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Tome of Monsters is a new Pathfinder RPG book from 4 Winds Fantasy Gaming full of new (and old) monsters. The product is a 118 page pdf document, containing more than 120 monsters and monster variants to terrorise and surprise players with. The presentation of the product is very good, and very well organised. I was pleased with the tables provided to make monster selection easier (by CR or type, for example) and the general layout and monster format, particularly the references to the real worlds origins of the monsters. The artwork ranges from brilliant to rather mediocre, but at least every monster has a picture to enhance the written description. Writing and editing are good, and some of the monster descriptions really come to life when reading them.
My first impressions of the product were very favorable. The first monsters were very unique, contained excellent write-ups and background details, and the artwork was catching. I particularly like the details on the origins of the monster concepts as it related to the real world, which at times made for fascinating reading. As I progressed through the product I couldn't help shaking the feeling that this product was in places scraping the bottom of the barrel. Many monster books had been released previously for the OGL and I'll be the first to admit that coming up with new monsters concepts is hard, so while the product has many fascinating monsters it also has a lot of filler monsters that aren't particularly unique and only subtly different from existing monsters. Animals such as rabbits, squirrels and robins spring to mind, but also water cats, more troll or drake variants and the variety of winged and flying animals. A winged template could cover half a dozen monsters easily in this product, and while it's nice to have more animal familiars like squirrels or peacocks, I'd rather see more interesting monsters that can challenge the characters. With this is mind, quite a proportion of the product isn't particularly useful.
Having said all that, the product does contain plenty of the good stuff with some rather excellent selections. It would be remiss to ignore the creative talents of the product's many authors in creating some nice creatures supported by good artwork. The collection of fey is particularly good, and also some of the obscure real world creations that I'm fairly sure are seeing the light for the first time in a monster book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading many of the write-ups which contain plenty of detail and background. In places plot hooks would literally jump out of the page while reading a monster description. Challenge ratings range from 1/8 to 18, providing a wide range of challenges, and indeed all the various creature types are covered in roughly equal measure is well.
Tome of Monsters is a good monster book, though perhaps the selection of creatures that made the cut could've been improved to include more unique and interesting creatures while leaving out the more mundane or subtle variant monsters which are really just minor reskins of existing monsters. That said, it's a book for both GMs and players, as both will find plenty of inspiration and utility from its pages. Good product, some fantastic art, dozens of creative monsters and good imaginative writing.
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Publisher Reply: |
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Thank you for the review! |
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Minotaurs of the Black Hills is a Pathfinder RPG pdf supplement that details a new tribe of deadly and savage minotaurs and their evil overlords, the sorcerous yith. This product forms one of several products in Raging Swan Press' Tribes series, each detailing another deadly and dangerous monstrous tribe. Minotaurs of the Black Hills is a sister supplement to Centaurs of the Bleak Moor, though the latter is not required to use this product. Threats in this product range from CR 5 up to CR 13. Presentation and layout is very good, with some good art and neat, though not spectacular, maps. Writing and editing are good, presenting clear descriptions of all aspects of the minotaurs and the environment, society and culture they live in.
This is another enjoyable read in the Tribes series. The minotaurs are a savage and bloodthirsty tribe that are skilled at hunting and killing. They serve the enigmatic and sorcerous yith, a race of alien bat-like creatures of great power, though now a civilisation in decline. The background material is well written and presented, offering good information on all aspects of the area and the tribe that lives there. Stat blocks include general minotaurs, as well as the more powerful leaders. The latter are detailed with motivations and other background material, fleshing them out in interesting ways. The product doesn't only provide details on the tribe, but also provides new magical items, feats, spells and class features. These add nicely to the existing material, expanding it to create a comprehensive overview of these minotaurs and their masters.
Minotaurs of the Black Hills is a good product. It's detailed and interesting, providing useful material and an interesting location with novel features and terrain. While the tribe of minotaurs themselves is perhaps not that interesting on its own, their relationship with the yith makes it much more interesting and the two races form a powerful combination. The product would've been more useful with some detailed plot hooks or campaign arcs, particularly some that perhaps tied in with the sister product on the centaurs. Overall, an useful product with lots of potential both in location and the yith/minotaur relationship and interaction.
