Best World of Darkness Game
Above all, they are vampires. UNTIL THE END OF ALL THINGS. This new edition of Vampire: The Masquerade is an updated, revised version of the popular classic.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Vampire: the Masquerade is a part of a larger setting - the "classic" World of Darkness, which also includes games about other supernaturals like Werewolf: the Apocalypse, Mage:the Ascension, Changeling: the Dreaming, Wraith: the Oblivion, and others. - I like that both the setting and the rules system provide opportunities to explore darker and edgier themes like misuse of power, oppression by you "parent" and by your "government", morality, crime and punishment, intrigue and betrayal, and what would happen to you if you let loose the monster inside you, and do whatever you want to whomever you want. Overall, Vampire: the Masquerade is a unique role-playing game, offering an opportunity to touch upon dark and personal themes, and set in a fascinating complex world."
"The book was basically brand new no wear or tear, no wrinkle, or any of the pages missing."
"product arrived on time and as described."
"A classic and forgotten game."
"So after reading this book.... im addicted to the themes, the disciplines,and honestly everything about it."
"Classic Vampiric roleplaying."
"Very very flimsy binding."
"Last time I let my drunk friend use my Amazon."
Players join to tell tales of mystery and horror, where theme, mood and plot are more important to a character's experiences than his weapons or equipment.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is my favorite roleplaying game rules system yet."
"The concept that everything I need to run any WoD game regardless of the flavor text used, I can refer to one core book."
"The WOD book, by contrast, makes the reader want to create his character and start roleplaying as soon as possible."
"I found this system a few years back and it has become my favorite RPG."
"book is as expected for content."
"You can literally take advantage of any mystery you've ever heard or read about in your existence, from military and political complots, to enigmatic, esoteric and supernatural events in the history of the world. Sit down, read the magnificent flavour texts and stories within the rulebook and begin planning environments, characters and twists that would have you filled with edge-of-your-seat anticipation and emotion."
"Fun system, excellently balanced gameplay."
"The book is attractive, with good art, fonts, and amazing use of space. Some books like this leave you in the dark about how the rules work, or how you can implement and integrate everything in the book."
Taken from your home, transformed by the power of Faerie, kept as the Others' slave or pet - but you never forgot where you came from.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Consequently, my take on "Changeling: the Lost" is largely based on how it compares to its predecessor, "Changeling: the Dreaming." Changelings of "the Lost" come by the title more honestly, being very mortal escapees from their faerie captors."
"I love it despite at this point i'm more interested in making a character before getting into anything else just yet.Though I'm not sure if I can find anyone who like to join me in a session that lives nearby that can help me find my bearings so i can enjoy the (possibly?)."
"The book was in better than expected condition, I'm so glad to get my RP parties going with fae!"
"The concept of a parallel faerie world seems like it would be very difficult to turn into a RP story, and I'm not sure if I will ever play this game (I think I'm leaning more toward Vampire), but I would recommend this book just for the ideas & inspiration."
"I bought this for my BFF and she LOVES it!"
"Great stories and characters plus lots of insight into the Fae."
"Changeling: The Dreaming was the biggest disappointments of the original World of Darkness. Unlike the other reimagined WoD this book is a great step up. This is by far the best second try of all the WoD games."
"I bought this book expecting a good game."
Best WoD General
Above all, they are vampires. UNTIL THE END OF ALL THINGS. This new edition of Vampire: The Masquerade is an updated, revised version of the popular classic.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Vampire: the Masquerade is a part of a larger setting - the "classic" World of Darkness, which also includes games about other supernaturals like Werewolf: the Apocalypse, Mage:the Ascension, Changeling: the Dreaming, Wraith: the Oblivion, and others. - I like that both the setting and the rules system provide opportunities to explore darker and edgier themes like misuse of power, oppression by you "parent" and by your "government", morality, crime and punishment, intrigue and betrayal, and what would happen to you if you let loose the monster inside you, and do whatever you want to whomever you want. Overall, Vampire: the Masquerade is a unique role-playing game, offering an opportunity to touch upon dark and personal themes, and set in a fascinating complex world."
"The book was basically brand new no wear or tear, no wrinkle, or any of the pages missing."
"product arrived on time and as described."
"A classic and forgotten game."
"So after reading this book.... im addicted to the themes, the disciplines,and honestly everything about it."
