gamerz123 Posted August 26, 2006 Report Share Posted August 26, 2006 Disclosure: The reader should be aware that Jason is a good friend of mine. With that out of the way, on to the review! It isn't easy to find a role-playing book would be a great read on its own if all the nuts and bolts and crunchy bits were removed. You Gotta Have Character is one of those rare books. With only minor modification the book could easily be used as a primer in any college level creative writing characterization course, as part of a class on ‘Notable People in History’ or as the basis for a really nifty TV series on a specialty cable channel. Through exhaustive research, Jason Walters brings us a collection of some of the most eclectic and downright bizarre personalities in history. The book is written in an easy to read and comfortable voice. He manages to present these people in a relatively unbiased manner, although is not afraid to use a wonderful and subtle dry sense of humor when some of the things get really bizarre. As Ken Hite says in the introduction (Borrowing from Mark Twain, who borrowed it from Lord Byron, who probably borrowed it from some now-forgotten Greek dude, who was probably writing down an ancient saying) “Truth is Stranger Than Fiction.” While You Gotta Have Character has the ability to stand outside of the role-playing genre, it is a great source of ideas for any campaign. Jason gives outstanding suggestions on how to adapt each character into multiple genres along with character profiles and write ups for each personality’s historical setting. By giving a concise and clear biography of how the cultures in which these people lived both created them and were changed by them, the GM is given the necessary tools to adapt them to their own setting. The cover is an eye-catching, wonderfully done work of art that pulls you in and is 100% true to the books' content. There are a few typos here and there, and an index to who-did-what(?) would have been nice but not necessary. Personally, I would have liked more bibliographical information and it would have been great if there could have been a customized art work or two for Jason's.... interesting .... introduction. All in all I give You Gotta Have Character a full and complete recommendation for anyone looking for a breath of fresh air into their game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted August 27, 2006 Report Share Posted August 27, 2006 Re: Review of You Gotta Have Character well, that clinched it. It, like everything, is on the list. But this review bumped it up a few notches to Purchase Soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lethosos Posted August 27, 2006 Report Share Posted August 27, 2006 Re: Review of You Gotta Have Character I'm still wondering if it was even remotely true that he actually ate King Vitaman cereal... In any case... it's a great read--I've been meaning to e-mail him with my own take on it. I will agree that there are some spellchecker errors, but other than him not including the Bandit in it, I throughly enjoyed it. The Musashi entry even has given me some ideas for a character for my own setting! This is a great book to pick up; I'm thinking about hunting down data on Skip Wiley, one of the most "interesting" Florida govenorers in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Secret Master Posted August 28, 2006 Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 Re: Review of You Gotta Have Character The Bandit got removed at the request of his widow. As far as King Vitamin Cereal goes: mom wasn't always a dentist, Lethosos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lethosos Posted August 28, 2006 Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 Re: Review of You Gotta Have Character Well, given that you were eating Steve's cereal... And I do fondly recall the Coco Puffs, yes. I'm just now interested in oatmeal and bagels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted August 29, 2006 Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 Re: Review of You Gotta Have Character I liked it alot. THem's some crazy peoples! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarek Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Re: Review of You Gotta Have Character That's not a disclaimer, that's a disclosure. I've been looking at this one in the stores, wondering if I should buy it. Thanks for the review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Re: Review of You Gotta Have Character Read it, bought it, loving it. Cheers QM P.S.: Amature Historian here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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