Recent Product Reviews

Background Points: Building Characters in the Game - 5 Stars

Review by Richard M on 2024-04-02

With this rule players are forged by the adventure. I've used it for player options so they can start playing sooner. It is especially for new players overwhelmed by options.

Product Price USD$0.99

MacDeath - 5 Stars

Review by Joshua HEMMERSBACH on 2023-07-15

Product Price USD$6.99

The North Road Book & PDF - 5 Stars

Review by Joshua HEMMERSBACH on 2023-07-15

Product Price USD$79.95

Pocket Fantasy RPG - 4 Stars

Review by John Paul on 2023-01-06

Just what I Needed! Now The only real negative would be the text size is a bit small and if there were less full pages of art you could bump the size of the font up, but I have gotten a lot of use out the the game system and (I hate to admit it) I carry this little book EVERYWHERE I go (even to church).

Product Price USD$6.99

Weirdly Strange Night of Terror - 5 Stars

Review by Matthew Mettlen on 2022-08-31

Excellent adventure. I played it for the first time with my old gaming group using the ezd6 system, and they had a blast. It even got them to role play more than any other 5e adventure ever did. It was fast fun and crazy. We finished it in 2-3 hours.

Product Price USD$6.99

The North Road Book & PDF - 5 Stars

Review by Jonathan Himes on 2022-02-01

This lavishly illustrated set of RPG modules offers an innovative, intuitive approach for Game Masters to run lots and lots of gorgeous gaming sessions! The Events orientation (rather than static locations of some traditional TSR modules, where NPCs feel stuck in limbo) gives a welcome CYOA vibe as game masters read the materials to prep. The vintage style of the illustrations help to convey a fleshed-out world that serves tremendously for GMs as a model on how to run not only this book, but how to conceive of future adventures of their own design. For instance, the first module, "Death and Taxes," really gets you thinking about what has brought PCs together in a coastal town, and the module uses NPCs to masterful advantage in helping players navigate their way to key locations as they uncover the local ecology and the economy of the region. This Dialogue- and Events-driven approach really helps convey a sense of flavor and realism to the town, as you hear about it through well chosen NPCs, who represent various walks of life that weave into the unfolding plot. It's truly open-ended (sandboxy), though PCs will naturally want to follow the leads given through the strategic and entertaining dialogue boxes (samples are liberally strewn, and rumors randomly generated). There is lots of humor and intrigue, and the variety of different adventure types, from dungeon crawls to madcap chase scenes, shows great innovation and is a well of great ideas that can inspire GMs to broaden their repertoire of gaming experiences at the table. Without the authors (DMG and DM Scotty) having to dictate a linear path, but rather by colorfully portraying the area and its curious inhabitants, the modules offer a coherent story that DMs will enjoy discovering themselves on their first read-through, almost as if reading an 80s gamebook. This makes game prep a real joy rather than a chore. Also, the photos of highly detailed and exceptional terrain & miniatures give inspiration on setpieces or scatter terrain to put on your table. All in all, there is enough material here to keep any gaming group fully occupied and inspired for a long time. It is definitely a campaign book that is worth your money. This book is a masterpiece not only of "dungeon" design and world-building, but of document design and artistic rendering by two geniuses of the RPG community.

Product Price USD$79.95

Professor Dungeon Master's Frankenstein - 5 Stars

Review by Kevin Kelleher on 2021-11-24

I'm happy to report that this one-shot went exactly as advertised! My players had a blast and it could not be easier to run from a GM's perspective. Highly recommend!

Product Price USD$6.99

Harvest - 5 Stars

Review by Hafbad Sailor on 2021-11-21

This is a wonderful adventure! It starts with questions followed by a terrifying,brutal, and quick altercation. This leads into feelings of terror, dread, and annoyance until the unthinkable happens! Only then are the players able to move on to the conclusion and either reap the rewards or be reaped by the Harvest.

