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This island is well drawn and the icons are very useful. I have added the map as a continent-island as the basis for an RPG campaign and have been populating it. The terrain with the open flatlands to the west and the central mountains and and forested areas to he north and northwest make geographical sense. I am looking forward to more of this same genre, hpefully details of the same island. I have also got the same Fantactic Town set also.
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Johnathan sent over a copy of Iconic Town for me to review, and let's just say I'm not disappointed in it. Iconic Town is a very colorful map, featuring several key spots making it interesting, a quarry, and a stone elevator to bring the quarried stone up to the level of the river for transport 'north'. I really like the stone circle at the north end of the map, (it's under the trade dress on the cover).
I like that the PDF not only includes tiles for color, but also for black and white. He laid it out with 1/2" overlap, so piecing the map together should be a cakewalk.
It is downloadable as PDF or in ZIP format. The PDF is set-up for easy printing.
The only thing lacking is a fully formatted single map, for printing large scale, black and white single 24X36 isn't very expensive at Staples, so that would be a nice option to have as well.
Overall great product, very easy on the eyes. An excellent medieval town for nearly any setting, from Golarion, to Aereth ,to Earth.
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This pdf is 30 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, 2 pages of advertisement, leaving us with 10 pages of content, so let's take a look!
Manuals - from bonuses to attributes to unique abilities, they are an often coveted item - and yet one that is not that represented among supplements. This pdf aims to change that - framed by the trademark, nice narration we've come to expect from Rite Publishing supplements, this pdf provides us with new manuals to grant permanent benefits to the readers - but only once per manual.
The respective manuals feature the market prices, requirements for constructing the respective books as well as a short description how the respective book looks like. Now, beyond offering 30 manuals, we actually get 3 variants for the respective manuals, totaling 90 manuals - elementary, advanced and expert versions, all with different results. Each manual requires a set amount of hours of study over the course of a limited amount of days to gain the respective book's benefits.
It should furthermore be mentioned, that the respective manuals offer sometimes multiple benefits: Take for example the rather basic "Being Comfortable in your Armor"-series of manuals: Studying the book nets you light, medium or heavy armor proficiency respectively. If, however, you already are proficient with the respective class of armor covered by the manual, you'll increase your max dex bonus by +1 (light armor)to +3 (heavy armor) reduce armor check penalty by 1 to 3 to a minimum of -1 as well as decrease arcane spell failure chance for the respective class of armors by 5% per class of manual - the one on heavy armor reduces the spell failure chance in heavy armor by 15%.
Not all books are linear progressions of benefits, though: Oracles may want to study "Answers to Universal Enigmas" - the book requires you to have a certain amount of oracle-levels. The elementary version nets you 1 skill rank in two skills of the oracle's mystery-list, whereas the advanced version of the manual makes the oracle count as +1 level with regards to two of his/her revelations. The expert version of the book grants an additional revelation and the option to cast 2 spells from his/her bonus spell list 1/day.
Channeling energy, knowledge, weapon proficiencies, bombs, favored enemies, disguising, raging, unarmed strikes, diplomacy, acrobatics, perception, wizardly spellcasting, improved summoning, stealth and bardic performance, sleight of hand, movement rate, teamwork, domain powers, druidic casting & knowledge nature, improvised weapons, sorceror bloodlines, witch hexes, sneak attack, survival and using magical devices make up the topics for the other manuals herein, just to give you an impression whether the topics relevant to your interests are covered.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are very good, I didn't notice any significant glitches. Layout adheres to RiP's 2-column b/w rune-covered standard and the pdf features stock-b/w-artwork that does its job. The pdf is fully bookmarked.
Mike Welham delivers a great, useful little supplement and one that begs for a sequel - after all magi, gunslingers, samurai, ninjas or renegade classes could benefit as well from manuals like this. That being said, one minor gripe I have with this pdf would be that here and there the writing could be slightly more concise: Take aforementioned example of armor-proficiency granting manuals, which includes the sentence "If the character already has this feat, he increases his maximum Dex bonus by 1, reduces his armor check penalty by 1 (to a minimum of -1), and reduces his spell failure chance by 5% when wearing light armor." (pg. 3) While it is clear that the maximum dex-bonus allowed by the armor is meant, it could be misread as granting a +1 to dex-bonuses in general. Nitpicky, yes, but I I encountered minor ambiguities like this here and there, which remains my only true gripe with this pdf - content-wise and rules-wise, this supplement is solid and thus, I will settle for a final verdict of 4.5 stars, rounded down to 4 for the purpose of this platform.
