Saves

The fourth edition seems to really simplify the rules. The saving throw from the previous editions is gone. In its place is a new mechanic that will greatly reduce the record keeping required in the game.

Many effects will have the notation "save ends". This means that the effect lasts until the affected character rolls a successful saving throw. Unlike in previous editions the save does not take place at the time of the condition is placed on the character (whether the condition is placed by attack, ability, or other in game action). Saves always happen at the end of your turn. In place of the old "save on attack" method is different defense values that I'll talk about tomorrow.

So after you have taken all your action you get to roll a save for each condition affection your character in the order you choose. The mechanic is also greatly simplified, roll a d20 and if you roll 10 or higher you save, if you roll 9 or lower the condition stays in effect for another round.

This is going to really reduce the amount of paper work for the DM. The DM mearly has to mark teh effect on the character. At the end of the players turn if they save the effect is removed, if they fail it stays in effect. No more counting rounds, marking on whose turn the effect started (and consequently on which turn the effect will stop).

I think this is a huge improvement on the third edition save, which was a massive improvement over the classic saving throw tables from the basic and advanced D&D games.

Actions and action points

Remember when you used to play a cleric and you had a chance to finish the big bad guy but you didn't because if you did Bob the Fighter would have died from his wounds. So you cast your heal on Bob and forgo your attack for the round. The next round Bob smashes the bag guy, grabbing the glory as you mutter quietly to yourself.

Actions in the fourth edition make it possible for you to avoid this kind of situation. First each character can use three (3) actions* during their turn. A move action, and minor action and a standard action. So how can you and Bob keep Bob alive and slay the bad guy without the cleric giving up his shot at glory?

1. Bob can give up his standard action to heal himself with a healing surge (more on these another day).
2. Clerics can use certain healing abilities as a minor action so both you and Bob can both attack the bad guy.
3. You can attack the bad guy as a standard action and use an action point to heal the Fighter as a second standard action.

Action points are not really new to fourth edition but the coolness they add to the game can not be underestimated, allowing for heroic action sequences. Characters start with one action point and can earn them through game play. Don't hoard them though, when you rest you lose any unused action points and return to one action point.

So what kind of things can you do with an action?
A move action lets you move. Depending on where you start will determine how far you can move and whether or not you are going to give anyone an opportunity for a free attack.

A minor action lets you do all sorts of things. Drawing a weapon is a minor action, many at will abilities are minor actions. Healing Word for example is a minor action that allows you and one ally to both take a healing surge.

A standard action will let you make an attack use a skill and use many of the new abilities. The Clerical powers Turn Undead and Cure Light Wounds both use a standard action.

You can also take these action in whatever order you decide.

*There is also free actions, you can take as many free actions as the DM lets you take.

At Will abilities

Digging into the rules and I have found some things that I really like in the first day.

At will abilities are simply a great idea. I can not recall the number of times that as a mage or cleric I have been at the game table and cast my magic missile or cure minor wounds spell and found myself playing a background role for hte rest of the evening. The rarity of being able to cast that spell sometimes limited the mage and cleric to secondary roles as the action passed them by after they had used their daily power. Rogues and Fighters had abilities that you could use all the time. Fighters cutting into foes and Rogues sneaking about trying to catch an opponenet by surprise.

In the new rules evereybody gets at will abilities. So the Mage and Fighter can both bring a cool ability to bear each and every round.

That is all for today, tomorrow actions and action points.

Warlock Pets: Old School vs. New School

I am going to focus on the Warlock pets for the World of Warcraft trading card game. The Heros of Azeroth provided 4 pets (Grimdron, Helwen, Infernal, and Sarmoth) and Dark Portal gives the Warlock 3 more (Doomguard, Morfiel, Piztog).

First I'll give a quick overview of the cards:
Old School
Grimdron - a 1 cost pet with 0 Attack and 1 Health. Grimdron is elusive and has the ability to exhaust to deal 1 damage to a target hero or ally.
A pretty useful small ally that I did not play a lot He was generally pushed out of my deck by removal abilities like Shadow Bolt and Vanquish. Can be a powerful card when facing a weenie rush as he will destroy Apprentice Teep, Vesh'ral, and Leeroy Jenkins.

Helwen a 4 cost pet with 2 Attack and 2 Health. Here ability is to exhaust and take control of an ally. Helwen is a very powerful card especially if you can get her into a party that contains Mezzik Darkspark. Using her ability to take control of an opponents ally. Use it to attack and then destroy the ally with Mezzik. She is difficult to keep in play with only 2 Health.

Infernal - a 6 cost pet that was the rare card included in the warlock starter deck. This 6 Attack and 6 Health ally is a massive beast that also deals 1 damage to all opposing allies. When I first built warlock decks this was my victory condition. When he hits the borad you are looking at a 2 for 1 exchange or better for your opponent to remove him.

Sarmoth - a 3 cost ally and the best protector in the game. Sarmoth has 1 Attack and 5 Health and if an opponent can attack Sarmoth they must attack Sarmoth. This little voidwalker can buy you a turn or more to build up. I can't think of the last time I built a warlock deck without 4 Sarmoths incuded.

