Lone Wolf Rpg

Rating:
Summary: At last! Its own role-playing game!
Review: Fans of Lone Wolf have been cobbling together rules to fit Kai Lords into their fantasy campaigns for nearly two decades. Now that the rulebook for role-playing in Joe Dever's setting has finally come to print, fans of the series can show their friends the richness and diversity of Magnamund to their gaming group.

There are seven classes available in the core rule book: Brotherhood Mage, Kai Lord, Telchos Warrior (much like an amazon), Shadaki Buckaneer, Dwarven Gunner of Bor, Magician of Dessi, and Sommerlund Knight of the Realm. The seven classes are well thought out and immediately playable, each having a very satisfying progression as they level up. Like one who is familiar with the game books would expect, new abilities are gained every level, whether it be Kai disciplines, Brotherhood spells, Dwarven gun tricks, etc.

Also included in the rulebook are creatures and equipment unique to Magnamund, details on each country in both northern and southern Magnamund, and tips for role-playing in this world.

The combat system is simplified from D&D to allow a quicker resolution of combat. Those who enjoy the level of detail in D&D may miss this, but it holds true to the 'feel' of the game books of the '80s (including using the same 'Lone Wolf' font; people familiar with the original books know what I mean). In addition, psychic combat is a strong factor in the rules, as Magnamund's population has a high percentage of psychic abilities.

About the only negative thing I could think to mention is the lack of art, though it could be argued that more artwork would take space away from the content.

All in all, I find that the 20 year wait was well worth it in the end. If you're as much of a fan as I am, there's no reason to not get a copy.

Rating:
Summary: Great depite a long wait!
Review: There are those within the RPG community who have waited for nearly 20 years for such an event. Wait no longer. August Hahn's adaptation of Joe Dever's original award winning series fully captures the essence of this dramatic world of Magnamund. Using the ever-popular d20 mechanic, August and his fellows and Mongoose stripped down the mechanics in efforts to make it more "friendly" towards first time players. d20 enthusiasts might be put off by a lack of old standards to the system such as Feats, Attacks of Opprotunity, and specific spell lists. The lack of these elements dramatically decreases any slow-downs to game play, maximizing how much enjoyment is gotten from actual game play.
The book includes scaled-down and simplified combat (d20, of course), a complete Gazetteer of various nations and regions around Magnamund, a choice Bestiary of some of the more notorious fiends within the realms, and a beautiful full-color map in the back of the book: be warned - the map is attached by glue to the book itself and not easily removed. This feature does prevent loss of the map....
As for the lack of feats, after a close look at the core classes, one can easily see that bonuses similiar to those received from feats are built in and automatic at every level up.
There are few negative things to be said about the book: there is some substandard art, especially compaired to the original gamebooks by Mr. Dever. The core classes are limited to those of heroic stature - there are no rogue-like classes, no clerics, only regional-specifics like the Kai Lords, Magicians of Dessi, etc.
But for pure entertainment, this book has it in droves. It is, in my opinion, a great introduction to both Magnamund and d20 role-playing as well. Enjoy it as a Core d20 game (as it is intended) or as a world setting for your existing campaigns!