Working off of a central frame image, making minor changes with gear and arm positioning, this collection manages to give us four distinctly different kobolds that all look excellent. Was very happy to see this set become available.

A perfect package of zombies, with a flexible enough license to allow for a great amount of variety easily from the four different zombies presented here. Yet another excellent Inkwell release.

It's always good to find yourself needing a piece of art, and finding that an artist out there has once again read your mind, and just released something that is perfect. Brian Brinlee and the rest of the crew at Purple Duck must be working overtime to keep up with my mental madness, as they always seem to have just what I need, when I need it. Thanks folks!

Scotta's treatment of the armor sold me on this piece, the power of the pose and presentation of the character only helped to lock in how much I liked this piece over all. Well done.

Where as I thought the elven mage herself was an excellent image, and the fox at her feet is well done artistically, it really locks the piece into a much more defined descriptor than I would d have liked, I would have preferred she be presented without an animal at her feet, but alas, was not to be. Still an excellent piece, and one I will end up using.

Matt Morrow's coloring scheme for this dwarven warrior reminded me instantly of the older planescape style artwork, which is never a bad thing. Take also into account that Matt presents us with a strong female warrior, who's actually dressed, and this piece is perfect for my needs. Well done.

Every now and then you find an image that inspires a thought instantly, and an hour later you finally look up from the keyboard, realize you've just typed an entire short story, have designed the opening to what could be an amazing tale, and it all started with a random picture that is available for you to buy...yeah, that was the Greenfeeder. An absolutely amazing picture with so much to tell the longer you look at it. Gary Dupois has quickly earned himself a spot on a short list of artists I search for, as he never fails to impress me with his pieces.

The Dungeon Dressing line continues with the latest offering, Pools. Taking the design reigns for this PDF is John Bennett, with a forward from Raging Swans own Creighton Broadhurst. Following the standard dual column approach with a few pieces of embedded artwork, this PDF weighs in at 13 pages. After covers,OGL,credits and forward, we are left with eight pages for the material. The PDF is also comes bookmarked, as well as the Table of Contents being fully linked as well (always a nice touch!).

If you are familiar at all with the Dressing series, feel free to skip the next few lines, otherwise my friends, pull up a spot and listen up. The Dressing line seeks to give Gms an easy to use method of fleshing out the details that help really immerse your players into settings...filled with tips and advice on the visual and physical aspects of a specific feature, this time being pools, or small bodies of water. As is the case with each offering in this line, there are d100 lists, for when you just need something fast, or on the fly. Taken alone, these lists are invaluable, and a great time saver for Gms, and here they are just a part of this entire product.

But wait, lists and tips on differing types of pools, random lists to help generate in record time...what else could this treasure of a PDF possibly have to offer you say? Well, how about traps? Yes, traps. Not all pools in a dungeon are just waiting for you to find and take advantage of, no, some of them are being used as bait by those who want to take advantage of you, lol. Two traps are detailed here, one an instant vortex pulling characters to an underground chamber where in the characters face a potential drowning. The other pulls the old “I fool you” scenario, with a modified tentacle spell used to impersonate a large aquatic monstrosity. Very cool, and a very good way to get your players to kick your cat on their way out of the door, lol.

The last section of this PDF details two magical pools with a full physical description, backstory, effects and skill checks to learn information. Of the two, one is pretty dark and evil, the other struck me as a souvenir stand of sorts...let me explain. The Necrotic Pool is a magical pool used by necromancers to aid in the creation of undead, take a guess why you don't want to be drinking this water lol. The other pool, The Pool of the Forgotten Gods literally allows your characters to “buy” a bonus within game mechanics as their characters ranging from pretty paltry to a full attribute point to be applied as they choose. Now, they can only do this once per year, and it it possible to get a pretty hefty negative if they offer up to small of an amount of wealth, and they have no mechanism to know price ranges other than experience through trial and error. But, in a group dynamic of 4-5 players, if they each take a turn upping the last guy enough (well, there's only 6 possible rewards for the offering) you could have players quickly realizing the potential of this pool. I would be very careful about allowing this pool into a campaign that also allows chronomancy on any level.

Ok, that cover everything...OK, so, those already familiar with the series, time to come back, ready? Ok, buy this. There, all you need to know. Seriously.

