This is one of the two most useful works on the Jonstown Compendium each year, and well worth the money as the author updates it several times a month. It's best paired with the 2022 Jonstown Compendium Catalogue, but it's also worth getting to keep an eye on new things. It'll be constantly updated through the year, and it'll show you what you might want to get - and what you'll definitely want to avoid.

This is a well built book which goes with the beginnings in the first two, although it's got adventures which will stand alone. I loved running it, and building up to the Main Big Problem.

I liked this book enough to get it in hardback when I already had it in PDF to make sure I got all the glory of it.

It's a solid, well-built, incredibly detailed build of a single area within Glamour, the sort of place that adventurers might stay. If you've got call to be in Glamour, you're going to want it a LOT. If you don't, a lot of the work is easily convertible to other larger cities, and the plot hooks and connections between people are an education for a GM. You should still get it if you want to look at how to put together a community, or want to see a good bit of world-building. Chris Gidlow has pulled off a fabulous piece of work.

For a dollar, this is spectacularly good value. You shouldn't have to read any further.

As a game, it's got a solid plot, it's well built, and it has an impressive amount of scaffolding for the gamemaster, without that scaffolding being too rigid - it is a support, and not a prison. I love it, and I'm going to use the plot.

It has some minor lore problems; if you are knowledgeable about Glorantha, you can easily work around them. If you are not, they are close enough to canon that you won't be led far astray. It also has some typos; I think the author is writing in English as a second language. I'd have liked a native proof-reader very much. In fact, I like this work enough I'd happily proof-read the next and try to improve it. I'd pay double the price for a work of this style and depth that was just a little bit improved.

The really big problem, the one I can't surmount, is I can't contact the author directly to tell him I like it and see if he's doing more. That's my biggest problem with this. PUT YOUR CONTACT DETAILS IN THERE, MAN!

Summary: a slightly scuffed masterpiece, and I will definitely buy any more by the same author. It's getting 4 stars because I want it to be that little bit better, not because it isn't already good.

The Insula of the Waning Moon has a lot of fantastic ideas, and just lacks a little polish. I have used every adventure within, and seeded things in the Insula for the future. It definitely made my Big Rubble campaign better.

That said, the connection of each map to the adventure is awkward, and I'd like to see a small version of each map at the start of any adventure or description of the area, because otherwise there is a hell of a lot of scrolling. I'm still not entirely sure what is where, and that has kept me from using this kind of insula structure on a wider basis. I've found the best way to deal with it is to have multiple PDFs open, which is non-ideal.

Still, it provided several plot hooks that gave a full evening's entertainment each, so I found it worth the price. Let's hope that later issues in the Insula series have the bit of extra editing and fiddling that would make this stellar at the price. To show how much I enjoyed it despite the flaws, I picked up Insula of the Rising Sun as well - I like this series.

I finally played through the Corn Dolls, and my players loved it. The explosions, the horror, the creeping realisation over several sessions of just what they were up against...

It is brill. It is so worth the money. It builds on the previous book, although it could also stand alone, and it's a massive helping of awesomeness, laid out helpfully for the GM. The handouts are fab. The everything is fab.

Buy this.

Comprehensive and clearly laid out.

Having bought the 2020 index, I knew I wanted this one as soon as it came out. Nick works hard to support and inform the community, and this index does a great job. I recommend it for anyone who wants to know what is available, whether they are new to the Jonstown Compendium, or already familiar with some of the work.

This is not a fully scoped scenario for adventurers who want to fight, but it does not pretend to be. It is a well developed and well researched timeline of things that can happen, if you are not at a certain famous battle, and it has some good suggestions on how a set of characters might develop.

I would like to see more conflicts internal to the structure; as is, this fits in best with my gaming as part of a seasonal advancement, but does not stand alone for things that a group of adventurers can argue about or solve. I'd have liked to see more plot hooks and suggestions there. As is, the action feels like there is nothing the PCs can change (which is fine, and often does happen, but makes it into an exercise in sheet handling). I'd run this sort of thing as a sandwich filling, between other things that are happening.

However, for what it claims to be, it hits the right notes, at the right price. Pay the suggested price for it, and mine it for ideas and world knowledge. Use it as a spacer or for down time while your adventurers rest. It is easy to take any of the parts of it and generalise them.

I bought this a while back because Jon Webb was so supportive of other authors, and between buying it and running it, it got a surprise expansion with the help of Nick Brooke. I've finally been able to settle down to it, and Sandheart is a well-built, well researched bit of world.

The campaign is designed to be playable in any year, disconnected from the major events of the world, and it's a welcome relief from my more densely planned campaigns. For once, I'm not shaking the world, and it's great.

It's got everything a new place could need, and I like the reality of the people and the clever framing; here you can be slightly Yelmalian, and still be useful...

Whether you will like this depends entirely on your sense of humour. Spoilers begin about here.

It's a hilarious horror story, and anyone who has ever loved or hated family gatherings will know what it means.