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Lexicon of Dungeons is a 60 page pdf presenting detailed guidelines on building and constructing your own dungeon or underground fortress. The product is written from the perspective of a prospective dungeon builder (i.e. GM, although the content is equally player-centric), and provides all the monetary and asset-based tools required to construct that perfect dungeon. The product is written to be generic and systemless, and, as such, is suitable for any roleplaying game.
The product comes as a single pdf file. Background layout is decent, although there is an awful amount of empty space in the product. Writing and editing ranged from good to poor, and there are plenty of unnecessary typos, spelling errors and other mistakes in the product. I think the presentation could be greatly improved, both by improving editing and layout, but also perhaps by adding additional art to the product. For a 60 page pdf, one would normally expect to see a little more, though obviously not a requirement.
Lexicon of Dungeons provides everything and more information than is required to put together a dungeon. It covers all aspects of construction, from lighting in the dungeon, to hazards, to room sizes and corridor layouts, to defences, and decorations, locks and doors. It's quite a comprehensive guide to dungeon building and actually contains quite a lot of useful information that one would not normally consider. I think any GM that wants to use a dungeon as a backdrop for an adventure will be well served looking at some of the suggestions (mostly obvious but also mostly not considered, such as latrines) in this product. There's lots of useful advice on dealing with intruders, what not to do and what to do and consider, and what features and aspects can typically be found in the dungeon. It's quite detailed, though again the editing makes the organisation look a little hap hazardous and sometimes it feels like a section of the product just tails off without quite finishing.
Having read this product, I wasn't initially sure what to make of it. While there are plenty of guides and products that offer advice on building fortresses and/or dungeons, I've never come across one that actually costs this out, particularly for GM use. I guess if you're playing a party that builds fortresses and one player fancies a dungeon, this side of the product could be useful. Or, on the other hand, perhaps as GM you want to make sure that your rulers don't break the laws of economy. Either way, it was a rather unusual aspect of the product, though not detrimental. Aside from that, I think this product has some really useful content, even though it's presented in a rather unusual and sometimes humorous and flippant style.
As a guide to dungeon building I think this product is very useful, but as a personal preference I wish it hadn't been written as it was. As a more 'serious' product (not to say that it's entirely facetious) and with better organisation and editing this product could easily sit in any GMs library as something that provides tips and information on dungeon building. It's extremely useful in adding realistic touches to your dungeon and making the dungeon 'make sense'. Unfortunately, it's let down by some of the aspects I've already mentioned. Lexicon of dungeons is a decent product with lots of potential.
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The Sinking - Tunnels of Despair is a short Pathfinder RPG serial adventure set in 0One Roleplaying Games' Great City campaign setting. This is a stand-alone adventure that forms part of a series of adventures that are entwined with a devastating event happening in the Great City. This particular adventure sees the player characters become involved in the underground slave activities of a dangerous crime organisation, where they come head-to-head with these criminals in a struggle that affects the lives of many in the Great City. This adventure is suitable for 1st level characters. As with all of 0One Roleplaying Games' products, the presentation and format of the product is immaculate and very professional. The artwork is fabulous, the maps are detailed and clear, and the writing is vivid and rich.
Following the devastation brought to the Great City through recent events, this adventure takes the characters on a rescue mission as a barmaid is captured by some thugs raiding the cellars of a local tavern. From there they delve into the tunnels beneath the gladiatorial arena, to become embroidered in the conflict between the highly dangerous Crimson Medusa and some refugee slaves set free by the recent cataclysmic events in the city. The characters must face various threats in the tunnels as they dance with the Crimson Medusa and the captors of the barmaid. Eventually things come to a head, and they must decide how to tackle the Crimson Medusa and how to deal with the slaves.
