Product Description
UPDATED! This second printing of the Fantasy Craft core rulebook includes complete errata and clarifications, making it the definitive answer for anyone looking for a customizable high adventure roleplaying experience.Your Dungeon, Your Dragon, Your WayThis is the time of high adventure - your adventure! Take charge of your gaming experience with simple yet powerful rules that let you craft any character, any monster, or any world you can imagine. Whether you like your fantasy bright or bleak, gritty or gonzo it's all here, supported with one of the most versatile RPG systems ever devised.Versatile mix-and-match character creationRevolutionary point-buy monster constructionSleek, simple character-centric combatSkill-driven spellcasting and world-driven miraclesCollaborative, dynamic storytelling rulesFantasy Craft gets back to why we love gaming: It's about the stakes, and raising them. It's about the odds, and beating them. It's about legends, and making them. It's about you.Roll Your Dice Like a Hero Again! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A little unwieldy
This is a huge book for d20 fantasy games.It's a core book with info for both players and game masters.This is a book for those who like to have very detailed characters for their games.The sheets are 3 pages plus one for spells and I still couldn't figure out where to put some of the categories supplied.The pictures are black and white but that isn't really an issue.The chapter on spells was my biggest bugbear.There is a table listing all the spells in levels but not a table listing the levels under their categories.If you want to know which spells are for Shapeshifting then you have to plough through the descriptions to find the ones in that category, then you have to work out the levels of those spells.Very time consuming.

There are 12 hero classes and 6 expert classes.I liked the suggestions on how to use each class.For example the Assassin class could be a hired killer, a spy, a gentleman bandit, a holy warrior, or a company troubleshooter.I did have a problem matching some of the feats mentioned in the class descriptions with those described in the feat descriptions.But that could have been my impatience.

I found this book too detailed for ease of use.It will go on the shelf as reference material for other games but I won't be using it as a core book.

The best fantasy d20 system so far
I've been digging into the book for a few days, and I've gotta say this is probably the best iteration of the d20 ruleset I've found yet, even beating out True20 (which was holding the title 'til now). It's basically a reskinning of the core of the Spycraft rules for fantasy. It's wicked crunchy, but the rules hold together really well, and it addresses a lot of the stuff that ended up driving me away from core d20 a few years back. The mix of class and origin gives a lot more character flexibility than core d20 ever did. Now you can play dragons, giants, and "rootwalkers" (offbrand ents) from 1st level, without the ECL nonsense, or any of the other pseudo-balancing hacks that got developed to keep the craziness in check.

There's a bunch of character customization feats that let you build pretty much any of the stock Gygaxian fantasy races, or most of their derivatives. It's got the default stock Gygaxian fantasy setting assumptions, but it looks flexible enough to cover a lot of ground. Especially with the campaign qualities that let the GM adjust the rules for different setting assumptions like PC mortality, how permanent damage is, magic levels, all that kind of stuff.

The magic system looks like a pretty good spell point version, and clerical magic looks totally different (haven't gotten into that bit yet). The combat's a fairly standard d20 hack, with vitality/wound points and a defense trait with armor as Damage Reduction, and some supplementary damage tracks for subdual and stress damage. There's action points for player narrative control, activating crits and enemy fumbles, boosting rolls, and all that.

I'm interested in the wealth system hack. It's got a funky-looking little system for figuring out how much of your cash loot gets blown between adventures, and how much you can actually save, and what kind of lifestyle you lead when you're not killing critters and stealing from the dead. I wanna see how it plays out.

All told, I really like what I've read so far, and I can't wait to get it into play.

An Excellent and Imaginative Design
Much of Fantasy Craft will be familiar to a D&D player, while a number of subsysystems are unique to Fantasy Craft. If you like the core d20 mechanics, and are a fan of adventure fantasy, I definitely recommend this book. It is ideal for those who like to tinker with world design and customizing a game system to fit that world. The only caution I make is that this is a big, thick book for big, thick play. ... Read more

Product Description
A different kind of combat
Love and Battle are both intimate acts, both done in heatand sweat, with the sounds of cries echoing in your ears.And really, who is to say which is the more dangerous?This book ads a new dimension to your game- intrigueand manipulation, marriages of power, dangerous seducers, sex and magic.

A resource book for v3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying
* Designed to attract mature players who find motivation and character development through sex and romance for their characters.
* 20 new feats, 12 new classes, 6 new domains, 75 newspells and 12 new monsters all wait in the pages of theBook of Erotic Fantasy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Remarkably useful resource book.
I picked this book up by word of mouth a few years back as I was playing a "perverted" character and I've found it to be rather handy for when a campaign dips into even slightly sexual content. The Prestige Classes are fun and quirky and sometimes quite rewarding. My only complaint with this resource book is the "artwork." The real-life pictures were rather bland in some places and could have benefited from using at least using a few drawings instead of photographs.

The Official Unofficial D&D Book of Sex
There's not a lot here that hasn't already been said. I was unsure about this book for a while. I had been hearing mixed things, but finally some friends on the forums recommended it to me. I'm glad to say that I'm rather pleased with this book. I really, -really- think they could have done better on the illustrations. Something from the Kama Sutra would not only have been more authentic, but just more attractive. The prestige classes and base classes were flavorful, fitting to the subject matter. That's another good thing about this book, the flavor text. It never gets into anything too explicit, but it gets the point across in an entertaining fashion. The monsters were okay, being mostly an amalgam of half-breeds and 'whatever-touched' races. I have to agree that the Greater Succubus probably could have been done by just advancing a regular Succubus, but as a DM, I'm not one to look a stat-block gift-horse in the mouth. The spells were half-and-half on relevance, but that seems to be expected. The flavor text pulled through to make each cantrip a bit more erotic or comical. The items were... meh. Generically, they were great! Erotically... not so much, just kind of average. The book's major strong-point comes in with the cultural, racial, and religious views. This book is very much about the culture, taboos, and social interactions of sexuality. All the while, it remains open enough so that any DM can adjust the material for his campaign. My players love this book, especially the little bonus section of erotic adventures in the back. Overall, I wholly recommend this book for DMs or PCs.

