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GM's Miscellany: The Thingonomicon II (System Neutral)
by IAN D. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/29/2021 17:23:16

I love Raging Swan products for two reasons. Firstly because of the production values, either in PDF or in print these products look and feel like high quality products, it is always easy to find what you are looking for. Which segues into the second reason, they are just incredibly useful to have in a DM's armoury. Looking for ideas? Pick this book up and I guarantee you will find something to get your creative juices bubbling within seconds. Looking for a quick NPC, a bit of narrative detail, something to give your adventure depth - really make the players feel like they are "there". Well it is all here, The Thingonomicon II brings another huge spectrum of tools into one place. Superb product, superbly delivered.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
GM's Miscellany: The Thingonomicon II (System Neutral)
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Creator Reply:
Thank you, Ian. I am delighted you find this book so useful. Thank you for posting your thoughts, and good luck with your game. Go create your socks off!
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GM's Miscellany: The Thingonomicon II (System Neutral)
by Craig F. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/28/2021 07:16:20

Huge fan of the quick NPC descriptions and dressing details that are thematic but easily inserted into a wide range of scenes to add colour and immersion. Great asset for story telling for busy DM's.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thank you, Craig. I'm delighted you like the book so much. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. Good luck with your game.
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GM's Miscellany: The Thingonomicon II (System Neutral)
by Clint B. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/27/2021 06:52:57

A second book of rollable charts for us DMs? Yes please! There are 30 +/- charts within and each one goes into specific details.

Example: Alchemists and their Assistants 6 NPCs 20 Things to See in a Laboratory chart 20 Alchemical Mishaps 20 Complications & Opportunities

There are 30 +/- of these in this book. For a DM that works fulltime, has a wife and kids, and other things that pull me away from the game, things like the Thingonomicon I & II helps with prep time.

Great work Raging Swan Press!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thank you, Clint! We sound like peas in a pod--job, wife, kids and a game that needs prepping. I hope T2 (and T1) reduce the stress of game prep.
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GM's Miscellany: The Thingonomicon II (System Neutral)
by Andrea M. M. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/27/2021 05:39:15

Only got it last week and I haven't read it all - too much stuff in there. And as the first tome it is full to the brim with useful stuff. My head is already spinning so much ideas I got. If you like to save time as much for preparing your next gaming session as building your world - this is the thing. A BIIIIG collection of useful stuff.

If you like it - let me know and tell me your favorites. Good or good? If you don't like it - let me know too and especially how YOU would make it better. Deal?



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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GM's Miscellany: The Thingonomicon (System Neutral)
by Andrea M. M. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/27/2021 05:32:15

Having discovered Raging Swan many years ago - can't remember since when - and finding their products more than a bit useful and especially matching my style and helpful in my worldbuilding with The Thingonimcon you get it all in one piece. A big bag full of more than thousand ideas which will spark your ideas - garantied. If you don't know Raging Swan yet, THIS is the product to get to give you an idea what they are doing and how good their are doing. I didn't regret a second to having bought it.

Let me know if you are the same opinion and if not - I am curious what didn't suit you.

Cheers Andrea



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
GM's Miscellany: The Thingonomicon (System Neutral)
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Creator Reply:
Thank you, Andrea, for your review. I'm delighted you've found this book so useful. I hope you get tons of use out of it and its brethren!
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The Lonely Coast 2020 (5e)
by Ruth M. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/19/2021 09:45:40

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the pdf of The Lonely Coast in return for reviewing it.

The Lonely Coast is not somewhere you'd go for your summer holidays. Rather than beaches and resorts, it has windblown cliffs frequented by smugglers and flesh-eating monsters, and seedy villages whose inhabitants are tired, inbred and frequently deranged. It's a nasty place full of people with nasty secrets and nasty habits. If you're finding the standard 5e setting a bit anodyne and can handle something that ventures into the darker corners of (fantasy) human nature, this may be the setting for you. Just make sure you have a frank discussion with your players ahead of time about comfort levels.

The Lonely Coast is most successful in its realistic evocation of small pre-industrial communities. Each settlement has its own distinct personality; the NPCs are well-drawn and interact in believable ways. Even when things get weird and creepy, they remain compelling because these still could be people you know. The occasional forays into cosmic horror, though, are out of scale with the rest of the setting.

