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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2008104" data-attributes="member: 18387">Let's start by saying that I am a full-on fanboy of the Elric Saga, and I was about to start converting ideas for my own campaign when I found DLoM on the shelf at one of my local hobby stores and had to snatch it up instead of the Psionics Handbook. As the other reviewers have pointed out, the game designers have assumed that you are already familiar with the Elric Saga (at least the original six novels), and for good reason-going into any major detail of the novels would (at least) double the size of the book. This is one time when I have to disagree with what my old History Professor used to tell us:Assume the reader has no idea of what you are talking about. With that in mind, I'm going to jump into the sections of the book.The overview: the Games designers did an impressive job compiling all of the information into the few pages they have in the book to explain the world of Elric. I'm of the opinion that even a Novice DM could utilize this info to run a passable DLoM campaign, and if they did their research (Elric of Melnibone' and Stormbringer), they could get a real feel for the world. I especially like the way they described the various lands of the Saga, and how the people of those lands tend to act and interact with one another. The preferred classes section on each land gives the reader an idea of the type of people they will encounter. The preferred weapons also help the DM with characterization.Young Kingdoms adventurers: This section is extremely helpful for DM's and Players alike. In addition to the standard fare (classes, money, new skills), the section also describes Melnibone' and Myrrhn adventurers. Melnibone'ans are not your standard Elves and HalfElves of 3E. In fact, I think a DM could do a lot of damage to a party that assumed they were facing a typical Elf. A Melnibone'an can potentially start with a bound demon with the addtional racial skills they get, Melnibone'an Characters are hard to pass up. Myrrhn characters are just as interesting: Charaters with functional wings! Imagine a Rogue with Wings! The Major Complaints I have with the Adventurers section: The Character sheet-It has two blocks for Demons and nothing for Feats. Take that as you will. Also, there is no description of the classes and their respective skills in the book, so the Core Books for 3e are mandatory. That makes it hard to sell this as a standalone productThe game system: unfortunately, there is little truly useful information here, aside from the Allegiance rules. In fact, they do not detail any skills or feats here, except for new skills, so you would have to have the Player's Handbook to utilize the book to it's fullest capability.Magic: this section really opens up the d20 system for new magic systems. In the saga, all magic (including items) requires the summoning of some other creature, be it Elemental, Daemon, or Beast. No flashy Fireballs here! The Game Designers worked out the system very well, utilizing the sacrifice of XP and in some cases, ability points, to summon and bind daemons.Religion: this section covers the alleginace rules more closely, and details the various Gods and Godlike Beings in the Saga. It also details Champions for the Powers, and how characters can become Champions.The bestiary: this is good if you just want some new monsters that your players haven't seen yet and don't really understand how to defeat them..The NPC catalog: great for fleshing out any NPC's the players might encounter.The Saga Personalities: Fun stuff here! all of the major characters from the saga (and several minor characters) are fully detailed here, including the dreaded swords Stormbringer and Mournblade. These two are interesting in that they are given a full write up as a character (Stormbringer and Mournblade have the same stats).After this, the book is mostly dealing with a few magic items and rumors, in addition to advice on how to run a Young Kingdoms campaignThe biggest complaints I have are the Character Sheets (no feats), the lack of any class or skill descriptions, and the fact that you must have the Core books for 3e to play the game. But for the DM who wants a Young Kingdoms campaign, you can't go wrong with this book. The price is a good buy, as well. Comparable with the core books, and more useful information and ideas than the specialty books (Sword and Fist et al)</blockquote>

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