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This simple work contains everything that one could want for what's advertised, and then some.
NPC books have always been a big part of my gaming experience, since I learned that by personalizing all aspects of conflicts players get much more involved in the experience. So I've read a lot of good and bad NPC books. The bad ones either don't tell you what the NPCs should do in your game, or give you NPCs that don't do what the creators say they will.
The good ones, like Memorable Townsfolk, pursue a game role for the NPCs and explain clearly how they will work at your table.
The 12 NPCs in Memorable Townsfolk will never overshadow PCs in adventuring roles - they are tied up in their own agendas and situations. Yet they each have some significant thing they want from the PCs or that the PCs want from them. They each have simply expressed personalities, along with tips for the GM in portraying them. They each have gossip and rumors about them that may or may not be true, which may lead to further adventures or opportunities for the PCs.
What raises Memorable Townsfolk above other NPC supplements, though, is that after the NPCs, there are several sample settlements to help put the NPCs into a particular context, showing you how to put them in your campaign. This was a welcome surprise. It's rare that a supplement goes the extra step of putting its characters in the context of a setting element.
I was especially pleased to see that there were significant Pathfinder-specific materials in the game such as the witch class and the settlement rules. Why mark something as a Pathfinder supplement if you're just going to give me D&D3 stuff?
There's also a few fun tables about randomly generating personality traits or tics to make any particular NPC stand out more. (Honestly I don't see why a random table is a good idea for this, since you could conceivably roll the same entry on the table and end up with 20 people who always talk with their arms crossed - wouldn't it be better to put it on a list where I could cross them off one by one as I use them? But there always seems to be a random table. Oh well, nitpicky.) This is a fun addition to the supplement as well.
Layout is solid and clear., bookmarks are used throughout. The "completist's checklist" at the end would be a lot better ad for Purple Duck if the names of the supplements actually linked back to DTRPG or the Purple Duck website!
All in all, this is an excellent supplement that you should pick up if, like me, you like to put NPCs at the centers of your games.
| Wertung: | | [4 von 5 Sternen!] |
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The second installment of Monstrous Bloodlines is 9 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page ToC/editorial, 1 page (and a bit) SRD, leaving us with 6 pages of content, so let's check out these new bloodlines!
This time, the bloodlines are WEIRD with a capital "W" - the first being the Couatl-bloodline that nets access to minor divine magic, a weak poison, telepathy and rainbow-hued wings. Nice!
The second bloodline is the eidolon-bloodline (who may not multiclass as summoners) and, let me spell this out: This is the COOLEST bloodline I've read so far for PFRPG. The bloodline nets you access to evolution points - you may spend these points and maintain these evolutions for 1/2 character + cha-mod rounds. Versatile, smart and glorious - and well worth the low asking price for this one alone. We also get a nice list of available evolutions for convenience's sake.
And then we get another supremely cool bloodline I never thought I'd see - the poets of the underworld, Flail-Snail-blooded sorcerors that come with a VERY interesting ability: Spell specifically targeted at the sorceror has a 10% + 5% chance per level to be warped. Spell failures and rebounds are possible - for beneficent and hostile magic, making the ability change the overall playing experience, which is interesting indeed. You may also exude sticky or slimy slime to modify terrain and entangle foes etc. AWESOME! What author Perry Fehr has done with this one is GLORIOUS.
The Flumph-bloodline is also interesting, featuring a cool, interesting background to explain the origin of the bloodline. Ability-wise, sorcerors get access to a spray of stench, acidic flesh and the ability to fly slow, but with perfect maneuverability, culminating in interesting high-level abilities to combat aberrant threats.
The Phoenix-bloodline is more conventional/what you'd expect - fire-touches, flame resistance, and flaming wings. The issue the bloodline had at first has been cleared up.
The Pugwampi-bloodline is also interesting: At first level, they may force foes to roll twice a d20 and take the lesser result. The ability does not work for characters that have a luck bonus and now the bloodline has been stripped of its ambiguities, it works rather well!
The final bloodline is the Time bloodline and its abilities are unconventional: These sorcerors may shunt targeted creatures into the future, taking them temporarily with touch attacks (that thankfully allow saves) into the future and thus out of the combat for some seconds. The bloodline also gets a more powerful mirror image that always is hit instead of the sorceror - powerful, yes, but also damn cool and something no other bloodline has done. Nice! The final abilities are not that exciting, though the option to negate damage done by a single foe slain by you is cool! This bastard has killed all of your adventuring companions? As long as you manage to defeat the adversary, you may unravel him from time and get them all back. Also: Can you see the narrative potential not only for this, but also for the repercussions of the foe being unraveled from time? NICE!
Conclusion:
EDIT: The pdf has been updated to feature excellent editing and formatting, now lacking any obvious glitches. Layout adheres to PDG's no-frills two-column standard and the cover-artwork (the only one) makes flumphs actually look hardcore. Nice. The pdf is fully bookmarked, a neat feature at this length.