"Is that a battleaxe or are you happy to see me?" "It's a battleaxe!" "Oohh! Come in, you stud-monster!!!"
For a change I'll review a copy of an independent production for d20/D&D 3.5 system: the "Book of Erotic Fantasy" a little pearl in a sea of mediocrity, at least concerning the plethora of books and supplements for this always popular game system.
I must warn you, I'm not a great fan of the d20 line of products (see my entry for "Encyclopedia Vanguard" for more) but I'm more than willing to give credit where credit is due. I first learned of this book after reading a little known PDF from the same author(s) dedicated to GURPS: GURPS Sex precisely.
It was a very professionally made "supplement" regarding sex in a role-playing context seen from every facet possible in a serious-to-humorous kind of way and very interesting to read. Obviously, it was "for adults only"...
This book is no exception, is a "sequel" of sort, only dedicated to the D&D/Fantasy setting.
First things first, the book is lavishly illustrated, full colors and realized with excellent materials, from glossy paper to a very strong hardbound cover.
The illustrations (all photograph sporting models with make-up and costumes aptly made and with a good use of CG for backgrounds and other details - like the wings and horns of the various faeries and/or demons) are well made and never out of context. The text format is elegant but still fully understandable. Due to its strong emphasis on fantasy, the book shows all the possible relationships between adult members of the various races: human, elf, orc, dwarf and others, including what happens when the partner is "not so human" (god, demigod, dragon, fairy, demon or devilkin and so on). Half breed and crossbreeding is fully analyzed and rules for intercourse and pregnancy are provided. There is even a chapter on "sexually-related" creatures, magic items and other paraphernalia, always sex-related. Even this book is classified as "for adults only" and it's very, very serious when dealing with the more delicate aspects of sex, like homo/bisexuality, bondage and/or sado-masochism, STD etc.
All in all, I strongly suggest this book to everyone interested in a serious yet entertaining study of sexuality in a role-playing context. Be advised that the "Book of Erotic Fantasy" needs mature readers for a mature treating of the matter, no frat-house-party humor around here, so, if you're looking for soft porn, please stay away. On the downside, with aprice of $34,99/23,57/£17,76 isn't exactly your "cheap buy of the week" but, in my humble opinion, the book it's worth any buck you put in it.

Instigating and Inovative
I consider this as an excelent material to make marvelous adventures based on how creatures see the their sexuality.

Highly informative
The tome combines all but the most personal aspects of sex and sexuality for the D20 system. I have seen many older forms of this throughout the ages of D&D (and AD&D), but this one work sums it all up. The only thing it lacks is the bio-functions (i.e. monthly cycles, measurements, etc.) for the races expressed. I would have liked to have seen a chart to the fertility cycles (and the variance thereof) as well as the weight and dimensional gains for internal gestations. Otherwise, this book has all the essentials for adding in sexuality and relationships not covered by general role playing. ... Read more

Product Description
Terror in Tabelheim is a stand-alone adventure for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. In addition to the adventure itself, this book contains details on Tabelheim, including a history of the city, a breakdown of the various districts and neighbourhoods, an overview of its customs and laws, and much more.This adventure is the perfect complement to Children of the Horned Rat, the sinister book that reveals all the secrets of the Loathsome Ratmen. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Brilliant adventure
I am currently preparing things to GM 'Terror in Talabheim'...and from reading it I have to say it is very well written. It is not your standard city adventure and the plots are not as obvious for the characters as it was in past adventure.

The first part of the book describes in detail everything there is to know of Talabheim. It also includes maps of Talabheim and surroundings.

The second part is the adventure which is divided into 7 chapters. The adventure itself is designed for first or second career characters (first career characters will have a tough time though). The book prepares the GM for all eventualities and still allows the players their freedom.

Not to spoil too much I think it's save to say that I'd buy 'Children of the horned rat' in addition to this book if you don't have it already. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

A critical piece of gaming history
Gary Alan Fine's book, Shared Fantasy: Role-Playing Games as Social Worlds, provides an enlightening overview of the state of gaming in the early eighties. Fine, a sociologist, inhabits the gaming cultures he reviews, reporting on Dungeons & Dragons, Chivalry & Sorcery, and Empire of the Petal Throne as a player and game master.He also interviews many of the leading lights of the industry at the time, including M.A.R. Barker, Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax.

What's revealed by Fine's studies is that issues many gamers face today have remained largely unchanged over the course of thirty years. "Roll-" vs. "role-" playing figures prominently.Game masters who are unprepared or capricious, players who are petty and competitive, groups that exclude other groups...they're all here in vivid detail. What sets Fine's work apart is that he provides sociological constructs to discuss the gaming hobby, a hobby he treats with respect.

On the other hand, there are several issues that are clearly tied to the nascent gaming culture.Rampant sexism and violence towards women disturbs Fine; things have definitely changed for the better.The other major concern of most of Fine's subjects is the invasion of youngsters to the hobby who are too immature to fully grasp its rules.Nowadays we have the opposite problem - there aren't enough young players attracted to the game.

Throughout, Fine interviews his subjects and quotes their experiences as well as his own. These quotes are illustrative of the little challenges gaming groups regularly encounter, from intergroup rivalry to players having their characters to commit mass suicide as a form of protest against a particularly unfair game master.Any gamer will recognize himself and his players in Fine's work.

Chivalry & Sorcery and Empire of the Petal Throne (Tekumel) are not as well known today, but at the time they were a game designer's response to the flaws in Dungeons & Dragons.In the case of Chivalry & Sorcery, it was a more feudal feel to fantasy.In the case of Tekumel, it was the distinct European emphasis that colored all of Dungeons & Dragons. Barker's direct involvement in the Tekumel game universe as a game master provides an immersive contrast to the typical hack-and-slash dungeon games that were popular at the time.

Fine's work isn't flashy, but it's a critical piece of gaming history and a must-read for gaming scholars everywhere.