New School
Doomguard - A 7 cost ally that is a true beast. 8 Attack and 8 Health and destroys a target opposing ally at the end of your turn. The downside of this is that you destroy a friendly character in your party when the Doomguard enters play. This is another potential victory condition.

Morfiel - a 4 cost with 4 Attack and 4 Health. While in play Morfiel forces opposing players to pay 1 extra resource for abilities. A 4/4 ally is pretty good and the added control benefits. Add a Morfiel to a pair of Curse of Tongues as your opponent is looking at a 3 resource penalty to play abilities.

Piztog - a 1 cost, 0 Attack and 2 Health pet. Piztog buffs other allies in your party with +1 Health. The same benefit that Nerra Lifeboon grants for the Alliance but much cheaper. Like Grimdron he is also elusive and can make a difference against rush decks.

On the surface the old school seems to have the advantage here. Sarmoth is a must have in every warlock deck. Helwen is more likely to show up in Alliance builds. Infernal will appear in many decks. Grimdron will show in some decks but not a majority. The new school has Piztog that, like Grimdron, is not going to appear in many decks. Morfiel will likely appear in more decks than Helwen. The big hitter from the new school is Doomguard and the possibility of self desctruction when the card enters play will mean he doesn't show up in as many decks as he would otherwise.

I put Sarmoth by himself - this card is too good and will not be replaced by a card in the new set. Sarmoth is the best tank ally in the game everything must attack him and even though he does only 1 damage per attack his 5 health means that of the 202 allies in the game only 37 have the 5+ Attack value to defeat him without help (this does not include allies like Stitches or Tewa Wildmane that might have a high enough attack value). And unlike protectors he doesn't have to be ready to stop an attack.

The other 6 cards can be paired together in 3 sets. Early game (Grimdron vs Piztog), mid game (Helwen vs Morfiel) and late game (Infernal vs Doomguard).

Grimdron vs Piztog
Both these little imps cost 1 resource to bring into your party. While a +1 Health buff to your other allies is an excellent effect, Piztog is not a game breaker in any deck. Were you able to bring in multiple pets his +1 buff would be very powerful indeed but because you can not stack his effect it limits his effectiveness in the game. One thing he will do is keep Vesh'ral and Apprentice Teep from being destroyed by a Frost Nova. Grimdron seems to be the better of the two early game pets. He is very fragile with only 1 health but he can take out a lot of early game allies and he has a chance at destroying a Searing Totem if he is on the field before the totem is played. I am not a fan of either Grimdron or Piztog, I have to give the edge to Grimdron as he has an small outside chance of getting into my side deck.

Helwen vs Morfiel
Helwen is a great ally, if you can protect her for a turn, and you can get control of a good ally, and you can then use that ally against your opponent. Too many conditions. If I play Helwen turn 4. Turn 5 I take control of an Ally. Turn 6 I can use the ally to attack. By turn 7 or 8 the game is usually getting close to completion. So if the controlled ally is destroyed on turn 6, I need to capture another ally turn 7 and then hope to use it on turn 8. I think her power is great but takes too long to have an effect. If I can capture ferocious allies or have other tools like Into the Fray, Mezzik Darkspark, or Sever the Cord she becomes a bit more useful as I can use her each turn past turn 5. Morfiel also costs 4, but with 4 health is a lot tougher than Helwen and its effect comes into play immediately and remains in effect until Morfiel is destroyed. Having your opponent pay extra for abilities is a good effect but really the effect of Morfiel is to force your opponent to play a turn or more behind you. On turn 5 you can play a 5 resource ability but your oppoent is forced to wait for turn 6 - the effect is multiplied if they failed to drop a resource on one of the early turns. I have played Helwen in a Mezzik Darkspark combo deck but I will give hte edge to Morfiel as i can see this pet sneaking into quite a few of my warlock builds.

Infernal vs Doomguard
Infernal was my favorite card early on. I liked the area of effect damage dealt at the end of each turn and with a 6 attack value and Radak Doombringer's flip power you can deal 12 damage in a single turn. With 6 Health he is pretty much guaranteed to be a 2 for 1 exchange and with 6 Attack he can take out almost anything. His only drawbacks were a high resource cost of 6 and a potentially high upkeep cost - discard one card or he his given to another player. Late game the upkeep payment for Infernal can be a bit of a problem but if this is your winning condition you should be able to hold onto him long enough to win the game. Doomguard is more expensive at 7 resources but his payment cost can be devastating. When Doomguard enters play a random friendly character is destroyed. This could include your hero ending the game with a loss. If your hero survives the processes you get a monster 8 Attack and 8 Health ally in play that destroys target ally at the end of your turn. I will probably split deck space between Infernal and Doomguard and will add in a few more little allies to help increase the odds of surviving playing Doomguard.

