By Enzeitgeist

This pdf is 5 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 2 pages of content, so what do we get?

If you do have the Supporting Roles: Tinker-pdf by Amora Games, you’ll know the Breaker already – this PrC is essentially an excerpt of said parent-pdf

The Breaker gets d10, 2+Int skills per level, full BAB-progression and 1/2 fort and ref-saves. The class’s idea is that of a more melee-focused tinker and its design shows, providing a controlled form of rage similar to the one of the barbarian, netting +4 to Str, Dex or Con, splitting them as he deems fit for 4+Con-mod rounds.

They may also use intimidating boasts and single out opponents, which they may charge dealing additional damage. As a cool synergy of abilities, foes targeted by their intimidating boasts cannot execute AoOs versus the Breaker. The breaker may 1/day charge a foe within sight as a swift action, dealing additional damage.

The Backswing Push-ability, which allows the breaker to make an additional attack at his/her highest BAB to push foes 5 ft. (10 on a crit) without said movement enforcing AoOs. The Hit and Run-feature is also interesting, allowing the breaker as a full round action to move up to his movement rate and make a full attack action for a -2 AC. That one is rather powerful.

When missing foes with their attacks, breakers may also make a sunder-attempt as an AoO 1/round and follow up with a 5-foot step towards or around the opponents. Finally, at 10th level, the Breaker may divide weapon damage and edifice recognition damage between the sundered weapon and the foe wielding it.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are very good, I didn’t notice any significant glitches. Layout adheres toa 2-column full-color standard that is relatively printer-friendly and the pdf comes without bookmarks, but needs none at this length.

While you obviously don’t need this pdf if you already own the parent-pdf, the Breaker remains an interesting sunder-focused PrC with some powerful, unique non-magical abilities to supplement the class. The PrC is solid and there’s nothing particularly wrong with it – hence, I’ll settle on a final verdict of a solid 4 star-rating.

Endzeitgeist out.

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By Enzeitgeist

The first player faction-offering for the Vathak-setting is 13 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 10 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

Player faction? Well, yes, for this is more than an organization – devoted to the Book of Black Earth, an ancient tome of cataclysmic prophecies unearthed from ruins led to genesis of a secret organization – on available for PCs, though personally, I’D rather suggest this ephemeral cabal more as antagonists. But more on that later:

Drawing in a cool professional way on how factions in Golarion are presented, we get the basic faction rules regarding prestige explained to us before we delve into the order’s history and rather disturbing indoctrination rituals. A long and concise list of benefits depending on TPA and CPA (total and current prestige awards) are there and offer some intriguing options – amongst other to exchange character traits for the two new faction-specific traits provided in the pdf – both of which come with a nice fluff and mechanics I can’t and won’t complain about. Suggested classes and 4 new feats are also part of what the order has to offer – including one that allows the user to 3/day cast the message spell as a spell-like ability, but only t contact other order members – a powerful tool for shadowy conspiracies indeed. The feats are solid in presentation and while spells are not in italics, the fluff and ideas make up for this minor shortcoming by oozing flair.

2 new spells also complement this faction, one that deals damage and infects with a more powerful type of Borer Worm (a CR 1 acid-oozing parasite-worm introduced in these pages as well) and a spell that conjures up an area of writhing, shadowy, con-draining tentacles. Aforementioned Borer Worms are also provided equipment style stats and we get one damn cool poison: By extracting tainted earth from the dread pit of decay (a mobile, gory, maw-like appendage that shows itself annually and is tied to the Old One of the cult), the order may create a potent toxin by mixing the soiled earth with blood. This location is not the only special one sacred to the order – there are also the Worm Ways, hidden and weird tunnels that serve as twisted smuggle-ways. A special celebration, a holiday if you will, the so-called Worm-Solstice is provided as well in a compelling, twisted write-up.

