The Shining South Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition Forgotten Realms FR16
September 2, 2009 by Simple Hobbies · Leave a Comment
The Shining South Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition Forgotten Realms FR16
World Builders Guidebook Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd edition
June 11, 2009 by Simple Hobbies · Leave a Comment
World Builders Guidebook Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd edition
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars More Suited to the Very Experienced DM
I have some experience in the AD&D game. I started 6 years ago, but i am not a veteran.
This book is great for building really BIG, vibrant worlds. I do not think it is suited for building a world starting from stratch. There’s just too much information that would not come into play until much later.
This book has you select a core theme or “hook” (idea that makes it different from any other world) for your campaign first (a VERY good idea). The book then flips you to the revelant “starting” chapter, such as Mythology or legend. In the chapters, there is a host of revelant information. I did not like the idea of die-tables; to me it’s a subsitute for imagination. But that’s my opinion. I think it would have been better if Rich started out with the theme and then added on it enough to get your campaign off the ground and THEN in later chapters it addressed the details that you can add later.
All in all, it’s a good book, although it tries to make a too realistic world as opposed to a fantastic one. But at the same time, saying throw the rules out the window and do your own thing. My score, good but not spectacular.
3 Stars The basics
The handbook presents a nice array of steps and approaches to creating a world, but in the end it is pretty much lacking. The handbook deals with a number of features rarely grappled with when creating a world, but almost any section can be summed up in a couple of sentences. Moreover, the material is dispersed with seemingly no logical scheme. Despite the fact that the consecutive chapters “zoom in” into the campaign world, I frequently had to hunt down specific useful portions of the chapters which were seemingly misplaced. Other parts are simply redundant, such as the random terrain tables, which are repeated in several sections. Another gripe of mine was that the material presented was hardly inspiring. The author on several occasions clearly endorses copying maps from boxed adventures or ripping off major works of fantasy literature. The random selection of cultures is even more questionable. The author simply lists various cultures and ages from the real world. This sort of thing seems to be the current trend for TSR. The only time actual use of creativity was encouraged was a statement that said approximately “What if firearms were invented in the Roman Empire?”. The maps were unnecessary for the most part. They are also printed in blue and yellow which makes them rather hard to read. Overall, the book looks and feels amateurish. I rather liked the section on the creation of towns and villages, which details the game-relevant professions and the overall demographics of standard medieval settlements in reasonable detail. All in all it is pretty useless.
5 Stars A great guide to building a world, in or out of AD&D
Believe it or not, I bought this book AFTER I stopped DMing. The reason is simple: I still write a lot of fantasy. AD&D comes with many well-thought-out worlds, but when writing, you have to make your own. This is a great guidebook for making any run-of-the-mill fantasy world really come to life.
5 Stars A very useful *GUIDE* for world-building.
As a DM with 15+ years experience working on the 3rd incarnation of his world, I was unsure whether this guide book would be of any real value to me. I must now admit that I have been very pleasantly surprised.
This book, when used properly, is a SPECTACULAR aid in world design/creation. Note that I said “when used properly”. This is important. Although you COULD create a completely random world, it is likely to be conflicting and disjointed if you do so. This guide works best as just that, a guide. Take a basic idea and refine it with the guidelines in this book. You WILL have to make decisions and draw upon your imagination at some point, my recommendation is to start drawing upon it immediately. Used in this fashion, the guide will help you avoid gaps and pitfalls that have befallen many first time world creators (myself included).
The best part of this book, in my opinion, were the tables and accompanying explanations. I didn’t roll many random dice on them, but they gave me a number of new ideas. Ideas I had not considered before seeing them on a comprehensive list. Granted, I have done some things in my world that the book does not allow for, but that’s where my ideas and originality add to the basic framework this guide presents. Customization is the secret. This guidebook, however, helps build a solid foundation.
I disagree with those experienced builders who label this book as less than useful. I think this guidebook has lots to offer to new and experienced DMs alike. Of course, if you don’t want help, then you’re not going to get much from the book. If you’re open to new ideas, details you might not have considered before, and variations that might help stimulate your OWN imagination, then by all means give this book a look.
Use this book wisely by adding a generous dose of your own imagination and personality and you can only benefit from it.
5 Stars Where you hit blocks this book helps clear them.
Let’s face it. Building an adventuring world from scratch isn’t easy. But not only does this book help you get past stumps in the road, but it also makes designing the world and its map FUN! I enjoy this book and have almost worn it into the ground.
