This was an all round great issue. I found material that I know I will be using in the campaign I currently GM. And there is some great stuff I am sure my players will want to put to use. I should mention, I am currently running a Greyhawk campaign, which attests to the adaptability of the material.
The fiction is well executed and the art ranges from well done to amazing. Obviously I had a preference for some pieces over others, but that is entirely subjective. All of the writers, mechanics developers, and artists should be proud of their work.
Steven Russel of Rite Publishing is known for his creative designs and his desire to push the envelope of design. Both the Ironborn of Questhaven and the Wyrd of Questhaven are good examples of how Steven can craft a race you really want to play.
With Restless Souls, Steven approaches the subject of "risen" characters not by creating a wholly new race but providing a viable template that can be applied to preexisting characters. Coupled with new feat selections and spells, this product is both robust and inspiring.
From the moment I opened the document and began reading I knew this was a solid product. The template is balanced yet exciting, providing the player with an outlet to play up the "cool factor" while allaying GM concerns about party integrity.
Personally, I think the decision to provide a template as opposed to a new race was a good one. Additionally, the choice to assign this template the outsider (augmented) type instead of the more obvious undead type was inspired. That idea fits neatly with the concept of a lost soul sent back from the beyond on the command of a deity. Yet, it still allows the player to indulge in his character's "creepiness" factor without inspiring the party cleric to beat him repeatedly with a mace of disruption.
Restless Souls is an all around good product. It isn't my favorite of the Rite Publishing race books, but it is a solid entry into the canon. I would not hesitate to recommend it to others.
The Wyrd are an interesting race. As scions of ogres and elves, they are a creation of two worlds, with a rich and varied history all their own. Their way of life is both exotic and unusual, as their culture depends on certain social mores to maintain stability.
As I read the material, there were times where I felt these cultural mores were both compelling and a bit repugnant. And I mean that in a good way. For instance, the Wyrd never forgive a slight, no matter how minor. They go out of their way to record such slights in a book that they keep on their person at all times. While that kind of behavior is alien to me, I was really happy to see that kind of social trait mentioned in the book. It set the Wyrd apart from the standard races. Sure, it might be said that dwarves never forget a slight. But with the Wyrd you can guarantee you will pay for anything they perceive as a personal affront.
It should be noted that the Wyrd have an Asian flavor to them. But that shouldn't prevent you from using them in your game unless you are a purist. Golarion, in fact, can easily host them in a number of areas. Most notably, Absalom, Qadira and Katapesh would all be good places to place a significant contingent of this race.
Mechanically the material seemed fairly sound, though I would need to utilize it just to make sure. There are some interesting and effective abilities, to be sure, but nothing I would say is overwhelming in its own right. If this material was mixed with sources outside of the Pathfinder core, I am sure there could be some combination that would be quite effective. But that is hardly reason to let this great book pass you by.
While I was not so excited about the Wyrd as I was with the Ironborn, this book is still something I could see using in my campaigns. In some ways, I would want to homebrew a whole region or country around them, to really showcase their differences. And I intend to do just that with my new homebrew setting. But simply inserting them into an established setting would be painless and effective.
This is a very difficult review for me to write. Conceptually, I love the idea of mixing sci-fi and fantasy material. I am a huge fan of Fantasy Flight’s Dragonstar setting and I regularly mix steampunk-styled tech into my own games. Unfortunately, the reality of this product makes it difficult to appreciate the material.
One of the first things I noticed when I opened this document was the total lack of bookmarks. At 235 pages, a lack of bookmarks seems unusual. This omission makes the book difficult to reference and peruse.
Artistically, the document is lacking. While the art sufficiently portrays the subject matter, it appears amateurish. Perhaps it might be better to say the art does the bare minimum job but has a serious problem moving into the realm of inspirational.
Ultimately, the layout is a bit clumsy but serviceable. The tables are adequately composed and easy to read. While the text is large and clear, there are some issues involving the separation of paragraphs. The indent is small and sometimes hard to miss.
Mechanically this document has issues. The constant references to T20 are annoying and confusing. The setting is not truly PFRPG compatible, as there are a number of artifacts from 3.0 and 3.5 still lingering in the text. There are some very odd rules and rules that seem overpowered/underpowered as well. While it would take far more room than I have to detail each mechanical error, I can say the bulk of the issues really lie in the lack of compatibility with the Pathfinder RPG.
I think it is important to note there are some issues related to the OGL within the text. Some chapters that contain mechanical material derived from the SRD have been declared closed content, which runs contrary to the terms of the OGL. There are also references to creatures that have been declared close content by WotC.
Honestly, the ideas behind Dredan are good. The setting could be very compelling. Unfortunately, this book lacks a great deal of the refinement and mechanical understanding you would expect from a publisher at this point in the history of open gaming. If this product saw a positive overhaul, I think it would be worthy of great attention. But in its current incarnation it would take too much work to make this material viable at the game table.
