Roleplaying Books

I usually write detailed reviews of my gaming books, but the "Dazed Genoshan" already has a great detailed review of INVICTUS, so make sure that you read his review.

As far as my own opinion, I definitely think that INVICTUS is the best of the line of covenant books:
-First is its value; the Invictus are everywhere, and the PCs will most likely have to interact with them. So there needn't be Invictus PCs in your chronicle to get a lot of use from this book.
-Second is its originality. I thought of the Invictus as filling the "political power" niche while other covenants got the "mystic power" niche. This is not completely true - the Invictus have blood oaths that carry occult force, while a house dynasty can create a mystic bond. I thought that giving the Invictus occult abilities would be cheesy, but it is pulled off well and really fits the flavor of the covenant.
-Finally, it's just well written. I could have easily imagined a book written about "bad guys" or The Man holding people down. Instead of being described from such a simplistic point of view, the Invictus do what they do because it's safe, efficient, and produces results. It's the sort of dictatorship I could imagine lasting millenia.

I think INVICTUS is one of those books that every VAMPIRE: REQUIEM player and storyteller should own.

Recomended for any VTR players. It has a few blood lines that are kool.

I just finished reading this and I have to say Im sold. Vampire is one hell of an rpg setting. Of all the covenants in the new game this is the best one. It exemplifies the kindred like no other covenant and it has rules on how to expand on classic vampire merits like herd and status.

I also love the rules on managing fog of eternity and how vampires live for hundreds and thousands of years to lay out their plans. I also like the rules for vampire dynasties where a group of vampires rules the estate of an elder who is in torpor to lower his blood potency. This rule makes it possible for players to have power early in the game, the potential for great storytelling is excellent.

The book also gives details (foggy at best) regarding the origins of the covenant after the fall of the Camarilla which was the ruling body of vampires during the time of Rome. It also has rules for ghouls who serve this clan and a few bloodlines.

I cannot wait to use this covenant in my games. Next to Ordo Dracul its my favorite. Great supplement!

Presenting the vampire Covenant (political faction) known as the "First Estate," Invictus provides well thought out insights and clever plot hooks for the oldest and most powerful vampire Covenant. New Factions, Bloodlines, Disciplines, Devotions, Merits, and Ghoul Families are presented along with a substantial amount of descriptive setting material. In every instance the new game mechanics support organizations and ways of thinking within the Invictus, and provide more than just a list of new toys.

I haven't been much of a fan of the Invictus since I started reading about and playing Requiem. So when I went to my local gaming store and started reading through this book, I was expecting to not be surprised at what was inside.

However, this book ended up being one of the most pleasant surprises I've ever run across in gaming. Of course, the book mostly focuses on power structure, since that's the nature of the Invictus covenant. Yet there are also enormous details about the Invictus' relations in the World of Darkness, the history of the covenant, why and how one joins, what happens as time goes on, and bloodlines and factions- including the very interesting cyclical dynasties. There are also portions of the book that deal with the treatment of Ghouls, a few Ghoul Families created by the Invictus, and Blood Oaths.

This book is fantastic! I can't recommend it enough. Even if you're not going to have any characters in the Invictus, it can be used for NPC creation, or for storyteller information. Get this book, it's worth it.

The gun is said to be the great leveler. It doesn't matter how big or small you are, weak or strong, skilled or unskilled at fighting, a shotgun blast to the chest will take you down. Obviously, in a world of supernatural monsters, the humans are going to want a boatload of guns. Sometimes, though, you need something sharp to finish the job, and sometimes you have to fight with whatever you have on hand. And sometimes, you just REALLY have to blow something up. Nuke it from orbit; it's the only way to be sure.

ARMORY is a supplement for the core line of White Wolf's World of Darkness. It's critical for mortals to have some kind of arsenal, but mages need kevlar vests as much as anybody and a werewolf might find an antique silver butter knife to be the most effective weapon against her opponent. ARMORY has all that and more.