Endzeitgeist out.
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The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=33523.
OVERALL
Overall, I like this product. It’s a different kind of beast and great for those who want to put players in a situation that makes them “think outside of the box” per say. For me personally, I deal with enough issues within non-magical rooms, that having additional rooms within rooms, is a little too much for my taste. But it doesn’t mean it won’t work for other GMs and players who are interested in creating their own favorable room.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 10 out of 10
The layout is done in primary black and white, with nice borders around the layout. The art is placed well, and the bookmarks are definitely in the right spots (Huzzah!) On mobile, it is light and easy to navigate. To print, it is not as ink friendly as I had hoped. So try not print it at home, take it to Kinko’s instead.
Mechanics: 10 out of 10
Mechanically, the supplement is sound, and I like that there was an explanation of how portable rooms work. A lot of people who will be looking at the product will want to know how to make them work in application to the rest of the adventure.
Value Add: 9 out of 10
It’s a hard sell for me, because in this day and age of RPGs, having a regular room is enough of a challenge. Then you have to deal with a room within a room? That’s a little much for me, but for those GMs who are looking for a little something new and of a different style, they will benefit from a lot of the ideas therein. Even if they do not utilize the mechanics, the room descriptions and additional goodies never hurt to add into a campaign.
Overall: 10 out of 10
Overall, this is a good product. For me , it’s a hard sell based on the grounds that it feels a little “Whovian” in the respect of “Why do I need another room within a room? The said room being bigger on the inside?” But if you are a GM/Player, that wants to add a little more to your campaign in a very time-wimey kind of way, then consider taking on this supplement and have fun!
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Lucky oracles! For here, presented in delightfully atmospheric and in-character terms, are a collection of magic items specifically designed - by one Suilaliun of Our Sovereigns in Heaven - to suit their particular character and style. All delightfully illustrated in the pre-raphaelite style too, a feast for the eye as well as for the gamer.
A suit of armour that bites back - or at least, casts a curse spell at anyone who has the temerity to damage the wearer - starts the collection. with a fantastical cape whose mere appearance alone is wonderful even before it starts reducing the cost of using metamagic feats, a pair of sandals that aid the oracle's dodging ability and several other wonders following. All are soundly rooted in the peculiarities of the oracle class and appropriate to their qualities, yet they are also customisable to suit a given oracle's tutelary deity... at least, they would be if he has them made. Of course, you somewhat take what you find when rooting through treasure hoards!
If you have any oracle characters in your game, get this... and if you don't, a few hints about the goodies herein will have at least one player rolling an oracle up forthwith - yes, they are that good, that fun to play with.
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OK, so what is a 'mystical site' anyway? To put it simply, it is any location that's got something special about it, a place where magic may act a little differently from normal perhaps due to something that once happened there or as part of the natural ebb and flow of magical forces across the land.
To aid you in making your campaign world suitably and subtly different from the everyday one you inhabit when not revelling in your shared alternate reality, herein is presented a whole bunch of 'qualities' that you can apply to appropriate locations within it. Each comes with descriptive text that may explain how the site has developed or what it feels like, or something else which lets you know the flavour, the feel of that location. Then the rule mechanics of how that location's otherness has an in-game effect, and finally a brief example to demonstrate that quality in action.
They can be quite powerful, quite disturbing or startling; and should be used sparingly. Placed to best effect, carefully chosen, they can be a potent reminder to your players that they are not wandering round Kansas or Cheshire, but are truly elsewhere, in that shared alternate reality that you are creating and inhabiting around your game table. They ought to be rare. You won't find a mystical site on every street corner or every hill top, but they should reflect the grand sweep of magic through your land, influenced by events and in turn influencing future events.
Just reading through them may spawn ideas for events, encounters or even whole adventures. Or you may realise that a location already in your campaign world is eminently suitable for this treatment. Maybe even something your characters have done in the past may lay the seeds for a mystical site... and their discovery of the changes that have taken place the next time they visit that spot will be memorable indeed.
Some are beneficial to creatures entering the area, some malignant... and some act differently depending on who you are and what you are trying to do. This is a resource to study thoroughly and to think about, before picking which qualities you want to use and where you are going to put them. Done with care they will enhance your world and the adventures you have there.
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Let me start off by saying that I received this product as a comp. copy.