The adventure is energetic with lots of action, lots of hidden subterfuge and threats, and fast-paced. It balances roleplaying and combat nicely and offers enough material to allow the player characters to know that they are in charge of their own fate. The combat can be quite tough for 1st level characters, particularly the final stages of the adventure, but that's fair as the PCs aim to end the adventure threat with a bang. Here and there I wish the adventure had offered a little more detail and direction, particularly in the tunnels as the characters chase after the kidnappers. One minute they're chasing after the kidnappers and the next they're bumping into Crimson Medusa on the same path. The kidnappers have apparently managed to evade them but it's not clear how.
The adventure leaves a few strands of interest and plot development dangling, leaving you wondering exactly how things are going to pan out, and for that reason I'm looking forward to seeing how the remainder of the series is structured. I'm quite a fan of this format of adventures as it allows GMs to pick and choose adventures to their liking and string together those adventures that suit their needs and tastes. The Great City is a very accessible adventure campaign and this format goes a long way to making it even more so. Tunnels of Despair is a good addition to adventures in the Great City, and players and DMs alike will enjoy the nature and action of this adventure.
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Atarin's Delve is a short Labyrinth Lord adventure for 1st to 3rd level characters. In the adventure the characters are summoned to assist an archaeologist from excavating some caves, and assess the threat, if any, that the excavations might pose to the archaeological team. The adventure is a location-based dungeon crawl, although the ramification of the characters' actions have wider consequences as they get involved in the events of the adventure. Presentation of the product is fair, with some decent maps and artwork, and overall reminiscent in style of typical old-school adventures. Writing, editing and layout are all good, blending together to make a well-presented product.
Atarin's Delve is a short adventure straight out of the pages of Doctor Who. The characters are summoned to investigate some caves ripe for archaeological exploration, but naturally by the time they arrive things have taken a turn for the worse, and the PCs are thrown into the fray of strange events and dark cults right from the start. The monsters that form the core of the threat are fantastic and creepy, and creative LLs will have a lovely time scaring the living daylights out of the players. The whole atmosphere created in the adventure is very good, with the monsters neither here, nor there, but seemingly everywhere. The scenario offers plenty of opportunity for roleplaying with the various factions involved in the excavations, all the while trying to ascertain the nature of the threat and deal with a sinister foe with abilities far beyond the norm. I really liked the blend of roleplaying and combat in this adventure, and in particular the wonderful use of a location and the new monsters presented in the product. This is the kind of adventure that can be a real blast, and really haunt the PCs as they struggle to cope with things happening around them.
I was particularly pleased as well by how much the adventure has going for it in terms of continuation. By this I mean that there are plenty of wider consequences for the PCs actions in this adventure, and they may inadvertently start themselves off on a path to danger they may not be aware of at the time. The adventure is well constructed, with clever and detailed NPCs with opposing motivations that could lead to interesting conflict. Overall, an adventure that should be great fun to run for both players and LLs. Another good product from Small Niche Games. Taking adventure writing to another level.
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The Goblins Stir is the first adventure in the Shattered Blade saga set in the Torn World campaign setting. This is an introductory adventure for 1st level characters for the Pathfinder RPG, and takes place in the Shadow Vale region of the campaign setting. Here the PCs come together during uneasy peace talks between the various races of the Shadow Vale, and are thrust on a mission of vital importance as the goblins start making inroads into territory they have not been in for hundreds of years. This adventure can be played as part of the larger campaign setting or as a stand-alone adventure.
The adventure is a 56 page pdf product. Production quality is very high, in particular some of the stunning artwork and the various maps. The product does an excellent job of providing everything a DM needs for the adventure, including more maps and artwork representations than are strictly required. I was impressed by this kind of quality in the first product from a new publisher, and I'm excited to see what future products are going to be like. Writing and editing is good - the author also has additional comments strewn across the adventure which makes for interesting takes on the designer's mind. The chapter format and overall layout is excellent, with encounters neatly presented with clear and concise rules and instructions for running them smoothly. Professional presentation and high quality.
