Eberron Player's Guide: A 4th Edition D&D Supplement

Author : Wizards RPG Team Number of Pages : 160 Release Date : 2009-07-21 Publisher : Wizards of the Coast List Price : $29.95 Amazon Price : $19.77

Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, 4th Edition

Author : Bruce R. Cordell Edition : 4th Number of Pages : 288 Release Date : 2008-08-19 Publisher : Wizards of the Coast List Price : $39.95 Amazon Price : $20.72 Used Price : $20.73

Product Description

Customer reviews

Mostly useful by .. Michael R. Wild (Aloha, Oregon United States)
It is interesting to start the guide with a full 1st level adventure as chapter 1. It is also interesting to see the new maps and art. The book is a guide to the realms. The book is clear that the FR players hand book is also needed. The rules are mostly in the FR PHB and not in this book and maybe that is OK. It was just a surprise that you needed both.

Like previous books it lists all the lands and tells you a bit about each. It also has a few interesting new rules. The FR PHB has much of the same information but presented differently and at a player view. It reminds me of a Fodor's Guide more than a rule book.

The Design Team Was Just Plain Lazy by .. J. Walker (Washington, DC)
I bought the first release of the FR campaign setting back in the early 90's when D&D was in its first edition. Since then I have been continually impressed with how well the Realms have evolved to accomodate each new release of the D&D game. Somehow they managed to keep the game current and exciting while still retaining the enduring, unique "character" of Toril - high fantasy, intriguing heroes and villains derived from the setting, a unique cosmology, and most of all, a "lived in" feel to the game world any long time gamer could relate to.

So when the latest evolution of FR was released with the latest revision of the D&D game rules I didn't hesitate to purchse this book. The 4th edition rules open up a slew of new possibilities for evolving the setting. I was extremely excited to see what Ed Greenwood and company had come up with. Instead, I found a sloppily presented, poorly engineered game world. Both of which would have been unfortunate, but still forgivable, if only the designers had found a way to successfully capture the unique character of the Realms in how they rendered it for 4th edition. TSR found a way to do this when they evolved the setting from 1st edition to 2nd edition. WoTC then did the same in evolving the setting for 3.0/3.5. But for 4th edition, WoTC has failed. Dramatically.

I'm late to the game on providing a review for this book. So don't want to reiterate the scores of other negative reviews - the illogical presentation, the absence of creativity, the destruction of the setting's core aesthetics. What I do want to comment on his how shocked any long time reader of Realmslore will be as to the lack of concern the design team had for maintaining the integrity of the game world. Rather than dilligently adapt and evolve the setting for 4th edition, they just poached a half dozen new concepts from Wizards' 4th edition marketing bin (new races like dragonkind or new magic rules for spells). And then dumped them into this book with what appears to be very little valuation of what makes the Realms well .. the Realms! This isn't just heavy handed. It's lazy. Which for a world with this kind of cachet (and one would think revenue potential) is absolutely shocking.

I have a proposal for Wizards. Back in the early 80's a hit TV show called "Dallas" had a disatrously conceived season. At the end of he season, it was unclear how the show could recover it's fans. It had written itself into a corner with poor plot turns and choice of character development. The solution? The writers started the show's next season with a sequence that showed the entire previous season had been a dream by one of the lead characters. A terrible, terrible dream.

Wizards has some of the best talent in the business. And a lot of revenue on the line. This first shot at a 4th edition adaption has been an unmitigated flop. But what if Elminster just woke up one morning in his quaint tower in Shadowdale. He'd had the strangest dream ...

Pretty much useless if you're new to the Realms by .. DMJBone (San Francisco, CA USA)
Just to be clear-this is my first real exposure to running an FR campaign. I always avoided it for all the baggage it seemed to carry. How ironic then that I'm so disappointed with the lack of information I found in the new book.

To put it mildly, the book is seriously light on content. I'm on the fence about returning the book. The only reason I'm considering holding onto it, is because I'm waiting to see how much they add via Dragon. (The Cormyr piece in Dragon is the only reason I didn't immediately return the book. I'm willing to give this a little time to shake out.)