Also, it seems that every group has a gun nut, or a sword enthusiast, or someone who just plain knows how to brawl (I had an artilleryman, for example). They know a lot more than the ST about the equipment they specialize in and can overwhelm you with their technical knowledge. ARMORY at least keeps you informed about the difference between ACP, LR, and magnum ammo.

I originally thought ARMORY would just be a list of equipment and how it modifies dice rolls. And how much stuff could there possibly be to describe? Well, ARMORY covers improvised weapons, guns of all kinds, heavy weapons and explosives, WMD's (chemical/biological/nuclear), vehicles, and equipment. And it doesn't just list weapons, it tells how to use them. This is really invaluable, and you will learn a lot about how firearms work, how bullets deal damage, what kind of nerve agents are out there, and how a kevlar vest protects you when it is nothing but tightly woven cloth. It is really quite fascinating (and a bit chilling) to read and really understand the myriad ways that human beings have for killing each other.

ARMORY also includes new combat merits, including fighting styles. The "sniping" and "Spetsnaz knife fighting" styles are probably the most impressive.

Overall, ARMORY is an amazing book and so much more than an equipment list. After reading ARMORY, you'll have a much deeper understanding of weapons and defenses, and knowledge is a powerful weapon in the World of Darkness. But a Magnum Research Desert Eagle is even more powerful.

Gives the user all up todate information on weapons and weapons and brawling. Features swords and guns alike.

I appreciate most about this book what it does that isn't typical of an equipment guide. It offers legal context for items. It lists common myths about weapons and the truth behind them. It gives results for the often silly and overly cinematic things that the players may try. It offers guidelines on how high a character's skill should be based on background and training, often giving creative means to justify having a score (Weaponry dots justified by playing baseball, for example). Lastly, it doesn't feel the need to provide lists and lists of weapons, rather it encourages the Storyteller to just use the stats of the most similar item provided. Not at all what I expected and I am very happy with it.

I was reluctant to get this supplement. My games are not combat heavy or combat focused, but this book does an excellent job of detailing any possibly weapon a player can use in the World of Darkness game. It is also usable in any WoD game such as Vampire the Requiem or Werewolf the Forsaken. It even covers combat merits and maneuvers for developing good cinematic action games. I am very glad to make this book an essential part of my gaming library.

Armory presents a wide variety of new weapons, vehicles, and equipment for any World of Darkness game. New fighting styles and other merits add many new combat options for characters, and the discussion of how real world equipment and weapons training works is very helpful. If you want more detail than the World of Darkness corebook offers, or just don't know a lot about guns and weapons, then this is a great product offering enough detail and discussion to flesh out equipment without overwhelming the reader with endless lists of identical weapons.

Have to love the concept. A great alternative for those who whish to have a break from the regular Werewolf, Vampire and Mage ideas. It even incoroporates some of Wratih the Oblivion. Not a long term play however and is better suited for creating background stories or even NPC's. Needs a character sheet though. (Don't know why they would omit something so vital.)

This version of the Mummy subset of the original World of Darkness is a must better rendition of this type of supernatural monster than its revision, Mummy: The Resurrection. Mummy Second Edition inproved on its precesessors by expading its scope, and showing how mummies from cultures other than Egypt can be created as characters. The mummies created using these rules are the mummies of film--the mummies created through Resurrection are reincarnations, and not as spectacular nor unique (when compare to other WoD creatures) than the mummies from this book.

You wouldn't think a book about mummies, in the Vampire line, would be this interesting. And the book's slightly dated at this point. But the virtue system is far more meaningful than the vampire equivalent, and the Reborn add a fascinating element to any White Wolf game, not a B-Movie feel. In my opinion, the Reborn are virtually a *must* in Vampire and/or Mage games that delve into the origins of civilization, and while they should be rare, they're totally playable.

If you have been playing white wolf for a while and want to try a crossover game using various "species" from the main systems, consider a mummy character as the glue that holds the group together or as a means of getting the group together in the first place. Also, it is a wonderful game in its own right.