I enjoyed this adventure. It's logical and follows a well-defined path without being rail-roading. There's plenty of good combat to be had where tactics and thinking are required, as well as ample scope for fun roleplaying in a tense situation. Characters of all sorts will find this an enjoyable and challenging adventure. Here and there the adventure could've used a little more direction, particularly in the final parts where the adventure can be quite dangerous and it doesn't appear within the scope of the original adventure mission as given to the characters at the start. That said, it still makes for a fun part of the adventure, and will challenge the players and the DM to make a dynamic final part to the adventure. Wilderness travel and dungeon exploring can both be found - it fact, I'm willing to say that this adventure almost has a little bit of everything in it, and in that sense is very balanced.
Overall, I think this is a good and balanced adventure - well constructed, good attention to detail, and something for everyone. It's not the most amazing plot in the world, although it's perhaps a little early to tell, and I wish this adventure had alluded a bit more to things in the future, particularly on the history and background of the Shattered Blade. Barring a few minor niggles, a good, fun romp that most GMs can play easily. I'm looking forward to the sequels to this adventure and other stuff to come from Torn World. Good adventure.
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One of the many things that new campaign settings often modify or change are the races of the campaign world. I suspect that this is because many people have got used to the stereotypical elves and dwarves of most fantasy settings and are looking for something different and refreshing, or perhaps they've never really liked these representations at all. I also suspect that this is why many players are drawn to playing monster races - most of the time its fun doing something more interesting or different for a change. After a while of playing with standard races, one's race often tends to blend into the background and become just another statistic rather than something unique and interesting. To remedy that, Rite Publishing have published 101 Alternate Racial Traits for the Pathfinder RPG, a product that presents scores of new racial features to replace or alter existing features, and in some way sculpt a new race that is different from the old flavor and breaks the stereotypical mold in surprising and often innovative ways.
101 Alternate Racial Traits is a professionally presented 17 page pdf product, which contains 12 pages of high quality content. The artwork, layout, editing and writing are all very good, and I was particularly struck how well each racial trait had been written with very clear and concise mechanical rules detail. The product covers most of the major races of the Pathfinder RPG - dwarves, elves, drow, gnomes, half-elves, half-orcs, humans and halflings - and provides more than a dozen new racial traits and features for each in roughly equal measure. These racial features replace existing racial traits as per the core rules, and allow one to sculpt something a little different, thereby creating something unique, and allowing more creative background writing and character creation. The various racial traits lend them well to creating novel and interesting characters and by virtue of having one of these traits, the character is different and there should be some reason why.
The traits in the product are varied and offer good scope for building interesting characters. A large number of the traits are similar to existing core traits with a subtly different flavor, whereas many others build on slightly different bloodlines or ancestry, thereby providing a different racial flavor. Others still are different views on the races and provide something new to a particular race. I think there is something in here for everyone, although the majority of product is all mechanical rules and very little flavor is provided to indicate how to make the best of the material. Some of the racial traits are quite clever, and I particularly liked those associated with the gnomes, halfling and half-orcs which have lots of roleplaying potential. Overall, a very solid product with tons of useful material for everyone interested in playing a character slightly different to the norm. Good, high quality, product.
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Publisher Reply: |
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I wanted to thank peter for taking the time to do a review of our product. Steve Russell Rite Publishing |
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CC1 - Curse of Crosskey is a short scenario/adventure for the Labyrinth Lord old-school game system. The adventure takes place on an island, after the characters are marooned there by a freak storm, and the PCs are able to investigate the bizarre nature of their shipwreck and other unsavory happenings on the small island. The product is presented neatly and professionally, with some good art and good additional material such as new monsters and magical items. Maps and other drawings are clear and neatly done, providing clarity on the surroundings and the locations the player characters find themselves in.
