Book Description
Mutants & Masterminds has been called "the best, most exciting superhero RPG in years." It sets "new standards in design and presentation." It has won multiple ENnie and Pen & Paper Awards and it appeared on every critic's "best of" list for 2002. Now the World's Greatest Super-hero Roleplaying Game is even better! Mutants & Masterminds, Second Edition, takes the best of the original edition and supercharges it to make it the most complete, detailed, and fun super-hero game yet! In this 256-page hardcover with a stunning new cover by Ramon Perez, you'll find a complete roleplaying game that's a perfect starting point for your own comic book adventures. Mutants & Masterminds, Second Edition, has everything you need to create your own super-heroes and villains. It also offers more than a dozen ready-made super-hero archetypes and even more ready-to-use super-villain archetypes, plus two introductory adventures so you can start playing right away. Don't let your super-powers fall behind! Mutants & Masterminds, Second Edition, will take your game (and your heroes) to the next level!
Customer Reviews:
Excellent game system for superhero and contemporary fantasy gaming.......2007-07-12
If you want to run a superhero RPG, or simply something in a contemporary setting with fantasy elements, look no further. Mutants & Masterminds takes all the best elements from the core D20 system, and adds to that clear and balanced rules for character creation, combat, and superpowers (although the latter is handled even better in the Ultimate Power expansion book, which I personally think is a must-buy addition). There's a lot of inspiration in here for budding Game-masters too, and some handy lists of 'stock' NPC characters. The quality of the book itself is fine as well, and it features a lot of artwork that might not always be top-class, but it certainly suits the mood of the game. All in all, I'd recommend it to anyone.
Me like !!.......2007-05-13
Very good superheros rpg, rules aren't too complicated, art is beautifull.I prefer it at Aberrant or Champions. Good buy.
Mutants and Masterminds- 2nd edition.......2007-03-24
The product arrived quickly and in excellent condiditon. I will deffinetly look into buying fromt this seller in the future
THE Supers RPG, Period........2006-12-31
Ok, first, I want to say I've been in RPGs for over 25 years. Starting with AD&D. I've GMed Champions, Godlike, BESM and other RPGs. Played WAY too many over the years, too.
This is the game that "gets" Super Hero action. Fast combat, easy mechanics, well written rules.... I love it. The detail for character creation is just right, IMHO. The book itself, is well laid out, lots of terrific artwork supporting the "feel" of the genre.
The game is based on the "d20" system, but instead of using a bunch (d4, d8, etc) of different dice, you use ONLY the twenty sided die. Characters are created thru a point-buy system and not thru random rolls (something I perfer, but it's not everyone's cup-o-tea). The book itself is well laid out, starting with Hero Creation. Sample characters are provided.
The rest of the book breaks down/ explains skills, lists all the powers, combat, equipment...it's all here. A vast improvement over the 1st edition.
Better everytime.......2006-08-09
The system is perfect. Flexible be simple. Great book too. Arts a little lite, so buy for the game not for collection.
Book Description
The Galactic Guide to Babylon 5 is a huge resource for any Games Master or Player wishing to know more of the galaxy they operate in. Containing studies on ancient planets and races as well as detailing the varying political influences on the galaxy, this book will prove invaluable to all fans of the Babylon 5 universe. In addition, the Galactic Guide has rules for a variety of situations, circumstances and occurrences, collated into a readily accessible source. In short, there's something for just about everyone in the Babylon 5 Galactic Guide.
Customer Reviews:
Not what I expected.......2006-07-02
I ordered this, thinking it was a guide to the series in the same vein as guides for Star Trek or Star Wars. I discovered that it is a guide to a Babylon 5 role-playing game in which I have no interest. It's still informative and entertaining, but not as much so as I was expecting.
Average customer rating:
- Collector's item or useful RPG book?
|
Hideouts and Strongholds (Star Wars RPG)
Manufacturer: West End Games Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Star Wars
| Media Series
| Series
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0874315131 |
Customer Reviews:
Collector's item or useful RPG book?.......2007-01-20
In this day of Star Wars roleplaying you occasionally find a book that isn't so much desired for its content, but its collectability. This is a fair book, though the rave (and price) is often inflated because there are fewer in print than some of the other, more popular, Star Wars roleplaying supplements. I own the book, but only because I was able to pick it up for well under its current market value. It has some very interesting bases as well as adventure ideas, background characters, and other such information. If you need a quick base for your characters to break into or out of, this book allows you to do a quick rip from its content and have an easier adventure. Though, most experienced gamemasters can produce this information on their own. The book does have rules for weapons engineering, starfighter engineering, base engineering, and the like. However, in the grand scheme of things, they constitute one half a page collectively. Most of your characters aren't going to own a base of operations. They're more likely to raid others'.