The one pool strikes me as exactly what it is, trade in your money, get an in game bonus, beyond that, this entire PDF is solid, and a welcome addition to anyone's library of material. So, excellent random lists, fantastic breakdown of varying pools and options, two cool traps, and one really cool magical pool, with one not so much so pool. I noticed no errors jumping out and screaming for attention, and formatting looked to be error free as well. Am going to go with a technical 4.5 as I'm just not on board with the Pool of the Forgotten Gods, but I will round up to a 5 for the purposes of these forums.

So, into my greedy little hands came a copy of the newest addition to the #30 series from Rite publishing, #30 Variant Dragons....let's just get something out of the way right up front, I love Dragons...period. I have loved them since childhood, and can accredit them as one of the themes that drew me to roleplaying, so there was no small amount of happiness on my part when I saw this PDF. Now, that we have that out of the way, and we all realize the pressure this innocent PDF is under to impress me and not destroy my faith in a certain breed of reptilian awesomeness...let us see what's going on with the latest #30 offering shall we?

Weighing in at 23 pages (Front cover, credits, intro and 2 Kickstarter ads) with 18 pages dedicated to introducing us to the newest variations on the draconic bloodline to join the family. Format follows the dual column with embedded artwork (all of it pretty decent, always a plus!). Of the 30 Dragons, we are given 17 pieces of art, and yes the beast on the cover is one of them internally...now, yes, there is the initial moment of letdown that all 30 of these variants are not illustrated...but let's be real here folks. We're talking about dragons here, we know what they look like, lol. The fact that we got 17 pieces of art is pretty impressive in all actuality (that is over half after all)...a few pieces you'll recognize from other books, others are still fresh enough they haven't been used often yet, but again, all of the art is good.

Those of who who have been in this hobby long enough to remember there was a D&D before 4e should recognize the author of this collection, Eric Morton. His pieces from Dragon magazine were always an excellent source of new material/rules, and I am delighted to see him releasing new material under the Rite banner.

OK, enough dancing around it, lets discuss dragons.

Our intro opens with a note from the Dragon Sage Salvatorius, a note that sets a tone for the entire book as I quickly realized, as each dragon's description is presented in first person, with the dragon themselves detailing their own description...flat out brilliant! Not only was I presented with 30 new possible variants to the standard dragons my players know so well, each came with a voice all their own, a personality that instantly had my mind forming NPC's around each...I had to stop reading to open a notepad as I found myself designing and naming as I went through the book. Such a simple thing that one wouldn't think would do much for the overall effect, and yet it very much is a powerful tool utilized properly here. Bravo! For all of my table loving friends out there the intro gives us a quick and easy breakdown of the variants, and how they relate to the Dragon Type they belong to. I won't lie, I'm not a huge Table guy, lol, but I do understand their importance, so I was happy to see this included.

With 30 variants, I am not going to go through each...so I shall touch on a handful, starting with the first offering in the book, the Bell Metal Dragon (Bronze). Attuned to the forces of life in ways most would never know, this particular dragon enjoys a symphony of sounds and experiences unlike anything the rest of us could ever hope to know. Replacing some aspects of the bronze dragon's breath weapon with a sonic effect, and an interesting reply to physical attacks in the form of a radius sonic attack (think striking a giant bell, while standing to close, lol). The description is where I fell in love with this beast though, as “listening” to him describe himself he is actually apologetic, in that he realizes in describing how he feels the vibrations of that which lesser beings are unaware he is in effect “describing a symphony to the deaf.” His penchant for impersonating a bard at great festivals only further entrenches this dragon as the type you want your players to meet, to experience. Well done Mr. Morton, and an excellent start to a collection, a great way to wet the appetite.

The Frozen Dragon (White) brings some serious street cred to the white dragon family. Possessing the elemental subtype as well as draconic, this particular nasty customer has a fascination with undead, particularly frozen undead.

