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Fantastic Maps - Iconic Island
by Steve B. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/16/2019 21:49:13

Download the file... Nothing......................



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
Fantastic Maps - Iconic Island
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Rituals of Choice Adventure Path Preview
by A customer [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 11/22/2018 11:38:02

I am a huge fan of Arcana Evolved so I loved the idea of getting more material especially a campaign. Unfortunately, the project was dropped but at least there is a framework within this product that you can develop it out.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Rituals of Choice Adventure Path Preview
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Demiplanes: Valhalla
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 09/03/2018 05:17:07

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This Demiplanes-book clocks in at 59 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, 1 page advertisement, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 54 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

This review was moved up in my reviewing queue as a prioritized review at the request of my patreons.

So, the first thing I should note is this: I am super picky regarding my Norse lore; I have a degree in the field, can fluently read Norse, and I’m most of the time really pissed off when I see how adaptations to roleplaying games butcher the concept when trying to stay authentic. You see, the most common roleplaying games we play feature assumptions colored by the dichotomous thinking and values cultivated over the centuries, courtesy of Christianity and similar book-based religions. Without going into the finer philosophical details, a perhaps more easier to grasp analogue would be this: Do you know the “Vikings” TV-series, the one adapting Ragnars saga loðbrókar and the Ragnarssona Þáttr? I’m the annoying guy who’ll chew your ears off about the liberties taken with the source material, who’ll endlessly drone on about aspects not being correct. In my defense, I still enjoy the series, but yeah.

The more prudent and smarter way to adapt the concept of Valhalla, and thankfully the one taken within this book, is to distill the concept to its essence, and to create something new that takes the realities of the gaming world into account – you know, both regarding cosmology and the presence of the god-forsaken alignment system. So yeah, if you’re looking for yet another adaptation of Norse myth that will never properly fit your current campaign setting, then you won’t find that here.

Instead, Valhalla is depicted as an infinite Outer Plane – one roughly associated with the Chaotic Good alignment, and one central leitmotif: Heroism. While a contextualization within a smattering of Outer Planes is provided, it should be noted that actually integrating the material presented within this pdf is rather easy – the pdf does offer some guidance and, moreover, does account for the infinity presented by the Planes. In short, we begin with tantalizing ideas of how e.g. a draconic Valhalla might look – the morphic and subjective qualities of planar reality and values are employed rather admirably and set this apart from being just another take on the classic pseudo-accurate rehashing of the concept. This theme is also emphasized by the Greater Petitioner template, which, while lacking a CR-increase note, provides regeneration in the version presented for Valhalla. The idea is obvious – the eternal fighting of the einherjar warrior spirits obviously can be undertaken by such individuals. I am not going to penalize the pdf for the lack of CR-increase here due to the limited scale of the replenishment – the ability does have a cap, preventing abuse.

Now, beyond the general establishing of leitmotifs within the context of Valhalla, the majority of the book is devoted to a variety of different Demiplanes with ties to Valhalla; they all share themes in one way or another, but as a whole constitute an exceedingly smart angle, allowing, by means of compartmentalizing themes and concepts, for easy and seamless integration into the cosmology of an established game. I could e.g. integrate these into Midgard, Oerth or Golarion without much fuss. In a somewhat weird decision or oversight, the central hub of Valhalla, the grand metropolis known as “Champion’s Arena” (settlement statblocks provided) would be the only sub-section, the only one of the demiplane-like sub-sections that does not come with bookmarks.

Now, as a brief glance at the respective sub-chapters immediately makes clear, the respective entries do come with secrets noted for the GM to develop, and they do make excellent use of the planar nature of the locales. In short: They offer quite a bunch cool planar traits for each of the respective demiplanes, which really helps rendering the book more useful than its premise: Each of the chapters get crunchy rules for these, with e.g. Arena’s Oathbound property providing nasty penalties for oathbreakers, while the Forge of Destiny provides for much easier crafting, but also forges the destiny of the creator, inflicting a mighty curse (no, it can’t be broken as easily as usual) that takes the concept of Wyrd, the personal destiny, and makes it a leitmotif of sorts for the afflicted. That being said, the fact that this theme is divorced from the ideological components associated with the term does render it into a potent roleplaying catalyst. On the downside, layout botched in the aforementioned forge trait, adding a single, nonsensical bullet point that then becomes a regular text. That should have been caught in proofreading, it’s pretty obvious.

That being said, the traits do provide some really cool notions – in the region known as Training Grounds, for example, you can, provided you have the sufficient knowledge, conjure forth adversaries to battle, using the kenform template presented within. Similarly, there are quite a lot tables that feature e.g. alternate morphic mishaps and creature mishaps – and a table that is called “Fact of Fiction”. You see the book does feature a region called the “Unknown Expanse”, which is both every lost civilization and the yarns woven about them, but also every FICTIONAL civilization that never was! The latter is frankly phenomenal as an idea. Picture it: The BBEG is actually so smart that his plans can’t be fouled. They can’t. There is no refuge, no success possible anymore. And yet, the tale survives of a place that houses his downfall – and then, it becomes real, in a way. Of course, the same theme could easily be flipped. I adore this notion, and it is actually supported by thematic blessings for explorers and a mighty atlas that allows for basically fast travel in a tightly codified manner.

So yeah, there are more crunchy bits herein than just planar geography. But before we get to those, let us talk about connections and conjunctions – the former is pretty self-evident and-explanatory, but the latter represents something we know from mythweaving all too well – basically temporary planar overlaps. Full blown manifestation of segments of the respective planes are similarly noted. Most places also note important NPCs, though these only come with fluff-information, not full stats.

As previously mentioned, each segment also comes with a couple of supplemental rules that add some crunch to the respective write-ups. These do include the grudgeglass, an artifact created from the blood,s eqt and tears of the defeated, which allows for the tracking down of an enemy…and there would be Ekena, a CR 25/MR 10 monstrosity that can generate evil clones of those it faces – but, following the theme, it can be bested by bravery: the rules employed here allow for nonstandard skill use as part of attacks to bypass the creature’s defenses. Now, don’t get me wrong, I adore this notion, but I am not 100% happy with the very narrative implementation Slightly tighter rules would have been appreciated here. On the plus-side, anyone besting the monster does become mythic, so yeah – it’s a nice crucible for ascension. Unfortunately, my immediate association was obviously the comparison with Rite Publishing’s genius “Coliseum Morpheuon”, which is still, after all these years, one of my favorite roleplaying books. (If you don’t have it, get it asap!)

The cliffs of renewal allow for redemption for those with the faith to leap – once more, taking a classic image and codifying it; in the Eternal Tavern, bards can learn a new masterpiece, the First Hero’s Journey (and yes, the First Hero actually is in the bar…), and in an interesting take, this masterpiece does provide a take on the concept of the monomyth, with three stages that happen consecutively. Similarly, there is a minor artifact that does improve mythic power or make the owner count as mythic, which does come with narrative potential galore, particularly if you’re like me and love throwing mythic critters at regular characters… In the somber Gardens of Memoriam, those so inclined can live through the final moments of heroes, which once more sports narrative potential galore. A very potent mindscape-based trap and the notion of the norn’s curse/will is within these pages, while the tavern of unsung songs bestows a healthy dose of humility on the mightiest of mighty, including a rather impressive spellblight…and there obviously would the Well. A place where sacrifices can be made to gain basically any effects – but not even the gods can alter the finality of it or recover losses incurred here! Nice to for once see no divine intervention clause!

Oh, did I mention that there is a creature born from former-familiar ravens, so-called exensils, which actually may choose to become familiars once more?

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are very good on a rules-language level; on a formal level, I consider this to be only good; I noticed more hiccups than usual for Rite Publishing’s recent offerings. Layout adheres to the beautiful, new two-column full-color standard Rite uses, and the interior artworks, for the most part, are stunning, though they do not adhere to a unified aesthetic. For the most part? Yeah, the artworks are neat, but there is one really ugly CGI-piece herein. Not enough to tarnish the book, but it felt jarring to me. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience, with the weird oversight of one subchapter’s, namely Arena’s bookmarks missing.

Andrew Mullen, Jennifer Povey and Stephen Rowe have created something that I thoroughly enjoyed – a planar toolkit/gazetteer full of inspiring and interesting ideas and material, a great little GM-toolkit that has appeal far beyond the concepts one usually associated with the term of “Valhalla.” Indeed, that may be the biggest strength of this pdf – the fact that it does not waste time trying to rehash bits and pieces from mythology we already know. Instead, it focuses, precisely and in an inspired manner, on how ideas can be distilled, and how they can be applied to the realities within the campaign worlds we play in. This idea suffuses the whole pdf and makes this a very worthwhile supplement to have. In short, this is exceedingly “gameable”, to use that buzz word. It also provides what definitely is Valhalla, without requiring the whole Norse pantheon – it is a Valhalla to customize, to make your own. You could, theoretically, make a grippli-Valhalla, for example.

This pdf provides a lot of interesting ideas, both regarding fluff and mechanics, and while it does offer from a few proofing-level hiccups, that is not enough to truly tarnish it. As such, my final verdict will clock in at 4.5 stars, rounded up due to in dubio pro reo. Additionally, the exceedingly clever and versatile notion that distills the essence of the plane and makes it generally useful for various cultures and settings also means that this receives my seal of approval.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Demiplanes: Valhalla
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Gossamer Guilds: Praecons(Diceless)
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 08/10/2018 04:05:55

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This expansion for Lords of Gossamer and Shadows clocks in at 17 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page inside of front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 13 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

This review was requested as a prioritized review by my patreons.