Customer Reviews:
Execellent Document of Martin's World.......2006-11-07
Very detailed, artwork is solid, if not outstanding. Gives a fine format for exploring Martin's world.
Roleplaying, schmoeplaying.......2006-04-19
There is only one thing you have to know: no Spellcraft skill because magic is a legend or it is a dead.
I redesign the character sheet (the one it came with sucked which is the only complaint I have about it) and it brought a tear to my eye not having to worry about spell slots or any of that sort of mess.
No magic, magic items, Power Word: Kills or some god coming down to smite you. It is just you, the enemy and the ground in-between. You make your own in this world, you forge your way through either might or wisdom, sword or diplomacy.
Like a great man, a Giant of a man some might say, once said, "It is not so much what we do as why we do it." When you could run away in fear for your life but you chose to stand and regain your honour, right your wrongs and possible make your world a better place to be even it it meant losing your own life, then you know you have struck gold when it comes to a roleplaying campaign.
Sure it has all the levels, skills points and the like but to be honest, I never cared about the levels in this game. I think whatever age or level we start off with is fine by me.
If you are a D20 vet and wanting to try this, take time to learn how Reputation and Influence works. It is a little different but it adds a lot to the world.
If for nothing else, my brother, "Mister Casual About All Things Gaming", can't stop talking about the game. That is for the first time in 15 years. That is the greatness of A Song of Ice and Fire.
Great purchase - even for non-gamers........2006-02-23
I haven't gamed in more than 10 years, and don't really plan on starting again - but this book is worth buying for ANY fan of Song of Ice & Fire series.
Gorgeous artwork & fascinating bios of the characters of George R.R. Martin's books are the main highlights of the book for non-gamers - but the more you delve into the mechanics of the game, the more insights into the world it reveals.
And another pleasant surprise - an introduction including a very detailed & impressive overview of the history of fanstasy writing. Given me lots of new (to me) writers to check out.
A review by a gamer for gamers.......2006-02-13
This book is a remarkable achievement in d20. It offers several innovations, and also pares away some of the more ridiculous aspects of the system as we have known it. But even more impressively, this publication is distinguished in its tastefulness, outclassing any other d20 game with its maturity of style and imagination. This is gaming for grownups.
This 495 full-color hardback is a comprehensive rulebook and campaign setting. If you didn't already own the core rulebooks, you wouldn't need to get them, because it's all here--handbook, DMG, and bestiary rolled into one. The bestiary, of course, is very small, because this is a low-fantasy (almost historical) setting. You won't find a catalog of abberations, walking funguses and extraplanar half-whosywhatsits. You won't find dozens of ridiculous, superheroic, micro-niche prestige classes. And you won't find elves, or gnomes ... or any such breeds. Who needs them? Magic and mosters are gone . . . except for a few surprises here and there, which are really special.
What do you find? The heart of the game is human drama. You have Realpolitik, war, alliances and betrayals, intrigue, spying and struggle. In order to cultivate this kind of gaming experience, they draw on the work of one of the greatest living writers of science fiction and fantasy, George R. R. Martin. (Read the novels, if you haven't already.) But the game also contributes a promising innovation with the rules for Reputation and Influence. These mechanics are to the social and political what the Base Attack Bonus is to combat. Influence points are a way of measuring a character's power in the social sphere, and of adjudicating a character's efforts to get others to do what he wants.
In standard d20 games, a character with a high Diplomacy skill may be effective in getting people to have a friendly disposition towards him, but how do you determine what a friendly disposition actually gets you. Now there is a mechanic for determining that. An Influence check is used to call in a debt, command, persuade or otherwise coerce someone to actually do what you want (whether they like you or not).
Reputation is a way of defining how you are perceived by others, in terms of specific characteristics. For example, a character may get several reputation points as a Ruthless Brute, which will come in handy when he wants to Intimidate and hinder him when he wants to gain trust.