From the Bog's ability to animate dead at will, to the Caldera's capacity to start and maintain earthquakes for as long as they choose, there are some seriously wicked dragons here. But fear not, my musically inclined friend was not the only offering of a not quite so violent dragon, oh no...we also have a dragon who lives below the waves simply because he finds amusement in the body shapes of aquatic creatures, and takes delight in playing pranks upon the coastal communities, tricking them into fighting over useless junk. The Feathered Dragon, ancestor to the more recognized couatls, or Electrums playing amongst the electrical storms when not entertaining guests at their floating manors. And then we have the Pyrite (Gold) dragon, an excellent reminder that alignment is far more than a scale color. These golds are far from our grandpa's gold dragon, lol.

The Hydra Dragon (Black) is exactly what you would assume in that it is a multi-headed dragon...but its intro is from the point of view of several of the heads, all talking in a manner that would suggest different personalities for each....and that is freaking awesome!

Or, how about the Petrified Dragon (Green)...so old its hide has turned to an animated stone-like consistency...measuring time on a grander scale this age old being is entwined in manipulations of the world that go way above the pay-scale of most adventurers lol. Still, a very cool concept for a mastermind character behind a massive organization, quietly pulling puppet strings and directing the characters lives through its machinations.

There are the occasional grammatical misshaps, an odd wording in a sentence, things of that nature. Some of these are minor distractions, others are downright clunky to read through.

Now, those dragons I did not touch on are in no way inferior to what I mentioned here, I simply am not going to give them all away in this review...go buy the PDF, trust me, you'll be happy. Are there some editing issues with some wording? Yes, but it is all understandable, and a quick and easy fix if the Rite camp has time on their books (Yeah, I know, time, lol). Do to the sheer awesomeness of several, and by several I mean practically all of them, of these draconic variants I am giving this book a rating of 4.5, as the design far outweighs the editing issues. I am however, rounding down to a four, as there were a lot of editing misshaps, far more than I am used to seeing in a Rite product. So, final rating is a four star for this book, and the recommendation that any lover of the big flying lizards gets their hands on this book.

OK, if you aren't aware of the Bullet Point series by now, you seriously need to grab a large handful, and immerse in the ammunition goodness that is this series. Another addition for the Summer of Bullets, targeting the sin of Gluttony this time, with 7 new feats. Following the standard landscape orientation with the familiar 3 column approach, and SGG's usual top notch editing work. We get four pages this time, with two going to the new feats, and three pieces of art (one color, two B&W with the last piece reminding me so much of the pink blobby dude from the TMNT cartoon of the 80's). Now, there seems to be an embrace of the sins going on right now with a few different designers and publishers, so this just might be the first in a wave of sin inspired bullet points, only time will tell on that front. In the meantime, lets go over these, shall we?

Cool thing about these feats is they were designed for those characters who, well, eat. Gluttony can be interpreted in many ways, and I applaud the fact that these feats go straight for the jugular, and don't dance around it...nope, these feats are designed for gastronauts....and that is just plain cool. It doesn't get much more unique than that, in a game that prides itself on the uber perfection of the physical form for the hero characters, the idea of feats that are centered around one gorging on food really stands out as breaking the norm in my mind.

Opening with Big Mouth, a granted bite attack due to the strengthened jaw muscles of a world class eater, and continuing into Feast Healer, gorge for a few minutes, heal as if a day had gone by. Rumor has it this is actually the feat that started this collection, and it came about as a typo...ah, gotta love those typos that inspire, lol.

Gluttonous is our lynchpin feat, as it is a prerequisite for the remaining six feats (actually forming a few small chains). Stuffing yourself brings on no negative results, but rather allows you pick through a small selection of perks, as your feeling pretty good about yourself, and deserve a morale bonus...lol, having been at that point after a few big meals, I totally understood the concept of a morale bonus from power chowing...there is something to be said about the positive feeling that comes from a seriously full belly when there's no downsides. However, every day without eating is treated as two when it comes to the starvation rules, so be careful that there is enough to eat before adding this to a character sheet...hate to see the halfling get munched in the middle of the night....although I do have a recipe for halfling hotpie....

Gnaw allows you to work your way through material normally to tough for a bite, you just have to invest some time. Stomach Reserve gives you a six hour window within which to “activate” imbibed potions. I could go into details here on how and why, but seriously, this just might gross out a few folks...take my word, useful but odd, lol. Slurp It Down allows you to double up on potions when taking them, and still only use a standard action.

