By the way, if any Reader happens to be attending Origins this year, I’d love to hear how it went.  Feel free to drop comments on this blog entry regarding your Origins experience – always enjoy hearing about a good convention!

This week I have posted a new EN World Review by Dias Ex Machina (D.E.M. for short).  As many of those who have read this blog in the past, I have favorably reviewed several releases by D.E.M. such as Amethyst Foundations, Amethyst Essentials, and Ultramodern 4.  Today’s review is for a new cyberpunk setting released for the Pathfinder RPG called NeuroSpasta – with a very new take on the classic genre.

For more information about this game setting, please click the link below to head over to EN World News to read the review in full:

NeuroSpasta: Pathfinder RPG gets a Cyber-Tech Upgrade!

I’ve always been impressed with Chris Dias’ writing style, and with his unique game designs, adapting them to D&D 4E, OGL/d20, and Pathfinder RPG.  This new release is no exception, and I think that there are many gamers out there that would be interested in this new vision of cyberpunk, using a very popular game system as its base.

So until next blog… I wish you happy gaming!

(Yes… it’s really long.  But please don’t drop a TLDR on it, or I’ll conjure a horde of wolverines to nest in your bed!)

So instead I’ll wish you a happy Thursday instead, and welcome you to another weekly installment of my review column on EN World News!  I hope everyone has some great gaming planned for this weekend.  I myself am running my local game Friday night, then heading down to Toledo for my bi-weekly 4E game, so I have plenty of RPG madness to keep me busy!

As I mentioned, this week I wrote a massive review – as is only fitting as I’m writing it for a Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game!  Over the past month, I’ve left off on my adventures in Guild Wars 2, and been playing through the open beta of Neverwinter Online by Cryptic Studios.  To be clear, it’s called an “open beta”, but it’s really a “soft opening”, as Cryptic has made it clear that the characters in the open beta will be continuing on after the “official” launch date occurs. (Hint: It’s launched!  But we can’t call it a launch…)

So to read all the details about this new MMORPG drawn from D&D lore and the Forgotten Realms, please click the link to go over to EN World News and read the review in full:

Neverwinter Online: A Jewel of the North or Free-to-Play Drek?

MMORPGs are a hard thing to review – there is so much to cover and everyone has unique tastes in play style and features.  I can only offer my personal opinions on the game – so your own tastes might vary considerably from my own.  But hey, my opinions are free – just like the game itself – and you always get what you pay for, right?

So until next blog… I wish you Happy Gaming!

Welcome Fellow Gamers and Gentle Readers!  I thank you for stopping by and taking a look at the new review I’ve posted on EN World News, and I hope you take time to check out other reviews and blogs I’ve posted here at Neuroglyph Games.   Over the past few weeks, I’ve been taking a look at quite a few science-fiction roleplaying games, and there’s been some pretty amazing systems out there from indie game publishers.  This week, it looks like I’m breaking my science fiction streak, at least a little bit, and reviewing a new product which has both scifi and fantasy in its system.

Shadowrun has always been a favorite game system and setting from the old days when it was published by FASA.  Although I have not been able to play the game in quite a few years, my fascination with the mash-up of Gibsonian cyberpunk with “Dresden”-esque magic is undiminished.  (Speaking of the latter, I have always wondered if Jim Butcher ever played Shadowrun before or after the conception of his Dresden Files series of novel.)

Catalyst Game Labs has developed a way for gamers using the 20th Anniversary Core Rules to play the original setting.  Shadowrun 2050 is “an historic setting sourcebook”, detailing many facets of the 2050 setting including conversions of old tech to new game mechanics!

If you would like to read this review, please click on the link below to head over to EN World News to check out the full details:

Shadowrun 2050: A Magical Blast from the Future’s Past

There’s quite a bit of good material in this time-warping setting book, and a decent amount of “crunch” as well.  This is a good book for both fans of the new rules, as well as a nostalgic blast for gamers familiar with the original setting, and who want to consider giving the new rules a try!

So until next blog… I wish you Happy Gaming!

