The Inside Scoop on Gaming

By this date, the gaming industry is familiar with the idea of fusing a GM Screen with a small GM guidebook. (White Wolf Game Studio is the most frequent user of this approach.) Most of them lack substance to a greater or lesser degree, but when a superior example comes along it shines like a beacon in the night.

This is one such example.

For your gaming dollar you get the usual screen/guide combination. The screen is a three-panel affair that puts the world map of Terra Nova on the outside and puts the mechanics on the inside. All of the charts are present and organized for maximum efficiency. It's built well (as GM screens go) and should do well for most groups. That's not the exception part.

The exception part is the guidebook. Within its 48 pages are three chapters and one appendix of the best GM advice you can buy short of a dedicated volume- such as ICE's Gamemaster Law- and there's not more than two new rules within its covers. Everything inside is applicable to all of DP9's RPGs, to everyone else's RPGs and to role-playing in general with little (if any) fiddling.

The reason for this is because there is the new rules are kept to a minumum. As little space as possible is spent on them; the lion's share is allocated to rule-independant items such as trouble-shooting and character development. There are some random charts for those who want them, but they aren't tied to the rules; the results they create are easy to convert to your preferred system.

The appendix has some handy forms for those who like them. One deals with character generation, another with campaign development and the last one is a clean and easy-to-copy blank character sheet.

For your money, I'd say that you're getting a lot of good advice for whatever system you use. You're also getting a decent GM screen, so that's extra mileage for your money. I recommend it, if only because good bargains are hard to find.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Heavy Gear Gamemaster's Guide- Mastering The Game
Author: Jean Carrieres, Mark-Alexandre Vezina, Philippe R Boulle, Pierre Ouellette Category: game Company/Publisher: Dream Pod 9 Cost: $14.95 (US) Page count: 48 pages ISBN: 1-896776-34-5 Capsule Review by Bradford C. Walker on 07/07/98. Genre tags: none	By this date, the gaming industry is familiar with the idea of fusing a GM Screen with a small GM guidebook. (White Wolf Game Studio is the most frequent user of this approach.) Most of them lack substance to a greater or lesser degree, but when a superior example comes along it shines like a beacon in the night. This is one such example. For your gaming dollar you get the usual screen/guide combination. The screen is a three-panel affair that puts the world map of Terra Nova on the outside and puts the mechanics on the inside. All of the charts are present and organized for maximum efficiency. It's built well (as GM screens go) and should do well for most groups. That's not the exception part. The exception part is the guidebook. Within its 48 pages are three chapters and one appendix of the best GM advice you can buy short of a dedicated volume- such as ICE's Gamemaster Law- and there's not more than two new rules within its covers. Everything inside is applicable to all of DP9's RPGs, to everyone else's RPGs and to role-playing in general with little (if any) fiddling. The reason for this is because there is the new rules are kept to a minumum. As little space as possible is spent on them; the lion's share is allocated to rule-independant items such as trouble-shooting and character development. There are some random charts for those who want them, but they aren't tied to the rules; the results they create are easy to convert to your preferred system. The appendix has some handy forms for those who like them. One deals with character generation, another with campaign development and the last one is a clean and easy-to-copy blank character sheet. For your money, I'd say that you're getting a lot of good advice for whatever system you use. You're also getting a decent GM screen, so that's extra mileage for your money. I recommend it, if only because good bargains are hard to find. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Heavy Gear Gamemaster's Guide- Mastering The Game