As a huge fan of steampunk or clockwork fantasy settings, the ironborn generally fits right into my views of fantasy. But it is important to keep this in mind if you like your fantasy more along the traditional lines.
I have to say, when I first saw the ironborn race in Monte Cook's Book of Iron Might, I fell in love with them. They were a great alternative to warforged and provided a good option for those players that enjoy odd races. This update for the Pathfinder RPG does a good job keeping the spirit of the original ironborn alive while providing some new material to the mix.
Overall, the material appears balanced and is certainly intriguing. I was most interested in the clockwork familiar, which is a concept I have been toying with for quite awhile now. It was well-executed and is effective.
When I brought this material to my last game session, I had a player immediately jump at the chance to play a member of this race. I thought it would be a great idea and I have gone about adapting the race's background for the Ptolus setting.
And that is an important thing to note. This material is easy to adapt to any setting, so long as you can see living constructs making their mark on the world of your choice. For instance, I can easily see the race integrated into Golarion by a number of methods. So don't let the default setting hold you back in that regard.
In addition, this particular product has seen a number of bumps in the road to release. Don't let dissuade you from buying a great product. Rite Publishing has done a fantastic job correcting those issues and re-issuing the document to their customers. Simply put, they are very professional and quick to answer concerns and questions. They are genuinely interested in correcting mistakes they have made with this material.
All in all, I would highly recommend this product to anyone interested in integrating this kind of feature into their campaign setting. I am excited to see what Rite Publishing will produce in the future.
While the adventure might seem a bit railroady for some people's tastes, I was happy to see a PFS scenario dungeon that provided choices on direction but still contained the plot within the boundaries of the cellar.
The influences from Lovecraft and specific sci-fi stories were a fantastic addition. I particularly like the info provided about the solar system and the brief mentions of the planet Aucturn. Good stuff. For players who may not be familiar with Golarion it gave me a reason to discuss those topics, pepper it with info from other sources, and expand their view of the game universe. But just enough info was provided so that a GM with no experience in these areas would be able to run the adventure as well.
There are places for some good roleplaying. For instance, I decided to more fully flesh out the encounter in the archive and turned it into a wholly roleplaying experience. There are many more and it helps solidify this scenario as one of the best I have ever had the honor of organizing.
Far and away the best steampunk material released for 3.5. The price is high but it might be worth if you are truly interested. If you are into fantasy steampunk it is definitely something to look at. Both the Character Guide and the World Guide clock in at about 400 pages.
Far and away the best steampunk material released for 3.5. The price is high but it might be worth if you are truly interested. If you are into fantasy steampunk it is definitely something to look at. Both the Character Guide and the World Guide clock in at about 400 pages.
Todd Stewart proves why he is the Khan of All Things Planar. This is a fantastic book filled with a nice overview of each of the Golarion planes.
Better yet, the cosmology is flexible enough to use with other settings. In fact, I would likely use this cosmology in place of the traditional Great Wheel, no matter what world I am using. There is more than enough room for gods and powers from other setting. But that doesn't mean all of my Planescape material is useless. Most will fit easily in the Golarion Spheres. Much of the fantastic 3rd party planar material can also find a home in this cosmology.
The book is mostly crunch free so it would work well in other game systems. What little crunch there is would act as good inspiration on how to convert some of the new planar beasties to your system of choice.
Just remember, this is an overview product and doesn't go into great depth for any one plane. But the information provided is more than sufficient to span ideas. And, as stated, other planar material will fit easily into the tapestry that Shemeska has provided for us.
This is a fairly good book that provides solid material for 4th edition chromatic dragons. There are some new additions, which I found to be interesting. Meanwhile the old standards remain intact and are as vibrant as ever. I highly recommend this book, even if you do not play 4e.
Take some tired old monsters, add a dash of Paizo quality, and you get Classic Monsters Revisited. This is a fantastic book that can really be used in any campaign. No foreknowledge of Golarion is required.
This is a great introduction to the Pathfinder setting. Just reading the book makes me want the hardcover campaign setting even more. I highly recommend this book.
In my opinion this game has the best magic system on the market and it is this trait alone that makes the game worth every penny.
If you have any interest in dynamic storytelling, interesting character development, and a semi-accurate representation of the medieval world this game is for you.
Just remember that this game provides a myriad of options and was never designed with balance in mind. Some characters will simply be more powerful than others. Life in the convenant reflects the historical medieval hierarchy, where the true power lies in the hands of the few while the foundation of society rests on the backs of the multitude. But this does not mean playing one of the "little people" is boring. Far from it. It just means the game requires a certain amount of finesse to pull off correctly.
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