If I didn't know any better, I wouldn't believe that the same author that did the imho rather mediocre first book also made this second Monstrous Bloodline-pdf. Perry Fehr has REALLY found a stride in this pdf - NONE of the bloodlines are boring, every one features at least one, often more unique and smart signature abilities. The Eidolon, Flail-Snail and Flumph-bloodlines are just awesome and the Time bloodline also rocks hard. In fact, I consider these bloodlines to rank among the best released by ANY publisher out there. Yes. They are that good. And now, with the glitches I complained about in my first iteration of the review purged, thisis a glowing 5 stars + seal of approval recommendation - these bloodlines are interesting, smart and will result in unique playing experiences. Give them a try!
Endzeitgeist out.
| Wertung: | | [5 von 5 Sternen!] |
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For anyone who likes shiny things, or wants a few choice items to spice up a treasure hoard, a feast is in store within these pages. Or indeed you may wish to use it 'as is' for what we have here is a travelling salesman in magical items, complete with a very magical cart and some of his wares.
First we meet Celurian himself. Celurian Iz'zer, a rather dandified half-elf, who collects and trades in all manner of beautiful items, both magical ones and object d'art. He's fully-detailed and would make an interesting NPC, in fact I can think of a few adventures to involve him in already...
We read about his magical mode of transportation, a horseless carriage that is bigger on the inside than on the outside and rather appropriately is painted blue! And then there is a fabulous listing of just a few of the wonders to be found inside. Weapons, rods, rings... and a host of wondrous items. Perhaps you might care for a Rod of Breaking and Entering, which looks like a golden crowbar and adds considerably to efforts to, well, get into places! Or maybe a Beastcloak takes your fancy - of heavy grey fur lined with red velvet, it has a hood shaped like a wolf's head and enables the wearer to shapeshift... Or perhaps a pair of Directional Stones, which have a permanent attraction to each other. Plenty of creative uses for them.
Everything comes with complete game statistics, often a suggestion or two for their use and a charming full-colour sketch. Plenty of scope here, however you decide to use them.
| Wertung: | | [5 von 5 Sternen!] |
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This pdf is 8 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 5 pages of content, so let's take a look at these new bloodlines, shall we?
The cyclopean bloodline gains perception as a class skill and has its spells focused on ill omens and divination, with bonus feats reflecting the divination focus as well as the toughness associated with cyclopes. Among the bloodline powers, we get a gaze of doom as well as the interesting development that has cyclopean sorcerors turn blind on one eye, hampering depth perception. This is offset by two insanely powerful abilities, though: One allows you 1/day to EXACTLY the die-result of one of your die-rolls. While only working for you, that's an automatic critical threat at 3rd level, a 100 on a d% etc. - I don't need to tell you how broken this is, do I? Worse, the bloodline, starting at 9th level, allows these sorcerors to DOUBLE the threat range for ALL attacks - rays, natural attacks, melee, ranged etc. for 3+cha-mod rounds 1/day. Never gonna happen in my campaign.
The Inevitable bloodline has unsurprisingly diplomacy as well as law-spells in its arsenal as well as e.g. combat expertise and similar discipline-themed feats in the bonus feat selection and gains a limited regeneration (3+Cha-mod rounds per day) that improves over the levels. Nothing to complain here. Medusan sorcerors get disguise as class skill, bonus feats appropriate for her like skill focus (sculpture) or brew potion, a slowing gaze, poisonous blood (that lacks frequency, onset etc. and information on whether it can be harvested) and finally undergo an apotheosis.
Otyugh sorcerors (rather disturbing concept, but cool) gain sickening and plague-based spells and bonus feat-selections based on toughness, fortitude and become progressively a carrier for diseases, increased senses and immunity to diseases but strangely not the ability to draw sustenance/heal from waste-consumption - a wasted opportunity indeed. *Puts two cents into the bad pun-jar...* The full color artwork by Tamas Baranya is worth special mentioning here - a cool Otyugh, though I would have preferred an artwork of a sorceror that has undergone the capstone apotheosis into an otyugh/mortal-hybrid.
Sphinx-bloodline sorcerors get access to a Knowledge skill of their choosing, divination/language-themed spells, may utter confusing riddles and shout deafening battle-cries at higher levels. Nothing to complain here balance-wise.
The Stirge bloodline (featured as an awesome example on the cover) gets stealth as a class skills, bleed/insect-themed spells, grappling and agility/disruption-themed feats grows both wings and draining proboscis as well as act as a disease-carrier and create mirror images of yourself. thematically, the most concise and cool of the bloodlines, its solid mechanics back it up. This one is actually really, really good.
