Lesser Shades of Evil RPG
Excerpt from review by Physically, LSoE is a hardcover of standard RPG-rulebook size. It is 466 pages thick, nine of which (the last nine) are blank. The layout is very well done, with little space going to waste. The paper used is slightly glossy and feels like it’s of good quality. Every page is presented in sepia tone, which makes it more visually pleasing than if it were in black and white. Overall, the book itself feels like it’s of very high quality. Visually, LSoE is equally as impressive. The choice of font strikes a perfect balance between stylish and readable, and the outside of each page is surrounded by a pale border. The tables presented throughout the book are both well-presented and easy on the eyes. Each chapter, section, and subsection is clearly identified by headers of different sizes. Where LSoE really shines, however, are the illustrations. While I did not take the time to count them, I’m fairly certain that around two hundred illustrations are featured in the rulebook. Moreover, these illustrations are of very high quality, and most of them do an excellent job of defining the game visually. It bears mentioning that some rather well-known artists are featured in LSoE, like Torstein Nordstrand, Martin McKenna, or Larry Elmore. The visual aspect of this book is very much the level of quality I expect from a major game company. When you consider that Pierre Kakos contracted and bought the images prior to actually finding a publisher, however, it makes the visual quality of LSoE even more impressive. On the prose side, the author does well by his product. The flavor text peppered throughout the book is actually pretty good for an RPG once you get used to the tone, and the regular RPG-rulebook prose manages to be clear without feeling too dry. The best thing about the way LSoE is written, however, is how much the author goes out of his way to give you examples of how the rules work. As you’ll see further down, the game definitely qualifies as crunchy, so numerous descriptions of how the rules work are a big help. Finally, the game is relatively devoid of typos, which is always a big plus. https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13010.phtml