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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Keeper of Secrets" data-source="post: 2011679" data-attributes="member: 13836">When I first heard about Joseph Goodman’s DragonMech, I was more than intrigued.  I was excited.  I saw the cover, saw some ads in the usual RPG magazines and really wanted to know more.  I wasn’t sure what to think, but one thing was certain:  I was convinced that this was a product that was going to be one more ‘steam and fantasy’ product, being another in the increasing line of products like Iron Kingdoms, Eberron, OGL Steampunk, etc.  As I read through it, I realized that I had stumbled on to something entirely different.DragonMech is certainly unlike these other products.  For the most part, other products in this growing genre focus on steam and sorcery powering the mechs, ‘jacks, etc.  In DragonMech, the technology is certainly based on steam and sorcery but some are actually suits with a single or multiple ‘jockeys’ inside controlling the mech while others  are colossal, housing not just a team but some even can house an entire city’s population!  It certainly reminds readers of Battletech, Robotech and other tactical games.  To be fair, though, Goodman makes it abundantly clear that the intention is not at all to draw a similarity to Battletech and Robotech.  Goodman claims that rather than the sleek Anime style, these should remind the player of large Gutenberg presses, clunky furnaces and the black soot of the Industrial Revolution.  I was hooked.The mechs themselves are certainly the focal point of the book.  There are ample rules for styles of mechs, powers for the mechs and different ways they operate.  For instance, there are some are powered by clockwork technology while others are powered by steam and magic, while others are horrible necromantic creations, fused from the dead.  Furthermore, the rules are excellent for simulating full-scale battles.  Imagine, if you will, a huge field of battle, comprised of titans the size of Redwood trees, firing blasts of flame and electricity, then engaging in hand-to-hand combat with massive chains, axes and buzz-saws.  As if that were not inspiring enough, imagine further that off in the distance a massive structure, large than the fighting mechs.  Then you discover that this larger structure is a mech that houses an entire city and roams the land, stamping out enemies.  Yes, an entire city living in a mech.To say that I was overwhelmed is an understatement.  I went over the book several times, critically examining the rules and the backdrop and still have yet to fully get my mind around it.  I believe that the words ‘mind boggling’ are certainly appropriate in this sense.  Whereas this is certainly impressive, it may take time for players and GMs to adjust and finally conceptualize this kind of campaign.To be fair, Goodman makes it very clear that there are numerous styles of campaigns that can be run.  The possibility of the characters controlling the mechs from inside is an obvious one.  But there are just as many campaign ideas that revolve around the characters engaging in traditional adventures such as dungeon crawling, fantasy combat and engaging terrible menaces such as orcs and trolls.  Therefore, if the idea of having wizards and rogues inside a giant, walking tank turns you off, don’t worry; there are plenty of other things to do with the setting.  But the mechs are certainly there, tempting players and GMs alike . . .The world of DragonMech is set in the world of Highpoint.  Reminding me somewhat of Malhavoc Press’ When the Sky Falls, this world is in the rebuilding stage of a post-apocalyptic nightmare.  The history tells us that there were meteors from the moon that began falling as a result from the ‘lunar dragons’ fighting amongst themselves or some, as of yet, unknown enemy.  The huge chunks of rock that bombarded the earth destroyed all the traditional cities, forcing the population to go underground and seek solace.  As a result of the broken moon, the tides changed, causing severe weather patterns as well as radical changes in sea levels.  Large parts of the land were swallowed by the ocean and the major portions of the land not under sea levels is where most of the action takes place (and why the area is called ‘Highpoint’).Dwarven technology saved the day, creating (or unearthing) the technology to build these massive constructs.  At the start of the campaign the lunar rains have slowed considerably.  Humanity is now taking a cautious yet hopeful approach to starting to repopulate.  However, they are not about to completely abandon their cavernous homes or their mobile mech-cities.  What I liked:There is a lot that DragonMech has to offer.  Often I hear gamers’ desires for something new or some unique kind of setting.  In the past few years there has been a floodgate of unique and unusual settings to chose from:  Xcrawl, Arcana Unearthed, Midnight, Iron Kingdoms, and Eberron.  However, none of them compare with DragonMech in terms of uniqueness.  This is certainly the cure for any group desperately looking for something truly different.  The rules for the mechs as well as the mech combat are spot on.  I won’t lie that I was concerned at first.  I wondered how on earth such massive combats could be replicated and how these huge mechs could be put together without ‘breaking’ the rules or, at the very least, stretching them to their sane limits.  Thankfully, I was not disappointed.  What I saw really impressed me as everything had reasonable costs associated with the construction and maintenances of the mechs (coal, gold, energy, etc.)  The various mechs seem logical (I mean, for a fantasy game) and they are impressive the way in which they operate.  Furthermore, for those interested in major battles with several mechs against several mechs, Goodman promised us a subsequent book on the subject, specifically dealing with large scale combat.  Further, I loved the various campaign ideas.  For 232 pages, I was impressed at how much got crammed in.  Not only are there rules for new classes (which are a great additions for this kind of world), but new prestige classes, reasonable feats and even a few spells and monsters.  But the campaign ideas were the best.  The book is written in a way where 20 different GMs could read the book and likely come away with 20 different ideas on how to put together a campaign.  Obviously, I was not immune, either, as campaign ideas bounced around in my own mind as I read and took notes . . .Finally, I really enjoyed the art.  Whereas I would have enjoyed more pictures that looked like sketched out schematics, penned from the Dwarven engineers, the interior artwork from Niklas Janssen is great and has this dark and smudgy look to it, bringing to mind the bleak themes and somewhat eerie outlook on life that the inhabitants of Highpoint share.What I did not like:Honestly, the campaign setting did not overly thrill me. I realize this may seem somewhat contradictory to my above statement about how much I loved some of the campaign ideas, but there is a distinction.  Whereas I did like the post apocalyptic theme, the world was so complicated, especially when one considers that the players and GM are already being asked to conceptualize some of the other issues like mechs and steam technology.  No disrespect to Goodman, but the campaign world seemed like it was created as a vehicle (pardon the pun) for the mechs.  The campaign world seemed like an afterthought and even seemed contrived as if it were just created after the fact.  Certainly, it is workable and it is logical with the various bandits, rogue nations and powerful strong men who rose to the top of a nation of weak willed individuals.  It just did not capture as me as much as other campaign settings have.  The saving grace is that the campaign world is not absolutely necessary for the DragonMech world to work so GMs are free to adopt the mech rules and some of the concepts, putting together their own world or better yet, slowly and logically introduce the mechs into an existing campaign.  Of course the majority of this is, of course, personal tastes.Another problem I had was the organization of the book.  Truthfully, I had a difficult time actually understanding what was going on at times.  The real explanation of the mechs and the rise of this technology were really not explained until much later in the book.  The beginning of the book would have been a much better place to house this information.  In fact, I can’t imagine how helpful it would have been if Goodman had given a detailed and thorough explanation of what it was I was about to read.  It would have saved me a lot of confusion and second-guessing.  There is certainly the possibility that I am thick as a plank and just somehow missed something but I don’t think so.  I remember deciding to skip certain parts once I got clueless, flipped to other parts of the book to read what exactly a city-mech was (and if it was exactly what I thought it was).  These two problems I had with it should in no way dissuade anyone from getting this book.  This is such a monumentally unique book that I would encourage anyone interested in something new or interesting to give this a serious look.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that the material on the mechs is so revolutionary that GMs and players alike can certainly mine a plethora of resources from this product.I give DragonMech 3.5 out of 5.</blockquote>

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