However, at 99 cents, it's still a steal, and once you start reading it, you'll wonder how you could end up with such a prize - at such a price (sorry). 10 Oracle Magic Items is a solid addition to Pathfinder, and a great expansion of the Oracle's arsenal as well as flavour.
Item costs go from 1,000 gp for an item that encourages the oracle to use her bonus spells more to 150,000 gp for the Superior Sandals of the Prophet which give the oracle a bit of defensive oomph. A lot of the items have several versions (usually a lesser, a greater and a superior) so there are in fact 20 items giving GMs invaluable new toys for their Oracle PCs and their adversaries.
Maybe it's just me, but a lot of the new base classes are so innovative and new that it can be hard to get a good fix on them. Books with dedicated items, feats or spells help in that regard, and this is a great example of such an idea-generating and conceptualizing book.
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Publisher Reply: |
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Thanks for taking the time to do a review of our product Soren! Steve Russell Rite Publishing |
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This pdf is 19 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, 2 pages of advertisement, leaving us with 14 pages of content, so let's take a look!
After a short narrative framework that establishes Wyrist Spellweaver, an heir in spirit to Leomund and originator of the rooms herein to us, we are introduced to general properties of the rooms herein. Activation and Deactivation is a standard action (and happens after 12 hours) - upon deactivation, creatures are expelled harmlessly. Entrances may accommodate large creatures, huge ones may squeeze inside and generally the rooms block sight and sound and also gaze and breath weapons, antimagic etc. are also covered interaction-wise. It should be noted that these rooms are not safe zones - when activated anybody can enter them, though they may still be preferable to otehr surroundings the PCs may find themselves fighting in.
The respective items that contain the rooms cover a truly interesting breadth - take e.g. the Belt of Winding Paths that can be made into a ramp that leads up to a kind of domed observatory, complete with a telescope that shows you random flashes of scenes from your life, past and future, and while it may confuse you, there also are bonuses to be had here. Of course, the room also comes with a crystal ball to study the planes. Going beyond the basics of construction, price etc., the rooms also provide lore-section to glean information about them. Or take a horseshoe-turned-shoescraper with ends of broken arrows that works as a mobile stable which allows communication with the animals or a bladed boot that can be used to conjure up a pond (and have others drop in) - completely with edible, calming fish! Fighters may now have a mobile armory that not only replenishes mundane ammunition, but also has the option of having one or multiple sets of armor on stand-by, making it possible for the wearer to quickly conjure them up back to his body. Cool especially for heavily armored PCs who don't want to sleep in their armor or embarrass their adventuring companions when interacting with the high society.
Of course, mobile libraries contained in a book, a pottery workshop in a broach, a brush that contains mobile springs, a gym/trap-obstacle course, a mobile distillery (Yay for all dwarves!), an idyllic grove to share with one's love and even a marble containing a torture chamber can be found amongst the various items featured in this collection - with specifically me feeling the need to mention that not only are the rooms creative and intriguing, their respective activating items also feature an array of creative, interesting forms. Furthermore it should be noted, that the lore-section and means of activating the respective items are also covered - from twirling thrice to throwing up in the air or touching a picture next to a verse - it is such a creative means of activation, this detail, that makes these rooms stand out as something uncommon, as items that feel magical.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any glitches. Layout adheres to RiP's old, rune-bordered b/w-standard and the b/w stock arts are nice and fitting for the product. The pdf comes fully bookmarked.
Author Liz Smith, has created an array of intriguing, interesting rooms, mobile workshops (that should come as a huge blessing for many campaigns) and not only married solid rules and interesting ideas with a sense of wonder, but actually also avoid the trap of repeating benefits and style of the items, instead opting for a wider, more creative array of options. And for the better! This collection of rooms is bigger on the inside, much like its topic covered: All the small details and ideas that you may not realize are there, but which show up on second and third reading, at least for me, elevate this pdf from being a good collection of rooms to being an excellent collection of rooms. It is with utmost pleasure that I rate this pdf my full 5 stars + seal of approval. Congratulations for the significant increase in writing prowess and quality since the last offering!
Endzeitgeist out.
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I got this product for the new witch hexes but the rest of it is great as well. There is a cool Eastern Flavor to this and I want to see if there is more in this series. While I have a lot of cultures on my game world the one thing that has been getting the short end of my attentions are Dragonfolk/Dragonborn. This book, while not explicitly designed for that, is perfect for my needs (and the cover kinda helps with that).
So what do we get? 20 pages (with cover, credits page, OGL statement and 2 pages of "Ads"). While there is an Eastern "flavor" to this, it is presented mostly context free.