When I started looking at the Warlock pets I was thinking I would have to conclude with who "wins" old school with Sarmoth and Infernal or new school with Morfiel and Doomguard. Now that I have spent some time looking at these pets the winner is the warlock class. Anyone who wants to play a warlock can build a pretty effective deck. Rush decks with Sarmoth and Grimdron and Piztog. Control decks with Sarmoth and Morfiel and Helwen. A power beat down with Sarmoth and Infernal and Doomguard. The big conclusion I have found is that Sarmoth is the best pet getting the player at worst a one card and one turn advantage and potentially mush more. So for the warlock heroes out there, use your pets wisely.

Note: I have reviewed the cards linked in this article on tNook. If you disagree with my assessments, feel free to post your own reviews of the cards on tNook and post a response here telling me how wrong I am.

Soul Link

As a warlock you should really consider having a Soul Link in your deck. This Demonology Hero Only (Radak Doombringer and Zenith Shadowforce) ability allows you to place a damage onto an ally in your party to prevent 1 damage to your hero this turn.

This can be used defensively (obviously) but also on offense. If you attack with Ya'mon then buff his attack by putting a couple of damage on him (Ya'mon has +1 Atk for each damage on him). You can buff Blood Guard Mal'wani in the same way. CArds like Arnold Flem and Vexra Darkfall can be damaged to activate thier destruction effects. If only Life tap damage could be prevented...

Overall this 4 cost ability is a pretty good card to pack in a warlock deck.

This post was posted both as a review on tNook and as a Church of the Game post.

Multi-Shot

When you absolutely need to clean the board there are few options that work as well as a Multi-Shot. Multi-Shot is a 5 resource Hunter instant ability that deals 2 damage to up to 3 targets. Parvink, Ka'tali Stonetusk, and Warden Tonarian are all cheap protectors. But even Warden's elusive will not save them from the damage dealt by a Multi-Shot.

I like this card as a mid to late game answer to allies on the field. It clears the way for Fury to attack or it sweeps the field clean to remove threats to your hero. Either way the value of the card is difficult to overlook.

I can say without any fear of exaggeration that Multi-Shot won me a match at a regionals tournament. My opponent had brought out a Parvink from his graveyard and had the opportunity to recurse a second via a Medoc Spiritwarden (He chose to put some armor on the field instead). When my turn came I was able to remove his little gnome protector and deal an additional 2 damage to his hero. After that there was nothing he could do to stop me from using Fury or Sentry Gwynn from taking his hero out.

For a hunter deck, the value of Multi-Shot should not be overlooked.

This post was posted both as a review on tNook and as a Church of the Game post.

Wraith Scythe

Wraith Scythe is a very useful weapon, and one of the few healing option available for the Hunter and Warrior. While anyone can heal with Freya Lightsworn or Deacon Joanna the options for healing without resorting to allies is limited outside of the Priest and Paladin classes.

A bit pricy at 4 resources but relatively cheap with a strike cost of 2. As this weapon deals 2 damage and heals 2 damage (without any modifiers) that is really a 4 point swing. And by allowing your hero to heal this axe opens up some attacks that might have been avoided without it. It has enough power to destroy Parvink and heals enough to negate the Gnome protectors attack.

If a Warrior manages to equip this axe, drops a couple of Demoralizing Shouts and then adds a Heroic Strike - suddenly the axe is dealing 5 damage and healing for 5 damage. If attacking an ally the Demoralizing Shouts reduce the damage being dealt back. A couple of turns of that kind of muscle and anyone will be looking for a way to neutralize this weapon.

I can't see this axe supplanting Annihilator as a staple in most solo decks - but it should remain a solid second or third choice among players that are looking for weapons.

This post was posted both as a review on tNook and as a Church of the Game post.

Caught Off-Guard

Caught Off-Guard is a pretty basic (and common) ability card. For a cost of 1 it allows you to reduce the attack of one target by 2.

I have never seen this played in a competitive tournament but I have faced it a couple of times in casual play. It is a nice common card that unfortunately doesn't see a lot of play because so many other cards seem to bump it out of decks during construction. The biggest benefit for this card is that it lasts the entire turn so once played it will reduce all the attacks form that source. So played against a Feral Thangral, or a Windseer Tarus, or a Galeway Steamwhistle buffed Warrax the effect will carry over to the second (and in some cases third and fourth) attacks as well.

I can't see this card getting a lot of play because it just doesn't give you a lot of bang for your buck.

This post was posted both as a review on tNook and as a Church of the Game post.

Stronghold Gauntlets

Stronghold Gauntlets are a a crucial piece of equipment. I faced a warrior at regionals that used these gloves to do some serious damage. This armour card not only gives you 1 damage prevention they also give your weapons +1 attack and block your opponent from targeting your weapons for removal. All that for only 3 resources.

I had problems finding ready answers for my opponent once these hit the table. It meant that playing out something like Moria Darkheart or Shattering Blow only got rid of the gauntlets and left the weapon on the field ready to do more damage.