Among the creatures, apart from the Borer Worm, we also get the Crawling putrescence and a sample CR 8 mastermind of the cult.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are very good – apart from some minor aesthetic glitches like aforementioned italics-bungle I didn’t notice any glitch that would have impeded my enjoyment of this pdf. The layout adheres to Vathak’s beautiful 2-column standard and the artworks are nice indeed, especially for such an inexpensive publication. On the downside, we don’t get any bookmarks, which is a minor bummer.

Wow! Kudos to the Fat Goblins! This pdf for the Vathak setting is not only a great cult for the setting, but for any setting really – DMs seeking to flesh out the Age of Worms or those using Morithal (from Clockwork Gnome Publishing’s excellent pdf) should definitely get this as a means to further flesh out the cults. The prestige benefits and iconic locales and rites add further flair to a presentation of a thoroughly twisted cabal that should strike a chord with all DMs that like their fantasy dark and twisted. An enjoyable read for a fair price indeed and well worth 5 stars – me omitting my seal of approval only because of the minor glitches and lack of bookmarks.

Endzeitgeist out.

Order of Black Earth: a player faction for Shadows over Vathak is available from:

By Enzeitgeist

This collection of Pre-gens for the Jade regent-AP is 28 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/SRD, 1 page introduction/how-to use,1 page author bios/back cover, leaving us with 24 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

The first thing you’ll notice is that we get whole-character-pictures in gorgeous full-color for every character as well as a sample quote from the respective character. On the second page devoted to a character, we get the respective character’s statblock, whereas on the third, we get advice on scaling them down to a 15-point build (the characters are made via a 20-point build), an extensive background, roleplaying ideas as well as ideas for character advancement. Nice!

Now what are the characters? Well, first would be Akobi Thiesson, half Tiun/half Chelish honor-guard cavalier who also gets a childhood crush on the destined empress (that translates to a mechanical bonus -nice!) who also has increased starting money due to his rich parents. His sister Jin, a rogue, who worships a certain elf (again, translating to mechanical bonuses) is the second of the potential characters – making for a nice dynamic between the two.

Masato Koshin, a Tiun martial artist monk makes for the first full-blooded Tiun character and has been hired as both caravan guard and has the air of a philosopher/monk prodigy that has suffered from internal politics Caladrel Quervari, an elven bladebound magus -who suffers from the voice of his not yet awakened black blade.

Sarounne Anzoletta, a fiery, dancing scrollmaster transmuter makes for an uncommon, interesting build of a unique magical tradition that makes her scrolls dangerous beyond the magical powers she commands. Kieyanna Wade, half-elven cleric of Shelyn and best friend of the destined empress, is a beautiful maiden raised in the temple – and, unbeknownst to her, not a true orphan but the daughter of Caladrel, making for VERY interesting roleplaying potential.

Ragnar Bralgweir, an Ulfen invulnerable rager makes for the next of the characters and the mountain of a man is impressive indeed. And then, we get the final new character, Nurch the easily-overlooked: A *drum-roll* masked goblin ninja. Having been rescued from his brethren, Nurch has developed a fascination with writing and, via Tiun-scrolls he managed to decipher, learned the way of the ninja. AWESOME character-concept!

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn’t notice any glitches. Layout adheres to a glorious two-column, full-color standard and the artworks with their quotes could easily be used by DMs as handouts if the characters themselves are not used. The fact that e.g. the cavalier gets mount-stats as well is a nice touch and the pdf comes with bookmarks and in two versions, one being slightly more printer-friendly.

The artworks by Tanyaporn Sangsnit, Frank Hessefort and Colby Stevenson are GLORIOUS and on par with paizo-levels of awesomeness and the pdf is also hyperlinked to d20pfsrd.com in an unobtrusive manner. Nice!