I found this book both fascinating and enthralling. It has great source material, new merits, flaws and generating system that allow you to create the NEAR eternal (not immortal, there is a difference) mummies. However, one thing that should absolutely be noted before purchasing the book - a warning so to speak - is that there is only one book in this series (there should have been more) and the background material covers only the Egyptian/Greek mummies, but refers to "the others" constantly. Also note, that the creation process for mummies is more grueling and there are not as many spells in their paths to work with solely on the facts in this book. You'll need to improvise if you wanna keep things fresh storytellers! Other than those warnings, this book gets 4 stars easy.

Traps described in this books are much more interesting than standard ones, but absolutely unrealistic. Can you believe that somebody will use a teleporter for... throwing a victim some yards up, in order to drop him on the spike? If I'll make a teleporter trap, it will be MUCH more effective.

But if your players are not interested in realism of your D&D world - this book will be excellent for you. Game mechanics described in it is very interesting.

The original Grimtooth's Traps books were loaded with devilishly inventive and horribly deadly traps, really only suitable for a DM who wanted to kill an adventuring party. This update to those classic traps preserves the original creativity, while giving a DM Search and Disable Device DCs for each trap, giving PCs a _slightly_ increased chance of survival. However, what really makes this book shine is the detailed descriptions of each and every trap. The perfect cure for everyone who's tired of the standard: "Trap: CR 2, poison darts, trip wire trigger, Search DC 12, Disable DC 15." I highly recommend this book to all D&D players; whether or not you use the traps in the book, they're simply fun to read.

This tome is a compilation of the Best of the Grimtooth's trap series. The majority of these traps will kill off a character. The last chapters of the book contain adventures, Traps Bizaar and the Dungeon of Doom, which are cool but again will kill off a party...

Short and sweet.... It has everything I liked about the original books and is in a format that I can use to easily torture my players. Good stuff!

Short review time, this is probably the only off-brand book that I would consider essential to any half-decent DM. For anyone who complains that D&D is far too combat oriented, put a couple of the more vicious traps from this book in their path. Granted, a lot of them have a very cheesy 2nd edition feel to them, but even those provide inspiration for your own traps, and 90% of this book is PURE genius.

If you liked the inital release of the dungeon tiles, this second set makes a good addition to give you increased flexibility. With that said, I find nothing in the set that really WOWs me.

If you use miniatures, then you probably own a set or two. These are durable tiles that are fairly universal for dungeon settings. Buy two or three sets if you need to expand. I like 'em and you can't beat the price.

After reading the other reviews of these tiles, I was expecting something pretty good, but when I saw them I was still blown away. These tiles are such good quality that I would recommend them to anyone. These will get a lot of use for sure!

These tiles come in handy for any dungeon. To make them long lasting and to protect from spills just mount a sheet of glass on 4 supports over the tiles and you won't have to worry about stains or the tiles being knocked out of place.

I had steered clear of these because I envisioned them to be like the thin tiles in the DMG. However, after reading the other review (thanks Scott Stokes :)) I decided to buy the first set. After opening the first set, I ordered the other two immediately. I haven't used them yet, because my group is off for a couple weeks but I'm sure they'll be a hit. They are very thick and durable. I would definitely recommend them to any DM who wants to add a little realism to their battles/minis.

It gave me new spells and new campaign ideas. it was what i wanted, so I am very happy with this product.

This is an extremely useful book with new spells, feats and magic items in it. The spells are well balenced and won't require any adjustments before being put in a campaign. The PDF ... is a better value, but the print version is pretty good.

One thing I like about the 3E core rulebooks is it seems like WotC play tested the hell out of them. Nearly everything is fairly well balanced. Many aspects have been simplified from the 2nd addition in a good way (though sometimes too much.) Overall, I really like 3E and consider it worth buying.

Enter supplemental materials like the Book of Eldritch Might, by Monte Cook. Let's take a look:

VALUE: Under 10 bucks for the printed version, or 5 bucks for the PDF file (available from his website). After shelling out at least 20 for each of the class books, I find this very refreshing.