I would rank this card as one of three that should be in any warrior deck. Along with Deathbringer and Deathdealer Breastplate this is a card that will make a warrior deck something to contend with. For someone like me that does not play a warrior or paladin one redeeming quality for the card is that it is limited to those two classes.

This post was posted both as a review on tNook and as a Church of the Game post.

Lessons Learned: Regionals

I finished 6th overall at the regionals last weekend.

This is frankly better than I expected to do as my deck is not a powerful deck. I played an Elendril rush deck but I tried to beef it up and remove some of the weenie elements. I did not want to play a cookie cutter Elendril deck, but there are elements of the deck that work well. I ran a very ally heavy deck with 4 furys and 4 Bloodclaws. I also had limited abilities. 4 Aimed Shots were ready for a late game push or for instant ally removal.

Round 1: Gorebelly. I was a little worried as I have played this player before but I had never faced his solo warrior deck. I started out okay, but I knew that the early turns would be in my favor as he built up. I managed to rack up quite a bit of damage but I stalled late in the game and could not get the final damage done. His buffed weapons tore through my defense and I did not have a late game answer. Game two went much the same way as game one, but I was able to clear away some of his weapons but I was blocked from doing any real damage by his armor. I managed to come away with the victory because an aimed shot top decked and I did just enough to end the game. Game three did not go my way. I did not get any early game advantage and again his weapons started tearing through my allies. He also got defense up early that negated any attack I might have mounted. A feeble late game surge did not do enough to allow me to get a victory. So match one ended and I had a 0-1 record.

Round 2: Timmo. I know this player and deck very well. We play at least one a week and sometimes as many as 5 or 6 times a week. The first game went perfectly in my favor. My opponent made a tactical error when he got threw and did damage but did not have the resources to poison my hero. He conceded when I had enough board control to defeat his hero and he had no defense available. Game two I got a near perfect draw. I dropped multiple allies turn two and turn three and even with my opponent destroying allies as fast as he could I had a overwhelming board advantage and was able to rush my was to the victory. At the end of round 2 I was 1-1.

Round 3: Warrax. This was actually a type of mirror match. We both had rush decks. I put myself in a huge hole when I misplayed and was assessed (correctly assessed) a game loss penalty in game 1 of the match. I was very worried as we started game 2. I drew poorly and after a mulligan had a below average hand. I managed to weather an early Latro and Teep attack and took control of the board. Late game I managed to top deck Aimed shot again and evened the match. I drew well for game three and started out with a lot of small allies. My opponent cleared the board but I was able to keep grinding away. I used two Aimed shots to take out 1 health healing allies. Late game I had Fury and Sentry Gwynn out. he was very low on health so was looking to block my final attack. He top decked Skullflame Shield and played it and a Parvink. He later expressed that he should have taken a second Parvink from his graveyard and put it on the board. It would not have mattered. I was sitting with a Multi-Shot. I pulled a card, laid it as a resource and hit his hero for 2 and destroyed his Parvink. He conceded the game as once Parvink was destroyed either Gwynn or Fury would do enough to finish his hero. This was a significant match for me as it was the first time I have beaten someone at a tournament that is not part of my gaming group. After round 3 I was 2-1.

Round 4 (final round): Sen'zir. I have played against this deck before and had not performed very well at all. This match did not take long, nor did I put up much of a fight. I was defeated on turn seven of the first game, and after turn six of the second. I could not keep allies on the field as he managed to clear any threat I managed to bring out. I tried stalling late in game two but he was able to remove any obstacles and deal me a lot of hurt. So the day ended with me at 2-2.

So I finished 6th over all.

So I came away with a very nice Zy'lah playmat and some new goals. I want to finish a tournament over the .500 mark. I think I might have been able to do that playing a more traditional weenie rush, but I still want to play a more powerful deck, and be able to withstand a few Frost Nova like splash effects. The competition was a bit more serious compared to the other tournaments I have played in. I was issued a warning (illegal play - targeting a weapon when stronghold gauntlets were in play) and got the game loss penalty for my moronic mistake with Parvink on turn two. Going forward I think I need to put a few more defensive cards in to answer for the solo decks and perhaps that Arcanite Reaper can find a place in my hunter deck.

Overall it was a lot of fun.

Unfortunately I could not stay for the Lazy Peon tourney that followed the regionals. I think I will build a lazy peon deck around Radak or Dizdemona and see how it performs.

Starfire

Starfire was my first rare card. I got it in my first starter (Moonshadow). I was quite excited as I looked through that first deck. I built my first strategy around Starfire as a game winning condition.

I like this card. Other than Pyroblast it is the highest direct damage ability in the game. Other cards like Backstab can do more damage but they rely on other cards or effects to be in place to be able to do that kind of damage. Chain Lightning and Multi-Shot do more damage (6 each) but they spread the damage over multiple targets.

So Starfire is the biggest ability you can pack in the game. At a cost of 5 it is a little expensive but there are not many allies that can withstand the damage inflicted by Starfire, in the Heroes of Azeroth set only 13 allies (not counting Tewa Wildmane) have 6 or more health. And you get to draw a card to boot. The biggest limitation is that it is not an instant, so you need to play it during your turn and you can't use it to respond to a big threat.

