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REVIEW - 5 OUT OF 5 STARS from James Hargrove:
Brainwashed by 12 to Midnight (d20 Horror)
Aesthetically pleasing as well as both witty and well-written, as an adventure module, Brainwashed does not fail
to please. Weighing in at 39 pages (or at 31 pages in the included ‘printer-friendly’ edition), Brainwashed was
specifically designed to showcase the 12 to Midnight OGL sanity rules found in Fear Effects, serving as a means
to introduce those rules to your players. My experiences with the product follow.
I’ve tried to sum up the adventure’s basic plot line here without spoiling too much of the charm inherent to
discovering such things on your own. The basics are as follows: Several members of a hippy commune in East Texas
have dug up something in their field. Something bad. Something alien. Something that has enslaved their minds and
turned these once peaceful people into violent maniacs. When a young boy becomes wrapped up in the cult-like
activities going on up at the commune, you are tapped to investigate.
Sprinkled with cattle mutilations, poisoned fruit punch, tin foil hats and other bits of conspiracy theory pop
culture, at first glance you might assume that Brainwashed is yet another schlock conspiracy theory adventure -
but that would be an assumption made in error. By presenting these tropes in a serious context rather playing
them up as humorous in-jokes, Brainwashed manages to convey a tone of urgency that many other such
conspiracy-oriented adventures fail to capture.
As an engaging modern horror adventure, Brainwashed is well worth the admission price of $5.00. As a showcase
for 12 to Midnight’s Fear Effects, it is slightly less impressive, but will serve as a good introduction to that
product’s insanity rules for your players. Brainwashed is disturbing, atmospheric, fun that shouldn’t be
overlooked by those with a genuine interest in Horror as a genre, or in modern conspiracy adventures.
LIKED: The tin foil hats, cattle mutiliations, and other pop culture conspiracy references being executed
'straight' rather than as in-jokes. DISLIKED: Nothing, really. I was honestly impressed with all of it. QUALITY:
ExcellentVALUE: Very Satisfied
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REVIEW - 5 OUT OF 5 STARS from Mark Charke:
The Enchanter: The Core Specialist Wizard by Misfit Studios (d20 Class/Race Books)
The layout of this book caught my attention immediately. Everything is Valentines day red and it looks very
appropriate for the enchanter. This immediately sets the tone of the book as one dedicated to the manipulation,
charming, of others. The book is very light on romance however, focusing on the core enchanter abilities.
The core enchanter is rewritten. This new class gains spell DC increases against “favored races” with its force
of will ability. It also brings up the DC of all enchantment spells. The class gains additional spells like a
specialist but gets fewer feats than a Wizard, which is balances it out. The change from Intelligence to Charisma
for spellcasting is appropriate and synergies with many sorcerer feats and spells the character may wish to take.
Of the two prestige classes, I really like the Alpha Warden, which blurs the line between wizard and druid,
giving the character animal companions and spellcasting every other level. The requirements are stiff with 8
ranks required in Handle Animal, a cross class skill for the Enchanter unless you hunt down a skill adding feat.
The book has a host of new feats and rules for hypnosis.
I was not sure if the book had anything to do with Valentines day until I ran across the Lovers Arrow in the
magic item section. This is about the only direct reference to cupid and it’s enough. It keeps the book from
becoming silly while allowing for a little fun.
LIKED: This is a solid addition to the enchanter. If I wanted to play an enchanter, I would want this product
for the additional options it provides.DISLIKED: Evoker is not out yet. I’m very much looking forward to evoker.
When all the schools are done, I would really like to see a print compellation of the books.QUALITY:
ExcellentVALUE: Very Satisfied
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REVIEW - 5 OUT OF 5 STARS from Mark Gedak:
FLASHBALL by 93 Games Studio (Card Games)
>From the Math Teacher prespective:
“Flashball” is an inexpensive game/teaching aid from 93 Games Studio that combine the route learning of basic
mathematics that with the excitement of baseball. The game is designed for two players who compete to move their
players around the bases and score 10 points first. The game uses a modified system for hits that require the
batter to answer of a series of questions (with increasing difficult) to hit a single, double, triple or home
run. The pitcher has an opportunity on a hit to throw the batter out at the plate which makes sure both members
playing receive a nice range of questions for practice.
Originally reading the runs I was at a loss as two what I was supposed do with the player and ball tokens
besides making sure they were available but as I read the example of play it all became clear. There are “only”
120 question in this game but the inclusion of a template in this product means you could make:
Multiplication, Division, Order of Operations, Fractions
or
Really any class concept that you need to review and can be route learned.
LIKED: - Inexpensive teaching aid
- Links math with a sports games
- Easy to learn and use almost immediately after printing
- Although designed for the early elementary, the inclusion of a flashcard template means I could make up cards
for harder mathematics problems, fact memorization, or even chemical nomenclature.