Wow. Author Neil Spicer has created quite an array of compelling, unique characters that would not only work well as PCs, but also as NPCs – even if you don’t plan on using these as PCs, their characters and awesome artworks mean that most DMs will find some ways of making these compelling additions to their campaigns. Now, I would have really loved form-fillable versions of the characters that allow them to be printed out as a sheet and upgraded/modified at higher levels, but one can’t have everything, I guess. That being said, this collection of pregens leaves almost nothing to be desired, is iconic and cool and the inclusion of a goblin ninja is glorious. Even Ulfen barbarians and Varisian wizards get their own, very distinct spin that immerses them in a given setting and the ties to the Jade Regent storyline mean that I can happily and wholeheartedly give this a final verdict of 5 stars – not only for those interested in running Jade Regent.

Endzeitgeist out.

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By Enzeitgeist

This pdf is 61 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page author’s note/dedication, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 55 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

The first of Michael Tumey’s Haiku of Horror series of supplements details a bath house and as such, since in Western culture they are not that common, we kick this supplement off with an introduction on the concept of bath houses that essentially takes the basic concept from Japanese culture and introduces the audience to Kaidan’s particular take on the concept as well as providing concise lists of prices. Throughout the supplement, terms ranging from the distinction between “onsen” and “sento” as well as “tatami” are explained in concise boxes that not only help immerse into the given setting while providing some additional knowledge and bits of trivia that may broaden your horizon if you are not that familiar with Japanese culture.

Now this does not mean that this is some dry textbook, mind you – instead, we are introduced to the Autumn Moon bath house, fully mapped in gorgeous full colour on 4 full-page maps. The house itself gets a room by room description and after that, a fluffy summary of the current servants/attendants introduces us to a basic net of allegiances that represent the social dynamics of the house.

Here are some SPOILERS. Players should jump to the conclusion.

A tragedy has befallen the bath house and ever since then, the place is haunted: An attendant called Kana has met an end most foul: The young beauty (and secret witch-in-training) sought to escape the bonds of her servitude and find love in one fell swoop. Enjoying a secret wedding ceremony with her betrothed, the chaste maiden set out to commemorate her marriage with her beloved. This act was, unfortunately, misinterpreted by the bath house’s mistress and former proprietor of Kana. Thinking her subordinate was conducting prostitution under her roof, the rage at the humiliation and loss of face prompted her to use her brush and drown both poor Kana and her beloved. Said dread secret is still tied to the place, Kana’s pillow book (=diary) is still hidden in the bath house and at night, her ghost is still roaming the place.

Speaking of ghost: We don’t get only one incarnation of her, but rather a massive array of 5 (!!!) versions of the build, spanning CRs from CR 6 to a whopping CR 22. Beyond that, she is not a regular ghost, but rather uses the new, also featured Yurei no kami (grappling hair ghost)-template, at CR +3 and even 4 new haunts (one of which has a very minor formatting glitch) as well as a new curse, the Ju-on – a grudge, in case you’re not familiar with the movie. We also are introduced to traditional Kaidanese marriage gifts, since they are relevant for properly dealing with the spirit.

/SPOILERS

In addition to the content, we get 33 pages featuring the map of the bath-house to cut-out and use with miniatures as well as high-res versions of the gorgeous maps.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are very good, though not perfect, I didn’t notice any significant glitches. Layout adheres to Kaidan’s bamboo-lined 2-column full colour standard and Mark Hyzer’s stellar b/w-artwork complements the excellent maps well indeed. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience.

This essentially is both a map, a mini supplement of a nice location, some complex stats and finally, a sandboxy mini-adventure/ bare-bone-style red herring to be inserted into a campaign, all in one – whether you want to use it as a diversion, blow it up to full-blown adventure-status or just use it as a backdrop, this bathing house has something to offer – and at a very fair price to boot! That being said, as the first installment, I think there’s some room for improvement, namely the environment of the place – whether it is the hardness of the wall, slippery floor or similar minor DCs and details that make places come to life – the bath house, as awesome as it is, could use some small bits and pieces like this to make it feel a bit more organic: Locking doors, vortexes (including swim checks) etc., perhaps a page from the pillow book – in short, some action for the skills (perhaps using one set of DCs for each intended level range) would have made this even better.