"Classic Vampiric roleplaying."
"Very very flimsy binding."
Best WoD Mage
The Power to Remake the World. In an age long gone, mortals dethroned the gods and seized the heavens for their own. * Provides everything you need to tell your own stories in the occult world of the Awakened, including details of the various orders and paths of magic, and many secrets of the World of Darkness.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"If you can handle WoD past that point, move on to Werewolf: TF to work on higher concepts - more complex combat, system additions, and spirits in general. I feel that the spell casting - which is a major aspect, of course - is poorly expressed at times, vague, oddly organized and overall could have been presented in practice rather than worrying about the theory."
"Awakening, however, spends a full 181 pages talking exhaustively about Magic and its use in precise mechanical terms with an abundance of details and examples."
"I've read a few things about this game's predecessor, Mage: The Ascension, but I find it, while deep and interesting, perhaps too littered with philosophical, conceptual and abstract imagery to be truly enjoyable in terms of gameplay."
"This game is a good read so far and i hope to play a session and not gm soon."
"I had to fight to prove to people that Mage: The Ascension was a playable game - but I did it. Then came the book "Ascension," which ended the mage line, and I honestly thought it was awful. My players range from heavy rules-lawyers types to people who hate looking into rulebooks and at most just want to know how many dice to roll so they can get this mechanics thing over with and bacl to the role-playing. Tell that to the guy in my game who has been doing magic using his PDA, laptop, and various devices he's built. Except that D&D magic doesn't let you improvise - and my players after only a few weeks were making up effects that weren't listed in the rote setions of the mage book. Who is to say that a mage can't use Asian, African, Middle Eastern, Australian, or Native American style trappings in his workings? Finally, Paradox is dangerous the moment you start doing something big and vulgar. Sure, I never had problems with this when I ran the old mage, but this puts it in clear black and white so I don't have to debate every frickin' time. Overall, the book is laid out well, edited fairly well for a White Wolf release, and with the exceptions of the gold specks on every page, easy to read. As I've found out, you can't judge the game just by reading it - you have to play it to see what it truly is capable of."
Best Other WoD Games
Taken from your home, transformed by the power of Faerie, kept as the Others' slave or pet - but you never forgot where you came from.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Consequently, my take on "Changeling: the Lost" is largely based on how it compares to its predecessor, "Changeling: the Dreaming." Changelings of "the Lost" come by the title more honestly, being very mortal escapees from their faerie captors."
"I love it despite at this point i'm more interested in making a character before getting into anything else just yet.Though I'm not sure if I can find anyone who like to join me in a session that lives nearby that can help me find my bearings so i can enjoy the (possibly?)."
"The book was in better than expected condition, I'm so glad to get my RP parties going with fae!"
"The concept of a parallel faerie world seems like it would be very difficult to turn into a RP story, and I'm not sure if I will ever play this game (I think I'm leaning more toward Vampire), but I would recommend this book just for the ideas & inspiration."
"I bought this for my BFF and she LOVES it!"
"Great stories and characters plus lots of insight into the Fae."
"Changeling: The Dreaming was the biggest disappointments of the original World of Darkness. Unlike the other reimagined WoD this book is a great step up. This is by far the best second try of all the WoD games."
"I bought this book expecting a good game."
Best WoD Vampire
Above all, they are vampires. UNTIL THE END OF ALL THINGS. This new edition of Vampire: The Masquerade is an updated, revised version of the popular classic.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The book was basically brand new no wear or tear, no wrinkle, or any of the pages missing."
"product arrived on time and as described."
"A classic and forgotten game."
"So after reading this book.... im addicted to the themes, the disciplines,and honestly everything about it."
"Classic Vampiric roleplaying."
"Very very flimsy binding."
Best WoD Werewolf
The World of Darkness role playing games tak e the reader into worlds and realities where magic is not de ad and not even the dead are dead.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This core book, while out of print, is certainly the easiest core book I have ever used, It gives the reader the story and background, and then provides a thorough, step-by-step guide to creating a character by following every line of the character sheet in the order it is written."
"This rulebook is for the system that came out roughly 20 years ago."
"I have run and played in multiple campaigns in the past and will be starting a new one up in a few months."
"A real ROLE playing game that honestly calls itself a Storyteller game."
"Excellent RPG!"
"This is a great book and amazing gaming system."