Book
Came in a timely manner.There was a problem with the condition of the book...like it got stuck in a conveyor belt and was partially sanded down.I am pretty sure, however that this happened at the post office, no the company.But excellent seller.

An excellent treatise on role playing games
One of the most comprehensive books on the phenomenon of role playing games as they emerged in the 80's, it explores the social psychological implications of playing these games, the personalities attracted to the games and the structure of the games themselves. I used it as a primary reference for my thesis 11 years ago and I believe it is still relevant now, even with the preponderance of computer role playing games. Although, the interactive, cooperative element of sharing fantasy around a tabletop may have faded...the same sharing takes place across continents through cyberspace.

An excellent treatise on role playing games
One of the most comprehensive books on the phenomenon of role playing games as they emerged in the 80's, it explores the social psychological implications of playing these games, the personalities attracted to the games and the structure of the games themselves. I used it as a primary reference for my thesis 11 years ago and I believe it is still relevant now, even with the preponderance of computer role playing games. Although, the interactive, cooperative element of sharing fantasy around a tabletop may have faded...the same sharing takes place across continents through cyberspace. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (5)

Son of Gruumsh review
Very detailed mini adventure,at the begining the charcters need to do a bit thinking and planning and thats before they get to draw their weapons. Each days wandering is done for you, with an extra table for added encounters. The module is set for 4 players I think you may need6 as some encounters are quite tough and theres that chance you could lose half your party before you get to the ruins.

A nice diversion for when our own creativity becomes stale.
Easy to follow, nice break for when I'm feeling lazy or don't have time to write a respectable campaign for my players.

A good solid adventure
Although this was the first adventure written for the Forgotten Realms, I read it second after The Twilight Tower and boy am I glad that I did! This adventure is much better written than Twilight Tower.Additionally, the plot and story-line are superior and the addition of a plot twist at the end makes this a very good adventure.

However, there is a downside.Like most of the published adventures, Sons of Gruumsh tends towards the overly dangerous.Most of the encounters are reasonably low level - a host of different Orcs.However, its the frequency that will probably kill a party rather than any particular encounter.As a previous reviewer mentioned, you NEED a cleric for this one.Potential GM's would be wise to offer their PC's chances to rest, especially as the party gets towards the end.

The nastiest encounter will occur just after the PC's have fought their way through a horde of guards and other Orc brutes and if played right, the Orog Warlord and his two lieutenants would be able to cream a standard 4th Level party that was slightly weakened.

The best part of this adventure though is the ending.Well-after the characters have defeated the bad guys, taken the treasure and rescued the nobles, the author offers GMs a nice plot twist - which could be quite deadly if the characters aren't quick thinkers - however, the rewards for completing the main part of the adventure are (funnily enough) suitable for getting themselves out of this encounter with minimal amount of fuss.During the adventure, GM's are offered a chance to warn characters about the twist, my advice is don't take it!

Overall, it deserves its four stars.If the author had done a little more work on the part covering investigations in Melvaunt then it would have deserved five stars.

Enjoy.

A very good adventure, but bring a cleric or three
I just ran my group through Sons of Gruumsh, and it was a very good couple of sessions.The module includes a lot of good detail, interesting foes, and tactical information which is very helpful when running the large-scale combat involved.

The only caution is the difficulty for 4th-5th level characters.A cleric or two in the party is an absolute must, and IMHO a wand of CLW or a slew of healing potions will probably be required to survive the quantity and quality of foes involved.

Good product - great price
The adventure is a pretty good one.There is plenty of information.The most impressive part was the cost.There was a lot of reward for the price ... Read more

Product Description
Dare you brave The Sinister Spire?

The Sinister Spire is the second of a three-part adventure arc that started with Barrow of the Forgotten King, but is easily played as a stand-alone adventure.

Chasing the tomb-robbers from Barrow of the Forgotten King into the Underdark, the heroes stumble upon a desolated subterranean city with a dark secret.

This 64-page adventure is designed for 4th-level characters and uses a combat encounterformat designed to make the DM's job easier. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The best module in the tirlogy.
NOTE THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ SPOILERS AND/OR MAY PLAY IN THIS MODULE AT SOME TIME I SUGGEST YOU READ NO FURTHER.

Summary: the second part of the Trilogy that includes Barrow of the Forgotten King and Fortress of the Yuan Ti

This module starts off right where Barrow of the Forgotten King ends and drops the players right into the heart of the Underdark. The first challenge is getting past a horde of bugs and a Magic Earth Node. Once this challenge is met and defeated the party finds themselves in a huge underground grotto, complete with sunken sea and huge Drow City.

Most of the adventure takes place in the Drow city of Pedestal. Here the party finds an Undead Patron in one of the oddest Bars they will ever step in. After completing some none-too minor tasks for this creature the party gains access to the Necromancer's Spike a huge dungeon in the center of Pedestal. Some interesting sub-plots exist in the city including fallout from a magical disaster, a three way power struggle between the citizens, a drow Matriarch and The Assassin's guild, an Aboleth working behind the scenes and pulling some strings and Bizarre magical ghosts.

The dungeon itself is rather large, at least 3x the size of the Barrow from the first module and includes a huge variety of encounters all based on the premise of a long abandoned Necromancer's home and what he left behind when he finally died, mixed with the current inhabitant trying to prevent the party from following. The Climax is a huge battle with a Medusa in front of a Glowing Magic Portal (which of course leads to the next module in the series).

The Good: out of the three modules in the trilogy this was the best written, most interesting and most fun. The entire city of Pedestal was just cool and interesting. How often do characters get to wander a Dark Elf city, working for an Undead and still be progressing the cause of good? The undead Es Sarch was one of the better NPCs I've seen of late. The sub-quests and sub-plots were all very interesting and different styles of challenges. The fight against the Huge Invisible Mushrooms will always stand out in my players minds. The dungeon itself was complex and interesting, and I really liked they way there was plenty of atmosphere that gave the place a real sense of being an abandoned Necromancer's Tower.

