RPG Superstar 2013 Star Voter. Pathfinder Society GM. 5,433 posts (5,520 including aliases). 58 reviews. 1 list. No wishlists. 6 Pathfinder Society characters. 13 aliases.
The Good:
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* Depicts two useful, iconic locations: A river with bridge (troll not included), and a dusty pass/ravine. I expect this guy to get a lot of use.
* Very high quality art in line with Paizo's other recent maps.
The Bad:
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* Thinner plastic/card stock first seen in Flip-Mat: Watch Station is still evident.
* The bridge on the river side is set diagonally relative to the grid, which can make life a bit of a pain.
I picked this up at the FLGS on a whim, based largely on the author. I loved River King's Road, and found Mrs. Merciel to be a very nice lady when I had the chance to meet her at PaizoCon 2011, so I wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, it was just OK.
The Good:
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The book really conveys the feel of living in Nidal -- the horror and desperation of everyday residents, the unconscious self-loathing of the rank-and-file oppressors -- in a very immediate way. The prose is well-constructed, with evocative descriptions and many clever turns of phrase. I commend the author in this respect, and only hope I will someday be capable of this level of craft. Well done!
The Bad:
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The work as a whole felt...rushed. Multiple pages were devoted to scenes of little consequence, but other, more important scenes were given little room to breathe. The plot felt disjointed, almost as if there were two books here struggling to get out, but the author couldn't quite decide where she was going. In the end, things didn't really gel into a cohesive whole, leaving the novel less than the sum of its parts.
In the interest of full disclosure: Though I'm outspoken against what I consider rules bloat, I'll try to keep my personal bias out of my rating...which is particularly hard in this case, as UC represents the worst Pathfinder rules expansion to date.
The good:
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* Art and layout -- In typical Paizo fashion, this is a beautiful book.
* As with the APG, many of the spells are gems -- though most of these probably should have been in Ultimate Magic.
The bad:
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* Editing. Take the infamous Prone Shooter feat, which in its original form did...absolutely nothing.
* Conceptual redundancy. Ninja? That's a rogue. Samurai? Try Cavalier...or better yet, fighter.
* Lack of balance. Ninjas are just better than rogues. Snap Shot? Improved Snap Shot? AoOs with ranged weapons -- because Pathfinder archers weren't already too good before UC?
But there is a bigger problem with this book: The Asian theme. It's not bad that such a book exists -- to each their own -- but that this stuff doesn't belong in a book called Ultimate Combat. Unless you're looking for Oriental Adventures for Pathfinder...pass. Even if you are, be very careful with the balance.
(**---)
If you are a GM and don't already have a substantial collection of pre-painted minis from the heyday of the D&D miniatures line, drop what you are doing and buy one (or two) of these boxes. Even if you do have a good selection of minis, these pawns are well worth the cost of admission for use at conventions or in other GMing on the go.
Either way, this box has joined the Condition Cards and Flip-Mat: Basic on my short list of must-have products that deliver crazy value for Pathfinder GMs.
When Paizo first started producing the art for the flip-mats several years ago, the quality took a leap forward. This art employed here marks another such leap -- the terrain is awash in fine detail. This is probably the best-looking "table-scale" art I've ever seen in a gaming product.
I believe this is also the first flip-mat to depict a forest unmarked by paths or other signs of civilization, making it a very useful addition to my GMing toolbox.