Best Savage Worlds Game
Savage Worlds Deluxe: Explorer's is the newest edition, providing an update to the third printing of Savage Worlds Explorer's Edition in the popular 6.5" x 9" softcover Eplorer's Edition format! It includes rules updates, new rules material, new art, more examples, an expanded Setting Rules section, Designer Notes to give you an insight into the development, and much more.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Savage Worlds almost takes the opposite approach as a stripped down, basic system, but it's very easy to house-rule, add on to, or even look up a homebrewed setting or rule to use from the internet. The digest sized soft-cover is about $10, so you really can't go wrong with giving it a try."
"Unlike other game systems that allow for adaption to any settings (such as GURPs), learning these rules is far easier and the price for the rulebooks are practically nothing and allows for other players to buy them without too much of an investment."
"I wrote my own story for this session, but I used lots of information from the book: --I used the Archetypes on pages 18-19 to create pre-generated characters for my players. --I used the Skills List from pages 24-28 to give the pre-generated player characters additional skills. --I used the Interludes mechanic from page 105 to get the players to tell me about their character's back stories."
"If the game was firmly lodged into one genre or setting, that wouldn't be an issue, but as it easily and quickly supports almost any setting you can think of, the GM has to know what it's going to be and to communicate that to the players before starting."
"Use Pathfinder's excellent fantasy campaigns and modules in conjuction with SW rules... What you get: Fast combat, character flexibility, happy players, and relaxed game masters... - Dr. Bull."
"I like savage worlds better than D&D or the Pathfinder system."
"Not the normal tabletop rpg, but if you enjoy those kinds of games you will definitely enjoy this."
"The rules system is streamlined and easy to run."
Best Warhammer Game
Because the setting is based on real world locations (Lofoten and Vesteralen in Northern Norway) you can also use online map services, to get highly detailed and realistic maps of the world of Thulê, in any scale you want. Varg Vikernes has written several books, two of which are available from Amazon; "Sorcery and Religion in Ancient Scandinavia" and "Mythic Fantasy Role-playing Game".
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"If you want a wonderful role playing game that introduce some new concepts and has elements of all the things that attract us to role playing games this book is perfect for you."
"I was at first intimidated by the charts and tables of modifiers and optional rules, but after reading it through I quickly realised that this is one of the most modular RPGs I own. It's a role-playing game... you don't have to play it as written if you don't like legend A or tradition B or the way peoples C treat peoples D. If you want to see the game in action before committing to buying it, just do a search on YouTube for MYFAROG Actual Play and you'll find several of my games as well as several others that you can watch first."
"Great game, filled with atmosphere and excitement."
"Very fun to play, the engines are excellent, perfect game!"
"Great book!"
"Interesting book."
"I love this game...A very good roleplaying Game....well written....a fun rule set.....an awesome price...Varg has outdone himself!!!!!"
"Extremely fun and informative on Ancient European Culture."
Best Call of Cthulhu Game
Traces of their cyclopean cities can still be found on remote islands, buried amid the shifting desert sands, and in the frozen wastes of the polar extremes. Playing the role of steadfast investigators, you travel to strange and dangerous places, uncover foul plots, and stand against the terrors of the Cthulhu Mythos. This book, the Keeper Rulebook, contains the core rules, background, guidance, spells, and monsters of the game.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This new book makes the game feel much more intense, with the emphasis on the new Chase mechanic which really makes dramatic moments of terror that much more intense, the addition of the optional Luck point system, and having EVERYTHING be percentile based except for damage output. If you love horror games, narrative and character driven stories with less emphasis on combat, get this game!"
"It is a role playing game and it centers around the dark world created by HP Lovecraft in the early 20th century. The older versions of CoC were a bit lighter in the rules and I think 7th edition seems to bring out player behavior that makes it more difficult to remain submerged. I myself prefer a different sort of game and in a Lovecraft universe, the monsters are unknowable and maddening. I liked the simplicity of previous versions of CoC as they seemed more open to GM's being able to mix things up enough to get players in the zone where they were actually a little frightened or disturbed When you throw additional rules in the way, that pulls the player out of that mental process almost in the same way a person might get pulled out of a movie by someone using a cell phone a few rows up. Now this is just my opinion and having met hundreds of people who like CoC, i do think that this system will lend itself to how the average person plays this game. I'd love it if everyone wanted to run and play this game the way i personally enjoy it, but that just isn't the norm. If you can avoid that trope, I guarantee you will start to understand why this roleplaying game above almost all the other ones ever written is really a unique experience."