DESIGN: The art in the printed version is pretty horrible. But, it's nice to have the printed bound version for easy access. However, I went with the PDF and had Kinko's print it out and spiral bind it. It's just as nice, if not nicer.

CONTENT: This is where all of Monte's D&D 3E material shines. The man is brilliant when it comes to fantasy game design. The BoEM contains new feats, spells (primary for Wizard's and Sorcs), new prestige classes, and new magic items. However, these aren't just more of the same things we've seen. Each has a unique flavor and purpose. Examples:

FEATS: Eldritch feats enhance spell-casting abilities in a whole new way outside of metamagic. Most are usable for many of your daily spells, if you meet the prereqs. Rune & tattoo magic -- very cool, great flavor to a campaign.

PRESTIGE CLASSES: For those of you that follow the many PrCs that get published through Dragon mag, Monte's are almost always unique and cool. So too in this book. Embermage: Ultimate fire mage. Graven One: A mage covered in sigils, glyphs, and tattoos, using them to invoke powerful magic. How cool of a NPC would that make? The other PrCs are solid too.

SPELLS: As mentioned, most are for Wizard and Sorc, but there is a mishmash of spells for druids and even the assassin PrC. The spells are all creative, interesting, and remarkably well-balanced.

MAGIC ITEMS: Interesting! Magic vehicles. Magic poisons. Others that vary in power, but never vary in cool factor. Your players will love to get their hands on these, and will loathe NPCs wielding them!

OVERALL: 5 Stars. One of the few accessories that I've opened up in its entirety to my game. Visit Monte Cook's website for errata to this book, and all his other Malhavok Press products...

but Monte Cook has done it. This review is for the PDF file available from Monte Cook's website. The print version I just received has such poor artwork that it merits only three stars. I have written a seperate review for the print version available here.
Remeber the AD&D2 Dungeon Master's Guide? It was awful. Useless. I left it behind when I went to play. Read the 3rd edition DMG? Great, huh? I think so too. The same author left WOTC to do his own thing and return to freelance writing, and this is the first product under his new imprint: Malhavoc Press. If you're spoiled on the high quality of Wizards' products and have been reticent to try third party d20 products, I don't blame you, but this is the exception if ever there was one. I'm tempted to call this the best D&D product of '01. No question that it is in the top ten. Artwork is what you expect from good RPG products; layout is fine, yada yada. Where this product shines is in content. Unless you bought the PDF file online, you can't beat the price. The feats include some interesting goodies, the spells are fantastic, and the magical items are flat-out inspired. If you're worried at all about mechanics, then rest at ease -- Monte Cook designed the mechanics. He, Jonathon Tweet, and Skip "the Sage" Williams are the only authorities on D&D rules, and Monte Cook is my personal favorite RPG writer. This is a clear example of what d20 products should be.

Terrific feats! Great spells! Brilliant Prestige Classes! Thrilling magical items! [understated] artwork! This work is available directly from the author at montecook.com in PDF format. In that format, the art is provided by the Unseelie Court and Luis Corte Real. THIS IS A FIVE-STAR BOOK. So, why just three stars? Because Sword & Sorcery's in-house artist Brian LeBlanc is a poor substitute indeed for the original artists. The price is higher in hardcopy, and the artwork is very poor. The one positive note is that this print version includes a couple of features not included in the PDF verson of the Book of Eldritch Might, but then these are available for free through Monte Cook's web site. Again, this otherwise nearly faultless book suffers the onus of some horrible artwork. (Think original 1st ed. Fiend Folio)

A great gift, playability for kids and adults. The advanced rules can let adults throw in some tactics. The basic rules work great for kids (mine and 6 and 8) and provide a great excuse for some basic math practice. Well quality package, definitely recommended.

After many different expansions, the D&D miniatures comes to a new edition. There is necessity for this? I think so, after 13 expansion booster packs, two actualizations, the game was in necessity of a new edition. Now, the combats run much more smoothly, with more balanced creatures, new ways of forming your warbands (rules like Factions adds more of D&D lore to the game), and the compatibility with the new D&D 4º Edition. The minis have all great looks, and do their job, being it D&D minis or Roleplaying. The site of wizards have the actualized rules to download, and they are updating the old expansions (although, I wish they could do it with haste).
A great way of enter in the world of D&D Minis!