The Bad: The power struggle in the city was very interesting, but underutilized in the module as written. I think it would have been better to include the players in a few more plots so there was a better chance for them to understand what was going on behind the scenes. I realize a lot of this was left open so as to allow you to continue the module even after the adventure was finished but I was just using this module as a bridge to the next and didn't plan on using it as a major campaign resource.

The Ugly: This module was brutally filled with 'you can't do that' monsters. What I mean by that is that it was filled with creatures with spell resistance, undead and constructs that couldn't be critted, creatures that absorbed spells etc. It also had a tone of 'save monsters', which included Poison, Stat Drains, and other various status effects. Some monsters attacks actually required 3 separate saves. It was to the point that my players were saying things like "no point in even rolling your crit die as you can't ever crit anything in 3.5". The module was definitely written to be hard by countering the characters attacks instead of just having appropriately challenging creatures/traps. Now this wasn't enough to break the module but did frustrate the players.

Overall: out of the three modules in this trilogy I thought this was the best one. The location really made this module, the city of Pedestal, it's inhabitants and the three way power struggle between them was a great backdrop for adventure. The eventual dungeon was perfectly disgusting and moody as it should have been. The main drawback to this module is it's reliance on power canceling monsters instead of what I would consider real challenges. I definitely suggest picking this module up, just so you can read up on Pedestal and drop it into one of your games somewhere.

A nice diversion for when our own creativity becomes stale.
I DM a crew twice a month and enjoyed being able to be lazy and still have an outrageous time.I was skeptical about published campaigns until I purchased these.Well worth the money if you are crunched for time or just feeling lazy. ... Read more

Product Description
"Flockhart's books make math fun again. Teachers, students, and parents will love this program."
--Jeffrey R. Thomas, founder and CEO, SportsBuff.com;president, Fantasy Sports Trade Association

This workbook is designed to be used in conjunction with Fantasy Baseball and Mathematics: A Resource Guide for Teachers and Parents. The games and activities in Fantasy Baseball and Mathematics were created to get you excited about learning and practicing math, even if you are not a big sports fan.

Here's how it works. You will create a Fantasy Baseball team by picking real-life players, and then follow your players' statistics and calculate your teams' total points using one of the equations your teacher provides. In addition to the basic Fantasy Baseball game, your workbook contains reproducible worksheets for extra practice on 46 different math concepts.

So join the winning math team with Fantasy Baseball and Mathematics!

Also available in the Fantasy Sports and Mathematics series:
* Fantasy Basketball and Mathematics
* Fantasy Football and Mathematics
* Fantasy Soccer and Mathematics ... Read more

Product Description
A great new way to get all kids excited about math!

Fantasy sports are a hit worldwide, and now teachers and parents can take advantage of this phenomenon to give students a reason to look forward to doing math. The games and activities in Fantasy Soccer and Mathematics will get kids excited about learning and practicing math, even if they're not big sports fans. With this fun-filled educational resource, you can teach one math concept or many, and plan lessons that can last for a week or a whole season.

Here's how it works. Students create fantasy teams by picking real-life professional soccer players, and then follow their players' statistics and calculate their teams' total points using algebraic or nonalgebraic methods specifically designed to complement the math skills they're learning. The instructions are easy to follow and the dynamic hands-on games address all learning styles and abilities. The book includes more than 100 scoring systems that give you the flexibility to customize the content according to your students' skill levels.

In addition to the basic Fantasy Soccer game, the book contains easy-to-use lesson plans, reproducible worksheets for extra practice on 46 different math concepts, graphing activities, quizzes, a pre- and post- test, and an answer key. More than just a fun way to learn math, the book's activities also support the NCTM Math Standards.

"'This is the greatest assignment ever!' Hearing that from one of my students was more than enough to know that I had a great way to get them to enjoy learning mathematics. Thanks for putting this great program together. We LOVE IT!"
-Jeff Thompson, math teacher, Walt Morey Middle School, Troutdale, Oregon

"I have used Fantasy Sports and Mathematics for the past two years in my preservice math education classes. It is an outstanding curricular example of making learning meaningful and connected."
-Tim Van Soelen, education instructor,Dordt College ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (9)

Q/A Problems?
The copy I got was clearly a screw-up at the printing press, the first 30 pages or so were connected at the top (cut short at the botton), I had to "tear" then apart myself.

The content of the book is/was fine.A fair amount on different people but I was hoping for a bit more interesting points of interest myself.Its a good resource for building adventures in the city that contain and/or interact with some of the more notable characters but it just kind of left me feeling like it should have contained more about underground characters/groups etc.

Worth the purchase for experienced DM's
I found this book to be full of useful information and maps. I loved seeing the new Prestige classes and finding out about the situation in Waterdeep. I would say this book is for the more experienced Dm'er since they give you seeds for so many story's and possible campaigns. I noted that a few reviewers felt there wasn't enough but I felt there was enough here to last a long time if you wanted to center your party around Waterdeep.

The maps are very detailed giving you what each house is in each neighborhood. There are plenty of NPC's given as well for any group you would like to explore. Waterdeep is a rich city full of history and intrique and this book certainly gave me that impression.

City Of Splendors Sourcebook
Great sourcebook for d20 Forgotten Realms! Lots of info on Organizations, secret societies, ruling factions, areas of interest, NPC's and their motivations, advernture hooks, etc. As are most of the FR sourcebooks, this one is another great buy!

Delightful Book
Wizards of the Coast has released a book concentrating on Waterdeep, the ultimate adventuring city in the Forgotten Realms.And why not?The city is one of the most beloved locations in the gaming world, finding its only real competition in the City of Greyhawk.Plus, if RPGNOW stats are any indication, there's good money in a well-done city book.
So does Waterdeep hold up?

I wish I could say no, at least this review would be funnier, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.There's a wealth of material in this book and you get the feeling that it just scratches the surface.In fact, I think the only complaint most readers will have is the low page count (at 160).There just isn't enough room in this book for everything that one might find in Waterdeep.

Still, the material is interesting and the author (Eric L. Boyd) has a delicate hand for how much is just right.I didn't feel like he rambled on too long and for the most part I felt like he gave me enough to build a game in the City of Splendors.Heck, I could probably build a whole campaign there, using just this book.

