The Inside Scoop on Gaming

What is it that attracts us to a new roleplaying product when we begin craving a new experiance? We search through the racks, read reviews, search the web, and discuss it with friends, trying to decide what product next to buy.

For me, the deciding factor is an intangible I refer to as "the coolness factor". I like great adventures, fresh worlds, powerful new monsters to throw at my pc's, and interesting npc's to interact with as much as the next guy. Writing, art, and presentation are likewise important. Having said all this, there have been some products with perhaps amateurish scenarios or a potpouri setting of ideas which I still loved. Why? Because something in there inspired me to do something with the product.

This is what I see when I read Masters of Roleplaying. Perhaps not the most slick magazine in existence, and it doesn't boast a stable of industry greats for writers, but it displays a love for the hobby and presents some fascinating ideas.

The news section is fairly comprehensive when dealing with the larger companies, but sadly neglects the smaller publishers. The same can be said of the many reviews sprinkled throughout the magazine, which cover rpg products, movies (the Mummy and the Matrix), novels, computer games, and even the music of a German band dedicated to Tolkien! The reviews are generally lengthy and well done.

While I enjoy reviews and indutry news, the meat and potatoes of any rpg magazine is the gaming material. There is a high level AD+D adventure entitled "the Key of Thala'Mar", part of an epic ongoing scenario. Unfortunetly, the author assumes we have played the other instalments and so we have to piece together the story as best we can. While it needs fleshing out, there is a foundation of an intersting adventure here, with the pc's being drawn (through the psychic will of the Key in their possession) into a confrontation with a conniving lich and his antipaladin lieutenant.

Another article details "The Heavens of Rothgar", a complete AD+D pantheon. There is a defined inter-relationship between the gods, as well as the requisite description of granted powers, holy items, spheres of influence, and so forth. It's quite good, actually.

Perhaps my favorite article is "Homegrown: the Proliferation", an article covering fan created supplements available on the 'net for the World of Darkness line from White Wolf. I would never have stumbled across some of these gems without this informative article. Play the Drorenkinder "Children of Thor" chronicles (in which the "children" are members of a Nazi organization hunting down vampires in revenge for the Camarillas role in defeating Hitler); Illuminati: the Conspiracy is a fine game in the veinof X-Files; and how about Gargoyles: The Guarding, based upon the Disney cartoon series.

I generally dislike humor pieces taking up valuable space in my rpg magazines, but I found the two articles in here quite amusing, particularly the piece mocking LARPers, which I found right on.Issue #7 also features a rather pedestrian fiction piece.

The layout is very professional, and there is plenty of interior art, which ranges from poor to good. Most impressive was the high quality scanned images which were liberally placed throughout the book. The fontis too large, so despite it's size (96 pages), the actual numberof words is significantly less than one would expect.

Masters of Roleplaying has over the past year developed a loyal following and a reputation as a reliable magazine. But, while it does most things adequately, it needs to find ways to allow its strengths to more clearly and consistently shine through.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 3 (Average)

What do you think?

Visit the above forum to let us know!

Masters of Roleplaying Issue #7
Author: Editor, JC Carter Category: Magazine Company/Publisher: Chalice Publications Line: rpg magazine Cost: $3.99 Page count: 96 pages Capsule Review by Andrew Hind on 02/09/00. Genre tags: Fantasy Science_fiction Modern_day Historical Horror Far_Future Space Comedy Anime Espionage Conspiracy Post-apocalypse Old_West Vampire Gothic Asian/Far_East Superhero Diceless Generic Live-action	What is it that attracts us to a new roleplaying product when we begin craving a new experiance? We search through the racks, read reviews, search the web, and discuss it with friends, trying to decide what product next to buy. For me, the deciding factor is an intangible I refer to as "the coolness factor". I like great adventures, fresh worlds, powerful new monsters to throw at my pc's, and interesting npc's to interact with as much as the next guy. Writing, art, and presentation are likewise important. Having said all this, there have been some products with perhaps amateurish scenarios or a potpouri setting of ideas which I still loved. Why? Because something in there inspired me to do something with the product. This is what I see when I read Masters of Roleplaying. Perhaps not the most slick magazine in existence, and it doesn't boast a stable of industry greats for writers, but it displays a love for the hobby and presents some fascinating ideas. The news section is fairly comprehensive when dealing with the larger companies, but sadly neglects the smaller publishers. The same can be said of the many reviews sprinkled throughout the magazine, which cover rpg products, movies (the Mummy and the Matrix), novels, computer games, and even the music of a German band dedicated to Tolkien! The reviews are generally lengthy and well done. While I enjoy reviews and indutry news, the meat and potatoes of any rpg magazine is the gaming material. There is a high level AD+D adventure entitled "the Key of Thala'Mar", part of an epic ongoing scenario. Unfortunetly, the author assumes we have played the other instalments and so we have to piece together the story as best we can. While it needs fleshing out, there is a foundation of an intersting adventure here, with the pc's being drawn (through the psychic will of the Key in their possession) into a confrontation with a conniving lich and his antipaladin lieutenant. Another article details "The Heavens of Rothgar", a complete AD+D pantheon. There is a defined inter-relationship between the gods, as well as the requisite description of granted powers, holy items, spheres of influence, and so forth. It's quite good, actually. Perhaps my favorite article is "Homegrown: the Proliferation", an article covering fan created supplements available on the 'net for the World of Darkness line from White Wolf. I would never have stumbled across some of these gems without this informative article. Play the Drorenkinder "Children of Thor" chronicles (in which the "children" are members of a Nazi organization hunting down vampires in revenge for the Camarillas role in defeating Hitler); Illuminati: the Conspiracy is a fine game in the veinof X-Files; and how about Gargoyles: The Guarding, based upon the Disney cartoon series. I generally dislike humor pieces taking up valuable space in my rpg magazines, but I found the two articles in here quite amusing, particularly the piece mocking LARPers, which I found right on.Issue #7 also features a rather pedestrian fiction piece. The layout is very professional, and there is plenty of interior art, which ranges from poor to good. Most impressive was the high quality scanned images which were liberally placed throughout the book. The fontis too large, so despite it's size (96 pages), the actual numberof words is significantly less than one would expect. Masters of Roleplaying has over the past year developed a loyal following and a reputation as a reliable magazine. But, while it does most things adequately, it needs to find ways to allow its strengths to more clearly and consistently shine through. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 3 (Average) What do you think? Visit the above forum to let us know!

Masters of Roleplaying Issue #7

What do you think?