One interesting Moonshadow combo available is Starfire and Nature's Swiftness. On turn 3 you can play Nature's Swiftness for 3, which allows you to play your next card for 5 less than the regular cost. A big 5 damage Starfire on turn three can really put a dent into your opponents plans.

Contrary to my first plans Starfire is not an effective victory condition. It can help with pesky cards like Lady Jaina Proudmoore. In my druid deck I run a couple for ally removel in the mid to late game stages. It can be as good as a vanquish against most decks and can turn the tide of battle.

This post was posted both as a review on tNook and as Churchof the Game post.

Vesh'ral

Vesh'ral is one of the most valuable allies in horde rush decks. He is fairly cheap at a cost on only 3 and with 3 Attack he can do some damage. With Ferocity he can start dealing the hurt as soon as you play him.

However, Vesh'ral is on the weak side as this troll mage has only 1 Health. This leaves him open to the mass damage effects of Frost Nova and the Skullflame Sheild. So although he can dish out the damage he just can't take it.

It is pretty easy to see why this card is popular in many players decks. You play him on turn 3 and start hammering away at your opponent. It doesn't matter that he is easy to kill, with an attack of 3 he is usually a 1 for 1 trade.

Of the ferocious allies Vesh'ral is my pick for an early game card because of his big attack and with a protector in play to keep him around he can become a problem to your opponent. An effective grouping is Vesh'ral with Voss Treebender and Guardian Steelhorn. You use Voss Treebender to get Vesh'ral through protectors to your opponents hero and Guardian Steelhorn to keep Vesh'ral around for a turn or two.

This post was posted both as a review on tNook and as Church of the Game post.

Kor Cindervein

This is the first in series of short card reviews for theWorld of Warcraft Trading Card Game.

Kor Cindervein seems to be a pretty plain Alliance ally. A simple 3 resource ally with 3 attack and 3 health. This Dwarf Paladin is included as part of the Moonshadow,Timmo, Elendril, and Graccus starter decks (from Heroes of Azeroth Set). At first glance this common card seems pretty boring and uninspiring. However, if you look at the card more closely Kor does have some good in game value.

While Kor does not have any fancy powers he is a valuable assets.

• With 3 attack he will take out a significant list of allies on a one for one trade. Of the 52 alliance allies 29 have 3 or fewer health, on the horde side 34 of the 52 allies have 3 or fewer health, and 8 of the 12 neutral allies and pets have 3 or fewer health. Some significant allies that fall into this category are Latro Abiectus, Parvink, Tristan Rapidstrike, Confessor Mildred, Guardian Steelhorn, Vaerik Proudhoof, Windseer Tarus, Fury, Helwen, Landro Longshot, Saltwater Snapjaw, and Thunderhead Hippogryph.
  
• With 3 health he is above the damage threshold of Fire Blast, Frost Nova, Frost Shock, Multi-Shot, and Skullflame Shield he also performs well against Chain Lightning, Cleave, and Sinister Strike.

So if you are concerned that your Apprentice Teep and Sha'lin Nightwind will be vulnerable to any of the "deal 1 damage to all allies" effects then consider this dwarf as a replacement. I pulled Apprentice Teep from a deck I am building for regionals and I have been happy with Kor as a replacement. I did and now I have learned to like this card a lot.

Now that I have played with him I would rate him as a very good support card. He does not supplant Parvink as my favorite 3 resource ally, and he will never be the first ally I think of when building a deck, but I can see now why he was included in so many of the starters. He can be very effective in game even without special effect powers.

This post was posted both as a review on tNook and as Churchof the Game post.

A Brief History of Game

Wow! What an excellent job of reporting by Shannon Appelcline. He has written four articles on the major players in the rpg industry.

Wizards
Pazio
Chaosium
Issaries

Read them all here.

Mysaniti Cartographers Guild (Subscription)

Contents
This is a six month subscription for the Mysaniti Cartographers Guild, you receive six releases once a month on the 20th. You also have access to parts of the Mysaniti library of products. The releases are of maps, tools and catalogs for ProFantasy's Campaign Cartographer products. Maps released by the guild are released as PDFs as well as Campaign Cartographer formats.

During the six months of my first subscription some of the things that were released included:
Endless Realm
Ship Builders Toolkit
Journeyman's Toolkit

Endless Realm is an interesting product. It consists of a series of linked maps and each map will have two symbols included. One is a circle that indicates where you enter the map. The second is a portal that is the exit for the map. The Endless Realm release also included tools to add your own maps to the collection. Looking at the maps, I don't think I would play a game based on these maps but the maps are well done and the linking is excellent. For me the biggest benefit was looking at the maps. I learned a lot of valuable techniques from these maps. Reviewing these maps I also learned how to link maps. The quality of the maps in the Endless Realm series is excellent.

