The Inside Scoop on Gaming

This is the kind of supplement we need more of. It's eight sheets of glossy paper printed with the same floor plan front and back. One side is overlaid with squares, the other with hexes. And yet, it's so much more.

The Good

It's big. When put together, the first floor is nearly five feet wide. This allows plenty of room for detail, too. Each room is drawn with what it holds, and there is a master key with descriptions as well. And the map sheets don't border on each other. They overlap, so there's less problem getting and keeping the sheets aligned. A few Post-It Notes on the flip side hold it together well enough.

It has systemless adventure seeds. There are zombies, ghosts, cultists and even steampunk automatons, all on the back of the cover sheet. Most of the system references are to GURPS books, of course, but Chill and All Flesh Must Be Eaten get nods as well.

It's inspiring. The adventures seeds and descriptions spark ideas of more scenarios, and they aren't all haunted. There's plenty you can do here with no supernatural overtones at all. Murder mysteries, a treasure hunt, the mayor's inaugural ball -- lots of possibilities.

It has a sheet of Cardboard Heroes. There are zombies of all shapes and sizes. It has ghosts, cultists and heroes, too. There are even a few flats of corpses, as well as a couple of bloody hammers and a rifle. The artwork on these is very nice, appropriately gruesome. I especially like the Half Zombie.

The Bad

It has too many zombies. Of the 30 included Cardboard Heroes, 20 are zombies. Only two are ghosts, a man and a little girl. Why not include two more ghosts, a woman and a little boy? Make the set complete.

Actually, the Cardboard Heroes are my only gripe. There are five cultist types, which is fine. There are only three heroes, though: a Woman, a Cameraman, and a Priest. The possibilities here are far from endless.

The flats are similarly uninspired. The two hammers are identical. One should have been a pistol. A few of the corpses could have been sacrificed in favor of a few more weapons, some tools or even random body parts.

Aside from that, it would have been nice to have a miniature copy of the plans. The edge of the cover sheet has a 1/7 size version of the map, but it's just a tease. I wish they'd printed the whole thing on a single sheet of paper for reference. Something you could photocopy and write notes on would have been even better.

The Conclusion

Floor Plan 1: Haunted House is well worth the money. It's inspirational and useful in the best possible way. The Cardboard Heroes are a nice bonus, even if they are a bit repetitive.

Floor Plan 1: Haunted House
Floor Plan 1: Haunted House Capsule Review by Patrick Clark on 24/06/01 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty) It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. All those zombies . . . Product: Floor Plan 1: Haunted House Author: Philip Reed Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Steve Jackson Games Line: Floor Plans Cost: $16.95 Page count: n/a Year published: 2001 ISBN: 1-55634-502-X SKU: SJG01695 7301 Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Patrick Clark on 24/06/01 Genre tags: Generic	This is the kind of supplement we need more of. It's eight sheets of glossy paper printed with the same floor plan front and back. One side is overlaid with squares, the other with hexes. And yet, it's so much more. The Good It's big. When put together, the first floor is nearly five feet wide. This allows plenty of room for detail, too. Each room is drawn with what it holds, and there is a master key with descriptions as well. And the map sheets don't border on each other. They overlap, so there's less problem getting and keeping the sheets aligned. A few Post-It Notes on the flip side hold it together well enough. It has systemless adventure seeds. There are zombies, ghosts, cultists and even steampunk automatons, all on the back of the cover sheet. Most of the system references are to GURPS books, of course, but Chill and All Flesh Must Be Eaten get nods as well. It's inspiring. The adventures seeds and descriptions spark ideas of more scenarios, and they aren't all haunted. There's plenty you can do here with no supernatural overtones at all. Murder mysteries, a treasure hunt, the mayor's inaugural ball -- lots of possibilities. It has a sheet of Cardboard Heroes. There are zombies of all shapes and sizes. It has ghosts, cultists and heroes, too. There are even a few flats of corpses, as well as a couple of bloody hammers and a rifle. The artwork on these is very nice, appropriately gruesome. I especially like the Half Zombie. The Bad It has too many zombies. Of the 30 included Cardboard Heroes, 20 are zombies. Only two are ghosts, a man and a little girl. Why not include two more ghosts, a woman and a little boy? Make the set complete. Actually, the Cardboard Heroes are my only gripe. There are five cultist types, which is fine. There are only three heroes, though: a Woman, a Cameraman, and a Priest. The possibilities here are far from endless. The flats are similarly uninspired. The two hammers are identical. One should have been a pistol. A few of the corpses could have been sacrificed in favor of a few more weapons, some tools or even random body parts. Aside from that, it would have been nice to have a miniature copy of the plans. The edge of the cover sheet has a 1/7 size version of the map, but it's just a tease. I wish they'd printed the whole thing on a single sheet of paper for reference. Something you could photocopy and write notes on would have been even better. The Conclusion Floor Plan 1: Haunted House is well worth the money. It's inspirational and useful in the best possible way. The Cardboard Heroes are a nice bonus, even if they are a bit repetitive.