The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Remember the good old days? When the only books you needed were the PLAYER'S MANUAL and the DUNGEON MASTER'S GUIDE? Then, the guy running the show, the DM, bought lots of grid paper, dice and the odd module and the show was good to go.

These days, however, a real RPG needs a dozen books on making the characters more real - getting their motivations down, their hard childhood, their education. Some of my characters have needed to roleplay out therapy sessions they were so real and whacked out.

What's the point of this ramble? Well, this product is one of these new-fangled "roleplay" books. Yes, seems like you just can't throw a few Orcs and a chest full of treasure at players any more, you have to give them "plots" and "props" and "dramatic settings". Sheesh.

Y'see, Jovian Chronicles plays something one of those space anime stories. But instead of letting everything copycat one of the established stories, those Podsters have built a rich world for the characters to "live" in. And this book is a huge aid to GM's who have to set up the stories for those worlds.

Although it includes a beautiful GM's screen, which has both RPG and Tactical game info, the real joy of this product is the book. Although it does not include things like "Treasure Charts" and "Magical Weapons", it does have chapters about Gamemastering (always a plus), a wealth of details on how to create and run NPCs (very nice!). dealing with problem players (where was this the last time I was GMing??) and, as a bonus, neat forms to photocopy that will help you run your game sessions and campaign.

The good looks at Dream Pod 9's usual high points. Excellent layout and illustrations - these guys are so darn good, it ought to be a crime. They make so may other people look bad.

So, although you may have just been looking for a GM screen, you are getting a nice GM booklet to boot. Altough it isn't like the GM tools of yesteryear (and that is probably a good thing!), it certainly has a lot of tools to get your game of Jovian Chronicles up, running and telling some wild stories.

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

Game Aid for Jovian Chronicles: Gamemastering Made Easy (GM Screen)
Author: Jean Carrieres, Marc A. Vezina, Philippe R. Boulle Category: game Company/Publisher: Dream Pod 9 Page count: 48 ISBN: 1-896776-35-3 Capsule Review by Robert E. Allen III on 07/26/98. Genre tags: none	Remember the good old days? When the only books you needed were the PLAYER'S MANUAL and the DUNGEON MASTER'S GUIDE? Then, the guy running the show, the DM, bought lots of grid paper, dice and the odd module and the show was good to go. These days, however, a real RPG needs a dozen books on making the characters more real - getting their motivations down, their hard childhood, their education. Some of my characters have needed to roleplay out therapy sessions they were so real and whacked out. What's the point of this ramble? Well, this product is one of these new-fangled "roleplay" books. Yes, seems like you just can't throw a few Orcs and a chest full of treasure at players any more, you have to give them "plots" and "props" and "dramatic settings". Sheesh. Y'see, Jovian Chronicles plays something one of those space anime stories. But instead of letting everything copycat one of the established stories, those Podsters have built a rich world for the characters to "live" in. And this book is a huge aid to GM's who have to set up the stories for those worlds. Although it includes a beautiful GM's screen, which has both RPG and Tactical game info, the real joy of this product is the book. Although it does not include things like "Treasure Charts" and "Magical Weapons", it does have chapters about Gamemastering (always a plus), a wealth of details on how to create and run NPCs (very nice!). dealing with problem players (where was this the last time I was GMing??) and, as a bonus, neat forms to photocopy that will help you run your game sessions and campaign. The good looks at Dream Pod 9's usual high points. Excellent layout and illustrations - these guys are so darn good, it ought to be a crime. They make so may other people look bad. So, although you may have just been looking for a GM screen, you are getting a nice GM booklet to boot. Altough it isn't like the GM tools of yesteryear (and that is probably a good thing!), it certainly has a lot of tools to get your game of Jovian Chronicles up, running and telling some wild stories. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Game Aid for Jovian Chronicles: Gamemastering Made Easy (GM Screen)