This supplement begins with preliminary notes, written in character by Shanya Talis, which establishes the praecones as wandering bards, storytellers and occasional spies that traverse the gossamer worlds. Membership of the organization is loose, to put it mildly: You need a drive for discovery, the ability to travel the gossamer worlds and a passion for storytelling. Oddly, juggler, acrobats and clowns don’t seem to qualify among the otherwise pretty bard-like praecones (singular praeco, fyi) – according to the teller of the story here, the praecones predate the Dwimmerlaik Wars, but, well – that’s a story in and of itself.

Joining the guild is pretty easy and superbly hard – basically, you have to be a virtuoso of sorts, and then, by talent or by being noticed, have the ability to travel the Grand Stair…and that’s pretty much it. The standard tale is obviously that of a praecox finding a talented teacher of the arts, but countless variants exist. Apprenticeship often lasts several years and both travelling and resident praecones are noted. The guild’s dens/houses are the so-called Storyhouses, which act as a mixture of guild house and information brokerage market place. Praecones that visit a Storyhouse for more than a brief stay are expected to have someone gifted in Wrighting create an Icon, to facilitate quick responses in times of crisis. At the top of the guild’s loose hierarchy are the librarians, who, among other things, use their knowledge to create cartas, you know, partial maps of the vastness of the Grand Stair and the realms beyond. Teachers and additional staff associated is noted, and while few praecones become Wardens of the Grand Stair, Exegesis and Opening and Closing Doors are wide spread among the more experienced praecones.

As befitting a guild of travelers, many use the Open cantrip to travel, and interestingly, the guild seems to take a pretty neutral stance towards the dichotomy of Umbra vs. Eidolon. They also use so-called travel watches, an item whose origin the guild guards – these watches allow for the creation of Doors and record the travels of their wearers. Praecones, loosely organized as they are, don’t really have organization-level foes, and the restriction that they are expected to refuse assassination requests also enforces this. Failure to comply will cause expulsion. Instead of violence, the guild employs its narrative talent and gathered secrets to destroy those that would harm its members.

We get 4 brief adventure hooks for the guild, and item-wise, three types of portable library 82, 5 and 8 points), as well as regular (4 points) and psychic translators. (5 points.)

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are very good, I noticed no undue hiccups here. Layout adheres to the two-column full-color standard of the LoGaS-supplements, and the pdf sports quite a few nice full-color interior artworks of different styles. The pdf has no bookmarks, which constitutes a comfort detriment.

John Snead’s praecones are good news for fans of Lords of Gossamer and Shadows – with some luck, we’ll see more supplements coming out, and when I think back to the Gossamer Worlds series, that makes me excited indeed! That being said, I wasn’t as impressed by this guild as I hoped I would be. It’s the trope of the vast guild focusing on arts, somewhat akin to the Pathfinder Lodge or the Harpers, just on a scale befitting the Grand Stair, down to the items (compass watches with magical properties – sounds a bit like wayfinders…) and the guild’s kinda-benevolent focus. As such, I found myself less inspired by this that I hoped I’d be. That being said, this pdf provides a lot of bang for buck –for just $1.49, you get quite a bit of content, which is why I will round up from my final verdict of 3.5 stars.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Gossamer Guilds: Praecons(Diceless)
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In the Company of Unicorns (5E)
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 06/01/2018 07:25:30

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of Rite Publishing’s classic series clocks in at 19 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page advertisement, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 14 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

This review was moved up in my reviewing queue as a prioritized review at the request of my patreons.

So, as always,w e begin this supplement with a latter, as the meta-narrative of this series assumes that a member of the respective race is writing a letter to sage Qwilion of Questhaven; This sets the series apart from the get-go – unlike most racial supplements, the prose and colored/unreliable in-character narration assures that the pdf is actually fun to read and not just a dry assortment of numbers. This is a big plus as far as I’m concerned. In this case Phaedra, a member of the equine race of re’em, (how the unicorns refer to themselves) begins the narration with a summary of how the race views their own physiological differences from most humanoids. The pdf then proceeds to grant us insight into re’em culture, their herds etc. – and here, Rite Publishing must be commended. Instead of just duplicating the flavor from the PFRPG-version, we get a rewritten version of the whole account, taking e.g. the presence of warlocks in 5e into account. You may consider that to be a small thing, but for me, it represents the difference between doing what’s required and going the extra mile. It was an impressive surprise.

There is an obvious and intended “The Last Unicorn”-vibe conveyed by the prose, as the noble courtier tells us about the importance of hope…and sorrow…and what they can d. Beyond this glimpse at the psychology of these noble beings, we also learn about interactions with humanoids, providing a perspective on such happenstances from an insider’s perspective. So yeah, the flavor aspect is excellent.

Now, let’s take a look at the crunch, shall we? First of all, re’em increase their Constitution by 2 and mature quickly; they never die of old age, and their type is governed by the subrace chosen. However, it should be noted that spells that affect humanoids, thankfully, still affect re’em. As quadrupeds, re’em are restricted to horse barding and somewhat limited in using many consumables, but they may cast spells with somatic components as usual. They have darkvision and their horn deals 1d8 piercing damage. When charging at least 20 ft. in a straight line and attacking with the horn, this damage is increased by +2d6 piercing damage, making them rather lethal at first level. Re’em also have hooves and may use either both front or rear hooves for a 1d6 bludgeoning damage attack. These natural weapons are considered to be magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity.

4 subraces are provided: Celestial re’em increase Wisdom by 1, get the celestial type and know the spare the dying cantrip. 3rd level nets cure wounds once per long rest interval, 5th level lesser restoration once per rest interval. These are governed by Wisdom. The race also gains resistance to poison damage and advantage on saves vs. the poisoned condition, and these benefits extend to creatures riding the celestial re’em. The second subrace would be the ki-rin, who increase Charisma by 1, are celestial, type-wise, and when not wearing armor, have an AC of 12 + Charisma modifier, minimum +0. The armor class of riders may not be less than 10 your Charisma modifier, unless they are riding the ki-rin against their will. The alicorn of the ki-rin nets resistance as a cantrip, and 3rd level provides bless, 5th level aid, both of which are usable once per long rest interval and are governed by Charisma.

Thirdly, we have the fiendish re’em, the dark unicorns, who increase Intelligence by 1, are, type-wise, fiends and gain resistance to fire, which may be extended to riders. Their alicorn nets produce flame as a cantrip, with 3rd level yielding hellish rebuke and 5th level darkness once per long rest interval. You guessed it: Governed by Intelligence. Finally, sylvan re’em increase Dexterity or Charisma by 1 (your choice) and have the fey type; they have advantage on saving throws versus the charmed condition and can extend this benefit to riders. Their alicorn nets minor illusion as the cantrip, and at 3rd level faerie fire, at 5th level calm emotions. As before, both of these latter spells are governed by Charisma. All subraces also grant languages appropriate for their themes.

We get a new paladin oath next, the oath of the greenwood, which comes with fully formulated tenets and two new fighting styles are noted: Impaling and Trampling. Both are concisely presented. The oath gets its own oath spells and the 3rd level nets two channel divinity options: One is really cool, as it laces thunder in your hooves allowing for quicker movement and more damage/better attacks. The second option is also AMAZING, as it emphasizes teamwork: Nearby allies may target additional beings with beneficial healing-based spells. Love these! Also at 3rd level, we get mystic link, which allows you to attune your horn to a weapon as part of attuning the weapon, allowing you essentially to keep fighting with your horn. At 7th level, we get an amazing aura – the horn sheds light that the unicorn can suppress, sure, but this light also cancels darkness…and enlightens metaphysically, suppressing blindness! I love the visuals here. 15th level nets an additional channel divinity option (which is, slightly oddly, formatted differently than the previous ones, but that is pure aesthetics): Here, we have wind striding, allowing you to run over any substance unharmed, up to 90 ft. away from the ground, and you can carry up to two Medium riders with gear, provided you do not exceed maximum encumbrance. You can also ascend on empty air. I love this. The two rider option made me recall the famous templar symbol…and the mythological link works, once you recall that unicorns were often used as a cipher for Jesus in occult Christian texts., 20th level allows you to call an ancestral unicorn to your side to aid you. Cool!

We also receive the elder unicorn sorcerous bloodline. From 1st level on, when learning spells, you can choose druid spells instead, up to half of your total of spells known. You also gain proficiency in Religion and Nature, and may use Charisma as governing attribute for them instead. 6th level has a cool trick: When you cast a druid spell, but it doesn’t do damage (even if you intended it to do damage!), you get to cast a cantrip as a bonus action. If the cantrip deals damage, it deals bonus damage equal to the level of the spell slot expend by the triggering spell. This makes “missing” with spells less of a bummer and nets a second chance. Love it! At 14th level, the character learns geas as well as the option to expend a spell slot: If the spell slot expended had a higher spell level than a curse, oath, etc., you can end the effect. The ability takes same level of curse and spell slot into account. Really cool! 18th level is also really cool, teamwork wise: After casting a spell with a spell slot of 1st level or higher on your turn, you may take a reaction to a nearby ally casting a spell. If you do, the spell is enhanced and treated as one level higher. Love this!

We also get the vile pact of the sundered horn for warlocks, accounting btw. also for re’em that sacrifice their own horn! Cool!