- handy to review concepts before tests.DISLIKED: Nothing, this now adds to my pile of review
techniques/strategies.QUALITY: ExcellentVALUE: Very Satisfied
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=4044&SRC=Newsletter
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REVIEW - 5 OUT OF 5 STARS from Chris Gath:
MEG: Bluffside:City on the Edge-e version by Ronin Arts (d20 City/Location Books)
The Bluffside PDF has not been updated to 3.5 nor has any new material been added to it. It does however
contain all the errata that has been collected to date so the few errors of the original print book have been
fixed. The cover art is by Paul Chapman and is a picture of the city. It shows the mountains that surround
the city, the river, waterfall and cliff the city sits on and beside, as well as the different individual
sections of the city itself. Many of the more prominent buildings are easily identifiable as well. The interior
art is all black and white and well done. The maps however are a little difficult to read. They are available
for free download at the Mystic Eye Games website and the ones they have there are a lot more crisp. So, while
downloading them from a separate site might be a little inconvenient it is easy to do and well worth the effort.
The layout of the book is very well done. The dual column format is a very easy to read and even more
importantly easy on the eyes. There is not an abundance of white space and at the same time the pages do not
seem crowded.
One of the great things about PDFs is the inclusion of the bookmark ability. Bookmarks are basically a
linked index that is at the side of the PDF. It can be closed so that the PDF fills the screen, or opened to
allow one to glance down the list to find what one is looking for. Then a simple click on the link and the PDF
goes directly to that section. The Bluffside PDF has one of the most complete set of Bookmarks that I have seen.
They have them listed by chapter. One can open up all the bookmarks in an individual chapter at a time so they
are not overwhelming.
Bluffside starts with the introductory chapter. In here it explains the city is dividing into eight
districts, it explains about the places of interests (POI) and how they include NPCs and hooks for using each
place described, as well as talking a little about the religions and the areas around Bluffside. Now the POIs
are really great. There are over a hundred described and each is its own place with unique NPCs and plot hooks.
Many of them are tied together and can easily lead characters from one place to another as the characters explore
this vast city. The POIs are easy to use and filled with great ideas. For me they offer the core material for
Bluffside and make sure that it is near impossible to run out of ideas here.
The second chapter deals with the rich and mysterious history of Bluffside. The city is on the
remains of a much older city and there are many mysteries about who these original people were. It explains a
few key buildings that are still around and not fully understood by the inhabitants of Bluffside. It mentions
the great adamantium mines that are found in the mountains nearby and the goblin wars and the chaos that brought
to the fair city. There is a nice little timeline and even a brief description of the cliff divers. They are a
small organizations that dives from the cliffs. They are stunt men and women who risk their lives for a brief
thrill.
Chapter three really starts to get into the going ons of the city. It is here that the many different
groups the lobby for power in the city can be found. Groups like the Adamantine Security council who is in
charge of the mining and smelting of the precious ore, the Five a group of very important citizens and the
actually rulers of the city, and the Wizards Council. There are more groups in the busy city of Bluffside but
these three are by far the most important and the most widespread.
The fourth chapter goes into the Old City district first. It is here that all the power players seem to
come from. This place is full of money and important people. It has a rich history and is not well thought of
by the rest of the city. It is also a place that few people are allowed in. There are many plots going on
behind the scenes described in the more then abundant POIs of this area. There is also the Miners District,
Temple District, Military District, Wizard District, and New City District. Each is brilliantly described and
filled with rich POIs. Each district could actually be removed and used as its very own city with out the rest
of Bluffside.
The fifth chapter goes into the city beneath the city. The Undercity is a maze of sewers, tunnels, and
even a few places of business. The Undercity has a unique history with many places for adventures as well as
exploration. There are dangers of the monstrous variety as well as more mundane things like traps and diseases.
Many of Bluffsides mysteries can be found here and lucky group of adventurers might even find a way to learn
something about them.
Chapter six covers Sordadon. This is the district that floats in the water below the cliffs. It is
hear the boats dock and most of the merchandise goes through. It has a different feel then the other districts
being literally on the water. There is plenty to do here and much danger to be found. As always the POIs are
numerous and intriguing.
The seventh chapter deals with the many guilds that can be found in Bluffside. There is a guild for
adventures and explorers, archeologists, traders, and miners. The guilds serve a few purposes and characters
would benefit from using them.
The eighth chapter deals with the secret societies of Bluffside. There are many to be found. Some are
based on adventure while others are more based in religion.
Chapter nine is about and deals with the areas around Bluffside. There is a map that shows Bluffside
and the lands many hundreds of miles inland. There is plenty of info to take characters farther inland and to
have many adventures there. The POIs are used and as can be expected to a great effect.
The tenth chapter deals with the many, many religions of Bluffside. There is a pantheon listed with
gods and their domains. It would be fairly easy to bring in gods from elsewhere instead of these or alongside
these. The gods are well described and there are little articles about a few of the debates that seem to always
crop up in the Religion Distinct
The book from here goes to the appendixes. The first one is a complete list of all the NPCs mentioned. Each
NPC is giving a full stat block making them very easy to use. It is impressive that they stated all the NPCs as
there are at least a hundred in this book. That cannot have been a fun task.