One of the things I enjoy most about adventures is the adventure summary. Here you get all the information you need to hook the LL into playing the game, and indeed presenting it to the players. As such, I find that to be an important part of the adventure. Curse of Crosskey has such a good adventure summary - the plot is interesting, has lots of hooks and opportunities going for it, and there are lots of avenues available to explore within the plot scope provided. Having said that, the good summary doesn't feed through very well to the players and indeed throughout the adventure. The exposition is weak in places, the direction doesn't always clearly clarify the options - essentially most of the direction, motivation and objectives of the adventure are largely left to the LL. This in itself is fine, but one would expect the adventure to provide a little more detail and direction than is currently there.
Having said all that, the play options and exploration options while stranded on an island are numerous, and the adventure provides good encounters, roleplaying opportunities with the other survivors and areas to explore in an attempt to get off the island again. The encounters shouldn't be too challenging for the 3rd and 4th level PCs that are specified, but they're variable in the nature of the monsters and the locations. I think this is a good romp of an adventure, but DMs must be prepared to mould a lot of the background story to fit something a little more streamlined. As is, the scenario is really not an adventure, just a side-trek that can be used while the PCs are on their way elsewhere. Overall, though, a fair standard adventure with good backstory, but largely a side-trek where direction before and after the adventure (and even during in places) are largely left to the DM.
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The Genius Guide to 110 Spell Variants is a clever little product that takes existing spells from the main Pathfinder RPG products and reskins them in new ways to create similar but often very different spell effects. The concept of changing a spell in small ways is not new, but this product, I think, takes everything a step further and really does a neat job of showing the potential of the idea of changing existing spells. Inside this 10 page product are a 110 new spell variants, some very simple but others quite ingenious. The product is excellently presented, with top quality layout, art, writing and indeed design of the mechanical material.
I have to admit that when I saw this product I wasn't sure that the concept would work that well. Changing a fireball into an iceball just simply changes the damage type and there's nothing terribly clever about that. However, I'll eat my hat on this one and say that they've pulled off a rather nice product that doesn't just make simple changes but rather clever and unexpected ones. Some examples include Baleful Shield, which effectively attempts to prevent other characters from healing a wounded character (an anti-shield if you like), and Scry Trap which functions like the Alarm spell but with a Scry component added. This combination of spells to create new and novel effects is scattered liberally throughout the product, providing lots of good ideas and useful spells.
This is a surprising little product in many ways and thoroughly enjoyable to read through. While many spells are as I suspected they would be, plenty more take you off in unexpected and novel directions. Some really handy additions to any spellcaster's arsenal, and any class will find a number of useful spells in this product. Overall, very pleasantly surprised by this product, and well worth a look at for the spells, or simply to see how the variants are created so that you can apply the same techniques and principles to other spells. Good product.
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#1 With a Bullet - 10 Monster Feats is a short pdf product that presents a number of new monster feats to expand or enhance the existing abilities of monsters. This product is the 4th in the #1 With a Bullet series, in which each product is aimed at providing new and fresh ideas or related options and game mechanics. While the concept of monster feats is not new, it's rare to see a product even bothering to detail more than a couple, so it's pleasing to see nearly a dozen in a single, good value product. Hopefully, at some point in the future, monster feats will get better treatment from a publisher much like player character feats do. Presentation and quality is top notch, and I was very pleased with the high standard of the pdf.
The monster feats in this product are a combination of standard fare and some unique and useful additions. Feats like Special Attack and Improved Toughness simply extend the abilities of creatures or provide addition hit points to the creature, and are simple extensions of existing ideas. Other feats are visually quite stunning and introduce new ideas, such as Shockwave and Simulcast, the latter which allows creatures with multiple appendages to take additional actions. It's debatable whether feats like Simulcast and Cyclone of Claws, which allow creatures additional actions, are overpowered in the form of feats, and DMs should probably consider some of these feats carefully from that point of view. Overall, a very useful collection of monster feats, not the most unique in the world, but ones that can easily find place at any gaming table. Good product.