The pdf also sports a paragon/exemplar class, here, the Silvermane Exemplar, who comes btw. with quick build rules. Only re’em qualify and they get 1d8 HD; proficiency-wise, we get all armor, one type of artisan’s tools, Constitution and Charisma saving throws, and two skills chosen from Athletics, Insight, Nature, Perception, persuasion, Religion and Survival. Starting equipment is noted and the class begins play with the mage hand cantrip, which may be explicitly used with proficiency bonus, if any, when employed with artisan’s tools and ability checks. Ability scores increase at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter, up to and including 16th level. A silvermane exemplar begins play with a pool of inner light, equal to the class level. This resource may be sued to cast the spells granted by the alicorn class feature additional times sans a low rest (1 point for 1st level spells, 2 points for 2nd level spells). Additionally, as an action, you can spend a point and touch a willing creature, granting the target Charisma modifier temporary hit points. Alternatively, as an action, you may heal 5 times the amount of inner light spent of the ability in hit points to a target creature.

2nd level provides one of my favorite class features of the class, Purity and Sorrow. When you hit a creature with an attack roll, you gain Sorrow. When you restore hit points to an ally or provide temporary hit points/end conditions for them, you gain Purity. When you restore it points or grant temporary hit points, you may expend Sorrow to add 1d6 to the hit points granted or restored. When you roll damage for an attack, you may expend Purity and add +1d6 radiant damage to the damage dealt. These fade after 1 minute if not used. The dice they employ increase to d8 at 5th, d10 at 10th and d12 at 15th level. I love this, though it should specify that e.g. hurting harmless kittens could not provide Sorrow. Anyways, this feature thus rewards alternating between offense and defense and encapsulates the flavor really well. 5th level provides multiattack, 6th level the oath’s mystic link for weapon-to-horn-attunement; additionally, 6th level lets you spend inner light to grant adjacent creatures resistance to one of several damage types, with more targets costing more points. 9th level yields an alternate, humanoid form. At 13th level, when moving or using Dash, you can spend 1 inner light to teleport the distance instead. Starting at 14th level, when gaining or ending Purity, you can use a bonus action to generate a breeze that ends harmful conditions for a creature nearby. This does not net you Purity. You can also end confusion or curses, within limits. 17th level lets you spend 4 inner light to grow glorious, feathered wings that last until you gain Sorrow. At 20th level, you regain 4 points of inner light after a short rest.

Obviously, the class also has some sort of choice baked in; that would be the noble orders. These define your class features gained at 1st, 3rd, 7th, 11th and 18th level. 4 orders are provided: Royals, Courtiers, Knights and Knaves. Royals gain fire bolt and may later heal a creature within 30 ft. when healing via inner light while they have Sorrow. Healing and aforementioned mystic link improvement as well as a high level sun-crowned form make for a cool choice here. The courtiers are more skillful and have, as befitting their title, charm/dominate-themed abilities and sanctuary effects. These are the more tricky ones. Knights get a fighting style, may grant allies the ability to move as a reaction and penalize foes with Purity/Sorrow dice. Finally, the order of knaves has a cool ability that allows them to disguise their horn – if a target doesn’t know your name, he fails to see it! Using abilities, obviously, can also reveal who you are, and the order focuses on establishing a bond with another character, which can be really rewarding, roleplaying-wise.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting on a formal level, are very good. On a rules-language level, the book is excellent and really interesting, providing a distinct array of complex rules-concepts. Layout adheres to Rite Publishing’s beautiful, new two-column full-color standard and the pdf sports quite a lot of interesting full-color artworks that diverge in styles employed. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience.

BJ Hensley’s original PFRPG-take on the playable unicorn was already rather cool; what Brandes Stoddard did with it, was inspired. The 5e.version of the playable unicorn is creative, distinct and provides a surprisingly concise take on the concept. The class options are well-crafted and the new class rocks, offering a playstyle that feels distinct, fresh and different. The fact that the lore reflects the mechanics is just the icing on an awesome cake. I love this supplement. The only blemishes I could find are exceedingly minor and represent only aesthetic gripes. Hence, my final verdict will clock in at 5 stars + seal of approval.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
In the Company of Unicorns (5E)
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In the Company of Giants Revised (5E)
by Jared R. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 05/10/2018 21:08:39

My full review can be found on my blog here:

http://knighterrantjr.blogspot.com/2017/11/what-do-i-know-about-reviews-in-company.html



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
In the Company of Giants Revised (5E)
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In The Company of Fey (5E)
by Christopher K. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 05/05/2018 10:50:56

Great Concept, Poor Execution

For all that this says that it is a 5th Edition product, its really not a very good one as far as the mechanics are concerned. The mechanics were originally written for Pathfinder, but they were poorly ported to 5th, and it shows. The book makes several references to mechanics that simply don't exist in 5th. There are multiple references to Pathfinder class features, damage types, conditions, and mechanics that only exist in Pathfinder. It's as if the author simply assumed that they existed in 5th without actually double checking them first. The book also doesn't use a consistent formula for DCs and none of them ever use the 5th Edition DC formula for saving throw DCs. For instance, one of the racial features of the First Folk is Primal Healing, which grants and extra 2 hit points per die rolled from magical healing and doubles natural healing. There is no natural healing in 5E. It's possible the mechanic refers to rolling hit dice in a short rest, but that would be extremely high powered, and I don't think that was the intent. The inability to heal damage from cold iron naturally is tricky because the lack of natural healing in 5th, and I'm at a loss as to the right fix. Sadly, the mechanical issues just continue to compound from there. I really wanted this book to be a good one, and one of my players really wanted to play one. Considering how good I found In the Company of Dragons, I felt that maybe I could put in some quick fixes to the errors. However, as I started on this project, the list of issues began to get very large. After three handwritten pages, it was clear that this was turning into a virtual rewrite of the book. It would take too long and too much space in this review to show off every single error in it. If you want this to work for your 5th Edition game, you will have a lot of work ahead of you to make this race and the racial paragon class work for you. You will need to make decisions about the ability adjustements given that 5th doesn't use the Pathfinder formula. You are likely better off building subraces around the alternate racial traits. It appears the author was using the Advanced Race Guide for creating alternate options rather than using subraces. I'm not sure that subsitution mechanics are the right fit over subraces, but that decision is up to you. You will need to find substitute options for the mechanics that simply don't exist, either by picking a different class feature, adapating the Pathfinder one referenced, or possibly eliminting it altogether. For example, Wild Empathy, a druid ability in Pathfinder and 3.5 simply doesn't exist in 5th. It could be replaced with the gnome ability to speak to small animals keeping the spirit of the ability. Considering 5th generally doesn't use bonuses to skill checks, and the Nature skill can be used for many of the functions of Wild Empathy, providing Proficiency or Expertise to Nature is also a potentially good fit. DCs for race or class features of the Paragon class are a simple fix: start at 8 rather than 10, add in Proficiency bonus as normal, and eliminate any class level references. Remove any references to Ex, Su, and Sp since they simply don't exist. Damage type errors are usually easily corrected (Lightning for Electrial for example), but there is no non-lethal damage option to use. Conditions can be tricky in places. For example, 5th doesn't have a Shaken condition, but Frightened is the closest match. I would personally remove any bonus feats from the paragon class, given that feats in 5th are significantly more powerful than their Pathfinder equivalent. There is no damage resistance in 5th, but there are several references to using it. As you can see, there are a lot of issues with the mechanics, and that only covers the first half of the book. The concepts of the race and paragon class are sound. If the mechanical issues didn't exist, I'd happily give it four stars. However, the gross mechanical errors that litter the book, and the work it would require to fix them, remove at least two. I don't feel right giving this just one star. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this book to anyone who isn't willing to spend the hours needed making the corrections required to make this a fully functional 5th Edition race and Paragon Class.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
In The Company of Fey (5E)
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In the Company of Unicorns (5E)
by John J. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 05/04/2018 22:32:38

Overall I liked this supplement, but I feel that it's overpriced.

The new Silvermane Exemplar is very detailed, covering more than 5 pages of the document, and the Oath of Greenwood and the Elder Unicorn Bloodline are well detailed including the appropriate level features for each.

However the Pact of the Sundered Horn feels incomplete. This Warlock oath is covered in only two or three paragraphs and there are no features defined for the pact, only that the warlock adds necrotic damage in some situations and that a unicorn warlock gains a bite attack but loses all benefits of its horn.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
In the Company of Unicorns (5E)
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In The Company of Fiends
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 05/04/2018 04:05:08

An Endzeitgeist.com review of the revised version

The revised edition of „In the Company of Fiends“ clocks in at 45 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 41 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

This review was moved up in my reviewing queue as a prioritized review at the request of my patreons.

Now, as always in the series, we begin this supplement with an introduction to the race at hand, written from an in-character perspective. This time around, the race would be the nephilim, and the arguments fielded in favor are twisted, delightful and compelling, worthy of the logical leaps of e.g. Paradise Lost, as the narrator manages to sell, rather compellingly, that “Hell loves you unconditionally”, that “Do what thou wilt” as the whole of the law might well make for a rather compelling maxim to live by. The prose here is rather fantastic, as it is steeped in the unreliable prejudices of the hellish narrator – suffice to say, he has no good things to say about daemons, demons and the like. Fun here: Sidebars throughout the pdf provide somewhat alternate perspectives.

Now, rules-wise, the nephilim race gets +2 Constitution and Charisma, -2 Wisdom, is Medium and gets a base speed of 30 ft. Nephilim are humanoids with the evil subtype as well as a selected humanoid subtype, but are affected by effects that specifically target evil outsiders. As a minor complaint: What if an effect for example targets a nephilim with the elf subtype, granting a buff to the elf, but a debuff to evil outsiders? Which takes precedence? That should be clarified. Nephilim may be raised and returned from the dead as normal, suffering none of the usual outsider restrictions. Nephilim get darkvision 60 ft. and these beings, granted a mortal vessel, are chosen ones of the lower planes of sorts: 1/day, they may target an evil outsider of their subtype with less or equal HD and use command on them, suing character level as CL. If the target has less or equal to half the nephilim’s HD, the effect is charm monster with character level rounds duration instead. If the subtype matches the nephilim’s fiendish ancestry, the SP ignores SR and has a 1-hour duration. Save DC is Charisma-based.