The next few appendixes are very useful. The second lists a few new creatures that can be encountered in
Bluffside. The third is stat blocks for the many different tyopes of gaurs one is likely to run into during a
stay in the city. The fourth appendix lists some new races that can be encounter in and around the lands of
Bluffside. The Dragori for instance are a race of reptilian humanoids from a vast and old empire in the Dragon
Sands, a vast desert near Bluffside. Next, the book goes into prestige classes. The first is the Bluffside
Mountain Ranger. They explore the mountains around Bluffside and make sure goblin raids and attacks do not
happen. The cat burglar is a thief extraordinaire that may stalk his prey for months before the right time to
strike comes. Explorers prefer to go to places civilization has yet to reach and blaze trails for others to
follow. The Tunnel Fighter goes below the city of Bluffside to operate in the many tunnels, sewers, and caves.
The next appendix covers a variety of new spells. Many are utility spells like Detect Ore and Improved Scribe.
New equipment covers the next appendix and it lists many special pieces that are used for exploration and mining
as well as many of the other activities Bluffside provides. Lastly we have new magical items, feats, and
domains.
The Bluffside book is filled to the brim with information and intrigue. The city is truly alive and has a great
history filled with mystery and adventure. The POIs are truly inventive and provide heaps of information and
ideas for any Dungeon Master. Bluffside is a one of the best cities to ever come from a Role Playing Game.
QUALITY: ExcellentVALUE: Very Satisfied
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REVIEW - 5 OUT OF 5 STARS from Chris Gath:
Blue Rose - The Roleplaying Game of Romantic Fantasy by Green Ronin (FANTASY)
This review covers Blue Rose the PDF but the content will be the same as the print book that comes out hopefully
later this month. Blue Rose is a setting and twist on the d20 system to make it a bit more rules light and to
adapt it to the setting and structure of Romantic Fantasy. That begs the question of what is Romantic Fantasy?
It is a genre that has really only been around for twenty of so years. It deals more with personal connections,
character emotion and growth, and can tend to be rather black and white. The good guys accept all kinds of
people and all kinds of life styles. Ones sex, race, religion, or personally beliefs does not matter as long as
you are not making life worse for your neighbor. It deals with an almost utopian based society but it has its
enemies. The bad guys are controlling and just evil. They live to destroy the good society and usually come
really close but never succeed. In that regard it reminds me a lot of the pulp stories from the 1930’s. The
book recommends the following authors for a better feel of romantic fantasy: Kristen Britian, Diane Duane,
Mercedes Lackey, Elizabeth A Lynn, Robin McKinley, and Tomara Pierce.
Blue Rose is a two hundred and twenty five page PDF by Green Ronin. It is a big file over ten megs
zipped. The book is designed by Jeremy Crawford, Dawn Elliot, Steve Kenson, and John Snead. The book is really
easy to find things in having a nice two page table of contents, is fully book marked, and has a very big index
an item that is not seen in many books these days. The layout and art in the book is great. There are some
really impressive full page art pieces. .There could be more art in the monster section but really that is a
minor complaint in the scope of this book.
The book starts with a section that is rarely seen in RPG books these days; it explains what role
playing is, what romantic fantasy is, and walk people through the basics and the jargon. This is a small section
of about ten pages but it really sets the tone and shows how the writers are really thinking about their audience
and are prepared for people new to gaming using their book. Next, the book goes into the world. Without diving
to deeply into it; this section gives s a good overview of the gods, the countries, and the histories. There are
gods of light (good), gods of twilight (neutral), and the gods of shadow (evil). The section talks about the
creation of the world and how things fit together and have developed over time. It really lays the ground work
to make the places seem real and realistic. There is a simple logical progression on how things have happened.
Aldis is the country the game focuses on. We get some great details like day to life, education, government,
travel, some customs, crimes and justice, how arcane abilities are viewed, religion, and holy days. The details
are just great making the day to role playing and the feeling of actually living in this country really come to
life.
There are plenty of threats to this nation of freedom. From the unscrupulous merchants and the fallen
nobles, to the very real and deadly shadow cults and all sorts of the threats in between. There are pirates and
bandits and sorcerers and cabals. It seems like a dangerous place to live at times. All in all there is a nice
over view of the different countries and some of the opponents to good in the area. There is a nice map of the
area and hopefully more maps will be coming in up and coming products. A bigger view at the world map would also
make a great web enhancement.
Creating a character is a bit different then a standard d20 game. First of all attributes are
represented by a modifier and not just a number. The average score is a zero with the lowest be a -5 and the
highest being as high as they can get. However, no score can start out greater then +5 before racial modifiers.
This is very similar to the Ars Magca attribute system for people familiar with that. Assigning attributes is
done through a point based system that is very simple. Each player gets 6 points to distribute. They can lower
some stats to higher others on a one by one basis. So, I can lower intelligence to a -2 to boost dexterity by
+2. The attributes are very well defined and there is even a great side bar that discusses what a character with
some high and low mental attributes behave. It is a great side bar that should help let people figure out how
stats help with role playing a character. Next the player can choose her race and back ground. Backgrounds help
define where the character comes from like one of the countries, an island folk, the forest, etc. Not all races
get backgrounds as some races are only from one area. The races include the standard human, and some odder
choices like intelligent animals and more mystical races like the long lived Vata. The races are all pretty
fascinating and offer some very interesting role playing challenges. For instance playing an intelligent dolphin
will hold some unique opportunities for both e Narrator (the person running the game) and the player.