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There are only a handful of publishers that stand out in my mind for producing 3D terrain objects and structures for gaming, Fat Dragon Games being one of them. Their E-Z Dungeon series of products is a fantastic display of high quality art, ease of design and build, and general user-friendliness. The structures that this series of products can create cover the majority of the basics, and with six expansions sets at the time of writing this review, there is a lot of additional material on offer to expand your 3D offerings around the gaming table. This product, E-Z Dungeons - Expansion Set 5, is not the largest of the various expansion sets, but does provide some vital items to populate your dungeons with - more objects. The focus on objects in these expansion sets is very welcome, as good 3D dungeon objects are hard to come by, particularly for cardstock craft.
E-Z Dungeons - Expansion Set 5 provides several pdf files containing general instructions for assembling and creating cardstock creations, specific instructions related to this expansion set, and several pdf files for the various objects and dungeon features that this product contains. The general instruction set is one of the most pleasing I've seen, making it easy for even the total amateur to assemble something that looks fantastic. The instructions give numerous useful tips on crafting high quality cardstock structures, including such ideas as using bobby pins to hold various sections of a structure together. This is a fantastic introduction to cardstock modelling, and very well presented with good photographs and detailed, yet simple, step by step instructions. The specific instructions for this set follow in a similar vein, making it easy to construct the various objects on offer.
This expansion set provides the following structures or objects - bookcases in a variety of options and wood colors, bedding and beds, various crates, broken tables and a spiral staircase, all easily customizable within the pdf product. Artwork is fantastic and detailed, allowing you to create something that looks realistic on the gaming table. The product makes excellent use of good textures and colors to give that real-world feel to all the crafted structures. The modular design of some of the structures also offers room for expansion simply by printing out more of the modular sections. Overall, this is a top-quality offering of more 3D objects with which to create the ultimate table prop. Excellent product.
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Some of my most memorable and indeed favourite RPG books are books on monster templates. The template mechanic is certainly one of the most innovative concepts to come out of modern RPGs as it allows you to transform any number of different creatures, effectively doubling the number of critters at your disposal, with a single template. The Book of Monster Templates is no exception to the above, providing a stream of high quality templates for the Pathfinder RPG. This product comes as a 111 page pdf, and collects new and never before seen templates into an outstanding reference for boosting any GMs monster arsenal. With a bunch of new and innovative templates at your disposal, characters and their players need never again be entirely sure what they are facing.
The Book of Monster Templates introduces more than 30 new templates, each presented over several pages. Each templates consists of a brief description, the template mechanics and special abilities, a section on lore and Knowledge checks, ecology, and a sample creature along with some fabulous and rich art. Overall this combines to a splendid presentation. If that wasn't enough, each template also contains a handful of new material in the form of feats or spells that can be used to enhance the template's existing abilities. The writing and editing is very good, and the pages devoted to each template capture the flavour well. In places it's not entirely clear from the description what the template is intended to be, but the mechanics capture the concept well and illuminate it well.
The product contains a number of interesting templates and concepts, such as the Phalanx creature for creatures that share a familial bond with one another, or the Aware Arcana which is a magical and aware construct formed from residual magic. I'll readily admit that I read many of the templates with relish, enjoying the concepts and the write-ups in equal measure. It's a sign of a good product when it easily and without effort gets the creative juices flowing with only a few sentences or a single idea and this product doesn't disappoint in that department. I was really pleased and impressed by the quality of the material, the scope covered by the variety and range of the templated creatures and the concise write-ups that manage to capture the flavor and concept well. This is an excellent product that provides amazing utility and versatility, both in the templates and the additional monster feats and spells, and as the first, I think, monster template book for the Pathfinder RPG, will sit comfortably in any RPG library along with other classic monster products. Excellently presented, excellent material.
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Publisher Reply: |
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I wanted to thank Peter for taking the time to do a review of our product, Steve Russell; Rite Publishing (5/5 stars! snoopy happy dance of joy!) |
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Many of the spell-products that have been released over the years are extensive collections of spells that are mostly just variants of existing spells with perhaps something new strewn into the mix. It's rare and unusual to find a product that doesn't just present new spells, but takes things a little further. Advanced Arcana Volume I (which is something of a misnomer as the product also contains numerous divine spells) is such a product that presents three new spell types and the spells that go along with each new type. It's much more than a book of spells though, as it covers other new additions such as sorcerer bloodlines, cleric domains and other useful material for the Pathfinder Roleplaying game.
