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Villains $3.99
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Villains
Publisher: Raging Swan Press
by Thilo G. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/28/2011 09:03:07

This pdf is 30 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 blank page inside the front cover, 1 page to set the stage, 1 page that explains how to read the statblocks to novice PCs, 2 pages of editorial/ToC, 1 page back cover, 1 page SRD and 1 page advertisements, leaving 21 pages of content.

Villains are, per definition, the primary antagonists of the heroes and often come with? Bingo, minions!

Thus we get a nice selection of minions for not only the villains in this book first: We get 2 assassins, 3 stat-blocks for mercenaries, 3 for rakes, 2 spies and 2 thugs, offering some nice alternatives from the stat-blocks in the Gamemaster's Guide. It should be noted that both the spies and assassins get their own names and are rather interesting choices for their roles.

Oh, and there is another rhymed verse at the beginning of the book on the ToC-page, which I mention due to considering having stuff like that in the back-hand a boon for DMs.

It should be noted that they all get the Raging Swan NPC-treatment, complete with background, mannerisms, distinguishing features etc. Now let's look at the villains: Teraim Arasten is a cruel, psychotic dwarf that is also an alcoholic. While somehow pathetic, he makes for a nevertheless chilling, cool adversary. Firhar Luedul is a mage who seeks lichdom to combat his Thanatophobia. Eiluanna Miaasar is an elven maid ravaged by orcs who seeks to quench her trauma in bloodshed. Her tragedy and complex psychology make her an interesting enemy. Myghal Nankeris is an insane monk who seeks to attain enlightenment via slaughtering enemies - his section unfortunately features two typos. Digory Odgers is a guildmaster in the making from the gutter who may make for a cool godfather-like crime-lord. Perran Gongye is an assassin's legend in the making who understands the importance of successful PR. Cornes Solethar is a sorceror aligned with the abyss and allied with undead. His only empathy is reserved to a dog. His section also contains three typos. More importantly, though, there is a discrepancy between his fluff and crunch: Although he is supposed to have a genius-like intelligence, he only sports an Int-score of 12. While is Cha is high as a sorceror, force of personality alone not a genius makes in my opinion.

Conclusion:

Formatting adheres to the printer-friendly two-column b/w-standard set by Raging Swan and Layout also is top-notch. The b/w-artworks, while nice, are not as cool as in other Raging Swan books, but I guess that's personal preference. It should be noted that as part of the dual-format pdf-initiative a pdf-reader-friendly version is included in the deal. More importantly, though, some of the characters are not as absolutely awesome as in other Raging Swan Press releases like "Antipaladins" or "Fellowship of the Blackened Oak" - while generic and easy to implement in any given campaign setting, Raging Swan NPCs usually still feel unique and like true characters. However, in "Villains" some of the characters feel like cardbox cut-outs - especially Myghal and Cornes feel rather bland and uninspired, especially in contrast to e.g. Teraim, Perran, Firhar and Eiluanna. Due to that and the minor editing glitches, I'll settle for a final verdict of 4 stars -still a very good file, but not as perfect as e.g. Antipaladins.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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