The role of the character is the class. Blue Rose uses three generic classes much like the generic
classes found in Unearthed Arcana. Blue Rose though adds a few differences to them given each a class defense
and reputation score. The roles are Adept, Expert, and Warrior. Most abilities are gained through the
acquisition of feats. Unlike other games feats are gained every level since none of the classes offer any
special abilities that are set in stone. There is a lot of general feats and a section of feats that are only
available to each class. Multi classing is fully allowed and allows characters to become broad of skill. Skills
are also done a bit differently. Characters do not get skill points, instead they have known and unknown skills
(class and cross class) as well as favored and not favored. A favored skill is assumed to have max ranks for
ones levels. It is possible to acquire new favored skills by multi classing or through gaining the right feats.
This will be an odd change that I think will take a bit of getting used to. But it will make character creation
and leveling up a lot easier with out worrying about skill points. There is another little extra idea they have
here called Conviction. Each character gets so many based on their level and they can spend them to heal, re
roll a die, get a bonus to dodge etc. A character regains conviction slowly through time but faster depending on
their actions.
The skills and feats make up the bulk of what the character can do. The skill list has been trimmed
down to twenty five skills about ten or so less then a standard d20 game. I like the scaled down skill selection
it still covers everything a character will want to do and allows for plenty of customization. The feats
represent the true character power. There are feats for combat, for skills and for magic and psionic abilities.
It really has a great and simple system for magic and psionics. There are no spells or spell levels that one has
to worry about. No preparations of spell lists or anything like that. The arcane systems has a nice fatigue
system that will slowly effect the caster to prevent lots of magic in a short period of time. There are some
familiar feats like far shot and the ability to gain a familiar. There are plenty of options and it would be
easy to take feats from other products and have them work for the setting. The game has no advanced classes and
no prestige classes. The simplest way to include them I think is to make their abilities into feats with
interesting names and requirements. This will work perfectly within the system as it is set up with the littlest
amount of work having to be done by the Narrator.
Magic is very interesting. It is skill and feat based. The effects have a difficulty and that
difficulty can get harder depending on the relationship between the caster and the recipient of the magic.
Seeing the person has a no modifier to the check, but spells cast with out the person around can really get
challenging. Some spells require attacks and other have saving throws. There are lots of options within the
system. It seems easy to use and pretty straight forward. That actually can be said about the whole game, I
like the simplicity of it all.
The game uses the wealth system from d20 modern. One minor change they made is they do not have the
profusion skill to gain wealth. Instead they recommend determining which of the skills the character would use
(diplomat uses diplomacy, musician uses perform, thief uses slight of hand etc) instead of having a single skill
who’s only purpose is the wealth mechanic. The game does use a damage system like the one found in Mutants and
Masterminds and not the hit point system of D&D. Each weapon has a single damage bonus and not a range of
damage. Critical hits multiple the damage so critical can actually be really bad. The weapon and armor tables
are familiar and a little smaller then in most games. The equipment lists on the other hand a little larger. It
also includes some basic magical elixirs and stones. Most magical creations can not be made anymore as the
knowledge has been lost but these two types of simple magical things are still being made today.
Next, the book goes into playing the game. It covers the basic rules like standard actions, using
social skills in game, and movement. It starts out very rules oriented but then moves and covers a few areas
that are very important for narrators to know about. These include when to fudge a die roll, how to improvise,
saying yes to the players, and making mistakes. There is some really good advice in these few pages that
hopefully most narrators have had a chance to read or something like it.
One big change from most ordinary games to Blue Rose is the different types of role playing that are
emphasized. These are specifically discussed in a very thorough way. The book goes into emotional role playing,
effect of reputation, role playing romance, and intrigue. The book has great advice and urges Narrators to not
create situations that the players will be uncomfortable with. Not every one wants to role apply a love interest
or experience the emotionally lose of a pet through their character. It is very important for the Narrator and
the players to be on the same page in this area. While Romantic Fantasy does include these elements, the game is
not hinged on them. Any or all of these can be removed from the game. It will change how the game is run and
how it feels, but it will not make the game unplayable.
The book finishes up with a small bestiary, a short adventure, and conversion rules to make this book
work with and d20 product. The creatures presented include many animals and basic write ups for the player
races. There are plant creatures, elements creatures, and shadow spawn the mostly evil creatures that make life
difficult for our heroes.
This product is one of the few I have been waiting for. Ever since I learned of it last year it has
been on my must get as soon as it comes out list. And frankly not many books make that list. This book has
lived up to my expectations and really surpassed them. I have read some of the books that inspired the setting
and it really shows through with the level of though t and detail that this product has. It works for me as a
very well done rules light version of d20 and also as a very fascinating setting and role playing challenge. I
eager await the follow books Green Ronin has planned.