What you get:

  • a map of the Lonely Coast and areas inland of it
  • information about the overall location, and suggestions for campaign use
  • charts of distances, the local calendar, weather
  • detailed content on each of five settlements (map, NPCs, local conflicts, adventure hooks...)
  • lots of tables for the Lonely Coast as a whole, and for each locality (rumours, events, set dressing...)
  • stat blocks for significant NPCs, a new playable race, a monster template and a couple of monsters

What you don't get: The blurb led me to expect much more detail on the Tangled Wood and some adventuring locations therein. Actually it gets very little coverage.

What I liked:

  • The layout is very nicely designed, and it works for its intended purpose. Good design aids communication.
  • Descriptive prose that paints evocative pictures without drawing attention to itself.
  • Generous amounts of line art that supports the text.
  • Weather tables that hit a good balance between detail (seasonal variation) and ease of use.
  • Tables, tables and more tables! Even if you don't use the setting as a whole, there is a lot of detail here to flesh out any town or village and make it feel more realistic.

What could be improved:

  • Some of the 'old school' tropes being employed are a bit icky. I tried not to be hyper-sensitive, but I do feel that more discretion could have been used in the hot-button areas of gender and race.
  • There are a lot of typos and similar infelicities which a solid proofread would have identified and dealt with. Most of them are minor but some of the more significant ones are: a 1e rule not converted to 5e; spelling of NPC names not consistent; one location flipflops between being a galley and being a gallery; an NPC is described in most places as human but in the main description block they are a half-orc; one list of NPCs is keyed to its map incorrectly.
  • The main map doesn't have a compass rose.
  • It would be handy to know (1) which previous Raging Swan publications are incorporated into this one; and (2) which separate adventure modules are keyed to Lonely Coast locations.


Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
The Lonely Coast 2020 (5e)
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Creator Reply:
Thank you for this thoughtful review, Ruth. I much appreciate you taking the time to post it. I'd love to know a bit more about what didn't work for you in regards the old school tropes. I believe you have my email addy so if you fancy dropping me a line I'd love to get your thoughts. (And perhaps a list of those typos you mention so I can fix them when I next update the book!) Again, thank you for your review!
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Languard Locations: Beyond the Walls (5e)
by Clint B. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/17/2021 07:31:12

The party is finally leaving Languard by road and traveling across the nation, fortunate for them they found Jokinen Passenger & Freight just outside the city. Keep up the great work Raging Swan Press! Your suppliments are helping me bring Ashlar to life!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Languard Locations: Beyond the Walls (5e)
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Creator Reply:
Awesome! Thank you for the kind words, Clint. I much appreciate them! Good luck exploring Ashlar!
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20 Things #64: On the Road (System Neutral Edition)
by Clint B. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/17/2021 07:28:14

We are hitting the road in my campain and this is packed full of what I needed. People they might pass by, Hazards they will come across, camp sites, and weather conditions. A perfect pickup for a few bucks that helps get the creative juices flowing to put it into my homebrew game. Keep up the excellent work Raging Swan Press!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
20 Things #64: On the Road (System Neutral Edition)
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Creator Reply:
Thank you for the kind words, Clint. I much appreciate them!
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GM's Miscellany: Mini-Eventures I (5e)
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 09/16/2021 09:30:44

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This book full of Eventures (non-combat-centric little scenarios) clocks in at 42 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page advertisement, 1 page SRD, 1 page isometric overland map of the Gloamhold-region of the Duchies of Ashlar, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, leaving us with 36 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

This review was moved up in my reviewing queue as a prioritized review at the request of my patreon supporters.

Okay, so the first thing you need to know, is that this is NOT a compilation of the Eventures-series so far; instead, this is a series of micro-eventures, 2 pages each; essentially, the book provides a series of roleplaying-heavy interactions, you know, the kind where you just add in players and have a go. The book also has the benefit of a page spread containing all information for an eventure; this means you can just flip open the book, pretty much spontaneously, and have something ready to go.