Product Price USD$6.99

Professor Dungeon Master's Frankenstein - 5 Stars

Review by Brett on 2021-11-08

Just ran this adventure for my 4th level AD&D group tonight. They had alot of fun. Best part was they had over a hour long moral debate. This was very well made. I didn't have to prepare anything other than I read it twice and really could have gotten away with a one time read that's how well it was put together. Almost every possible thing was thought of and had a answer or outcome for. My group finished it in about 3.5 hours. That's perfect for a one night game. This is by far the easiest adventure I ever ran. its just perfectly made.

Product Price USD$6.99

Pocket Fantasy RPG - 5 Stars

Review by Juan Mejia on 2021-10-29

This was a great gem DMG and DM Scotty unearthed. The game is very simple, agile and flexible. I am using it to run a Camp Half-Blood campaign for my kids and they are loving it. I will be using it on Halloween to run PDM's Frankenstein with my group of teenagers. A solid purchase and a fun projects for the Crafterati or even for novices. Everyone loves having their own copy, especially kids.

Product Price USD$6.99

Harvest - 5 Stars

Review by Bryan Swift on 2021-10-24

I needed a short, "side quest" adventure for 3 of my regular players. I wanted something creepy for Halloween. Practically all I had to do was stat the "monster" for the session. The module is easily adapted to any system or play style. It has enough combat to satisfy players that like epic battles and enough roleplay for players that enjoy solving a mystery. One of my players has nearly 40 years of experience as a player and a DM. He loved the scenario and praised the plot and how well written the dialogue is. If you want a creepy, "Monster of the Week" X-Files type of one shot, I highly recommend Harvest.

Product Price USD$6.99

Professor Dungeon Master's Frankenstein - 5 Stars

Review by Will Severin on 2021-10-23

Wow, just amazing. I ran this for my usual group of murder hobos and they loved it. They managed to not get into a single fight and just roleplayed their hearts out for 4 hours straight. Afterward they all just said, "Oh my God, I want to go read the book now..." The module does a great job at getting the players invested in the story like I've never seen before. I really enjoyed running this, it was super easy to understand and the story flowed naturally while we played. I recommend getting some nice ambient horror music with organ and synth and throw in a few lightning bolt and wilhelm scream sound effects for good measure.

Product Price USD$6.99

Professor Dungeon Master's Frankenstein - 5 Stars

Review by Joshua HEMMERSBACH on 2021-10-14

Product Price USD$6.99

The North Road (Book) - 5 Stars

Review by Unknown on 2021-06-01

Product Price USD$59.95

MacDeath - 5 Stars

Review by Eric Avila on 2021-05-29

"Good things of day begin to droop and drowse; While night's black agents to their preys do rouse. Thou marvell'st at my words, but hold thee still. Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill." This adventure is a modern masterpiece of RPG design. The familiar tale of MacBeth, but retold with enough surprises and twists to keep even a literary scholar at the edge of their seat. Your players will love you for this. Do it.

Product Price USD$6.99

The North Road (Book) - 5 Stars

Review by Darran White on 2021-04-02

Great characters and story. It provides NPC dialogue for most likely interactions. Requires Game Master to prepare stats for monsters and NPCs and plan out how the elements provided will play out.

Product Price USD$59.95

Luck Dice Rules - 5 Stars

Review by tony Camaj on 2021-03-02

This is such a creative and easy way to handle when a character fails. You almost want to do crazy things so that eventually you can throw all those dice in and do something extremely heroic. Great, simple mechanic.

Product Price USD$0.99

Quick Quest - 04a Death Becomes You - 5 Stars

Review by tony Camaj on 2021-03-02

Wow! Very creative module. I have to say, this was a great idea that I could see DMs really having a lot of fun with. Can't wait to customize it for our homebrew campaign.

Product Price USD$0.99

MacDeath - 5 Stars

Review by Ben G on 2021-02-21

I was blown away the first time I read this! Ooooh boy, it was so good. I don't want to spoil anything but its got some fun twists that are worth the buying price. It is straight up one of the BEST laid out modules I have EVER laid eyes on. I did not have to flip back and forth to check anything. chefs kiss muah I have a mixed group of war gamers and theater nerds. I have no doubt this will wake them up. I have not been this excited to run a module since I jumped into the hobby and devoured my first one. Professor Dungeon Master is killin' it!