QUALITY: ExcellentVALUE: Very Satisfied
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REVIEW - 5 OUT OF 5 STARS from James Hargrove:
Brainwashed by 12 to Midnight (d20 Horror)
Aesthetically pleasing as well as both witty and well-written, as an adventure module, Brainwashed does not fail
to please. Weighing in at 39 pages (or at 31 pages in the included ‘printer-friendly’ edition), Brainwashed was
specifically designed to showcase the 12 to Midnight OGL sanity rules found in Fear Effects, serving as a means
to introduce those rules to your players. My experiences with the product follow.
I’ve tried to sum up the adventure’s basic plot line here without spoiling too much of the charm inherent to
discovering such things on your own. The basics are as follows: Several members of a hippy commune in East Texas
have dug up something in their field. Something bad. Something alien. Something that has enslaved their minds and
turned these once peaceful people into violent maniacs. When a young boy becomes wrapped up in the cult-like
activities going on up at the commune, you are tapped to investigate.
Sprinkled with cattle mutilations, poisoned fruit punch, tin foil hats and other bits of conspiracy theory pop
culture, at first glance you might assume that Brainwashed is yet another schlock conspiracy theory adventure -
but that would be an assumption made in error. By presenting these tropes in a serious context rather playing
them up as humorous in-jokes, Brainwashed manages to convey a tone of urgency that many other such
conspiracy-oriented adventures fail to capture.
As an engaging modern horror adventure, Brainwashed is well worth the admission price of $5.00. As a showcase
for 12 to Midnight’s Fear Effects, it is slightly less impressive, but will serve as a good introduction to that
product’s insanity rules for your players. Brainwashed is disturbing, atmospheric, fun that shouldn’t be
overlooked by those with a genuine interest in Horror as a genre, or in modern conspiracy adventures.
LIKED: The tin foil hats, cattle mutiliations, and other pop culture conspiracy references being executed
'straight' rather than as in-jokes. DISLIKED: Nothing, really. I was honestly impressed with all of it. QUALITY:
ExcellentVALUE: Very Satisfied
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REVIEW - 5 OUT OF 5 STARS from Mark Charke:
The Enchanter: The Core Specialist Wizard by Misfit Studios (d20 Class/Race Books)
The layout of this book caught my attention immediately. Everything is Valentines day red and it looks very
appropriate for the enchanter. This immediately sets the tone of the book as one dedicated to the manipulation,
charming, of others. The book is very light on romance however, focusing on the core enchanter abilities.
The core enchanter is rewritten. This new class gains spell DC increases against “favored races” with its force
of will ability. It also brings up the DC of all enchantment spells. The class gains additional spells like a
specialist but gets fewer feats than a Wizard, which is balances it out. The change from Intelligence to Charisma
for spellcasting is appropriate and synergies with many sorcerer feats and spells the character may wish to take.
Of the two prestige classes, I really like the Alpha Warden, which blurs the line between wizard and druid,
giving the character animal companions and spellcasting every other level. The requirements are stiff with 8
ranks required in Handle Animal, a cross class skill for the Enchanter unless you hunt down a skill adding feat.
The book has a host of new feats and rules for hypnosis.
I was not sure if the book had anything to do with Valentines day until I ran across the Lovers Arrow in the
magic item section. This is about the only direct reference to cupid and it’s enough. It keeps the book from
becoming silly while allowing for a little fun.
LIKED: This is a solid addition to the enchanter. If I wanted to play an enchanter, I would want this product
for the additional options it provides.DISLIKED: Evoker is not out yet. I’m very much looking forward to evoker.
When all the schools are done, I would really like to see a print compellation of the books.QUALITY:
ExcellentVALUE: Very Satisfied
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REVIEW - 5 OUT OF 5 STARS from Mark Gedak:
FLASHBALL by 93 Games Studio (Card Games)
>From the Math Teacher prespective:
“Flashball” is an inexpensive game/teaching aid from 93 Games Studio that combine the route learning of basic
mathematics that with the excitement of baseball. The game is designed for two players who compete to move their
players around the bases and score 10 points first. The game uses a modified system for hits that require the
batter to answer of a series of questions (with increasing difficult) to hit a single, double, triple or home
run. The pitcher has an opportunity on a hit to throw the batter out at the plate which makes sure both members
playing receive a nice range of questions for practice.
Originally reading the runs I was at a loss as two what I was supposed do with the player and ball tokens
besides making sure they were available but as I read the example of play it all became clear. There are “only”
120 question in this game but the inclusion of a template in this product means you could make:
Multiplication, Division, Order of Operations, Fractions
or
Really any class concept that you need to review and can be route learned.
LIKED: - Inexpensive teaching aid
- Links math with a sports games
- Easy to learn and use almost immediately after printing
- Although designed for the early elementary, the inclusion of a flashcard template means I could make up cards
for harder mathematics problems, fact memorization, or even chemical nomenclature.
