A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement The Genius Guide to What’s In My Pocket? Part Deux

The Genius Guide to What’s In My Pocket? Part Deux by Rich Redman is a role playing game supplement published by Rogue Genius Games (originally as Super Genius Games) for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License with some parts considered to be Open Game Content as a result. This is a collection of small, low value to worthless items that are intended to spark adventure hooks.

The PDF is available from RPGNow for $2.99 but was purchased at the greatly reduced price of $0.06 as part of a special bundle. Two thirds of a page are the colour front cover and one page is the Open Game License and Credits.

It starts with an explanation as to how the items were meant to encourage questions and start new story hooks, so they shouldn’t really be selected randomly. Then there are suggestions on how to roll randomly on the list (it doesn’t work for a standard die or dice).

The List itself is the items, 31 in total, 22 wondrous items and 9 normal ones. Each is in a similar format; the name of the item, followed by details – standard magic item manufacturing details for the wondrous items, such as weight and value for normal ones – a description and a story seed for using them in game.

Finally, there are DM Tips on using them, sources of magic items and what to do if a player insists on considering magic items to be technology.

The Genius Guide to What’s In My Pocket? Part Deux in Review

The PDF lacks bookmarks and, although they aren’t truly essential for a supplement of this length, they would have been useful. Navigation is below average.

The text maintains the old three column landscape format used by Super Genius Games and was largely error-free. This is intended to be easier to read on tablets and screens and, whilst true for larger devices, is less convenient on smaller ones and not wonderful for printing. There are a number of illustrations, both black and white and colour, from a number of sources that are somewhat appropriate to nearby items. Presentation is okay.

Although this is in theory a sequel to The Genius Guide to What’s In My Pocket? it is a rather different supplement, having a much greater number of more detailed magic items, less items in total and story seeds in every case. They are also less convenient to fit in a pocket, and in some cases possibly wouldn’t fit in a backpack either.

Of the items themselves, the wondrous items are more interesting than the standard ones. By a long way in some cases. The wondrous items are sometimes useful, sometimes strange, and may crop up in unexpected locations via the story seeds. The regular items are, by and large, regular items, such as aprons and shaving kits. Which are not odd or interesting at all, even if they appear in locations that would have no use for such. The length of copper chain looks like someone wanted to pad the items to 31 or had a few lines to fill; even for the non-magical items it is totally uninteresting and the story seed is uninspired.

This is, on the whole, a useful and interesting collection of items. Perhaps it might have been better to have a shorter, cheaper supplement having only the wondrous items instead of padding it out with mundane ones, but the wondrous items are still decent at full price and spectacular at the price actually paid. The Genius Guide to What’s In My Pocket? Part Deux is a nice collection of sometimes odd items that can be found by clicking here.