There will be combat, of course, though perhaps not as frequently. (Wounds take time to heal when you don't have potions and spells ready at hand.) In place of lightning bolts and acid arrows, they have added more options and possibilities in hand-to-hand combat. First of all, armor gives you DR rather than an AC bonus. (Shields are different). Armor classes will tend to be not quite as high as we are used to, but on the other hand damage will be smaller too. However, if you want to deal more damage, you can opt for one of several types of called shots, which allow you to customize your attack strategy based on your opponents defences. There are also some good rules for becoming fatigued due to the encumbrance of armor. Only playtesting can tell, but it seems to me that combat strategy may be more interesting in this game. More deadly? You'll have fewer hitpoints. On the other hand, there's the Shock Value feature, which makes it a lot more likely that you'll be temporarily incapacitated long before your hitpoints are gone. Characters at first level will have about the same number of hitpoints as comparable D&D characters, but as your character advances, you'll gain fewer hitpoints. I think the reason for this is that average damage dealt by a hit will not increase as much either. It might turn out that first-level is more survivable and higher levels are more dangerous than in D&D.
Perhaps my only complaint about this game is that it may be more difficult for the Gamemaster. The setting is not nearly as static as something like the Forgotten Realms. Things change in this world, and fast! So, if the GM has any intention of staying true to the novels, he will have to think carefully about the timeline and know what's going on in the story. And Martin hasn't finished writing novels yet! If the future is being determined in the imagination of George R. R. Martin, then there are some limitations on how much the players (or the GM) can change).
Another challenge for the GM will be that without monsters and abundant treasure, he will have to keep things interesting in the story arc, or the game will fall flat.
On the up side, players should be able to plug into the drama of politics and war fairly easily. There should be less of a problem coming up with motivations for your character to "go adventuring" (Ugh!) You won't need artificial motivations, because by the nature of the game your character will have loyalties and enemies, not to mention the task of keeping his corpse from being eaten by crows!
Awesome!.......2006-02-01
Absolutely awesome. Very true to the setting.
Some of the rules are a bit clunky and take a bit of effort to switch over from standard D20, but overall makes for a MUCH better experience.
Book Description
Inside the pockets of this protective folder, you’ll find a full set of
D&D character record sheets -- and more.
Formatted in a new folio-style layout, each record has plenty of room to keep track of everything that makes each of your characters unique, including extra space for adding new class features and abilities for your multiclass characters.
Includes:
* 11 four-page character record sheets, one for each of the character classes in the Player’s Handbook.
* A four-page generic
D&D character record sheet.
* Quick-reference spell lists for all spellcasting classes in the Player’s Handbook and spellcasting prestige classes in the
Dungeon Master’s Guide.
* A bonus, four-page
d20 Modern character record sheet.
Every character record sheet and spell list is designed to be easy to photocopy, so you’ll always have a fresh sheet on hand when you need one.
Customer Reviews:
Helpful.......2007-04-03
Helpful for individual classes, but need to photocopy as only one copy of each included.
Fun fun fun. I like it....But it coulda used a bit of work........2005-04-29
These are great. I thought for some reason they'd fold over on the top...But they don't. Instead, it's the normal character sheet, modified a bit(Like having a rage area for the barbarian:Nifty), and made to take 4 pages. It's usefull, fun, but nowhere near worth 15 bucks.
I like it anyway.
I can't see them getting much better........2005-04-20
Well, I've been playing D&D for over 18 years and these are some of the best character sheets I've seen. I used to have some great ones for 2nd edition that I'd rank as high as these, but that was a long time ago. Sure, I could nit-pick about a few things. But over all I really couldn't ask for anything better. I say they're worth the price.
Cool, but..........2004-06-15
Ok, these are VERY well done, and in a dandy portfolio- with a few handy tables, to boot! But do you need to spend $15 on something you can just copy or make yourself? Well- in my case I saved near $5 by getting it here, and throwing it in with another item got me the "Super-saver" free shipping- so I'd say yes.
Buit just buying it retail? I'd have to say save your dollars and get something else.
Deluxe characters rule!.......2004-03-13
wow, i bought this ...and it's great, although it doesn't support epic elvels it's still awesome, it's a 4 oage character shee for every class, and it comes with a nice hard folder for your character sheets , it's awesome
Book Description
Get the must-have guide that gets you started playing your own Marvel Universe adventures! Contains everything you need to learn and play, including full game system rules, character profiles, briefings and background for the Marvel Universe, pull-out Character Action Display, and a beginning adventure complete with maps.