- handy to review concepts before tests.DISLIKED: Nothing, this now adds to my pile of review
techniques/strategies.QUALITY: ExcellentVALUE: Very Satisfied
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----------------------------------------
REVIEW - 5 OUT OF 5 STARS from Chris Gath:
MEG: Bluffside:City on the Edge-e version by Ronin Arts (d20 City/Location Books)
The Bluffside PDF has not been updated to 3.5 nor has any new material been added to it. It does however
contain all the errata that has been collected to date so the few errors of the original print book have been
fixed. The cover art is by Paul Chapman and is a picture of the city. It shows the mountains that surround
the city, the river, waterfall and cliff the city sits on and beside, as well as the different individual
sections of the city itself. Many of the more prominent buildings are easily identifiable as well. The interior
art is all black and white and well done. The maps however are a little difficult to read. They are available
for free download at the Mystic Eye Games website and the ones they have there are a lot more crisp. So, while
downloading them from a separate site might be a little inconvenient it is easy to do and well worth the effort.
The layout of the book is very well done. The dual column format is a very easy to read and even more
importantly easy on the eyes. There is not an abundance of white space and at the same time the pages do not
seem crowded.
One of the great things about PDFs is the inclusion of the bookmark ability. Bookmarks are basically a
linked index that is at the side of the PDF. It can be closed so that the PDF fills the screen, or opened to
allow one to glance down the list to find what one is looking for. Then a simple click on the link and the PDF
goes directly to that section. The Bluffside PDF has one of the most complete set of Bookmarks that I have seen.
They have them listed by chapter. One can open up all the bookmarks in an individual chapter at a time so they
are not overwhelming.
Bluffside starts with the introductory chapter. In here it explains the city is dividing into eight
districts, it explains about the places of interests (POI) and how they include NPCs and hooks for using each
place described, as well as talking a little about the religions and the areas around Bluffside. Now the POIs
are really great. There are over a hundred described and each is its own place with unique NPCs and plot hooks.
Many of them are tied together and can easily lead characters from one place to another as the characters explore
this vast city. The POIs are easy to use and filled with great ideas. For me they offer the core material for
Bluffside and make sure that it is near impossible to run out of ideas here.
The second chapter deals with the rich and mysterious history of Bluffside. The city is on the
remains of a much older city and there are many mysteries about who these original people were. It explains a
few key buildings that are still around and not fully understood by the inhabitants of Bluffside. It mentions
the great adamantium mines that are found in the mountains nearby and the goblin wars and the chaos that brought
to the fair city. There is a nice little timeline and even a brief description of the cliff divers. They are a
small organizations that dives from the cliffs. They are stunt men and women who risk their lives for a brief
thrill.
Chapter three really starts to get into the going ons of the city. It is here that the many different
groups the lobby for power in the city can be found. Groups like the Adamantine Security council who is in
charge of the mining and smelting of the precious ore, the Five a group of very important citizens and the
actually rulers of the city, and the Wizards Council. There are more groups in the busy city of Bluffside but
these three are by far the most important and the most widespread.
The fourth chapter goes into the Old City district first. It is here that all the power players seem to
come from. This place is full of money and important people. It has a rich history and is not well thought of
by the rest of the city. It is also a place that few people are allowed in. There are many plots going on
behind the scenes described in the more then abundant POIs of this area. There is also the Miners District,
Temple District, Military District, Wizard District, and New City District. Each is brilliantly described and
filled with rich POIs. Each district could actually be removed and used as its very own city with out the rest
of Bluffside.
The fifth chapter goes into the city beneath the city. The Undercity is a maze of sewers, tunnels, and
even a few places of business. The Undercity has a unique history with many places for adventures as well as
exploration. There are dangers of the monstrous variety as well as more mundane things like traps and diseases.
Many of Bluffsides mysteries can be found here and lucky group of adventurers might even find a way to learn
something about them.
Chapter six covers Sordadon. This is the district that floats in the water below the cliffs. It is
hear the boats dock and most of the merchandise goes through. It has a different feel then the other districts
being literally on the water. There is plenty to do here and much danger to be found. As always the POIs are
numerous and intriguing.
The seventh chapter deals with the many guilds that can be found in Bluffside. There is a guild for
adventures and explorers, archeologists, traders, and miners. The guilds serve a few purposes and characters
would benefit from using them.
The eighth chapter deals with the secret societies of Bluffside. There are many to be found. Some are
based on adventure while others are more based in religion.
Chapter nine is about and deals with the areas around Bluffside. There is a map that shows Bluffside
and the lands many hundreds of miles inland. There is plenty of info to take characters farther inland and to
have many adventures there. The POIs are used and as can be expected to a great effect.
The tenth chapter deals with the many, many religions of Bluffside. There is a pantheon listed with
gods and their domains. It would be fairly easy to bring in gods from elsewhere instead of these or alongside
these. The gods are well described and there are little articles about a few of the debates that seem to always
crop up in the Religion Distinct
The book from here goes to the appendixes. The first one is a complete list of all the NPCs mentioned. Each
NPC is giving a full stat block making them very easy to use. It is impressive that they stated all the NPCs as
there are at least a hundred in this book. That cannot have been a fun task.