Chapter One begins with an interesting history of the city.This chapter actually captured my attention (whereas usually histories are just text you have to get through).It's hard to point out exactly why this appealed to me, but I think that it has to do with the many iterations of settlement the city passed through before becoming the place we all know and love.It took me back to certain real world histories I've read, and where an author's usual instinct is to say, "The city was founded in ," Waterdeep has lived under different names, guises and rulers over the years.It just felt . . . rich.

The book then moves on to a brief who's who and then a treatise on laws and culture.It then tackles all the ways to get to and from the city . . . including teleportation.It was refreshing to have a high fantasy world deal with an issue that almost everyone ignores . . . how the casual use of magic could kill people in the streets.Finally, the book tackles the defenses of the city, both magical and mundane.

Chapter Two deals with People of Waterdeep (I'm not sure why the Who's Who wasn't here.)This chapter is long an complex, taking about a third of the book.In it they cover everything from guilds to monsters to the underworld to secret societies to the nobility and much much more.This is where the book really sold me, the level of detail just enough to fill me with the maximum number of colorful characters while giving me just enough information to run them properly in the game.As a game designer, I can only say this chapter must have taken five times as long to write as the rest of the book put together (characters can take forever, even when many of them aren't statted).I can only tip my hat at Mr. Boyd for not losing sight of the prize and becoming sloppy.Still, I think there are too many dragons detailed for a city with a ward against dragons.
Chapter Three handles presitge classes.You know what?I'm gonna give the book a pass on this one (and it's not the same pass I gave DMG II).This book needed prestige classes, and while I thought that four was probably a bit excessive, this is the perfect use of the game mechanic: defining a particular organization and their unique and often mystical abilities.The Gray Hand Enforcer, for instance, can tap into the dragonward of the city, accessing its power.I don't mind using a prestige class to simulate this.

Chapter Four is the obligatory sites-of-the-city chapter.I don't have much to say about this.It got the job done.

Chapter Five is a section on adventure opportunities in Waterdeep.This section contains everything from single encounters (a disturbing amount of haunted locales) to mini-adventures, to a small section on Undermountain.I think that a DM could build a good campaign, starting with this chapter.

The final chapter covers more rules-oriented materials.Starting with feats, it then covers magic items, poisons and a section on spells.The section on spells is mercifully short, and I can't begrudge it.People in Waterdeep will make spells.This, like the Prestige Classes, is a much better place for new material like this than 90% of the books WotC produces.

I do have to give one qualification on this review.I haven't done more than skim most of the past material on Waterdeep, so I don't know how much of this book is recycled materials.Still, I found what was here to be interesting, useful and well presented.This is one of the better books WotC has produced since 3.5 released.If you adventure in the Realms, it's probably a must-have.

Excellent Guide
This book adds substantial information on one of the key role-playing locations in all the Realms, and also reveals a lot of plots that are going on there. It is written with very easy cross-referencing with other FR material, while also giving some background on the referenced characters. And of course, you get adventure hooks, history background and some very interesting NPCs. This product is a must have for the FR campaign setting! ... Read more

Product Description

BradyGames' Ultimate Fantasy Football Guide 2004 is the only full-color, all-inclusive resource with in-depth strategies for draft, keeper, and auction leagues. Also included are tactics for drafting defenses, analyzed stats from the 2003 season, player rankings, updated team rosters, and much more. This comprehensive reference book is the key to a winning fantasy football team! The book is being written by the owners of the highly successful fantasy football site -- thehuddle.com. The authors of the book have years of experience and knowledge in the football industry and run one of the most popular paid fantasy football sites. Handy, pull-out player ranking and draft tracking chart, for easy transport and use. All the work is done for you--over 75 mock drafts to help guide players to the best available pick in every round.

This product is available for sale worldwide.

Product Description
Many of today's hottest selling games-both non-electronic and electronic-focus on such elements as shooting up as many bad guys as one can (Duke Nuk'em), beating the toughest level (Mortal Kombat), collecting all the cards (Pokémon), and scoring the most points (Tetris). Fantasy role-playing games (Dungeons & Dragons, Rolemaster, GURPs), while they may involve some of those aforementioned elements, rarely focus on them. Instead, playing a fantasy role-playing game is much like acting out a scene from a play, movie or book, only without a predefined script. Players take on such roles as wise wizards, noble knights, roguish sellswords, crafty hobbits, greedy dwarves, and anything else one can imagine and the referee allows. The players don't exactly compete; instead, they interact with each other and with the fantasy setting. The game is played orally with no game board, and although the referee usually has a storyline planned for a game, much of the action is impromptu.Performance is a major part of role-playing, and role-playing games as a performing art is the subject of this book, which attempts to introduce an appreciation for the performance aesthetics of such games. The author provides the framework for a critical model useful in understanding the art-especially in terms of aesthetics-of role-playing games. The book also serves as a contribution to the beginnings of a body of criticism, theory, and aesthetics analysis of a mostly unrecognized and newly developing art form. There are four parts: the cultural structure, the extent to which the game relates to outside cultural elements; the formal structure, or the rules of the game; the social structure, which encompasses the degree and quality of social interaction among players; and the aesthetic structure, concerned with the emergence of role-playing as an art form. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good beginning for a body of critical work.
Daniel Mackay, The Fantasy Role-Playing Game: A New Performing Art (MacFarland and Company, 2001)

The RPG has long been the redheaded stepchild of the gaming world when it comes to serious critical studies. Those few studies that have emerged, while valuable, haven't really looked at the RPG as an art form. Mackay makes an attempt to start a poetics of the role-playing game (it would be hubris, pure and simple, to think a single book could provide a complete poetics of the RPG, and Mackay does not suffer from hubris), a book that other critical observers will be able to build on in the future. In my opinion, for the most part, he succeeds.

