Thursday, August 16, 2007

Grading Gaming Purchases

I got a LOT of gaming stuff lately [back in May of 2004], both for my birthday and from an ebay win. I’ve already ranked the rpg stuff and it goes like this:
19. Superhero 2044 Hazard Map (Judges Guild, 1980?) — useless fluff, a near-future Australia with nasty kangaroos. F
18. Break in at Three Kilometer Island (JG, 1981) — empty scenario with lame NPCs. F
17. Chivalry & Sorcery Gamemaster’s Shield (JG, 1979?) — okay cardboard stock, critical hit tables might be handy for inspiration. D
16. The Nightmare Maze of Jigresh (JG, 1981) — great title and cover, but nothin’ else going for it. D+
15. Draconomicon (WotC, 2003) — hard to believe so much work went into so much fluff! C-
14. Dungeoneer #18 (JG, 1980) — a fanzine version of Dragon mag. with some ok stuff. C-
13. Hackmaster GameMaster’s Guide (Kenzer, 2001) — I’m sure there’s some great new material in here, but who has time to wade through 300 pgs. of reprinted material to find it? C-
12. Dungeoneer(s Journal) #25 (JG, 1981) — at least it’s got a mini-scenario in it. C-
11. What Evil Lurks (Necromancer Games, 2002) — A better modern-day Call of Cthulu scenario than a D&D adventure. C-
10. Dungeoneer (Journal) #23 (JG, 1981) — interview with Petal Throne’s creator appeals to the gaming historian in me. C
9. Monsters of the Endless Dark (Goodman Games, 2002?) — a mini-monster manual for a finite ecology is a good idea, but a hit-and-miss execution. C
8. (The) Dungeoneer(s Journal) #24 (JG, 1981) — “Village Resources Determination Charts” really appeals to me. C+
7. The Goblin Fair (Airweaver Games, 2002) — a knight riding a pig — just the kind of tone I look for in a scenario! C+
6. (The) Dungeoneer #19 (JG, 1980) — as chock-full of good articles as any Dragons up to ‘83. C+
5. Aberrations (Necro, 2003) — a promising scenario and one that actually lives up to their “third edition rules, first edition feel” motto. B+
4. The Grey Citadel (Necro, 2003) — even more promising city-based adventure where you have to find the dungeon! A-
3. Dungeon #107 (Paizo, 2004) — even a weaker issue of Dungeon is still worth more than most gaming products. A-
2. Dungeon #105 (Paizo, 2004) — Warduke! Woo! And “Chasing the Snake” is a great read (though I think it would be difficult to run). A
1. Deathright (Kenzer, 2001) — maybe Arun’Kid’s stiffest competition for the best Kalamar adventure. Solid, useable material + a story! A+


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