The next few appendixes are very useful. The second lists a few new creatures that can be encountered in
Bluffside. The third is stat blocks for the many different tyopes of gaurs one is likely to run into during a
stay in the city. The fourth appendix lists some new races that can be encounter in and around the lands of
Bluffside. The Dragori for instance are a race of reptilian humanoids from a vast and old empire in the Dragon
Sands, a vast desert near Bluffside. Next, the book goes into prestige classes. The first is the Bluffside
Mountain Ranger. They explore the mountains around Bluffside and make sure goblin raids and attacks do not
happen. The cat burglar is a thief extraordinaire that may stalk his prey for months before the right time to
strike comes. Explorers prefer to go to places civilization has yet to reach and blaze trails for others to
follow. The Tunnel Fighter goes below the city of Bluffside to operate in the many tunnels, sewers, and caves.
The next appendix covers a variety of new spells. Many are utility spells like Detect Ore and Improved Scribe.
New equipment covers the next appendix and it lists many special pieces that are used for exploration and mining
as well as many of the other activities Bluffside provides. Lastly we have new magical items, feats, and
domains.
The Bluffside book is filled to the brim with information and intrigue. The city is truly alive and has a great
history filled with mystery and adventure. The POIs are truly inventive and provide heaps of information and
ideas for any Dungeon Master. Bluffside is a one of the best cities to ever come from a Role Playing Game.
QUALITY: ExcellentVALUE: Very Satisfied
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----------------------------------------
REVIEW - 5 OUT OF 5 STARS from Chris Gath:
Blue Rose - The Roleplaying Game of Romantic Fantasy by Green Ronin (FANTASY)
This review covers Blue Rose the PDF but the content will be the same as the print book that comes out hopefully
later this month. Blue Rose is a setting and twist on the d20 system to make it a bit more rules light and to
adapt it to the setting and structure of Romantic Fantasy. That begs the question of what is Romantic Fantasy?
It is a genre that has really only been around for twenty of so years. It deals more with personal connections,
character emotion and growth, and can tend to be rather black and white. The good guys accept all kinds of
people and all kinds of life styles. Ones sex, race, religion, or personally beliefs does not matter as long as
you are not making life worse for your neighbor. It deals with an almost utopian based society but it has its
enemies. The bad guys are controlling and just evil. They live to destroy the good society and usually come
really close but never succeed. In that regard it reminds me a lot of the pulp stories from the 1930’s. The
book recommends the following authors for a better feel of romantic fantasy: Kristen Britian, Diane Duane,
Mercedes Lackey, Elizabeth A Lynn, Robin McKinley, and Tomara Pierce.
Blue Rose is a two hundred and twenty five page PDF by Green Ronin. It is a big file over ten megs
zipped. The book is designed by Jeremy Crawford, Dawn Elliot, Steve Kenson, and John Snead. The book is really
easy to find things in having a nice two page table of contents, is fully book marked, and has a very big index
an item that is not seen in many books these days. The layout and art in the book is great. There are some
really impressive full page art pieces. .There could be more art in the monster section but really that is a
minor complaint in the scope of this book.
The book starts with a section that is rarely seen in RPG books these days; it explains what role
playing is, what romantic fantasy is, and walk people through the basics and the jargon. This is a small section
of about ten pages but it really sets the tone and shows how the writers are really thinking about their audience
and are prepared for people new to gaming using their book. Next, the book goes into the world. Without diving
to deeply into it; this section gives s a good overview of the gods, the countries, and the histories. There are
gods of light (good), gods of twilight (neutral), and the gods of shadow (evil). The section talks about the
creation of the world and how things fit together and have developed over time. It really lays the ground work
to make the places seem real and realistic. There is a simple logical progression on how things have happened.
Aldis is the country the game focuses on. We get some great details like day to life, education, government,
travel, some customs, crimes and justice, how arcane abilities are viewed, religion, and holy days. The details
are just great making the day to role playing and the feeling of actually living in this country really come to
life.
There are plenty of threats to this nation of freedom. From the unscrupulous merchants and the fallen
nobles, to the very real and deadly shadow cults and all sorts of the threats in between. There are pirates and
bandits and sorcerers and cabals. It seems like a dangerous place to live at times. All in all there is a nice
over view of the different countries and some of the opponents to good in the area. There is a nice map of the
area and hopefully more maps will be coming in up and coming products. A bigger view at the world map would also
make a great web enhancement.
Creating a character is a bit different then a standard d20 game. First of all attributes are
represented by a modifier and not just a number. The average score is a zero with the lowest be a -5 and the
highest being as high as they can get. However, no score can start out greater then +5 before racial modifiers.
This is very similar to the Ars Magca attribute system for people familiar with that. Assigning attributes is
done through a point based system that is very simple. Each player gets 6 points to distribute. They can lower
some stats to higher others on a one by one basis. So, I can lower intelligence to a -2 to boost dexterity by
+2. The attributes are very well defined and there is even a great side bar that discusses what a character with
some high and low mental attributes behave. It is a great side bar that should help let people figure out how
stats help with role playing a character. Next the player can choose her race and back ground. Backgrounds help
define where the character comes from like one of the countries, an island folk, the forest, etc. Not all races
get backgrounds as some races are only from one area. The races include the standard human, and some odder
choices like intelligent animals and more mystical races like the long lived Vata. The races are all pretty
fascinating and offer some very interesting role playing challenges. For instance playing an intelligent dolphin
will hold some unique opportunities for both e Narrator (the person running the game) and the player.
