Small Feature Work at a Relatively High Cost
Written: Mar 31 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Some new adventures, more maps, further detail about an area of the wilderness
Cons: Not enough! Seems like Palladium was just tossing out something to regain players' interest
The Bottom Line: If you need some fast adventures, this is something that could help your game. Otherwise, wait for the 2nd Edition update and hope for added stuff
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| BlackBear's Full Review: Kevin Siembieda - Futher Adventures in the Norther... |
Following closely on the heals of book IV of the Palladium Fantasy RPG (Role Playing Game), "Further" Adventures in the Northern Wilderness was little more than a disappointment to the Fantasy game fans. Mark this date on your calendars, readers, because you will most likely never see me hammer a Palladium book the way I am about to beat up on this one. Granted, the company did offer some more minor details about the lands that the Wolfen race occupies. However, with all things considered, one would expect to get much more from Palladium for $7.95 than a mere 50 pages, which includes the covers.
As a "sourcebook", this one was a huge flop. Yes, there is source material about the area. Yes, there are some new items, adventures, monsters, etc for the area. All of these things can be seen by glancing at the table of contents and flipping through the book. But when you start to get into the deep reading of the book, you will discover that it is mostly smoke and mirrors, an illusion of greatness spawned by the several full page illustrations and special space consuming type sets.
This book was released in 1990, a time when ten bucks was worth so much more than it is today. Eight years later, the first issue of Palladium Books sourcebook series was released for the same $7.95 an issue. The Rifter is published four times a year and every issue has a minimum 100 pages and often as much as 150 to 200 pages! What's wrong with this picture? Where else can you find a product that you actually get more for the same price almost a decade later? You can't. It just doesn't happen. I will discuss this strange event in more detail in a later review about The Rifter #1.
To get back on topic, I have to admit that the artwork is wonderful. The adventures that are contained in this volume are well thought out and give the players a good challenge, even if there are only three full adventures and a single adventure idea. The adventures are not related to each other by a common plot line, which is both a good and bad thing. It's a good thing because the sections that don't fit into the game world that you have created for your group can be skipped over. But it's a bad thing if you were expecting a campaign to put your players through in order to buy the time you needed to create your own adventures.
The adventures have another failing, they don't really have a defined starting point. Again, this can be good or bad. Some GMs (Game Masters) prefer to have that point left open so that they can create something to make it a part of their own game. On the other hand, not every player is creative enough to be able to produce a good opening to an adventure. If just anyone could do this type of thing, then there would be much more RPGs on the market and I feel that the hobby would become less popular because of that.
As for the source material, I have to say that the detail is just as good as all the rest of the products that Palladium has made. The maps are well drawn and to proper scale with all the details that are needed right there at your fingertips. There are some random encounter tables for the whole of the Northern Wilderness, something that was left out of the previous volume for some reason. You will also find several great NPCs (Non Player Characters) stats and details that can be used almost anywhere you would like once the players have been introduced to them. The NPCs offer the GM a chance to build onto the volume by giving him/her a way of introducing the players to his own adventures.
I guess that my biggest beef about the book is that you just don't get very much for the high price. It shouldn't have been marketed as a sourcebook at all. They should have called it an idea book or something like that. It also should have been much less money.
Recommended:
No
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Member: Joseph Black Bear
Location: Kansas City, Kansas
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Just a guy who loves reading, videos, RPGs and collects various toys.
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