Each of these books are campaign or adventure settings, but they include new ideas that can be incorporated into any game. I own the first two, but Maze's hardcover is currently out of print and I have yet to get the PDF. Once you see these books in person, it's hard to make do with a digital copy. Not only are these books physically attractive, they also highly functional using all parts of the layout in a very smart and creative way. With hand-stitching and gilded lettering, these books really bring into question what an expensive game book should look like.
Not everyone will like these books (although many do). The writing can be evocative, almost faux literary in places, but it can also be very conversational as well. There is a bit of the stink of art-pretension on these books, but the quality backs up the high airs. The artwork is far from your typical superhero, comic book style. It has more in common with Klimt or Egon Schiele. The recursive maps in the layout make these books easy to use and aid in not having to flip back and forth a lot during play. The layout and the design are completely functional including drop tables, tabbed margins, and recursive mapping. It's very easy to find what you're looking for in these books.
Finally, it might be important to mention what these books don't do. These books don't railroad you into certain adventures or quests. Like all good settings books they provide the GM with a number of options and characters to use without proscribing. Zak S. know just how to leave enough space for the GM to insert his or herself. The text in the book is broken up smartly and enhanced with bulleted lists and tables, avoiding large blocks of uninterrupted description. Everything is thought out for maximum ease of use.
Whether you like these books or not, they're different and daring to be different in a niche of a niche hobby where perhaps the rewards are not so high.
No comments:
Post a Comment