The final bloodline would be the unicorn bloodline that gains access to heal as a class skill as well as curative magic as bonus spells and feats that help with rays, self-sufficiency etc. You may manifest a horn, call nature's allies and later even later emulate the kirin, gaining flight. Though probably my players would never stop making virgin/unicorn-jokes, a solid choice.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are good, though I lacked the medusa sorceror's bloodline poison-information. Layout adheres to a relatively printer-friendly two-column standard with some awesome full color artworks I wouldn't have expected at this price-point. The pdf comes fully bookmarked. Oh boy, most of these bloodlines actually have at least one good idea going for them, with especially the stirge bloodline standing out. However, for each idea that stands out, there's also one that would require some balancing imho - the Cyclopean bloodline is utterly broken in my book and e.g. the sphinx, inevitable and otyugh bloodlines all somewhat fall behind their own potential - some more courageous, more unique ideas would have gone a long way there - why can't e.g. sphinx-sorcerors not, gargoyle-style enter a kind of temporal stasis to whether the ages and await intrepid adventurers? Why can't otyugh-sorcerors eat waste to sustain/heal themselves? Why can't inevitable sorcerors swear an oath to complete a particular objective and gain bonuses when seeking to fulfill it? When all's said and done, I feel that quite a few of these bloodlines miss the essence, what makes the parent-creature iconic. Add to that the minor issues here and there and we arrive at an offering that is ok, but not much more, reflected in a final rating of 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 due to the fair price for the purpose of this platform.
Endzeitgeist out.
| Wertung: | | [3 von 5 Sternen!] |
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An eclectic mix indeed... sorcerers who trace their powers back to some of these have what can only be described as a very interesting family history!
First up are the coatl. It is quite hard to imagine just how one of them might even want to become involved with mortal beings, but rather than anything tacky it is proposed that when a mortal does a favour to one and receives a feather in return whereby the coatl can be summoned and the coatl later dies, the feather disappears and an image appears on the mortal's skin - and that's when the influence enters the bloodline. Neat, as are the powers this ancestry confers on our budding sorcerer, including telepathy and irridescent rainbow wings.
A weird one next, the eidolon. In forming close associations with summoners, it is not implausible that those capable of such acts might breed with their companions... but the descendants who take up sorcery cannot even dabble in summoning themselves - the resulting paradox leading to an implosion that ingulfs the incautious one. Such sorcerers become more like Outsiders themselves as they gain levels.
Next and more mundane, the flail snail. OK, who'd really want to admit to a gastropod in your family tree? The results are slimy... Rather more strange, the flumph. The sorcerer becomes a bit odd too: able to emit stench and becoming rubbery. Hmm... Perhaps more inspiring would be to trace your bloodline back to a phoenix, with flight and fire powers as the result.
Another ancestor you might be reluctant to talk about is a pugwampi. One of said race's prevalent powers is causing bad luck, and so do the sorcerers descended from them. Finally, and rather strange, is the time bloodline, gained by an ancestor having messed around with the orderly flow of time. Perhaps this is the nearest a Pathfinder character can come to being a Time Lord...
Some entertaining ideas to conjure with here.
| Wertung: | | [5 von 5 Sternen!] |
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This pdf is 17 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1/2 a page editorial, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 14 1/2 pages of content, so let's check this out!
This collection offers us first of all new skill uses: You may now use the bluff-skill to fast-talk yourself out of combat, feign injuries or deliver quick secret messages. You may also intimidate foes at massive penalties in a couple of rounds or even as a full round action. Perception-rules to use the skill to listen underwater, soil or pinpoint sounds also serve to enhance the skill - especially useful when using the revised Stealth-rules from Drop Dead Studios' Rogue Glory-supplement. Via Sense Motive, you can quickly scan for enchantments or analyze your foes, though the latter hits one of my pet-peeves and does not provide abstract information, but rather precise BAB, feats etc. - and metagamey information like that is banned in my game. Via Sleight of Hand, you may now conceal held items or steal items usually too large to steal or secretly store items. In a nice display of awareness, none of these skill-uses overlap with the ones provided in Rite Publishing's by now legendary "101 New Skill Uses".
After this section, we're off to the feat part of the pdf, prefaced by a massive 2 1/2 pages of feat-table. The feats are actually rather interesting in the things the endeavor to do: Using a rudimentary kind of echo-location by clicking with the tongue (behavior btw. exhibited by some blind people irl) allows you rudimentarily determine your surroundings even when you otherwise can't due to e.g. darkness. Active Avoidance is also an interesting option that requires Dex and Int 15 as well as dodge and combat expertise and allows you to, as an immediate action, double the AC-bonus versus the next attack of the opponent. An interesting design, especially for dueling characters.
In fact, many of the feats herein offer similarly tactically-themed options to e.g. goad foes into attacking their allies and belittling foes can grant bonuses as long as you and your allies don't get hit. Using sleight of hand instead of the steal combat-maneuver is also covered, though I've seen better uses of that particular concept n other publications. Teamwork, via aiding one another, evading friendly fire and several social feats that e.g. allow you to place suggestions (thankfully with scaling DCs) and even a feat to offer redemption to enemies (which is a streamlined, updated take on the one from the notorious Book of Exalted Deeds).
