Redhurst succeeds very well as the second type.

Redhurst, as the title suggests, is a Magical academy. Designed for use in any setting, it travels from plane to plane.

It's almost miraculous that Redhurst manages to be such a good book. Magical academies feel like such a hoary concept; true, they've never really been done as satisfyingly as until recently (through a fairly popular book line that needs not be mentioned), but the idea of a school for mages is a very standard concept. Redhurst manages to be both interesting and feel unique.

Redhurst makes a very, very strong first impression. First off, it's produced horizontally rather than the standard vertical presentation the industry expects. This gives it the impression of being a school handbook, although a very swank one since it's a hardcover.

The book is presented as a student handbook for the school; scribbled in the margins are annotations by a sinister doppelganger infiltrator, who's annotated the book for their even more sinister master, and left notes on the staff in a 'secret code', commonly known as 'the d20 system'.

The book gives a good introduction for players and GMs to the Redhurst Academy.

The book starts with a description of the school, and how it travels from locale to locale. It discusses admission and tuition and the various services offered by the school, including 'consulting', research facilities, and tourism. It also discusses the various extra-curricular activities on campus, including school sports including Duelling, which is basically high-mana rugby. They also have a drama club and a LARP club (no, I'm not kidding).

They also offer internships and apprenticeships for students, which can include working with an adventuring party. This is, needless to say, dangerous.

The book continues with an introduction to the staff of the school, including its headmaster, various members of the faculty, and other staff including healers, groundskeepers and cooks.

Each entry is annotated with various secrets and foibles noted next to them, ranging from the embarrassing to the potentially dangerous, as well as a stat block.

A guided tour of the campus is also provided, building-by-building. The campus is a sprawling complex, with a building for each school of magic, dormitories, dining rooms, labs, playing fields, and a 'visitors centre' at the entrance to the facility.

The secrets and mysteries of each place are also discussed by the mysterious spy, as well as are various points of vulnerability.

Following that is a short description of various locales the school visits on its travels. This is one of the strongest points of the book, as it includes both original settings and existing d20 settings such as Nyambe, the Kingdoms of Kalamar, The Scarred Lands, Dungeon World and Freeport.

Each setting describes how Redhurst interacts with it and provides adventure ideas for GMs who use those settings to include Redhurst, or for GMs running campaigns in Redhurst to use the settings. It's a great idea, and the sharing of IP as well as open game content takes the d20 license to another level, and I think more companies should do it.

Following the tour guide of The Known Realms is an outline of the various schools of magic within Redhurst. Each one has a description of its facilities (which expands on the information provided previously), the instructors and the curriculum for first year and more advanced students, as well as some new signature spells.

The book concludes with a GM's section to allow GMs to add Redhurst to their games, or to use it as the setting for a campaign, as well as a couple monsters and a pair of prestige classes.

Redhurst is a delightful book, providing a sense of place that few game world settings are able to match. The design choice of laying out the book sideways, something that seems very simple on the surface, is an inspired touch.

The crunchy bits at the end seem somewhat superfluous. Sure, it's NICE to have magical beer, but it would have been better to have more information on running a game in Redhurst.

The sole flaws I find in Redhurst can be attributed to personal greed; I would like more information on life at the school, and how to run a campaign set in or around it. But overall Redhurst is probably a strong contender for one of the best d20 supplements to be produced this year.

Help support RPGnet by purchasing this item through DriveThruRPG.