Kingbeast's Lair

-== What is it? ==-

Magic Items is a supplement for Fantasy Hero (1st Edition) that was published by Iron Crown Enterprises (I.C.E.). The authors include David Berge, Barry A. Wilson, and Andrew Robinson. Magic Items was released in November of 1987…yeah this sucker is old. 😉

The book has a color cover and an entirely black and white interior. Magic Items is 8.5” x 11” and is 48 pages in length. I am reviewing a print copy that I purchased.

-== What I Like ==-

Magic Items has a lot of very nice ideas. The presented items are for the most part creative and intriguing. Having an intriguing RPG supplement can be a difficult thing to achieve especially for Hero equipment books which can come off as extremely dry. I enjoyed reading the book cover-to-cover.

I liked the length of each magic item listing. Each Magic Items entry consists of a small supporting paragraph and the necessary rule details. The supporting text evokes the story of the item so that it can be worked into a campaign. Often the text also allows GMs to easily conjure up adventure hooks centered around the item.

The layout in Magic Items is not normal for Hero supplements.. The authors tried to save page space by combining common Advantages and Limitations in a top section on each listing. Below the common modifiers are details on each power in the item and any additional modifiers that may apply to the power only. At times this works well but it can make the book difficult to read in my opinion. I actually appreciate this concept of condensing common information and think it could be used to save space in several modern Hero products.

The cover art by Walter Velez is great. I love the central figures and the way that the header text pops. The interior art in Magic Items is by Jason Waltrip and it does not disappoint. It is above average or better in my opinion. 🙂

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

The second introductory section of Magic Items is called Changes To The FH Magic Rules. It contains a set of rule changes that the authors claim should be considered official errata to the Fantasy Hero game book. They then suggest that it will be used in all future supplements. It is a very strange section especially for a simple product supplement about magic items.

Magic Items is short. I would have liked to see more items.

All of items are unique which may seem like strength but it is also nice to have some standard items. A brief section on simple items like healing potions, magical armor, and basic magical swords would be well received.

There is a nice opening section on Items In Your Campaign but short of this Magic Items does not include supporting material on alchemists/potions, item creation, item related creatures, etc. This type of support material is a real strength of current DOJ products.

-== Summary ==-

I can guess what many of you are thinking after reading this review, “Come on John…do you really think it is fair to review a 24 year old supplement as if it were a modern RPG product?!?” My take is simple…I want to rate a product on whether it will be useful to CURRENT gamers. Fair shmair I say! 😀 Saying that I really think Magic Items is a valuable book for Fantasy Hero GMs even with this mediocre rating.

Magic Items is by far easiest to purchase on eBay. Even some of my go to sites for older products (aka Noble Knight Games, etc) don’t list this book. Today when I logged into eBay I could bid on a copy for $0.99 and buy one for $7.95! 😉

I give it 5 out of 10 paws.

Date At Start Of Game: 1/14/207

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 26th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

The Tower

As the session starts the PC are conversing with Cizbakri about Donovan’s Mate and the quest to free his soul. At first the PC discuss whether they should just attack him and try to take the artifact. Several of the PC are hesitant as kirin are supposedly creatures of good. Eventually the PC agree to attempt the mission. Before entering the PC make an agreement with Cizbakri that if they are able to free his soul he will give them not only Donovan’s Mate but also any other treasure they may want to take from the tower. Cizbakri agrees. The PC then ask for the command word for Donovan’s Mate and Cizbakri tells them that he will give them that information when they return. When each PC touches the rod they are swept into a foggy whirlwind…

Inside The Wick

The PC appear in a large octagonal chamber. The walls are white marble and the floor appears to be made of solid aquamarine. On each facing is a doorway that has a different material acting as a curtain. In front of them is a large marble dais. A set of stairs lead to the top of the dais which is covered in a swirling fog. Po uses his Spirit Eyes and detects magic on everything! As the PC search the area they hear Cizbakri’s voice echoing from the fog, “Is someone there? If so I would enjoy speaking with you…this place is very lonely.” The PC enter the fog on the dais and find a room with red silk pillows atop which rests a very evil looking version of the kirin, Cizbakri. His eyes are solid red, his hair is dyed green, and the armor he wears is covered with demonic faces. After some chit chat the PC start asking about how to free his soul. Evil Cizbakri explains that his soul is split into 8 parts. Each part resides in a chamber that can be reached from the octagonal room. All pieces must be returned to restore his soul. If the PC fail Evil Cizbakri guesses that the PC would also become trapped in this realm for all eternity! Knowing that kirin are honor bound the PC ask that when his soul is freed that he go his own way. They also ask for the command word for Donovan’s Mate. Evil Cizbakri has nothing to lose and agrees with the bargain. With the the PC return and start venturing into the various portals.

