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I give this book my highest recommendation. Ms. Mazzanoble has written a wonderful tongue-in-cheek description of fantasy role-playing that is both accurate and accessible. I wish someone had written this book 30 years ago.

I've been in the table top role-playing community since the mid-70s, and gender balance at the gaming table has often been an issue. Parties (groups of players) with a balanced number of men and women has a wonderfully different and richer dynamic than a table with just male players.

Ms. Mazzanoble's book is a dream come true for me as it talks about fantasy role-playing in a way that role-playing come alive in an engaging way for the ladies. I have given this book to husbands, boyfriends, and to ladies attending board gaming events and have had over a dozen women start role-playing with our gaming group based on reading this book.

**Caveat: Yes, the book has a lot of cliches in it. So does the Harry Potter series and the Twilight Saga. The cliches are over-the-top on purpose and are designed to be amusing; they are not designed to put down women. (If you want to read something that has less cliches read Fifty Shades Trilogy: Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, Fifty Shades Freed 3-volume Boxed Set . Then you will come running and screaming back to read Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game (Dungeons & Dragons) . ;-) )**

The author starts with character creation and then steps the reader all the way through a role-playing session with common sense descriptions of all the rules.

The book covers the rules, social aspects, and what has kept my players coming back to the gaming table week after week for over 35 years.

Really well done!

In service,

Rich
The Original Dr. Games since 1993

My group was one of the thousands involved with the review/playtest effort. (That was very, very clever on WotC's part by the by.)

We enjoyed the playtest, and several of us have ordered the basic set of materials, e.g., introductory box, PHB, MM, DMG, etc.

That said, my group has been playing 4e for about four years now, and they voted to continue with 4e. For them, the simplicity of the 4e rules, and the PC survival++ nature of 4e makes it a less stressful alternative than Next (5e to me).

Left to my devices, I probably would have converted, because 5e (Next) has less of a combat focus and does a better job of helping me portray the gaming world.

I have a few table rules in 4e that let me bolster the excitement and suspension of disbelief, e.g., PCs can die from really bad decisions like swimming through lava. No, I don't feel obligated to give them multiple saving throws whilst the PC swims despite what the rules might imply.

:-D

Next would not require some of the DM hardwires that I have put into 4e.

Here is my review of the boxed, starter set:

"First, as I write this, you can get the starter set most places for less than $13. In other words, you get the entire starter game for the price of a movie ticket for one person.

The box does indeed come with everything you need to play, including a set of polyhedrons (gaming dice) including: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and the the mother of all dice, the d20/icosahedron.

The box comes with a blank character sheet (on the back side of an ad for dungeonsanddragons.com) that can be photocopied plus five pregen characters including: two fighters, a rogue, a wizard, and a cleric. The front of the pre-gen sheets has the basic stats for running an adventure, and the back contains some background for the race, the class, and what the level advancements would be from 2nd through 5th levels.

There is a shortish set of rules in folio form bound with staples aptly called "D&D Starter Set Rulebook." It comes in at 32 pages.

If you have played previous versions of D&D, this next section of the review will give you some insights into how the new rule set plays. If you have never played D&D or a fantasy role-playing game before, you might want to skip to the end.

5e is an amalgam of the previous four editions of D&D (although 1st Ed. was just called AD&D when it came out).

Characters have races (e.g., human, elf, halfling, etc.), classes (e.g., fighter, wizard, rogue, etc.), backgrounds (i.e., back-story that both provides motivations as well as some specific skills), and equipment. Each character has six primary attributes called abilities that include the standard set of: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. These ability scores generate modifiers that are used in play. For example, an average ability score in the 10 to 11 range has a modifier of zero, and a score in the 12 to 13 range has a modifier of +1. If a character had a DEX of 13 then the player would add +1 to any rolls involving DEX.

Those of you who have played D&D before will remember that there are saving throws to either avoid or recovery from bad situations and conditions. In the original version of AD&D and AD&D second edition, these consisted of five separate saves for magic, death, etc. In editions three and four, this number was reduced to three, will, fortitude, and agility. Now all saving throws are based on the six ability score modifiers.

In fact, all of the mechanics are based on ability checks.

But, worry not doughty gamers! The core mechanic in D&D has always been casting the d20, adding some type of modifier, and comparing it to something else.

This remains unchanged.

There is a very cool mechanic called "advantage and disadvantage." The way it works is if you have a situation that grants you an advantage then you roll two d20s and choose the higher of the two to be your roll. If you are in a situation that grants you disadvantage then you also roll two d20s, but you take the smaller of the two rolls to represent your result.

The rulebook covers skills, contests, and the various checks associated with each of the abilities. For example, intelligence checks include: Arcana, history, investigation, nature, and religion. As mentioned previously, saving throws are based on the ability modifiers.

The order of combat rounds remains largely unchanged since the advent of the third edition. You start by determining if surprise has occurred. Then you establish the positions of all of the characters both player characters and non-player characters involved. Then you determine initiative, and then you follow with alternating turns.

One thing that has changed from three and four to the new 5e is that there is less of an emphasis on purely combat abilities and actions.

There are no figures or counters included with this starter box set. There are no hex sheets. There is no mention of Texas (ah! you *are* reading!). There is also no mention of "hexes" or "squares." (Danged auto-corrector!!!)