As for the contextualization, the city of Languard serves as a backdrop, as featured in the City Backdrop-installment and the Languard Locations-series. The city map is provided alongside some basics, but it should be noted that all individual eventures can fit seamlessly into your fantasy metropoles, particularly if these tend to gravitate to the grittier/more realistic side of things.

Okay, that out of the way, what’s the structure provided here? Let’s take a “A Day out at the High Market” as an example: We are introduced to notable folk and other individuals (flavor only, with 5e-default statblock reference included; for PFRPG and PF2, these don’t provide statblocks; in the OSR-version, we have no references to “rogues”, but do mention “thief” instead; for purists, it should be noted that the supplement favors “wizard” over “magic-user”.); the section comes with a brief d20-table for stall-generation, 6 notable things to sell, 6 complications, and 6 whispers and rumors. The eventure also provides some advice for integrating the eventure into a campaign and running it. The book includes two such market-based eventures, and one that focuses on dining at a rather fancy establishment (on a sailing ship, with delicious menu noted), 3 different taverns/bars to drink the days/nights away…and more.

The book manages to present selling loot at a bitter social climber’s establishment, or shopping at essentially an adventurer’s shop, an experience worth talking about, and provides more: Visiting the Dreaming Spire (think academy/research hub), talking to the notorious family who ships adventurers to the mega-dungeon of Gloamhold, and visits to 4 radically distinct types of religious buildings are included as well.

Now, as for the systems this is available for: The book, as a whole, is pretty much ALMOST system neutral: Prices are adjusted accordingly, and the general lore section on Languard features some basic DCs, and there is one instance where the respective system’s Perception check is required, but that’s pretty much it. So yeah, if you are in this for stats, crunch and rules-relevant material, this will come up wanting; the focus here is on roleplaying and providing a somewhat volatile set-up. As a consequence, the eventures herein work best for low levels, as higher level discrepancies in power through spells and magic items cannot be accounted for. Similarly, this does mean that the material herein is not exactly 100% go-play; most GMs should have an idea at least regarding the NPCs the party might interact with.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are very good on a formal and rules-language level. Layout adheres to Raging Swan press’ two-column b/w-standard, and the b/w artworks and cartography provided for the city are nice; the individual establishments and places features herein do not come with maps. The pdf comes in two versions, one optimized for screen-use, and one for being printed—kudos! The pdfs come fully bookmarked for your convenience.

Creighton Broadhurst, with additional design by Steve Hood and Amber Underwood, delivers a genuinely fun and handy book of social encounters/scenarios focusing on those scenes that are usually less glamorous than e.g. dungeon-exploration, but that do add a significant degree of plausibility and a sense of being alive to a setting. I very much enjoy this supplement in all of its iterations, and would be celebrating it even more, were it not for two very minor complaints: It would have been awesome to get maps (and player/VTT-friendly versions) of the respective places, and it would have been nice to have the respective parts include more rules: You know, unique blessings to be gained in the temples, a statblock here and there…things that contextualize the content in the respective system.

This is me complaining at a high level, though. My final verdict will be 4.5 stars, rounded up due to in dubio pro reo...if you can tolerate the almost system neutral approach. If that rubs you the wrong way, then this’ll be significantly less captivating.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
GM's Miscellany: Mini-Eventures I (5e)
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GM's Miscellany: Mini-Eventures I (OSR)
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 09/16/2021 09:30:23

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This book full of Eventures (non-combat-centric little scenarios) clocks in at 42 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page advertisement, 1 page SRD, 1 page isometric overland map of the Gloamhold-region of the Duchies of Ashlar, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, leaving us with 36 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

This review was moved up in my reviewing queue as a prioritized review at the request of my patreon supporters.

Okay, so the first thing you need to know, is that this is NOT a compilation of the Eventures-series so far; instead, this is a series of micro-eventures, 2 pages each; essentially, the book provides a series of roleplaying-heavy interactions, you know, the kind where you just add in players and have a go. The book also has the benefit of a page spread containing all information for an eventure; this means you can just flip open the book, pretty much spontaneously, and have something ready to go.