What’s fiendish ancestry? It’s a racial trait wherein you choose one of 8 different fiendish subtypes, ranging from asura to qlippoth, granting an alignment-based subtype as well as passive bonuses to saves versus specific hindrances like poison, disease, etc. as well as minor skill boosts. Bonus types are correctly codified here. The fiendish ancestry also determines the fiendish resistance, generally to two energy types, with some of the ancestries allowing for limited choice of one of them: Devils get resistance 5 fire and may choose from either acid or cold as the second energy type, for example. Each nephilim has a dark master – an at least Balor-level potent being that has a lesser geas with an open-ended request on the nephilim. 8th HD frees from this obligation’s negative effects, btw. Nephilims are inhuman, and people conversing with them get a Sense Motive check to determine that something is afoul. Nephilim treat both material plane and that corresponding with their ancestry as the home plane, and may thus not be banished. Now, alternate racial trait-wise, we have the option to be Small, SÜs and skills to haggle with souls (including the presence of soul gems, etc.), replacing fiendish ancestry with sadism, which here translates to +1 to CL and saves vs. fear and pain effects, as well as +1 morale bonus to attacks versus those affected by them. Improved lying instead of fiendish resistance, being a better oracle, being bloodthirsty – some sinister options here. Cool, btw.: The latter comes with synergy with the dread power class feature – more on that later. Limited poaching of humanoid traits in steps is also a complex rules-operation done right here. Particularly cool: The pdf provides concise rules for becoming a nephilim. The section also provides favored class options for arcanist, barbarian, bloodrager, brawler, cavalier, cleric, fighter, dread (DSP’s psionic class), inquisitor, magus, mesmerist, occultist, paladin, rogue, sorcerer, summoner, warpriest, witch and wizard.

Now, the pdf contains a total of 12 racial feats for the Nephilim: Beyond the “Extra class feature” type, we have a feat that gets id of the Inhuman drawback, courtesy of having broken the humanoid soul trapped within. There’s a multiclass-enabler feat; a high level Style feat that makes unarmed/natural attacks adamantine or improves them further, even taking special DRs into account. There is a feat to enhance your body with grafts, though, being a feat, it provides numerical bonuses – personally, I prefer the subject to be represented with an array of actual grafts. There is a metamagic feat, Hellfire Spell, which labors under the misconception of there being such a thing as unholy damage – which there is not. SIGH AoE-demoralize as a full-round action, with a hex-caveat to prevent abuse, having a Symbiosis with the mortal soul within…some nice ones here. We also have a feat for bonuses versus an outsider type and a hellish one that allows you to twist language-dependent effects with your Linguistics. Really liked that one! High level wish-twisting and seeing a target’s sin is nice. Speaking of which: The pdf provides some really cool food for thought regarding that concept, quoting e.g. Gandhi. This little sidebar on sin inspired me more than many whole books on fiends.

Now, the heart and soul (haha!) of this pdf would be the fiendish exemplar paragon class, who must have an alignment corresponding to the fiendish ancestry, gets d10 HD, 6 + Int skills per level, proficiency in simple weapons, and +1 martial/exotic weapon if she does not gain a natural weapon. You see, 1st level nets either a natural weapon, or a proficiency or Improved Unarmed Strike. Natural weapons are correctly codified and weapons chosen can either inflict normal damage or consult a scaling table, which includes entries for Small and Large exemplars. The class gets full BAB-progression as well as good Fort- and Ref-saves and ½ AC-progression. If this chassis seems too powerful for your preferred playstyle, fret not, for the book actually provides a second chasses, which only nets d8 HD, 4 + Int skills per level, ¾ BAB-progression and comes with a drawback that prevents returning to life. Kudos for going the extra mile to account for table variance here!

Now, the fiendish ancestry chosen as part of the racial traits also determines further bonuses regarding the paragon class – the fiendish ancestry class feature builds on this, with 4th level and every 6 levels thereafter expanding the benefits of resistances, saving throw bonuses and, as soon as it’s granted, determining the DR. Fiendish ancestry also comes into play at 10th level, where it determines the unique aura granted.

Fiendish exemplars also begin play with a so-called dread pool, which contains class level + Charisma modifier points. The pool replenishes once per day after a 1-hour supplication period. Points can be expended as a swift action to grant bonuses to social skills, conceal alignment, duplicate detect desires (nor properly italicized, but comes with a hex-caveat to prevent spamming). Minor complaint here: The pool interacts with the talents of the class, the so-called dread powers, but the latter reference to “1 point of dread power”, a term not established in the pool’s class feature-text. Dread pool should contain “dread points” or “dread power points”, dread powers should probably be called dread talents or the like to set them apart. While this terminology snafu is minor and does not compromise the integrity of the rules per se, it can be somewhat confusing at first and is uncommon to see for both Rite Publishing and the author.

Anyways, the fiendish exemplar begins play with one dread power and gains an additional one at 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter. Some of these require specific ancestries and others don’t – as a whole, these represent the active abilities of the class, though a few passive ones can be found as well – even these, however, do allow for some way of spending dread power points. Saves, if relevant, are governed by Charisma. This massive list contains summoning tricks, telepathy, immediate action dispels, charging weapons with negative energy, adding negative levels to strikes, ruin bodies of water, maddening touches, blasts of hellfire (again, incorrect damage types), Empower Spell-Like Ability evil SPs…the section, as a whole, is pretty neat, with some unique effects added: E.g. on a natural 20 on a CL-check with aforementioned dispel, the target must save or be unable to cast divine spells for a round! Cool, right?

Anyways, at 2nd level, and then again at 4th and every two levels thereafter, the class receives a ruinous gift – basically, the massive talent array of passive abilities that the class offers. Some of these turn the exemplar progressively more inhuman and make concealing them harder…and the class feature also notes the skill check to determine the nature of the nephilim. Depending on your fiendish ancestry, you may select some of them sooner: Demodands can become adhesive at 6th level, for example, while others must wait for 10th level. Now, it should be noted that, while I called these “passive”, that is not entirely true – there are a tone of ruinous gifts that allow for additional effects to be added via the expenditure of dread power (points). Faster sprinting, Wisdom damage, resistance boosts, inflicting starvation on targets hit, getting a monstrous girth, spores, exuding shrapnel…there are a ton of customization options here. The capstone provides at-will commune and archfiend apotheosis, which only allows the target to be slain in one specific plane.

The pdf also contains a variety of different archetypes: The antumbra is a paladin shatters the preconceptions of evil nephilim, representing redeemed being, who subsequently replaces mercies with progressively better ways to attempt to redeem others. The corruptor mesmerist gains fiendish ancestry at the cost of one less spell per day, and touch treatment is replaced with scaling effects via touch, usable 3 + Cha-mod times per day, interacting with implanted tricks, if any. These effects include, as the archetype name implies, suggestions, etc. The painfeaster bloodrager receives a variant bloodrage, the so-called sadistic frenzy, which is governed by Charisma. While in this frenzy, the character can execute painful strikes, which behave as a variant sneak that causes non-lethal damage and which may target creatures subject to a fear-based condition or those sickened/nauseated. These specialized strikes only scale when the better bloodrages would be gained, though there is an interesting choice, as the character can enhance their potency by choosing to take some limited lethal damage himself. These painful strikes, however, do grant stacking temporary hitpoints and the ability, impressively, gets the interaction of the complex rules-chassis correct. The painfeaster may choose ruinous gifts instead of bloodline powers and is locked into a fitting bloodline. Higher levels allow for low level spells added upon entering frenzy and adding sickened/nauseated on successful critical hits.

The rules-wise most impressive achievement of this chapter, though, would be the Left Path archetype, which can be applied pretty much universally. The archetype nets a dread pool and allows for the selection of dread powers and ruinous gifts – but comes at a price: Either the character is willing or unwilling – in either way, the archetype pays for the gained power with ever more decreasing autonomy and deeper shackles to the masters of the lower planes. I really enjoyed the storytelling potential here. This is pretty much my favorite rules-component herein.

The final chapter is devoted to magic items, 9 + 1, to be precise. Trophy of the Damned requires a potent sacrifice, but grants access to a dread power once you have quenched its thirst. Fallen reliquaries can store dread power points for passive benefits, but they also act as a battery of sorts, which is interesting. Hellfire brand, bingo, labors under the misconception of unholy damage existing. Mother’s milk temporarily nets eidolon evolutions, but at a hefty ability score drain cost once its duration elapses. There is a piercing that must be worn prominently, but which can make pain instead translate to benefits and redistribute these effects via piercing/slashing weapons. There is a magic whip. A ring to twist language, a vest of misdirection made from saint’s bones, and soul’s essence, an intoxicant for evil outsiders. The final item would be the legacy item lance of the end times, which sports 8 progression levels and requires that you defeat progressively more potent good outsiders to unlock its superb powers. Beyond the more common special weapon abilities added, the lance also allows for 60 ft.-line-attacks at higher levels, coup de grace at range and call forth progressively more potent fiends.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are pretty good, but not as pitch-perfect as usual for Rite Publishing – there are a couple more typo-level glitches here and a few minor terminology snafus. Layout adheres to the crisp, new full-color two-column standard and the pdf sports quite a few really nice full-color artworks. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience, though e.g. archetypes don’t get their individual bookmark.