The Harem

After entering the red silk portal the PC emerge in a desert tent. In front of them are pillows atop which rests a female Bat Kin, Ape Kin, Armadillo Kin, Kangaroo Kin, and Raven Kin. The woman beckon for the PC to spend the night with them. The PC are assaulted with powerful charming magic! Oren is able to narrowly resists but pretends that he is being charmed so that he can get closer and attack. When Oren closes he raises his hammer and slams one of the females. At this time the group changes into succubi and attack with dangerous claws. After some deft swordplay and tactics the PC take down the devil women. When the PC touch a lantern in the room they vanish and are returned to the main octagonal chamber.

The Arena Of Terror

The portal with a brown wicker screen leads to a roman coliseum type arena. The only person in the stands is Evil Cizbakri. He claps his hands and shouts, “May the combat begin!” With that four gates open at the sides of the arena. Two huge wolverines, a griffin, and a large creature that is part boar and part rat (aka a Boarat) emerge. The PC begin the battle by carefully maintaining their position. The Boarat charges in an attempt to run down the center of the group! Oren balls up over Po while Cillian jumps out the way then slashes as the beast passes. When the Boarat hits Oren is bounces off of the Armadillo Kins tough hide. Kanga fires at a wolverine then is grabbed in the leg by the creature. The other wolverine maws Cillian’s hand but is surprised when his hand lights on fire! The Griffin attacks Bilby who stabs viciously at the creature. Oren eventually unballs and takes deadly shots at the Boarat. Po start cursing the creature as well. Eventually the PC are victorious. Evil Cizbakri claps then the PC find themselves in the octagonal chamber.

The Library Of Considerable Wisdom

The brown wool hanging leads to an extremely large library that is in a state of disrepair. Walking the shelves is the ghost of a very old Ape Kin with a long beard. He tells the PC to read their books in quiet. Po starts to search the shelves and finds books on very obscure topics. After some playing around Cillian and Po deduce that they can always immediately find a book on a topic where they have knowledge! Po reads a book carefully then Cillian sees a portal open behind him them quickly close! The portal was open for a second only. With that the PC use their skills to read books, open portals, then escape. The last person in the room is Oren who uses his knowledge of Military Companies to open a portal.

The Pond Of Paradise

After passing the white satin curtain the PC find themselves on the shore of a forest pool. In the center of the pool they can see a glowing white stone. Cillian uses his water breathing power on the party then he and Oren jump into the water. As they approach they are attacked by jets of water. Oren decides to ball up Cillian and try again. This time they are lifted out of the pool by a naked woman made of water! Finally Cillian and Oren decide to tunnel under the stone and grab it. After breaking through Cillian grabs the stone which opens the portal and the PC vanish.

Only four rooms left…

Date At End Of Game: ?/?/???

Summary

In Ryan “F-ing” Macklin’s blog he posted an article on “convention kits”. That got me thinking about the gear that I use for gaming and why I have selected it. This is the first of three article that I will use to discuss the gaming gear that I currently use and why it works for me. The first article details my gaming bag (i.e. “The Guts”). My netbook and the critical components of it will be covered in article 2. The final article will be on my game room setup.

Whenever possible I will put links to where this gear can be purchased online.

The Guts

• Jansport Laptop Backpack – I use a laptop backpack as my main carrying device. It has a large main pouch with a padded area for my netbook and two nice sized outer pouches for carrying dice bags, writing tools, and other miscellaneous gear. I also have a custom messenger bag but I prefer the Jansport Laptop Backpack because of it’s comfort when carrying lots of heavy gear. (Note that I could not find the model number that I have as I removed the tag.) I have heard other gamers recommending the Gator Carry On Bag from a company called Red Oxx. Right now I will stick with my Jansport backpack but this bag does look promising.



