Kingbeast's Lair

-== What is it? ==-

Claymore is a high fantasy anime television series released by FUNimation. It is directed by Hiroyuki Tanaka. Madhouse is the animation company that produced the series. Claymore was release between April 2007 and September 2007.

Claymores are a group of female warriors who roam about the countryside killing Yoma with their massive blades. Yoma are essentially humanoid demons. The series follows Clare, the lowest ranking Claymore. (She is rank 47.) Clare has a dark past that harbors a lot of pain and deep rooted vengeance.

There is some very brief nudity, an extremely light rape scene, and no sex scenes. The series has a good amount of blood but very little gore. The series is rated “17+” at RightStuf.com and I think that rating is actually a bit high. I would suggest “15+”.

I purchased the Claymore DVD Complete Series Box Set (Hybrid) version in standard definition. There are a total of 26 episodes which total roughly 620 minutes of content.

-== What I Like ==-

Probably the most compelling aspect of Claymore is the story. There are three important elements that I think are really intriguing. The first is that Claymores are actually half-Yoma/half-human. Thus they are essentially half-monsters who are tracking down full blooded monsters. The second is that the most powerful Yuma are actual Claymores who have succumbed to their Yuma half. These creatures are know as “Awakened Beings”. These two elements let the writers play around a lot with the big question of what it means to be human. You also get several scenes where Claymores are essentially hunting down their own members. The final plot element that I think is intriguing is that the Claymores are run by a secret organization with an agenda of their own. During the whole series their secret agenda is not revealed but the organizations is presented as being very devious if not downright evil.

I particularly enjoyed episode 4 and episode 8. Episode 4 is called “Clare’s Awakening”. It deals with Clare helping out a church that has been getting attacked by a Yuma. The episode has a great plot and great fight scenes. Episode 8 is a flashback episode called “Awakening”. Awakening tells the story of Clare’s “mentor” the infamous rank 1 Claymore known as Teresa.

The art style in the series is very nice. Madhouse produced an anime style similar to Basilisk or Cowboy Bebop in it’s reality. It is an anime art style that I very much enjoy.

Finally I think the end of the series is quite moving. It is a strong ending but leaves some open questions. Very climactic.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

My biggest complaint by far with Claymore deals with character exposition. The characters in the story will often think things that the viewer is already observing on the screen. Essentially the inner dialog is telling someone who is watching the show what they already know. For example, Clare might expose how powerful a Yuma is after he takes down another Claymore. “Um…I think we can see that he is pretty powerful if he ripped apart another Claymore.” It happens frequently in the series not just in combat.

Another issue I had with the series is that at times I felt like some of the fights were over too fast. This is especially true in some of the early episodes when the viewer really wants to see what the Claymores can do.

The series starts off a bit slow but really picks up the pace around episode 4. If you decide to watch the series give it some time to get legs.

-== Summary ==-

I thought Claymore was a thrilling fantasy romp. If you like monster hunting adventures then you should definitely check this one out. The $50 price point is not bad for such a large amount of quality content.

You can get the boxed set at RightStuff at this URL for $48.99. The Blu-ray boxed set can be obtained at Amazon at this URL for $39.99.

I give it 7 out of 10 paws.

Here is a list of the 2010 ENnie Award winners. Pathfinder was the big winner by far. I’m very glad Hero 6e took the silver for Best Rules and that Day After Ragnarok took the gold in the Best Setting category.

Here is the complete list. ENJOY! 🙂

Best Cover Art
Silver: Eclipse Phase
Gold: Pathfinder Bestiary

Best Interior Art
Silver: Shadowrun 20th
Gold: Pathfinder Core Rulebook

Best Cartography
Silver: Aces & Eights: Judas Crossing
Gold: Pathfinder City Map Folio

Best Writing
Silver: Victoriana
Gold: Eclipse Phase

Best Production Values
Silver: Shadowrun
Gold: Pathfinder

Best Rules
Silver: Hero 6th Edition
Gold: Diaspora

Best Adventure
Silver: Trail of Cthulhu: Armitage Files
Gold: Pathfinder #31: Stolen Land

Best Monster or Adversary
Silver: Pathfinder: Classic Horrors Revisited
Gold: Pathfinder Bestiary

Best Setting
Silver: Rome: Life and Death of the Republic
Gold: Day After Ragnarok

