, despite the complicated character creation. If you want to play a vampire, you can create a vampiric Immortal. If you want to play a werewolf, that's just far too easy. This is a game with rich environments, beautiful artwork, inspiring ideas and unique gameplay design. I highly recommend this to any experienced role-player. I have never yet found a game that has offered such amazing flexibility and unique design to both storytellers and players alike.

This product is truly a marvel. Not only is the writing well crafted, but the setting and systems are highly thought-provoking and enjoyable. Perhaps the truly unique game mechanics were the first edition's downfall, not to mention almost impossible to translate into, say, the d20 system, but I maintain that they were part of what made it so enjoyable. Ran Ackels created a world that genuinely feels like it has been inhabited for 65 million years; the artifacts and settings and plots manage not only to to balance three very difficult impressions (alien, hauntingly familiar and extremely old) but make them enjoyable. The character generation system is not completely unique, though rare: the players play themselves from the universe next door, which in this case means that they are immortals of at least 400 years of age (give or take a few decades) and quite likely much, much older. The process of character development is more a process of 'remembering', rather than building up from a baseline starting point.
There are plenty of challenges for players and referees alike, even after the minor issues with terminology have been mastered. Overall, I was entraced by the book from the moment I saw the cover, and remain delighted by the possibilities that flow forth every time I open my copy.
Come.
Become more than what you think you are.
Remember what you were...
Reclaim your powers and your place...
...and transcend.

Good source book for clans Gangrel, Assamites, and Followers of Set. Had new merits and flaws like nameless, pied piper, lokis gift. New higher level disciplines for protean, also has Assamite sorcery, and a new discipline for Setites calledimmanence of set...but its really setite sorcery.

Continuing WW's Libellus Sanguinus series, which details three Dark Ages vampire clans per book, this book details the three non-European clans in the Dark Ages setting. Essentially, each book is a mini-clanbook, covering the clan's history, outlooks, practices and disciplines during the Dark Ages. Considering that my favorite clans are covered in this book, I found it very exciting.
After an introduction saying what is in the book and why, we get to the first section, "Animals", which covers the feral and animalistic Gangrel barbarians. Probably the shortest book in this collection, it goes from the Gangrel's distant roots on the steppes of Central Asia to the Dark Ages, covering the Gangrel's outlook and practices like the revel and the survival test new embraces are subjected to. A brief section on views on other Clans and the wild places in Europe is followed by a section full of game mechanics, from wilderness oriented Merits and Flaws to new Protean and mixed discipline powers. It closes out with two new bloodlines (Greek Gangrel and the Mariners), brief mention on the "animal forms" that different Gangrel might assume and a few sample templates. There is also a "dark secret" concerning the Gangrel's connection to the Ravnos.
Following this is the chapter on the Assamites, which did quite a bit to clear up old stereotypes. After a really cool fiction piece, we get to learn about the Children of Haqim, from their homelands in Arabia, Persia and North Africa to distant Iberia, Byzantium and even into India, Asia and Africa. This is followed by some info on Alamut, Haqim's whereabouts and other clan specific info, as well as a nice section on the Clan's relatiosnhip to religions (and Viae). No longer is the Clan stereotypically associated with Islam, but now with many religions from Christianity and Judaism to distant Eastern religions to the ancient faiths of Greece and Persia. After getting Haqim's Laws (the Assamites code as it were) and views on other clans, it also goes into detail on the three Assamite castes: the Warriors (not just assassins, but also soldiers, judges, hunters and strategists), Sorcerers (specialists in Mid-Eastern magic) and Viziers (scholars, theologians, politicians and artists), as well as the clan's organization and secret societies.
Some really neat mechanics (like the Multicultural Merit, Quietus powers and some more info on Assamite blood magic) were included, as well as really original character templates, like th Sea Witch and the Reluctant Crusader. The Assamite's "dark secret" involves the Clan's connections, real and imagined, to the Hashashyinn and is a suprisingly clever twist.
The final chapter, "Serpents", focuses on the Followers of Set, and finally connects them to Egyptian magic and mythology. The Setites are presented as crusaders on a holy task, no longer mere tempters and corrupters. And they don't believe in Caine like other vampires, literally believing in Egyptian mythology and religion. The Setite backstory goes that they believe they are liberating man (and vampires) from the oppressive tyranny of Ma'at (law or balance). Info on the Setite's history, doings in Egypt and beyond, as well as the schism between the older Egyptian priesthood and the younger Decadents (primarily in Byzantium and Europe) were also really neat.
There were also plenty of mechanics for running Setites. Aside from the Merits and Flaws, there was also more information on Setite blood magics, including a new Path. There was also a new Via (Via Serpentis), designed off attaining the "original" or "natural" state of man, and it is presented as the ORIGINAL Setite Via. Pretty cool stuff. The character templates weren't bad but didn't particularly interest me. The dark secret for the Setites, involving a dark conspiracy concerning the Assamites, Setites and Baali, was pretty neat, but not really unexpected. Overall, this was an excellent book and a long needed overhaul for all three Clans really. Check it out, even if you don't use the Dark Ages setting.