As for the contextualization, the city of Languard serves as a backdrop, as featured in the City Backdrop-installment and the Languard Locations-series. The city map is provided alongside some basics, but it should be noted that all individual eventures can fit seamlessly into your fantasy metropoles, particularly if these tend to gravitate to the grittier/more realistic side of things.

Okay, that out of the way, what’s the structure provided here? Let’s take a “A Day out at the High Market” as an example: We are introduced to notable folk and other individuals (flavor only, with 5e-default statblock reference included; for PFRPG and PF2, these don’t provide statblocks; in the OSR-version, we have no references to “rogues”, but do mention “thief” instead; for purists, it should be noted that the supplement favors “wizard” over “magic-user”.); the section comes with a brief d20-table for stall-generation, 6 notable things to sell, 6 complications, and 6 whispers and rumors. The eventure also provides some advice for integrating the eventure into a campaign and running it. The book includes two such market-based eventures, and one that focuses on dining at a rather fancy establishment (on a sailing ship, with delicious menu noted), 3 different taverns/bars to drink the days/nights away…and more.

The book manages to present selling loot at a bitter social climber’s establishment, or shopping at essentially an adventurer’s shop, an experience worth talking about, and provides more: Visiting the Dreaming Spire (think academy/research hub), talking to the notorious family who ships adventurers to the mega-dungeon of Gloamhold, and visits to 4 radically distinct types of religious buildings are included as well.

Now, as for the systems this is available for: The book, as a whole, is pretty much ALMOST system neutral: Prices are adjusted accordingly, and the general lore section on Languard features some basic DCs, and there is one instance where the respective system’s Perception check is required, but that’s pretty much it. So yeah, if you are in this for stats, crunch and rules-relevant material, this will come up wanting; the focus here is on roleplaying and providing a somewhat volatile set-up. As a consequence, the eventures herein work best for low levels, as higher level discrepancies in power through spells and magic items cannot be accounted for. Similarly, this does mean that the material herein is not exactly 100% go-play; most GMs should have an idea at least regarding the NPCs the party might interact with.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are very good on a formal and rules-language level. Layout adheres to Raging Swan press’ two-column b/w-standard, and the b/w artworks and cartography provided for the city are nice; the individual establishments and places features herein do not come with maps. The pdf comes in two versions, one optimized for screen-use, and one for being printed—kudos! The pdfs come fully bookmarked for your convenience.

Creighton Broadhurst, with additional design by Steve Hood and Amber Underwood, delivers a genuinely fun and handy book of social encounters/scenarios focusing on those scenes that are usually less glamorous than e.g. dungeon-exploration, but that do add a significant degree of plausibility and a sense of being alive to a setting. I very much enjoy this supplement in all of its iterations, and would be celebrating it even more, were it not for two very minor complaints: It would have been awesome to get maps (and player/VTT-friendly versions) of the respective places, and it would have been nice to have the respective parts include more rules: You know, unique blessings to be gained in the temples, a statblock here and there…things that contextualize the content in the respective system.

This is me complaining at a high level, though. My final verdict will be 4.5 stars, rounded up due to in dubio pro reo...if you can tolerate the almost system neutral approach. If that rubs you the wrong way, then this’ll be significantly less captivating.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
GM's Miscellany: Mini-Eventures I (OSR)
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GM's Miscellany: Mini-Eventures I (P2)
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 09/16/2021 09:30:01

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This book full of Eventures (non-combat-centric little scenarios) clocks in at 42 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page advertisement, 1 page SRD, 1 page isometric overland map of the Gloamhold-region of the Duchies of Ashlar, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, leaving us with 36 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

This review was moved up in my reviewing queue as a prioritized review at the request of my patreon supporters.

Okay, so the first thing you need to know, is that this is NOT a compilation of the Eventures-series so far; instead, this is a series of micro-eventures, 2 pages each; essentially, the book provides a series of roleplaying-heavy interactions, you know, the kind where you just add in players and have a go. The book also has the benefit of a page spread containing all information for an eventure; this means you can just flip open the book, pretty much spontaneously, and have something ready to go.

As for the contextualization, the city of Languard serves as a backdrop, as featured in the City Backdrop-installment and the Languard Locations-series. The city map is provided alongside some basics, but it should be noted that all individual eventures can fit seamlessly into your fantasy metropoles, particularly if these tend to gravitate to the grittier/more realistic side of things.