The Barbarian is based on totem animals, which is a really awesome variant. I normally don't play barbarians, but I would try one of these. The Cavaliers are the Order of the Ancestors and Order of the Creed. Monks, a natural fit, are presented as Kensai (one of my favorite classes back in the day). Imagine the typical unarmed monk, now armed. And finally, the Witch, with a bunch of new and exciting hexes based on Elemental magics or Dragon magic (see it is a perfect fit!!). In fact these are some of the best Dragon Witches I have ever seen. So this is worth the price of the book alone to me.
We also get plenty of new feats. This was a nice surprise and I am very happy with this.
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I am gearing up for the BIG finale of my years long 3e game. The final battle where the forces of good battle the forces of evil happens on an Iceland-like island in my world. I could have drawn anything, I could have even taken an older module and altered the island in Photoshop. With this product I didn't have too. It even looks almost EXACTLY like what I wanted. The ZIP file contains maps of the island. Non-marked, marked and hexed variants. Plus a BW version. There is no text or fluff to go with this, which is great, I have my own. This is my new Dragon Isle! I would love to see more products like this one.
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The latest issue of Pathways is 37 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 10 pages of advertisement, leaving us with 24 pages of content, so let's check these out!
David Paul has an interesting editorial this week about violence in real life and games, about keeping kids safe and about the potential for learning life lessons.
This issue's template provides us with the Divine Champion Creature template (CR +2) that allows a creature to essentially go super-saiyan and turn into an avatar-form and we get a CR 5 sample ettercap using it. Neat!
Will Myers has a new magical beast for us, which comes with a nice artwork - the CR 15 Mutah that can breathe different colors of deadly mists with different effects and may even change skin colors to duplicate spells.
Creighton Broadhurst of Raging Swan Press has a sample encounter for us - the Grave of the Mad, in which the players may encounter some poltergeists and the sample artwork provided is also neat - the best thing, though, is the rock-sliding hazard that accompanies this pdf.
Mike Welham provides us with new foes that ufortunately feature an editing glitch - the Screaming (Cr 6), which is called Screaming C in the creature's text, but just "Screaming" in the header. Per se, the screaming undead with its sound-based attacks is neat, though. The CR 9 Dischord may warp words and are spawned from botched countersongs and the like. Cool!
Daron Woodson, head of Abandoned Arts, answers 20 questions in this issue's interview regarding his neat Bullet Point-length pdfs.
The pdf concludes with reviews of some of the best PFRPG-pdfs out there by yours truly and Joshua "KTFish7" Gullion, fellow reviewer and all-out great human being, who has suffered a stroke. If you find it in you, do me a favor and send some positive thoughts in Joshua's direction. Thanks.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are not as good as in other Pathways-issues, though still good. Layout adheres to RiP's -column standard and the pdf is fully bookmarked, which is neat.
This issue of Pathways is, like all of them FREE and as a free file, it is definitely worth being downloaded and read by you. However, this time around also lacked this one component I'd consider truly brilliant, truly awesome and thus, due to this and the minor glitches, I'll settle for a final verdict of 4 stars.
Endzeitgeist out.
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This installment of Rite Publishing's free e-zine Pathways is 34 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page ToC, 9 pages of advertisement, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 22 pages of content, so let's take a look!
This issue's editorial features an interesting point made in favor of transformative experiences and how to deal fluff-wise with them - I actually wouldn't mind seeing a full article on the topic covered here!
This issue's template is the lustful creature template that clocks in at CR +2. Steven D. Russell not only have quite literally burning desire inciting strikes and an aura of lust, but also increased enchantment and fertility - their offspring may grow within a year! Furthermore, they have a gaze attack that strips equipment-based bonuses from the targets - a powerful, cool signature ability.The CR 12 rakshasa is illustrated by Ian Greenlee and the unique style is AWESOME. I'd love to see more artworks done in this style in future publications - kudos!
Creighton Broadhurst of Raging Swan Press provides the EL 8 Domain of the Elder Spider - coming complete with extensive terrain information as well as spider statblocks provided for the different spiders at home in the locale. A nice, easily inserted locations.
Thomas Leblanc, one of the recently risen to prominence talents in crunch design provides us with new universal monster rules in the guise of rules for suspendable emanations, monsters that radiate (making grappling dangerous) or granting it protective exteriors à la spines etc. Really nice, short article.
