Merrik Cale's page

I love Pathfinder tales. I also live Dave Gross' work like the Prince of Wolves book as well as some of his earlier novels. But this was a bit off.

I like the dynamic of the two main characters at that was completely missing here. The novel takes place in Tian Xia, but there seemed to be no real flavor of the land itself, which was disappointing. In Prince of Wolves, the flavor of Ustalav and its people were a real strong point of the story. Not true here. The plot itself was somewhat convoluted.

I don't want to be a Debby Downer, so I will point out some good stuff, too. The action sequences are well done. The two main characters continue too be strong and well voiced by the author. Both characters are narrators at points and each voice is very distinct.

I'm not saying don't get the book, just don't expect as good a read as some other stories in this line.

I have always thought that 4 Winds has put out quality Pathfinder products. And this is no expcetion. In fact, I feel this is the best tome they have put out.

The first chapter deals with the base classes including alternate class features for all original 11 classes. These are basically hit and miss. Instead, the highlight of this section is the two new classes. We have the apprentice which basically gives you a little flavor of two base classes (a little skill monkeyish and a little healer for example).

We also get the schooled bard which is my favorite bard. Ever. And its very patherfindery. Basically, its the usual bard but you can put skill ranks in different schools (like ministrel or sentry) and gains powers as you do so.

Next we have a slew of prestige classes which for the most part are a lot of fun. I like the land shark (a druid who runs around with a flying shark companion) and the Pikeman (a spear specialist). But there are many to choose from. My only complaint here (and its minor) is that most are 10 level classes and I like a little more variety in that respect.

The book contains a bunch of feats most of which are useful and, at least at first glance, balanced. Very well done. The spells are, well, OK.

The book then goes into tactical mauevers. Some are fine. I am not a fan of the sever manuever. I fail to see how severing a limb causes no damage. I realize its an attempt to balance the manuever but it doesn't seem logical. At least, its gives the authors a chance to give us some fun prosthetics in the next chapter.

Overall, I give the book 5 stars. Its a great read and it really delivers on its purpose- clever warfare. And it does it with the typical 4 Winds whimsy. Plus, it has the best art 4 Winds has delivered yet.