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I've going over my Nightbane books again and decided might as well post reviews on them at the same time. Between the Shadows was the second to come out for the Nightbane line by Palladium. It's also the first book to use the name Nightbane over the previous Nightspawn name. Below is a break down of the book and my thoughts on it.

Spook Squad: This section covers the Spook Squad faction. They are made up of the remains of the U.S. Federal Police agencies and varies pre-Dark Day black project groups. There is info on the history of the group and it's varies subfactions. Some of these factions dealt with the paranormal before the invasion and still distrust anything of the nature to the point of attacking supernatural creatures on there side.

The biggest group is made of Federal police agencies and military forces that have gone into hiding from the Nightlord controlled government. After that it goes into the organization of Spook Squad and lists some of there major bases. There is also a brief blurb on there strike bases in the Nightlands but not as much as I would like. It also has a selection of new O.C.C. & P.C.C. geared for Spook Squad. I think they got a nice mixture of character types there that will make for some fun gaming.

The Astral Plane: This is my favorite version of the Astral Plane that I have so far seen in a RPG book. It's a wide dimension where some people even have the power to make their own little worlds from the ectoplasm of the Astral Plane. A GM can really go wild here since these kingdoms can range from fantasy realms to high tech ones. The players can chose a new P.C.C. that allows them to make there own realms. Though at the early levels they won't be much. The Astral Plane also has two new factions and several of the other factions have dealings here to.

The Dreamstream: This is a very chaotic world made up of the dreams of all the creatures on Earth and the Nightlands. Everyone has there own bubble (Dreampool) which is made up of there dreams and nightmares. There are some people with the power to enter the Dreamstream. They can enter other peoples Dreampools and even effect them to some extent. Though there are dangers in this world from creatures that live in the stream and the people we dream of who live in our Dreampools. The Nightlords has used this some of these creatures to torment and even kill people through their dreams. After Dark Day even going to sleep can be dangerous.

New Psionic Powers: This has a list of new psionic powers and conversions of others from the other Palladium game lines.

New P.C.C.: This converts the P.C.C. from Beyond the Supernatural over to Nightbane and the current Palladium Rule system (S.D.C., P.P.E., etc).

Magic: This has a new O.C.C. which is a detective that uses magic to help in there investigations. There is also a collection of new spells for mages to chose from.

New Skills: A couple of skills covering new material in the book.

Weapons & Equipment: This has a list of some interesting new gear for Spook Squad. Most of this is new weapons but there is some psychic related items and restraints made with the supernatural in mind.

Morphus Tables & Talents: There are several new Morphus tables and talents to add more variety to the players Nightbane. It also has the missing Morphus from the main book.

Club Freak: This is another new faction for the game. It's a series of clubs for Nightbane. It's someplace where they can relax and show what they really are without worry.

Places of Interest: There are brief blurbs on the Nightlords Rehabilitation Camps. This is where they send prisoners to work for them. Though unlike a normal prison most will never leave. There is also some basic info on the average Spook Squad safe house.

Campaign & Adventure Notes: This has suggestions on how to use the new material in the book. There are several interesting idea that I would like to to play out someday.

More Conversion Notes & Crossover Ideas: More notes on how to mix Nightbane with Palladium's other games.

There are some problems with the book. Several places it makes mention of material in the book that is not there. The Spook Squads vehicles for one example. As for the art I liked it myself but if your not a major fan of the art in Palladium books you probably won't like this are either. Though even with that I think it's a good book for it's size and price and a good choice for anyone who likes the Nightbane setting.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Between the Shadows
Author: C.J. Carella Category: game Company/Publisher: Palladium Cost: $16.95 Page count: 144 ISBN: 0916211-90-8 Capsule Review by Shawn Merrow on 12/17/98. Genre tags: Modern_day Horror Espionage Conspiracy Gothic	I've going over my Nightbane books again and decided might as well post reviews on them at the same time. Between the Shadows was the second to come out for the Nightbane line by Palladium. It's also the first book to use the name Nightbane over the previous Nightspawn name. Below is a break down of the book and my thoughts on it. Spook Squad: This section covers the Spook Squad faction. They are made up of the remains of the U.S. Federal Police agencies and varies pre-Dark Day black project groups. There is info on the history of the group and it's varies subfactions. Some of these factions dealt with the paranormal before the invasion and still distrust anything of the nature to the point of attacking supernatural creatures on there side. The biggest group is made of Federal police agencies and military forces that have gone into hiding from the Nightlord controlled government. After that it goes into the organization of Spook Squad and lists some of there major bases. There is also a brief blurb on there strike bases in the Nightlands but not as much as I would like. It also has a selection of new O.C.C. & P.C.C. geared for Spook Squad. I think they got a nice mixture of character types there that will make for some fun gaming. The Astral Plane: This is my favorite version of the Astral Plane that I have so far seen in a RPG book. It's a wide dimension where some people even have the power to make their own little worlds from the ectoplasm of the Astral Plane. A GM can really go wild here since these kingdoms can range from fantasy realms to high tech ones. The players can chose a new P.C.C. that allows them to make there own realms. Though at the early levels they won't be much. The Astral Plane also has two new factions and several of the other factions have dealings here to. The Dreamstream: This is a very chaotic world made up of the dreams of all the creatures on Earth and the Nightlands. Everyone has there own bubble (Dreampool) which is made up of there dreams and nightmares. There are some people with the power to enter the Dreamstream. They can enter other peoples Dreampools and even effect them to some extent. Though there are dangers in this world from creatures that live in the stream and the people we dream of who live in our Dreampools. The Nightlords has used this some of these creatures to torment and even kill people through their dreams. After Dark Day even going to sleep can be dangerous. New Psionic Powers: This has a list of new psionic powers and conversions of others from the other Palladium game lines. New P.C.C.: This converts the P.C.C. from Beyond the Supernatural over to Nightbane and the current Palladium Rule system (S.D.C., P.P.E., etc). Magic: This has a new O.C.C. which is a detective that uses magic to help in there investigations. There is also a collection of new spells for mages to chose from. New Skills: A couple of skills covering new material in the book. Weapons & Equipment: This has a list of some interesting new gear for Spook Squad. Most of this is new weapons but there is some psychic related items and restraints made with the supernatural in mind. Morphus Tables & Talents: There are several new Morphus tables and talents to add more variety to the players Nightbane. It also has the missing Morphus from the main book. Club Freak: This is another new faction for the game. It's a series of clubs for Nightbane. It's someplace where they can relax and show what they really are without worry. Places of Interest: There are brief blurbs on the Nightlords Rehabilitation Camps. This is where they send prisoners to work for them. Though unlike a normal prison most will never leave. There is also some basic info on the average Spook Squad safe house. Campaign & Adventure Notes: This has suggestions on how to use the new material in the book. There are several interesting idea that I would like to to play out someday. More Conversion Notes & Crossover Ideas: More notes on how to mix Nightbane with Palladium's other games. There are some problems with the book. Several places it makes mention of material in the book that is not there. The Spook Squads vehicles for one example. As for the art I liked it myself but if your not a major fan of the art in Palladium books you probably won't like this are either. Though even with that I think it's a good book for it's size and price and a good choice for anyone who likes the Nightbane setting. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)