Okay, I’ll be frank: Theme-wise, this resonates with me on several levels. For one, Paradise Lost’s sentiment “better to reign in hell” always resounded with me; I do not have a shred of faith in me and I’m very, very weary of the Judeo-Christian good/evil-dichotomy that suffuses our cultures and roleplaying games. All my games gravitate towards a more shades of grey mentality. As such, alignment tends to be more fluid in my games, and strange though it may sound, the suggestion of the diversification of the sin-concept is thoroughly compelling to me. Similarly, I found myself gleefully pouring through the logical leaps that the in-character prose provided. The alternate view-points and snippets provided in the sidebars similarly inspired me: Hearing a qlippoth-possessed nephilim claim that he can control the entity before being set ablaze, warning of its freedom being MUCH worse, for example, set the wheels in my mind in motion. Flavor-wise, this ranks as one of the best entries in the whole series.

The concept of the nephilim is inspiring and the execution is similarly performed on a really high and precise level. The scaled version as an alternative was really appreciated as well, allowing even grittier games to take part in the experience presented within. And yet, I found myself slightly less excited than I should have by the mechanics. It took me a while to put my finger on it, but it’s not the few and rather minor hiccups – they universally can be considered to be minor and can be neglected. It’s the scope. The very notion of the nephilim and what we associated with the various outsiders covers a TON of ground. Oddly and paradoxically, more so than even the aberrations, because the nephilim, as presented, are strongly charged with ideologies. As such, there are so many things that we expect from them, so many areas and tricks, that ultimately, this felt somewhat like the original, non-expanded “In the Company of Dragons” – it does a formidable job at depicting the notion of a playable fiend, but it cannot, by sheer scope, cover all the bases. This may be the one shortcoming of the pdf, for the concept presented by the race is genius in the hands of a good roleplayer. The notion of possession, of the diverse means of codifying the relationship between possessor and possessee, are interesting and narrative gold; so is the universal left hand archetype. On the other hand, mesmerist, items, the redeemer-pala…while well-executed, they feel slightly less mind-blowing than usual for the series.

Now, it is important to note that I am complaining at a very high level here – this is a very good book that contains a lot of really cool options. This is definitely worth owning and it can inspire whole campaigns. It may not be perfect, but my final verdict will still clock in at 4.5 stars, rounded up due to in dubio pro reo.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
In The Company of Fiends
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Fantastic Maps: The Ship's Graveyard
by Tom F. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/28/2018 11:10:54

Amazingly atmospheric map and exactly what I was looking for for a part of my adventure. Great artwork and very accessible format. Thanks!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Fantastic Maps: The Ship's Graveyard
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The Secrets of the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy) (PFRPG)
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 04/24/2018 05:35:49

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This April Fool’s release clocks in at 12 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page advertisement, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 7 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

CRASH

Oh boy. What was that?? Sounded like a bad crash. Sirens blaring. Focus, man.

Ähem.

This review was requested as a prioritized review by one of my patreons.

Door splinters in a loud explosion

“Move aside, you reviewer-git, I need to talk to my amazing fans out there! DID YOU MISS ME?? Don’t answer. That was a rhetoric question! Of course you did, it’s me, your favorite metadventurer, helping to make this bland snore-fest of a review suck less!”

Wait a second, man…I wasn’t done! Isn’t it enough that your unqualified dithering suffuse this whole supplement, commenting on the crisp mechanics and delicious rules?

“Nope, because that’s BOOORING!! Buckle up, folks, as we all established in the review of my amazing book, I have won Pathfinder. Everything released since and before that was just rules-bloat and utterly irrelevant, regardless of system.”

Yeah, right. Sounds like a hardcore-grognard speaking about anything past 0ed…

“Shut it, endy, or I’ll move back in. Behind your couch. With my bags of chips. ALL of them.”

Okay, okay…may I cover the basics at least? Talk a bit about the rules and stuff?

“All right, all right! Man, do you have something in your fridge, or do you still subsist primarily on coffee for your reviewer-robot-shtick? Seriously, folks, the amount of coffee he drinks is insane. I still have this theory that he’s the first German, coffee-powered replicant…”

Okay, while the metadventurer’s pillaging my meager supplies, let’s talk. We have to be quick. He’s uncannily fast at gobbling down anything with a nutritional value…

Ähem. So, know how a well-optimized team can make BBEGs just suck? I’m sure that, if you’re a moderately experienced GM, you’ve encountered it at least once. That time when your players started curbstomping all bosses from published modules. Well, there is an issue here: After all, we all know plenty of media, wherein a team of heroes faces down a super-powerful villain. Here’s the problem: In the games we play, that does not translate too well, courtesy of the restrictions of action economy.

“I’ll bum a smoke or 30, all right endy?”

“Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever!” Anyways, in Pathfinder, my go-to-solution is to use Legendary Games’ mythic rules and Mythic Monsters/Path of Villains/Dragons to upgrade builds and make boss fights more interesting. But perhaps you don’t want to learn mythic rules. That’s pretty much where this becomes your one-stop-shop. Since the CR-system, wonky as it is, doesn’t properly measure up here, we work with threat levels, which range from 1 to 5; CR-adjustments of the template are based on threat level. The pdf urges caution here, with the metadventurer cheering for a TPK and the fact that the first three letters of “funeral” are F-U-N. You get the idea. ;)

Anyhow, the template nets +1 hp per HD, +1 deflection bonus to AC and +1 to SR per threat level, and +5 to existing DR and energy resistance per threat level. Also, +1 to initiative, damage per threat level, +1 to atk per two threat levels. +1 to all ability scores per threat level. That, however, is not the main meat of the massive templates: That would be the colossal amount of BBEG abilities that make up the majority of the pdf. Saves versus these are governed by Constitution, just fyi. (As an aside – it should probably specify that Charisma is substituted for undead.) One such potent ability is gained per threat level, and they are brutal: Aggro, for example, allows the BBEG to move up to their speed and execute a full attack as a swift action.

“Endy, I’ve called my relatives from China while you’re writing this! Oh, and you really shouldn’t let your credit cards lie around openly… Ni hao!”

Urgh. Anyways, there are adaptive resistances, devastating, potentially disintegrateing waves of energy governed by HD, summoned creatures that detonate, the option to generate hazardous terrain that detonates, siphoning off life of meat shields…have I mentioned super-strikes at +20 to atk, which ignore concealment and auto-threaten a crit, increasing crit multiplier by threat level?? Yeah, these guys will WRECK even veterans when build smartly! Doubled hit points, a ton of additional AoOs…the focus here is truly to make a single being capable of standing up to a well-oiled group of adventurers. Really nice would be btw….

“So, endy, I’ve just talked to this nice gentleman from Nigeria and gave him your social security number and banking IDs. Oh, and when I arrived…that crash? I kinda may have totaled your car. Which I’ve hijacked. Also: You’re now all out of food.”

Damn, I need to finish this review, stat! So yeah, the abilities of the BBEG are amazing and deadly, and we actually even get two cool puzzle-abilities that require that the players use their brain to defeat the BBEG. And fret not if you’re new to the concept, or the pdf provides an extensive section to guide you in how to use these without being unfair.

This is not all, though, the pdf also…

WHACK; sound of head crashing to desk

“Dude, this pretentious git is really slow for his supposed IQ. Man, I even have a Goatee, dammit! So yeah, you probably realized it by now, right? I’m frickin’ evil! I am the drumroll BBEM! The Big Bad Evil Metadventurer! DUNH-DUNH-DUNH Don’t believe what this dumb pdf says, though – I’m not an archetype of the Metadventurer. He’s a wimpy, half-baked archetype of ME! Got that? Great!

So, like all cool things, you can only play me if you’re a GM, because screw players, amirite? We all wanna bask in their despair, bathe in their tears, as pages upon pages of lame background-story are invalidated by me being too awesome. So, I can use the GM’s OOC knowledge on PCs. I get BBEG abilities. I can treat allies and enemies as abettors with betrayal feats at 7th level. At 14th level, I treat my threat level as +5 for BBEG abilities. At 15th level, I get +5 to AC and saves from 3pp-supplements, because I’m cool and amazing and know the authors. Oh, and at 20th level, when you save versus my abilities and roll a 1, you obviously don’t deserve to live. Rocks fall, you die. No save, because that’s how I roll. Also, obviously, when I crit. Because I’m too awesome. Suck it!!

What? That’s all? Okay, so you need to bask in my glory a bit more, as I…”

whack, thunk

I gestalted vigilante, bastard!

Okay, I need to get rid of this bastard…before the real Metadventurer comes back to deal with his evil twin. I can’t deal with two of the sort.

So, in all brevity, my conclusion:

Editing and formatting re very good on formal and rules-language level. Layout adheres to Rite Publishing’s old, two-column full-color standard. Artworks are full-color and amazing and the pdf comes fully bookmarked, in spite of its brevity.

Wendall Roy’s template and associated archetype are super-deadly tools for the beleaguered GM. While the writing is hilarious in the details and commentary, it should be noted that this pdf is very much intended for table-use. This is not a useless file that just plays it for the laughs. The template provided can amp up even the most pitiful of final bosses, and while it requires a responsible GM, I love it for what it offers. Indeed, it is my contention that this concept could carry a book of thrice the size on its own. Considering the low asking price, I can wholeheartedly recommend this pdf, rating it 5 stars + seal of approval.