Customer Reviews:
Too narrow of focus and too slim on content.......2006-12-19
The book is thinner than I expected/hoped (guess I should have checked the page count) and has only seven pages of source material for the massive marvel world. There is absolutely no support from Marvel and only two sourcebooks ever published, so that's huge in my opinion. Most of the book is dedicated to the system. You can however find descriptions of 40 heroes and villains from the marvel universe which is nice but brief.
Also, the system is too narrowly focused for me because the range of abilities goes from 1 to 10 leaving very little room for the awesome range of ability that should exist in the marvel universe.
That it is more free form and somewhat simpler than many RPGs may appeal to some people and the game is presented as though you are writing your own comic which has a nice sense of style.
Great game for frist time gamers.......2006-02-22
This is a great game for frist time players but if you are use to having dice to roll can be hard.
Lack of specificity is both strength and weakness.......2005-05-25
MURPG has its strengths, foremost among them ease of play. However, there is very little differentiation between characters of approximate strength and/or ability (as already mentioned).
MURPG does have one significant strength that its developers may have overlooked. Because it focuses on recource allocation, it is excellent for online play (no fudging of die rolls). In the online groups in which I participate, the focus is more on the cinematic nature of the game, rather than the mechanics itself. Its simplicity allows the players a great deal of freedom, and allows for a load of fun.
I recommend this system for novice roleplayers, or players wishing for a quick & easy system of not-so-serious roleplaying.
The Perfect Game..........2004-11-29
At first, I was hesitant to buy this book coz i under-estimated its size, plus it got no dice roll stuff. But to my surprise, it got all that i was expecting for a well designed and well balanced game of Superheores/Supervillains.
Though this book doesn't contain the complete lists of all the superheores that every marvel comic fan is expecting, but hey, the rules are all here. No more tons of cross referencing to several books. Just one, simple, straight to the point rules. I think this is the way how RPG should be.
The stone system is cleverly designed! Just like in real life. The more you exert effort, the more you will succeed, but you will most likely tire yourself out. Resting is a solution, but can you do it if you are badly outnumbered by the bad guys? This is the thrill and the challenge! It's a matter of how wisely you use the energy that you have.
The character progression takes a bit long coz you need to record the actions/stunts/experiences that your character had gone through. But it's just like telling a story by keeping a record of it. And it's no nonsense coz the experience speaks for itself, unlike the other RPG. The action that you record will determine your action difficulty to perform. The more experience you are in an action, the less difficulty you will encounter in doing it again.
This is a major improvement to the Marvel saga system. The powers that were vague in the previous rules were made clear in this book. Like the Mastery of Elements, it gives a well defined limitation on up to how wide the scope of ones power can reach. Having a Mastery of magic as an action doesn't mean you have a god-like power to do almost anything you want, but simply what you can only do in a balanced manner. Overall, it's a nice game. Greatly recomended.
An awesome RPG..........2004-05-13
This is the first RPG I've come across that uses a system with no dice! Which means it makes for easy online adaptation and puts the game more in the hands of the players. It's got tons of good information, statistics and biographies for all of the biggest names in Marvel, a built-in starter mission, and a flexible creation system allowing you to create your very own super heroes and villains.
There are really only a few problems I have with this book. First off, it's a really small book. While it is a lot cheaper then all the other RPG rule books out there, it seems like they could have included a lot more without having to raise the price. Also, the system has a very slow skill development proccess. It will take your character a very long time before they will be able to use their skills as well as the characters from the comic books can. Aside of that though, it's a lot of fun and a much better system then all the dice-based ones rolling around.
Book Description
This book contains: An introduction to roleplaying and the Angelverse; a guide to character creation, including pre-constructed Heroes and White Hats, as well as the entire Angel Investigations Cast, for your quick-play pleasure; the Angel Unisystem, streamlined for cinematic action and adventure; a primer on not-so-normal abilities, from magic and psychic arts to demon and supernatural powers; rules for creating special organizations - anything from law firms to detective agencies to hunter societies; a guide to the people and places of the City of Angels; a rundown on the wicked, including vampires, demons, zombie cops, and other critters; blow-by-blow instructions for creating Angel roleplaying Episodes, Seasons, and Series; and a complete Episode to hit the streets and start investigating right away.
Customer Reviews:
Even my wife is interested.......2004-07-11
My wife and I spent the past couple months watching the first three seasons of Angel on DVD. After we got Season Three finished, I wanted more Angel stuff, so I decided to get the RPG as I like RPGs. The corebook is very good, though only covers up to season three. Hopefully they will soon do a supplemental for it, but it isn't listed on the angel rpg web site yet.
