E.N.World Gamer Issue 3
E.N. World Gamer: Issue 3 is a pdf product from E.N. Publishing. Originally this issue of the print magazine was supposed to be published in April 2005, but due to various circumstances, this went unpublished and was to be the last of the E.N.World Gamer magazines. This title includes a whole host of articles and a mini-game - Time Police. The magazine runs for 61 pages, 58 of which are devoted to the 8 articles and mini-game covered in the magazine. E.N.World Gamer: Issue 3 normally retails for $4.95 on E.N.World Game Store.
Initial Impressions:
E.N. World Gamer was a quarterly magazine originally published by Mongoose Publishing for E.N.World. I never had the opportunity to view the first two magazines, and after reading through this unpublished issue released only in pdf format, I was disappointed that I did not get the chance. E.N.World Gamer Issue 3 contains some interesting, detailed and useful articles with numerous ideas for a whole range of different roleplaying genres. While the art is somewhat weak in places, the overall layout is good and professional, and the writing clear with only a few very minor errors. The cover is striking, featuring a two-weapon wielding drow facing off against a dragon.
Where this product shines is in the sheer volume of useful material. The eight articles given can offer not only numerous ideas, but also numerous hours of gameplay in the mini-game provided (something which I'm pleased has continued from this product to the E.N.Mini-games line). There are new monsters, a new class, loads of campaign ideas, campaign creation advice, the Time Police mini-game, combat advice, and new feats to build on a character's spiritual strength. Most of the articles appealed to me on some level, and I'm certain that I'll find some use for this material in future games.
The Details:
The magazine has a total of eight articles, one of which is the time-travelling mini-game Time Police. Articles are written by some well known names in the industry, such as Peter Ball of Clockwork Golem Workshop and Ryan Nock from E.N. Publishing.
Playing in Another's World: This article provides some useful advice for DMs in adapting other people's settings. This includes adapting settings from novels, video games such as Final Fantasy, and even movies such as The Mummy. Loads of good advice is given, with examples in each category on how to make the most of the limited material often available, while still maintaining the feel for the setting. It's aimed to a certain extent at those wishing to create a homebrew, but wanting to try something a little easier first by adapting another's world. There are a lot of different settings out there, and this article give DMs a brief look at how to bring that favorite setting to life.
Time Police: In short, this is a time-travelling game, but it's done in such a way as to make it fun to play while minimising DM headache. Changing the past, for example, was done away with by stating that each portal to the past opened actually opens up to a different parallel time-line, thereby leaving the current one unaffected. Characters can only travel to locations that have a given time key (a code required to open a portal to that time and place) and all past times travelled to are relative to the current time. In addition, travelling to the future is not possible. These simple changes to time-travelling allow it to be used in a more structured way that will provide a more streamlined approach to time travelling.
There are several new classes presented in this short article, including the time cop and time detective, both classes that can be use to deal with the assortment of time crime that crops up in a time travelling world. These are all well done, each containing unique talent trees and abilities and provided with ample flavor text. Skills are expanded to allow a multitude of futuristic skills to be applied to older worlds, for example by expanding Knowledge (history) to include Knowledge (historical focus) which means you're specialised in different eras of history more than others. There is ample detail on the technologies involved (including new equipment such as time disrupting weapons that can return a time traveller struck to his native time line), numerous organizations such as the major time tourism companies or time crime organisations, all providing a complete and enjoyable game that should run smoothly within the elegant framework provided. The final sections of this article are devoted to detailing various time lines, each reachable with only a specific time key.
This is a nice little game, and well worth picking up the magazine just for it. Complete, fun, and with little intellectual hassle or bookkeeping hassle, and with lots of advice and suggestions on how to run such a campaign and suggestions for various campaigns.
Totem Druids: This article is devoted to a new class - the totem druid. Totem druids are devoted to a single animal only, and gain numerous abilities in return for losing both spellcasting and the versatility of the normal wild shape. Totem druids can speak to their totem animals, assume the shapes of advanced totem animals, and even at later levels assume a hybrid shape like lycanthropes can. It's an interesting class and different to the normal druid, and worth a look at.
Power & Purity: Most characters develop martially over time, and no thought is given to their spiritual development. This article addresses this, by providing two feats through wish a character can release their inner strength and soul, changing their outward visage to reflect their inner being. Mechanically this involves allowing characters to apply templates to their characters with certain restrictions. The article offers some advice on how to tailor templates to character concepts, and does well at it. An interesting idea and well executed.
Land Ho!: This is a well-written and detailed article on running exploratory games, i.e. games where new lands are discovered. It divides these new discoveries into three areas - exploration (finding the new lands), colonization (forming permanent settlements) and independence (breaking away from the host nation). It's a fascinating and enjoyable reading, covering everything from how to equip a party, to how to adapt skills, to how to deal with native cultures, to types of suitable characters, and a while host of challenges that characters need to face, such as competition from other nations and survival. It's rare to see this type of game around these days, and it certainly has an air of excitement in the novelty of discovery. It might be interesting to run an Isle of Dread-type campaign using this material, where characters attempt to colonize the island in the name of another king or nation.
Fiends of Sin: This is an article on monsters, specifically devoted to the seven deadly sins. For each of the seven sins a new fiend is created, with well-done stat blocks containing only a couple of minor errors. I liked this idea, and, as the article suggests, it would be interesting to base a campaign around destroying each of these fiends. Even outside that context, these make for interesting and challenging critters in the CR 7 to 13 range.
The Adventurer's Guide to Surviving Anything: This article takes an in depth look at two aspects of combat - aerial combat and dealing with prisoners - offering a veritable bucket-load of advice and new rules on how to handle these situations. I found these rich and handy, with loads of useful information and tactics for players and DMs alike. New rules are described for different circumstances, such as aerial harpoons or dealing with panicked prisoners. A very useful read.
Mythic Earth - Deleware's Headless Horseman: The last article in this magazine focuses on Charlie Miller, Deleware's legendary headless horseman. It provided a full history, fantasy stat blocks for the headless horseman, and loads of suggestions on how to use the headless horseman in a campaign, including various locations associated with this legendary figure. An article well-suited to a mythic earth fantasy setting and a good read.
Conclusions:
E.N.World Gamer Issue 3 is the last and unpublished (now pdf published!) issue of the E.N.World Gamer magazine, and having scanned through this issue, I'd have rather liked to see the magazine continue if the quality of the material and writing was similar to that contained in this issue. It's a pdf that provides very interesting reading material, lots of different options for different genres, and many inspirational ideas of campaigns. The Time Police mini-game is well done and fun, and definitely worth a try, and the magazine offers a good balance of material for DMs and players alike. Based on useful content, inspirational ideas and material, sound advice, balance of material between players and DMs, and professional presentation, I'd rate this with four stars, a good product and well worth the buy at the price.
