Masque Of The Red Death Is Out!

[irve]

Just got it. Yay Looking good.

[ScS of the Fraternity]

I wish I could be as positive.

Here is my review on the website.

[Charney]

How are the character classes? The way they looked when I skimmed through it, they looked like a collection of class skills and a bonus feat each odd level, is it like this?

[YokoburiKinura]

I hope there's more to them than just the skills and bonus feats. If that were so, we'd be as well off running Call of Cthulhu and just adding in bonus feat progression.

From the sound of that review, I guess I'll wait and eventually pick it up on discount for the sake of the artwork and appendices. I've finally gotten my campaign underway again, under a slightly tweaked d20 Modern, so I'm not feeling an urgent need to get it.

I wonder if James Wyatt's d20 Past will be the answer... but at 96 pages, it's going to be an awfully slim answer.

edit: By the way, where's the best place around here for posting campaign journals?

[Malus Black]

By the way, where's the best place around here for posting campaign journals?

The Smoking Room.

[Jester of the FoS]

*looks at ScS' review*
Errata. HA! Since when has Swords & Sorcery or ArtHaus ever supplied a RL book with errata?
No, my friend, we are on our own.

And it is labeled as a 'Campaign Expansion' not a seperate campaign so it is no surprise it requires the 3 core books and a handfull of Ravenloft ones.
It doesn't even offer a Dark Powers check table or effects.

[Charney]

Don't they state that every spell cast within GE requires a powers check?

[Bluelife]

Don't they state that every spell cast within GE requires a powers check?

Yup. But I don't completely agree with ScS.

Frankly, as someone who never saw the setting before, I find the lengthy history to be very interesting (and gives lots of ideas). The guide to Victorian life is useful in creating characters (PC's and NPC's), and was very impressed with the guide to flowers, and popular reading and music by decade. Good job in introducing someone to the setting.

If I have two major problems it is the editing and character creations. I'm doubtful of some of the balance of the classes (four rounds to cast a first level spell for a +2 bonus to cast?) and the way they are presented. The "don't repeat information" leaves most of the "kit" classes to be unclear, especially (in my opinion) in regards to Mystic domains.

I liked the idea that the Red Death was an exiled DP, as well as the warping/weaving and sacrifice in magic. Of course, the very end was amazing.

[ScS of the Fraternity]

Well Bluelife I'm sure that as a newcommer to Masque you would be much happier with this book - but watch out - many of the missing rules can only be filled in by fore-knowledge of the original book (as i'm sure you've already discovered with the Domain confusion.

By the by, has anyone found any information pretaining to First Aid? This particular skill doesn't seem to have any rules attached to it.

[Guest]

Well Bluelife I'm sure that as a newcommer to Masque you would be much happier with this book

How long has it been since the original box set came out? They can't make a rules only conversion, but having just downloaded the original box, I've realized that a good number of passages seem almost verbatim. I'm happy with the setting, but the editor needs a slap up the side of the head.

- but watch out - many of the missing rules can only be filled in by fore-knowledge of the original book (as i'm sure you've already discovered with the Domain confusion.

So... A medium starts with minor access to All and Divination or just Divination? I think it is All and Div (indicated by Sarah), but Imhotep doesn't seem to work under that (he has too many, including his Red Death Major access quality). Can you suggest any other missing rules?

By the by, has anyone found any information pretaining to First Aid? This particular skill doesn't seem to have any rules attached to it.

I'm not sure exactly where I saw it, but I believe that it is supposed to go with the Physician (allowing them to heal 1d4 points with a use per 5 levels). Be nice if it mentioned that under the class description, eh?

[M. L. Martin]

It's starting to sound like this is very much the Living Death rules put into hardcopy . . .

How long is the class/cross-class skills chart?

[Catman Jim]

A couple of items real quick:
Both Navy and Army pistols are mentioned as being six-shooters on page 129 Chapter 4: Money and Equipment, but no mention of the same in the Combat chapter.
First-Aid is given as a class skill for Atheletes, Intellectuals, and Tradesmen; physicians and nurses gain a synergy bonus with this skill - page 108
The class skill chart has 56 listed skills on page 106.

Now a comment: I have always been one to notice typographical errors in just about everything I read. I have found at least one typo to every several pages in the new MotRD. That's is a considerably better job of proof-reading than some other recent Ravenloft products, but it's still poor enough to be distracting (at least to people like me). By comparison, while reading the new Libris Mortis Book of the Undead by WotC, I found only 3 typos in the entire book.

[YokoburiKinura]

Wow, only 56 skills? This is definitely a step in the right direction; the 3.0 Living Death rules had 107 skills on the chart, many of which could have been focuses of skills like Knowledge, Craft, or Perform. By contrast, D20 Modern has 41 (around 70 if you count different focuses for those three), and 3.0 D&D has 42 (45 if you count the three focuses of Knowledge listed).

If you want to compare sections to the original, the Living Death site has at least offered the History and Atlas of Gothic Earth for free for some time now.

[tec-goblin]

Does anyone know what D20 modern or Cthulhu have to say about firearms and attacks?

The modern has semi-auto and full-auto rules. You can spray an area, but, with a feat, you can use full automatic against a particular opponent rather than an area. It's very funny and can do tremendous harm (modern has this massive damage threshhold rule which means that you can go down in a single turn if somebody empties his uzi on you)

Check the SRD in the wizards site. It's free.

[tec-goblin]

From the sound of that review, I guess I'll wait and eventually pick it up on discount for the sake of the artwork and appendices. I've finally gotten my campaign underway again, under a slightly tweaked d20 Modern, so I'm not feeling an urgent need to get it.

I wonder if James Wyatt's d20 Past will be the answer... but at 96 pages, it's going to be an awfully slim answer.
?

That's exactly what happened with me. I just switched to tweaked d20 Modern and I don't need much this book. And I am looking forward for d20 past. If the guys are smart, they can fill these 96 pages with completely great stuff. They should be just carefull not to waste a single word.
What about 5 pages variant rules, 15 pages history and story ideas, 5 pages feats, 20 pages prestige classes, 15 pages equipment, 5 pages spells, 10 pages monsters, 10 pages intro-appendix etc and 5 pages sample characters and 5 pages filling (chapter changes etc)??