In this way, the fifth edition really harkens back to the first and second editions. There is a large emphasis on non-combat actions and activities.

The one thing you may find disappointing is that this starter set comes with a large insert that takes up about half of the volume of the box.

I have been told that this was to let the box take up more space and to allow it to hold future released material. It doesn't work for me, but that is a single viewpoint.

For those of you who played in additions since third edition, you will recognize the mechanics of damage resistance and vulnerability. These have been brought forward and are also used in fifth edition.

You will also recognize the conditions in fifth edition as being an amalgam of third edition and fourth edition conditions. The dazed condition no longer exists though, at least in the starter set rulebook.

Finally, there is an included module that is both interesting and serves as a decent, graduated introduction to the 5e rule set.

All in all for less than $13, it would be hard to go wrong buying this boxed set.

I look forward to the release of the Players Handbook in a few weeks."

In service,

Rich

The Original Dr. Games site since 1993.

I enjoyed the BDHH. It is obvious that the BDHH was written by fans of Firefly and the Serenity RPG (SRPG).

The BDHH was packed with useful, practical information on how to enhance the SRPG experience.

The BDHH was actually equally designed for players and for the aspiring GM.

It has some clarifications on rules for the SRPG, but mostly the BDHH has a series of optional new gaming and meta-gaming material to supplement the SRPG. For example, there are sections on creating hero backgrounds, how the party meets, creating scenarios, and the obligatory section on new skills, talents, complications, etc.

There are also portions on how to make the SRPG more compatible with the evolving Cortex(tm) RPG system. This is the root system that the SRPG is based on, similar to the OGL for d20 or Chaosium's Basic RPG system.

If you liked the SRPG system and are looking for ways to expand it then you will also like the BDHH. That said, truth in lending, the BDHH is in no way, shape, or form necessary for playing, enjoying, or participating in many a varied and fun SRPG campaign.

If you liked Firefly and the Serenity movie and this is going to be your first purchase in the world of SRPG then I would just pull my hat down and mosey on to buying something else.

In service,

Rich

The Conan RPG (2nd Ed.) is a must buy for those interested in running a campaign set in Robert E. Howard's gritty world or even another dark Earth, barbarian setting.

One of the main attractions is that the Conan RPG book is complete. You can play the entire game from the one book.

Here is the application of my gaming criteria to the Conan RPG.

GO/NO GO criterion

* Complexity: some strategy (decisions should matter), but not too many rules (should be able to learn ALL the rules within an hour). The Conan RPG is moderately complex. You might not understand all of the subtle bits, but you can surely learn all that you need to know during the first session.

* Balanced: any side can win, no single strategy dominates (related directly to re-playability). In the case of an RPG, every class/background has its own pros and cons. The Conan RPG does favor barbarians, but if it did not then something would wrong!

* Chance: some chance (a newbie should have a shot against a grand master of the game), but not so much that skill is irrelevant (the grand master should still win the vast majority of the time). I like games where daring is rewarded, but comes at some substantial risk. In the case of an RPG this translates into the ability of a junior character being able to occasionally succeed against a higher level adversary. Much of the action in this game is adjudicated through the results of dice throws. The Conan RPG has criticals and fumbles and meets this criteria.

* Clarity: it should be obvious who is winning each turn, and rules should not allow for large interpretation. Games that routinely involve rules fights or long discussions about who won after the game is over are bad, bad, bad for me. The Conan RPG is well written and has clearly taken advantage of nearly a decade of experiences and revisions to the OGL. There were very few times when the rules were ambiguous.

* Reasonable Time: this is a criteria that varies by stage of life; now days I can only spare 3-4 hours at a time, and shorter (2 hours or less) games are better. There are plenty of supplements out there on the market, and you could definitely run one of the pre-gen adventures in under hour hours.

BONUS criterion

* Social: games that allow for multiple players and enable conversation are best for me. Almost always a plus for RPGs, and Conan the RPG is no exception.

* Unique/interesting Mechanic: games that approach things using a unique rule are better for me than ones that use a universal mechanic. Conan the RPG gets high marks in this area. There are special rules for corruption, fame, etc. that really add appropriate flavor to the game. Bravo!

* Inform: games that teach me something are more fun than games that don't. This is not a heady game. While there are descriptions of some Robert Howard creatures that I was unaware of, there are not whole sections of new information as there were let's say in the original AD&D DMG.

* Rewards Throughout: little victories within the game is a better approach than all or nothing at the end, but best is a combination of little rewards with bigger rewards. Conan the RPG lets the character gain in levels, in fame, in money, etc. This is another high mark for Conan the RPG.

All in all, this is an RPG that should be added to the serious gamer's shelf.

In service,

Rich
www.drgames.org <-- the original Dr. Games since 1993

Cool idea, but the actual product was terrible.

I don't want to give any spoilers in the review, but the essence is that a series of socio-pathic, maladjusted losers also just happen to be a gaming group.

Probably the worst depiction of gamers that I have seen since the Dark Dungeon cartoons.

The show made me squirm with discomfort.

Additionally, the pacing was glacial.

The guys sitting around the table should have been institutionalized, not out in society and throwing dice around a gaming table.

Plus, the "surprise revelation" at the end of the movie indicating that everything in the movie to that point was a psychotic lie was like being drowned in manure AFTER you THOUGHT that you had escaped with your life.

Don't even bother to watch this let alone buy it.