"I have (and still have) my 6th edition of CoC and i can say without any doubt that 7th edition is great, and makes 6th look more complex, but only if you read both books side by side."
"My GF and I played in a friends Black Water creek scenario from the Call of Cthulhu Keepers screen. Very clearly written, tons of nice full color illustrations and charts so you can study it and run your own game."
"The book's about 450 pages split up between general rules, examples of play, spells, magic items, basic bestiary, and even 2 quick scenarios so you can jump in with a few friends and get playing."
"It's a great game with rules that have a lot of give for your group."
Best Dungeons & Dragons Game
Everything a player needs to create heroic characters for the world’s greatest roleplaying game The Player’s Handbook® is the essential reference for every Dungeons & Dragons® roleplayer.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I am an oldster, have played every edition of D&D there has been, most of them being released when I was of legal drinking age, and IMO this is the best edition ever. Another way to think of it is that this edition is the most true to the game principles set forth in the earlier editions, especially AD&D 1st and 2nd editions, while at the same time carrying the more modern and popular principles from 3.5 and even the much maligned 4.0. When playing even 2nd edition, but very much so for 3.0, 3.5, and even 4.0, I found myself interacting with my character in the game more as a playing piece than a character in a story. It was almost as if my character, and my decisions about playing the character, began to be dominated more by my interface with the rules in the book, rather than with my ideas about my character and my interaction with the game world. As I reflected while playing these later editions, I found that I was not really playing a character, but instead was playing a set of rules. I worry now more about the choices and decisions I make while interacting with the game world, and those choices making the character fun to play, rather than fretting over whether or not I have chosen the right Feats or if my modifier for a particular skill is as high as I want it to be. As I start down the path of the twilight of my gaming career given my age, I want a set of rules that provides enough structure that a DM can make consistent rulings on the fly that fit in with the general mechanics used in the game, and that foster my appreciation as a player of the development of my character in a game world where playing the game is smooth and produces memories of an interesting character who is the protagonist in an interesting story line."
"So, the fifth edition of the venerable Dungeons and Dragons game is officially out, with the Player's Handbook ready to be picked up, combed through and played by the world. To give a little background (and you can feel free to skip this paragraph if you want to get to the meat of the review), I started with 3rd edition, which came out all the way back in 2000, when I was in middle school. In the end, I, like a lot of folks, gained interest in the older editions of the games, the ones that predated my own D&D experiences, the ones that sounded to me like ancient, esoteric and arcane books of mystery, whose rambling prose and absurdly convoluted mechanics became somehow enticing. I tried to get into more of the indie side of the RPG genre, taking a particular interest in Burning Wheel, which I still adore as a system, though it seems too unwieldy and I was and remain hesitant to actually try and play it. For some reason, after years of total uninterest in Dungeons and Dragons, where any mention of the game would make me turn up my nose at such inelegant, fiddly silliness, I found myself, all at once, filled with overwhelming excitement about the coming edition. The promise of a game, both old and new, divorced from the flaws of the past, made with some fresh ideas and streamlining, aiming to take the best of each old edition and instill them into a unified whole that is at once simple, quick and varied? The high level of quality starts with the art design and cover, which are probably my favorite for any edition of Dungeons and Dragons. When we open the book we can see that Dungeons and Dragons is a game of vaguely feudal societies, but whose inspirations span the entirety of the globe, removing us from the strict adherence to Europeanism that dominated past editions. My recurring argument for what D&D should be revolves around the game ideally being limitless, and the active inclusion of non-western cultures and peoples without lumping them into types such as "oriental" or "vaguely mesoAmerican but we are not going to call them that" really goes along with that. The order is logical and a good start for beginners, though the classes reference rules that are not detailed until much later chapters, which could be very confusing to newcomers. Classes too each have at least two subclasses, with the class list including the Barbarian, whose mechanics of course focus around her berserker rage; the bard, who can cast spells but also gets a pool of "bardic inspiration dice" that he can spend to benefit their allies and roll to add extra bonuses to attacks, checks and saves; the Cleric, who is fairly standard, but has a lot of variety granted by what "domain" corresponds to her respective god, potentially giving abilities