• Savage Worlds Customizable GM Screen – The sturdy Savage Worlds Customizable GM Screen has a landscape layout with inserts for all 6 sides. I really love the fact that I can just replace the inserts with new sheets when I change campaigns. In fact I have several inserts available for download from my site in the Campaigns And Adventures section. The landscape layout is also great as I can still see the players clearly and do not feel fenced off. You can get a copy from Amazon at this URL for $29.99.
• Standard Wooden Clipboard With A TOPS Engineering Computation Pad – I use a standard wooden clipboard and a pad of engineering paper. Engineering paper has graph paper on the reverse side and is 3 holed punch. You can get TOPS Engineering Computation Pads on Amazon for $19 at this URL.
• Pentel GraphGear 1000 Mechanical Pencil And Tombow MONO Plastic Eraser – This Pentel is a solid feeling .9mm mechanical pencil that collapses with a click. I like the .9mm lead size as it gives a dark clean line. You can get the pencil on Amzaon for $33.10 at this URL. I know…it is expensive. The MONO eraser from Tombow is from Japan but they can be purchased at most good stationary stores or online from the manufacturer. It erases very well with no damage to the paper.
• Battlegraph Dry Erase Boards from Longtooth Studios With Crayola White Board Crayons – Battlegraph Boards are interconnecting gaming squares that are finished like a white board with etched squares. After playing with them now for several months they have really grown on me. I like the fact that 4 of them disconnect and easily fit in my backpack. I also like the way the entire assembled board can be rotated with chits still in place. Boards with squares or hexes are now sold individually for $7 from Longtooth. The Battlegraph Boards really shine with Crayola White Board Crayons. The Crayons don’t rub off as easy as white board pens and don’t smear when touched by a loose finger. I use these suckers for several things during a session…keep reading! 🙂 You can get the Crayola White Board Crayons from Amazon at this URL for a paltry $4.83.
• Hand Made Chits – Instead of using figures I use cardboard chits roughly 0.75″ square that I cover with Scotch tape. I like using chits because they are easy to cart around, can be flipped, stacked, or placed on top of dice, and they can be colored and numbered for easy reference. I color code and number my chits sequentially so that no two chits have the same number. For example, chits 1-10 are red, chits 11-20 are blue, chits 21-30 are green, etc. This way when I am tracking bad guy stats I just put “13”, “21”, etc on my notes. The colors allow me to differentiate the different types of bad guys (i.e. “the red chits are the PC, the orc are green, and the ogres are blue”).
• Laminated Speed Chart And Big Foam D12 – I run a lot of the Hero System so keeping track of phases and making it public is important. I use a laminated speed chart that Tim Connolly devised. Here is a link to the file on my site. This works great with my Crayola White Board Crayons. The roughly 3″ foam D12 is used to visibly track the phases. Unfortunately I do not have information on who manufactured the foam D12 that I using.
• Plastic Sheets Protectors For Monsters – I bring copies of monsters that will be in the session and several empty plastic sheet protectors. When combat starts I arrange the bad guys in Dexterity order then put them into a sheet protector. During the session I can use my handy dandy Crayola White Board Crayons to record damage and status information.



• Koplow 16mm D6 Dice With Pips And Square Corners – I really have come to appreciate dice that are clear, can be quickly read, and fall fast. I really like the blocks from Koplow as the fit all of these requirements and look darn nice too. 🙂 Here is a link to a set of 12 at FRP Game for $4. I have blue, green, and purple sets right now.
• Larger Clear Dice – I have dice that are a bit larger (0.75″) and clear that I use to delineate characters that are flying or invisible. These really work great for flying character as you can set the top dice face to the height of the character. The slightly larger size makes them a good fit for chits.
• Additional Con Gear – For conventions I like to load my ditty bag with some not so obvious supplies. Some things I like to bring include cough drops, hand sanitizer, multivitamins, and ear plugs. All have an obvious purpose that most convention attendees will understand. 😉

That wraps up my basic gaming kit. What are some items in your standard gaming kit that you think really rock!?! 😀