d20Zine 04.pdf

Issue 4, March 2003

Volume 4, March 2003

Credits:

Executive Chairman and Publisher: Steven

Creech

Contributing Authors: SD Anderson, Ramon

Arjona, Bret Boyd, Bruce Boughner, Andy

Christian, Tom Gafkjen, John Grigsby,

David Jones, Cindy Moore, Scott Moore,

Duane Nutley, Benjamin D. Richards, Chris

Sims, and John Wommer

Cover Art: Michael Loh

Editor-In-Chief: Anna Dobritt

Editors: Andrew Garbade, Rich Miller and

Wade Nudson

Graphic Layout: Todd Schumacher

Contents

3 Random Rolls and Off Tangent Thoughts

4 From The Fast Lane

7 Imperial Advisors

10 Collectable Card Game d20

33 Reviews From The Critic’s Corner

44 Computers and Gaming

46 Gobie’s Magical Emporium

49 Sorcerous Blood: Bloodlines

54 Computer Tools and Mapping

58 Broadsides! vs. Seas of Blood: A Comparison

59 Getting the Most Out of Your Minor Foes

61 Fantasy World Proposals

62 “They Make The Strangest Couple…”

71 Give Us Your Best Hero

75 Superheroes and Role-Playing

78 Star Trek: The Roleplaying Game

80 Star Trek: The CCG (2nd Edition)

81 Roleplaying in the World ofThe Lord of the Rings

83 Short Stories

93 OPEN GAME LICENSE

“Requires the use of the Dungeons &

Dragons® Player’s Handbook, Third Edition,

and the Psionics Handbook, published by

Wizards of the Coast®

“Dungeons & Dragons® and Wizards of the

Coast® are Registered Trademarks of Wizards

of the Coast, and are used with Permission.”

‘d20 System’ and the ‘d20 System’ logo are

Trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast

and are used according to the terms of the

d20 System License version 3.0. A copy of this

License can be found at www.wizards.com

d20Zine, Issue 4

Spring, 2003

Random Rolls and Off Tangent Thoughts

which is the irst issue of this new year.

With the year being only three months old,

there have been enough current world events

to normally ill an entire year, let alone the

little time that has passed. We’ve seen our

nation on the brink of war, Mother Nature sent

those of us who live in areas prone to snow a

little wake-up call, and regrettably, we lost the

space shuttle Columbia for unknown reasons.

One can’t help but think about the ancient

Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting

times.”

On a more positive note, what do you think

about our cool cover? Michael Loh is the

force behind that picture and I have to say that

he is one talented individual. You can see more

of his work at Renderosity.com under the screen

name of “ Mwkloh ”. Michael does computer

graphics work with the programs Vue d’Esprit

and Poser along with Photoshop. Michael

has graciously agreed to do the covers for

d20Zine! from now on, so be on the watch for

new and really awesome artwork by him.

This issue is illed with great material. John

Wommer has written an article on converting

almost any collectible card game into a d20

character class. This article has been several

months in the making and long hours were

spent writing it and rewriting it in order to

make it compliant with d20 system rules and

not infringe on anybody’s product identity.

Anna Dobritt edited the article and she

deserves a big thank you for that monumental

task. We also have an article featuring prestige

classes for the Three Kingdoms campaign

setting and short iction by writer Bret Boyd.

Besides a slew of product reviews, I also give

my take on computers in gaming and the use

of computer mapping tools like Campaign

Cartographer 2 Pro and Fractal Mapper.

The business side of the role-playing

industry continues to be good to my writing

partner, Kevin Ruesch, and myself. Sales of

Pale Designs: A Poisoner’s Handbook by

Bastion Press have been very good and continue

to be steady. Kevin and I are on the verge of

wrapping up our latest project for Bastion

Press called Torn Asunder: Critical Hits . The

book’s title says it all, but I will say that there

will be a large section of the book devoted

to healing also. Recently, I was in Grand

Haven, Michigan for a weekend for a book

signing session at West Michigan Sportscard

Connection . I also got the privilege of

meeting fellow Bastion Press freelance writer,

Ken Marable. Ken has contributed to several

Bastion Press products including Danger in

Deadwood and Oathbound: Domains of the

Forge. The two owners of the store went out

of their way to make me feel welcome and I

can truly say that it was one very enjoyable

weekend. The number of enthusiastic gamers

was impressive and good to see. If you live

near the Grand Haven area, I encourage you to

stop by their store and check it out.

Finally, I have assumed the mantle of

Playtesting Coordinator for Bastion Press.

Anyone interested in participating in the

playtesting process should email me at

creech@bastionpress.com with the “Playtesting”

in the subject header. If you are serious about

providing constructive feedback to future

Bastion Press products, we would like to

hear from you. All playtesters who follow the

instructions will have their names included

in the playtest credits of the relevant Bastion

Press product or products.

Be sure to drop us a line and let us know

what you liked or didn’t like about this

issue. When we get a letter, we’ll post it in

the following issue under our “ Raves and

Rants ” section (which you will notice is

absent this issue. No mail means no column).