ranging from being excellent in combat, excellent at sneaking around(! ), excellent at healing (the classic) and so forth; the druid, who can focus either in her ability to cast spells or the classic druid art of lycanthropy; the fighter, who can be a standard, simple to play warrior who is good at having hit points and hitting things, in addition to both a very 4th edition-like, Warlord-esque commander type guy, who uses a pool of special dice to trigger abilities and command his allies, and an eldritch knight, who casts spells while he slashes and smashes and stabs; the monk, who isn't really my thing but other people might like him a lot--he can either punch or cast spells; the paladin, who now swears an oath, either to a god, to nature or to herself, and draws her powers from that, manifesting as a paladin of vengeance, who loves to kill, or even a paladin of the woodland fae, confusing people with fairy-inspired charms, which are both pretty cool; the ranger, who either slaughters with his own swords or gets a lovely woodland creature to aid him; the rogue, who loves thievery, assassination or arcane tricksteriness, and who of course backstabs non-stop; the sorcerer, who either focuses on her draconic origins or the chaotic influence of wild magic, and who has special sorcery points to spend that allow her to modify spells in much the same way that 3rd edition's metamagic feats worked; the warlock, who is probably my least favorite class, though I like the thematic idea, and who combines 4th edition-esque style powers with classic Vancian casting in a way that I found particularly inelegant; and of course the wizard, who has a huge list of spells to choose from, and who gets to choose one of the classic schools of wizardry--abjuration, conjuration, necromancy et cetera--to modify spells and grant thematic special abilities. In past editions of Dungeons and Dragons, the end of the races and classes chapters would pretty much mark the final steps in creating and customizing your character's abilities, personality and details. Your background also gives you examples for four new stats in fifth edition: your character's personality traits, ideals, bonds and flaws. There is a lot in these chapters regarding roleplaying, cost of living, what your character's do with their downtime and other more mundane--but in my opinion still fun--activities that occur during an adventurer's life. These individual sections are fairly short, but I felt they cover everything to a reasonable degree, still allowing a lot of room for DM or player ideas. Combat is simple and quick, and unlike the past two editions, is assumed to be more of a "theater of the mind" experience, not relying on grids or miniature figurines. In a somewhat silly move, however, attack ranges and positioning and speed are still measured in feet, adding needless complication and increased possibility for arguments when it comes to who can reach who and who is in whose spell's area of effect. I would have much preferred a more narrativist combat positioning system that depended on more abstract zones or areas or something, but I suppose this way still allows for players who want to play with miniatures to do so. It also allows for a certain amount of improvisation, where a player may use his or her action to try and jump on the giant's back and stab him in the eye, for example. The book ends with a few appendices, detailing deities from various D&D worlds, common monsters and animals the players will interact with and summon and even a list of recommended reading, containing the old classics like Tolkien but updated with fantasy novels published as recently as in the last year. They even added some story game elements--how weird is that!--and your character's personality and feelings, for the first time ever in D&D, have mechanical benefits."
"UPDATE 9/30/15: I thought that I would share my experience with obtaining a replacement book from the manufacturer after my initial review. The info to do so may be found here: [...]. After explaining my situation to the customer service rep, they promptly scheduled a pick up via FedEx of my defective book and when it was received, I was sent email notification that a replacement was in route."
Best Traveller Game
The Traveller Main Rulebook is the cornerstone of all your Traveller games, to be expanded upon with core supplements such as Mercenary and High Guard, or used with different settings like Starship Troopers, Judge Dredd and, of course, the Original Traveller Universe.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Used ship pricing is ridiculous, snd i plan to rewrite a standard depreciation based on modern airplanes."
"I'd describe Mongoose's Traveller rules in that it is essentially what Traveller seems to have been meant to be."
"Must have book, nice layout, easy to find, blank Character Sheet in the back, nice index, excellent update for the old game!"
"The glossary could be better and I wish the space ship functions and space ship combat sections were back to back as I find myself constantly needing to find information in one or the other, but otherwise it's quite the wonderful book."
"Gateway to a rich universe and adventure just waiting for you."
"Yes, it's hardcover and binded good but pages are too thin, You can see backward of every page."
"This rule book more than met my expectations for the variety and quality of information it provides."