As a prime example of RiP listening to fans and reviewers like yours truly, one of my minor criticism with the otherwise stellar "In the Company of Monsters" is addressed in here by providing 9 alternate racial traits, with one in particular being interesting - it allows a gargoyle access to stoneskin, but only after 7th level. Interesting design-decision and something I wouldn't mind seeing more often! Furthermore, favored class options are tied to one of the alternate racial traits, providing options for alchemist, barbarian, cleric, inquisitor and ranger, but more importantly, also covering armiger, gladiator, divine channeler, stoenwarden paragon, time thieves, witch hunters and war masters. Awesome to see this 3pp-support!
The mastermind behind LPJr Design's unconventional products, Louis Porter Jr. is this issue's interview partner and has some rather interesting things to say, though no beans are spilled regarding anticipated NeoExodus-releases like the Hive and the book on Quickslavers. Still, an interesting read!
Finally, several reviews of yours truly are provided in the final chapter, giving you an overview of several of the better products I've taken a look at in the last month.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any significant glitches. Layout adheres to the much streamlined 2-column full color standard of the e-zine. The pdf comes fully bookmarked and, as mentioned, I LOVE the artwork and would absolutely adore it if we saw full-blown products adhering to this aesthetic.
Beyond one of the coolest artworks in the history of Pathways, the overall issue is a rather strong one, with the simple, yet cool universal monster rules and gargoyle-expansions as well as the excellent template offering quite some cool pieces of crunch available all free and honestly, at 0 bucks and with relatively few advertisements, this is a hard offer to beat indeed and well worth your HD-space. My final verdict will thus clock in at 5 stars + seal of approval for yet another great free offering by RiP.
Endzeitgeist out.
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I was a fan of Leomund. I think a great deal of folks were. As well as several of the other fictional spell designing, item crafting powerhouses who's names graced so many items throughout an era of gaming. And yes, a great of those echoes of times gone by are still there, albeit under other names, but the connection to an individual is gone, and than somehow lessens the finished results. What an I yammering about? Something very cool...that's what.
Liz Smith takes on 30 Portable Rooms in this latest offering of the #30 series, but does it with more than just a collection of stats for some items. She gives us a name. Wyrist Spellweaver. A piece of fiction, sure, but aren't they all? The sheer fact that the PDF opens with a small piece of correspondence mentioning that the following is a collection of notes pertaining to one Wyrist Spellweaver, and his items of creation, and the reasoning behind why he created them in the first place took this PDF to a completely different level for me. Instantly I was far more interested in what these pages were going to contain, and how the mythos of this new NPC would evolve. See, that was, in the end, what we lost with the named spells, the mythos of those characters laid bare through their works. So, without even making it past the first paragraph I found myself impressed Liz, well done.
But, what of the rooms? What offerings are we presented with? Well, the Black Arrow is a classic example of the portable room done right, a stable complete with unseen servants and enchanted to allow speech with animals with the room, all presented as an old Horseshoe turned into a boot scrapper when deactivated. Or perhaps the Book of Books, a library, hidden with a book. Yeah, I know, so freaking obvious it astounds that this wasn't already done, but design of this nature is some of the best design out there, as it relies on its own simplicity.
We have a pair of boots that leave a fishing pond in their steps, a mug with a trapdoor to a hidden wine cellar, a thieves dart that spun just right will open a trapdoor to a training gym...in short, there are some seriously interesting takes on how one defines the idea of a portable room.
The best part here has to be the benefits of the rooms themselves. Each room gives a reason why one would want to get into it, be it a bonus against a roll or check, rest, food, etc. But not one of these benefits outweigh the value of the item to a game. By this I mean simply that any of these items could be introduced without doing enough unbalancing to do any true damage to a game, which is ideal of course.
Editing and format wise I caught nothing in regards to errors or bad layout, rather quite the opposite, this overall look and feel of this PDF is rather well put together. Design wise I am very impressed with Liz Smith's take on the portable room concept, and and can't help but recommend this PDF to anyone and everyone who missed out Leomund as much as I. A solid 5 star rating, and well worth the price of admission.
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So now we have it, the TARDIS-equivalent for the Pathfinder RPG!
Take some small innocuous object, open or activate it and hey! You have a vast expanse, somewhere to hide or study or store stuff or shelter from bad weather.
All dressed up as an academic treatise that you might find in a local wizard's library, there is a wealth of different, unusual and exciting rooms to play with.