My wife is interested in playing it with me and she is not a RPG fan, but the unisystem that the game uses is very strait forward. The book is well laid out and easy to follow.
I love the Angel quotes that fill almost every page. If you are Weldon fan, or just enjoy Angel and like to game or would like a different take on the Angelverse then this is the book for you.
The Corebook for the "Angel" Role-Playing Game.......2004-01-24
It might take you a while to notice that this is the "Corebook" for the "Angel" roleplaying game, because fans of the series will be taken by some of the gorgeous graphics on the opening pages and the opening chapter, which translates "Angel's Path" from the television series to the game. While what gamers find here will be compatible with the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" roleplaying game, it is clear that "Angel" has a different flavor. The evil of Los Angeles is decidedly different from what you find in Sunnydale with the Hellmouth. The basic game playing structure is the same, but the characters lean more towards humans and demons than vampires, and understandably so for anyone who watches the show.
Chapter Two is devoted to the Chosen Champions, which lays out a list of archetypes (e.g., Psychic Supermodel, Rogue Demon Hunter), along with the Original Cast: Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Fred, Lorne, Doyle, Kate Lockley, Connor, and the Groosalugg. A section of Seasonal Adjustments covers the first three seasons of the series. Chapter Three, Helping the Helpless covers the game mechanics on how to roll, move, research, and fight. Chapter Four, Arcane Approaches, is all about the magical arts, teaching you how to both cast and create spells. Chapter Five, Cabals, Covens, and Agencies covers the organizations that you will encounter in L.A. Chapter Six, City of Angel lays out the haunts, sights, and suspects of the city as well (including minor allies like Anne Steel and David Nabbit). Chapter Seven, Something Wicked, presents the bad guys, organized by vamps, demons, and others (this is where you find Darla and Drusilla). Chapter Eight, Episodes, Season and Drama are guidelines for Directors on how to create storylines and run games. Chapter Nine, Blood Brothers, is a fleshed-out adventure for the "Angel Roleplaying Game," which does not involve any creating.
The back of the book contains an Appendix that provides a guide to Angelspeak, conversion notes for other Unisystem games, a glossary, character sheets, and other game aids. By this point C. J. Carella has made it very clear that he takes both this game and the television series on which it is based as seriously as the fans, which is exactly what we want. When Carella describes Darla's character motivation as "Pure self-centered evil, return Angelus, be a good mommy (very briefly)" and Drusilla's as "Whimsical nutjob, re-unite the "family," you know he is on target. I have been picking up these Eden Studio volumes because of my devotion to these shows, but I can see where playing one of these games would be a lot of fun as well.
Book Description
Readers of the Lone Wolf series were launched into an odyssey spanning 28 game books, 12 novels, and countless related works. The hero for most of that work was Lone Wolf, a Kai Lord and the readers' alternate identity when traveling through the complex and often lethal world of Magnamund. The last survivor of the Kai, it was his self-appointed duty to seek vengeance for the deaths of his brothers and sisters. Through it all, readers of the Lone Wolf game books followed along with every step, every sword blow, and every use of his incredible powers. This book is the definitive guide to the world of Magnamund and the many roleplaying possibilities it provides.. If you can imagine an adventure, it awaits you somewhere on the face (or in the dark caverns) of Magnamund. There is a gazetteer section with maps, images, and detailed descriptions of the many realms that make up Magnamund. Notes on cultures, monsters, and the inevitable dangers of the land will be at your fingertips. The gazetteer will also provide Games Masters with statistics for dozens of terrible beasts and vile henchmen to throw at those foolish enough to oppose the rise of the Darklords What you will not find in these pages are overly complicated or burdensome rules. The combat of Lone Wolf is quick and simple, with greater emphasis placed on the descriptions and action of titanic conflict rather than the dice rolls involved. The real battle should be against the Darklords, not the rules involved to doing so. The basic rules of Lone Wolf are just that- basic. They provide the foundation for all action in Magnamund without getting in the way of the saga that is your campaign.
Customer Reviews:
Lone Wolf returns.......2006-01-19
Lone Wolf makes his most daring journey yet... into the 21st century! This book heralds the return of this fabulous series, and has turned it into a not-so-bad RPG. Now, briefly, the good and the bad.
The good:
The information. This book is a veritable gold mine of Lone Wolf history and setting. The whole book is worth it just for that.
