A rant about D20 Magazine Rack

[blackshirt5]

Yeah, then maybe we won't see books on dwarves get plinked in reviews because they are too dwarvish.

PLEASE tell me you're joking Doc.

 

[JeffB]

....I find the idea that a setting specific supplement (especially a maps book, for goodness sake!) should be required to be useful outside of the setting for which it was intended ludicrous. It may be worth mentioning, but should not play into the final score.

Exactly what I was trying to convey Alan, thanks for doing it much better than I did.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

PLEASE tell me you're joking Doc.

Not at all. Go read the review of Heroes of High Favor: Dwarves from Bad Axe Games as done by D20 MR.

The book is knocked for being too typical. I guess the reviewer would have prefered Aquatic Dwarves and other pulled out of your butt ideas.

Or maybe the book just came out too close to the same time Helms and Hammers by GR came out for the reviewers taste. That book since it is from GR of course had to rate a 5 from D20 MR.

 

[Darkness]

Or maybe the book just came out too close to the same time Helms and Hammers by GR came out for the reviewers taste. That book since it is from GR of course had to rate a 5 from D20 MR.

Was it the same D20 MR reviewer for both books?

 

[Ghostwind]

I'll save everyone the trouble of searching for the reviews:

Heroes of High Favor: Dwarves

Hammer & Helm

 

[JacktheRabbit]

Was it the same D20 MR reviewer for both books?

Contrary to what D20 MR has said those two reviews (HOHF and H&H) are reviews that do NOT list who the specific review is.

The links provided to D20 MR' sites reviews show that they are two different reviewers.

Of course it interesting that he did not post up links to the reviews here on ENWorld. Those are the reviews we are talking about.

 

[blackshirt5]

It was the same reviewer.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

It was the same reviewer.

Yep and a very poor example of how to review a product he uses one product as an example of what the other product should have been.

Very poor review standards if you ask me. Each and every review MUST be independent of other products.

Anything else is just beign a fanboy.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

I'll save everyone the trouble of searching for the reviews:

Heroes of High Favor: Dwarves

Hammer & Helm

Thanks for the link, Steve. I hadn't actually read the other review from your site.

I have never hidden the fact that I take issue with your rather subjective review of Dwarves. I think any reasonably honest look at your review would find it extremely light on supporting information and facts.

Opinions such as "I can’t help feeling that there was a rush to get this book done quickly..." seem particularly out of place, to me, for a professional review. I would expect that to be backed up with facts: specific examples of poor editing, poor layout, poor game balance, etc. I need facts such as those in order to improve my work.

But, honestly, man to man here (not publisher to reviewer, just two gamers talkin here), that specific review reads like a hack job.

I happily note that your review at the rack differs in at least one significant way from the review you posted at ENworld.

Wulf

 

[JacktheRabbit]

Overall, Hammer & Helm is a fantastic book that breathes new life into some old stereotypes. All of the game mechanics and rules are balanced and well written. A great deal of thought and effort went into this book and it shows. I will be very interested to see if Paradigm’s forthcoming giants book is equally well done. If you love dwarves and are looking for something new, then by all means buy this book.

Ok, I cannot refrain from commenting.

This right here shows the problem with the "reviews".

Dwarves do not exist. They are a fictional creation in DnD pretty much copied straight out of Tolkien. A dwarf is a dwarf because he is short, carries an axe, and has a bad attitude.

Anything else is just a short humanoid. If you love dwarves but want something new then run a halfling or a gnome. A dwarf is a dwarf because of those old "sterortypes".