I was nerviously awaiting this book. I had hoped byond hope that it would give a better representation of my favorite clan in the Dark Ages setting than the original Clanbook for the modern setting. Needless to say I purchased the book as soon as it was available, and I was taken away as I dove into the first section. I feel in love with Clan Gangrel all over again. The feel of the introductory tale gave both the feel I believe is Dark Ages and the smooth but violent purpose of nature's predators of the night. The rest of the book also holds the World of Darkness's history from some of the farthest points from the Dark Ages eurocentric world. Tales and truths decorate the Assimites' Islamic culture as well as the the Setites' Egyptian name-based society. The book was wonderous, but it was all icing on the cake for me after the woodland feel of the Gangrel world. Now all I have to wait for is the forth book in this series so I may know more about the feud between the Gangrel and Ravnos.

I think I will try weaving a big yarn web in our tv room tonight (just like the book suggests! ), and turn off that ol' TV. It will be a whole lot better for the kids (and us) than watching Third Rock from the Sun, don't you think? I'm excited about the variety of pretend and play ideas in this book, and am especially interested in the chapter that gives pretending projects and activities to go with favorite children's books like Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things are. Yes, even Curious George is there!

This is the best book I have seen on what kids can make to motivate and enhance their pretend time. Let's turn off more tv's and get kids busy with their imagainations! Excellent book.

Many of the ideas in this book were contributed through email sharing groups with MaryAnn, from teachers and parents all over the world.If you like pretending, or think it's important for your kids, you will like this book. All of the 44 people who contributed to it feel the same way!

Very good supplement for M&M. Complete city, with tons of locations, plots hooks and plenty of superheroes and bad guys to put in your campaign.

This books is a good complement for the game, with a city completely designed and ready for play.

To say that this book goes into detail on the inner workings of the largest setting in the game is an understatement of mammoth proportions. The book opens up with the history of Freedom City, with a detailed history of the city covering nearly 300 years, with information about the site going all the way back to prehistoric times.

In modern times, it details 19 seperate areas/neighborhoods of Freedom City, including the entire transit system break down for the city, from taxi cabs to airports to the ships at the piers. Day to day living within the city is complete with lists and descriptions of major retail chains, banks, schools, entertainment centers, hospitals, religious centers, right down to nightclubs and local sports teams. The level of detail here is breathtaking, and even a little overwhelming at times.

For those that are more intrested in mechanical aspects, there are full writeups and statblocks for each member of the Freedom League, along with other hero groups such as the Atom Family, Next-Gen, as well as a number of solo heroes. And of course, there are numerous villians and evil groups to oppose the heroes. There are a total of 10 seperate supervillian organizations presented, each with a number of individual villians making them up, all with complete stat blocks. Not to mention a list of free-lance villians for those one shot game needs.

And don't think that this book is limited to just this one city. There is an entire chapter devoted to nothing but world-wide groups and organizations, including a breakdown of each major continent and the prevalance of super powered individuals they host. It also includes all of the major "secret" locations of the Mutants & Masterminds universe, from Atlantis to Kaiju Island, to galactic locations such as Far City, and groups like the Star Knights and the Grue Unity. And beyond even that are locations such as Terminus, the Zero Zone, and multiple alternate-Earths detailing everything from Ani-Earth and the Furry League to Earths that never saw the fall of the Roman Empire, or where Germany won the second world war.

Not only is it the definative guidebook for anything and everything having to do with Freedom City, it is indespensible as a resource for the entire Mutants and Masterminds 2e universe.