This is the first miniature set I ever purchased. The minis are really fine, there are 4 maps on two big paper (front and reverse side) and a little book with all the rules to start playing.
I suggest to everyone who wants begin to play.

My friends and I used to play the pen and paper D&D game as kids, but as adults now, we don't have time to gather for long gaming sessions and read the latest RPG rules. Still having the urge to get some fantasy gaming however, I picked this miniature starter kit a few weeks ago and tried it out on my friends, and I was pleasantly surprised that it was a hit, even with the most skeptical. Not in depth as the full fledged RPG game, but offers some quick and strategic fun.

Firstly, I was surprised at the quality and value of the starter kit. It comes with everything you need, like nicely painted miniatures, nice stat cards describing your miniatures abilities, dice, damage counters, full color rulebook and colorful maps, at such an affordable price. The rulebook was easy to understand and we quickly tried out the quick battle, and then moved on to the standard rules. My first friend I played it with didn't have any D&D experience, but he had no problems learning. The second friend I showed the game, had D&D experience, although from way back from the 2nd edition days, was able to pick up the game rules even quicker.

I found out online that this starter kit is a new version using the updated rulebook, called the Dungeons of Dread rulebook, which is the same name as the booster pack that was released at the same time as this new edition of the starter kit. This new rulebook streamlines the game and makes it faster and easier to learn. This starter kit has new stat cards that are designed with the new rules. As a benefit, these news rules tie the miniature game closer to the upcoming new 4th edition version of D&D role playing game. I don't play the RPG game myself, but having had a lot of fun with the miniature games, I've been thinking of looking into it.

My friends and I got addicted and looking to expand our armies (called warbands), we eventually bought some booster packs from the Dungeons of Dread booster set, which come with the updated stat cards to use with the new rulebook. If you buy any booster packs pre-Dungeons of Dread, you can download updated stat cards at the publishers website, Wizards of the Coast. As of this writing, Desert of Desolation and Night Below boosters have their stat cards are available online, with Unhallowed to be available sometime in May/June 2008. It was announced that all the older expansions will have updated stat cards in the future as well.

If you've been waiting like I have, this is a great time to jump in with the new rules and a nice set of miniatures. You don't need a lot of space to play so and it's easy to carry around. I've also heard of veteran collectors buying multiple copies of this starter pack as the miniatures only are available in this starter pack and not in any booster pack, and since they have some nice abilities, they are very worthy to have multiples of, if creating your own custom-built warband.

The only negative I see is that I could see myself getting tired of this and maybe wanting to move into something more in-depth like something from Games Workshop, like the classic Warhammer 40k series or popular Lord of the Rings miniature game, both which offer deeper rules but also more time commitment. But for right now, this is suiting my friends and I well. This could be also good gateway to the more advanced games I just mentioned, or perhaps into the wonderful D&D RPG game itself.

I've been playing D&D (pen and paper and miniatures) for years. When I first started getting into the first DDM (with Aberrations) I was very into it. After a few weeks though, a few game mechanics got very, very dull. The whole "commander" and "command range" thing really bugged me. I always thought the DDM game should emulate, if not precisely, the pen and paper combat experience. It did to a certain degree, but having commanders really took away from that.

In this edition, commanders are gone. Some may not like this- but for me, it's a godsend. Commanders have been replaced by Champions. Champions are "heroes" you could say. There is no command range or bothersome mechanic to them at all. All they do is add abilities to your warband. The days of calculating and measuring "command range" are gone. Good riddance!

Outside of that change, the rest is similar to previous editions. Factions are now more streamlined. I won't go into detail but it works out for the better, and it fits in with WotC theme for 4th Edition D&D. In my opinion, combat encounters more closely reflect the 'real' D&D experience.

