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jay@vanishingtowerpress.com

Friday, May 11

Review Weapons Law, Solomon Kane, and Frostbitten & Mutilated for Utility

I went on Noble Knight to purchase Frostbitten & Mutilated, the new Lamentations of the Flame Princess hardback by Zak Smith. While there I took a peruse through the online clearance section. I have a serious gaming fetish for finding cheap gems of unforgotten, who knows what the fuck gaming lore which can be found in a bargain bin. This is because this is what I did at a game store when I was eleven. Generally you will be disappointed. Like scratch tickets. But there is a high achieved when you score. So I am told. Not surprising I find the dream of hotness usually comes from my own fat fingers. Actually it comes from online interaction with other table top role players.

So here is my breakdown; Weapons Law is old. It is nigh unusable because the type font is way too small. It shows its age with a ton of mechanical ambulations coupled with primitive production methods and making it all fit onto some format divorced from actual table top play. I guarantee  Rolemaster products came about through a competent game master in live play. A mushrooming of gamine thought. Pirate the PDF, much more useful. So early eighties game material is really only useful as a random table. That is if you know how to use random tables.

Savage Worlds Solomon Kane; how can I hate thee. Veryly much so. It retails for fifty bucks and I got it for fifteen. Graphic presentation plus volume makes any gamer willing to pay. Seriously, the cover is gorgeous.  I've read Kane for like real. Off the back of Howard's hot car interior pistol spray. I love me some REH. His vision of the character is not to be found within Pinnacle's paid for production values. I get it, the book opens right, no I don't get it. I know what I'm after.

So there I am left with Frost Bitten & Mutilated. Thumbing through the black and white pages rubbing off the failed silver embossing and enjoying the READ. I rub some more. I am a fidgety bitch so flaking off embossed script should only concern those who finger-nail chew. The art is savage. If you are going to do heavy metal sword and sorcery you better be savage. Just what I picked up from old original text. There is a reason Michael Moorcock lives in Cross Plains (he has cash) and I for the life of me do not know why he isn't  carried into North Texas Game Convention on the backs of broken thinking white dudes without  clue, lashing as a lightning Jesus...

Utility my friend. If you are a player well you are not my friend. I speak only to the referee, the game master, the keeper. Once again +Zak Smith provides a useful tool filled with content beyond what is usually available today. Seriously, it will take some time, sober time. to get your head around it. Patrick Stuart and Scrap Princess are the only ones who can keep up. Run it hard.

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