As written, we still get a cool location oozing flair and some VERY creepy imagery and crunch for a very fair price. Nevertheless, I feel like this misses the highest echelons by a slight margin, making me settle for a final verdict of 4.5 stars, rounded down to 4 for the purpose of this platform – still, a recommended purchase if you’re looking for some easily inserted horror, though!

Endzeitgeist out.

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By Enzeitgeist

All right, you know the drill by now – 4 pages pdf, 1page front cover, 1 page SRD, 2 pages of content for new racial information, this time dealing with changelings, so let’s take a look!

First, we get 6 new feats:

• Green Gift: Mimic sounds of animals and natural creatures via bluff.
• Hidden Gifts: +10 to disguise as human, no penalties to pose as human, quick disguise of clawed nails.
• Iron-skinned: When SR is lowered, you gain DR 1/bludgeoning.
• Monstrous Visage: Demoralize any number of foes within 30 ft. as a standard action.
• Prodigal Daughter: Count as a hag for purpose of joining a coven. Does not require you to be female, in spite of the feat’s name.
• Sow Discord: As long as tress like combat does not divert your target’s attention, the target gains now save versus your sow thought spell. Also provides +2 to overcome SR with the spell. Not a fan of this feat – it feels like a plot-device more than a viable feat and getting rid of saves for spells is not a good idea unless the means to do so are very specific – like a certain hex’s kiss of death. Not in combat is not specific enough for my tastes.

We also get 4 new character traits:

• Hag’s Blessing: Immunity to the nightmare spell.
• Inhuman Sire: Choose one humanoid subtype – you count as that humanoid for purposes of prerequisites regarding races.
• Resentful Daughter: +2 to conjuration (healing) spells to overcome SR.
• White Lies: Gain Bluff as a class skills and +2 to lie to friendly/helpful creatures.

Changelings may now also choose from 2 new alternate racial traits:

• Nightshadow: +4 to intimidate when in areas of dim light in exchange for the hulking trait.
• Seasight: See perfectly through frothing, murky or opaque water. Problematic, since e.g. Gillmen need feats to get powers that are somewhat like it – with low-light vision, granted, but still. Not a fan of this.

The pdf also provides the Sibyl-archetype for the oracle. The Sibyl gets Perform (oratory), replace some of the spells from their mystery bonus spells with others and gain Voice of the Sibyl at first level and drive helpless opponents mad with revelations. A solid archetype, I guess, but none that blew me away.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are very good, I didn’t notice any significant glitches. Layout adheres to Abandoned Art’s no-frills 2-column standard and the pdf has no bookmarks, but needs none at this length.

This pdf is a solid addition to the Amazing Races-line, but not a too impressive one – I can see minor issues with a feat, consider an alternate racial trait to be problematic and the archetype didn’t elicit that much excitement from me either. There’s nothing massively wrong with this pdf, but neither is there any content herein I’d consider truly innovative or particularly gripping. Hence, a solid buy for fans of changelings – I’ll settle for a final verdict of a solid 3 stars – an ok purchase, but definitely not required.

Endzeitgeist out.

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By Enzeitgeist

This pdf is 20 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, 1 page ToC, 1 page back cover, leaving 15 pages for the Kappa, so let’s jump in.

The pdf begins, as all the ITC-pdfs, with an aptly-written IC-introduction to the race and, indeed, their outlook on religion, alignment and the like is presented IC as well, helping one to immerse in the feeling of the race. We even get an origin myth. This takes up 4 1/2 pages. Unfortunately, I encountered two editing glitches: On page 6, in the paragraph on physical description, it should read “lumbering gait” instead of “lumbering gate”. On page 7 in the paragraph on relationships, it should read “tolerate our humor” instead of “tolerate are[sic!] humor.”