The Pendulum and the Pit is very Gloranthan, but might not fit into your Glorantha. If it does not, then there are plenty of things to steal. As a free issue, it's worth picking up to try, and reviews and comments will help the author to decide whether to go further.

As a multi-possibility multi-thread game, the book is well designed and set out, although it probably needs a couple of reads to get all of the details. It's done about as well as it could be.

In weak points, the countdown rescues seem rushed, even for countdown rescues. They are not my kind of thing, so I may be looking at them wrong, but I'd have to run them repeatedly to find out. You WILL meet with Triumph or Disaster - but with the timing as it is, a lot seems to depends on PCs not behaving like every adventurer party ever.

It would need a group that trusts their GM on Loyalties, or is prepared to take 'magic' as an explanation. Fortunately this is mostly covered by the core rulebook, but contrarian players might footstamp, so GMs will want to think about how to explain what is going on in terms of the PCs being overcome by magic. That should not be hard, but could potentially be explained better.

I felt there was too much loot. While the household is rich - and while most of the loot probably falls into a giant pit - there is still too much chance to have a campaign be flooded with gold. It looks like this was written according to older RQG rules. My solution when running would be to have 1/10 of the value on most things, and have many (but not all) magical items be keyed to members of the Dread Family. It's not a problem, but it did throw me a bit.

The understanding of the West and the Invisible God may be changing when the books on such things come out from Chaosium. I'm a new-school Gloranthan and unconvinced that the word 'saint' will hang around. That said, it's what we currently have, people who know the game already will be familiar with it, and who cares if your mileage varies?

I wanted more art, but then again, this is a free book. Someone should tell Innes how to make backgrounds transparent. Me. I should tell him. Hey, Innes? Catch me if you want a bit of art help. You can make backgrounds transparent! (I think he might know that, but oh well.)

The strong parts: It was both funny as a concept and entertaining to read. The comparisons of harmony and disorder, and the likelyhood of getting both so the players can enjoy them too, are fantastic. Reading the Disordered descriptions was my favourite part.

It was definitely tragic too, and horrific. It is nothing I would ever have thought of, and is very, very Gloranthan. The magic holds up. The logic holds up. There's a giant murderous woodpecker and that's just one of those things, right? Of course giant murderous woodpeckers live in underground tunnel complexes. Don't you know anything? Even if it doesn't fit your game it's a great one-off.

I'm probably holding off on running this until at least I know what 'The West' means, but I'm glad I didn't hold back on reading it. It was hilarious and wince-worthy.

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA.

This was the funniest, most beautiful, most gloranthan-weird thing I have run in a while. Half an hour's sojourn into 'you are being followed by a giant rather melted rock' had the players delighted and the adventurers confused as hell.

There was no resolution this time - I will be keeping the giant melted rock for other sad and weepy adventures.

The Chalana Arroy initiate of the group wanted a big melty crying rock. Good news! You can have one, even though she can't.

Get Dolorous Edd. It's perfect weird-wavelength Glorantha.

So. Much. Information.

I'm in awe of how much is in here. It's got all of the information I need to make a solid military background, including the religious elements.

This is my go-to work for finding out what is in the JC, and has been kept up by the author since he published it. Its regular updates keep it useful, and for $0.50 I have a reference to tell me what is out there. Both as a GM and as an author, it's very useful.

This scenario builds on the Runequest idea of making Glorantha your own; the author freely admits that he has changed a major timeline. However, this adds to the work rather than taking away from it, because as well as a scenario it is a chatty piece of advice on running Runequest, and a deep work with multiple sources brought together by an expert.

As a scenario, the chatty style can get in the way a little, but as an entertaining read, it is amusing and thoughtful, and Nick writes knowing this. His footnotes tell you not to argue with his footnotes.

The Duel is a three-strand work, and those who do not get along with the writing will still definitely find much they do like. Nick's story structure and GMing tips made this a publication I had to buy. Without spoilering, I can definitely say that the underlying conceit - a small set of heroes keep the bridge against an army - is built on well, with interesting and even terrifying encounters, and a massive political problem delivered as if it is a gift.

In addition, the very footnotes that told me not to argue contain a treasure trove of information. Asrelia is hanging around sadly, wondering where it all went. I've used this as a reference book for the particular era, which is the main reason I bought it.

It levelled me up as a GM, just reading it. It gave me the information I wanted. It made me want to argue with his footnotes.

I thoroughly recommend this as a primer on what DID happen as well as a scenario covering what MIGHT happen. Nick really knows his stuff, and his expertise is on offer here.

This is a very useful niche product. There are a couple of places where editing could make the flow of information smoother, and one absolutely killer table. (Treasure your grandparents people, really!)

It's formed the historical basis of a campaign, and I'm very happy with that. I wish it had been even more fleshed out. For something that is Pay What You Want, it's a fantastic piece of kit - I did pay the suggested price, and I'm very happy.