I'd say this book is a 50K foot view of FR. But I would have preferred a 1K foot view of at least ONE of the "classic" adventuring areas (i.e. Dalelands or Cormyr). The feeling I'm left with is one of casual knowledge. I really don't feel I have enough information to run my own detailed campaign in any of these settings.

The capital city of Cormyr has 4 paragraphs! I can't run an adventure in a capital city described in 4 paragraphs. If I wanted to "fill in the details," I wouldn't have bought a "Campaign Setting Guide."

It really seems unclear who this book is for. It seems to me; all you've done is ticked off your fan base, and confused new readers.

I'm not looking for something on the scale of Monte Cook's Ptolus campaign setting (though PLEASE let him convert that to 4E!-I'd return this in a heartbeat).

Also, the introductory adventure took up way too much space that could have been better served adding much needed depth to this book. The 'starter adventure' should have been saved for Dungeon. Really pointless.

In summary: Careful what you wish for, you just might get it.
I wanted a "fresh start" on FR. Not a blank slate with a few scratches.
Overall, I'm very disappointed and wouldn't recommend this product.

Let's Get the Facts Straight by .. Arthur O. Niven ()
The new FRCG is not perfect. Far from. But let's get the facts straight here people.

The Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide is not a "travesty" nor is it "the end of the Realms." A quick look at the people writing the book will reveal as much, many of whom have worked in the Realms for years and love it as much as most fans. Unlike those who post a review before reading the book, however, these people aren't hung up on maintaing the Realms exactly the same way for decades on end. Change comes eventually and in this case, I think most of the changes are done well.

Let's get to what the guide does well. First off, lore. This book is almost nothing but. There's a little crunch in here but what the book is really about is the fluff and most of it is well-written and with a set of details that makes the Realms come alive as a world again - just a century later and with some changes. It doesn't have as much lore as 3e Realms has, but let's remember that 3e Realms had seven years of support, whereas 4e Realms has been out for only a few months. Likewise, 3e Realms built heavily upon the foundations of 1st and 2nd edition Realms, whereas 4e Realms is more than a century after the base year for 3.5

The book also posseses a nice, readable format as well as a nice set of new enemies to play with at the end of the book. Many of the new countries to explore are interesting and while places like Neverwinter, Luskan, Unther, Mulhorand, and Halruaa will be missed new locations like Tymanther, Returned Abeir, or Akanul have the potential to be just as interesting, as does the new Shadow Empire of Netheril if the writers play it right. Overall, this is an interesting fantasy world to explore all on its own, without even taking into account the planes, which also get some attention in this book (though less than I would have liked).

Now let's get down to some of the major criticisms of the book. First of all, alot's changed. But not quite as much as you might expect. Though every region has been transformed in some manner, many have only endured only marginal changes. Take Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate, or Amn, the three great coastal cities of 4e Realms. All three are instantly recognizable from their original renditions, though with a few alterations. BG, for instance, is now much larger. But other than minor changes like these they remain much the same. The same goes for many other regions, including Cormyr, Chult, the Silver Marches, and the Underdark.

As for whether or not Ed Greenwood has forsaken the 4e realms - he has not. In fact, if anything, he shows more enthusiasm for it than 3e. He loves the new ruleset (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXvq4-GbuNI) and, if the fact his name is on the book cover doesn't convince you, keep in mind that he wrote up the lore for an entire continent on his own - Returned Abeir, which is certainly a major change in Realms lore. Naysayers who want to shout about Greenwood hating the new Realms just don't have anything to base their claims on.

Are the gods reduced in number? Yes, and in some cases drastically so, though it's not as though there's only a dozen gods now (indeed - there's about a dozen greater gods ruling over pantheons of lesser gods). Also, consider that the book doesn't detail anything on Zakhara or Kara-Tur aside from a brief mentioning (much like 3e FR) and so whether or not the pantheons of that land remain intact is an open question. One does still have a right to complain in this department though, as more than a handful of important gods have taken the fall.