Suck It Up ends our new feats, and it is one heck of an ending feat. By willfully failing a save throw, you can use a readied action to absorb the energy of a spell/spell-like ability, or supernatural ability. You force your attacker to make a save, or lose additional spell slots or prepared spells, as well as having effects upon usage limits for abilities.

The PDF closes with a quick look at the feat type of sinful, and what these feats mean to the differing alignments as far as restrictions a GM should keep in mind.

Final thoughts...I can only hope this is the first in a series of sin inspired Bullet Points, and I highly recommend that one sits down with not only this product, but a choice collection of sin inspired products to release here recently. Another loaded chamber for me, and well worth the price of admission folks, a solid 5 star rating.

Continuing the Summer of Bullets with another addition to the Bullet Point series, Owen brings us 4 Feats for Spells that Raise the Dead. Standard Bullet format with 3 pages, 3 column landscape orientation, and top notch editing. Each of the recent Bullet Points has targeted a specific spell and or group of spells, and this particular addition is no different, aiming straight for those various spells used to return life to the dead. Obviously, there are far to many of these spells (thanks to the immense amount of 3PP sources, lol) to list here, but I imagine you all get the idea. So lets go over them, see what we're getting this time.

Ferryman allows for characters who must prepare their spells to burn a spell they have prepared to instead cast a life restoring spell from their spell list (as long as level requirements are met). Have no fears, for the spontaneous casters, Owen's got you covered also, as well as throwing in a nice perk in regards to material components. Over all, this is a seriously cool feat, and is in my opinion the type of feat any support healer character should have in their arsenal of tricks. Well done!

Lore From Beyond the Pale covers an idea I have always loved from movies and books wherein a character returns from the dead...the information gained from being on the other side. Whereas it doesnt give you an open door to go nuts for gaining information (well played Owen), it does allow for one specific question to be asked at a specific time, with the form of the answer being up to the GM. Now, although the feat does not specifically state that the being being raised can/will not lie in answering, the implication is there, so a GM feeling like being “that guy” is still free to drop misinformation, as it is only an implication.

Rebirth offers up the ultimate in Fantasy Witness Protection, lol. You don't have to just raise the dead back to their old life, you can literally allow one being raised to “reform” themselves...new age, new name (even in regards to mystic purposes), redistribution of ability and skill points, the whole works. Now, I can see some folks thinking this is too much to put in the hands of players...but really, you get to the point that a player can bring the dead back to life, we're already talking about some pretty wicked power in their hands. And this, this has potential to allow a GM to pull off some pretty wicked things...go back to my opening line if you will, a Fantasy Witness Protection Program...OK, stop laughing, seriously...the PC's just finished totally trouncing your big bad evil dude, he's dead, a half year of planning down the drain, now what? Simple, raise his butt, give him a new face, a new name, and a whole new skill/feat set...with all of that desire for revenge...that's the type of potential that makes a feat really cool for some serious story affecting ability.

Selfless Resurrection is for those moments of true selfless sacrifice, allowing you to turn the casting of spells that restore life as a standard action, with the drawback of gaining a negative level. On top of that, you can take on the negative levels the creature you are raising should be getting...see why I referred to this as sacrifice? I can see several moments of deep role-play where such a feat would be an awesome thing in the hands of the right player, and I love that to use it costs the player so much. In addition, if used in conjunction with breath of life, the length of time that the dead can be in such a state and still be raised by you is determined by your Con bonus.

Final thoughts on this one, I can't think of anything negative to say...period. I thought at first I was not going to be happy with only 4 feats, I did. But then I read them, and they each bring enough to the table that they justify there being only 4 in this Bullet Point. One of the better Bullet Points in my opinion, I am giving this a 6 star rating, rounding down to a 5 for the purposes of this forum.

Having taken advantage of a recent sale, I plumbed through the back catalog of SGG, and added a few titles to my library, so there will be a few reviews of some older material coming, this being the first.

Following the 3/5's cover with a landscape format, three column approach with embedded pieces of artwork (this time color CG from Sade's stock art choices), this PDF follows all of the typical formatting of an SGG release. Found a few editing hiccups, and no bookmarks, but, honestly, at this small a size, I don't think they're needed.

