The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=32275.

Faces of the Tarnished Souk meets Pirates of the Caribbean in the best possible way. Dread Captain Miraxa would add all sorts of swashbuckling goodness to any seafaring campaign. On dry land, while still effective, she isn’t nearly as cool. Miraxa is a bit of a departure from the normal fare for the folks over at Rite Publishing, in this case the risk paid off.

OVERALL

It wasn’t just the fact that Captain Miraxa was a pirate that made this product stand out from the usual stable of characters that comprise the Faces of the Tarnished Souk, the amount of ancillary information included in this supplement made me want to take to the seas with much quickness. The information about Miraxa’s ship was great and there is some really good source material here.

RATINGS

Publication Quality: 9 out of 10 Not much new to say, Rite has the brand established for the Faces of the Tarnished Souk series and between the borders of the pages, the clear typeface and even the cover art, anyone looking for the products know what to look for. The cover art was good, not great but good and I knew I was looking at Miraxa right away. The stock art in this supplement was hit and miss as it normally is. Fortunately there is pirate stock art out there; however most of it is not geared towards fantasy settings. While historically accurate in the real world, most of the art felt wrong for this setting. Some of the art would be great for a game like 7 seas, but not here.

Mechanics: 10 out of 10 Because the folks at Rite Publishing went a little out of their comfort zone with this product, you would think there would be growing pains, but there were not. The rules for the use of Horrifically Overpowered feats need to be read several times to really make sense; in fact I found it best to read them out loud to myself to ensure I got them right. Even with the personal need to re-read those rules several times, in the end they make sense and what do you expect from a feat that is horrifically overpowered. Rite Publishing took the time to give good solid explanations for the magic items and weapons that are included in Dread Captain Miraxa, and these weapons and items feel much more alive because of it.

Value Add: 10 out of 10 I actually believe this product has as much, if not more, use in other settings than it does in the Tarnished Souk. I understand there is a sea and interesting things happen there, but where this product would really shine is a purely nautical campaign. The good captain fits quite well in this setting, but boy imagine having to deal with her on the Sea of Fallen Stars!

Overall: 10 out of 10 The inclusion of information about Captain Miraxa’s boat combined with interesting weapons and magic items would have made this product good enough. Captain Miraxa is unusual (even for the Souk) and her cold blooded (pun intended) approach to her business makes hers a ship I would not want to pass in the night. This is a great product and even if you are running a game that has nothing to do with the Tarnished Souk or the Coliseum. Buy this product it will not leave you lost at sea.