Beyond that, the feats in this book can be roughly categorized into different quarters: Some expand the new skill uses introduced in here, some enhance teamwork between members of the party (allowing e.g. the PCs to talk one another through e.g. skill checks), some help with the defensive side of things, some enhance social skill-uses in combat- situations and some capitalize on high Int as well as sense motive to display tactical fighters in battle who can benefit from their genius, much like e.g. characters in battle-of-wills-type scenarios à la Death Note. While especially the latter is an interesting concept, at least in my game, I will disconnect the benefits from gaining metagamey information and had hoped the pdf had done the same. Oh well. There also are some minor filler feats that allow access to low-level domain or bloodline abilities for those not so endowed.
The pdf also offers a selection of new item-tricks for cloaks as well as a cohesive example on how the material in this pdf can make fights more dynamic and less about bashing brains in.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are good, though not top-notch - I noticed a couple of rough patches here and there like missing blank lines between feats, minor glitches etc., though nothing glaring. Layout adheres to PDG's 2-column no-frills standard and the pdf comes fully bookmarked.
David Nicholas Ross' Plots and Ploys was a kind of frustrating pdf for me to review: On the one hand, these skill-uses and feats are compelling and serve their purpose - they should help to get groups out of kill-em-all-ruts and add an interesting dimension to combats heretofore untapped. On the other hand, this collection uses metagamey information (something I abhor) and some of the feats could be taken to ridiculous places - some of them could have really used a caveat that they don't work on specific types of creatures. That being said, as a DM I'd be wary of introducing this pdf as a whole without some very close scrutiny for respective groups - while the feats per se are not broken, depending on the group they're introduced to, they may prove to be unhinging and change your gaming experience. Seeing how this is the goal of the pdf, though, I won't hold that versus the pdf.
That being said, I also feel that this pdf is slightly below what it could actually have been - with minor revision and slightly more polish, this pdf could have been even better. As provided, I can see it being useful, though not necessarily great for all types of campaigns. This would bring me to a review of 4.5 stars, but the editing glitches and filler material here and there make me settle for a final verdict of 4 stars instead.
Endzeitgeist out.
| Wertung: | | [4 von 5 Sternen!] |
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As stated in the introduction, in every sorcerer's family history something... interesting happened, giving rise to the bloodline potential that empowers the sorcerer's magical abilities. Herein are suggested several monstrous bloodlines, along with the specific abilities that they bestow on the sorcerer that has them flowing through his veins.
The monsters which are involved are the cyclops, the outsiders called the inevitables, the medusa, the otyugh (how could Purple Duck Games resist this one!), the sphinx, the stirge and the unicorn. Quite a mixed bag there.
The powers granted are well-developed and linked into the essential nature of the creature involved - for example, the cyclops powers revolve around the sorcerer's eyes as well as involving the brutality, size and prophetic powers that the cyclops is known for - very neat! Those with the medusa bloodline get along with snakes, have poisonous blood and even what amounts to a gaze weapon, and so on.
And as for the otyugh bloodline? Disease is involved, and the sorcerer will eventually start to look a bit like an otyugh as well! As a bonus, a truly delightful illustration of an otyugh is included!
An intriguing take on sorcerous bloodlines, well worth a look if you want to play something out of the ordinary... and they'd make excellent NPCs too, particularly if the characters do not at first know what the bloodline is and are trying to figure out the capabilities of the sorcerous opposition!
| Wertung: | | [5 von 5 Sternen!] |
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The final installment of Fehr's Ethnology is 11 pages long, 1/2 page of editorial, 1 page SRD, 2 pages advertisement, leaving us with 7.5 pages of content, so let's take a look at the Qi'tar!
After an immersion-enhancing piece of fluff, we delve into the stats of the Qi'tar-race: These beings look like essentially horned, sabertoothed catfolk (lavishly illustrated by Gary Dupuis) and get +2 to Str, are vulnerable to electricity, gain a natural attack (combined horns, teeth and claws) at 1d6, one weapon proficiency of their choice, +2 to saves versus mind-affecting spells, effects and also poisons. Oh, and they can opt to get a power point instead of a skill point for their favored class. Power point? Yes, for they also get Wild Talent or Psionic Talent, are of the psionic subtype and can cast empathy 1/day. If that wasn't ample clue - the Qi'tar are a psionic race, fully compatible with Dreamscarred Press' Psionics Unleashed and Psionics Expanded.
Even the latter? Yes, reflected in the balanced alternate racial traits, they may among racial traits lose racial characteristics for different psi-like abilities and playing ahlf-breeds or even Qi'tar unable to speak is possible. They also come with 4 nice, balanced racial fats and may choose two specific feats usually exclusive to half-orcs. Their attitude to adventure and classes includes thus entries on all psionic classes and thanks to PDG's acquisition of $ Winds Fantasy Games, also of classes from the Paths to power-supplement. The favored class-options contain entries for the anti-paladin, dead, marksman, psychic warrior, tactician and soulknife among the more exotic classes.