Advanced Arcane is a 59 page color pdf product, very well presented with some good quality art and layout. The background is a little dark for my tastes, but that's an entirely subjective opinion. While the vast majority of the product is mechanical in nature, it's partially presented from the perspective of a wizard well versed in the lore of the spells presented. As such, there are many pieces of conversational prose in the product, that both make an entertaining read as well as provide useful and beneficial information about the product to the reader. Both the mechanical and fictional writing are very good, as is the editing. The mechanics is also solid. It should be said though, as is highlighted in the product, that this is a product of rare or unusual spells, and as such their power levels may be beyond what one would normally be used to. DMs are encouraged with good advice to be judicious in handing out the spells in this product.
As mentioned, this product is about spells, but more importantly perhaps about three new spell types. The first is the segmented spell, which is essentially a spell that requires multiple castings to complete and one that can be completed co-operatively. There are a number of cleverly crafted versions of these spells, and naturally if they're actually cast can be quite deadly. This kind of spell also acts very well as a plot hook, and as such it's probably best if they do exhibit almost exorbitant levels of power. The second type of spell is the fountain spell, which when cast allows you to recall a spell of lower level in addition to the effect from the spell itself. This is clever in that it extends the mage's arsenal, while at the same time not increasing their power. Lastly, the third spell type is a modal spell, which has different strengths depending on the amount of casting time put into the spell. All these types of spells combine well to create additional possibilities for spellcasters of all classes.
I was quite pleased with the selection of spells presented and the implementation of the above types within them. There are a lot of fun and quite entertaining spells there. Xelar's Prismatic Sphere is a wonderful visual spell, for example, where the wizard's body explodes each round with a different part of the standard prismatic sphere. Such spells, when used properly, can be devastating and highly visual, but more importantly offer extensive subtext for plot hooks and story arcs. Overall this is a wonderful selection of new spells and spells types, perhaps a little on the powerful side, but understandably so. A solid product that's well worth a look if you want to increase the versatility of your spellcaster or as a DM to use the more powerful spells as a campaign arc or story incentive. Neat product.
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Throughout the many different fantasy roleplaying games there are always a small number of foes, adversaries or monsters that stand as 'classic'. This can be for a variety of reasons, be it a memorable battle or a prolonged struggle against the evil machinations of said creatures. Whenever new fantasy roleplaying games and monster books get produced, a number of these 'classic' creatures are left out. This could simply be a matter of space, or otherwise because one person's 'classic' is not the same as another's. Forgotten Foes attempts to address this 'imbalance' for the Pathfinder RPG, by presenting in glorious formatting a whole slew of monsters that didn't make it into the early releases of the Pathfinder RPG. If you're missing some of your favorite creatures to throw at your players, or simply want to find something you've not seen before, Forgotten Foes is a great place to look.
Let me start and say, right from the begining, that this is an excellent and classy product. It's one of those products that really should be on your shelf if you're GM of the Pathfinder RPG. In its 197 pages you'll find more than a hundred classic and new monsters - ones that you've never seen, or ones that you may have forgotten about. For older gamers this product will bring back to the Pathfinder RPG monsters and creatures that will appeal to your nostalgia, while newer gamers will get to see a marvelous collection of innovative and fun creatures to enhance their gaming experience. This book has it all, really - great monsters, fantastic art, wonderful presentation and attention to detail, buckets of new material in the form of spells and monster abilities; and many tables to help you select the most appropriate creature for your play level and terrain location. Presentation and content are both top notch, and the conversion team have managed to capture the true spirit of each monster very well from its original incarnation. Some of the creatures left out of the Pathfinder RPG are now finding their way back into the game.
