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Message: <blockquote data-quote="C.W.Richeson" data-source="post: 3334823" data-attributes="member: 33888">It's RPG material like any other RPG material.  Whether a game line is in print or not isn't important to me.First, some aspects of a product can be evaluated no matter what.  Clarity of discussion, editing, art, and other factors are universal.  Second, I have a very broad experience but so do the other judges.If it's a system I can teach myself with only a moderate amount of effort (say, nWoD) then I'd be inclined to get ahold of the core rulebook and do that.  However, where that's not an option for whatever reason I'm more likely to defer to the judgment of other judges (who do know that system) on that particular item.  I just don't see any other solution there, but I'd be open to suggestions.When I write reviews I try to review every product on its own merits, and I'd be doing that here.  A poor core book could certainly have a fantastic supplement, especially where lots of writing is being farmed out or different teams are working on different products.  I'd definitely pay a little more attention to my biases and what other judges are saying in that case, however, and would ask myself "Am I really being fair to this product?"Sure.  Adventures have a certain organization and flow, from how they introduce plot hooks to how they anticipate player actions and weave events together.I certainly don't intend to play test every submission and would be stunned if someone, somehow, managed to do so.  What I do play test will occur based around my gaming group's current schedules.  I anticipate I'm most likely to playtest products where I suspect the play experience is likely to be substantially different from the reading experience.  With Great Power..., for example, is a game that really comes alive in play in ways that the text just can't communicate.  You get to feel the players make choices, and it's a lot of fun.</blockquote>

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