The pdf closes with a sample Qi'tar ranger level 1 and the resilient trait.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are very good, I didn't notice any significant glitches. Layout adheres to PDG's printer-friendly 2-column standard and the pdf's piece of artwork is especially nice for the low price point. The pdf even comes with bookmarks, in spite of the low page-count - neat!
The first pdf to my knowledge to support content from the stellar psionics expanded, the Qi'tar thankfully belong to the better entries in the series, providing an interesting race with iconic customization options that strikes me as well-balanced with all its options. A thoroughly enjoyable race that, at least to me, feels more unique than the regular catfolk, I can get behind the race, especially for the low, fair asking price and will settle for a final verdict of 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5, missing the 5 only due to the fact that I would have loved to see some truly unique option for the race.
Endzeitgeist out.
| Wertung: | | [5 von 5 Sternen!] |
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This dungeon section is a module in the truest sense: designed to be placed “in the characters’ path if they travel down a corridor that you have not yet detailed”, it slots into megadungeons as easily as it could become a single one-night scenario. In 12 pages, it outlines a compact 25-entry encounter area built by an evil cult, and now inhabited by a cursed monster who had once been the cult’s implacable foe. Meant for the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, it converts easily to your preferred D&D variant or edition, and has good production values.
There is a very lurid, in-your-face sense of the grotesque in the DCC role-playing game, and Bone Hoard follows this style very faithfully. Its rooms and passages are inhabited by the results of playing with bizarre magical forces, and the various creatures, objects and even magic items come across as strange and unwholesome. Where else but here could you find “a golden coloured bladder of some unknown substance, extracted from some creature from another plane of existence”, and let that be your reward for being an adventurer? Where else will you face the equivalent of giant rats – but boneless and equipped with leech-like mouths? Of course, there is a fine line to walk between horrid and laughable, but I believe this module walks it. The strangeness of the location and its various horrors is not just a set of descriptions that use Lovecraftian imagery, but also has in-game relevance; the set-pieces are interactive and allow interesting experimentation, even if the approach to the encounter area is mostly static.
Sometimes, the room descriptions and GM instructions overstate the obvious, or present vital information in so much detail that it becomes unwieldy (especially if it is dropped into a game without preparation, one of its intended uses). Occasionally, difficulty checks are given for trivially easy tasks, and treasure values are listed for non-valuables like “horn spoons worth 2 cp each”. This is more trouble than worth, although to the author’s credit, it is much more interesting to find horn spoons than yet another set of generic jewellery worth 300 gp. There are a few empty rooms filled with rubble too many. Some careful editing would have done this product good – it is a good 6 page scenario in twice as many pages.
Make no mistake: this is solid, playtested, utilitarian material, a module (component) with a lot of imagination. We need more adventures like this. Although designed for its specific assumptions, it remains easy to use outside the context of the DCC RPG, and its weirdness is perhaps even more enhanced.
| Wertung: | | [4 von 5 Sternen!] |
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Sepulcher of the Mountain God is a first level Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure locale (although, as it is intended for 8-10 characters, a smaller party would be better off playing it when they are a bit more experienced). The mini-scenario describes a relatively small, linear dungeon consisting of temples to two rival evil deities, and the connecting cavern system. One of these, Ira, is a chthonic earth god type, and the other, Gelihedres, is related to underworld waters and icky crawly things. The player characters, exploring the tomb of a tribal chief, are drawn into their conflict which now revolves around a renegade priest and two stolen magical relics.
This module presents individually interesting encounters and adversaries, but has significant structural weaknesses. Taken one by one, there is some intriguing imagery of barbarous burials, pagan temples and cold, water-filled caverns (with some very neat illustrations). The adventure introduces craymites, a new subterranean race of humanoid crayfish who make pretty cool low-level opponents with a disconcerting ability they can use in combat. There are curses, relics and evil rituals which fit the themes properly. However, all of this is found in a dungeon which essentially consists of a straight line between beginning and end. This is not by itself a module-breaking issue, but there are others which add up to some rather serious problems.
There is a very high likelihood over the course of the adventure that the characters are going to be affected by a powerful geas, forcing them into the plot “or else”. Even without this contrivance, there are not many interesting, meaningful choices they can make during exploration. If everything is a prepared straight path, tactics lose meaning and exploration is nonexistent. The dungeon lacks the openness and complexity which would facilitate player planning, and which is in evidence in the first product in the same module series. This is, I think, a very “2nd edition” kind of mistake. The adventure’s linear structure is also littered with roadblocks. If the party doesn’t figure out a crucial puzzle in the beginning, they will not be able to enter most of the dungeon at all, since alternate routes don’t exist, and the adventure is also clear new ones cannot be created. Later, the way forward is hidden behind a secret underwater passage within an underwater passage, which is just the place some parties will never discover.