The Complete Paladins Handbook Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition Players Handbook Rules Supplement
June 7, 2009 by Simple Hobbies · Leave a Comment
User Ratings and Reviews
2 Stars Unlucky
While the Paladin bar none has the highest standards out of the AD & D 2nd edition character classes, the kits here make you not want to play one. Sure the kits allow for customization outside of the ultra generic template given in the Player’s Handbook, but there are so many key drawbacks you’re better off just sticking to the generic template. Like half of the 10 or so kits you don’t get a stronghold, like a squire, a votary has to live in a church, ghost hunters can’t lay on hands, cure disease or immune to poison. A dragonslayer or wyrmslayer can’t turn undead. They put a cap on it. So you’re better off just sticking to the generic template given in the Player’s Handbook. They have a tendency to make the goodest good guys look evil in AD & D. Rangers are even more evil. Priests are evil as hell. But you do get the 1 THAC0 and to turn undead as a priest the same evil as you are as a level 20 Ghosthunter.
4 Stars Great book for Paladin PCs.
This book covered almost every detail about being a paladin, even the roleplaying aspect of it. The book even gave recommendations on books to read and movies to see in order to correctly roleplay a paladin. The one thing I think it should have had was more paladin orders for players below 9th level. If I’m correct 9th level was the lowest level someone was elegible to join an Order. An order for 6th level paladins may have been created to get the ball rolling on Order advancement.
5 Stars Brings the shining heroes of AD&D to the forefront
The PHBR (Player’s Handbook Reference) series is one of the most highly-regarded, and yet much-maligned, series of supplements ever created. Each sourcebook takes one of the races or classes of the AD&D game, and adds to it huge amounts of new detail - new equipment, spells, kits (sub-classes), lore, new rules, etc. The problem is that the players love these so much that the DM often feels compelled to buy into the rest of the series - an expensive proposition! Fortunately, these works were “reprinted” in the excellent AD&D Core Rules CD-ROM. This one has details on the creation and development of Paladins, with chapters including: Paladin requirements, level advancement, armor, weapons, magic, special powers (including a full description of the Aura of Protection), honor, kits (with such great examples as the Divinate, Inquisitor, Skyrider, and Wyrmslayer), proficiencies, equipment, role-playing, faith and divinities, holy orders, and more! A great book.
5 Stars Good Book
This book is a good resource for paladins while your playing dnd. Great pictures too!
4 Stars not bad, not bad at all
I have never been a fan of those poumpous self absorbed Knights, I prefer a character along the lines of a chaotic good alignment, but I do have respect for those that play them, and even more respect for those that play them well, It is an incredibly hard character to play(much like a true druid) and I have only come across 1 player in my ten years of DMing and playing as a character that could pull it off, for those of you out there that are sucessfull with your Palidins, congrats, it means you know how to play pretty well and you have my respects.
Players Option Spells and Magic Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition Rulebook 2163
May 30, 2009 by Simple Hobbies · Leave a Comment
Players Option Spells and Magic Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition Rulebook 2163
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Reward’s for being creative.
I was searching for a way to create magical items with a mage and picked up this book and found it defines this and more. I was able to hunt for magical components and this book helped with the research factor.
I wanted to find a few off-the-wall components and this book helped to define a good way to do that. It was helpful in answer magic related questions about Mages and what an Enchanter is good for or an Invoker. This book is a must if you plan of playing or running Mages, it is very helpful.
4 Stars Good book with spells and NWPs galore!
Spells & Magic is a good, well-written, fairly well organized book packed with spells for both wizards and preists, along with numerous NWPs.
5 Stars Unique in the good way
Unlike “Skills and Powers” and “Combat and Tactics”, “Spells and Magic” does not introduce a wholly new set of rules that the other two books in the series are infamous for. “Spells and Magic” so rarely deviates from the original rules and presents so much expanded materials ( rather than totally new), you will soon be immersed into the originality of the effort. While this is basically a second take on The Complete Wizard’s Handbook, it accomplished its goals so much better and quicker that it has plenty of leftover space to introduce several new subdivisions of the magic-user class and many other useful innovations. My advise as for Spells and Magic? Opt for this rules expansion - steer clear of its comrades.
5 Stars Very good book for all types of Spellcasters
This book is a great source of information for any type AD&D game, this book includes detailed info about all types of Spellcasters and includes too the system of Character Point’s already seen in the Player Option’s:Skills&Powers but expanded and woth more option’s this time for all Spellcaster. There is a system that you can create your own spellcaster type and almost create a new class, by choosing it advantages, disadvantages special powers and special traits. The books also include a system and a table of critical hit caused by magic. The book is very interisting and very good it worth the price you pay. Get it if you can.
5 Stars A necessary book to spells casters
The new spells and the new rules of this book made the mechanics of the game more realist and more “playable”. An important acquisition for every spellcaster and most adventurers.