Damn. He’s twitching. Gotta run, see you on the flipside, folks…that is, if the BBEM doesn’t retaliate…

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
The Secrets of the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy) (PFRPG)
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In The Company of Fiends
by David C. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/23/2018 14:26:15

I can see this being a divisive title, but right now it’s probably my favorite of the “In The Company Of” series because of how well it captures the feel of playing a fiend (if not a specific type of fiend; more on that later). This book offers evocative flavor text, a cool new race, and a solid, playable new class that feels very fiendish. The art ranges from passable to quite good, and on the whole this is a book I’m excited to use in a future game.

The new race, the nephilim, are humanoid creatures that have been more or less permanently possessed by disembodied fiendish spirits. The precise metaphysics of this are left somewhat vague, although there is a handy sidebar discussing how to handle an existing PC or NPC who becomes a nephilim during play. I like this race rather a lot; they positively drip with flavor and potential GM hooks, and I would consider using them as a replacement for tieflings in a future campaign. Mechanically, the ramifications of their unique form of possession are that nephilim are treated as humanoids rather than outsiders, to the extent that they can be raised and resurrected like PCs from the core races.

The Fiendish Exemplar class appears to be rock solid, if perhaps a bit high-powered for the tastes of more traditional GMs. It offers a full BAB progression, d10 HD, and 6 skill points per level - an impressive stat array that might seem a little bit unbalanced at first glance. Fortunately, the book includes a handy sidebar that suggests some easy ways to tone the class down if you find it to be too powerful for your game.

The array of fiendish powers on offer is reasonably broad and, properly selected, they can produce a character who feels very much like a member of a broad category of fiends - a devil, a demon, a kyton, etc. It isn’t quite as good at recreating the experience of being a specific fiendish monster - a cornugon devil or a demonic succubus, for example - which might be disappointing to some players, so keep that in mind before you buy.

To sum up, I like this book a lot, but it may not be for everyone. The new nephilim race is cool and interesting, and the exemplar class seems both exciting and playable. If you’re looking for a set of rules to create a balanced character with a strong fiendish theme, “In The Company of Fiends” is for you. If you’re looking to play a succubus, a vulnadaemon, or some other specific creature, you may want to look elsewhere, but I think there’s enough good stuff in here to make it a good addition to any player’s library.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
In The Company of Fiends
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101 Desert Spells (PFRPG)
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 04/20/2018 04:26:59

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This massive compilation of desert-themed spells clocks in at 57 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 3 pages of SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with a rather massive 51 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

This review was moved up in my reviewing queue as a prioritized review at the request of my patreons.

Now, as always, we begin this pdf with a massive array of spell lists by class and level, covering the classes up to and including the ACG classes, but not the occult classes.

From there, we move right into this massive compilation of spells, beginning with Aghasura’s bluff, a 3rd level spell that allows you to beckon targets towards you. They just move closer on their next round, perceiving others entranced as allies, as they move closer. The spell, alas, does not state that this compulsion cannot make targets walk into obvious danger/offers rerolls for them, which is a rather important caveat for such compulsions. Cool, though: You get a bonus to one attack (since dropping it is a move action) versus targets thus entranced. As a limit to the spell, moving ends the spell as well, but sans this bonus. Now, this being a supplement on desert spells, we get more than the rattlesnake rattle component to represent the leitmotif – you see, casting the spell in a warm desert environment makes it harder to resist.

Why did I specify that this is relevant regarding warm deserts? The pdf is smart and also covers the cold wastelands. The first spell that ties into this would be Amamrok’s aspect, which is obviously a transmutation that nets +4 to all physical attributes as well as +4 natural AC, as well as low-light and darkvision and scent…and a bite attack that is not codified requiring defaulting. This bite is also what makes up the main bulk of the spell. The caster can execute a bite attack against the air, focusing on any creature he can see, provided it has a soul. The bite targets a harmless, shadowy duplicate of the creature that is intended to allow for at-range tripping/grappling and “If you hit, you can attempt to trip and grab the target…” Okay, this is problematic. Those are two different maneuvers, so do we get two CMB-checks? If one of them gets a bonus, does it apply to both rolls? If it’s only one CMB-check, do bonuses to either apply? The wording here is also needlessly opaque – it would have been simple to state that bite attacks executed against such a shadowy double benefit from the grab and trip universal monster qualities, but the verbiage stumbles over grab vs. grappling. It is also a bit puzzling whether the creation of the shadowy duplicate “wastes” an attack or whether the creation is part of it. While this spell feels uncharacteristically rushed in its benefits, I did enjoy some design decisions: In cold desert terrains, the duration is expanded and at higher levels, additional spell effects are added. The rare material component is btw. required to grant these, even if you have Eschew Materials or similar substitution options – as a box clearly indicates, the spell would otherwise be too potent.

There also would be Amphiptere’s flight, which is an interesting 2nd level flight spell that is limited in height and thus retains the covert cap of unassisted personal flight. Arctic pelt is a cantrip for shaman and druid, level 1 spell for the other classes. It grants “resist cold 2” – that should be cold resistance 2. The creature also gets +2 to saves to resist damage from exposure to cold. Casting the spell in the proper environment increases the bonus, resistance and duration. Asleep unaware also has a rough edge of sorts – as a bard 3, sorc/wiz 4 spell, it targets a living creature, which is then rendered prone and falls asleep. On a successful save, the target falls asleep, but believes to be awake, which can be an interesting scenario to describe at the table – it is a mind-game I very much enjoy. That being said, the fact that you fall prone and are asleep for at least 1 round, even on a successful save, is utterly OP – at least the sleeping component should be negated. And yes, the focus is rare, but still – not going to happen RAW in my game.

On the hilarious side, aspect of the great roadrunner boosts your Dex and nets you Run in the proper terrain. Meep-meep! Benevolent commands is also interesting, in that it is a good variant of command that nets you the ability to use it at-will; you can discharge the spell to duplicate either cure moderate wounds or lesser restoration for targets that have heeded your command. It also can’t be used to command others to harm beings. The component, a lammasu’s eyelash, is pretty cool and the desert specific effects are interesting here as well. Biting winds is damn cool – at 6th level, it produces a 30 ft.-emanation that causes severe winds, a drop in temperature and cold damage – but it also sports a frustburn-ish engine of sorts, with cumulative failed saves increasing the severity of the additional conditions incurred. While we have 7 saves that lead to death as opposed to 6 levels, I was still pleasantly reminded of 5e’s exhaustion-mechanics. While these effects can only affect warmblooded creatures with a skeletal structure, it still feels a bit weird. Why does cold immunity, RAW, not prevent these effects? The Fort-save should be contingent on actually taking cold damage from the spell, which it does not – the per se nice wind chill mechanic is RAW completely decoupled from the damaging component. (As a nitpick: Range should be “Personal”.) Calling forth shadows with the dustman template added.

On the evocative side of battle spells, burning beams let you generate lances of light, intangible ones, that are lodged in the targets hit, burning them, with fire damage increasing in bright light, decreasing in darkness. Neat visuals and cool effects. Bursts of frost and flame would be another definite winner: For one, it converts cold to fire and vice versa for you; it also allows you to voluntarily fail your save against such an effect (if any), taking half damage, and emit a burst of the other energy, the damage output of which is contingent on the damage you suffered. Now, if you think that this could result in some really weird combos, you’d be partially right, but spell and sidebar explain sequence of events and make sure that the spell is not misread and uses cleverly the fine nuances of the free action. Particularly from a design-perspective, a rather interesting offering!

Conjuring forth a cactus and various efreeti-calling tricks, transformation into camels…some solid utility options can be found here. The nonlethal century in the sun represents a neat spell to simulate prolonged exposure to the sun, and is one of the spells herein that casters with the correct domain, for example (here: Sun) can substitute, which adds to the usefulness of the pdf in that regard. Ghul claws that are correctly codified and count as cold iron and magic and come with temporary hyena-shapechanging also make for an interesting variant on the buff. Concentrate condensate is a nice low-level spell to make air dry and condense in a square, which is one of the spells that sounds less useful at first…and once you start thinking about it, you’ll see its benefits. There also is a spell that makes darkvision color. Which is cool. Alas, I think that the target should specify that it can only modify pre-existing darkvision. The spell’s text implies it, yes, and so does the spell level, but it could theoretically be misread.

Slashing foes with cones of salt or dissolving creatures into puddles of acid via corrosive mists (via corrosive liquefaction) represent nice tricks. I am also partial to create ghost town and its lesser brother - the spell allows btw. for synergy when maintaining more than one casting, providing bonus “bridging buildings” of sorts. Swarm-conjurations also can be found here, with stats provided for a CR 4 scorpion swarm. The supplement includes a variety of desert-themed spells that e.g. allow for better movement, and potential discharge to treat poisons; ones that instill panic, curses that make the target think that they have been deserted. I am somewhat concerned about drake’s surge. A third level spell, this one allows you to convert your swift action into a move action. While this is less potent than the other way round, I am extremely weary of tweaks regarding action economy, particularly when said tweaks explicitly stack with haste. Why am I not screaming OP right there? Simple: The spell explicitly prevents you from using the action to cast spells or attack, limiting you to trail-like effects and preventing the otherwise inevitable issues.

Dusty shroud would be another winner – in dusty environments, you get fast healing 2 and are blurred, but you also are sickened in non-dusty ones. Oh, and you can harden the dust and generate a burst of slashing damage, ending the spell. This feels magical and using a dust mephit’s dwelling’s dust increases the potency of the hardened dust burst discharge. Cool! Using a sand stalker’s front leg to fascinate targets also is rather cool and gets how magic is supposed to feel. Endless sands/snow is an illusion that is so classic in its visuals, it should have existed before. I also love the imagery of the high-level flames of Phlegethon, generating hellish heat that can truly wreck objects and structures. Straight out of fighting videogames would be the 4th level flying grappler, which nets you flight while you’re grappling targets. The high-level, potent freezing shatter is nice and assuming, either willingly or via a curse, a ghostly form, similarly represents a classic and cool concept. A healing-spell with a cold-theme that can be used to damage targets is smart and we get two spells, including mass variants, which allow for better desert/arctic explorations.