Now there are somethings worthy to complain about. Though the format for the chapters is alright the overall outline for the book itself is very badly done. The most interesting and detailed chapters are, oddly enough, placed at the BACK of the book rather than the front, where one would might expect them to be. Instead, the first three or four chapters, which are more or less glorified appendicies, are placed up front. This makes for a jarring format.

The map, while by most standards well-done and detailed, is less than what has come before for Realms fans and has substantially less detail. Furthermore, for all the promotion of the Underdark and of Returned Abeir a map for them does not exist in comparison.

The art, is, however, fabulous, much like most of 4e's art.

Bottom line: The book is well-written with lots of lore and ideas for DMs (players, however, need the FRPG companion). It's not a "rape" of the Realms, having, after all, been written by many of the minds behind the Realms for the best ten years. It is, however, a big change. If you can get past the 100 year jump and Spellplague buy the book. If you can't move on, don't - you'll only be wasting your money and fueling your frustration.

Personally - I enjoyed it.

The Realms are Dead by .. Gnome your role (not here)
Forgotten Realms has been a favorite fantasy setting of mine forever now. This latest edition is an abomination of all previous incarnations of the Realms. Ed Greenwood - how could you possibly condone your name being associated with this farce in any way? I actually feel gutted, disgusted, lifeless - and oh those are 3 words that can summarize the 4th edition of the realms. But if you'd like more, read on.

All of the color, the mystery, the excitement, the lore, the flavor, the history, the peoples, the locations, the empires, the wondrous places - all - GONE! All because the Spellplague (a.k.a WOTC money plague) was created and WOTC decided that a complicated setting was too much for their new target audience - 9-12 yr olds. How is this justified? Well, Wizards say that now you have all the control, you create the lands as you see fit for your campaign, you populate them and decide what monsters and heroes are a part of them. If I wanted that, I wouldn't pay good money for it, I would just make my own generic world to be populated by cookie-cutter NPC's - oh wait a second - that's just what this is! So people like Lady Alustriel, Szass Tam, Manshoon, Kheben Blackstaff, and many, many others are now simply background material if mentioned at all. Supposedly this is to allow the PC's to be stars of the show without such high-level NPC interference. Let me tell you something - I have been in many Realms based campaigns. I have been in games where NO and I mean NO high level NPC's of Faerun EVER come in contact with the PC's. So, if you are in a campaign where the adventure party is constantly having to report to Elminster for every minor orc they defeat or track they find and he then tells them exactly what it means, or the adventurers are in Thay and come across Szass Tam (even though they are 4th level, out of heals/spells, no magic items and have just fought a army of wraiths, ghouls, zombies, and other undead fiends) and are total party killed/wiped out - or even sillier - Drizz't Do"Urden "mysteriously" appears in Chult where the party is to help the struggling PC's out - YOU HAVE A TERRIBLE DM WHO IS RUNNING THE GAME WRONG - don't blame the setting for your horrible experience!!!.

Many other posts have touched upon other numerous terrible attributes of this book - the pantheon makes no sense, deities gone for no reason, others ascended for even more obscure reasons, fewer pages but higher price, the map is terrible, etc.

Stay far, far, away from this. The Realms are Officially Dead! Product Suicide by WOTC. Do not spend one cent on any more of their 4th edition B.S. MMORPG wanna be product. I would give negative stars if I could. One is way too generous.

A setting that I once felt rivaled that of even Middle Earth in its wonder and creativity itself is no more. Thanks WOTC for ruining a beautiful world and taking advantage of your loyal fan base. For shame!

Fourth Step Guide: Journey Into Growth (Fourth step guide)

Author : A.C.S.W., Daryl Kosloskie Number of Pages : 48 Publisher : Hazelden List Price : $4.50 Amazon Price : $1.49 Used Price : $1.49

Product Description

Customer reviews

How It REALLY Works by .. Fred S. Davis (Columbia SC USA)
First things first:

Another reviewer of this book, the "drug addict author" should figure out which disease he's got and then treat it. Meanwhile, if he's going to continue his writing career, he might consider finding out what the word "clarity" means and then spend some time moving in that direction.