My husband says I have to acquire the Book of Books forthwith, as my RPG collection sneaks into every corner of the house! It's really neat, a book that when activated grants access to an otherspace cozy little library, complete with a comfortable chair and LOADS of books.
That's just one. There's the Bladed Quill, a brass pendant of a crossed dagger and feather, which gives access to another otherworld space, this time an armoury lined with empty weapon racks and armour stands. You can put all your spare gear in here, and provided you secure it neatly in the racks rather than leave it lying around, it will be there for you next time you activate the pendant.
And it goes on and on, a whole collection of different 'rooms' accessed from distinctive individual items. Whole adventures could be built around them, the simplest being finding the item in a treasure hoard or, well, anywhere, and finding out what it does. Or seeking out one you've read about...
(TARDIS, by the way, is the famous 'bigger on the inside than the outside' police box-cum-time/space machine Dr Who travels around in, the letters stand for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space... so there's a 31st portable room for you!)
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This module is 30 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 25 pages of content, so let's take a look!
This being an adventure-review, the following text contains SPOILERS. Potential players might wish to jump to the conclusion.
Still here? All right! The rice-farming village of Kinogasa has seen better times - ever since a failed rebellion versus the rather unpleasant ruling forces of Kaidan, the village has been haunted: A Yokinto priest leading the uprising versus the undead ruling caste was vanquished and subsequently has haunted the local temple. Ever since, a sohei school has been keeping tabs on the populace, while the spirit of the insurgent priest has continued to haunt the local ceremonial bell, which is more than relevant for the harvest. All went well, with corrupt priests suffering the spirit's wrath. Until the last priest died before having time to pass on the means to placate the spirit. Worse, a disgruntled onmyoji-wizard has put a curse on the bell in order to create a problem to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of his superiors - unaware of the spirit, which subsequently chased the minion tasked with cursing the bell off. With the festival approaching, it's up to the PCs to save the village.
The module comes with information to run this as a convention-one-shot and when the PCs arrive to deal with the Bell-problem, the local sohei are not particularly glad, wishing to deal with it themselves, but off to the briefing: The latest priest, one Maeda Takashi, provides basic information for the PCs to start their investigation and tells them about the sudden influx of terror and sorrow that accompanied the ringing of the bell since three weeks. The fully mapped (in full color) village comes with a settlement statblock - and 10 bits of lore about the village and its past and 8 NPC-bits and pieces the PCs may encounter enrich the location as a valid background and details to flesh out the investigation as desired.
In order to access the bell, the PCs will have to contend with the dead priest's spirit - and potentially find the remnants of the failed onmyoji-curse. If the PCs dispatched the spirit, the problem will actually worsen due to the onmyoji completing the curse if the PCs temporarily dispatch the ghost. Whether by the priestly garments or by other means, the PCs might also research the final resting place of the town's last priest killed by the ghost, buried in an honorless grave. The onmyoji has trapped a jikininki in the cave as a means of dissuading suspicions and PCs will have to explore the place - and find yet another origami-paper, further incriminating the wizard. At this point, it's up to the PCs to confront the wizard, his shikigami-familiar and his skeletal bodyguard, unearthing the means to reversing the curse, which also placates the spirit.
The pdf also includes 8 pregens - enough for larger groups, which is great.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are very good, I didn't notice any glitches that would have impeded my enjoyment of the module. Layout adheres to the bamboo-lined 2-column full-color standard and the cartography and original pieces of artwork by the master of creepy b/w-drawings Mark Hyzer are glorious (though the editorial lacks the entry for cover artist and illustration) and well-complemented by a nice array of thematically fitting stock-art. The pdf comes fully bookmarked.
The Tolling of Tears is a nice low-level sandboxy investigation into a none-too-epic problem - but honestly, when compared to the other Kaidan-modules released so far, this one lacks the abject sense of horror, of dread, of psychological gravitas displayed by the other modules. In fact, this sandboxy investigation is VERY simple. While the location is nice and detailed in its depiction, the basic clues to pick up are simple and the resolution of the mystery is practically handed to the PCs without much work, showing more distinctly than e.g. "Frozen Wind" or "Up from Darkness" that this scenario originated from being a convention-scenario and in the end being, at least for my tastes, slightly too simple, too obvious. For inexperienced player that don't usually do a lot of investigations, this might be an appropriate challenge, but veteran players require the DM to create quite an array of red herrings/responses to keep this module interesting. That being said, it is still a nice little offering and thus my final verdict will clock in at 4 stars.
Endzeitgeist out.
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