"Really good purchase, the only complaint I have with this book is that some of the information is a little more scattered than and made it a little more difficult then it had to be."
Best Shadowrun Game
"Created by Jordan Weisman ... [et al.]"--Colophon.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"For me the play is the thing and I have recently spent a lot of time utilising player forward, rules lite games such as those embodied by the Apocalypse Engine (Dungeon World, tremulus, Worlds in Peril, etc) but I still enjoy the games that have a richer character development behind them. Obviously there is more to it than that and you can get plently more information from the free download which gives you and example of the rules and one encounter."
"The guidelines an especially the examples are really helpful, I wish there were more in this book but an almost 500 page book is enough and well rounded."
"The book is poorly bound and after reading through it once, the book feels like it is going to come apart at any time."
"And as always, the wide variety of gear, weapons, and avenues for character improvement - cyberware, bioware, spells, foci, super-cool guns, etc. In physical terms, the core book is well put together: massive, with good artwork, slick glossy pages, fold-out art, and story insertions to provide local color. As a former copy editor, I know that manuals are much harder to proofread than, say, novels or articles; but for that reason, good proofing is much more important, because there's less context to guide the reader. Also, the "Edge" attribute, meant to represent a character's luck, "hot hand," "on the ball" quality, is too powerful. (For those new to SR, this would be like the Matthew Broderick kid from WarGames getting into a shootout with Wild Bill Hickok, shooting first, and winning.). You knew that you wouldn't make a terrible choice if you bough an Ares Predator Heavy Pistol (for instance) but there were more interesting, dangerous, and/or limited options out there. It would also have been nice if the (admittedly good) concept art pullouts had included maps of the Seattle metroplex and North America, to orient new players. Back in SR3 days, there were half a dozen interesting, hinted-at conspiracies: What was going on in Tir na nOg (formerly Ireland)? All of these mysteries had world-spanning scope and consequence - but if they were to be fully played out, it would mean massive, unpredictable changes in adventure settings and scenarios. Shadowrun is worth playing, and the SR5 core book will become even more useful as the errata and sourcebooks on things like adept powers and new weapons emerge. Add this to the difficulty of the rule system, and you can have new players hold up the action for ten or fifteen minutes, looking for the info they need. (My GM, who has been playing Shadowrun since at least the Second Edition, believes that the quality has diminished since the FASA team left active development of SR.). 2. With all of this in mind, here's my current, REVISED recommendation: SR5's setting and character options are still terrific; we just finished a fun session. If you decide to play the game, don't get the expensive, real-world book; buy the e-book (when available), which won't fall apart on you and makes finding the right information much easier. SECOND ETA: I've also found that the prose can be confusing, leading to legalistic debates - for instance, using game terms without defining them. Midway through the game, I discovered that I would have to use something called a "physical limit" during some activities that didn't involve gun combat (my character's strong suit). THIRTY minutes of leafing through the sourcebook later, and in the middle of the game, I finally find out how to derive physical limits. If these issues aren't addressed, I'll vote that we turn back to Third Edition, not forward to Sixth, if our group moves on from SR5."
"After only a few weeks of very light and gentle use, the binding has separated so that the pages aren't' held to the front cover or the spine."
"I found the book too big and bad for consulting during sessions, think it would be better if it was made into 2 volumes likewise GURPS 4ed."
"I have received two copies of this book recently."
"Opened up the box to find that my brand new copy was already coming apart at the bindings."
Best Pathfinder Game
The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook includes: revised rules for the classic seven fantasy RPG races; updated options for the 11 core classes; a streamlined skill system that makes things easier for players and GMs; a host of new and familiar feats, including innovative combat feats and item creation rules; new equipment; additional combat options; overhauled rules for domains, familiars, bonded items, specialty schools, and more; dozens of new and revised spells; updated rules for NPCs, including quick-generation rules; new rules for curses, diseases, and poisons; a completely overhauled experience system with options for slow, medium, and fast advancement; hundreds and hundreds of magic items... and much, much more!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"My fellow gamers who still use the full sized version are pretty jealous."
"It has been dropped kicked and some of my players have even done the unmentionable and put it past 180 degrees."
"The skeptical players, a mix of veterans, and noobies, rejoiced to find out how easy it was, and were excited for the added usefulness of several of their skills and abilities."
"Has been a lot of help."
