(PR review) Hackmaster: Quest for the Unknown
Noah Kolman
First Post
A thank you
Hey everyone,
I'd like to thank everyone who has posted a review or is planning on posting a review of any of our products they have received. We really value your input, and only through your constructive criticism and praise can we make our products better. It is just as important for you to tell us what you don't like as well as what you do like, and it looks like everyone has done a good job of this. Keep up the good work, and once again, thank you.
Hey everyone,
I'd like to thank everyone who has posted a review or is planning on posting a review of any of our products they have received. We really value your input, and only through your constructive criticism and praise can we make our products better. It is just as important for you to tell us what you don't like as well as what you do like, and it looks like everyone has done a good job of this. Keep up the good work, and once again, thank you.
Noah - I posted my review of Search for the Unknown, but I did it in a different thread. (I hadn't realized there was more than one of them active at the time.) I'll link to it here:
http://www.enworld.org/messageboards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10694
Thanks again!
Johnathan
http://www.enworld.org/messageboards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10694
Thanks again!
Johnathan
gubaru
First Post
I also won a copy of Quest for the Unknown last week. I finally got a chance to read through it this weekend. The following are more general thoughts (most about Hacmaster itself) than a review.
There's not a lot to say about the module itself. It's a dungeon crawl that looks like it would be fun. If you like dungeon crawls with no point except that the dungeon is there and the things inside have stuff I want, this looks like a good one and a great way to blow off steam. I can easily see using it after a number of sessions filled with more intrigue and investigation than combat to give the players a chance to work off some pent up aggression. There is something satisfying about killing things and taking their stuff.
It also has a great deal of nostalgic charm. Reading through it prompted a lot of memories of marathon sessions in the summer while school was out. It felt right throughout. It's a double edged sword, though. It also reminded me of some things I dislike about earlier D&D rule sets. But, on the whole, more good than bad.
I'd like to see the rules for honor and armor hit points, as both seem like good ideas. The threshold of pain sounds interesting and the fatigue factor piqued my curiosity as well. I do wonder if the systems are usable without bogging down the game.
I also wonder how much support is given to non-combat focused styles of play. From the inclusion of honor rules, I assume there's some but the module doesn't give any indication of it.
I'll echo the concerns over the investment necessary for the Hacklopedias. I seem to remember seeing in a forum or review somewhere that Kenzer & Co. might release an abridged volume that just hits the highlights. If not, I think it would be a good idea. Having the old stand-bys like demons, devils, goblins, kobolds, orcs, skeletons and zombies spread out over six $20 books is a little hard to swallow.
From what I can see of the changes made to the older D&D rule set, it seems like Hackmaster is worth a good look. That said, I rather doubt I'll ever play it but if the additions are good it might be worthwhile for liftable material.
There's not a lot to say about the module itself. It's a dungeon crawl that looks like it would be fun. If you like dungeon crawls with no point except that the dungeon is there and the things inside have stuff I want, this looks like a good one and a great way to blow off steam. I can easily see using it after a number of sessions filled with more intrigue and investigation than combat to give the players a chance to work off some pent up aggression. There is something satisfying about killing things and taking their stuff.
It also has a great deal of nostalgic charm. Reading through it prompted a lot of memories of marathon sessions in the summer while school was out. It felt right throughout. It's a double edged sword, though. It also reminded me of some things I dislike about earlier D&D rule sets. But, on the whole, more good than bad.
I'd like to see the rules for honor and armor hit points, as both seem like good ideas. The threshold of pain sounds interesting and the fatigue factor piqued my curiosity as well. I do wonder if the systems are usable without bogging down the game.
I also wonder how much support is given to non-combat focused styles of play. From the inclusion of honor rules, I assume there's some but the module doesn't give any indication of it.
I'll echo the concerns over the investment necessary for the Hacklopedias. I seem to remember seeing in a forum or review somewhere that Kenzer & Co. might release an abridged volume that just hits the highlights. If not, I think it would be a good idea. Having the old stand-bys like demons, devils, goblins, kobolds, orcs, skeletons and zombies spread out over six $20 books is a little hard to swallow.
From what I can see of the changes made to the older D&D rule set, it seems like Hackmaster is worth a good look. That said, I rather doubt I'll ever play it but if the additions are good it might be worthwhile for liftable material.
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