That reviewer declares himself a "drug addict" and then goes on to say that he does not consider himself to be someone with a physical disease, which may or may not be consistent with drug addiction, but is definately NOT consistent with alcoholism. Then he refers to "not believing one drink will take him back where he was," which again may or may not be consistent with drug addiction, but is absolutely NOT consistent with alcoholism.

And finally he references having attended AA meetings, which is, in a rather confusing turnaround for him, absolutely consistent with treating alcoholism, but is NOT consistent with treating pure drug addiction. That's what NA is for. I can't tell whether he's a confused drug addict or an alcoholic in denial. He's surely one of the two.

For those of you in recovery, I invite you to take it from someone who has broad experience, strength and hope to share in this field, and suggest that you seek the advice and counsel of AA for alcoholics, NA for drug addicts, and forget you ever read that other review. If you're both alcoholic and an addict, it might be a good idea to simply declare yourself one or the other, get actively in that fellowship and then work with a sponsor who'll help you with both issues for a year or so. At that point in your recovery you can decide for yourself what's best.

I'm not an authority however; there will be differing opinions. A smart guy once told me that just because a bear chases someone up a tree, that does not make that person an authority on either bears or trees. Pray and wait and then do what feels right to you. Having said that, allow me to address the disease of alcoholism.

Alcoholism is a fatal, progressive, incurable illness of the mind, BODY and spirit. We are told this by Alcoholics Anonymous, the single fellowship in the history of the world that has sobered up millions of alcoholics and inspired scores of similar programs for (perhaps) not-so-similar maladies. If you are alcoholic, you ignore their wisdom at your peril.

An alcoholic's BODY is alcoholic; probably always was, and surely always will be. Once a pickle, never again a cucumber, that's for sure. And no amount of new information, or shiny new approach to booze can ever change that. There is no spot on the planet upon which an alcoholic body can stand where will NOT be alcoholic, nor any point in the future in which an alcholic body will CEASE to be alcoholic.

I know there are tons of people out there trying to be the exception to The Rule, and that they're looking for offhand comments by foolish or ignorant people in order to help justify that choice. I know lots of those folks. I've buried some of them. I've watched many lose their homes and marriages and freedom and health and dignity and anything that was ever good or sweet.

For those folks looking for long-term sobriety, I would go to the experts and do as they suggest. You may be able to do this thing on your own for a while, even a long while, but an alcoholic mind is patient. It knows that FOREVER IS A LONG TIME, and it'll wait you out; trust me on that.

About this Hazelden guide. It's very helpful in yanking some of the mystery out of the Fourth Step. It's not Conference-approved, but I highly recommend it anyway. I'm delighted to find it available on Amazon.

Good luck.

Step Work by .. Gary Poyssick (Tampa, Florida)
I'm a recovered drug addict that went through 12-step programs and feel that without them, I would still be drunk and high on cocaine. I'm also an author and someone that did not continue to go to AA meetings, nor am I convinced that I had a physical disease and that one drink would take me back to where I was when I got there.

All that having been said, this is a solid and proven discussion about 4th-step work. The fourth step -- the one that tells the person doing the steps to perform a "Searching and fearless moral inventory of themselves" is truly on of the four 'critical' steps in the collection of 12. There are a lot of people who could stand to do a moral inventory that don't drink, don't do drugs, and have never been arrested. They could still use this book.

reading the fourth step guide by .. sandy l nuxoll (milan, in United States)
I was really into this booklet. I did all it said and got a lot out of it. I go back to it daily to read alot. I am looking for the next one. ??? the Fifth step guide. do you have any suggestion? Journey into growth........what a one day at a time that is.......thanks, sandy,

CISSP Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, 4th Ed. (All-in-One)

Author : Shon Harris Edition : 4 Number of Pages : 1145 Publisher : McGraw-Hill Osborne Media List Price : $79.99 Amazon Price : $40.98 Used Price : $32.28

Product Description

All-in-One is All You Need

Fully revised for the latest exam release, this authoritative volume offers thorough coverage of all the material on the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) exam. Written by a renowned security expert and CISSP, this guide features complete details on all 10 exam domains developed by the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC²). Inside, you'll find learning objectives at the beginning of each chapter, exam tips, practice questions, and in-depth explanations. CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, Fourth Edition will not only help you pass the test, but also be your essential on-the-job reference.