There also would be a 5th level Wis-damage spell that penalizes Will-saves, a lightning aura that uses a rare focus as balance…there are some neat ones here. I am also partial to the spell that fire lightning in dust/sand, making it glass, and then blasts the glass to shards with a sonic boom, combining damage and soft terrain control. (As an aside, I think the glass should behave as caltrops, but that may be me.) Poisonous lines, a spell to protect versus sandstorms, summoning a dire bat that can be ridden, making a target believe that you and your allies don’t exist, a 9th level shadow conjuration to call a black scorpion…some cool stuff. If you’re like me and gravitate towards some realism and grit in your games, stave off loneliness may be very smart, as it draws upon the subconscious to prevent mental breakdowns and the like – this spell is one that focuses on the narrative, rather than the mechanics, and it does so very well. Calling forth an impressive, fully statted CR 13 crimson worm, sunburn/screen…cool. Also rather nice: Superchromatic vision, which allows you to perceive more colors than we usually do – somewhat akin to e.g. a mantis shrimp and the like. While this allows for navigation in desolations (and it can make for a really cool storytelling tool), the spell also renders you potentially more susceptible to sight-based effects. Thermal inversion line generates a line that is cold on one end, fire on the other, and manages to get the rules regarding the damage etc. right. A low-level curse that adds vertigo to falling prone is also a winner in my book.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are per se very good as a whole, in both formal and rules-components, but there also are a few uncharacteristic hiccups in some of the rules-components here. Not enough to sink the respective spells, but in this series, it did show. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience and employs some nice full color artworks.

David J. Paul’s latest collection of terrain-based spells has a very, very high level of expectations to live up to. His spell collections represent my absolute favorite series of spells available for PFRPG. It is this series I’d take along to my lonely island, if I had to choose a single series of Spell-pdfs. These are my reference-books for what I expect from a good spell book. And honestly, the desert-installment holds up, as a whole – the spells herein often dare to juggle complex concepts that are hard to get right. Problematic effects are generally evaded and the spells feel MAGICAL. Foci and components act as smart balancing tools; annotations in sidebars help; the spells have relevant, terrain-based modifications and sport thoroughly fun effects. I love a lot about this pdf. That being said, it is a bit less refined than the last couple of installments. The glitches I found mostly pertained minor aspects of the rules-language, but in a series that is pretty much the bar by which I measure awesomeness in spells, this does show.

So, to make this abundantly clear: This still represents one of the best spell-collections out there. It is an inspired, interesting offering. At the same time, it features more “variant summoning”-spells than the others in the series, feels slightly less refined in the details, sometimes forgetting obviously intended components that would have catapulted spells from cool to amazing – glass acting as caltrops, connections between two effects…Now, mind you, the spells herein are still inspiring! They are interesting and the mechanics of the vast majority of them are great! However, when looked at back to back with the phenomenal installments of the series, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment at a very high level. Where are the glass shards that make lenses that can make light-spells more brutal, for example? I am a huge fan of deserts, and some of my fondest memories pertain driving through the Mojave, visiting White Sands or marveling at the Petrified Forest; of walking through Iceland’s black, sandy beaches and the desolation there. I do not object to the dual cold/warm desert focus, but I maintain that either could have yielded a bit more.

But I am rambling. As a whole, I really enjoyed this pdf, but I do have to penalize it somewhat regarding its rough patches. My final verdict clocks in at 4.5 stars, rounded down for the purpose of this platform. I still very much recommend getting this, but it doesn’t reach the dazzling heights of exceptionalism of its predecessors.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
101 Desert Spells (PFRPG)
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In The Company of Fiends
by Gavyn D. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/04/2018 14:37:51

I felt extremely disappointed with this product. Was hoping for something like the Grigori race with it's alternatve racial stat boosts... I don't know something like a combination of the aberrations and angel product this... this has too few options. Forces players to be two people essentially or requires regular GM intervention to make it work. There's simply not enough options to allow for someone to work for something to make a particular demon, devil, asura, etc only to realize that there wasn't even an option to start making one in the first place.

You can only have 4 natural weapons, increasing your size doesn't afford stat boosts. There's like no reason to make a size buff than, just make an increased attack range option or something like that. You limited yourself too much here, make this paragon class an archetype. The idea is great, but you put it in the worst place possible.

I know you can do better here Rite Publishing. Nothing was wrong with aberrations, dragons, treants, vampires. Or like 90% of your other products. What stopped you here? It's not because your unfamiliar with outsiders like you are with undead, you fixed the Wight book no problem, But you've made outsiders already, this is a step down and for no reason. For what, you wanted to try something new? Sure, it's a good idea, for an archetype... not for the main class

I want to make a Shemhazian, an Astradaemon, an Adhukait, an Augnagar... I can't make ANY of that with this. What happened Rite? This is the only one where I've actually been disappointed with a product, and I do not get frustrated or disappointed with these kinds of PDFs at all. I don't know what you have to do, what to say, what to pay... but if you can fix this, than please do.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
In The Company of Fiends
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Player's Guide to Kaidan
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 04/02/2018 06:16:54

An Endzeitgeist.com review

The Player’s Guide to Kaidan clocks in at 61 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page patron list, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 55 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

This review was moved up in my reviewing queue as a prioritized review at the request of my patreons.

Before we begin, it should also be noted that I am somewhat of a Japanophile and love the Japanese horror tradition that this setting’s down to earth, gritty themes evoke. I was a backer of the Kickstarter that created this book, and, back in the day, I bugged Steven D. Russell (Rest In Peace) relentlessly about a good horror Player’s Guide sans spoilers for the setting. I was not, however, involved in the creation of this book in any way, shape or form.

All right, got that? Great! We begin with introductions by none other than F. Wesley Schenider and the man that first envisioned Kaidan, Michael K. Tumey. This section is a bit more interesting than usual, so I’m going to elaborate on it for a bit: You see, asian fantasy settings tend to gravitate to lumping all literary traditions and aesthetic conventions into one bucket; there is nothing wrong about that, in that we do the same for Western-themed RPGs: There is a style that hearkens to old-world aesthetics, some distinctly American settings – it happens and more often than not, the pot-pourri that is the result works. At the same time, this tendency has a consequence that few ever talk about, namely that the “loud” and flashy concepts override the nuanced ones, that mythology becomes this weird conglomerate. I’ve heard more than once someone remarking that e.g. “hero” would be a good “Samurai-movie” – which made me facepalm. In our globalized world, cross-pollination of aesthetics and concepts is a good thing as a whole, but at the same time, aesthetics cultivated in e.g. anime (and I’m a huge otaku!) can actually overlay and replace narrative traditions that are more subdued, but no less, perhaps even more, engaging. While I am, for example, a huge fan of Uzumaki (the manga!) or some of the grim horror-mangas out there, they do represent a different take onnarrative structure and employ different tropes than what you’ll see herein.

You see, Kaidan is based on the tradition of the Japanese ghost story, which has greatly influenced western sensibilities (most famously via the Ring and Ju-On franchises), but from Lafcadio Hearn’s traditions to Masaki Kobayashi’s classic movie adaption of these stories (Kwaidan, 1964), there is a lesser known, and, as one may argue, more humane type of horror that can be found – it is on said genre that Kaidan is based. The setting is horrific because of its deeply psychological nuances that remain relevant to this day, and because of the delightfully twisted cosmology that represents the backbone of the setting. The more subdued nuances of the setting allow you to tell different stories, and for that, I love it.

Now, if all of this sounds like a glowing recommendation before we get to the book, then you’d be right – I adore the setting. That being said, as always, this adoration also makes me rather stern regarding what I expect to see from this book, so can it withstand proper scrutiny? Let’s take a look!

Okay, so the first chapter here begins in a smart way – it explains to the player’s the social structure, caste system and environments found in Kaidan, including a nice b/w-map of the whole setting. Here is a crucial difference, though: The section does not pull back the veil regarding the central leitmotifs of the setting – it describes what PCs can learn and experience without spoilers, allowing the revelations, once they begin, to hit harder. It also helps players to feel embedded in the setting without explaining away the horrors at the root of the setting. That is a big plus and represents a central task I expect to fulfill from a player’s guide, so the section, in that way, achieves its lore goal.

Now, I know players, so I’m expecting that lore alone won’t cut it – the pdf knows as much as well and presents the races up next, starting with the Anu, one of the human ethnicities. Instead of the human bonus feat, these folks get +2 to Craft (poison) and Craft (trapmaking). They also get +2 to notice traps in forest settings – and yes, the bonus types are correctly codified. They replace the skilled racial trait with +1 hit point per HD. They also get 3 alternate racial traits that make sense and work. The henge come with 7 arrays of different ability-score modifiers for the respective clans (which include tanuki, hare, etc.), all of which are evenly dispersed between physical and mental scores and they get keen senses, +1 skill point or hp per level and are shapechangers, obviously. They also get Stealth and Survival as class skills and treat club and great club, long bow and spear as familiar weapons, gaining proficiency in them regardless of class. However, they also take a bit more damage from cold iron. The alternate racial traits include more bestial hengeyokai, who pay for natural weapons with decreased Intelligence. Aesthetic nitpick: Natural weapons are not codified, requiring the player to default to the standards regarding primary/natural and damage-types, but that is a minor complaint. Small and mixed marriage henge or those with priest or tengu training can also be found.

