The Hex Hack is a series of system-neutral tables to support a campaign rather than hexcrawl rules or a hexcrawl key. While being system neutral, it probably works best with games like B/X, Old School Essentials and Swords & Wizardry. To clarify from the Description, the 350 unique entries are 350 results on the different tables. The table entries are short and colorful, a step up from the usual bland entries of many random tables sold on DriveThruRPG. You need to do quite a bit of work to bring the people, places, things, and premises to life but I think The Hex Hack is worth the price. It could supplement a hexcrawl campaign nicely.

A great example of the 5 room dungeon, a format that appears to be the new hotness in D&D circles. I particularly like the formatting of the rooms that give you enough detail to describe the rooms well, without resorting to a bland box text that the DM would read out.

This would be great to throw ito an on running campaign in place of a random encounter and there's potential for expanding with your own ideas inot the launch of it's own adventure arc.

I'm really liking it. I'll be running this game on Friday for some beginner RPG players. I'd love if there were a bit more explanations at some parts (like the summoned demons' skills, HD, etc.), otherwise, awesome stuff, well done! :)

In my opinion, low level adventures are the hardest to write. In "Ther Last Prayer of the Dying", John R. Davis has come up with some brillaint solutions on how to make an adventure interesting without being overwhelming for first level player characters. Also, he gives the adventure a lot of good atmosphere. Everything you need to to launch a campaign is in this document. Well done!

Crimson Curse is a fun starter adventure with an interesting problem to solve and a fun location to explore. Not the usual boring first level fare. I hope the other parts get published.

My third review for the extremely fun and challenging Jack Hack line. You will need the Black Hack and the Jack Hack to use this. This supplement brings in espionage and conspiracy to the regular gutter crawl of the Jack Hack. The Sherlock Holmes movies of late come to mind most readily. This book is the most comprehensive of the three (Jack Hack, Penny Black and this pdf) in my opinion. In broad strokes it paints a political picture of the British Empire in 1888. Both at home and abroad. One could also dabble in organized crime stories with the material I imagine. Two new classes, the Mounter (informer) and Gutter Monger (reporter). The same great random tables, story suggestions and even an updated adversaries table. All the better to challenge the players. I give it 4 stars due to grammatical and spelling errors that could be easily fixed (I would give this 5 stars easily if that were to happen). In closing these are my thoughts and recommendations.

1. Buy these games! This has been my most enjoyable foray into Victorian role playing. They are cheap, versatile (from mundane to occult to broader/deeper stories) and very innovative.
2. I would love to see these Jack Hack books put into a compedium of sorts. At least print options for the Penny Black and the Great Game.
3. Do some editing and correcting. It could make already great projects shine!
4. FINISH DEAD LONDON! Seriously! The wait is killing me Mr. Davis and I am ready to throw my money at you.

My second review for a Jack Hack product. This is a supplement to the supplement of the Jack Hack. You will need the Jack Hack and the Black Hack to play it. Set in Whitechapel 1888, during the infamous Jack the Ripper murders. This adds the supernatural to the regular misery that the player characters face. It facilitates stories like those of the gothic novels, penny dreadfuls (isn't that a TV show) and the occult. Made famous by such secretive orders as the Golden Dawn. It introduces a new usage die. The Purple. A Representation of the eldritch dread permeating the area. There are a lot of uses for this idea beyond just what is suggested. It also introduces a new class, the Mesmerist. A sort of medium. Again, it has useful random tables, ideas and new supernatural creatures to graft on to the regular game. I would have like to have seen some advice on how to bring arcane or divine magic into the game but that is not difficult to extrapolate. Unfortunately it continues with spelling and writing errors that keep it from a full five stars. Free is a more than generous price to an already awesome game. Keep going Mr. Davis and...finish Dead London!!!

Let me start by saying that the Black Hack has been a great addition to the OSR landscape. A ton of settings to add to a simple and versatile system. The Jack Hack is by far my favorite of those. Late Victorian roleplaying dealing mostly with the seedy, criminal side of life. You play a desperate person, fallen on hard times and barely hanging on. All this against the backdrop of the Jack the Ripper murders. The unique usage dice of the white and black help to flesh out what a character was before their fall from grace and what contributed to their fall. It is gritty, street level play and very challenging the more detail you add (just look up the Victorian era legal system and range of punishments). The random tables, use of era appropriate slang and story hooks are terrific. My quibbles are small but I feel they keep this product just great and not fantastic. This REALLY needs a some editing. Numerous typos and mistakes are distracting. Some basic information about social mores, standard prices and definitions of the said slang would be really helpful for us on the other side of the pond. Granted one could find this elsewhere but having it here in an abbreviated form would be easier. That said this product is awesome and reasonably priced. With a little more polish this would be five stars easily. Also finish Dead London...please!

An add-on for The Jack Hack, from the same publisher. I can't help thinking of Bram Stoker's Dracula or Showtime's Penny Dreadful when I read through this. I love the new character classes and random tables. This will work together with the Jack Hack to let you create gothic horror games pretty much on the fly. I'll definitely be using this at our future game sessions!

A fun addition to the Black Hack family of games. If gothic horror or Victorian times are your thing you ought to check it out. The game has a neat mechanic, the White Die and the Black Die, for reflecting the outer respectability and inner torment of so many characters in this genre, from Dr.Jekyll to Sherlock Holmes. Plus there are a lot of great tables to help inspire your Whitechapel adventures. And you can't beat the price.

Not rules to run a sandbox hexcrawl with The Black Hack, like I was hoping for. Instead, it's a very nice homage to a classic sandbox the author remembers fondly. Seems like the kind of thing where you could sit down with some players who have no idea what they're doing or where to go, and just start rolling on tables. It's very focused on the "enchanted forest" style setting. If you'd like to start rolling with this theme, go for it! If you're looking for more structure to lend to a Black Hack game you're already planning, this might not be for you. Lots of heart went into this production, it shows.

Jack Hack is a fantastic little product. Full to the brim of handy tables of events, items, happening and people you can meet in the seedy underbelly of Victorian London during the time of Jack the Ripper. Althought the subject is dark, Jack Hack injects some humour into it All this allows you to jump right and run a game on the Fly.
Good work Mr Davis, I can wait for your next project.

A great little dungeon delve for starting characters. For $1 it's well worth a punt.