The one thing of which most books of critical theory cannot be accused is readability. Mackay does a fantastic job, in most of this book, of keeping it readable; after all, his target audience is not just critical theorists, but role-players as well. He gets into the jargon late in the book, but hopefully by the time the role-players will already be engrossed enough to keep going. And there's another fortunate side effect of the book-- getting more people reading critical theory for fun. Not nearly enough people do that these days; Mackay actually addresses this fact late in the fifth chapter when he talks about the self-referentiality of modern literature, poetry, art, and critical theory.

It's the fifth chapter where Mackay seems to fall off the plant somewhat, though. It becomes obvious that Mackay is of the socialist school of critical theory, though even this comes into question at one point, when he seems to lump socialism in with capitalism as one of the reasons society's going to hell in a handbasket. I spent most of the rest of the book wondering where Mackay's coming from, but I'm guessing that most of the readers of the book won't be conversant enough with schools of critical theory to wonder about what is, essentially, a niggle.

How important a book this ends up being obviously remains to be seen. In the interim, however, it's good reading about a neglected subject. If you're a role-player, it's worth your time. ***

A New Art Deserves A New Kind of Art Criticism-& This is It!
This is the first book I have read about role-playing games that both suggests that role-playing games have had some kind of impact outside their own isolated world and, at the same time, cuts deeper into the historical and psychological origins of this peculiar, late-twentieth century phenomenon.

Mackay breaks his book up into four sections. The first examines the history of the role-playing game, particularly in relation to other forms of popular culture: fiction, film, comic books, and computer games. The second section looks at the rules that structure role-playing game. The third section looks at the social relations between players within the performance of the game. The fourth section explores the aesthetics of the rpg and includes a fascinating history of the emergence of fantasy as the key to commercialism that it is today from its humble roots as an object of suspicion in orthodox Christian Medieval Europe.

Mackay does not dumb-down his writing, and I'm sure other role-players, as well as others interested in the history of fantasy, will appreciate this. At times, he gets a bit carried away with his systems of organizing the game and describing it, but that is easily forgiven given the groundbreaking nature of this book. Of critical importance is his treatment of the performance of the role-playing game, and not simply as a game made up of a bunch of rulebooks and a bag of dice. The afterword by Marshall Blonsky is as astute and concise an analysis of fantasy gaming (whatever form it may take) as you'll find anywhere. My only question, why did it take so long for a book like this to hit the shelves? ... Read more

Product Description
This book teaches boys and girls about business, entrepreneurialism, money, math and success -- by teaching them to play fantasy baseball.

Success in fantasy baseball and fantasy football translates into success in business.Guaranteed.In fantasy ball children learn how to:

• Evaluate talent
• Build a winning team
• Negotiate
• Analyze critical statistics
• Make deals
• Manage a payroll
• Optimize your limited resources
• Take risks
• Hire and fire
• Compete globally
• Beat the market

Learn to play yourself and witness first-hand how fantasy baseball teaches children (and adults) the concise, inspiring and sometimes harsh lessons of successful entrepreneurs and business tycoons.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fantasy sports and business for father and son
Learn about fantasy baseball, learn why it's a great hobby between fathers and sons -- and it shows you how to apply the lessons of fantasy baseball to teach your children about business, finance, math and entrepreneurialism.Wall Street Journal review ("The next generation of fantasy players," Aug 10, 2008) gave it the proverbial thumbs-up. ... Read more

Product Description
All the best in online fantasy sports leagues, helpful tools, information-packed Web sites and scores of online statistics--this book gives readers the information they need to tap into the online information that all fantasy sports participants need. The CD-ROM features the software needed to go online with a select Internet service provider plus the tools for managing a fantasy sports team or league. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A must read for all.
The book is an excellent tool that allows all to enter and enjoy the wonderful world of Fantasy Baseball!!!!!

A superb book for the novice and seasoned pro alike
This book covers all the beginner aspects of the fantasy sports game. It offers the necessary steps to beginning your own league and if your a seasoned veteran helpful hints to get the winning edge. I can attest to theGeorge Griefs and the Jermane Allensworths from my own experiences.

A Sports Fans Dream
This a book which enables a group of people to have fun following a sport. It teaches you what to look for and how to prepare yourself. It is a book that will help not only the so-so sport fans but also the very hard coresport fans. The one thing that I would have added to it would have beenChapter 23 How to go from 9th place in your league to 1st in the last fiveweeks of the season, but then again that's me. If you have a group offriends who like sports and don't know how to set up a league this is agreat book to buy.

the book was fantastic,its the way the game should be played
it allows for the whole family to come to the table as one and play the game the way it should be played. the team of gus and jim is outstanding!!!!!! i can't wait for the next version!!!!!

Great Book !!!!!!
A must for anyone who is interested in learning about this subject ... Read more

Product Description
"Flockhart's books make math fun again. Teachers, students, and parents will love this program."
--Jeffrey R. Thomas, founder and CEO, SportsBuff.com;president, Fantasy Sports Trade Association

This workbook is designed to be used in conjunction with Fantasy Soccer and Mathematics: A Resource Guide for Teachers and Parents. The games and activities in Fantasy Soccer and Mathematics were created to get you excited about learning and practicing math, even if you are not a big sports fan.

Here's how it works. You will create a Fantasy Soccer team by picking real-life players, following your players' statistics, and calculating your teams' total points using one of the equations your teacher provides. In addition to the basic Fantasy Soccer game, your workbook contains worksheets for extra practice on 46 different math concepts.

So join the winning math team with Fantasy Soccer and Mathematics!

Also available in the Fantasy Sports and Mathematics series:

Fantasy Basketball and Mathematics | Fantasy Football and Mathematics | Fantasy Soccer and Mathematics ... Read more

Product Description
Does your son or daughter waste precious time playing fantasy baseball?Outstanding!Success in fantasy baseball translates into success in business.Guaranteed.In fantasy baseball children learn how to:

* Evaluate talent
* Build a winning team
* Negotiate trades
* Analyze statistics
* Make deals
* Manage a payroll
* Optimize limited resources
* Take risks
* Hire and fire
* Compete globally
* Beat the market

Don't believe me?Then play for yourself and witness first-hand how fantasy baseball teaches children (and adults) the concise, inspiring and sometimes harsh lessons of successful entrepreneurs and business tycoons. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Wall Street Journal likes it
Learn about fantasy baseball, learn why it's a great hobby between fathers and sons -- and it shows you how to apply the lessons of fantasy baseball to teach your children about business, finance, math and entrepreneurialism.Wall Street Journal review ("The next generation of fantasy players, Aug 10, 2008) gave it the proverbial thumbs-up.