On to the racial traits of the Kappa:

Kappa get +2 Str, are small, have a movement rate of 20 ft., low-light vision, +2 natural AC, a swim speed of 40 ft. and +8 to swim, don’t get the small-penalty to CMB and CMD but rather a +1 bonus, always treat stealth and survival as class skills,, have a natural claw attack that deals 1d3 damage, weapon familiarity with Kappa weapons and can be weakened by successfully draining the bowl on their head of water, resulting in Str and Dex-damage.

They come with 5 alternate racial traits:

• Goblin Nature: +2 Dex -2 Wis, goblinoid subtype
• Hard-shelled: natural AC-bonus rises to +4, speed drops to 15ft., swim speed drops to 30 ft.
• Kami-friend: Replaces natural wrestler; Ability to cast dancing lights, ghost sound, pass without trace, and prestidigitation 1/day and a +2 bonus against enchantment. I have several problems with this trait: On an editing note: The spells are not in italics in the text. On a rules-note: What is the caster-level of these abilities? The key ability-modifier? I don’t know, as it is not mentioned in the text.
• Natural Prankster: +2 Cha, -2 Wis
• Soft-shelled: Only get +1 natural bonus to AC, but gain a plus to bonus to acrobatics. I gather the bonus is racial, but no specific type is given.

In the table containing the ages and heights, there is a editing glitch, putting the “age” from “Maximum Age” in the beginning of the next line instead of e.g. in the blank space below “Maximum”.

In the next section on Kappa adventurers, we get their attitude towards the different classes and how frequently they usually follow the specific calling. As a nice bonus, each class is presented with a Japanese-flavored moniker. To my pleasure, the APG-classes have also all been covered here. Two thumbs up for this! I don’t get, though, why (kappa-kannushi), the term for the clerics, has been written in lower caps, while all other fluff names of the class are written with a capital letter in the beginning.

After that, we get 14 new favored class options for the following classes. Alchemist:1, features a missing “+” sign to fit in with the formatting of the rest of the pdf; Bard:1; Bone-Breaker:2; Cleric:2; Fighter:1; Ranger:2; Sorceror:2; Wizard:2, features another typo ” bonus to stealth checks “out of doors[sic!] and in a natural environment” would be a bit specific, so I gather it should read “outdoors”;

After that, we get 2 new class archetypes:

-Cleric (Kappa-Kannushi): Can work without focus, focuses on spirits. Once again, “kappa-kannushi” is written in lower case.

-Fighter (Kappa-Bushi): Nice wrestling-focused Kappa-only archetype.

We also get a new Sorceror-bloodline which I found surprisingly cool – you get enhancements to AC, eventually even DR, water and earth-based resistances and even cold claws and an antimagic shell. The capstone ability is also nice.

After that, we get to the crunchy heart of the pdf, the 20-level racial paragon-class, the Bone-Breaker. Unfortunately, we have yet ANOTHER editing mistake, the first paragraph, including the header of the class, is printed twice, once at the bottom of the left column on page 13 and once on the upper right column.

They get d8, 4+Ints kills per level, medium BAB-progression, a good fort- and will-save, improving unarmed damage and bonuses to natural AC. Their table features another formatting glitch, with the columns of the individual stats not being in line with the headers of the table and “damage” from “Unarmed damage” being located under “Will”, “AC” from “Natural AC” being located under “Unarmed”.

The bone-breaker class is focused on, surprise, breaking things (bones in particular), but also gets a ki-pool, the ability turn into turtles and water, abilities to temporarily enhance its Str-score. I have a problem with this class, respectively and unfortunately, with its signature ability, “Leg-breaker” and the 3 follow-up abilities, one of which is the capstone. I will elaborate:

