By Lee P. (repost from ENWorld), August 21, 2003.
"If any users have scanned this product and questioned whether or not to purchase, I have one piece of advice...
BUY IT NOW! Don't even dream of delaying any further! This product is pure brilliance!
I am an Aerospace Engineer with a love of space exploration and fantasy settings. In the past, Spelljammer
was my only "fix" that satisfied both loves. With the demise of Spelljammer, I was forced to produce items
for my own use and rely on fan-based web sites. Now, with the release of this product, I can finally hold in
my hands a product that successfully marries fantasy and space travel (and does so with some novel twists!).
With wonderfully rendered space ships, a selection of full deck plans, intelligent and consistent rules, this
supplement should be a MUST HAVE for every fantasy-loving person.
You can't go wrong here. This supplement is litterally worth every penny I spent on it (which is more than I can
say for a large number of D20 supplements floating around...).
What follows is a chapter-by-chapter review:
Chapter 1 gives a detailed look at how fantasy flight works under the rules for this new setting. Everything is
clearly described and intelligently written. By the end of the chapter, many ideas had already sprung into mind
(coming from a DM's perspective).
Chapter 2 gives us Maythorne's Wheel (a "dock" in space) and many, MANY ship stats. It also gives beautiful
renderings of several ships as well as the much needed deck plans. My only complaint: I would like to see MANY
MORE deck plans (perhaps we can persuade Darkfuries Publishing to give us a supplement?).
Chapter 3 gives rules for crews, new feats, items, magic items, and spells. Except for the small number of new
spells, everything was well presented and comprehensive.
Chapter 4 gives detailed information regarding ship movement, combat, and weaponry. This chapter is the shining
glory of the supplement. All the details come together to present a setting that is both consistent and playable using
the D20 rules.
Chapter 5 gives information regarding "Finding One's Way" as well as small, DM friendly snips of information about
various planets and celestial bodies. Finding One's Way is brilliant... The planetary information is kept to a mininimum
(again, what about a supplement?).
Chapter 6 presents information regarding the "Age" in which a DM can set his campaign. From the Emergence
(think pioneer and frontier), to Exploration (pretty self-explanatory), to Empire (full blown mastery of the stars!),
this chapter gives DM's sufficient insight to create a campaign that could potentially span millenia.
Of course, the book has the obligatory Appendicies... I really like the layout of the blank system and planet logs
(though I would also like a blank PDF of these pages if Darkfuries is listening...). What really rocks in the Appendicies
is the color cardstock containing scale ships that can be used in celestial combat. It really gives you a feel for the
overall scale of the various ships.
In closing, I believe that Darkfuries Publishing has presented a book that is truly worth the time of any gamer. It
stands head-and-shoulders above many D20 supplements that have flooded the market. If Darkfuries presents the
future support for this setting that it deserves, this product could become a powerful tool in opening up the universe to
exploration and roleplaying.
Lee P.
The original post can be found
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