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Recent reviews by
Eric Hinkle:
   
If you like anthropomorphic characters...
Wed, Oct 7, 2009, 09:06 AM
Then you should like the Anumus book. It's a nice package for the price, with good modifiable rules and guidelines for making any one of a number of beast-folk characters for a game, ranging from the standard cat and dog-folk to such exotica as snakes, ravens, and even spiders!
It also includes a prestige class suited for use with the anumi, one that would work magnificently with the land of Osirion in Pathfinder's setting of Golarion.
I did have one or two furry complaints: (1) all the beastfolk are basically human heads on animal bodies (easily changed) and (2) I would have preferred to see a wider selection of beast types. That said, it's a very fine book. If you like animals and/or anthropomorphics you won't regret buying a copy.
   
The Dragons of Golarion
Mon, Sep 28, 2009, 11:28 AM
Now, admittedly, dragons aren't my favorite D&D critters, so I went in to this with hopes of simply something workable -- and I got pleasantly surprised. Much of this is due to the very new takes on these various dragons. It's hard to say what's best, but certainly the evil-yet-schlolarly greens (and their counterparts, the bronzes) were one of the bigger and better surprises.
It's a good book and it does a fine job of covering some of the most iconic creatures of Dungeons and Dragons.
   
If you're a Lovecraft fan...
Mon, Sep 28, 2009, 11:24 AM
Then you will love this book. It takes the very best hollow earth 'bits' from the past hundred years or so and brings them all together in the vast, sprawling, and maddening Darklands of Golarion. It has ghoul kingdoms, demon-worshipping drow, hollow earth vampires, Howardian/Clark Ashton Smithian serpent people, massive caverns with dinosaurs, and even gugs. You can't go wrong with this!
   
Greatness from the beginning
Tue, Sep 22, 2009, 09:49 AM
"The Skinsaw Murders" is another great entry in the Pathfinder adventure path. The adventure, set in a truly nasty haunted house, is properly frightening; the main villains are all horrid (the Skinsaw Man in particular!); and the backup articles covering the city of Magnimar and the worship of Desna are well written and informative enough to spark many adventure ideas.
My own favorite bit, though, would be the treatment of hauntings as traps or hazards, thereby making them an active part of the adventure being played through rather then something nebulous in the background. It's one of those simply brilliant ideas that makes you wonder, "Why didn't anyone else ever come up with that?"
One minor complaint: I wish we could have gotten some tips on what happens when Iesha meets Aldern. That would have been memorable!
   
Great take on fantasy Egypt
Sun, Sep 20, 2009, 12:44 PM
I love this book, and not just for the hidden temple of Lamashtu swarming with gnolls. It's a great quick take on the Golarion version of Egypt, filled with cursed tombs, shady foreign adventurers, touchy mummies angry over having their 5000-year nap disturbed, and everything else that a book like this needs.
My sole problem is that it could have been twice as long and covered even more, but this is a great piece of work.
Thank you, Mister Nelson, and Shemmy!
   
For the iconic knight
Tue, Feb 24, 2009, 04:43 PM
This book is probably the best tome covering the iconic Western European knight without delving into paladin territory. It does suggest bringing in several other Green Ronin books, but none of them are necessary to use this one. It combines both crunch and fluff while staying world-neutral, and has some amazing art to boot.
Besides, look at that price! You really won't regret buying this book.
   
If you want to see how to put a fantasy pantheon together...
Tue, Feb 24, 2009, 10:21 AM
Then don't look any further than this. Truly an amazing book, and you won't find it at a better price. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
   
Delightfully sick and creepy
Sat, Feb 21, 2009, 08:05 AM
Now this is how to do horror for 3.5. The encounters are dangerous and there's a good chance your characters will bite the bullet if they don't get played very carefully... but with some common sense this will be a wild ride.
Oh, and I love the heartlessly evil and alien fey villains. This adventure hearks back to the horriffic fey of folklore, and in grand fashion!
Easily worth five stars!
   
Another grand tome
Thu, Feb 19, 2009, 03:45 PM
It had its frustrating moments, such as the PCs getting chased out of town without even a hint as to what to do until the next book shows up... but that's minor at best. This book has some amazing characters in it, especially the vile Arkonas.
And there are the usual magnificent backup articles, with my favorite being the one covering rakshasas. And the Red Mantis? Naaasty.
   
My introduction to Paizo
Thu, Feb 19, 2009, 03:41 PM
I love this book, even though I got it by itself (it's part of a six-book series) and was completely lost on so many things, from new character classes (like the demon-loving Thaumaturgist) to monster templates to feats. But enough was given that I could use everything... and the background! Even a cursory reading reveals that there is an entire WORLD beyond what we read here.
The backup articles are grand as well, especially the one about the Mother of Monsters, Lamashtu. Really a great buy for your money!
   
One of the First Ladies of Fantasy is returned
Thu, Feb 12, 2009, 09:06 AM
I am delighted to see that Paizo brought the collected Jirel stories back for a whole new generation to enjoy. These were, and still are to me, some of the very best heroic fantasy ever written. The setting has a sort of fairyland feel to modern readers -- but this is classic Grimm's fairyland, a very dark and frightful land indeed that truly needs someone as brave and stubborn as Jirel to defend it against the ever-encroachng forces of darkness.
Just one complaint: why did they show Jirel as being another Red Sonja in the cover art? But that aside, this is one of the best fantasy books you could ever read. Buy it and marvel.
   
If you want some good gods, this is the book for you
Thu, Jan 8, 2009, 02:52 PM
Just got this book myself, and I'm already blown away. More fluff than crunch, it lists legends of the major deities, their portfolios and appearances, and their churches with admirable depth considering the brevity (which is my sole complaint, as I would gladly have paid more for even more information). It also goes into some detail about many more deities worshipped by beings ranging from dwarves to monsters. Even the art is great!
Truly a worthy buy at the price.
   
A very fine book indeed
Fri, Nov 21, 2008, 10:31 AM
I heartily recommend the Guide to anyone interested in adventures like Crown of the Kobold King or Carnival of Tears. It does a magnificent job of covering Darkmoon Vale, providing background info on everything from geography to history to individual characters. Also, it's got werewolves, and who doesn't like werewolves? ;)
It does have a very few flaws, however; one critter isn't fully detailed (the dream wolf) and one or two characters seem to have mysteriously changing stats from their entries in the book to the master list in the back, but these are really minor flaws.
   
Hordes of the Abyss rules
Tue, Oct 21, 2008, 04:17 PM
This is one of the very best 3.5 books. Aside from the expected hordes of demons (including two new kinds, the Lovecraftian obyriths and truly horrifying loumara), it goes into magnificent detail about a variety of demon lords, the origins and layout of the Abyss, and an organization that teeters on the edge of evil without quite falling in. This tome has enough campaign material to keep you going for years.
Very easily worth five stars.
   
Fri, Oct 17, 2008, 08:36 AM
These stories aren't the best early Kuttner -- that would probably be his Cthulhu Mythos stories -- but they are very well done and entertaining heroic fantasy stories. They have been out of print for entirely too long. Thank you, Paizo, for bringing these lost jewels of the Golden Age back for a whole new audience to read and enjoy!
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