Best Supplement
Silver: Players Handbook 3
Gold: Mysteries of the Hollow Earth

Best Aid or Accessory
Silver: Gaming Paper
Gold: Pathfinder GM Screen

Best Miniatures Product
Silver: Gaming Paper
Gold: D&D Minis

Best Regalia
Silver: Battletech
Gold: Cthulhu 101

Best Electronic Book
Silver: The Devil We Know
Gold: The Great City Player’s Guide

Best Free Product
Silver: Lady Blackbird
Gold: Advanced Players Guide Playtest

Best Website
Silver:d20PFSRD.com
Gold: Obsidian Portal

Best Podcast
Silver: All Games Considered
Gold: Atomic Array

Best Blog
Silver: Gnome Stew
Gold: Kobold Quarterly

Best Game
Silver: Shadowrun
Gold: Pathfinder

Product of the Year
Silver: Eclipse Phase
Gold: Pathfinder

Fan Award for Best Publisher
Silver: Fantasy Flight Games
Gold: Paizo Publishing

GAME ON!

-== What is it? ==-

Enchanted Items is a book of magical items for Fantasy Hero (5th edition) from Hero Games. It was written by Jason Walters in May 2007. The book starts with a brief introduction then has sections for different types of items. For example, Amulets, Armor, etc. The last section is full of miscellaneous items that do not fit into one of the other categories.

The book has a color cover and an entirely black and white interior. The book is 8.5? x 11? and is 240 pages in length. I am reviewing the print AND PDF copies. I bought the print copy and was given the PDF copy for services rendered. See below for details. 😉

-== What I Like ==-

The book has a great diversity of item types and they are divided into smaller subsections to make finding an item for that pesky PC easy. For example, if you have a mage you could go to the staff section then decide if you want Offensive, Defensive, Sensory, Movement, Miscellaneous, or Unique staffs. At the front of each major section there is about a page of text describing that type of item. These section are often quite good. The introductory text in the Potions section is exceptionally wonderful. 🙂

I also liked the approach of presenting first mundane items then moving up to more powerful unique items. This way you can also get something at the correct power level. The Unique subsection items are typically VERY powerful. These items often contain detailed stories that can be used to drive adventures and such in a campaign.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

A large percentage of the items in Enchanted Items have the same game effects with different “window dressings”. For example, how many items do you need that give Armor? Or aid Strength? etc. Some folks might not consider this bad but at times it felt like the book could have been shorter and cheaper if these repetitions were left out. I almost wonder what the book would have been like if it was constructed with a section on limitations for item types then a different section with effects. For example, here is a section on limitations that would typically be applied to Amulets. Next would be a section on Defensive Effects, Offensive Effects, etc. I would still like some fully constructed items but this approach might have been interesting and useful.

The printed copy of Enchanted Items has many printing flaws. I tallied up roughly 30 areas in the printed copy where text was missing. Unfortunately the missing text is typically in the rule detail material. When I brought it up with Hero they let me know that ALL copies of the book were in this state. I then offered to detail all of the locations where text was missing if they would give me a copy of the PDF. They kindly obliged. If you are interested in getting copies of the text that is missing send an email to Hero. With the document I sent to Hero it should not be too hard for them to write up an errata sheet for the product. 😉

I would have liked to see more information about creating items and item related characters in Fantasy Hero. The big example here is the alchemist character. It might have been run to have a detailed section on creating a magic item related character with a write up.

The cover artwork is downright ugly. It depicts a simple yellow shield on a solid background. The graphic is juvenile and just plain unattractive. Interior artwork is primarily comprised of pieces from other documents and is fair at best.

-== Summary ==-

Even though Enchanted Items is by far the best coverage of magic items for the Hero System it is very hard to recommend unless you are a GM that really has trouble coming up with ideas. I really love a lot of Jason’s RPG products (check out Scourges Of The Galaxy) but this product is not one of his best. The best option for GM who wants to get a copy of the book is to look for a PDF copy at a cheap price. Wait for that DriveThruRPG sale if you can. 😉

The cover price for the printed copy is $26.99. You can get a copy on Amazon.com at this URL for $26.97. Noble Knight Games has it at this URL for $20.00. You can get a copy of the PDF from DriveThruRPG at this URL for $23.00.

I give the printed copy 4 out of 10 paws. I give the PDF copy 6 out of 10 paws.