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Gamemaster's Eclectic Toolbox
Publisher: EDGE Studio
by Carson W W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/30/2021 18:13:07

The Gamemaster's Eclectic Toolbox offers is a valuable tool for any GM--veteran or new--working with the Genesys system. Aside from a handful of new or alternate rules for Genesys, it simply talks about such things as awarding XP and designing talents that offer food for thought to GMs when running Genesys.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Gamemaster's Eclectic Toolbox
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The King's Road: An Epic Fantasy RPG Campaign
Publisher: dicegeeks
by Carson W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/25/2021 13:02:51

TLDR: For a free campaign outline, it presents some compelling ideas, though it would definitely require some work on the GM's part to make for an interestingn campaign.

I feel like this is an interesting campaign outline or idea, but it has some shortcomings to consider. At the bottom is a spoiler section for some more in-depth analysis and suggestions at the bottom.

First of all, it is very, very bare-bones. It has a few ideas and descriptions for what the PCs could encounter during the campaign, and a handful of instructions towards the beginning and end, but most of it is left to the GM. This has pros and cons.

On the one hand, as long as your players have bought into the idea that they are traveling to the end of the titular King's Road, it's very simple to throw things along the path that they can encounter. It kind of serves as a soft railroad (in a good way), as the PCs are literally traveling in a roughly straight line towards their goal. Again, as long as the players are fine with reaching the end eventually, it's not a problem.

On the other hand, there's not a lot of concrete things that you might encounter, just suggestions. As a GM running this for your group, if you have a solid grasp of the system you plan to use and feel comfortable improvising or putting in the work to populate your setting with NPCs, monsters, threats, and obstacles, then it works great. But if you're newer to GMing or don't feel confident pulling threats out of your hat, avoid this until you have more experience under your belt.

Also to it's benefit is it is very system agnostic. Aside from a mention that it's intended to reach level 20 and a random piece of loot mentioned in passing, you can easily use any system you want, as there are no stats to convert.

In addition, it has an interesting hook about the setting (discussed below) that distinguishes this campaign from a lot of otherewise generic fantasy settings, although I feel like it isn't used as much in this campaign.

Spoilers Below

The setting takes place on a ring megastructure, also called a bishop ring or a Niven ring, rather than a planet. This justifies why the PCs need to travel the King's Road to their destination, rather than circumnavigate. I feel like this is an interesting idea, and could be used to tie into broader space fantasy concepts, though the outline doesn't really use or explore the idea that much.

As the campaign is intended to take several years, I feel the starting hook is not as compelling as it should be. It describes the PCs as a generic adventurer party responding to a job posting, but to take such an arduous journey, in my opinion, would need the PCs to have a much stronger personal reason for traveling the Road. Perhaps the PCs could be crusaders seeking a lost holy land, or the GM can use a plot similar to Final Fantasy X or Tales of Symphonia, where the PCs are some kind of pilgrims seeking to save the world or fulfill some grander prophecy.

While the campaign does list a final antagonistic force, it isn't encountered until the very end. A more persistent threat is something that this adventure needs.

I also feel the ending is a little lackluster, given the nature of the setting and the years-long journey it takes to reach it. The end goal should obviously tie back to the revamped start of the campaign, but should also have a heavier connection to the idea that you're on a gigantic ring that some, presumably, built. Again, that's just my opinionn on that, and your milieage may obviously vary.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
The King's Road: An Epic Fantasy RPG Campaign
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Ready....Fight! An Unarmed Combat Supplement for Genesys
Publisher: EDGE Studio
by Carson W W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/18/2021 13:12:16

I feel like this is an good break down of unarmed and close combat fighting and how it can be incorporated into Genesys. However, I feel like this is not something you would want to add to your game if you're using another setting, say Terrinoth or Android, as it can add several layers of complexity that would do more to bog down a game rather than build it back up. Ultimately, I think it would be fine if you used one of the included settings or design your own similar to those included.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Ready....Fight! An Unarmed Combat Supplement for Genesys
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Zanagan Zoology: Part 1
Publisher: EDGE Studio
by Carson W W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/18/2021 12:58:33

This product offers about a dozen various adversaries themed around a fantasy jungle setting, along with some lore information and a little appendix in the back with more lore information. For the listed price, that's about $0.25 per adversary. Is that entirely worth the cost? Hard to say, but it is fair if you need some jungle or swamp monsters to throw into a random encounter, and extra adversaries do help cut down on the prep work a GM might need.

I would be lying if I thought the inside artwork, of a vastly different style and quality to the cover art, was to my liking, but they do illustrate each creature, and the art doesn't detract from the material provided within.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Zanagan Zoology: Part 1
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Terrinoth Talents
Publisher: EDGE Studio
by Carson W W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/18/2021 12:32:02

Note that I'm basing this review on the talents themselves, and not the pre-made pyramid trees.

The biggest issue I see with this document is that it all but reprints a large number of talents from the other official sourcebooks, with only very minor changes to the text. I'm not entirely sure how this product can be sold in this way based on this, as it seems very close to some form of plagarizing the official content.

Other than this, many of the talents are poorly worded, written almost as if they are first drafts and not fully fleshed out. For the price, the overall quality of this product is quite poor.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
Terrinoth Talents
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Creator Reply:
After the first review, I took it at face value, but considering the timing, and two back to back negative reviews, the very day I upset the imperious leader of the Genesys community, it is a bit suspicious. Still, if you are honestly unhappy with the purchase, email me at gazrok@hotmail.com and I'll be happy to issue you drivethru credit you can use for other products.
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Trades of Terrinoth
Publisher: EDGE Studio
by Carson W W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/18/2021 11:40:18

This product's main hook are that each of the careers presented in the book has a unique special ability. While this, on paper, is an interesting idea and would give careers some more relevancy to a character, the abilities offered in this book are of questionable quality.

For example, the Bard's ability, Song of Mending, is described as both a spell effect and a skill check. So is it an ability that a character chooses to use as an action or maneuver, or is it added to a Verse spell check? The effect is also described at taking place "at the end of the Bard's turn," which is an unusual qualifier, as most abilities in the game effect immediately, or have a lasting effect for one or more rounds. The ability is also not entirely clear if the Bard character or the affected characters choose which of the two affects apply to them.

This is simply one breakdown of one such ability, but there are several more in the book that are similarly unclear or illogical. Most abilities do not specify how they are activated. The overall quality of the writing also feels very much like it is a "first draft," with little attempt to refine the wording to be closer to that of the content of Realms of Terrinoth. And not all careers get a compelling new ability to distinguish themselves, as several are simply adding a bonus career skill to a character.

Ultimately, while I feel like this product offers some interesting ideas and concepts, it would take a lot of extra work to be able to actually use it in play. If you are a GM looking to build upon these ideas, this product may be worthwhile, but if you are hoping to simply insert this into a Terrinoth or fantasy game, this is not worth picking up.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
Trades of Terrinoth
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Creator Reply:
Sorry you feel this way. It's been out for nearly a year and yet nobody else has voiced such concerns. I do thank you for actually taking the time to voice your reasoning for the rating. It is truly appreciated, and I always strive (like any author) for improvement.
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