... after reading books like this you almost start to accept it :D
Seriously though I was looking forward to the last of the Faiths of... line and I wans't disappointed. Like the previous booklets it bridges the gap between tenets of the faith and the believers even further and inpires. Antipaladin codes are wonderful as well. Now back to making the norgorberite ninja :)
There may be an unballanced thing or two along the way, but hey, I think I can live with that.
There is a new class - the gunslinger, which half of my group hated on sight and another half wwanted to play immediately, so I don't doubt that I'll see one in action pretty soon. It will probably see some use in skull and shackles as well IMO.
Two class variants that bring some asian flavour for current AP and as extensive archetypes ammend some things with their core counter parts. Samurai focuses the cavalier even more to combat and the Ninja brings a bit more mystic power to the rogue and also tries to add some combat value to that class, which was long asked for around the boards.
There's a ton of feats, a lot of them focused on unarmed combat give the monk some much needed love and there are archetypes that cover some previously vacant niches, like antipaladin turning undead (sort of), rather lovely, and some weird, like the siege mage. It may be weak, but I'm considering to have a canon instead of a familiar now.
Other sections include expanded asian weapon and armour rack that are rather fine. It could have been handled a bit different, but it isn't bad either. Siege weapons and vehicles are back, as are the guns. Just remember the obsession with realism while reading the firearms section, they are rather inferior to bows on later lvels on sheer DPR, but that's where guns normally belong IMO before the industrial age made them repeating (advanced firearms are included as well).
I haven't seen armour as DR and piecemeal armours in action yet, so I'll have to wait to comment them further.
As far as new spells go, there are tings to play with the new mechanics from the book and there are spells for more combat-minded casters, like rangers, paladins and so on. I don't see any problem with including these in a combat book.
This is my second favourite after the Prince of Wolves. After a rather standard fare of Plague of Shadows and Winter Witch that had their brighter moments and duller ones as well the Worldwound Gambit is a fantasy Great Heist. The characters are rather likeable (Hendregan is after some time a first really fun magician to have around), but the book isn't as much about them as about the action. The book has a more cinematic feeling than the previous ones and makes you want to see the action yourself and the grotesque landscapes of Worldwound and...
I can understand why people would feel cheated after reading this. The problem is that it tries to cover all the ethnicities. Compared to bombs like Gnome and Orcs that provide a ton more detail (since they can really focus - their equivalents would be region describing books in this respect) it feels a bit lacking, but the book certainly does a good job portraying the ethnicities from their point of view, thus bringing them closer to the player. The other books are more about what the ethnicities look like from the outside IMO. Seill a good book, but not as great.
These greenskins are fun to read and portray orcish culture just as I'd imagine them in this "general D&D/like setting." It makes them tad more believable and leaves a good impression and feel.
I love the flavour of the infernal realms in Pathfinder. They show a bit less restraint than older 3E infernal books and while a bit more vaugue (due to lack of space of this format probably) it offers a good idea about the way the Abbys works and thinks and thus sends the imagination on the path of destruction, which is really al we need. In hindsight I commend Paizo's decision not to stat superpowerful planar entities. We have High CR balors and other such horrors to present their will and displeasure to the players.
I must resist the urge to use the Seraptis demon untill my players have at least a slim chance of winning.
This book managed two seemingly conflicting things - to keep the traditional feel of the Dwarven race (one of the most conservative races that even in Eberron stayed rather unchanged if compared to others) and at the same time to add some new features that spice up the solid dwarven gravy. It's nice to see that they are people like any other with brighter and darker aspects on them.
Definitely it's a fun book to have. It has a lot of situational options, but I didn't expect a book full of things that I can use anytime anywhere. After all whether an option will be useful or not should be just as easy to determine as finding out whether a choice of goblinoids as your favoured enemy will be. It does a nice job covering some corner cases and still provides some solid general options. I don't regret investing to a hardcover copy
Archetypes are generally solid, some more suitable for specific theme compaigns, some less. This is an advanced book after all. Nothing oviously overpowering though.
Mastering Magic chapter is a jumble of things and all can come handy... some of them will definitely appear in my compaigns.
Spellblights are nice thing to keep in my sleeve for the occasion when we're playing in a world, where magic is treacherous and dangerous to trifle with.
Spell duels on the other hand would nicely complement an adventure in Nex or Haluraa, where high magic culture is maintained. I'd also like to try the dueling counter as a replacement for regular counterspells in game to make spell battles more interesting.
Outsider binding is another thing that needed more detail and here it comes. Services of hell shouldn't come too cheap after all.
I'm not too excited about constructs (weird for a Battletech design freak), but new familiars and premade spellbooks are lovely. Choosing all spells for higher level wizards can be a pain. Designing new spells is certainly not a thing I plan to do anytime soon, but it could be good to have some basic guidelines. Overall i don't particularly care for this, but it's not a thing to scoff at.
Feats... are feats, I won't pass any judgements here, hopefully the antagonize lapsus will be ammended, but otherwise I'm fine o far.
I plan to try the Words of Power out but as a fan of the Vancian style casting I'll probably stay there. An occasional change could be welcome.
Finally - Some spells caught my eye, but otherwise my general oppinion is about the same as with the feats. I'll have to judge on case by case basis when I see them in action.
It may not reach the APG heights, but it's very good.
I must say that I like this better than the stuff I've found in the Book of Vile Darkness and the Manual of the Planes. This thing doesn't look that sterile. I'd appreciate more details on various layers, but the space is limited There is enough to tip the DM's imagination toward the right direction. Maps of infinite layers are impossible to make, but some vaugue illustrtions of the hellscape would support the text nicely IMO. It's good that there are no details on the lords of hell stats, because like gods, they should be nearly allmighty in thir layers and not meant to physically enter the fight against the PCs. Some manifestations, perhaps a template for the lord of hell posessing a humanoid or an outsider would be nice. More detail on the lords of hell personality and way of things would, again, be good to have.
I won't comment on the rules, I didn't play-test them, but I appreciate that there are some basic mechanics describing basic workings of the hell's machinery.
I must say, that I'm pleased overall with this book.
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