The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Dream Pod 9 has come out with a fairly run-of-the-mill product and presented it in such a way that I honestly feel my money was well spent.

I should start off by saying that in my opinion Dream Pod 9 is fairly well known for its 'quality over quantity' style of creating products, and the Weaver's Assistant is no different. It is a nice product in many different categories. The price is the only major stumbling block.

The screen is a nice, solid, maybe-water-resistant-on-one-side,cardstock. It has all sorts of useful bits of info on the inside to make things like synthesis easier and quicker for the Weaver (hallelujhah). It is attractive and well laid out. Basically, all the tables in the book (sans weapons and armor) are on the screen for the Weaver. Nicely done but nothing terribly exciting.

Now, as for the real meat of the set, the Assistant, I am very happy with it. The art is up to par with my high expectations of Dream Pod 9 products (though, as can be expected, there is some reprinting). Additionally, there is a wealth of info in the packet (I hesitate to call it a book) that will help any campaign- the NPCs and Archetypes will be a welcome addition to many T8 games. The Assistant is broken into two distinct sections.

The first section focuses on helping a campaign take form. Advice on mood, portrayls of key places and people, and the steps to creating a good background can all be found here and are given in terms that are both helpful and realitively open to allow a Weaver the a free hand. There are some wonderful tips in the packet for the first time Weaver. What really stood out to me was the phrase "It is not critical to be wholly original; it is critical to be interesting." (p6) That, right there, was what made the supplement worth the money. In this day and age in gaming where everyone is clamouring to be 'revolutionary' and 'totally original' it is nice to see that someone recognizes that originality does not necessarily equate to fun. This is an excellent piece of advice for anyone running a T8 game, and to the gaming community at large. The best part is, there are other tidbits of wisdom like this throughout this section.

The second section is the first DP9 produced adventure set in Vimary. Considered the first of the 'Children of Prophecy' cycle that will be highlighted in future books, it is a well thought-out intro adventure. The NPCs are well detailed to make a Weaver's job that much easier, and because those same NPCs are not all necessarily antagonists to for the PCs. In other words, if the Weaver needs to bail the PCs out of a bad situation, nearly any one of the NPCs presented can fulfill this role (with a little creativity on the part of the Weaver). It is also a nice introduction for new(er) players showing that 'good' and 'evil' in T8 is realitively fluid... one time enemies can turn allies if the PCs play their cards right. To round it off, there is a nice mix of action, exploration, and role-playing to allow a new group to become used to the many rules and systems of T8. Oh, and of course there are a few surprises for any veterans out there (though, with T8 as a whole being so new, I don't think many players will qualify as 'veterans')

Overall, a nicely packaged product with content to compliment the attractive presentation. So...

If you plan to run T8- I encourage you to purchase this. If you play in a game of T8- buy it for your Weaver and expect lots of good things to come :) Otherwise... this product really is not for you... especially for the price.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Weaver's Screen and Assistant
Author: Phillippe Boulle, Michael Butler, Joshua Mosqueira Asheim, Jean Carrieres Category: game Company/Publisher: Dream Pod 9 Cost: $18.95 Page count: 48 screen ISBN: DP9-802 Capsule Review by Chris Gunning on 11/25/98. Genre tags: Fantasy Horror Post-apocalypse	Dream Pod 9 has come out with a fairly run-of-the-mill product and presented it in such a way that I honestly feel my money was well spent. I should start off by saying that in my opinion Dream Pod 9 is fairly well known for its 'quality over quantity' style of creating products, and the Weaver's Assistant is no different. It is a nice product in many different categories. The price is the only major stumbling block. The screen is a nice, solid, maybe-water-resistant-on-one-side,cardstock. It has all sorts of useful bits of info on the inside to make things like synthesis easier and quicker for the Weaver (hallelujhah). It is attractive and well laid out. Basically, all the tables in the book (sans weapons and armor) are on the screen for the Weaver. Nicely done but nothing terribly exciting. Now, as for the real meat of the set, the Assistant, I am very happy with it. The art is up to par with my high expectations of Dream Pod 9 products (though, as can be expected, there is some reprinting). Additionally, there is a wealth of info in the packet (I hesitate to call it a book) that will help any campaign- the NPCs and Archetypes will be a welcome addition to many T8 games. The Assistant is broken into two distinct sections. The first section focuses on helping a campaign take form. Advice on mood, portrayls of key places and people, and the steps to creating a good background can all be found here and are given in terms that are both helpful and realitively open to allow a Weaver the a free hand. There are some wonderful tips in the packet for the first time Weaver. What really stood out to me was the phrase "It is not critical to be wholly original; it is critical to be interesting." (p6) That, right there, was what made the supplement worth the money. In this day and age in gaming where everyone is clamouring to be 'revolutionary' and 'totally original' it is nice to see that someone recognizes that originality does not necessarily equate to fun. This is an excellent piece of advice for anyone running a T8 game, and to the gaming community at large. The best part is, there are other tidbits of wisdom like this throughout this section. The second section is the first DP9 produced adventure set in Vimary. Considered the first of the 'Children of Prophecy' cycle that will be highlighted in future books, it is a well thought-out intro adventure. The NPCs are well detailed to make a Weaver's job that much easier, and because those same NPCs are not all necessarily antagonists to for the PCs. In other words, if the Weaver needs to bail the PCs out of a bad situation, nearly any one of the NPCs presented can fulfill this role (with a little creativity on the part of the Weaver). It is also a nice introduction for new(er) players showing that 'good' and 'evil' in T8 is realitively fluid... one time enemies can turn allies if the PCs play their cards right. To round it off, there is a nice mix of action, exploration, and role-playing to allow a new group to become used to the many rules and systems of T8. Oh, and of course there are a few surprises for any veterans out there (though, with T8 as a whole being so new, I don't think many players will qualify as 'veterans') Overall, a nicely packaged product with content to compliment the attractive presentation. So... If you plan to run T8- I encourage you to purchase this. If you play in a game of T8- buy it for your Weaver and expect lots of good things to come :) Otherwise... this product really is not for you... especially for the price. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Weaver's Screen and Assistant