Finally, we have a combat-laden conclusion in an underground ritual site packed to the gills with human cultists, who apparently have no problem existing in a small complex whose only access point is the aforementioned secret underwater passage, yet somehow manages to contain a large campsite with beds and active fireplaces. This is a mystery that pervades the product – how does this linear under-realm function? The only ways in are a tomb and temple dedicated to a hostile god, and a flooded waterway descending even deeper into the earth. I don’t tend to pay much attention to realism, but to put it mildly, it is puzzling.
Altogether, this module is too brief and too plain for its own good: its potential for spelunking, underground exploration and approaching situations with varied tactics is limited, and what’s left is a fairly disappointing low-level scenario. Introductory modules have a special responsibility in that they should represent the best or close to the best a game can offer. This one is very far from that standard, and I cannot recommend it.
| Wertung: | | [2 von 5 Sternen!] |
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If you make use of psionics in your game, this is a fascinating race to introduce. Indeed, even if psionics are not used, adding the Qit'ar could be even more effective!
Basically the Qit'ar are a secretive and hidden people, an alien remnant hiding out in the remote forests (you probably have some trackless temperate forests somewhere in your campaign world where they could be located), who are strongly telepathic. So much so that they really only use language or even 'names' in the sense we use them with outsiders, members of other races whom they encounter. Such encounters are usually on their own terms, as they tend to be good at stealth as well as being excellent fighters.
Likely encounters will be with Qit'ar adventurers or mercenaries, as they hire out - a means of gaining prestige within the tribe, and wealth for it. Or an adventurous player might take on the challenge of playing a Qit'ar. Materials here, including an evocative piece of fiction describing one such Qit'ar's encounter with prospective employers, highlight their 'otherness' - someone used to communicating by mind alone just plain doesn't think like everyone else and if you want to role-play one effectively, you need to understand and be able to portray this.
If you feel up to the challenge, everything you need to build a Qit'ar character is laid out - statistics modificer, racial skills, feats, how Qit'ar operate as and with all the different classes and so on.
Potential here for quite epic and unusual role-play, a memorable character or a truly 'other' race that brings it home that you're not, well, at home but operating in an alternate reality when playing your game.
| Wertung: | | [5 von 5 Sternen!] |
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This module is 44 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1.5 pages SRD, leaving us with 40.5 pages of content for this module, so let’s check this out!
This being an adventure-module, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players might wish to jump to the conclusion.
All right, still here? The third level of Purple Duck Games’ megadungeon Purple Mountain could be transported to any subterranean location and is, like the other modules, modular enough to fit into your setting, though author Perry Fehr has managed to steep the locale in Porphyra-lore, the default world of PDG. Now, in Porphyra, the NewGod war has shaken the world to its core and seen the advent of a plethora of gods that supplanted the old elemental lords. One such lord, vanquished, slumbers in this level – or at least a fragment of him in the form of a sentient, dangerous crystal.
Now the level is much more sandboxy than previous levels of Purple Mountain and makes ample use of author Perry Fehr’s biggest strength (as far as I could glean from the Fehr’s Ethnology-series): The crafting of intriguing, believable societies. In fact, we get two different societies that inhabit the level: First of which would be the morlocks, degenerates now under the command of Nemyth Vaar, the nemesis, one of the rather cool gods of Porphyra (see also Gods of Prophyra/The Open Faiths Project for one of the coolest pantheons out there) and a consummate survival-of-the-fittest betrayer of double-edged gifts and dealings. However, to make matters more complicated, a faceless stalker has taken control of the morlock tribe and managed to, at least for now, take control of the degenerate creatures. Nemyth Vaar, not pleased, has since started sending mephits and similar beings to the sweltering caves (which also feature a lava river…). The truly despicable thing about these morlocks, though, is how they treat the mongrelmen, the second (and albeit weird and disgusting, actually rather pitiful and hospitable) group that inhabits these caverns:
Using the a dread bell, the morlocks have been instigating a tradition to feats upon the weak-willed mongrelmen, charming them via the Tolling of their bell to wander straight into their claws, thinking their charmed fellows wander off to a better existence. The contradictions between the naïve and charming, yet still potentially lethal mongrelmen society with threats from devil fish and other predators and the usurped morlock society that has stooped to lows even for their kind is striking and evocative, with ample chances for social interaction. Better yet, a mongrelman oracle plans on sacrificing magic items to aforementioned crystal – with potentially dreadful consequences, since it is definitely a most inappropriate item that will result in the summoning of a vast gibbering mouther that could empty the caverns if the PCs don’t intercede. And all of that BEFORE unique properties and hazards like strange mushrooms, weird rituals to Nemyth Vaar, the option to get a traitorous raven as a pseudo-familiar and oh so much more unique interesting bits and pieces come along. Have I mentioned e.g. the holes that feature the little locklings, a rather wicked (though not particularly lethal) hazard?
Better yet, the module also comes with a fully depicted, iconic obsidian legendary sword of Nemyth Vaar, new spells, all statblocks collated, lists of XP etc. for maximum ease of usability. Combines with the keyless high-res jpeg-player-maps of the complex, this leaves nothing to be desired on a comfort-level.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn’t notice any glitches. Layout adheres to PDG’s two-column standard and the read-aloud text now is clearly offset against the regular text. The pdf comes fully bookmarked and with aforementioned player-maps.
