Michael Iantorno PhD Candidate, Game Designer, and Writer

Tagshades of ice

Shades of Ice: Keep of the Huscarl King Review

After my enthusiasm for the previous two installments of the Shades of Ice trilogy, I had high hopes for the thrilling conclusion. Set in the rugged wilderness of the north, it seemed an apt repose from the confined urban environments of Written in Blood and Exiles of Winter. Also, there was a strong potential for wooly mammoths – always a bonus! Unfortunately Keep of the Huscarl King wound up...

Shades of Ice: Exiles of Winter Review

This scenario is kind of mean. Not unfair, mind you. I don’t think there’s any encounter in Shades of Ice: Exiles of Winter that tips the balance of power too steeply in the game master’s favour. There are no inescapable death traps or plot devices that funnel players into tactically miserable situations. But mean. Definitely mean. Exiles of Winter picks up where Shades of Ice...

Shades of Ice: Written in Blood Review

The first movie in a trilogy has its work cut out for it. It has to lay the foundation for the next two installments without seeming incomplete and disjointed. The best science fiction and fantasy films manage to hedge the line between satisfying viewers and leaving them wanting more: A New Hope, The Hobbit, and Batman Begins. Pathfinder Society scenarios have to follow the same rule. If players...

Michael Iantorno PhD Candidate, Game Designer, and Writer