The ease of combat. Combat is much easier to resolve than it is in D and D, without losing any of the excitement or diversity.
Character creation. Character creation has been simplified, still giving you tons of room to customize, but without making you fliip through hundreds of pages to see what stats a Half Dwarven Bard raised by humans would have.
True to the original world. This feels like Magnamund. Hell, it IS Magnamund. Fans of Lone Wolf must get this or feel forever cheated by Fate. Okay, maybe an exageration, but... I digress.
The bad:
First and foremost, crappy index. For a book with as much information as this book has, it really needs a better way to find stuff quickly.
Clarity. Some rules haven't been clarified well at all, and GMs will find they have a lot of room for interpretation concerning magical combat. At the same time, some of the rules have been overdone, and make it clunky, especially item creation.
Balance. Some characters defenitely seem to have an advantage over others, and some classes are lacking in abilities that would really round them out. Many classes have glaring weaknesses to exploit, and some would have a really hard time in a small group.
Misinformation. Despite August Hahn's attention to detail, there are some things that are in contradiction with the gamebooks. Nothing glaring, mind you, and much of it is fine. Still, the fact that there are any inconsistencies had to be noted.
Lack of supplemental material. While there have been two excellent supplements released, it is unlikely that more will be released any time soon. However, there is a large fan base which occasionally puts out their own material, and thus there is a lot of player support for this product.
All in all, this is a must have for fans. Players of RPGs will also find the system interesting, as it has removed some of the more hated aspects of D and D without adding any complications. Beginner role players will be drawn in by the rich setting, but may be confused by some of the less clarified rules. To them I have this advice: just use what you think works best. One of the nice things about the Lone Wolf system is that it is easily adaptable.
If you are not familiar with Lone Wolf (or even if you are), go to www.projectaon.org, where the original books have been legally reprinted in html format and check them out. It's well worth it.
At long last, our prayers are answered!.......2005-08-24
Many of us hardcore fans have waited a long time for this kind of book. No longer must we attempt in vain to create a format for a Kai Lord player character for our D&D adventures now that August Hahn's adaptation has hit the shelves for our gaming delight.
Using the popular d20 system (D&D 3rd edition) rules, this book allows players to make characters such as the Kai Lord, Brother of the Crystal Star, and even a Gunner of Bor! The combat system is a "watered-down" version of the normal d20 system, omitting such things as feats and attacks of opportunity, but for those fans of D&D 2nd edition, this may be a welcome event.
The magic system greatly differs from the 3rd ed D&D rules, but is very pertinent to the world of Magnamund and has the flavor of the game books from the 80's & 90's. Similarly, the advent of psychic combat is simple, yet very functional.
The "Gazeteer" section of the book could be considered a treasure trove of Magnamund history, and those who have ever owned the elusive "Magnamund Companion" (out of print) book,you will be especially delighted to see descriptions of ALL of the countries and elaborations of the Magnamund timeline far beyond what that book provided. Also, for those who own the "Companion", you may get a little "giddy" at the mechanics of the Crystal Star mage and how similar the powers and progression of the character type are compared to the mini-adventure at the end of the "Companion".
On the negative side of things, I found the artwork lacking in content. Although not horrible, a trained eye will notice inconsistencies in the physics and shadows. Its good, but not great. Another thing is that not all of the creatures described in the "Gazeteer" section have an illustration, which would have been useful for those of us who may never seen the illustrations found in the game books.
All in all, I found that this book is great for anyone wanting to revisit the elaborate and sprawling world of Magnamund, or is perfect to adapt items within to any existing D&D campaign.
Great depite a long wait!.......2004-06-06
There are those within the RPG community who have waited for nearly 20 years for such an event. Wait no longer. August Hahn's adaptation of Joe Dever's original award winning series fully captures the essence of this dramatic world of Magnamund. Using the ever-popular d20 mechanic, August and his fellows and Mongoose stripped down the mechanics in efforts to make it more "friendly" towards first time players. d20 enthusiasts might be put off by a lack of old standards to the system such as Feats, Attacks of Opprotunity, and specific spell lists. The lack of these elements dramatically decreases any slow-downs to game play, maximizing how much enjoyment is gotten from actual game play.
The book includes scaled-down and simplified combat (d20, of course), a complete Gazetteer of various nations and regions around Magnamund, a choice Bestiary of some of the more notorious fiends within the realms, and a beautiful full-color map in the back of the book: be warned - the map is attached by glue to the book itself and not easily removed. This feature does prevent loss of the map....