Product Price USD$6.99

Harvest - 5 Stars

Review by Marius Bathe on 2020-12-04

Pleasantly creepy, fun to read and easy to run. I used a slightly modified version for a Halloween oneshot with great success. Simply 4 hours of fun game time. I cannot recommend it enough to anyone.

Product Price USD$6.99

Luck Dice Rules - 5 Stars

Review by Kemper Straley on 2020-06-14

Been playing with Scotty's luck dice system for the past couple of years. It's easy to adapt to any rpg and adds a lot of fun to the d6 system.

Product Price USD$0.99

The North Road - 01 Death and Taxes - 5 Stars

Review by Mike Westerbur on 2020-03-19

I have started running this campaign for our group and we are really enjoying it. The system neutral layout is awesome. I am plugging this campaign into a Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying set of rules and it is working flawlessly. Keep up the great work boys, Looking forward to many more sessions with this campaign! Mike

Product Price USD$6.99

How to Run a Successful Roleplaying Game Campaign - 4 Stars

Review by Jolene Naugle on 2019-02-28

I am new to DM side of things even with a quick look over this guide is going to prove to be a great addition to my tools. I can tell a story but this will help me keep it moving smoothly. I cant wait to sit down and write a good campaign using this guide. thank you guys for all your work in keeping this hobby going.

Product Price USD$0.99

The North Road - 01 Death and Taxes - 5 Stars

Review by David Sanders on 2019-02-20

The biggest stand out to me on this module is the amount of work put into it and the system that is used. It very well thought out with multiple dialogue possibilities and out comes with NPC interactions (uses skill based system for dialogue to dive deeper into the reach story) . The depth of detail put into this module gives it a gritty paranoid feel. The dialogue and possibilities feel organic. It gives you a great base to start with but allows for a homebrew feel with the options left to the DM/GM. Great work guys keep them coming!!

Product Price USD$6.99

Quick Quest - 01a The Arcane Vault - 5 Stars

Review by Jonathan Schernkau on 2019-02-17

I had placed the Arcane Vault underneath the ruins of an old wizards keep that the players had to investigate on the local town behest. Random abominations where roaming the streets at night and the Keep was the believe cause of the infestation. The party had an interesting time dealing with the Vault and enjoyed the short quest. Fumbles where made and jokes ensued around the table. You guys did an excellent job, I look forward to seeing what else is in store.

Product Price USD$0.99

Quick Quest - 01a The Arcane Vault - 5 Stars

Review by Marius Bathe on 2019-02-11

“The Arcane Vault”, as all Quest-Givers modules, can be run in whatever fantasy RPG system you are using and no matter what level your party is. The mini-module provides an experienced DM with enough information to adjust it to their personal needs without too much work. Despite it being a very small dungeon the “Vault” is by no means linear and offers an appealing mixture of combat, skill challenges, traps and interesting characters that are all beautifully linked together. Best of all the module can be easily added into any existing campaign I am running a D&D 3.5 campaign with 3 players at level 6 and I placed the Vault under the basement of ruined watchtower inside the city that today functions as lighthouse. But the hidden dungeon is being used by the local mafia as drug lab… The group loved the duality of the dungeon: ancient mystery and current crime. “The Vault” also has the potential to give your players an incredibly gross and horrific experience while exploring - if you choose to. I salute Scotty and the Gareth for putting out an entertaining mini adventure for only 1€. I can’t recommend it enough.

Product Price USD$0.99

The North Road - 01 Death and Taxes - 5 Stars

Review by Tim Reisinger on 2019-02-10

My players engaged like never before been playing Dungeons and Dragons for 5 years with my group and they loved the character's method of speaking. This is a great resource for new DMs to create a great roleplay experience with very litte prep time. Read the module, create the NPCs stateblock and play. For experienced DMs 20 minutes of time reading the module is all that is needed. For any game system, these modules can be a great starting point for a session, campaign, or expanding a homebrew world. Having played the first 4 modules the story evolves as it is played, there is plenty of information in these modules for whereever your players want to take the story. I am adapting the story for another system my players want to learn. DMG and DM Scotty have combined years of gaming to create a great resource for any GM/DM to use.