13 curses to expand upon the original set offered in the APG, as well as 4 feats to work hand in hand with curses. Now, looking at the field of products today, this did come out shortly after the APG, and I am aware that other companies have also run with the idea of Oracle curses, but this was one of the first 3PP products to do so. So, lets take a look, shall we?

The cool thing in regards to curses is that as players, not every person out there is a min/maxer looking to beat the numbers game every time they sit down to roll dice, I know my playgroup is far from that. I have a M&M in my group (min/maxer), but I also have two players who intentionally play challenged characters, those who have to overcome something at the cost of potentially better math choices on paper. They make game fun for me, as coming up with new and interesting ways to engage them keeps me on my toes, and seeing them overcome what I have planned continues to entertain me immensely. SO, it with this mindset towards players, and the choices they might make in regards to a detriment willingly taken for their character, that I looked through this PDF.

Of the 13 curses offered here, a great deal of them felt rushed, or at least truncated. There was so much potential to add to, or at least clarify entirely, what thoughts inspired the original design idea. Case in point, Convulsions. At the very least, if one suffers from a curse of convulsions, and I can only apply this to the idea of real world seizures here, should there not be a full system of mechanics for potential convulsions that have nothing to do with rolling a dice? Pretty sure both of my dogs that suffered with Epilepsy had fits at total random, other than the odd light source triggering an episode. Am thinking this curse would have greatly benefited in feeling fleshed out by being accompanied with a full table for GM rolls, outside of the control of the afflicted player, offering up a game mechanic to handle the concept of randomness, and outside influences.

Ailing, Frail, and Misshapen are all fantastic concepts in my opinion, as so few players are willing to undertake something that physically limits them right off the bat. These curses speak to the hardcore role players out there, the ones who want a true challenge.

Being an Insomniac I was amused to see this one included, and have to say it is an interesting design. Am not sure it fully covers what life is like for those of us who never sleep, perhaps something covering the odd state of quasiREM that a great deal of insomniacs seem to exist within, hovering just on the edge of conscious thought and a dream. Don't get me wrong, the adjustments to the fatigued/exhausted conditions are an obvious design choice, but there is something to be said for how the mind of a person who has been "up" for days processes thought that, in my opinion, should greatly affect their perception in regards to magical forces.

Peaceful Soul just doesn't feel like a curse to me, sorry. The idea of being a pacifist in a setting built upon violent conflict does make for an interesting character build, granted. One of my favorite characters from my own personal player history was a pacifist, I had a blast with him, but I never viewed it as a detriment, and still don't.

Provocative and Unbelievable are right there on the border as far as true curses, they have the potential to be inconvenient, but I am not sure, with how they are presented currently, that they are in fact curses. And then there's Star Crossed, an interesting curse, and one I could get one board with, very much liked the idea of adding a second critical fail number to the dice roll for those afflicted with this curse.

Feat wise, Second Curse and Suspend Curse are both non-winners for me, as I'm not a fan of stacking curses (way to easy to abuse the system doing this), and suspend, to me, goes against the very flavor of this class by allowing you to circumvent your curse. Now, on the other side, Accursed is a highly logical feat, as living day in day out with a curse hanging over your head should give you some form of resistance to other curses. Which leaves Variable Curse, for that poor sod out there who really pissed off the universe by being born. A Russian roulette of curses, randomly determined daily from a short list of chosen curses. Interesting idea to play, perhaps.

Final thoughts, there was potential in this product, not as much as I am used to in seeing releases from SGG today, but that is easily explained by growth and development. I would love to see this PDF revisited, expanded upon perhaps. As I said, there are some good thoughts here, but there are also some pedestrian concepts. Am pretty much in the middle of the road on this one, neither outstanding nor horrible, so am going with a 3 for my final rating.

Dungeon Dressing: Pits, from Raging Swan Press weighs in at 13 pages, with the standard assortment of covers, OGL, credits and checklist eating up 6 pages total, leaving us with 7 pages to cover those often overlooked and under-designed classic dungeon difficulties, the pit trap. We've all fallen in one or two, or at least plagued a playgroup or two with them, but how many of us have actually taken the time to truly design one, beyond “trap opens, you fall in”. Continuing the series of dungeon dressings, this installment gives us random charts for pit trap characteristics, as well as interesting features (The words “Tell Adosan, I love her” are scratched into the pit's floor.). A full list of traps broken down by CR for your more basic “standard” pit traps, as well as four more complex pit traps detailed in more depth.