Wow. It is not often that I enjoy an underdark/dungeon module – they all too often feel like lazy versions of surface societies and power-structures. Not so here. Author Perry Fehr has managed to create a smart, concise, iconic, alien and weird 2-page-map complex of interlinked societies and traditions that should be considered not only a call-back to the great classics, but an overall fun time for all involved, oozing with interesting opportunities and options for further development. While working fine on its own in some depth (it shouldn’t be adjacent to the surface), the module truly shines in the context of the underdark/underworld and takes terrain, environmental factors etc. into account. If you don’t like the Nemyth Vaar-angle, you could easily replace him with e.g. a waspy goddess in Golarion (or a certain mother of monsters) and easily move this to just about any other campaign world.
Modular, smart, professionally presented and featuring a nice array of neat bonus content, this level of purple mountain deserves my hearty recommendation and 5 stars + seal of approval. If you’ve been on the edge about the series until now, give this a shot.
Endzeitgeist out.
| Wertung: | | [5 von 5 Sternen!] |
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This pdf is 24 pages long, 1 page front cover/editorial, 1 blank page, ½ a page SRD and a cove page as a separate jpg, leaving us with 21 ½ pages of content, so let’s check this out!
Being a collection of loosely-themed magic items connected by a common theme of being created for/by rulers and their servants, the pdf kicks off with shields and armors, providing 6 different ones – there would be the armor of Mars, which reduces the first crit the wielder suffers each day to a normal hit, a half-plate that gets another +1 when mounted and does not impede the rider when riding and then, with the mariner’s shield, we get the first item I’d actually consider interesting: We get a heavy wooden shield +1, but one that actually is buoyant and may support a grown man and thus keep him from drowning. A GREAT idea! The excellent full-color artwork provided helps to entice one to the item as well – it reminded me of the Iron Isle’s crest of house Greyjoy. Now Mathilda’s Shield has nothing to do with a particularly bright young girl and weird powers, but rather is a shield that can extend its protective capabilities to adjacent creatures and allows the wearer to punish those who would attack innocents via AoOs. The Shield of the People is a symbol of revolution and becomes much stronger when leading a group of people. It also has the option to grant rather significant bon uses for one combat via a rousing speech by the wielder. The Skirmisher’s shield absorbs some damage from magic missiles and 1/day makes the wielder faster.
The section on weapons kicks off with two new qualities: Steady weapons (+5000GP) grant the wielder further +1 to atk when braced and the option to AoO a charging foe and save at +6 vs. breaking due to impact. Wicked weapons enhance their damage die by one step and cost either +1 bonus or +6000GP, depending on base damage. After these qualities, we’re off to a very cool hand crossbow that can be assembled and disassembled fast into innocuous bits and which may also shoot silencing bolts a limited amount of times per day – Assassin’s Friend indeed! The Battle Staff works as a mace that can be extended to a quarterstaff. Okay, I guess. The Cat’s Paw is a foldable dagger that can greatly enhance your thieving skills.
It is after that that we get one of the most iconic magic items I’ve seen in a while: The Centipede Net – lavishly illustrated with a disturbing full-color image, the weapon not only seeks to subdue those it captures – if one tries to cut oneself free, the loosened centipedes turn into fiendish centipedes that attack. Have I mentioned that the net repairs itself? Cool, disturbing, evocative. The Crytsal Ice Stiletto is also rather smart – an enchanted cylinder that, when the command words are uttered, can create a magical stiletto when filled with liquid. Said stiletto degenerates in power over 10 rounds before it melts away – yet another great tool for killers. The Demon Death Dagger also has an interesting unique ability – once per moon cycle, a wound struck by the weapon is a bleeding wound and for each round the victim bleeds, dretches are summoned to do the bidding of the dagger’s master. In direct comparison, the Disciplinarion’s Baton, which grants bonuses to intimidate and a temporal morale bonus, feels bland.