Okay, that out of the way, what’s the structure provided here? Let’s take a “A Day out at the High Market” as an example: We are introduced to notable folk and other individuals (flavor only, with 5e-default statblock reference included; for PFRPG and PF2, these don’t provide statblocks; in the OSR-version, we have no references to “rogues”, but do mention “thief” instead; for purists, it should be noted that the supplement favors “wizard” over “magic-user”.); the section comes with a brief d20-table for stall-generation, 6 notable things to sell, 6 complications, and 6 whispers and rumors. The eventure also provides some advice for integrating the eventure into a campaign and running it. The book includes two such market-based eventures, and one that focuses on dining at a rather fancy establishment (on a sailing ship, with delicious menu noted), 3 different taverns/bars to drink the days/nights away…and more.

The book manages to present selling loot at a bitter social climber’s establishment, or shopping at essentially an adventurer’s shop, an experience worth talking about, and provides more: Visiting the Dreaming Spire (think academy/research hub), talking to the notorious family who ships adventurers to the mega-dungeon of Gloamhold, and visits to 4 radically distinct types of religious buildings are included as well.

Now, as for the systems this is available for: The book, as a whole, is pretty much ALMOST system neutral: Prices are adjusted accordingly, and the general lore section on Languard features some basic DCs, and there is one instance where the respective system’s Perception check is required, but that’s pretty much it. So yeah, if you are in this for stats, crunch and rules-relevant material, this will come up wanting; the focus here is on roleplaying and providing a somewhat volatile set-up. As a consequence, the eventures herein work best for low levels, as higher level discrepancies in power through spells and magic items cannot be accounted for. Similarly, this does mean that the material herein is not exactly 100% go-play; most GMs should have an idea at least regarding the NPCs the party might interact with.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are very good on a formal and rules-language level. Layout adheres to Raging Swan press’ two-column b/w-standard, and the b/w artworks and cartography provided for the city are nice; the individual establishments and places features herein do not come with maps. The pdf comes in two versions, one optimized for screen-use, and one for being printed—kudos! The pdfs come fully bookmarked for your convenience.

Creighton Broadhurst, with additional design by Steve Hood and Amber Underwood, delivers a genuinely fun and handy book of social encounters/scenarios focusing on those scenes that are usually less glamorous than e.g. dungeon-exploration, but that do add a significant degree of plausibility and a sense of being alive to a setting. I very much enjoy this supplement in all of its iterations, and would be celebrating it even more, were it not for two very minor complaints: It would have been awesome to get maps (and player/VTT-friendly versions) of the respective places, and it would have been nice to have the respective parts include more rules: You know, unique blessings to be gained in the temples, a statblock here and there…things that contextualize the content in the respective system.

This is me complaining at a high level, though. My final verdict will be 4.5 stars, rounded up due to in dubio pro reo...if you can tolerate the almost system neutral approach. If that rubs you the wrong way, then this’ll be significantly less captivating.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
GM's Miscellany: Mini-Eventures I (P2)
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GM's Miscellany: Mini-Eventures I (P1)
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 09/16/2021 09:29:43

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This book full of Eventures (non-combat-centric little scenarios) clocks in at 42 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page advertisement, 1 page SRD, 1 page isometric overland map of the Gloamhold-region of the Duchies of Ashlar, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, leaving us with 36 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

This review was moved up in my reviewing queue as a prioritized review at the request of my patreon supporters.

Okay, so the first thing you need to know, is that this is NOT a compilation of the Eventures-series so far; instead, this is a series of micro-eventures, 2 pages each; essentially, the book provides a series of roleplaying-heavy interactions, you know, the kind where you just add in players and have a go. The book also has the benefit of a page spread containing all information for an eventure; this means you can just flip open the book, pretty much spontaneously, and have something ready to go.

As for the contextualization, the city of Languard serves as a backdrop, as featured in the City Backdrop-installment and the Languard Locations-series. The city map is provided alongside some basics, but it should be noted that all individual eventures can fit seamlessly into your fantasy metropoles, particularly if these tend to gravitate to the grittier/more realistic side of things.

