I wanted to wait a little bit before reviewing this so that I didn't ruin the surprise for anybody else. Soon, though, the window for January subscriptions opens, so now seems like a good time to show an example of what to expect.
First, there is a double-sided one page introductory sheet. It's always great to get a map from the wonderful Dyson Logos. The other side is a Newsletter, letting us know what's to come, etc. Also, there is an OSR style table here that provides info about the suppliers of this Mythoard. The table is cool, but my critique here is that it didn't include everything in the Mythoard (like the dice) and it wasn't exactly clear who supplied what. (I e-mailed this feedback to Jarrod and it sounds like he may incorporate a checklist into the next one.)
Next up, what I consider to be the best part of this Mythoard. The Stone Fields of Azoroth is a mini-setting with adventures by Tim Shorts, who's responsible for The Manor and other OSR greatness. I'm pretty excited to get an exclusive offering from him! Book 1 details the Village of Bad Water (37 unique NPCs), Book 2 and Book 3 are both sites to explore (near the village) and on the inside of the cover is a map of the locale:
I've never seen crayon utilized so well! [EDIT: I have since found out that this is color pencil - still cool!] I'm looking forward to running this adventure for my group. For me, this is the highlight of this Mythoard and is guaranteed to get used.
10+ Treasures is a professionally made supplement for Dungeon World. Your mileage will vary here: if you play Dungeon World, then this will be a nice addition, if not, then you can still snag the ideas and convert them to your system of choice. I hope to play Dungeon World someday, so this will probably wait on my shelf until then. There's a QR code included so that you can also have the PDF copy of this book.
These are Blue Dungeon Tiles from Red Kobold. I have mixed feelings here. On the one hand, they're pretty cool - you can use dry erase marker on them, they're double-sided so you have more variety than what's pictured above, and they have an old school vibe to them. On the other hand, you will get limited usage out of 3 tiles. This is the one component from Mythoard that feels a bit incomplete - if you like them, you'll want to immediately go to Red Kobold and order more. If you don't use maps, you're not going to get much use out of them. If you're in the middle, like me, you'll be trying to figure out exactly how you can use them.
Also from Red Kobold was a six-sided die with their Kobold symbol in place of the "1."
Jim Magnusson makes awesome creature postcards and sends them out to people. This is a Crystal Stinger. On the back is a description of the creature (stats free - so you'll need to adapt to your preferred system). The art and style speak for themselves. A nice addition, and my only complaint is: I want them all!
Here we have a poster from Baby Bestiary. Much like the dungeon tiles, I'm not sure what to do with this. No doubt the art is good, but what you want to hang up in your house is going to vary greatly from person to person. I would have preferred a smaller piece of art with some monster stats (similar to the Magnusson post card).
Overall, I was happy with this first installment of Mythoard. The Tim Shorts adventure was worth it alone. Also, I love getting packages in the mail, so a monthly box of mystery RPG items is pretty much the best thing ever.
There are a few things here of limited use/interest to me, but I think that's the name of the game. Not everything is going to appeal to everybody. The subscription service is currently open to beta-backers, but will be opening up to everybody soon. Jarrod is taking feedback and is already planning improvements for the next installment. Get you some Mythoard by clicking below:
Finally, I'm interested to hear what other folks thought of their Mythoard (or what they saw of mine). Do you love some of the things I wasn't as excited about? Is there anything you're wishing for in future Mythoards?