Product Price USD$6.99

The North Road - 01 Death and Taxes - 5 Stars

Review by Jason Scranton on 2019-02-10

Death & Taxes is a magnificent work of art and adventure. I've been a long time fan of both Gareth and Scotty and this adventure is top shelf material that you can "actually run." I have so many RPG books which are basically to long to read to the point that they are impractical, BUT this book is tight, easy to read, and actually useful. It provides a great cultural feel with rumor and random utterances which are easy to access, I just really can't express how cool the art and format delivered is. No matter what system you are playing this book will be an asset on your shelf. Gareth and Scotty if you're reading this, don't stop writing these!

Product Price USD$6.99

The North Road - 03 Messenger in the Woods - 5 Stars

Review by Niklas Skinner on 2019-02-08

The Woods has a Message for You: This is the third installment of the twelve part series, named The North Road, by the Quest Givers and sees the adventuring party continuing a journey to find a Loyalist camp. One fantastic aspect about this series is its system agnosticism: no matter what system you play, you can run this series. The Art: If you're looking for art along the lines of Larry Elmore, Wayne Reynolds, or Jon Hodgson, the Quest Givers don't quite have the budget for that yet. However, if you enjoyed a lot of the illustrations from the first edition of the world's most popular RPG, then the illustrations in this volume are right up your alley. The black and white sketches of the NPCs and Monsters are evocative and successfully icky when they need to be. The color photographs showcase the authors' contributions to the tabletop crafting community with wonderful clarity, and are quite inspiring in their own right. The sarlakarn is particularly intriguing and has been added to my long list of future builds. The Story (as spoiler free as possible): The characters begin the adventure already on the road in a wood. For those who haven't played the first two adventures in the series, this can be easily dropped into any campaign where the adventurers are currently, or likely, to travel a lot. Characters with any predilection for hunting or wilderness lore will be pivotal in finding the seed for the adventure, but the text also has an alternate route to take if the characters head back to the town they last left (or, with some rearranging, the town they're soon to enter). The overall atmosphere of the adventure is one of mystery and suspense. The party meets a messenger with a royal charge in a seemingly haunted forest and must contend with aggressive insects, plants, and more before coming to the overall resolution. While the adventure is fun and creative, with a many opportunities for adventure, some of the prose and grammatical structures could do with a little tightening up (but I'm a little particular as my day job is as a technical writer and editor). Fortunately, that has little impact on the premise and fun of the quest. It's full of heart pounding encounters and has clear directions from one instance to another. One wonderful mechanic the authors introduce is the "Sun Die." It acts as a way to trigger an event and track the passage of the day; it's absolutely wonderful. The lack of system mechanics means there is a little more work that needs to be done on the part of the GM so it fits into the system they're working with, but that's truly ancillary to the extraordinary tale Gareth Q. Barrett and Scotty McFarland are telling in The North Road. It's a truly exciting tale and I'm looking forward to picking up more when I can.

Product Price USD$6.99

The North Road - 01 Death and Taxes - 5 Stars

Review by Kemper Straley on 2019-02-07

I've always been a fan of the DMG and DM Scotty's work. They're highly creative guys who understand the nuances of fantasy role-playing. North Road: Death and Taxes didn't disappoint. Both of the authors did a wonderful job of developing a system agnostic game that could be run on practically any fantasy role-playing system. The module might even have some application for solitaire play (kinda like a choose your own adventure book). Further, the authors emphasize storytelling and role-playing over hack-and-slash- something refreshingly welcome in a world where role-playing games have become fixated on combat encounters. Interior art is excellent. Gareth's line drawings are crisp and clear, reminiscent of Arnie Swekel's style in 1990's 2nd edition D&D. Scotty's photos of crafted terrain serve not only to fortify the text, but to serve as inspiration for DM's interested in crafting terrain when they run this adventure. Criticisms of the module are few. It has a bit of a different way of presenting the material than standard modules, which can make it initially confusing (but which can also add value if a person wants to run this in a solitaire version). However, once the entire module has been read, all confusion will generally be cleared up. Barnett and McFarland have succeeded in their first outing as writers of fantasy RPG modules, and I look forward to reading the rest of their work.

Product Price USD$6.99