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<blockquote data-quote="Lazarus Long" data-source="post: 190557" data-attributes="member: 1800">Kenzer sent me the Hacklopedia III for review about 3 weeks ago.&nbsp; I've read it off an on for those three weeks and once all the way through cover-to-cover.Initial Impressions:The book itself is a nice soft-cover, and seemingly durable.&nbsp; The binding is holding up perfectly, with only a very little space developed between the cover and the pages when the book lies down.The Cover art is intense, the front showing a half-orc being smashed face-first into a dungeon wall while the other adventurers look on with a &quot;oh no… we have to fight THAT?&quot; look on their faces.&nbsp; The back has a description of a monster whose picture is in full color (all the other illustrations are black and white): the Gummy Fiend… yep a monster made out of &quot;gummy&quot; bear stuff.Flipping through the book, I first noticed that all the monsters have an illustration.&nbsp; Second, these monsters want to eat you… and most want to play with their food first.&nbsp; Some of the concepts are a tad silly, others more than a tad gross.&nbsp; But I enjoyed looking through the book.The Rules:I first started playing D&amp;D with a friend’s older brother’s First Edition books.&nbsp; And reading through the monsters’ descriptions and the rules explanations made me think back to those days.&nbsp; The triggered memories were sweet, but I didn’t get a feeling for nostalgia.&nbsp; I’m glad that D&amp;D evolved into its present incarnation.&nbsp; The few&nbsp; rules descriptions here made me appreciate 3e more.I can’t really back up these feelings, I realize.&nbsp; I read a monster manual, not the actual rules.The Monsters:Overall, the monsters here seem a tad silly, in my opinion.&nbsp; The frog that flies through someone’s chest is too over the top for me, I guess.&nbsp; Of course, the book comes out and says that Hackmaster is a Parody of D&amp;D, so I shouldn’t only look for &quot;serious&quot; monsters.My favorite are the carnivorous faeries, I might consider the concept for my own campaigns.&nbsp; Their freaky, and seeing them feeding off of another faeriy’s arm chilled me.The one I dislike the most is the Gummy Fiend.&nbsp; Its just plain stupid, in my opinion.Final Impressions:Hackmaster is not for me.&nbsp; I’ve heard that it’s a fun game on its own, and that the silliness enhances the play, which is totally fine- for other people.&nbsp; This book’s price is $20.&nbsp; There’s going to be eight volumes for the hacklopedia- that’s $160.&nbsp; Add the two rule books (I’m assuming they’re ~$30 each, but I could be wrong), and this is one expensive joke.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lazarus Long, post: 190557, member: 1800"] Kenzer sent me the Hacklopedia III for review about 3 weeks ago. I've read it off an on for those three weeks and once all the way through cover-to-cover. Initial Impressions: The book itself is a nice soft-cover, and seemingly durable. The binding is holding up perfectly, with only a very little space developed between the cover and the pages when the book lies down. The Cover art is intense, the front showing a half-orc being smashed face-first into a dungeon wall while the other adventurers look on with a "oh no… we have to fight THAT?" look on their faces. The back has a description of a monster whose picture is in full color (all the other illustrations are black and white): the Gummy Fiend… yep a monster made out of "gummy" bear stuff. Flipping through the book, I first noticed that all the monsters have an illustration. Second, these monsters want to eat you… and most want to play with their food first. Some of the concepts are a tad silly, others more than a tad gross. But I enjoyed looking through the book. The Rules: I first started playing D&D with a friend’s older brother’s First Edition books. And reading through the monsters’ descriptions and the rules explanations made me think back to those days. The triggered memories were sweet, but I didn’t get a feeling for nostalgia. I’m glad that D&D evolved into its present incarnation. The few rules descriptions here made me appreciate 3e more. I can’t really back up these feelings, I realize. I read a monster manual, not the actual rules. The Monsters: Overall, the monsters here seem a tad silly, in my opinion. The frog that flies through someone’s chest is too over the top for me, I guess. Of course, the book comes out and says that Hackmaster is a Parody of D&D, so I shouldn’t only look for "serious" monsters. My favorite are the carnivorous faeries, I might consider the concept for my own campaigns. Their freaky, and seeing them feeding off of another faeriy’s arm chilled me. The one I dislike the most is the Gummy Fiend. Its just plain stupid, in my opinion. Final Impressions: Hackmaster is not for me. I’ve heard that it’s a fun game on its own, and that the silliness enhances the play, which is totally fine- for other people. This book’s price is $20. There’s going to be eight volumes for the hacklopedia- that’s $160. Add the two rule books (I’m assuming they’re ~$30 each, but I could be wrong), and this is one expensive joke. [/QUOTE]

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