Quality is great. Maybe it's just the pack I got; but I was thoroughly impressed with the paint and modeling. Definitely a step-up from previous starters. And it's nice to know what you're getting beforehand. I've heard the set in general is lower quality than previous sets, but this starter is certainly no indication of that.

The starter comes with two battle-maps. I'm not sure yet if I prefer these fold-out maps to the tiles from before, but they're not bad. I'm used to using fold-outs, anyhow...Axis/Allies miniatures did that.

Overall I am very satisfied. If you're on the fence, get the hell off it and pick it up! Shipping was much faster than expected as well. They gave me a delivery estimate of 2 weeks, and it got here in a few days. I'm not complaining! :)

This is a useful supplement. It's beautiful and strait to the point. If you play d20 modern get this. It's inexpensive and packed with usable stuff you can quickly plug in to your new or existing game.

Bob
Gaming for over 30 years

If you are running a RPG on tabletop, this collection of maps is an invaluable resource. Often players will decide to do something critical in the most unlikely places, and the GM is caught trying to decide what cover a movie theater offers the heros when the villian starts spraying the lobby with lasers/gunfire/magic missiles. I highly reccomend this for both the tactically minded GM who needs a quick reference for combat situations and the theatrical GM who wants to set up a dramatic situation in a mundane location.

This book is exactly what it purports to be - a collection of generic locations that you can plug in to your campaign at the drop of a hat. In addition to the beautiful maps, there are descriptions (of course) as well as adventure ideas.

I would give this 4.5 stars if that was an option.

I deduct 1/2 star for:
It's a little pricey given it's only ~60 pages.
I would have rather seen a lab rather than the bowling alley.
The latter is only my preference. Other GMs may have been dreaming for years of having a shootout in a bowling alley. Then again, I'm probably in the majority.

I was pleased when this book arrived as it has vivid color and lots of maps. If you're a Game Master looking for modern or future maps this is perfect for you.

While the maps are all of modern day facilities, it's easily converted to a sci-fi or Apocalypse setting.

Each map contains numbers and a key for locations and are easily readable. They also contain ideas for possible storylines and information about the facility.

Some of the areas include bowling Alley, Arctic Station, Movie Theater, Bank and much more!

For the price Amazon is offering this, it's a must for any Game Master of D20 modern.

This is an excellent collection of modern maps. There are 29 different locations including an arctic research station, yacht, shopping mall, bank, and a fastfood restaurant. Each map is accompanied by adventure ideas, the occasional NPC, and Structural features. The great thing about this source book is that you can use it for any "modern" rpg. Whether it's G.U.R.P.S, Mutants and Masterminds, or D20.

It's a great addition for those looking to run a Dragon Campaign.

I highly enjoyed the content of this book. I wanted at least 2 base classes, but the Dragonfire Adept will do for me. This class is like the Dragon Shaman and a Warlock put together. Poor BAB, 2 good saves, d6 HD, 4+on skills...it is very solid, and very good (if you include the other abilites). The book contains new player options so anyone can enjoy the abilites of the dragons. It also contains the standard bonuses too (new spells, innvocations, ETC). One of things I liked most about the book is the new feats. The book redid the Heritage feats for the 3rd time, and made me wanting to play a Sorceror again. The best part of the book is that is has content for ALMOST all other accessory books (Incarnum, Complete Series, Psionics, etc) Though this book is not as good as the Tome of Battles: Book of the Nine Swords, it is still a must buy for all.

Great informative book on how you can use dragon magic to increase your characters power.

Dragon Magic is a really interesting book with options for players that add some of the power of dragons into a given campaign without making the scope revolve around dragons. The Dragonfire Adept is a neat concept I will admit, it actually works slightly better in my opinion than the Warlock or Dragon Shaman class. All the core classes get a little something in their options to give them some draconic ability or ally. The one origin of the sorceror gets strengthened, naturally, but all these lovely toys are really just options to be used or discarded as a given group sees fit.