The dominant human ethnicity of the setting, the Kaidanese, come with a neat array of alternate racial options, with e.g. unclean and unwanted or being tengu raised as examples – they are mechanically sound and feature a strong narrative impetus, which is a big plus. Kappa are Small with +2 Strength, get a swim speed of 40 ft. and suffer no size penalties for grappling, gaining +1 to CMB and CMD instead. They treat Stealth and Survival as class skills and get a non-codified (this extends to all natural attacks and I won’t mention it from here on out) claw attack at 1d3 as well as kappa weapon familiarity. Sounds a bit stronger? Well, if you’re familiar with the legend of the water on top of the kappa’s head, you’ll grin when reading the racial weakness pertaining it. Kitsune can also be found – and in kaidan, they are significantly different from the standard race, gaining 40 ft. speed. They also are Small, have -4 Str, +2 Dex and Cha, are quadrupeds in their fox form and get a 1d4 bite. They have yokai traits, i.e. Stealth and Survival as class skills and may assume a specific, alternate shape. They get a single cantrip that can be sued 3/day for each use of Fox Magic – they are treated as 1/3 of a fox magic use. Fox magic? Well, that would be supernatural effects that can be used 1/day per tail of the kitsune. Save DCs scale based on Cha and fox tails. Oh, and guess what? If they fail a Will-save, their alternate forms may slip, revealing fox tells. They also can speak with foxes at will. I love this more subdued take on the kitsune. If you’d rather play a more martial kitsune, the alternate racial traits do allow for the use of fox magic as an attack-buff and nocturnal foxes and thieving specialists can be found here as well. The korobokuru are next at +2 Str and Wis, -2 Str. They are Small and have a slow speed, but get +2 to Stealth and Perception as well as +1 to saves to resist mind-affecting effects. They get +1 to Climb, Perception, Survival and Stealth in forests and their own array of weapon familiarities. They loathe conflict, though, and thus get -2 to atk versus non-animals, which is reduced to -1 in forests. Finally, the take on the tengu envisions them as +2 Dex and Wis, -2 Con, with yokai traits and a 1d3 bite attack (properly codified regarding types!). They are sword-experts and as such get quite a few racial proficiencies as well as +4 to Linguistics and receive 2 languages per skill point invested in them. They also have low-light vision…and an alternate racial trait that is called “Boar Rider.” Yes, there are dire boar-riding tengus. Come on. That’s damn cool. The races come with proper age, height and weight tables.

Now, next up, we take a look at forming an adventure party – whether you’re playing gaijin, yokai or samurai, there will be somewhat different things to consider, and the pdf helpfully states that “samurai” in the setting does not necessarily indicate having levels in the class. The roles of classes in Kaidan are explained, though, alas, the Occult classes or the ACG classes are not covered. The former is a bit of a pity, since e.g. spiritualist, medium and occultist imho would have made perfect fits for Kaidan. The pdf then proceeds to provide a selection of some of the cooler class options from the various Kaidan supplements: The blind Moso bard from Way of the Yakuza, the tengukensei from In the Company of Tengus, the yamabushi and yabusame from Way of the Samurai all have found their way here. The formatting of these has been improved. We also receive the kannushi priest cleric archetype, who gets 4 + Int skills and proficiency with light and medium armor and simple weapons. They only have access to one domain, chosen from a limited list and do not require a divine focus. Their channel-based healing is slightly less efficient, while their channeling versus undead is slightly more potent: +/- 1 per die, with 12th level allowing for full-round channeling for +2 damage per die. The rules-language here is slightly awkward, but remains functional and sans ambiguities. They gain spirit empathy as well as a bond to a shrine and may bless large structures and areas, very much emphasizing the priest aspect, which is something I enjoyed. Theme-wise concise, rules-wise less mind-blowing.

The miko shrine maiden is an oracle with a modified class skill list and proficiency in simple weapons and light armors and shields, expect tower shields, replacing Medium Armor Proficiency with Skill Focus (Perform [dance]). The pdf suggests curses and mysteries and proceeds to introduce the kami mystery, which yields Knowledge (nature) and (planes), Stealth and Survival as class skills. The bonus spells range from pass without trace to object/plant animation and summon nature’s ally spells. The spell array is okay, but nothing mind-blowing. The revelations include scaling energy resistance, a bonded animal, walking on water (later also on air) and the option to summon a kami into you for warrior-prowess. Minor complaint there: The ability is active and doesn’t sport an activation action. While it being SU lets you default to standard action, I think this one would actually warrant swift/immediate as activation. Making nature strike down targets is cool and we get nature sight, knowledge, talking with animals and elements – so nice, flavorful tricks here. The capstone lets you meld with any natural objects as well as 1/day elemental body IV.

The second new mystery would be the shrine mystery, which nets you Bluff, Knowledge (local) and Perception and pretty classic cleric spells. Here, we can find the nature mystery’s friend to animals, a shrine bond, fortune telling and a bunch of nice ones that thematically expand upon the concept of the bonded shrine. That being said, the mystery also loses a big chance: One revelation sports the option to make limited elemental bursts. …Come on! That practically DEMANDS some kineticist engine-action! The bonded shrine plus kineticist tricks would be perfect, natural fits for the setting! It’d explain why the flashy kineticist blasting isn’t found everywhere in the setting!

Now, the next thing the pdf presents is a new class – the necrotic warriors, elite agents of the Shogun, infused with the powers of dark arts. Oh, and guess what? No alignment restrictions! Thankfully! The class gets d10 HD, 4 + Int skills per level, proficiency with simple and light weapons as well as kama, nunchaku, sai, shuriken, siangham and light armors + bucklers. The class gets full BAB-progression and good Ref-saves. They also get limited Charisma-based spontaneous spellcasting at 4th level, with the spells limited by necrology chosen, which is btw. the most important class feature of the class, but we’ll get back to that in a bit.

The class begins with necromantic strike, which is basically a negative energy-based smite that adds Cha-mod to atk and twice class level to damage, usable 1/day, +1/day for every 3 class levels thereafter. Unfortunately, the ability fails to specify its activation action. 2nd level yields divine focus less channel negative energy as a cleric of ½ his class level. 3rd level lets the warrior add Cha-mod to Will-saves, but not if it’s negative. At 11th level, the same applies to initiative, which can be pretty strong. These wording constructs could have been phrased more elegantly by just noting that only the Charisma bonus is added. 5th level makes the necrotic warrior take damage from positive energy, be healed by negative energy, and also provides immunity to mundane diseases, +4 to saves versus magical ones. 9th level yields evasion, 15th level improved evasion and 17th hide in plain sight. 20th level is the undead apotheosis.

Now, as far as necrologies are concerned, we get 5 of them. As mentioned before, these define the spell selection and 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter, the list of bonus feats from which the warrior gets to choose. 2nd level and every 4 levels thereafter yield a special necrology power defined by the necrology in question. There is no choice here after choosing the necrology, which means that all such beings with the same necrology will be VERY similar. The class really could have used some player agenda there. The necrologies are blood, bone, brawn, poison and shadow. They…sport some weird design decisions. Blood, for example, lets you fling blood at nearby enemies – as a secondary attack, making the whole thing work as a natural attack, when that is NOT how such things are usually handled. Indeed, the material here is uncharacteristically rough for Rite Publishing. We, for example, fail to specify the save DCs of necrology powers. Some of the abilities specify the save DCs, but usually, that sort of thing is determined globally. There are also instances where damage type hasn’t been properly noted – bone darts should, for example, inflict piercing damage and later be treated as magical etc. for purposes of overcoming DR. Doubling Strength-bonuses (brawn necrology, level 18) gained from items is also a really bad idea and further skews PFRPG’s offense focus and high-level rocket-launcher tag syndrome. Yeah, not a big fan. The class, as an NPC-exclusive, could perhaps fly, but as a player-class, it’s too limited, has too few choices and while I love the visuals evoked by the abilities, the issues in the details make this one problematic.

The next chapter deals with Kaidanese weapons and armor as well as other equipment, which is neat to see. We conclude with a handy glossary of kaidanese terms.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting on a formal level are very good; on a rules-language level, the book isn’t bad, but it is also not as good as usual for Rite Publishing, with the new class sporting serious flaws in some of its components. Layout adheres to a two-column standard that is mostly b/w, apart from headers. The book is GORGEOUS: Ian Greenlee, Mark Bulahao, Mark Hyzer, Patricia Smith and Kamil Jadczak provide a ton of amazing, original b/w-artworks that manage to gel together into a consistent style. The pdf comes with bookmarks, but oddly, only for the appendices and the first chapter – the race and class chapters lack bookmarks!

Now, my long-winded introduction should make clear that I love the Kaidan Michal K. Tumey and Jonathan McAnulty created, with additional design by Steven D. Russell. And indeed, I like that the race and class options focus on flavorful choices that are suitable for more low-key playing experiences, for grittier games. I really applaud the consistency of the vision here. That being said, I also found myself slightly disappointed that we don’t get any occult materials herein, that no favored class options are provided for the races. That would be something I can live with, though. However, the serious issues in the new class, which takes up a ton of real estate, are somewhat jarring after the cool, spoiler-less gazetteer and neat race-section. If I were to rate this as a crunch-book, I’d probably settle in at something around the 3-star region. However, this is a Player’s Guide, and the gazetteer-section and flavor is amazing. Still, as a whole, I can’t go higher than 3.5 stars for this one. If you like grittier gameplay and the idea of Kaidan, round up; if you’re looking for primarily crunchy components, round down. My official final verdict will round up.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Player's Guide to Kaidan
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