"It's based off of the old 3.5 edition of D&D and there's plenty of supplemental books and online support to make your game great."
"Do note it does require a set of dice, paper and pencils to play."
"Very detailed."
"There are enough reviews here if you need details on this monster sized book, but I want to highlight what makes this a must by for RPG players who remember that D&D was founded on wargaming and not computer gaming. Yes, every class except Wizard seems to get a big amp-up in Pathfinder, but not to the point where you lose the original flavor of D&D back when it came in a white box."
Best Battletech Game
Play BattleTech in a true "tabletop miniatures" style and speed, while still feeling like you're playing BattleTech with this stand-alone rulebook, BattleTech: Alpha Strike!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"After years of playing Classic Battletech, Alpha strike is a much needed refresh of the series."
"Pros: Full color. Good information. Good depiction of battlemechs even if the designs are showing their age (Iron Wind Metals needs to re-design the entire lineup to reflect the design changes as found in Mechwarrior Online). No space is wasted - if there is empty space there is a picture depicting a battle. Con: Paper quality is poor - I was very disappointed in the paper quality considering the price for the book."
"Best version of battletech."
"Beautiful book!"
Best GURPS Game
GURPS Basic Set: Characters combines information from the Third Edition GURPS Basic Set and GURPS Compendium I, plus hundreds of new and updated rules!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"For several years I've tried to make this the game that would replace D&D and similar D20 (and other single die) systems. And running games for my college's RPG Club made the situation worse. I've realized that the game I want to PLAY is GURPS, but it's not one I can GM effectively - at least, not to my own expectations (my players give me much positive feedback, so maybe I'm being silly). I'm trying simpler systems for when I GM, but I'm always hoping to find someone local that runs GURPS."
"This is a hardbound book with good quality and feel pages."
"This book doesn't really cover much combat and/or damage.The reason however is because this book is meant to be bought along with the GURPS: Campaign, which continues it. This book (GURPS: Characters) even references quite a few things that are in the other book. If you like to roleplay however, I definitely would recommend getting this book, and I intend to get the second half to this book, Campaigns."
"Also with GURPS you can buy adventures from other systems and adapt to GURPS rules in a simple way."
"The upside is that with these rules you CAN get whatever you want in the end, whether it's Wild West gunfighter, four-color superhero, intelligent mutant squid, or an absent-minded steampunk gadgeteer."
"I mainly enjoy reading the game's histories and rules."
Best Gaming Strategy
From the New York Times bestseller Dima Zales comes an action-packed sci-fi adventure set in a post-singularity future. Vulgarity, violence, insanity, and other ills are but a distant memory, and even death no longer plagues the last surviving humans. As secrets are unveiled, Theo is dragged into a dangerous game where the virtual and the real worlds collide.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Disclaimer: I received this product for free in return for an honest unbiased review. A teenage boy who wants robots, space and explosions, then a chick, who just wants a little romance and 'brains'. I just can't seem to understand the basis of the story, what happened to Earthy, why Oasis is around, the Goo, the elders and society."
"... in a number of ways!"
"Nicely constructed, without falling into the usual sci-fi traps."
"I'd love to see our two main characters explore beyond this... thing... they encounter at the end and really begin to explore some of the possibilities there."
"This was an interesting love story."
"This book was fantastic."
"a good story but the describing the violence scene just go's on and on and on and on."
"I truly enjoyed this series, I read all books in a couple of days."
Best Other RPGs
Player characters explore this world of mystery and danger to find these leftover artifacts of the past, not to dwell upon the old ways, but to help forge their new destinies, utilizing the so-called magic of the past to create a promising future.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Very rules light and story based."
"It is very easy to fashion a character after a very specific concept and playing the game is meant to be quick, easy, and simple."
"A little hard to read (tiny printing on greyish paper), but a wonderful system and great indie effort."
"This is one of the better RPGs I have played in a long time - lots of flexibility to make it easy for GMs to run the game they want, fast moving action, lots of options for characters and easy to create your own."
"This book is not only a really fun read, but also a fresh take on role playing."
"Gorgeous artwork, an intriguing and quite unique game setting, and a fluid, smooth game system makes Numenera one of my absolute favorite tabletop RPGs of all time."
"If you want a wonderfully deep setting that is ripe for adventure and great stories, buy this NOW."
"The overall physical quality of the book itself seems good too."