Of the three dragon focused books, this and Draconomicon are the better of the set. Draconomicon was more for the DM but it has some neat tidbits for the players as well. Races of the Dragon is the weakest link, I tend to get one of everything and this is one I probably should have ignored. But Dragon Magic did positively impress me with how well it was put together and the wealth of options within.

There are references to other books in this one, those of us that doled out some of our hard earned money for Weapons of Legacy, Magic of Incarnum and Tome of Magic get some extras to play with. Those that didn't get any of the three I mentioned will be missing out but not too much. The material enriches a given campaign but can be done without which.

If you run a campaign with a focus on dragons, you want this book. If you run a campaign that has the occasional dragon hunt, you want this book. If you run a campaign where there are dragons, but they don't do much, this book my be handy. Even if dragons no longer exist but they had an effect on the campaign world, this book will have some nice tidbits. All in all it's worth picking up, for options; for ideas; for some twists to the same old thing.

Although my own personal favorite options are the racial options (from Glimmerskin Halflings to Frostblood orcs--basically, a toned down version of the half-dragon. finally!), the book has many many options for your favorite sorceror, or half-dragon. Those who enjoyed the warlock clas (from Complete Arcane) will enjoy the Dragonfire Adept class. Personally, I didn't really look over it with too much interest, but that's just me. It has ideas for the Dungeon Master, for dragon overlords, and new (?) ways to roleplay a draconic creature. New monsters, New spells, new races, new feats..... hm. maybe it is alot like the other D&D supplements, but it is a very nice book nonetheless, especially if you like to add more draconic history to your campaign; if you have the Complete Mage, Complete Arcane, and Races of the Dragon, it's even better.

High Level Options, as can be expected, is designed to appeal to the player who has a god-complex. Oddly, however, the book is split evenly between a very useful discourse on good DMing and some bells and whistles for characters of 15th level and higher.

The first half of the book should have been part of the reprinted Dungeon Master's guide. While TSR has a tendancy to publish fairly uncreative and "hack-and-slash" style adventures, the suggestions and guidelines here are wonderful, a good review for an experienced DM and a great primer for an amateur DM.

The second half of the book leaves a bit to be desired. I'm not a fan of "high level" campaigns, but the information presented here has some rather obvious flaws. In many ways, the 10th level spells are disappointing in effect. They aren't more ingenious than 9th level spells, nor are they particularly effective. Likewise, the material presented for additional class abilities is too little, too late, in my opinion. These abilities do little to make a more formidable character.

All in all, the book is best thought of as a supplement for the DMG.

Although I doubt that a DM without the Munchkin syndrome can lead several PC to such apexes of power without getting a few clues on how to run the campaign, the high level campaigns has several very good guiding lights for those DMs that have strayed into the darkness and can't get out ( overpowerful items, characters, and other forms of blight). This should have included some type of section dealing with STRIPPING overly mighty characters of their powers within the bounds of rational role-playing. Overall, I find that some sections of this book should have actually been included in the basic rules several years ago, rather than be used as a leaky life-boat for a dying game. Useful, but less than spectacular.

Chapter 1 is about how to avoid irrealistic powerful characters! (very useful with high level characters)

Chapter 2 is about how to plan and organize an adventure. It shows clearly on what a DM has to take a look. (very helpful for every DM)

Chapter 3-5 is about the dangers with magic. It explains how to integrate magic in the right way in an adventure. (very very good!! it's so simple to destroy the game with to much magic)

chapter 7 : learn managing high level characters

This is a very good and usefull book, and I have the impression that good books are becomming rare; to much comerce!!

This book is excellent, it can help extremely to improve the real role-playing of a high-level campaign. Not only does it help the DM make very interesting adventures, but it includes some very cool high-level abilities for characters that manage to get to high levels. It also includes a section devoted to characters who achieve 30th level, and how a mortal can attain godhood. Highly recommended.

After reading this book, I felt that if I had read this along with the Dungeon Master Guide before I started my campaigns my world would have been improved greatly. It's perfect for those characters that have reached insanely high levels, but it also tells the DM how to avoid creating God-like characters that can ruin any campaign.