Reading Adventures

Apparently I'm useless during the week too.

Actually, that's not quite true. I spent the last couple days reading through Dungeon Crawl Classics. I'm still not done, but I've made a whole lot of headway.

Honestly, I'm a bit surprised. I was expecting the the nostalgia factor to be high, but some of these are really good adventures, nostalgia aside. Check that. Of the ones I've read, at least two are really excellent.

Not to say that they are all exactly my cup of tea, but the fact is, these things have a lot more going for them than I gave them credit for. I'm still working my way through them, but all in all I'm very happy.

The boxed set is a bit different. It has a couple adventures with it, but it's primarily a world setting that ties the various adventures together. It's well written and informative, and the maps are beautiful and remind me of the old Known World maps I grew up with (in a good way). The background is a bit dark, which a lot of people have complained about, but I didn't think it was as bad as many people claim. All in all I found it to be a neat product, and an interesting world for those who prefer an older-style, lower-level setting.

That reminds me. I'm a bit torn on boxed sets as a format for products. I love the presentation and all the little goodies that come along with them, but as a buyer I regret giving up the ability to flip through the books and see how much I might like the product before I buy. I had never considered that when I lamented to lack of boxed sets in modern gaming.

Not that it really applies here, but it's just something I thought about.

I'm currently taking a break from adventure reading so they don't all start to blend together. Right now I'm reading Mysteries of the Occult, though I'm not far enough in to comment on it. I will say that I really need a copy of Etherscope. I'm not sure why I don't own it, but it looks very interesting. Does anyone know if the new softcover is different than the older hard cover?

Anywho, some strong contenders here, and some games I am definitely going to play test with my home group. Overall Goodman seems to specialize in traditional products with a bit of a twist. The traditional elements make the product recognizable enough to grasp the concepts easily, and the twist adds depth. Color me impressed.