Dragon Claw staves can be used as either scythes or quarterstaffs and are tuned to an appropriate element that they can add to damage. Dragonpoints are used to modify other weapons and add dragon-appropriate minor elemental damage to the respective weapon. Against particular bloodlines, though, they and their greater cousins are truly devastating. The Dragon Spine-Maul allows the wielder to name a foe and gain a single-minded determination to slay that foe. The Evergreen Staff of Spring, blessed by the Fae, can lead to their court and protect the wielder from the elements, while the fate-cutting arrows are truly magical and cool: By spilling blood (1 Con damage) and a year of the archer’s life, the arrow can be made a +2 named-bane wounding arrow that ignores DR, halves range penalties AND adds the Cha-bonus, if positive, to crit confirmations. VERY cool! The Fever Blade also rocks – not only is this blade the bane of casters (who find fousing while feverish hard), the blade also allows its wielder to go into a Veitstanz-like fever trance that makes him faster and deadlier, but also knocks him out afterwards and deals con-damage…
Flashing spears can change between short and long spear – lame. Not lame at all, though, would be the Flying Tiger’s Sword, which enhances WuXia-like stunts you might wish to make. Ghoul’s Claws may transmit your touch attacks via the blade (something players should imho NOT get a hold of) and there also is a magical bamboo spear that may sprout more spears and a halberd keyed to protecting a particular bloodline is especially effective when protecting members of it. Among the cooler items, there’s also a bow that, when touched to a tree, causes the tree to grow arrows that are particularly effective versus undead when fired from the bow. Javelin-fighters should rejoice, by the way – 5 new javelins are included herein, including a good reasoning for pricing them like ammunition (unless they do not break). Ever wanted a blade that can turn into a lightning bolt? Well, there’s one in here as well, as are viper arrows, enchanted sling-stones, cesti and even a whip-sword! And no, I didn’t mention all items.
Up to now, I went through the items piece by piece to allow you to make up your mind on how you’d like them – in the section on the wondrous items, I’m only, also for sake of brevity, gong to mention some of the items I considered distinct: Take for example the Golem Helmet, suitable for elite taskforces since it deadens the emotional capabilities of the wearer and increases analytical prowess of the wearer, making the wearer great at performing tasks that would otherwise shake them to the core. Or take Odalam’s Ward, keyed to a structure and allowing you to look at any point of the structure as if standing there, thus making it great to react to threats. We also get magical saddles, a stylus that shields the owner, an amulet to silence impertinent subjects, a magical cravat and rings that allow you to avoid geas and quests.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn’t notice any glitches. Layout adheres to PDG’s 2-column standard and the full color artworks provided for some of the items are BEAUTIFUL – Tamás Baranya has done a great job. The pdf is fully bookmarked with nested bookmarks for maximum ease of use and the pdf, like all PDG-offerings, is also relatively small, fitting on mobile devices.
I’m not a big fan of regular magic item collections. All too often, they just don’t elicit excitement from me, feel like something churned out and lack…well, magic. Add to that the fact that I prefer less and instead powerful items and you’ll realize what exactly made me appreciate PDG’s acclaimed “Legendary”-series so much. That being said, Sean Holland has managed quite a feat with this pdf and delivers an array of items that one and all have something going for them. Granted, not all of them excited me, but most of them did – be it via non-numerical benefits like floating on water or leading to the fae courts or mechanical ones like the awfully delightful centipede-web I can’t wait to inflict on one of my players – especially since we play with my homebrew insanity-rules and the character has a crippling phobia of insects… Add to that items like Helms of the Golem (which should be fitting for a certain former elite-squad of Korvosa to far-out items, I can pronounce that there is a surprising number of winners among these items that should put a smile upon a DM’s face. Since I honestly and against my expectation really enjoyed reading this pdf and since I consider Sean Holland’s offering here to be among the crème of magic item books and since I don’t have anything to complain about on a production quality-level, I will grant this pdf the full 5 stars – well done indeed and I look forward to a potential sequel, especially if such a sequel can get rid of the few fillers that are all that make me withhold my seal of approval for now.
Endzeitgeist out.
| Wertung: | | [5 von 5 Sternen!] |
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This is a small, but truly enjoyable resource for Pathfinder. There's a lot packed into the 40-odd pages of this product, with each of the blades distinct and ready-made for a legacy weaponry role. Players should actually love the fact these blades will develop with them. It's pretty clear Purple Duck has a very good grasp on what makes Pathfinder work, and that helps make this product an excellent addition for any campaign looking for a weaponry "boost" or suitable legendary blade for questing and the like.
| Wertung: | | [5 von 5 Sternen!] |
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In this single-scene scenario, a supervillainous plot goes horribly wrong, creating even more problems than if the supervillain had simply succeeded. With a reasonably interesting villain and a combat encounter that’s more than just throwing punches, “The Possession of Dr. Diamond” definitely adds up to fun, and in terms of its storyline it’s a worthy addition to the Heroic Moments line. The formatting is clean and usable but uninspired and uninspiring, but Brian Brinlee’s illustration of Dr. Diamond is rather nice. In Dr. Diamond’s stat block, his origin is out of place (stuck smack in the middle of his qualities). Punctuation is used inconsistently, and there are a few other grammatical and formatting issues, but nothing too disruptive. I’m not sure why p. 1 proclaims this an “ashcan” supplement; that term usually implies a prepublication version or work in progress. These weaknesses do limit my rating to four stars, but the bottom line is that “The Possession of Dr. Diamond” gives the GM a good return on investment. In fact, it plants the seeds for an even longer series of encounters with Dr. Diamond, perhaps a whole issue fleshing out Diamond’s reputation and transformation. It’s definitely worth the price and few ICONS GMs will regret buying it.
| Wertung: | | [4 von 5 Sternen!] |
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