Great for boys
Fun read (for the parent and the child if over 12). Shows how kids can learn not only math skills but also business skills from playing fantasy baseball. My son got hooked a couple years ago. Instead of hours in front of a game console this summer he's managing 3 teams, making deals, cutting the dead weight and figuring out why Ruth was the best home run hitter of all time. (I'm expecting him to become a day trader at any moment.) ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Non Fiction
Ian Stafford is an average bloke.Just like most of the rest of us, he is not very good at any particular sport.In this interesting book, he travels the world as a writer, setting up sessions with highly successful sports teams and groups to see what it is like to be them, even when not having their talent.

Fulfilling the dreams of every sporting hack out there
Who doesn't want to play with the best in the sporting world and see how their ability compares?Yet very few of us get a chance to do so.Stafford did, and writes about it here.

This is the first time I feel inspired enough about something to post a review about it in Amazon.This book has comedy, has drama, has passion - most importantly, it is entertaining.I'm a sports buff so this probably influenced me in my opinion, but it must be one of the most entertaining books I've ever read.There's a great blend of comedy - as there would be if you put a normal sporting hack at the elite level - and drama - my body was hurting as I was reading about his fight with Roy Jones.

This is a damn good read.Though not available on Amazon when I searched for it, "In Your Dreams" - a book he wrote a year or two after this one, chronicling actual game situations (as opposed to mostly training sessions that happens in this book) - is perhaps even more entertaining and a better read. I really can't think of any axes to grind with these books, other than the choice of sports (and that's personal preference - for instance, I wish he had taken up a couple of American pasttimes, espeically basketball).

A bargain at just about any reasonable price, these books.Stafford is a great author - guaranteed to entertain for the whole book. ... Read more

Product Description
Every spring, millions of Americans prepare to take part in one of the oddest, most obsessive, and most engrossing rituals in the sports pantheon: Rotisserie baseball, a fantasy game where armchair fans match wits by building their own teams. In 2004, Sam Walker, a sports columnist for the Wall Street Journal,decided to explore this phenomenon by talking his way into Tout Wars, a league reserved for the nation’s top experts. The result is one of the most sheerly entertaining sports books in years and a matchless look into the heart and soul of our national pastime. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (49)

Chasing Stats
Great book! --the author does a great job showing how the competitive nature fantasy baseball -- chasing stats --- can overshadow just enjoying your favorite baseball team, or any baseball game.And yet its still fun to join a league.

(The anecdotes at the beginning of each chapter are hysterical.)

A true fantasy book.
This entertaining tale of a fantasy become semi-reality hits many entertaining cords to be enjoy.

Couldn't stop smiling & chuckling
Hilariously funny!! I am not a stat geek and have never played in a Roto league before. You don't have to, this book is simply fun, filled with funny moments with baseball players and captures the intensity of Fantasy Baseball fanatics. Walker writes with a humbleness that makes him feel like an old pal, you'll be rooting for him before long.

P.S. MoneyBall lovers will enjoy this book immensely.

Not what the title suggests
Although its clear from the editorial blurb here on Amazon that Sam Walker is NOT your 'everyman' type rotisserie player, thats not how this book was originally marketed and I can't believe how gushing the praise is for something that isn't at all what it purports to be.

I would not call the 'Lunatic Fringe' of fantasy baseball the 'Tout Wars' players, who mostly earn their livings from analysing baseball stats and selling their research in book form or through website subscriptions. Sam Walker himself is a sportswriter, albeit for the Wall Street Journal,whose access to the inner sanctums of baseball front offices and clubhouses is a million miles removed from the experience of fantasy baseball for 99.9 percent of its participants. The people he plays against in the book are to all intents and purposes Fantasy Sports Professionals.

I don't consider hiring a stats genius and a scouting guy for the season, then spending 40,000 dollars on watching spring training and various other road trips as representing anything that most fantasy players can identify with. The small introductory paragraphs for each chapter would have provided a much more entertaining look at the subject if Walker could have found a few hundred of those, as it is, the only real entertainment value from this book is discovering that Matt Berry really doesn't know what he's talking about, but has managed to sell himself as a fantasy expert anyway...which kind of sums up the whole subject really.

An insincere effort by the author
First, I admit I am a fantasy baseball fanatic.As such, I looked forward to reading this book.I was very disappointed by this arrogant author's obvious style of embellishing the stories in the book.I suspect he used creative license to produce a successful book.He approached his subject like a writing assignment and not an adventure.I have more fantasy baseball knowledge in my little finger than he will ever have in his lifetime! ... Read more

Product Description
For one man, football is more than just a fantasy...

As seen on ESPN's Cold Pizza

Fantasy football -- one of America's most popular, and profitable, virtual pastimes -- became a way of life for sports humorist and author Mark St. Amant. Utterly fed up with never having won his league championship, St. Amant abandoned a successful advertising career to make fantasy football his full-time job, embarking on a sprawling reconnaissance mission to discover what really makes this game, and its 20 million players, tick. Committed is the result of St. Amant's ranting, relentless, and strategic pursuit of his own obsession.

In this wickedly funny and deeply informative work, St. Amant offers readers an all-access sideline pass to his wild, unprecedented fantasy football season, and to the hobby itself. From its humble beginnings in a New York hotel in 1962 to a multibillion-dollar business today, from local and online leagues to high-stakes, cutthroat Las Vegas competitions, St. Amant lays bare the facts, figures, and fanaticism of fantasy football in all its multidimensional glory. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (59)

Committed, Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie
This book arrived in a prompt manner and it was in excellent condition.It contained good tips for fantasy football players.

