Buffy the Vampire Slayer Revised Core Rulebook

At the beginning of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Core Rulebook," writer and designer C. J. Carella acknowledges that the reader of this volume could just as easily be a Buffy fanatic as a veteran of role playing games. Indeed, Carella considers it a safe assumption that anyone who gets to page 194 of this volume is a fan of the show (but he sees advantages for those who are not). Of course, I am the former, although I do remember an evening with college friends trying unsuccessfully to get me hooked on Dungeon & Dragons and my daughter and I have attempted the Buffy the Vampire CCG game a few times (I am happy just to collect the cards). Certainly, Carella has put together a gorgeous volume. On top of that, the role playing game, part of the Unisystem, might actually prove to be fun as well.The "BtVS RPG" covers a lot of ground (by its own admission), from rules to stats to descriptions to backgrounds. There are eight chapters and an appendix: (1) "It's the Slayer's World, We Just Play Here" contains introductory sections, notes about role playing, a list of conventions, and a brief recap of Seasons One through Five of the television series (note, breakdown is by season rather than episode specific); (2) "Some Assembly Required" covers character creation and provides the game stats for the main characters as well as a gallery of Archetypes (e.g., New Slayer, Demon Hunter, and Former Vampire Groupie); (3) "Rules, Borders, and an End Zone" provides the rules of the game, teaching you how to play the game, when to use dice, detailing character development, and explaining the importance of Drama Points; (4) "Playing With Primal Forces" explains the upside and the downside of magic in the Buffyverse; (5) "Sunnydale After Dark" goes over both the favorite hotspots in and around the home of the Hell Mouth and the major Guest Stars of the show such as Joyce, Amy, Jonathan, etc.; (6) "Children of the Night" covers all of the vamps, demons, and other Big Bads from the show's first five seasons, providing such great details as character motivation (e.g., Glorificus wants to go home but Drusilla is just a "Whimsical nutjob"); (7) "Episodes, Seasons and Drama" is for the Director of the game and provides guidelines on how to create storylines and run games; and (8) "Sweeps Week" provides an actual adventure for the "BtVS RG" game, to be played with the Archetypes. Finally, the "Appendix" helps you hone your Buffyspeak and also provides useful charts and tables, a glossary, an index and conversion notes from other Unisystem games. Christopher Golden, who has written some of the best "BtVS" novels along with the comic book and "The Watcher's Guides," writes the Foreword to this volume, which is basically a teaser for a role playing game. My son, who has considerably more experience with role playing games than I do, assures me this is fairly basic stuff and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is a natural for this sort of fun. It is well established that "BtVS"

I am an avid gamer for over twelve years. I love collection all types of RPGs cause you never know if you will find something useful.I just got this book and think that my group and I are going to give it a swing. It looks like there are many posiblities for some great roleplaying. I think if you like the show and you are a gamer, you'll like this book.

As usual for Eden Studios, this book is visually stunning. It's a joy to just look at. Combined with its review of the first five seasons of the show and the large ammount of backgroun material, the book could be of interest even to non-gamers. As an rpg, it's quite fun. Using a streamlined version of C.J. Carella's Unisystem, the mechanics run fast and fun. They simulate the "reality" of the show well and are easy to learn and use. The GM can run the game without needing to roll a single die if desired. As to characters, you can play Buffy and Co. or you can design your own Scooby Gang with or without a Slayer. It all depends on how canon you want your game to be. While the book supports modern day games, it can easily be set in different time periods. I'm running a game with just my wife in which she plays a Slayer in a pulp-adventure style 1930s setting. The only limit is your own imagination.