The entire Dungeon Dressing series can be summed up with one basic sentence in my opinion, and that is simply, Buy them! Yes, they are essentially a collection of random charts that require you to do some rolling, with a few well done examples of how easy brilliant design can be, but that is the beauty of this series, as it is the quintessential GM time saver, without overtaking your design time. No GM wants to run something that has no personal touches, but so many of us simply don't have the time to delve to deep into true design. That's where products of this nature come in handy, and save the day. Trust me, a pit, 10' to the side and height, filled with six inches of brackish water and infested with a cloud of flies swarming over the last victim's bloated corpse is so much more impact-full on your players than simply saying your in a 10'x10'pit.

A happily given 5 star for Creighton and Raging Swan Press, cant wait to see the next installment of the Dungeon Dressing series.

Yet another chambered round for the Summer of Bullets from the SGG camp, 9 Witch Hunter Feats, follows the standard 3 page, landscape orientation with the 3 column format for new material. Artwork is stock, one piece of color, one piece B&W, both fairly relevant to the the theme of this Bullet Point, as the front piece could easily be a witch hunter, and the other is most assuredly a witch, lol.

OK, witch hunters....there are so many differing concepts for what these characters are, but at their core, no matter the theme, is their knack for standing toe to toe with the wielders of hex magic, and all that is supernatural. Of the nine feats here, Owen gives us several extremely useful new tricks to bring to the table, as well as a few feat chains (albeit small chains) that allow for some fairly cool effects within game, and one that kind of let me down, just a little. So, let's take a look, shall we?

Bane of the Supernatural is that feat that addresses the fact that a seasoned witch hunter is going to get to the point they know what their adversary is going to do, simply by having studied them long enough to recognize the tell tale signs of a supernatural ability being utilized. Henceforth, they gain an AoO against a target attempting to use a supernatural ability against them.. Brand of Binding & Branding Critical cover the ability to design a brand to shut down a specific ability or spell level on a target, and the ease of which you would deliver said brand. Hex Resistence finally gives us the Hex equivalent to spell resistance. I Know Your Tricks Knowledge check gains you a bonus to saves...not the most exciting feat here, useful, and functional, but rather boring when compared to the collective. Lightbearer, gain light effects depending upon what type of weapon you are currently holding. Preempt the Supernatural ties in with the bane of the supernatural feat, essentially hit a foe so hard, they lose whatever supernatural ability they were about to do...knock the wind out of their sails kind of thing. Simple, and yet very effective, and a nice nod to what truly happens in a fight when one gets hit, well done! Shrewd Studies would be my one true let down, as it falls back on swap one abilities mod for another for a skill check, and these types of feats bore me, and are beneath the rest of the feats presented here. Soulguard Allowing the aid another action to be utilized for more than just AC.

All in all, out of the 9, I can see 6 being used within my campaign easily, with two more being possibles. Am going to settle on a final of 4 stars for this one, as I only come up with 2/3's of the product being stellar.

Continuing on with the Summer of Bullets, SGG hits us with 4 Feats for the Invisibility Spell, and following with the design theme of these spell enhancing feats this one hits a handful of spells all centered around invisibility. Sticking with the 3 page landscape orientated with a 3 column format this PDF visually fits right in line with the rest of the Bullet Point series, and has no outstanding grammatical errors that I can honestly say I noticed.

Of the four feats here, Focused Invisibility stands out, taking the slot as my favorite of the bunch, as it allows one to legally get around the annoyance of losing one's invisibility by executing an attack action. Not only an excellent feat in the simplicity of the mechanics, but an excellent example is given that clarifies beyond a shadow of a doubt how this would function. The Unsensed Item takes a close second, giving one the potential to literally hide items within plain sight to utilize them for any number of things, limited only by the mechanics of the setting and material available.

Perhaps shorter than the typical Bullet Points, this particular PDF still provides enough ammunition to make it worth the price of admission. An easily given 5 stars.