Black Lords of the Marsh by Super Genius Games

This product is 29 pages long. It starts with a cover and intro. (1 ½ pages)

The Dragons ( 26 ½ pages) There is full stat blocks for 13 dragons in this book at CR 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 19. Each CR listing has 3 sample hoards for fast, medium and slow progression. A section on suggested tactics the dragon could use to make them more dangerous and final a section on alternative builds. Such as swapping out feats or what have you. These finally sections where very well done, with some good advice for the most part, with some interesting optional builds. The hoards where pretty simple but that’s understandable considering they are doing 3 for each dragon.

It ends with a OGL and credits. (1 pages)

Closing thoughts. I will be totally honest, this is mostly a book of stat blocks and I am not a huge number cruncher. I went over the stat blocks and nothing stood out to me as obviously wrong, I will as I mentioned not great at that so I fully admit I could have missed errors in the stat blocks. I am more of a if it looks right I just go with it type GM and not worry if the stat blocks are perfect. With that said I didn't notice any big errors in the stat blocks. The art is a mix, there is color, black and white and computer 3D art. The quality is also a mix, from pretty meh to very good and everything in between. The editing and layout was good. So whats my rating? Well if you are looking for complete stat blocks, advice, tactics for black dragons look no further than here. If that appeals to you then I highly recommend this product. I am going to settle on a 4 star though. Mostly cause while it accomplishes what it claims and does it well. I wasn't wowed either. I honestly think the section on alternate builds, advice etc needed to be bigger. Especially on the older dragons. I think the first half needed another half page and the later ones a full page. I think that would have helped make this product better. So I think it is a good product that could have been even better.

Trust me, I'm a Succubus.

The introduction to this work explains not just the pivotal role of dragons in fantasy role-playing, but that with systematic advances that allow for varying ages and sizes, dragons can now be presented at a range of challenge levels appropriate to any group of characters! Much of the ground-breaking work and number-crunching has been done by the people maintaining the D20PFSRD website, and they have been kind enough to allow their work to be used here. Excellent cooperation in the true spirit of the game! The good news is that this is just the first dragon book planned...

So, this product is all about black dragons. They live predominantly in swamps and marshes whatever size or age they happen to be. They are solitary in nature, liking caves beside (or even under) fetid pools in which they wallow in mud and dirty water... but can have some interesting items in their hoards, should you find a way to get at them. Their preferences for treasure tend towards that which does not rot (so coins, gems, and metal artefacts predominate) while they do like their food, shall we say, well-aged... rotten, if you prefer.

The bulk of the book is taken up with stat blocks for black dragons of all sizes and ages from mere wyrmlings little larger than a cat (and presenting a CR of just 3) up to a great wyrm with a challenging CR of 19. Each one comes with plenty of detail including a run-down of likely items to be found in its hoard, as well as combat tactics and variations galore. The hoard data comes with gp values, making it simple to swap things around without destroying balance, and there are also suggestions as to how the dragon may actually use some of the things he's got, rather than merely sit around admiring them. A section called 'Upping the Ante' gives ideas of how to make each dragon a formidable, thinking, opponent; while there are suggestions for variants on the basic build as well.

All in all, this is a tremendous resource if you want to challenge your characters at any level with a black dragon specifically... or if you are building an ecology in which black dragons feature, or intend one to be a recurring enemy - or even acquaintance - growing in capability as the party progresses and becomes more powerful.