As for the lack of feats, after a close look at the core classes, one can easily see that bonuses similiar to those received from feats are built in and automatic at every level up.
There are few negative things to be said about the book: there is some substandard art, especially compaired to the original gamebooks by Mr. Dever. The core classes are limited to those of heroic stature - there are no rogue-like classes, no clerics, only regional-specifics like the Kai Lords, Magicians of Dessi, etc.
But for pure entertainment, this book has it in droves. It is, in my opinion, a great introduction to both Magnamund and d20 role-playing as well. Enjoy it as a Core d20 game (as it is intended) or as a world setting for your existing campaigns!
At last! Its own role-playing game!.......2004-06-05
Fans of Lone Wolf have been cobbling together rules to fit Kai Lords into their fantasy campaigns for nearly two decades. Now that the rulebook for role-playing in Joe Dever's setting has finally come to print, fans of the series can show their friends the richness and diversity of Magnamund to their gaming group.
There are seven classes available in the core rule book: Brotherhood Mage, Kai Lord, Telchos Warrior (much like an amazon), Shadaki Buckaneer, Dwarven Gunner of Bor, Magician of Dessi, and Sommerlund Knight of the Realm. The seven classes are well thought out and immediately playable, each having a very satisfying progression as they level up. Like one who is familiar with the game books would expect, new abilities are gained every level, whether it be Kai disciplines, Brotherhood spells, Dwarven gun tricks, etc.
Also included in the rulebook are creatures and equipment unique to Magnamund, details on each country in both northern and southern Magnamund, and tips for role-playing in this world.
The combat system is simplified from D&D to allow a quicker resolution of combat. Those who enjoy the level of detail in D&D may miss this, but it holds true to the 'feel' of the game books of the '80s (including using the same 'Lone Wolf' font; people familiar with the original books know what I mean). In addition, psychic combat is a strong factor in the rules, as Magnamund's population has a high percentage of psychic abilities.
About the only negative thing I could think to mention is the lack of art, though it could be argued that more artwork would take space away from the content.
All in all, I find that the 20 year wait was well worth it in the end. If you're as much of a fan as I am, there's no reason to not get a copy.
Book Description
Featuring the space station that changed the destiny of an entire galaxy, the Babylon 5 RPG from Mongoose Publishing allows players to take on the role of characters from the award-winning TV series. This all new edition revisits one of the most successful sci-fi roleplaying games of recent years, bringing the game to an all new group of fans! Existing fans will not be disappointed, the rules have been tweaked so that the game is even better than before, and most importantly, is a stand-alone rulebook in its own right with no requirement for the use of another rulebook!
Customer Reviews:
Good game, with one major flaw..........2006-08-04
The Babylon 5 Second Edition game appears, on first read, to continue the concept of the First Edition. It allows you, through the versatile D20 system, to recreate the adventures of the Babylon 5 series, spin offs and movies. MOST of the things in the book are as well written as the first, or slightly improved (the condensing of the skill list is a good idea, giving better rounded characters). The only major flaw I found with the system is the ship / vehicle combat rules. They are designed to be totally abstract, not using maps or counters for combat. This is an idea that first reared it's ugly head back in the first edition of the WOTC Star Wars D20 RPG. Some people may like this type of thing, but my group does not. We enjoy things like the old Star Wars D6 system, which were easy to map and keep track of. We didn't really like the first edition Babylon system either, but that is what we are going to default to until we can home-design a better alternative. The one major problem this causes is that the first two supplements for Second Editions, Ships of the Galaxy and the Shipbuilder's Guidebook, are useless now, because the statistics between 1st Edition and 2nd appear to almost bear no resemblance to one another, even where they supposedly represent the same 'value'.
Other than the ship combat system, however, the game appears to be top notch. Converting other things to the new system appears to be pretty simple. Most equipment converts directly over, feats from the old edition books MOSTLY convert directly over, Prestige classes were easy to convert between systems. The hardest thing besides ships to convert might be your character itsself. Our group found it easier to just re-design the characters from the ground up using the new rules and the first edition characters as a guideline. Even then, it took no longer to convert the character than it took to level up the old one.
Overall, this is still the best space opera game out there in the D20 system. One other minor complaint... you will curse the editors every time you find a misused word that would have been found by a solid read-through before printing.
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