Well, it has certainly been a terrible week of storms, and I’m sure that many of you are as disturbed and saddened as I was by the terrible tragedy in Moore, Oklahoma.  That tornado was of epic and terrifying size, and the loss of life and property was shocking to comprehend.   If you have the opportunity and inclination, please click this link to NBCNEWS.com, which has provided an excellent list of organizations to contact in order to assist in the relief effort for the survivors of that terrible storm.

As is my usual wont, I have posted another review of a new role-playing game this week on EN World News.  I’m not sure how it’s happened, but this will be the third in the streak of space opera RPGs which have come to my desk.  And like the previous two RPGs, it’s got its own unique style and thematics.

Rapture: End of Days has a dark and disturbing premise – the end of the world came, Book of Revelations style and Earth was taken over by the armies of Satan.  Only those few humans living in off-world colonies have escaped… or have they?

To read the full review of this horror-filled, science fiction RPG, please click the link below and head over to EN World News for all the details:

Rapture: End of Days – Outrunning The Apocalypse in a Starship! (A Review)

This game is certainly of a different ilk than other space opera games I’ve played over the years.  And its foreboding setting opens up role-playing opportunities to examine both the darkest and brightest extremes of a player-character.

So until next blog… I wish you Happy Gaming!

But frankly, I’m barely noticing the various meteorological fluctuations due to my absolute white-knuckled anticipation of the new Star Trek movie, Into Darkness, hitting theatres this weekend!  I’ve was really pleased with the way the franchise was rebooted a few years ago, and I can’t wait to see the new release, particularly to see how Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock; Voice of Smaug in The Hobbit) rises to the role of a Star Trek super-villain!  Mr. Benedict has been awesome in the BBC’s Sherlock series, and Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and the other actors have taken so well to their roles as the crew of the Enterprise, I have no doubt this movie will be a blockbuster of the summer!

So in keeping with the theme of space, criminals, and good guys, I have a new review on EN World News about a game that offers many of those elements.  Durance is a role-playing game written by Jason Morningstar for Bully Pulpit Games, offering players the chance to portray convicts and civilians on a prison planet, as they strive to survive building a colony on a dangerous alien world.

For more information about the game, please click the link below and head over to EN World News to read the review in full:

Durance: Roleplaying Convicts and Colonists on a Hellhole Prison Planet!

So I’ve got little to complain about with a weekend ahead just full of movies, gaming, and more gaming!  The only downside to the whole thing will be coming back to Earth on Monday to start up the next week…

So until next blog… I wish you happy gaming!

I want to remind everyone that it’s only a little more than a month before Origins Game Fair 2013 in Columbus, Ohio (June 12-16).  So if you’re planning on going, make sure to register for games and get your hotel plans made before they’re all gone!  I’ll be there Friday and Saturday this year, and will be staying for the Origins Game Awards show on Saturday night!

This week I have a review of a product for one of my favorite game system – the Hero System!  Specifically, this is a setting designed for the Star Hero genre supplement for the 6th Edition of Hero System, offering a new vision for a space-opera campaign.  BlackWyrm Publishing has released a number of settings for Star Hero after its 2011 release, including The Fires of Heaven setting from just last year.  It’s a very detailed, mostly “hard” science-fiction setting, set in the 23rd century as humans are just beginning to expand outward into the galaxy.

For the complete review, please click on the link below and head over to EN World News to read all the details about this Star Hero setting:

Review of The Fires of Heaven by Patrick Sweeney

BlackWyrm Publishing www.blackwyrm.com has some very interesting concepts for space-opera settings beyond The Fires of Heaven, all designed for Star Hero.  I’ve always been a fan of Hero System and Star Hero, and am glad that others enjoy the genre enough to create strange and exciting universes for players and GMs to experience.

So until next blog… I wish you happy gaming!

Being humpday, I do have another review posted over at EN World News.  And today I happen to be doing a review of a D&D product, although it’s not for 4E.

As many of you probably know, Wizards of the Coast has been releasing a line of Premium D&D books, re-publishing favorite and out-of-print tomes of D&D lore from previous editions.  As it turns out, I was fortunate enough to get a review copy of the newly released Premium Spell Compendium v3.5 by WotC, a new reprinting of the 2005 release for d20/3.5.

