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Macchiato Monsters
by Jonathan [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/17/2024 21:12:03

Probably the most elegant Black and White Hack Hack, you're likely to see.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Macchiato Monsters
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Marvels & Malisons
by Ziga [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/29/2023 10:02:40

Excellent alternative spells that don't rely on dealing damage but affect the fictional situation instead.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Marvels & Malisons
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Marvels & Malisons
by Bebop D. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/02/2023 07:12:03

A fun, colorful, and clever expansion to Wonder and Wickedness. It has a sense of humor about itself without being over-the-top goofy. I will definitely be using it in my next OSE or Knave game.

The reason I'm not rating it any higher is the erratic punctuation and profusion of typos. It looks like it wasn't proofread at all. I'm glad to have the PDF, but I would have been very, very disappointed if I'd bought the dead-tree version.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Hi! Thank you for the feedback, and sorry if the books is not up to the standards of quality you expected. I'll send the book to our new editor. If you have any specific feedback please email us at feedback at lostpages dot co dot uk When we are done with the new editing round and the new update will be uploaded you'll receive a notification for the new version. And for the bother be in touch if you want a discount voucher for the print version!
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Macchiato Monsters
by Michael I. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 05/05/2022 14:02:46

While I like the idea of the resource die, using it for literally everything seems exhausting and requires nearly as much tracking as the old fashioned rules. Mind you, the push your luck piece looks fun and the tables are perfect for improvising a one-shot but this is definitely not going to be my go to rules light fantasy rpg



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Macchiato Monsters
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Hamsterish Hoard of Hexes
by Aaron S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 11/10/2021 21:06:58

So fun. So much color. Really one of the best spell books I've seen , and I have ~10.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Hamsterish Hoard of Hexes
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Wonder & Wickedness
by Aaron S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/17/2021 12:14:28

This is an 84 page Softcover

Having read a great many glowing reviews of this creative, Non-vancian spell system had me very excited. $20 is more than I typically spend on a soft cover RPG supplement, so I put it on a wishlist for a long time. One night, working some overtime hours, I figured I earned it.

To be entirely fair will require me to judge content separately from bang for bucks.

Content is super. The ideas are neat . The translation of old standard D&D spells into vague & mutated versions of themselves makes them feel entirely fresh and new . The art perfectly suits the feel of the text. Five stars for content.

The value, sadly, is another story. The pages are more along the lines of a paperback size than a digest. There are merely 84 pages. The layout is very easy to peruse, but consequently the font is large enough that you get even less content than you might expect. No stars for value.

This review is meant in no way to deter buyers, rather to be clear what you are buying, as I was a bit surprised and disappointed by how little volume there was.

I'd still probably give at least 3 stars , but I can't get the website to let me change # of stars.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
Wonder & Wickedness
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Creator Reply:
Hi, I'm sorry we let you down. If you provide us your email and receipt we'd be happy to send you a voucher for a copy of Marvels & Malisons, which expands on Wonder & Wickedness.
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Lumberlands - Wampus Country Travel Guide I
by Conlon S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 06/01/2021 02:56:41

i love everythibg about this product from the unique NPCs to the fascinating take on sasquatch, to dedication to the theme of the setting. everything feels like it belongs here and i didnt realize how much i wanted that until i read the guide to the lumberlands. amazing job



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Lumberlands - Wampus Country Travel Guide I
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The Future We Saw
by Tore N. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/12/2021 15:47:24

A grim vision of the near future, building on what is already here. The player characters are operatives, not unlike traditional cyberpunk, but there is much focus on the grind of such a life. It is well-written and quite believable.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
The Future We Saw
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Hamsterish Hoard of Hexes
by Donnie H. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/28/2021 22:22:28

I thought this was adorable and very flavorful, currently using it for my classless b/x game!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Hamsterish Hoard of Hexes
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Genial Jack - issue I
by Edward T. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/08/2021 06:55:59

A truly original campaign setting. I can't wait too use for my group. A entire campaign can be run without ever stepping on dry ground. Everyone should read this for inspiration.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Genial Jack - issue I
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Kefitzah Haderech - Incunabulum of the Uncanny Gates and Portals
by Christopher M. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 10/19/2020 16:59:12

Super fun to read! Next time you are running an improv game and hopping dimensions, crack this baby open.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Kefitzah Haderech - Incunabulum of the Uncanny Gates and Portals
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Macchiato Monsters
by Greyson Y. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/26/2020 09:43:37

I only recently got into the OSR scene, and this has easily become my favorite system (next to Mörk Borg, which I like for different reasons). It's flexible, classless, and rules-light; it takes the best from Whitehack; it takes the best from The Black Hack; and it feels kind of like an OSR version of Everywhen. It's flexible enough that it could be easily hacked into many genres (like The Black Hack has). The only thing I want to see is more. I'm so glad I looked past the kind-of-silly name (because I love coffee anyway) and checked this out because it has exceeded my expectations.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Macchiato Monsters
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Macchiato Monsters
by Christopher G. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/11/2020 12:38:48

A very interesting and rules light DnD system. It makes heavy use of tracking things through resource dice, which have a chance to drop down by a size each time they are rolled.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Into the Odd
by Ian S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/07/2020 13:27:53

Into the Odd is great, really user-friendly and great for new players. Only knocked off one star as Electric Bastionland is out now, and is even better!



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Into the Odd
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Kefitzah Haderech - Incunabulum of the Uncanny Gates and Portals
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 05/18/2020 08:15:16

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This booklet clocks in at 32 pages, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page thank you note, leaving us with 30 pages of content, laid out in 6’’ by 9’’ (A5) – and yes, the pdf does not have the front and back cover as part of the pdf itself. I also own the PoD softcover, which is a stapled booklet. My review is based on both versions.

