Kassil's page

Honestly, while I read the 'this is not a slave to the Mythos' note early in the book, I expected more veracity to the Mythos itself than is offered. It is very clearly an anime otaku's attempt at making the Mythos 'cool' by including Giant Robots, Transforming Monsters, and Alien Warfare. Very little Mythos influence is readily seen beyond the use of a handful of names.

Perhaps I went in expecting too much of something different - such as, perhaps, a cyberpunk-style Mythos - but I am sorely disappointed by this product. It has some interesting concepts, but overall... The only way it could've disappointed me more would be if it had been taken down the route of the Overfiend series rather than the Macross/Guyver path it took.

Cthulhu is about sanity-blasting horrors. Cthulhutech... Is not. Cthlhutech is Mecha Anime with a light coating of Mythos names laid atop it to confuse people.

The simple presence of 'The Ghost of Malthus' in Abadar's entry is enough to win me over for this book; props to Paizo for the inclusion of a not-very-well-known figure from our own recent history, in a role that suits the original Malthus quite well.

The book as a whole is well-organized and concise, and has useful tidbits scattered all through it.

First, let me say that this is, indeed, an awesome resource full of all kinds of amusing, creative, and useful pieces of material. From alchemical mishaps through unique poisons to things in a pocket, there's a lot of cool stuff here.

One caveat: the book claims to be system-neutral, but there are a *lot* of things that directly reference the OGL/D20 system scattered through the entire book. While there are a fair number of genuinely system-neutral pieces, the overall book is very definitely biased toward the D20 system.

If and when I have a group at the correct level, I am going to be more than willing to send them into the wilderness of Bloodsworn Vale. The lasting impact the characters can have on the Vale's development is well-handled.

The fact that when I was accidentally double-billed and sent two copies by accident, Paizo's staff willingly refunded the accidental charge doesn't hurt my opinion, either.

I'm quite willing to pay the cash for this product in hardcopy. Unlike some other people, it seems, I like to have a hardcopy of all my materials; it makes it easier to access them when I don't have my laptop, or when I'm low on power and there's nary an outlet in sight - and all in all, I like the professional quality of the product over printer-and-folder. It lasts a lot longer when you have to travel 800+ miles to game.

No more trying to track initiative and spell duration with scribbled notes or key-tapping on a laptop. Simple, efficient, and portable.

The complaint some others have had - small size - is an incredible boon for the GM who doesn't have time or space to pack around a large, full-sized book - whether a college student already overburdened or a member of the work force who can't spare room on the desk. The only nitpick I have with the whole design is the blatant reference to the GameMastery Item Cards, but since I can adapt that section, it isn't much of an issue.

From the solid feel of the book clear through the multiple chapters and the detailed appendices, this is a very well-made campaign book. Taking characters from humble beginnings to high levels, and jammed with all kinds of helpful and creative material for GMs who can't scrape the time to build their own campaign from the ground up.