Okay, that out of the way, what’s the structure provided here? Let’s take a “A Day out at the High Market” as an example: We are introduced to notable folk and other individuals (flavor only, with 5e-default statblock reference included; for PFRPG and PF2, these don’t provide statblocks; in the OSR-version, we have no references to “rogues”, but do mention “thief” instead; for purists, it should be noted that the supplement favors “wizard” over “magic-user”.); the section comes with a brief d20-table for stall-generation, 6 notable things to sell, 6 complications, and 6 whispers and rumors. The eventure also provides some advice for integrating the eventure into a campaign and running it. The book includes two such market-based eventures, and one that focuses on dining at a rather fancy establishment (on a sailing ship, with delicious menu noted), 3 different taverns/bars to drink the days/nights away…and more.

The book manages to present selling loot at a bitter social climber’s establishment, or shopping at essentially an adventurer’s shop, an experience worth talking about, and provides more: Visiting the Dreaming Spire (think academy/research hub), talking to the notorious family who ships adventurers to the mega-dungeon of Gloamhold, and visits to 4 radically distinct types of religious buildings are included as well.

Now, as for the systems this is available for: The book, as a whole, is pretty much ALMOST system neutral: Prices are adjusted accordingly, and the general lore section on Languard features some basic DCs, and there is one instance where the respective system’s Perception check is required, but that’s pretty much it. So yeah, if you are in this for stats, crunch and rules-relevant material, this will come up wanting; the focus here is on roleplaying and providing a somewhat volatile set-up. As a consequence, the eventures herein work best for low levels, as higher level discrepancies in power through spells and magic items cannot be accounted for. Similarly, this does mean that the material herein is not exactly 100% go-play; most GMs should have an idea at least regarding the NPCs the party might interact with.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are very good on a formal and rules-language level. Layout adheres to Raging Swan press’ two-column b/w-standard, and the b/w artworks and cartography provided for the city are nice; the individual establishments and places features herein do not come with maps. The pdf comes in two versions, one optimized for screen-use, and one for being printed—kudos! The pdfs come fully bookmarked for your convenience.

Creighton Broadhurst, with additional design by Steve Hood and Amber Underwood, delivers a genuinely fun and handy book of social encounters/scenarios focusing on those scenes that are usually less glamorous than e.g. dungeon-exploration, but that do add a significant degree of plausibility and a sense of being alive to a setting. I very much enjoy this supplement in all of its iterations, and would be celebrating it even more, were it not for two very minor complaints: It would have been awesome to get maps (and player/VTT-friendly versions) of the respective places, and it would have been nice to have the respective parts include more rules: You know, unique blessings to be gained in the temples, a statblock here and there…things that contextualize the content in the respective system.

This is me complaining at a high level, though. My final verdict will be 4.5 stars, rounded up due to in dubio pro reo...if you can tolerate the almost system neutral approach. If that rubs you the wrong way, then this’ll be significantly less captivating.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
GM's Miscellany: Mini-Eventures I (P1)
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Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands 2.0 (P1)
by Brad F. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/10/2021 10:08:18

This is a classic product from Raging Swan Press and it was one of my first purchases from this publisher. I love the old-school feel and I love running it for new players.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands 2.0 (P1)
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Creator Reply:
Thank you, Brad. I'm delighted you think we've caught the old-school feel; that was exactly what I was aiming for.
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The Lonely Coast 2020 (P1)
by Brad F. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/10/2021 10:04:28

Holy cow! It's a whole campaign ready to go in one book. I have gleefully plundered this sourcebook for my own campaign on numerous occasions. I highly recommend it!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
The Lonely Coast 2020 (P1)
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Creator Reply:
Thank you for the review and the kind words, Brad. I'm delighted you've enjoyed this adventure so much!
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Where There's a Will (5e)
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 09/08/2021 12:05:13

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This eventure clocks in at 13 pages, 1 page front cover, 2 pages of advertisement, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 7 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

This review was requested by my patreon supporters and as such moved up in my queue.

