Before we even received our review copy, John Lewis and I decided that we were going to do a double review of XDM X-Treme Dungeon Mastery. John Lewis’ review of XDM X-Treme Dungeon Mastery was coming from the perspective of someone who is a DM 99% of the time. My review would be from the perspective of someone who is a player the majority of the time. The book didn’t disappoint and was worth the double review.

BOOK STATISTICS
Name: XDM X-Treme Dungeon Mastery
Author: Tracy & Curtis Hickman
Illustrator: Howard Tayler
Pages: 158
Chapters: 18
Primary Stat: X-Treme Roleplaying
Secondary Stat: X-Treme Humor

[I formally petition Tracy & Curtis Hickman for one XDM level for writing a second review after John Lewis already wrote one.]

First off, I did my primary reading of the book while several friends of mine, who also roleplay, were over at my house. As I was reading the book, I continually found myself chuckling at the awesome illustrations by Howard Tayler. I’d pass the book to one of my friends, he’d start laughing. As he’d pass the book back to me, my other friends would say, “Hey, hey. Pass that over, I want to see too.” It got to the point that when I found a funny illustration, I just passed it around because I knew everyone wanted to see it. Howard has some really funny references to roleplaying and pop culture in his illustrations that are fantastic.

I completely agree with John Lewis, the book is written in a very humorous fashion but has some really substantial content as well. It actually reminded me a little bit of an older roleplaying book that I picked up long ago in the early 80’s by Catalyst Books called Grimtooth’s Traps. The initial appearance and way it is written may make you think, at first glance, that it is a book primarily written for humor. I found myself laughing at the illustrations and the way the book was written, but I also constantly found myself thinking, “Wow, that’s a really good idea.”

For me, Chapter Nine: Living through the Revolution, Chapter Thirteen: Killer Breakfast to Go, and Chapter Fourteen: How You Play the Game (XDM: the Player’s Section) were awesome reads. These three chapters discuss three distinctively different topics. Living through the Revolution gives the XDM different rules on what to do when the players start to actually question the XDM’s authority in the game. Killer Breakfast to Go (www.killerbreakfast.com) literally made me entirely rethink how convention adventures, one-shots, or even your regular roleplaying sessions could be completely re-tooled and played. How You Play the Game, the section devoted to the XDM player, talks about things you can do, as a player, to make the game better for everyone. I immediately used one of the tips in this section during our game session that very day and left the group with a nice, “Did he just do that?” moment that they should cherish forever…

I’ve been a big fan of Tracy Hickman’s work for a long time. He has a knack for writing great stories and gaming material in a way that is so easy to read. You don’t feel like you’re grinding through a game supplement that you must finish because you just spent a ton of money on it. You’re reading the book because it has great content and it is fun to read. As I stated earlier, I was reading the book today while I had some of my gaming buddies over. When I put the book down, it got picked right back up by another person and devoured. The book has changed hands at least half a dozen times in my first day of having it.

Overall, the book is a great book that is not system-specific (but it does give rules for the XD20 Roleplaying System in Chapter Fifteen!) It has advice for both XDMs and players. It is one of the few books that I instantly came away with dozens of new tips and tricks for roleplaying that I had never encountered. XDM X-Treme Dungeon Mastery will be officially released at GenCon Indy 2009 and will be available in stores sometime this Fall. You can order a copy of the book at www.xtremedungeonmastery.com.

Parting Thought:
A warning to all players! Beware of any XDM using The Jack Bauer Rule. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Read John Lewis’ XDM X-Treme Dungeon Mastery [A DM's Review]