This book is a mix of various small articles, tables and aids that help GM solve most common problems in fantasy game - "Empty rooms worth describing" and "NPC Quirks" speak for themselves, but there is sooo much more to this small book ! Excellent value for the money, truly remarkable - no fantasy RPG GM should be without this gem.

This product not only gives a GM so much cool material to use, but it also gives an imagination a kick in the pants! I find that just reading through this has inspired so much more detail in my games descriptions and added a truly unique style to my worlds. Thank you to all who worked on this and a hearty 'Good Job' to all of you!

More fun than a blue glass bottle full of elfin nail clippings (p. 62, Unique Treasures).

More fun than a night at the Reasonable Kobold Inn (p. 23, Memorable Inns).

More fun than the Night of the Red Fireflies (p. 20, Unusual Holidays).

GM Gems is more fun than all these things only because it contains all of them and thousands more ideas on how to add mystery, humor, and magic to a lull in your game. These concise little ideas really are beautifully faceted gems that will add sparkle to any setting.

This is a great work-up. Just the kind of extra detail that can make a good campaign into a great campaign. Kudos to all the writers.

Where to start? I'll start with the negative first (very little), move through the neutral, and on to the positive.

The Ugly (negative): I really don't like the layout. This should not be attributed as fault of the writers. But it feels really cramped to me. “Clean” section breaks are rare, meaning if you aren't paying close attention as you flip through the book, you might not notice you left one section and are almost done with the next. And with most charts having one hundred separate entries, they often span several pages. Also, the Black print on Medium Grey background on every other chart entry can be hard to read for some. Now that thats over with.

The Bad (Neutral): This book, or PDF, will be most useful to those running Homebrew games, or those whose group never seems to follow a plotline. If you have those mythical groups of players that always follow the plot of an AP style game, or don't really care about the world around their characters, you won't have much need for this.

The Good (Positive): There is a ton, metric or otherwise, of material in here. While I pick on the layout, a “better” layout would require more pages, and therefor more cost. If you are the kind of person that loves window dressing your game, but have difficulty keeping it new and fresh – you really need this book. If you are the kind of person that found the Appendix section of the 1st Edition DMG the most entertaining, this is a must have book. It ties in well with those charts, and doesn't replace them in any way.
I have enough space to write about one of the twenty five sections split between three chapters, roughly organized by type. Alternate “Wonders” for the Rod of Wonders – brings the item back into its chaotic glory.
I dare say that everyone will find something useful, or at least fun to read, in this book.

Where to start? I'll start with the negative first (very little), move through the neutral, and on to the positive.

The Ugly (negative): I really don't like the layout. This should not be attributed as fault of the writers. But it feels really cramped to me. “Clean” section breaks are rare, meaning if you aren't paying close attention as you flip through the book, you might not notice you left one section and are almost done with the next. And with most charts having one hundred separate entries, they often span several pages. Also, the Black print on Medium Grey background on every other chart entry can be hard to read for some. Now that thats over with.

The Bad (Neutral): This book, or PDF, will be most useful to those running Homebrew games, or those whose group never seems to follow a plotline. If you have those mythical groups of players that always follow the plot of an AP style game, or don't really care about the world around their characters, you won't have much need for this.

The Good (Positive): There is a ton, metric or otherwise, of material in here. While I pick on the layout, a “better” layout would require more pages, and therefor more cost. If you are the kind of person that loves window dressing your game, but have difficulty keeping it new and fresh – you really need this book. If you are the kind of person that found the Appendix section of the 1st Edition DMG the most entertaining, this is a must have book. It ties in well with those charts, and doesn't replace them in any way.
I have enough space to write about one of the twenty five sections split between three chapters, roughly organized by type. New and Unusual Light Sources – lights ranging from the semi mundane, to the weird, to the truly mystical.
I dare say that everyone will find something useful, or at least fun to read, in this book.

First, let me say that this is, indeed, an awesome resource full of all kinds of amusing, creative, and useful pieces of material. From alchemical mishaps through unique poisons to things in a pocket, there's a lot of cool stuff here.

One caveat: the book claims to be system-neutral, but there are a *lot* of things that directly reference the OGL/D20 system scattered through the entire book. While there are a fair number of genuinely system-neutral pieces, the overall book is very definitely biased toward the D20 system.

If the only bad thing I can say about something is 'I wish there was more of it', you know it's got to be good.

I demand that the WereCabbages start on GM Gems 2: Electric Boogaloo

I liked this book for two reasons. One, it has a lot of creative "fluff" to it, which is what I am all about. Second, it really has an old Judges Guild-type of suppliment feel to it, where the fantastical could erupt at any moment. Give me tattooed monks streetfighting and Goblins chanting 'Daddy!' at the hapless PC. When I get in a fix as to what to tell an adventuring party when they say 'now what?' I'll be reaching for this gem.