The above conversation took place at Gen Con '97 about five hours before I was supposed to start running the official Shadowrun tournament. We had seventy-two players ready to go, and twelve hours of gaming to fill.

     A few months before, we had gotten a three-step, very shaky outline. Though we'd raised doubts at the time, the main writer was half a continent away, and there wasn't much we could do when he promised to bring the final running details to the convention. What he ultimately gave out were three pages of notes, two of which involved rules for electronic warfare that were related to the book we were showing off but not actually used in the adventure, and the exact same notes from three months ago.

    Needless to say, that was probably the most unpopular Shadowrun tournament ever run, and I spent about forty-five minutes hiding in the ladies' room to stretch the skimpy story to the minimum three hours of game session.
 Now, the issue there was the lack of quality control. Without the game company enforcing their standards, the tournament writers felt free to simply throw together anything they felt like. Or, more to the point, throw together nothing and still call it an adventure.

    Theoretically, published material should be free of this problem.

    Theoretically, a game company reviews their products for flaws in the outline stage. The manuscript is read over by the developer, one to three editors, the game company president, and maybe a few playtesters. Theoretically, all the kinks are worked out, and all that remains for you, the GM, is to invite your friends over, order the pizzas, and play.

    But you and I both know that's not how it works.

    Lots of adventures (and source material, and entire basic game books) reach the shelves looking like they've just come out of someone's My Documents folder. While reviews can sometimes warn you off, often you don't hear about the plausibility and consistency flaws until after your money has been paid. Or an otherwise interesting book has a couple of key holes that, while not fatal, still relegate the game to the back of your shelf, another casualty of What the Hell, I'm a Collector.

    How to Use These Books is a review column of constructive criticism. There are untold numbers of product reviews on-line, but most are no more than simple opinion. While helpful before the trip to the gaming store, they can't help you use a product you already own. This column will not only point out the gaping holes in a game product, but tell you how to turn it into a night of adventure anyway. It will offer rules "patches" to simplify or further develop game systems, suggestions of other source material that can expand an otherwise limited book into a full campaign, and changes to published adventures to make them suitable for a wide range of gaming groups.

    A well-known game designer and friend of ours is fond of saying that there are no broken games, just broken gamemasters. I'm sure this is true.

    But I am not a perfect gamemaster. I lose patience with players, forget important rules under stress, and bungle even simple adventures if I don't take time to prepare. And it's people like me who look to the game companies for help.

    If you're also "broken," (i.e. not a perfect, patient god of a gamemaster who can run a game well the first time and every time), hopefully this column can help you get the most out of your gaming books. And if we're lucky, maybe writers will check it out, too, and we won't have to worry about solving the same mistake twice.

Amber Diceless Role-Playing reviewed by Lisa Padol

The Hercules & Xena Roleplaying Game Hero's Guide reviewed by Chris Hepler

Harlequin reviewed by Chris Hepler

Legend of the Five Rings reviewed by Chris Hepler

Night of a Thousand Screams - A Legend of Five Ring Adventure reviewd by Chris Hepler

Orkworld reviewed by Chris Hepler

Rilasciare, the Free Thinker - Secret Society of Thea: Book 3 reviewed by Elisa Ford

Twilight Honor - A Legend of Five Rings Adventure reviewed by Becca Stein

The Way of the Minor Clans - A Legend of Five Rings Supplement reviewed by Jennifer Brandes

Vampire: The Masquerade reviewed by Chris Hepler