The role of the character is the class. Blue Rose uses three generic classes much like the generic
classes found in Unearthed Arcana. Blue Rose though adds a few differences to them given each a class defense
and reputation score. The roles are Adept, Expert, and Warrior. Most abilities are gained through the
acquisition of feats. Unlike other games feats are gained every level since none of the classes offer any
special abilities that are set in stone. There is a lot of general feats and a section of feats that are only
available to each class. Multi classing is fully allowed and allows characters to become broad of skill. Skills
are also done a bit differently. Characters do not get skill points, instead they have known and unknown skills
(class and cross class) as well as favored and not favored. A favored skill is assumed to have max ranks for
ones levels. It is possible to acquire new favored skills by multi classing or through gaining the right feats.
This will be an odd change that I think will take a bit of getting used to. But it will make character creation
and leveling up a lot easier with out worrying about skill points. There is another little extra idea they have
here called Conviction. Each character gets so many based on their level and they can spend them to heal, re
roll a die, get a bonus to dodge etc. A character regains conviction slowly through time but faster depending on
their actions.
The skills and feats make up the bulk of what the character can do. The skill list has been trimmed
down to twenty five skills about ten or so less then a standard d20 game. I like the scaled down skill selection
it still covers everything a character will want to do and allows for plenty of customization. The feats
represent the true character power. There are feats for combat, for skills and for magic and psionic abilities.
It really has a great and simple system for magic and psionics. There are no spells or spell levels that one has
to worry about. No preparations of spell lists or anything like that. The arcane systems has a nice fatigue
system that will slowly effect the caster to prevent lots of magic in a short period of time. There are some
familiar feats like far shot and the ability to gain a familiar. There are plenty of options and it would be
easy to take feats from other products and have them work for the setting. The game has no advanced classes and
no prestige classes. The simplest way to include them I think is to make their abilities into feats with
interesting names and requirements. This will work perfectly within the system as it is set up with the littlest
amount of work having to be done by the Narrator.
Magic is very interesting. It is skill and feat based. The effects have a difficulty and that
difficulty can get harder depending on the relationship between the caster and the recipient of the magic.
Seeing the person has a no modifier to the check, but spells cast with out the person around can really get
challenging. Some spells require attacks and other have saving throws. There are lots of options within the
system. It seems easy to use and pretty straight forward. That actually can be said about the whole game, I
like the simplicity of it all.
The game uses the wealth system from d20 modern. One minor change they made is they do not have the
profusion skill to gain wealth. Instead they recommend determining which of the skills the character would use
(diplomat uses diplomacy, musician uses perform, thief uses slight of hand etc) instead of having a single skill
who’s only purpose is the wealth mechanic. The game does use a damage system like the one found in Mutants and
Masterminds and not the hit point system of D&D. Each weapon has a single damage bonus and not a range of
damage. Critical hits multiple the damage so critical can actually be really bad. The weapon and armor tables
are familiar and a little smaller then in most games. The equipment lists on the other hand a little larger. It
also includes some basic magical elixirs and stones. Most magical creations can not be made anymore as the
knowledge has been lost but these two types of simple magical things are still being made today.
Next, the book goes into playing the game. It covers the basic rules like standard actions, using
social skills in game, and movement. It starts out very rules oriented but then moves and covers a few areas
that are very important for narrators to know about. These include when to fudge a die roll, how to improvise,
saying yes to the players, and making mistakes. There is some really good advice in these few pages that
hopefully most narrators have had a chance to read or something like it.
One big change from most ordinary games to Blue Rose is the different types of role playing that are
emphasized. These are specifically discussed in a very thorough way. The book goes into emotional role playing,
effect of reputation, role playing romance, and intrigue. The book has great advice and urges Narrators to not
create situations that the players will be uncomfortable with. Not every one wants to role apply a love interest
or experience the emotionally lose of a pet through their character. It is very important for the Narrator and
the players to be on the same page in this area. While Romantic Fantasy does include these elements, the game is
not hinged on them. Any or all of these can be removed from the game. It will change how the game is run and
how it feels, but it will not make the game unplayable.
The book finishes up with a small bestiary, a short adventure, and conversion rules to make this book
work with and d20 product. The creatures presented include many animals and basic write ups for the player
races. There are plant creatures, elements creatures, and shadow spawn the mostly evil creatures that make life
difficult for our heroes.
This product is one of the few I have been waiting for. Ever since I learned of it last year it has
been on my must get as soon as it comes out list. And frankly not many books make that list. This book has
lived up to my expectations and really surpassed them. I have read some of the books that inspired the setting
and it really shows through with the level of though t and detail that this product has. It works for me as a
very well done rules light version of d20 and also as a very fascinating setting and role playing challenge. I
eager await the follow books Green Ronin has planned.
QUALITY: ExcellentVALUE: Very Satisfied
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