Ship Builders Toolkit is a set of tools to build ships. These tools will help you build a sailing ship form a cog to a galleon. The toolkit contains drawing tools like draw bulkhead, draw deck, draw mooring, and draw rigging. I have not used this toolkit yet to draw a ship for my own game but I have used the tools to draw a quick ship interior for a friend. The ship interior was used in a game where I was a player so O could not use all the tools. I was given descriptions of areas of the ship but not purposes for the areas. What I had thought was the ships galley turned out to be a torture chamber my character visited often as the game began. I was impressed with how easy it was to construct the desk of a ship using the tools. When the Ship Builders Toolkit was released a series of catalogs were also released or updated (the product page lists 10 catalogs) the two I found the most useful were the Ship Fittings and Ship Cannon catalogs.

As my first subscription neared an end the Journeyman's Toolkit was released. If you remember the old days of RPG maps where the maps was printed in white on blue on the inside cover of the adventure module you know the type of map this toolkit will help you create. More drawing tools and catalogs are included in the toolkit. I have a love hate relationship with this set of tools. The tools and catalogs work great and in a short time you can get a map created. I love the simplicity of the maps, and whenever I see a map in this style it takes me back to the early days of roleplaying. That would be the love part. What I hate is that I can't use all the other symbols I have purchased for Campaign Cartographer. Those old style maps really only used a couple dozen symbols.

This rocks becasue...
Each month you receive another Campaign Cartographer goodie.

This sucks because...
You might receive something that you can immediately use, but you might get something you don't really want or need.

You should buy this because...
Over the six months of your subscription you will receive a ton of stuff: maps, tools, catalogs.

Final Thoughts
This is a fantastic product. The six releases you get for your subscription will all be top quality. Add in the limited access to the guild library of other releases and you have access to loads of Campaign Cartographer goodies. Buying each release separately would cost a great deal more than buying the subscription. The only thing I would like to see is a longer subscription length.

Welcome to HAEL

Contents
52 pages, 47 pages content, 2 cover pages, 2 credits pages, 1 license page

There is a lot of info crammed into the Welcome to HAEL PDF. This is a new campaign world where the war between the Orcs and man is over. On this world the Orcs won. The Orcs and their allies are the dominant races on this world, the Humans and their allies are relegated to outlawed tribes scratching out an existence far from civilization. The world is strongly linked to the related product Psihammer (review coming soon).

A brief history of the world is given, including the war that lead to the dominance of the Orcs. The civilization of the world has shifted. Orcs (called Daeorcs in the setting) have taken the northern part of the world, pushing the Humans and their allies into the barren desert at the equator. Gnolls (called Yaena) have similarly pushed the Humans form the south. The Orcs and Gnolls have both developed into civilized races while the Humans and Halflings society has crumbled. I like how half breed Humans are not accepted by Orcish society. I found that this is a well thought out cultural shift, with the Humans and Halflings of this world filling in a niche that is traditionally filled by the goblins and their ilk in a traditional setting. Recent history beings an alien visitors angle that I am not entirely happy with. There are two alien races that are recent arrivals on the world. These aliens seem to be setting up for another world shaking war. If I were to run a game in this world I am not sure if I would include the aliens.

The next section of the book details the major settlements in the world. This is done with a short stat block and a description of the local areas. There are six major areas detailed. Three in the north and three in the south. Here is also the biggest editing problem. Crossplains is a major location but other than the section heading the name of the area seems to have been changed to Cross Way in the rest of the book. It took me a few moments to make the mental cross reference. A few more maps in this section would have been a great addition to the product.

The races come next detailed in two sections. First come the pure blood races. Orcs (Daeorc), Gnolls(Yaena), Humans, Halflings, and the Kirene. the Orcs become the Daeorcs the primary dominant race. The Gnolls became the Yaena. A society to rival the Daeorcs. Humans and Halflings are the shattered remnants of the once great societies they were. Halflings have a peculiar relationship with the Yaena, serving them as animal trainers. The Kirene are unique to the world of Hael, they fill the void of the elven races that are not part of the world of Hael. The second group of races includes the half-orc, half-human with the new aliens visitors. I liked the treatment of the half-men. The societal impacts of being a half-man in an Orcish dominated world is well thought out. As I stated previously I am not sure how I feel about the aliens. However, even if I do not like them, the alien races are well done and add a new dimension for the world.

Character classes follow the races. Barbarians, Clerics, Fighters, and Paladins are unchanged from the stock rules. Bards have become the Yaena Storytellers and are a large part of the Yaena culture. Druids are also substantially modified and are identified strongly with the Kirene race. Halfling are tied to the Ranger class, a class that reminds me of the rangers found in the Dark Sun setting. Two new monk classes are introduced one specifically for the Daeorc race another for the Yaena. Rogues are also modified, they are presented as a thief that has not been caught yet. Rogues are expected to maintain a very strong illusion that they follow another path. Finally Sorcerers are a class dominated by the Daeorc race, the class is only slightly modified. The biggest modification is a skill that allows sorcerers to share energy and to duel with each other. Wizards are unheard of on the world of Hael. Psionics are also strongly liked to the world, but the psionic rules are not class based rules.