So get off your duffs and let us know what

you think of the magazine by emailing us

at ghost.wind@verizon.net or by leaving your

comments in the d20Zine! section of the d20

Magazine Rack forums.

-Steve Creech, Executive Chairman

d20Zine, Issue 4

Spring, 2003

W elcome to the Spring issue of d20Zine! ,

From The Fast Lane

By Steven Creech

capsule reviews of smaller-sized RPG

products. You won’t ind in-depths reviews

here, but rather, my quick assessments and

impressions of the products themselves. At

the end of each capsule review is a scoring

assessment that mirrors the same format we

use for the Critic’s Corner and Fast Tracks

review columns on the d20 Magazine Rack

site.

Lock & Load: Iron Kingdoms™

Character Primer

Written by Douglas Seacat and J. Michael

Kilmartin

Published by Privateer Press

64 pages, $12.99

Privateer Press irst stormed on the scene

with the highly acclaimed Witchire adventure

trilogy that introduced the gaming world to the

Iron Kingdoms . Late last year, they followed

up with the very impressive monster book,

Monsternomicon . Now those who have been

diligently waiting for the irst of the campaign

books have another resource to add to their

collection. Lock & Load is essentially a

player’s handbook for the Iron Kingdoms 

setting. The book contains descriptions

regarding the different regions, their relations,

and the men who inhabit them. Demihuman

races are present including dwarves, elves,

half-elves, winter elves, and new races like

goblins, bogrin, ogrun, and trollkin. The

standard character classes are represented

although the IK twist has been added to them.

One of the things that separate the IK setting

from typical fantasy settings is that irearms

exist along with a form of steampunk, or

mechanized machines. This makes for a

more tough and gritty setting but also one

that doesn’t appeal to everyone. This is a

setting where racial prejudices run strong and

the monsters that exist are formidable. Even

the dragons that live in this setting are not to

be triled with. Privateer has really showed

considerable imagination in the development

of this campaign world with each release

being exceptionally sound in terms of game

mechanics, balance, lavor, and even artwork.

I like the style of the world and want to

convince my gaming group to give it a try (if

we can ever get together again). Lock & Load

is not for everyone but it is certainly worthy

of taking a serious look at. I recommend it

and feel it is one of the best offerings on the

market today.

Fast Tracks Score (Maximum 5 pts. per

category)

Open Game Content: 3.5 (Game related

material and rules are open content.)

d20 Compliance: 5.0

Originality: 5.0

Playability: 4.5

Value for the Dollar: 5.0

Overall Score: 4.60

Final Grade: A+

Nyambe: Dire

Spirits

Written by Chris Dolunt

Published by Atlas Games

48 pages, $12.95

Dire Spirits is the irst

published adventure for

the Nyambe campaign

setting. It is designed for 1 st level characters

and would make a good introduction for

players making their irst start in Nyambe.

Without giving away the plot, I will say that

the characters must stop an ancient evil spirit

from reclaiming what was once his. The

storyline is both interesting and challenging

but can quickly lead to the demise of the

entire party if they do not plan carefully. The

treasure acquired during this adventure will

likely see a lot of it used during the course

of the adventure in order to help the group

survive. In short, if you loved Nyambe and are

looking for a way to bring your players into

this world, this adventure its the bill nicely.

The Complete

Guide to

Doppelgangers

Written by Keith

Baker

Published by Goodman

Games

32 pages, $11.00

The Complete Guide

to Doppelgangers takes a more in-depth

look at the world of shapeshifters. Their

society, culture, myths and subraces are all

covered, as are rules for doppel characters.

The strong points to this book lie in the

wealth of ideas that are presented, especially

under the section on urban doppelgangers

and the turf wars that may result between

shapeshifting and non-shapeshifting factions

or gangs. Keith does a good job getting into

the psychology of doppelgangers and even

gives us a couple of sub-species, a new

prestige class and doppelganger-centered

feats and skills. The book is well written and

interesting but does have limited application.

Not only is it primarily a GM-only book, but

its narrow focus means there must be a need

for the book. If you are a GM who loves using

shapechangers in your campaign, this book is

certainly worth a serious look.

Fast Tracks Score (Maximum 5 pts. per

category)

Open Game Content: 4.0

d20 Compliance: 5.0

Originality: 5.0

Playability: 4.0 (Nyambe only.)

Value for the Dollar: 4.0

Overall Score: 4.40

Final Grade: A-

Splintered Peace

Written by David Chart

Published by Atlas Games

110 pages, $26.95

Splintered Peace is a

campaign sourcebook that

combines the material you

would ind in a supplement

with an adventure. Centered around the city

of Marchion, this book focuses on politics,

intrigue and racial hatred between orcs,

demihumans and humans. It is deinitely a

role-play heavy book that GMs can build an

entire campaign around. Besides details of

the city, there are 31 NPCs that make up key

players. While they lack full d20 stats, they do

have colorful backgrounds.