Very funny. I loved it
In May for my birthday I received several fantasy football books as gifts. This was one of them. Most dealt with playing fantasy football and how to do it better and all of them were great, but "Committed" was different. It is more a humorous story of the fantasy football year, not necessarily a "How to" book.
It was hilarious. I laughed out loud so many times my wife asked what was so funny. Then she wanted to read it and although she did not enjoy it as much as I did; I think she appreciated this "fantasy football thing" more after reading it.
This truly is a great and memorable review for anyone that has played FF<

Great Read
This book captures everything that makes fantasy football great.It is written in an engaging, down-to-earth style and is funny as hell.Just reading it brings back memories of my 20 years in fantasy football leagues.

Great read!

The emotions of fantasy
Very funny combination of history, investigation, and how-to book about fantasy football.St. Amant captures the intensity and comradery of fantasy football.

More vulgar than it needs to be, funnier than it should be.Made me laugh out loud and nod knowingly when he touched on the emotions of fantasy (football, that is).

For the Fantasy Football Fan
As someone who started playing Fantasy Football in 1992 and has not missed a season since, I have lived through many of the same things as the writer. My first question is how did he get his wife to let him take a year off jsut to play fantasy football? He is one lucky guy. I have also learned that it doesn't matter how much research. etc. you do sometimes it's just plain luck.
If you play or want to play fantast football this book will give you an idea of what it's like. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (28)

Oldie but a goodie
I originally found this game through sheer chance, browsing through the used section of a game store. I had heard of WFRP but never really looked into it.

I was drawn in by the cheesy but awesome cover art. I've always loved GW art and this was no exception- how many other RPGs have not one, but TWO different mohawks on the front cover? As I started to read through it, I found some clunky mechanics, but there is a lot to love about this game.

The setting has changed a lot since 1986, but in a lot of ways I prefer the version presented here. It leaves a lot to the GM to fill in the blanks, so if you want every single little village and hamlet detailed, this won't deliver that. What it will deliver is brutal and truly fear-inspiring critical hits, harsh but fair rules, an old-school preference for grit, random chance, and deadliness, and a unique and fun method of character advancement that goes beyond simple classes and archetypes and really helps define your character.

The old Book of the Olde World
If a System hasn't been updated for 16 years and is because it is too good to be changed.

This is a good example. The update was not nearly as good.

Best Grim Fantasy RPG
Warhammer: Fantasy Role-Play (WFRP) is one of my all time favorite fantasy settings. As a hard-line GURPS freak, I take a lot of flak for that. I can understand why. Most GURPS fanatics hate WFRP character creation. It is rigid with little free choice, and is based on a random roll system, much like d20. I feel that it works for WFRP, and while many (perhaps most) GURPS players end up using GURPS in place of the WFRP system, I would never do that. WFRP works for game balance, it eliminates the rampant munchkinism of d20 and many other systems (including GURPS).

The setting is of course based upon the world of Warhammer Fantasy Battles. It is a grim world. Chaos Beasts will tear out your throat, secret cults infest the cities, Skaven armies hide in plain sight. Magic is rare, and those who use it are often hunted by witch hunters and burned at the steak. There is a definite Lovecraftian influence on the setting (hence I like it).

In WFRP the characters progress through a number of careers. In order to do so, they must earn enough experience points, learn the correct skills and obtain the needed Trappings (equipment). Characters start weak, but can eventually become powerful after taking the advances from two or more Advance Schemes. The only thing you need to think about in preparation for character creation is race: human, dwarf, elf, halfling or gnome. There is very little possible min/maxing. Class (a generalization of several careers) will be chosen based upon how well you roll for characteristics. Your Starting Career is rolled randomly upon the appropriate Class table (Rogue, Warrior, Ranger and Academic).

The rules are based upon percentile skill checks which in turn are based upon the characteristics of the character. That's about all that is needed to be known.

Players often learn a hard lesson about combat. Too often, they jump in all gung-ho from too many years of DnD. There characters end up missing limbs, insane and eventually dead. Combat is VERY nasty in WFRP. The smart player will use combat as a last resort. For those characters that don't die, there are insanity points. Collect too many and you go nuts.

My only gripe with the game is the magic system. Mages will find advancement slow and agonizing. In my humble opinion, that is not all bad, what is bad are the spells are little more than rough cut conversions from the paternal wargame. Realms of Fantazy, does little to fix this. But that is another review.

Warhammer...a fun,evil RPG
What can I say that hasn't been said already? Well I'll start off with the basics: WARHAMMER FOREVER!This is one of the most entertaining,fun and well-thought role-playing systems ever done!!I like how It's a non-cliche'd,dark game where the p.c's can get arrested for killing that mage who turns out to be the mayor(or someone else of importance)and I also like how the magic system is geared for an evil-themed game(which the p.c's in my current campaign seem to like)I've been playing RPG's for over seventeen years and this is a worthy investment for both your time and money. PSIf your playing a mage character in this game play either a Demonologist or a Necromancer and you can't go wrong!

Enjoyed by newbie and Veteran Alike!
I was on the bus one day and my friend had this book he was reading.It said Warhammer on the front.I asked him what it was and I'm gratefull I did!This book has helped me to get into the coolest game ever.I was thinking about starting D&D but with all those huge, confusing books and the restrictions to creativity, I was hesitant.With Warhammer You just by this book and maybe your army book and voila!All in all.....well, you saw my rating:-) ... Read more

Product Description
Tracing the evolution of fantasy gaming from its origins intabletop war and collectible card games to contemporary web-based liveaction and massive multi-player games, this book examines the archetypes and concepts within the fantasy gaming genre alongside the roles andfunctions of the game players themselves. Other topics include: how TheHobbit and The Lord of the Rings helped shape fantasy gaming throughTolkien's obsessive attention to detail and virtual world building; thecommunity-based fellowship embraced by players of both play-by-post andpersistent browser-based games, despite the fact that these games arefundamentally solo experiences; the origins of gamebooks and interactive fiction; and the evolution of online gaming in terms of technologicalcapabilities, media richness, narrative structure, coding authority, and participant roles. ... Read more