Example creatures in this product that are now available for the Pathfinder RPG include many classics such as achaierai, blink dogs, flail snails, howlers, skulks, phantom fungi, trappers and many, many more. The monsters in this product complement the existing Pathfinder monsters very well, and boost the arsenal of creatures available to GMs. Each creature comes complete with a converted statistics block, full description of mechanics and ecology, and wonderful art for every single creature in the product. I cannot recommend this product enough - if you're looking for something special or different, or just wondering what happened to classic creatures from earlier editions, this product is for you. An excellent product all round.
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Slumbering Tsar - The Desolation - The Ghosts of Victory is the second part in a 14 chapter mega-adventure from Necromancer Games and Frog God Games. This mega-adventure is further divided into three primary adventures - The Desolation (three chapters), the Temple-City of Orcus (five chapters), and the Hidden Citadel (six chapters). The primary adventures can be run as stand-alone or as part of the larger campaign arc, though it is not recommended that the individual chapters be run on their own, other than using material from said chapters in other adventures.
The Ghosts of Victory kicks off where the first part of the Desolation - the Edge of Oblivion - ended, with the characters about the leave the Camp and set out into the Desolation and beyond. The Ghosts of Victory described two of the four quarters that form the massive expanse that is the Desolation - the Ashen Waste and the Chaos Rift - while the third chapter in the Desolation describes the remaining two quadrants - The Boiling Lands and the Dead Fields - along with the network of paths and crossroads that run through the barren and dangerous Desolation. In the Ashen Waste the characters will encounter numerous threats and dangers while exploring the area, while the magically sundered rift, the Choas Rift, will reveal more about the history of the Desolation, the Army of Light and the hordes of Orcus and his disciples.
Like the first part, the Edge of Oblivion, the Ghosts of Victory is a high quality presented product, with excellent layout, art and fantastic writing. The maps are a bit sparse and perhaps bland, but no less functional because of it. The story details and background are handled very well, and elements of it are scattered throughout the various encounters of the Ashen Waste and the Chaos Rift. It's worth re-mentioning my complaint from the first part of the Desolation - there's no campaign summary, making it difficult to know exactly where all these chapters of the larger adventure are headed and how to plan around that to make the most of what is undoubtedly great background material. The problem is a little more prevalent in a way in this and the third part of the Desolation, in that there can be a lot of seemingly purposeless wandering and encounters that aren't necessarily tied to the plot in any way. It's a little like experiencing a vast wasteland of random encounters, though most of the encounters are either tied to events in the Camp or to story elements, though the players may not always be aware of this.
Issues of overarching story elements and plot aside, the Ashen Waste and Chaos Rift are locations oozing with flavor. The author has gone out of his way, even in the numerous available random encounters, to create every drop of flavor that he could, making each encounter here rich in detail and fun to play. There are some fantastic encounter locations, all described in gorgeous detail and with some challenging and interesting combat encounters. I naturally gravitated to those tied to the story elements or the exploits of the Camp, and it was a pleasure to read through this material. Each of the two quadrants in this product have their own flavor and theme, the Ashen Waste one of intense bone storms, and the Chaos Rift a deep gash in the earth caused by immense magical power. Despite the potential unrelated events and encounters that can be in these regions of the Desolation, players and their characters will no doubt have a blast. There's a very good variety of encounters and challenges, and with the Camp not far away, excellent opportunity for further roleplaying in between combat encounters. There is also some room for the characters to discover more about what happened here in the Desolation, the main players involved in that fatal clash of armies long ago, and what lies ahead for them in the Desolation.
The Ghosts of Victory is a very good product, oozing flavor and offering plenty of rich combat encounters and roleplaying opportunities. It's a pity the story elements, as yet, can not be tied together properly, but this product will be lots of fun even without that. Rich in detail, challenging in combat, and fun in unravelling the machinations of the Camp, this product offers a good taste of what is potentially to come. The differences between and themes of the two quarters of the Desolation are tangible, and players will enjoy the atmosphere created, and experience how the Desolation lives up to its name. Overall, a good product with a lot on offer - a dungeon crawl in the wilderness as only Necromancer can.
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