The concept of Splintered Peace is

interesting, but GMs should be prepared to

put in some real work to make it a more luid

storyline. This is not a typically formatted

adventure that has boxed text, but neither is it

Fast Tracks Score (Maximum 5 pts. per

category)

Open Game Content: 1.5 (Only the

introduction and physiology sections on

pages 2-5.)

d20 Compliance: 5.0

Originality: 5.0

Playability: 3.5 (GM only tool)

Value for the Dollar: 4.5

Overall Score: 3.90

Final Grade: B+

d20Zine, Issue 4

Spring, 2003

A uthor’s Note: From the Fast Lane presents

a regular supplement. I like the product and its

intent but whether it is successful relies on the

players being willing to make the investment

to become members of Marchion and use it as

an ongoing base of operations. In short, they

must develop a vested interest in the town or

nearly everything in this book is for naught.

If your group is primarily a transient hack-

n-slash group, then Splintered Peace isn’t a

book for them.

Fast Tracks Score (Maximum 5 pts. per

category)

Open Game Content: 3.0

d20 Compliance: 5.0

Originality: 5.0

Playability: 3.0 (GM only.)

Value for the Dollar: 4.0

Overall Score: 4.00

Final Grade: B+

Spell Decks: Mysteries of the

Arcane

Published by Paradigm Concepts

$24.99

Spell Decks are Paradigm Concepts’ answer

to carrying around several books i lled with

your favorite spells. This box of 350+ cards

lets your create a spellbook for your character.

Just select the spells your sorcerer or wizard

knows and you’re all set. Besides the Player’s

Handbook , sources include Arcana: Societies

of Magic, Broadsides!, Codex Arcanis, Forged

in Magic, Gar’Udok’s Necromantic Artes, and

Twin Crowns.

Each card has a particular graphic icon for

the spell school, the stats, a description of

the spell, and a reference back to the original

source. Physically, the card is a little longer

than a typical trading card but fairly close in

overall size. With other spell collections like

Green Ronin’s Pocket Grimoire series, Spell

Decks isn’t a product for everyone. However,

they can certainly add some unique l avor

by having your character carry his very own

personal deck of spells.

The Complete

Guide to Treants

Written by Joe Crow

Published by Goodman

Games

48 pages, $13.00

The Complete Guide to

Treants does one thing

exceptionally well; it capitalizes upon the

popularity of the Ents from the movie The

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. That

movie really shows audiences how formidable

walking trees can be. This book takes that

same l avor and vein of belief and runs with it.

Treants are so much deeper (no pun intended)

with the information in this book. The social

structure and cultural habits show why a treant

is usually so wise and insightful. After all,

they have hundreds of years to ponder things

and i nally come to a decision.

When the need to act arrives, treant combat

strategies, character classes (NPC only

– I can’t really imagine a player as a treant),

new magic and even evil variations are all

covered. The treant classes are good as are the

templates, but the spells really stand out. Very

cool. Suggestions and tips for working treants

into your campaign are also presented. All in

all, if you liked Treebeard, you will love this

book. I recommend it.

Fast Tracks Score (Maximum 5 pts. per

category)

Open Game Content: 2.5 (Only a few

highlighted areas that cover game

mechanics.)

d20 Compliance: 5.0

Originality: 5.0 (Very original.)

Playability: 3.5 (GM book for role-play

heavy groups.)

Value for the Dollar: 4.0

Overall Score: 4.00

Final Grade: B+

The Complete

Guide to Wererats

Written by Keith Baker

Published by Goodman

Games

32 pages, $11.00

The Complete Guide to

Wererats is a sourcebook

completely devoted to wererats. Keith Baker

does a fantastic job presenting an underworld

society that is i lled with as much political

intrigue and backstabbing as a typical day in

Congress. Wererat society tends to be made

up of broods, which are further subdivided

into warrens. This makes for a surprisingly

structures existence with the majority being

logical and pragmatic about their lives and

standing within the warren and brood.

New rules for wererat characters classes

are presented. These rules are interesting, as

are the new skills and feats. However, they

are best used for NPCs rather than players.

There is a fair amount of open content with

much of it game-related. Overall, this is a

very interesting book and GMs looking for

something to weave a long-term subplot

into their campaign would do well to look at

this book. It’s one of the better books in the

Complete Guide series.

Fast Tracks Score (Maximum 5 pts. per

category)

Open Game Content: 5.0

d20 Compliance: 5.0

Originality: 4.0 (Was originally done back

in 2 nd edition D&D.)

Playability: 3.5 (Wizards and sorcerers

only.)

Value for the Dollar: 4.0

Overall Score: 4.30

Final Grade: A-

Fast Tracks Score (Maximum 5 pts. per

category)

Open Game Content: 3.5 (Essentially, game

mechanics only.)

d20 Compliance: 5.0

Originality: 5.0

Playability: 3.5 (Mostly GM only.)

Value for the Dollar: 4.5

Overall Score: 4.30

Final Grade: A-

School of Illusion

Written by Kevin Wilson

Published by Fantasy

Flight Games

64 pages, $14.95

School of Illusion is the

latest in Fantasy Flight

Games’ softcover Legends

& Lairs series. As the title suggests, the

focus of the book is on the magical school

of illusion itself and sets out to really dei ne

d20Zine, Issue 4

Spring, 2003

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