For all the information about this new Wizards of the Coast release, please click below to head over to EN World News to read the review in full:

Review of Premium Spell Compendium v3.5 by Wizards of the Coast

The picture of the cover does not do justice to how awesome the new version of the Spell Compendium looks and feels – but you can read all about that and more in my review.

On a final note, I wanted to mention that the Kickstarter for the new Pathfinder RPG Campaign Setting from BlackStar Studios is in its final two days.  The Shadowlands is a fantasy/science-fiction setting that looks very promising, and I’m heartened to say that they are fully funded, and into several Stretch Goals now.  To find out more about the world of Saemyyr, home to The Shadowlands Campaign Setting, you can check out their official site and learn more about the project.

And yes, I’ve already spoken to the folks at BlackStar Studios about a review – possibly pre-release – so keep an eye out on my review blogs!

So until next blog… I wish you happy gaming!

Today I have posted another review over at EN World News, featuring a look at a new game system by the artist Grant Gould.  Mr. Gould’s work has been featured in a number of projects, and his portfolio can be seen over at DeviantArt.  Unsurprisingly, his new fantasy role-playing game, Blade Raiders, features his artwork inside and out, and offers some inventive new combinations of rules and gameplay.

For more information about this new FRPG, please click on the link below to head over to EN World News for the complete review:

Review of Blade Raiders by Grant Gould

Blade Raiders is an interesting mix of features, with a few quirks, but strongly oriented to maximizing role-playing and storytelling without bogging the game down with rules.  The setting is not the normal fantasy faire, but for gamers looking sample a new realm unlike the D&D/Pathfinder style of world, Blade Raiders is definitely a game to take a look at.

So until next blog… I wish you happy gaming!

Before I get on to discussing my review, I want to take an opportunity to urge everyone to consider offering aide to the victims of horrific bombing at the Boston Marathon.  One of the easiest ways is to give a donation of money or blood to the American Red Cross, who has been on the scene assisting the victims since the bombs went off.  Of course, we all hope the terrorists will be brought to justice, but helping out the victims as best we can is essential to recovering from this national tragedy.

Today’s review is of yet another product from Kobold Press, who are kind enough to shower me with lots of cool products to talk about.  Journeys to the West is a supplement for the Midgard Campaign Setting and used with Pathfinder RPG.  It offers GMs a plethora of islands and archipelagos out in uncharted seas, where discoveries, adventures, and dangers abound!

For more information about this product, please click on the link below to head over to EN World News to read the complete review:

Review of Journeys to the West by Christina Stiles

This book is packed with amazing adventures and wondrous locations, and gives heroes the chance to experience a campaign with tons of exploration and discovery.  Although it’s written for Midgard, GMs will find it can be used in many different types of campaign settings, and offers some unique quests in uncharted lands.

So until next blog… I wish you happy gaming!

As it is Wednesday once again, I have a new review posted over on EN World News, but this review is somewhat of a “first” of its kind in the history of the Neuroglyph Games site.  For the first time, I am actually re-reviewing a product, one which I had originally given a rather poor grade overall.  As a Reviewer, I had always told myself not to do this, because felt as if it would open a can of ethical worms I had no desire to have crawling around on my weekly column.  But the author appealed to me to give his new rendition of the product a second look, and it was so vastly improved and full of new content that it was like reviewing a new work altogether!

So today, I have a new review of a re-released adventure module, written for the Pathfinder RPG, and adaptable to 3.5/OGL as well.  Rocks Fall Games re-designed The Dark Totem Part 1 into something quite new, and well worth giving it a new opportunity to be reviewed.

To find out more about this adventure module, please click on the link below to head over to the EN World News for the detail on my re-review:

Review of The Dark Totem Part 1: The Chantry Keep by Rocks Fall Games

I must salute the perseverance and hard work it took for the author to re-write this adventure, particularly after receiving tough reviews from myself and others.  I truly feel that the author of The Dark Totem Part 1: The Chantry Keep took my critiques seriously and constructively, and produced a new version of the adventure which is far more cohesive, and a really just a darned good fantasy storyline.

I hope my re-review of this re-released adventure module gives it the credit it deserves, and I wish the folks at Rocks Fall Games the best in this and their future products.

So until next blog… I wish you happy gaming!