Covers all 10 subject areas on the exam:

• Access control
• Application security
• Business continuity and disaster recovery planning
• Cryptography
• Information security and risk management
• Legal, regulations, compliance, and investigations
• Operations security
• Physical (environmental) security
• Security architecture and design
• Telecommunications and network security

The CD-ROM features:

• Simulated exam with practice questions and answers
• Video training from the author
• Complete electronic book

Customer reviews

Good Read, But... by .. Rob B (Florida)
Ms. Harris' book is written in a more conversational style than your average technical read, but don't forget you will be tested on the official ISC2 materials. I recommend their book for studying and Ms. Harris' book as a supplement, not a substitute.

Now less than 12 hours away from taking the test, I found many of the post-chapter questions to be not well-formed, though much the same can be said about the ISC2 workbook. It is evident the human factors practioners (those who actually study how to write good questions) have not vetted these.

The CD that comes with Ms. Harris's book is somewhat better. By the way, the 4th Ed. cover has a blue field, not a red one.

Faster Than a Speeding Bullet by .. C. Wallace (Minnesota USA)
Wonderfully quick response and shipping time. Nice to have a request for any comments.

Overly wordy novel on CISSP by .. G. Miller (FT Bragg, NC (SOF))
This book is presented in novel format where huge paragraphs dominate.
People don't mentally store information in paragraph format; they store it in bullets or chunks of data so you first have to read the paragraph, then deduce the bullets for mental storage. It's weird but I think most books are written like this.

There are endless stories about security using sometimes inappropriate metaphors for security which don't always equate to the technology at hand.

Also, the chapters aren't laid out in the 10 Domains covered by the CISSP exam so you have to jump around to go through the domains.

By comparison, the Sybex CISSP book does a worse job because the chapters aren't even named in relation to what the ten CISSP domains are so you have to guess which chapter goes to which domain.

There is good use of graphics but there is a lot of extra information not on the exam so if you're looking for a concise technical review of CISSP exam material, look elsewhere.

PS the Shon Harris videos are as long and drawn out.

Wouldn't have passed without it! by .. Andrew Hay (Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada)
I can honestly say that if it weren't for this book I probably would not have passed my CISSP exam. Unlike other prep-guides, Shon engages the reader and keeps their attention. Also, this book doesn't read like a "read this book and pass an exam" book. It reads like a security book which just so happens to teach you the contents of the CISSP CBK. Good work and congrats on the 4th edition.

A Good Baseline for Exam Review by .. Curtis W. Diblin (Moreno Valley, CA United States)
I just passed the CISSP exam using, almost exclusively, the Shon Harris, 4th ed., 'All in ONE, CISSP Exam Guide' - supplementing Harris with some additional materials on networking and encryption. It took me about 7 weeks to study the materials before taking the exam despite a busy work schedule (my background is operations). The book is an excellent resource for most of the 10 knowledge domains with special mention to LAW, and Physical Security. However, the Networking and Encryption Domains were not nearly adequate - not enough information and presented at a level below that of the actual exam. Use the questions at the end of each chapter as review but be WARNED, most of the chapter review questions are much to simple. Seek out other text books for more representative exam questions(combining knowledge with logic and practical scenarios). Also, do not waste your time on the questions found on the CD - way, way to simple. I found the book a little verbose for my taste but the many tables, diagrams, summary areas, and the quite excellent Quick Tips section at the end of each chapter more than made up for this minor flaw.

Network+ Study Guide, 4th Edition

Author : David Groth Edition : 4 Number of Pages : 592 Publisher : Sybex List Price : $49.99 Amazon Price : $15.19 Used Price : $13.00

Product Description

• Clear and concise information on networking essentials.
• Practical examples and insights drawn from real-world experience.
• Leading-edge exam preparation software, including a test engine and electronic flashcards.

