[John Aynge]

Hollow Earth Expedition is based on the Ubiquity System, which the reviewer does a fine job of explaining. The system does employ the dice pool as stated, but I can say that you can use ANY dice to roll as long as they have even sides. You could flip coins, play rock, scissor paper, or pull chits. The basic idea is that you want to have a high number of dice in the pool, and then acheive successes. I've gone so far as to nix the odds and evens when people use their own dice, and just say HIGH = Success and Low = Failure. That said, the Ubiquity dice are a very quick and easy method to roll a lot of dice with only a few actually in hand.

Also, the game provides the ability to take the average. If your dice pool is 10, you could forego rolling andy dice, take the average, and have an automatic 5 successes. If you had an odd number as your dice pool you could take the average, and then roll the one odd dice to see if it is added or ignored. 9 dice in the pool equals 4+ on average (the plus designates the odd amount) so your average is automatically a 4 and then you'd roll one die. If you rolled a success you have 5 successes. If you rolled a failure then you're still at 4. This can speed up the more mundane aspects that bog down other games with needless dice rolling. Let's say your paddling for 15 hours, and the GM is making you make paddle rolls all the time. BORING. Just take the average, and you'll be fine.

There's even a way to get some extra dice by tempting fate. You REALLY need to find a spot to land the plane as it runs out of gas, and you're no where near a run way. Looks like a jungle landing, and your pilot skill is rotten, well it might be time for some STYLE POINTS. Style points allow you to be rewarded for excellent roleplaying in a manner that actually helps you in the game. You can turn your wonderful roleplaying into a benefit for you and your party. Taking those points and placing a couple of extra dice (1 point = 1 die) in PILOT: AIRCRAFT might save your bacon in the above scenario. They can also be used to alleviate dangerous wounds that would slow down a normal person. You can spend your hard earned style points to eleminate wounds that you just suffered. Did the mook just shoot you in the face for two points of damage? Just turn in two style points and you managed to duck or take a minor graze that won't slow you down.

Style/Theme wise you can play all of those great Edgar Rice Burroughs style stories, and the game gives you the stats and background to pull it off, without giving you a cement map that forces you to place the Lizardmen next to a place filled with pirates. The games creator had the forethought to give the players and GMS enough information to populate the entire world, and to create it, but left it blank so you could generate your own world with just a little thought of your own. The Hollow Earth has rules (lots of sun, time passes in a strange manner, radios don't work, all the things mentioned) about how the inner world SHOULD work, but in the end you, as the GM, get to make the final call of where all this might happen. This leads to a great opportunity to use areas created by other GMS, and drop them into your game. Don't know a bloody thing about amazons? That's okay, someone else does, and you can take their material and drop it right next to your own Panda People (you get the idea).

However, the Hollow Earth is only one front on which the game can be played. You could just as easily play a mob connected game on the surface world, take on a Fun Manchu style character, face off against Nazis as they scour the surface world searching for occult artifacts, track down Aleister Crowley and force the information out of him on how he's summoned Bezlebub and his 49 daemon lackies, or track down rum runners from Canada sacrificing virgins to the Wendigo. You'd like to do a western adventure, easy enough. Love Call of Cthulhu, but want a change, welcome to the Ubiquity system. WE CAN DO THAT!

The game follows the 3 F plan: Fast, Furious, and FUN!

As for magik, psychic powers, and strange inventions. I assure you that this will be dealt with in a matter of weeks/months. The next source book claims to cover this material, and I believe it will. I also think it might have one of the most amazing equipment sections ever before, and I wouldn't be shocked to see an amazing adventure go with it as well. Heck, with this company it wouldn't shock me if you didn't see a free on line supplement or a very inexpensive PDF that will give you even more material to go with the book.

The system rocks, but what about support? Well, over at EXILEGAMES.COM you'll find an active, intelligent, damn good looking, creative group of people that have ideas for just about anything you can think up. Want some FREE adventures, they have them. Got a question? They have an answer. Want FREE stuff to go with the game (more talents, skills, flaws, motivations) they have it. Contests? GOT EM! It's also hands on with the creator. You'll find Jeff Combos, the creator of HEX, actually taking the time to answer your questions.

I'm not paid by the company or sleeping with anyone involved, but I love the product, I love the system, and I love the way the fans and players are treated. I don't know that you can find a better game on any shelf in any store.

It's groovy!