The “Leg-breaker” is a combat maneuver that imposes a minus 2 to the Kappa’s AC. If the damage dealt by the manoeuvre exceeds 1/4th of the targets current hit points, it inflicts Dex-damage equal to the bone-breaker’s Str-modifier+1/5 bone-breaker class levels minus the hardness of the opponents bones. Ok, let’s get that straight, shall we? This is a combat manoeuvre, i.e. it can be used unlimited amounts of times. It requires the GM to calculate 1/4 of the max HP of the target creature (after the blow or before it, btw.? -It does not specify which one in the text…) and then deals Str-damage depending on the hardness of a creatures BONES. Ok. 4 is given as the usual standard. Are there hard-boned people out there? Do Dwarves have harder bones? What about Shapechangers, are they more malleable? Let’s assume, as a DM I just handwave this ability and settle for 4. Then we still can have a Kappa with a Str-score of 21 at 5th level, when he gets this ability. That would result in 2 points of Dex-damage per manoeuvre AND a speed-reduction of 5ft.. Against which the target gets no save. Now add some magic items to the mix and you get an attribute-damage-machine with very clunky mechanics that leave me, quite frankly baffled. At higher levels the Kappa can substitute Str-damage and Con-damage. Three good ideas, one mechanic that is quite frankly flawed in my opinion. I don’t know whether to use the HP prior to or after the attack, have to quarter HP on the fly and then improvise the hardness of a creatures bones. That’s an on-the-fly improvisation solution I’d come up with in my homebrew, not some rules I’d expect in a published book, especially not in one by Rite, who usually are masters of cool, imaginative rules.

After this disappointment, I’ll move on to the 10 new racial feats:

• Greater Shell and Shield: “kappa” in the prerequisites should read “Kappa”. Gain cover when equipped with shield as long as you are not in melee. Nice idea.
• Improved Natural Armour: +1 Natural AC
• Kappa Crawl: Move at full walking speed when prone, reduce AC-penalty to minus 2; Great idea.
• Kappa Kiyup: Big brother of kappa crawl, no more Ac-penalty while prone, standing up provokes no attack of opportunity and is a free action.
• Master Shrinekeeper: When within reach of your shrine, you get a bonus to channel energy and DCs.
• Practised Swimmer: I’ll reprint the text:
  • “Your swim speed increases by 1 for every
    rank of the Swim skill you possess. You must possess 5 ranks (or a multiple thereof) to increase your speed in combat.”
  • Swim speed is not a prerequisite of this feat, nor does “kappa” stand there. Can character without a swim speed take this? What does “by 1″ mean? 1 gather ft? 1 square? And what does the second sentence mean? Do we get a second set of swim-movement-stats for combat if we don’t have enough ranks?
• Shell and Shield: Gain partial cover when equipped with a shield. nice.
• Shrine-keeper: Attaches you to a shrine – when close to it, you gain +1 DC to all spells you cast. Boring.
• Swimming Jump: Jump from the water, Dolphin-style. Nice one. Why is there no charge-follow-up-feat? Would have made a nice feat-chain.
• Turtle Speed: Run while being prone or on all four limbs, gaining a +4 AC bonus against ranged attacks.

Finally, we get two new Kappa weapons. The Kappa dagger, which can be used under water with no penalty and the Kappa net. What does the Kappa net you ask? I have no idea. None. Why? Because the pdf closes mid-sentence before explaining what the FRIGGIN NET DOES.

Conclusion:

The layout of this file is beautiful and Japanese-themed, plus, it is actually full-color. The cover artwork is stunning and made me see the Kappa with whole new eyes. The IC-writing filled me with anticipation. And then the errors started to pile up. High. From typos to clunky mechanics to cut off text, this pdf has just about every kind of editing mistake you can make, spoiling what have could been an excellent, cool addition to the series. Utterly. At least for me. I HATE the central mechanic of the new class, some feat-choices are just strange and the fact that the weapon at the end is cut off just makes me want to claw at my hair. As much as I loved the other ItC-installments, as much have I been disappointed by this one. I like the beginning and the writing, but considering the huge pile-up of glaring botches, I’ll settle for a 1-star rating: Keep away, at least until this pdf had a serious revision.

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