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It seems to me that there are two main roads into Fantasy, whether fiction or roleplaying (which is really just fiction DIY). On the one hand there is the Tolkeinesque that has given us, in turn, D&D and many of the finest Fantasy settings out there. On the other hand there are the beefy heros of Howard and Burroughs cutting their way to the next drinking binge. Or so it has been explained to me in fairly small words. There are several games out there, including some titled after the most recognizable of heros that portray these kinds of guys pretty well. Legend of Steel takes a very successful place in their shelf.

As a PDF, the book will set you back twelve bucks. $12! As a book printed from Lulu, it is $22.25. I got the PDF and I am really very happy with the purchase. It came with a full color map of the game world "Erisa", and two versions of the book: one printer friendly and the other art heavy.

The jist of the book is immediately aparant on the cover, which evokes a comic book feel, while showing a lot of action. The art throughout the book (in the version that has art) is black and white except for the world map, and is all top notch and well in keeping with the theme.

The first nineteen pages are the players guide, which goes into making a Sword & Sorcery character, as well as touching on the different subsets of the subgenre, discussing what sort of game you might want to have, from the comics to the novels to the Saturday morning cartoons. The next forty pages are devted to the world of Erisa, its peoples, its countries and its Gods.

The book has a good amount of crunch without adding too much to the Savage Worlds rules. The Savage Worlds rules in a seperate book (whether the Explorer's Edition or the new Deluxe edition) are required to play this version of the game. The setting rules mesh in seamlessly, and there are not too many added edges and hinderances to make things overwhelming.

The one thing that seems to be missing is a list of standard weapons and equipment, but it is part of the genre, according to the author, that the economics in fine detail are not what the game aught to be about. As for weapons and armor and such, the Savage Worlds rule apear to be sufficient for that.

The biliography is very strong for this book, and reads like a long summer reading/watching list.

The best part of the book, if it not the discussion of S&S fantasy, is the setting, which is laid out as a map and gazeteer. Each country gets a page or two all about its overall nature and business, and includes a number of possible plot hooks. While the player's guide part of the book has only one piece of artwork, the gazeteer has many, without crowding out the meat. Very good indeed.

Last of all are an assortment of sample heros. Each of these is at Veteran or heroic rank, which is undoubtedly unbalanced, but is explained simply enough as another key part to the feel of the genre. (in fact in the character section, it recomends starting all characters as Seasoned rather than Novice)

Okay, it's getting late and I have to wrap this.

General readability, layout, and ease of understanding: Excelent. Right on the money. Clear and concise, and easy to find my way around in.

Substance: Meaty and almost Excelent, only lacking in details the author was trying to dodge on purpose (so I dig why, but still I would have liked just a bit more.) I'm okay filling in a few economic details.