Disclaimer: I received a review copy
Loot, a field guide surprised me upon first reading. Not only did it have the obligatory charts and tables, it jumped out of the expected and right into a detailed discussion of the entire idea of loot. It is one of the more interesting concept books I have reviewed in some time.
Appearance:
The PDF was I received 7.35 megs, not zipped. It has a gray scale cover featuring the worlds most famous henchman Nodwick. Very entertaining.
Unfortunately the PDF was not bookmarked which is a shame. I find this detracts quite a bit from the books ease of use. It does have a decent index though
The first chapter of the book talks about what loot is.
For players weaned on killing things and taking their stuff this would seem obvious. It really isn't. This chapter discusses what value is and breaks the meaning of loot down by Character (for individual motivations) Profession (class basically) Race (including the HARP specific Gryx race) and culture. This chapter would be excellent for a novice GM and is worth reading even for the experienced. It can help any GM make treasure fit better into his game. Also the information (even class information) is generic enough for use in most any game, Fighters exists in every game after all
The next chapter Loot in The Wilderness discusses the placement of loot in some depth. It helps make finding that +x Shield in a spider’s lair logical and fitting for the campaign. The chapter also discusses most of the critters in the HARP core rules and what kind of loot they might have.
These critters are pretty basic and most fantasy games will have at least some of them. Lastly there is a section on loot in the ruin and a coupe of sample ruins. I like this chapter pretty well and as was the first chapter it is a great read for the novice.
The next chapter Loot in the Big City was a bit disappointing.
While it gave out plenty of what is in cities, the racial variant and cultural variants thereof and discussed markets at length it really didn't give me much to work with when it came to actually adventuring. Frankly the chapter was more about merchants and city layouts than adventure. Not my favorite chapter
Next up is Fabrication and Materials.
This chapter has loads of detailed charts and tables for making magic items and what to make them out of. It is HARP specific but there is enough and the ingredients are mostly "real world" enough to use in any game. It rather reminds me of the 1st edition DMG and I mean that in a good way
The next chapter is a very detailed system for making potions. It covers matrix potions (potions that have spells in them) and formula potions (that mix weird ingredients for effects) in tons of detail. Its mostly for HARP but adapting it isn't hard and the system is solid and fun.
The next chapter on Runes covers the HARP answer to scrolls in oodles of detail. It also includes a few variant types of runes including rechargeable Crystal Runes. It is a very nice system to spice up a fairly dull magic item.
Charms, Fetishes and Talismans make up the next chapter. This is a meta system for creating the minor hedge magic items. In a lower magic game like HARP these fit right in. Witch type PC's will love them. GM's will like having a balanced system. I find this is a useful chapter
I am blurring the next 3 chapters together as they are essentially part and parcel of one another. The book gives you 14 pages on enchanting items, intelligent items and screw ups when making items. Its a rich and detailed with many options and methods to use for enchantment
The system is well worth looking at for many different fantasy games. Happily it works well with everything else in the book as well. Good stuff
The last chapter is the actual Loot part of the book. It covers every kind of money imaginable (paper, shells, coin etc) in detail, list mundane treasures (by type of local even) and has 30 pages of magic items ranging in power from small bonus items up to artifacts.
Happily the book has a sense of humor as well, among the humorous items is the famous Duct Tape of Healing which is actually a neat and balanced item! The last page has a magic item creation worksheet an index of magic items by name. Very sweet
This book is recommended especially for novice GM's and HARP players. At 130 pages for $11 it is a good deal (though it needs bookmarks grr)