A pantheon of gods is included. There are Orc Gods and Gnoll Gods, I would have liked to see a few Human and Halfling gods included. If there are no Human and Halfling gods left then there should be a story about what happened to them.

A short bestiary of new creatures is included. The creatures included are well designed and in the case of the Varibeast seems to be the defining monster of the setting. Also included is a list of creatures from the SRD that would also be found on the world of Hael.

The last thing included is a single page map of the world. I really dislike the map. It is a simple outline of the continent with picture a picture mask in the background to indicate the type on terrain in an area. So you have an image of a pine forest for the "Many Forests" area and a picture of a mountain for the background of the "Cold Peaks". I found the map to be quite unsatisfying. It did however list all the areas discussed in the book, which is a plus. The only thing not marked on the map is the location of the two alien craft.

Intermixed with the text are comments attributed to "Professor Grumin Tarsh" an Orcish scholar. I found the comments to be well placed and added an excellent bit of "color" to the rules.

This rocks becasue...

It is a well thought out setting that changes the expected society norms you see in 'classic' fantasy world. The races and classes are well thought out to fit a world where Orcs are the dominant race.

This sucks because...

The aliens. I really did not like that aliens added to the setting. I also did not like the quality or quantity of the maps. Another run through for editing would also have made this a much better product (although it is still pretty good).

Edit: I have since gone through the PDF again and this is an unfair criticism. The editing is really quite good, I found a total of three spelling or typos in a 50 page document.

You should buy this because...

You are looking for a new setting that is not the standard elves and Humans dominated world. Or you are looking for a world where magic and psionics are intermixed.

Final Thoughts

I am looking forward to playing a game in this world where the players are all Humans. They would suddenly find themselves the underdogs in a way I don't think they would expect at all.

Deluxe Map Pack

Contents:
72 Maps in a single pdf and in ProFantasy's Campaign Cartographer format.

The maps are a mixed bunch. There is far more interior maps of buildings and dungeons than areas or overland maps. The interior maps are in my opinion much better than the overland maps. The overland maps seems to be too structured, not natural enough. The interior maps have good detail and have good layouts. Too many maps I have seen have some pretty odd interior layouts. The interior maps in this package are not like this, the interior spaces are well considered and thought out. The objects (tables, chairs, etc) are well laid out and "fit" the buildings well.

I did not like the town maps at all. They did not look like towns and they were not maps I would use in my games. Although, to be honest these maps are better than what I produce with Campaign Cartographer. I especially like that the product includes the source maps, allowing me to edit the maps for my own use. Of course this requires that you own ProFantasy's Mapping software.

One thing that is missing is a license. There is no indication of how I can use the maps, for example can I use these maps in my own product? Can I use them in a commercial product?

This rocks becasue...

There are some good maps in this collection and there are a lot of maps total.

This sucks because...

There are too many average maps. Too many maps I would want to edit before I would use them.

You should buy this because...

You need some generic maps to use in your game.

Final Thoughts

The maps in the collection could have been greatly improved by adding some simple things like textured backgrounds. For the price this is a pretty good value, even more so now that the package is on sale. I paid $2.00 USD and the current sale price is $1.50 USD.

Jonny Nexus Compilation

Contents:
45 pages, 43 pages content, 1 title page, 1 Advertisement and license page

The Articles:

• Confessions of a Session Amnesiac (Jonny admits to being a session amnesiac, absolute gold and the best article in the collection)
• Taking Santa Down
• I think My Game Master Hates Me (I think my game master hates me too, excellent article)
• You Want to Play a What?
• Planning - How Not To Do It
• Dealing With Dumbo (This article is brilliant, I have already tried the techniques in this article to mess with my fellow gamers)
• Alas Poor Edas, We Knew Him
• Are You Sure It Happened Like That? (Not my favorite)
• Say What>?
• The Man Who Couldn't Stop Dying (Part 1)
• The Man Who Couldn't Stop Dying (Part 2)
• The Man Who Couldn't Stop Dying (Part 3)
• The Quintessential Cheat (Long and complex method of making a uber-character, I did not find this one funny at all)
• They're Not Like Us, Adventurers

All the articles are good. I particularly liked "Confessions of a Session Amnesiac" and all three "The Man Who Couldn't Stop Dying". These got me laughing out loud. They reminded me of the days when I first stumbled onto Critical Miss and spent hours reading the articles, laughing alone on my cubicle at work. I kept expecting the articles to include a reference to BogBoy, Bubba, or TAFKAC. I also had to admit that I identified with these articles because I identified with the content. I could see the people I play with in the articles (and if I were totally honest I would admit I saw myself in the articles as well).

Of all the articles I liked "Are You Sure It Happened Like That?" and "The Quintessential Cheat" the least. I am sure there are people out there that will tell me that that those articles are the best. These articles were not bad, they just were not my favorites.

This rocks becasue...