You'll also find authoritative coverage of key exam topics, including:

• Media and Topologies
• Protocols and Standards
• Network Implementation
• Network Support

Reviewed and approved as CompTIA Authorized Quality Curriculum (CAQC), this book provides numerous study advantages with CAQC materials, including coverage of all exam objectives, implementation of important instructional design principles, and instructional reviews that help students assess their learning comprehension and readiness for the exam.

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Customer reviews

Excellent Condition by .. Robert L. Chatman Jr. ()
I am overly impressed at the quality of the delivered product deemed used. The delivery was timely and I am most appreciative to the seller.

Gets you certified with easy to read material by .. S. Morong (Arizona)
Fairly easy to follow, covers all the content that is tested. Has many practice tests, flash cards, and the entire book on pdf included. Read this book cover to cover, do the practices, and you will ace the Network + exam.

A good general framework, but not a complete solution by .. Paul E. Palubinski (Louisville, CO USA)
I used this book and the "Network+ In Depth" book to study for my certification (I had a lot of time on my hands when I was preparing for it). The Sybex Network+ Study Guide has a good overall structure to it. It is easy to follow and laid out in such a way that you can easily map the sections to the objectives for the certification exam (however, they could have made it even easier to map out).

I read through this book, and then wrote my own study guide that mapped directly to the exam objectives, where I would have a section for each objective (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc.) with the necessary notes underneath the section header. I found most of the basic info in the Sybex book, but there were certain parts that I had to look up on-line or in the Network+ In Depth book.

The Sybex Network+ Study Guide book also comes with some practice exams and electronic flash cards. I used those resources quite extensively and they did a good job relating to the material in the book (although there were somethings that didn't really correspond, if I remember correctly).

After preparing for the exam using the Sybex book and CD, I decided to double check that I had covered the right materials. I went online and looked for some practice exams. I was quite shocked by how different the questions were on those practice exams than what was in the Sybex book. It was a good thing that I consulted those other resources, because they certainly helped fill in a lot of the cracks that became increasingly apparent in the Sybex book.

When I finally took the Network+ Exam (2007 edition mind you), there were many questions that I was not familiar with, and the wording was also very different (I passed, by the way). I know that this may have something to do with the newer version (2007 Edition) of the test - but the subject matter is supposed to be the same, only some different wording on the questions.

Ultimately, this book is good at giving you a general idea of what to expect on the exam, but if you want to pass with satisfactory marks, do not rely solely on this text.

Barely passed exam by .. Travis T. Royer (Manchester, NH USA)
I just took the Network+ exam today and barely passed. The book has lots of good information, however it does not tell you everything you need to know for the 2007 exam! This book was written for the 2005 exam. Maybe if I took the 2005 exam I would have done much better, but I studied this front to back thoroughly and barely passed. There were many questions I had no clue on, because the book never spoke about it.

If you get this book, consider it a foundation, and then get something else that focuses on the 2007 exam. The book has very good information, just keep in mind that you will need to continue further than it gives you.

Great book...if you already know everything by .. Joel Robinson (Jasper, AL)
The good: I passed the exam with a 729 score.

The bad: The book is badly put together, and has some glaring omissions for anyone new to the subject. Just some examples, the discussion on CSMA/CD and CSMA/CA makes no mention in the text that one is for wired Ethernet and the other is for wireless. You do see where each technology is used, in a table 3 pages later, but that is not going to make an impression on anyone learning the subject. I didn't catch it until I missed the question on a Totalsem practice test. Chapter 8 on security also seems very badly arranged and a very quick gloss over of security protocols such as PPTP(not mentioned in Ch.8 but only in Ch.7), L2PT, or IPsec, with no mention of how they work or what they really do.

There was also at least one very confusing contradiction. In chapter 5 on network operating systems, the book stated that it is only possible for Windows servers to support Mac clients with special add-on software and only with limited support. Then a few pages later it states that Window NT and 2000 have built in support for Mac clients and that a Mac client won't be able to tell the difference between a Mac and a Windows server.

My other complaint is a faulty index. I can't count the number of times that I tried to look in the index to try to review something I had read only to be frustrated.

Not to be too hard on the book it is a fairly good book and was my primary textbook for the exam. But don't use it as your only source of information unless your willing to do a lot of your own research on the Internet.