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On Downtime and Demesnes (Basic D&D)
Publisher: Hack & Slash Publishing
by Harold A. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/22/2022 13:15:09

There are lots of good ideas and tables in On Downtime and Demenses but the work is marred by some glaring flaws whose presence in the work undermines some of it's utility.

First there is the "City/Village Generation' section on pages 222 and 223. There are great ideas here whose utility is indermined by the fact that there are no numbered tables to allow a GM to utiize these interesting ideas in a dynamic (aleatory) way. It's possible that I have misunderstood the purpose of these blocks of text, but, if so, it's because the author(s) do not describe how these ideas are to be used to do any 'generation'. Since this section has very interesting ideas, it's very disappointing that the author(s) don't provide more guidance on how these can be used in a constructive way their audience.

Which brings us to the question of audience and the application of the rules of technical writing.

One important rule of technical writing is to (a) always explain any uncommon words (or common words used in a technical way) before using them or (b) failing that, define those words at the earliest opportunity to do so.

This rule is not followed.

The problem begins on page 12 with the following statement: There are 5 city types (X54 in Cook Expert)

What is 'Cook Expert'?

This is not explained.

On page 73, one finds a clue in the following: In Moldvay/Cook Retainers were "a person hired by a player character to aid that character on an adventure".

Still not explained, but a bread-crumb on the path leading to an explaination.

The problem is that the author(s) assumes a familiarity with OSE RGP 'short-hand'.

'Cook' is Dave Cook (not Monte Cook) and 'Expert' refers to the 1981 TSR publication Expert Rules.

Would it have been so hard to include this tidbit of information to allow the reader to (a) know what 'Cook Expert' referred to and (b) to research what 'X54' means?

Doing so would also have cleared up references to 'X59' on page 216 and 217 as well as 'X53' on page 219.

Not all of us in the RGP community are historians of the field are Holmes (Sherlock, not Eric).



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
On Downtime and Demesnes (Basic D&D)
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Tricube Tales: Solo Rules (PDF only) & Solo Deck (PDF or print)
Publisher: Zadmar Games
by Harold A. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/24/2021 12:54:39

This is a very interesting product. It has just enough complexity to keep things interesting without being overwhelmingly complex.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Tricube Tales: Solo Rules (PDF only) & Solo Deck (PDF or print)
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Creator Reply:
Hi Harold. As mentioned in the production description, the PDF uses layers for ease of printing: You can switch off the background layer (and the artwork as well if you like) in Acrobat Reader before printing the rules.
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We Sail Beyond
Publisher: The Sealed Library
by Harold A. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/23/2021 21:26:35

This work is a good example of an interesting product ruined by bad decison-making in the art department. It's not printable. Attempting to print it would result in extreme toner usage. And it's not particularly useful if it cannot be printed. Great idea. Terrible execution.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
We Sail Beyond
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Owlbear Omelette
Publisher: Caradoc Games
by Harold A. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/25/2021 22:13:11

I've been benchmarking a lot of games looking for ideas and Owlbear Omellette if full of good ones. It uses simple names for action-oriented attributes (such as 'Scrapping' and 'Knowing'). It uses a simple action resolution process in the form of 'success rolls'. The philosophy behind the system is one I think should be emulated and expanded upon. Any GM looking to start fresh with a more stream-lined and player-action focused game should look at Owlbear Omelette very closely.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Owlbear Omelette
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Obscure Adventures - Fold 'n Play OSR
Publisher: Stranger Foundry
by Harold A. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/04/2021 09:42:23

Lots of good ideas well-presented. 'Spell randomizer, very useful in its simplicity.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Obscure Adventures - Fold 'n Play OSR
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Creator Reply:
Thank you for the kind words Harold! Hope you enjoyed!
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Lavender Hack: Tarantula Hawk Wasp Edition
Publisher: Ziapelta Games
by Harold A. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/04/2021 08:47:28

Very well-written and well-organized. I am reviewing/benchmarking aa bunch of playing systems and this one generated lots of notes. The author knows who their audience is and delivers a system that puts a lot of 'friction' (or 'reality') into the game. Lots of great ideas....and free. Hard to beat that scenario for value.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Lavender Hack: Tarantula Hawk Wasp Edition
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Hot Circle
Publisher: Friendly Ghost Games
by Harold A. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/04/2021 08:37:21

I found this work stimulating on how to step over 'levels and 'experience points'. Highly compressed,well-organized information. I haven't mastered a game before and am researching/benchmarking a bunch of playing systems. 'Hot Circle' is one system I will be coming back to after my reviews.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Hot Circle
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