This wasn't a 1 star review simply because the author did parrot out a lot of the so-called "rules" of writing, but, geez, man, get a copyeditor if you can't clean up your own typos.
Seriously, with this advice you’re getting what you pay for. If you want help with learning how to write, you’d be better off subscribing to David Farland’s free “Daily Writing Kick” at http://davidfarland.net/.
Now, I realize Paizo’s trying to help GMs figure out how to come up with fun plot lines for their campaigns. For someone who knows *nothing*, this is possibly worth reading with a glass of salt water at hand. If you know some stuff, but aren’t an experienced writer, this is a waste of time. Experienced writers who are willing to wade through the typos may find something that resembles an interesting arm-chair writing philosophy, but it’s still more of a time waste than not.
I picked up several sets because 1 set is cheaper than 1 of the character creation dice, even after picking up the paint pen from Michael's craft store. Just note that you either need to use a paint pen (permanent marker wipes off) or to etch the dice.
I picked up this deck and the Crit Fumbles deck at DunDraCon this year based on recomendations by my gaming group. While most of their emphasis was on the Critical Hits deck, I found that the Fumbles deck added a more satisfying dimension to game play.
While I do plan to use this deck in future sessions, the main problem I have with it is that a number of the criticals in the deck sacrifice damage for effects that were irrelevant to the fights.
I like the flavor it adds, but I'll be giving my players the choice of doing a standard crit or picking a card.
I picked up both this and the Critical Hits deck while at DunDraCon this year, purchasing them solely on the recommendations of my gaming circles, and promptly incorportated them into a pick up game I ran.
So I haven't had much play time with them, oh well. In reading over the cards, they do vary in extermity, but tend to stay within reason. As someone who likes balanced game play, I find the critical fumbles to be a good way to balance out critical hits.
I plan to continue using them, and I like the optional rules that Paizo provided (confirming a crit, cashing in crit hits for crit fumble passes).
I would suggest that for lower level campaigns that the DMs allow characters to make a luck roll (opposed d20s) or some such to take a different crit fumble as the harsher ones could very well be deadly for PCs under about level 5 or so.