While this book is designated as OSR, it is actually almost system neutral – apart from singular references to SAVE or the sparse damage value here and there, the book is not limited to such games in its utility.

So, the pdf begins by explaining the Hebrew expression of “contracting the path/shortening the way” – which is a perfect way to think of portals and gates. The supplement then begins to talk about portals and gates in a game context: As a plot device, as a shortcut, and about their significance regarding connections – this might be me talking in a post-COVID-19-world, but after playing Death Stranding, I have actually a greater appreciation of using and not using portals as far as their significance.

The supplement then proceeds to talk about types of portals – one-way portals, coupled ones, hubs and portal nexus set-ups, and, of course, relays and portal groups. Particularly portal relays are criminally underrated as far as I’m concerned, so thinking in a methodic manner about the subject matter? Seriously helpful.

Beyond that, we take remote perception, as well as awareness of the portal and its accessibility into account. In short: We begin with a serious of considerations that helps the Gm think of the content herein in a structured manner.

The book then brings us to the portal itself and provides a d20 generator with three columns, which lets you determine portal frame, opening and extras – to give you an example, I got a frame of living flesh, with the opening consisting of psychedelic colors and which emits an alkali odor. Cool!

Portal keys are up next – they can be physical objects, non-physical concepts, or simply esoteric names – and once more, we get a d20-based generator with 4 relevant columns: I got an “Exegetic shibboleth of the unearthly peregrination.” Come on, that is cooler than just some portal key, right?

Of course, the construction of portals also requires some consideration, and the supplement suggest 5K gold and a week of work – this is what I’d suggest for OSR-games; for others, I’d adjust the price accordingly – unless you want some serious portal hopping. The section provides a d10 table of considerations pertaining to construction: Perhaps portals can only be erected on ley lines, or the mystic toponyms must be carved into the portal…but unfortunately, they also must be palindromes (have fun making your PCs deal with this…)…and what about the implication of requiring the bones of twins, shuffled and then separated? shudder Really neat ideas!

However, the main meat of the booklet is devoted to the massive PORTATRON, a gigantic portal openings generator. This generator consists of a d10-table “The Portal looks like…”, and 1d6 “…and you will find it” – Here, I got “A well or pit in the ground, which when opened is filled with mist, which will be found in a shrine, with an altar located in front of it. The next table has a promising header: “And do you remember when I told you it was safe? I lied because…” – this table has 17 entries, and is rolled on a d30; I got entry 6, which is: “IT BURRRNS!!! Take 3d6 fire damage, SAVE for half damage. Maybe due to lasers: PEW PEW PEW! Or RADIOACTIVITY!!!” There is a fun and often irreverent tone in some entries, but never to the extent where I found it intrusive. As you can see, while the book does have notes like “save” or “Save or die”, it is for the most part system neutral – the damage values and negative consequences for some portals lend themselves to old-school playing, but also represent one of my gripes: I don’t think that using a portal (unless it’s sabotaged/the PCs have botched something should be lethal; save or die is warranted when the players screwed up. So yeah, not a big fan of this aspect.

Next, we have a d12 table of “the Key is…” – most of these have 6 to 8 subentries, which then might have more subsections. In my sample run, I got “An action, which must be carried out in front of the portal”;subentry + sub-section: the password must be sung.” The key in my test-run was related to ( a d4-table)…nothing specific. After that, we get a 10-entry d20-table to determine why the key’s special. Here, I got that the key can open d6-in-6 portals, but always one-way and towards the same destination.

And then, we have the largest table herein – a massive d666 table. The tongue-in-cheek “you end up in R’lyeh”-entry can be found, but is certainly not representative: The PCs might end up in a fortress of petrified soldiers, actually a child’s toy, or in a jungle in a huge impact crater, where a osmium-iridium meteorite is constantly seeping oozes. My test-run delivered the following entry: “ The study of the great sorceress Edonoplechtus VI; 1-in-6 she’s here researching some crossbreed monsters; else she just left all her pets here. Now yo have a good excuse to unleash the lobstegasuaruses, crocodingoes, ducksharks and roosturgeons you found in that monster manual.” I loved this one. It made me stat up a lobstegasaurus. This table, btw.? Its entries are massive – 12 pages of destinations!

The final pages of the supplement are essentially a portal-relevant appendix N, with each entry properly explained and contextualized, from Ultima Underworld II to Planescape, Portal, Dr. Who, Stargate, etc.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting re very good ona formal and rules-language level. Layout adheres to a one-column b/w-standard with minimum frills, and the supplement features tastefully-chosen public domain art. The pdf annoyingly has no bookmarks, which makes using it a colossal pain – I’d recommend print over pdf here…also because this is a book that you can use time and again.

Paolo Greco’s portal booklet is one of these nifty GM-evergreens that you can use time and again. The book starts off with some handy considerations when it comes to thinking about portals, and then provides this ginormous, quick to use and incredibly diverse generator. If I have any valid complaints against this, then that’d be that I’d have loved to see it subscribe to a proper system for adequate pricing of portal construction, or to go full-blown system neutral. That, and the few save or sucks, which are simply not that helpful in a book about random portal generation.

That being said, the playful tone that never became obtrusive, the sheer imagination here, and the fact that this covers a topic only scarcely touched in such detail certainly makes this one of the handy booklets I’ve been using time and again. For the pdf version and its diminished utility, you might want to subtract a star, but my gripes notwithstanding, I’d be a colossal hypocrite if I rated this anything but 5 stars + seal of approval – I’m using this too often, and have too much fun doing so, to rate this any other way. If you want to make your portals more diverse, esoteric and strange, look no further.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Kefitzah Haderech - Incunabulum of the Uncanny Gates and Portals
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