For those people (like me) that miss the old Critical Miss this is an excellent package of articles form Jonny Nexus. Many of the articles would fit right into an issue of Critical Miss. I laughed out loud while reading several of the articles, they are not all gold but I am sure that others will like what I did not and dislike the articles I liked. The bottom line is that the articles are top notch and if you like Jonny's writing this is a great package for you.

This sucks because...

The articles are ripped directly from the Signs and Portents Magazine. No effort was made to make the articles look alike. There is no table of contents, page numbers are the pages from the original magazine pages. The PDF is also not printer friendly with a lot of images and background textures. One article is even white text on black background. My printer actually whimpered as I printed out, all that ink lost forever.

You should buy this because...

You miss Jonny's writing or you are looking for some top notch role playing humour.

Final Thoughts

The only thing that would make the Jonny Nexus Compilation better would be making some layout changes. Taking the articles and giving them a new layout would have probably made the package much more expensive though. Even removing the background images to make printing the articles would have been a great improvement.

Update:
As of Jan 5, 2006 the Jonny Nexus Compilation is listed as "Not Validated For Sale" at RPGNow

Bones the Role Playing Game

I purchased Bones the Role Playing Game at RPGNow because I was curious and because it was on sale.

The PDF is 51 pages total with 49 pages of rules and information. The art is fair to good. The layout is fairly standard with the body text expanded by examples in the side bar. The "icons" used to customize dice are very simple but I think that lends to being hand drawn by the players onto the dice.

The book has the expected sections. Character creation and basic rules are up from, magic is also in this section. A simple bestiary and sample adventure are also included. Finally a sample campaign setting is also included.

The big divergence for Bones is the base game mechanic. You construct your character as a set of customized six sided dice. Task resolution consists of rolling these dice. If you roll enough successes, you succeed, if not you don't. I have to admit that the concept does appeal to me. It is a very tactical mechanic and I think that might be why I like it so much.

The character creation rules are described in clear terms and the game mechanic is well described. The examples make any difficult points easy to understand.

The bestiary is where the simplicity of the system starts to shine through. Monsters and NPC are simply described by a combination of standard dice types. So the GM can easily construct an enemy by selected a series of dice. Equipment is also represented by custom made dice.

I would not use the campaign setting, but that is because I don't use a lot of published campaign settings. I just feel more comfortable with my own than with published ones. I would have no concerns about stealing borrowing from this setting though...

Bones seems to be a very tactical game, but to me that is not a weakness. This makes the game ideal for a table top battle royale where is it everyman for himself and the last one alive wins. It also means that for a role playing game, the role is in the Players mind, not defined on the character sheet.

I don't know if Bones would ever become my system of choice but I have already started planning an adventure so the group can give it a try. Overall Vincent K. Raven has done a good job with this game, and at the sale price of $5 USD it was a bargain.

Seventh Sanctum

Once again I have gone an embarrassing length of time without a post. So I am going to do a quick review of Seventh Sanctum. Seventh Sanctum is a site dedicated to various random generators. From character names to groups to super powers.

This type of generator can be a GM's best friend when the game is on and a name is needed, or a magic item, or even a creature to challenge the party. No matter what you need you can find something that will help you on this site.

I once needed to populate a library with books. Using the Bookspinner generator it took less than 2 hours to generate literally hundreds (500-600 books) with this type of detail

The Study of Summonings
* This book is of above-average clarity because of the excellent, well-planned chapters. The book's well-done nature allows one to easily find that it has no useful information. Though flawed, one can definitely see that the concepts and information do show a great deal of insight.

Advanced White Magic
* This book is all but impossible to understand because of it having no kind of organization at all. If one miraculously managed to understand the book's contents, that person will find it is extremely informative. One will also find that the concepts and information do show a great deal of insight.

A Wizard's Encyclopedia of New Wizardry
* This book is easy to understand. A short look at the book will show that it is extremely informative.

A Peacetime Comparison of the Halbierd and Falchion
* This book is all but impossible to understand mostly due to terrible diagrams. A talented person may be able to derive some understanding from the book and find it is extremely informative. Despite its good traits, the contents show some plagarism.

An Account of the States' Ancient Heroes
* This book is very clear thanks to the excellent, well-planned chapters. It's easy to determine that it is reasonably useful. After a quick exampination, one will find that the concepts in the book do show a lot of original thought.
* Examining the book, one will find: Some personal notes, in a recognizable, but foreign language, unrelated to the book, concentrated in select sections of the book. Pieces of paper with notes, in incoherent writing, that seem to have to have no single purpose.

I have also used the Dragon Generator to quickly come up with a dragon description.
Hatetearer - She is a mature adult dragon. She has gold scales which are almost mirror-like. Her breath is a bolt of electricity. She is extremely sadistic. Her fighting skills are exceptional. She lives in a forboding wasteland. Her hoard is huge.

Flightwings the Great-winged - She is an elder dragon. She has silver scales and exceptionally large wings. Her breath is a cloud of gas that puts most beings to sleep. She is very arrogant. Her skill at mechanical items is quite refined despite her size. She lives in a friendly city. Her hoard is giant.