Okay, so this eventure works a bit differently from the usual ones, in that it does feature a bit of more contextualization required: This module pretty much requires being set in a coastal city to work as written; the module uses the city of Languard as a default, but conversion to Sasserine, Freeport, Riddleport, etc. is not difficult. The premise, you see, is that the infamous pirate captain Tyric Selflit has passed away, and the consequences of this happening. In a way, the module consists of 3 distinct vignettes that could be run independent of each other, between adventures, or in direct sequence. Part II is a bit more contingent on the other parts, but with some work, it can be run on its own as well. It should be noted that the second part works MUCH BETTER with “A Day Out at the Executions.”

Okay, the eventure begins with 3 hooks and a d8-table of rumors before going into the details of the respective scenes.

The first scene is all about the news spreading, and as such, is complemented by tables that include false and correct rumors, some minor events, and a total of 20 pieces of dressing; the setting of the stage presented here in stages, from bells tolling to rampant speculation, does a good job driving home the gravitas of the situation.

The second scene, then, would be about the deceased pirate getting a funeral of sorts at Traitor’s Gate (see A Day Out at the Executions); here, 6 exceedingly detailed NPC writeups are presented, alongside with a bit of read-aloud text, mannerisms, background, distinguishing features, and notes for interaction with the party. Cool per se, and system-immanently, the eventure works better in 5e than in all other systems. Why? Because it uses the default NPC stats of 5e in its NPCs, which does mean that you have concrete rules for social skills and combat to fall back on if required.

Part 3, then, would essentially be the reading of the Will in a shady pirate’s bar, so whether or not the party actually is there will depend on the morals of your group. The tavern is not mapped, and there is an additional NPC for further complications here. The celebration itself, somewhat to my chagrin, is also bereft of rules – even though knife-throwing, drinking etc. all can easily be gamified without spending a lot of words. The “notary” does hand out maps, and then offers a quest of sort – for a legendary artifact, which, yep, does not come with stats. (Though, if you do have the 3.X-book Elder Evils, you’ll have a good idea for an end-game for it…) Much to my chagrin, the important parts, the celebration itself and the reading of the will, are totally glossed over. The latter, very volatile situation, is even relegated to a single paragraph. No, I am not kidding you. No if/then, no details…it was a serious downer for me. Heck, picture it: a proper tavern, highly volatile situation, lots of booze…it wouldn’t have been hard to devise some proper rules, perhaps even a lair action or two. sigh The eventure closes with some suggestions for further adventures.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are very good on a formal and rules-level, the latter being no surprise, since there are next to no rules-relevant components herein. Layout adheres to Raging Swan Press’ two-column b/w-standard, and the pdf offers solid b/w-art, but no cartography for the environments. For Part II, this is not necessarily an issue, but in Part III, it does hurt the adventure. The pdf comes in two versions, one optimized for the printer and one optimized for screen use, and the pdfs come fully bookmarked.

Jacob W. Michaels is a veteran designer and author, and it shows in the skillful web of NPCs woven and how plausible they feel. This little pdf manages to set up something we only rarely include in adventures, even though the reading of a will can be rather exciting and a grand source of adventuring options. That being said, I do think that this supplement doesn’t prioritize its content correctly, perhaps due to over-emphasizing NPC-write-ups. This is billed as the end of a notorious villain and the aftermath of his demise, which is a neat premise and something I enjoy seeing.

But the execution? It left me rather disappointed. The eventure spends a lot of time on a plethora of NPCs in Part II, and then misses actually making the capstone of the show, the will itself, interesting. Sure, the web of personalities is neat to see, but combined with the lack of concrete rules, the result of this eventure is that it feels like a very long and detailed adventure hook, not like a social adventure in and off itself.

In many ways, this either needed more content, or it needed to be split in two to make both parts shine: One eventure for celebrating the demise of a villain, and another one for a proper wake/reading of the will.

As presented, this eventure felt like a let-down to me. In 5e, it works slightly better than in the other systems it has been presented for; taking that into account, combined with the author’s indubitable skill and the low and fair price point that my final verdict will clock in at 3.5 stars. But I’ve thought long and hard…and frankly, I can’t justify rounding up for this one.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Where There's a Will (5e)
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