It's hard not to echo what previous reviewers have stated, but maybe it's important for the publishers to get the general feeling of the praises and gripes about their products.
The book does a great job of introducing people to the Inner Sea. I have had some difficulty adventuring in the area and reading the fiction and not having a map in front of me to help me figure out, "Where the heck are we, anyway?" :) Further reading in the book also helps understand both of the aforementioned as the nations are detailed well-enough.
The lack of artwork was, like a previous poster said, kinda' glaring. For a $10.99 product I know we can't expect Rembrandt, but to use the inside back cover to repeat the front cover artwork is a little weak. How about a picture of the Starstone Cathedral or something equally as epic?
Still, I recommend the book to anyone who adventures in The Inner Sea. Very helpful.
I decided to step-out a bit and order these. My fear was that maybe they had the power to greatly derail the storyline, but one of the things I like about the cards is the recommendation that came with them that states, basically, if the card will break your game, replace it with another card. This way the game doesn't go sideways, and your player doesn't feel cheated, but you still get a fresh turn of events to keep people interested.
Just reading them gave me and my players some great role-playing ideas, and my group can't wait to actually use the ones they were dealt. I'd recommend these to anyone who plays Pathfinder/3.5.
One of the best things about this module is the production value. The pages are all of a nice magazine-quality stock, the artwork is well-done and appropriate to use as a game aid.
For those of us who have moved from 3.5 to Pathfinder it was also nice to have some "hand-holding" on the differences between those two systems (and the PF beta). The only down side (as previously mentioned) is a need for more boxed-text. Not a lot, but a bit more could have helped.
This module is also well-suited to those of us who need something to plop down in our own campaign world. Very little tinkering is needed to mold it to the home brew I've been running for about 7 years. Keep up the good work, Paizo. :)
On the good side: one monster-per-page (or two), well-organized stat blocks and descriptions, the ability to advance critters easily and effectively, the background story on the beasties (more fluff is better!), the overall layout of the book and its sturdiness
On the bad side: missing some of our favorites (But that must be a licensing issue, right? How can I live without Beholders?? LOL ), and the manga-ish-ness of some of the artwork is a bit distracting to a certain level of realism enjoyed in the game, though overall the artwork is good
Overall, a good purchase. I do not regret dropping the cash. :)
My game group REALLY did not want to make a switch to 4.0 (quite frankly, it sucks) but wanted to keep playing DnD in the same genre and feel it has had for the last 30 years. At the same time, 3.5 had become too big for its britches with all the expansions that often included an almost inherent ability for munchkins to min/max the joy right out of the game.
This rulebook does an excellent job of cleaning up some of the bad from 3.5 (i.e., the new CMB CMD stuff is GREAT), while keeping the feel of high adventure in a well-written rules system. Unless Paizo does something really weird with the game, my group will be investing in this system for many years to come.
On the good side: great sturdiness, height and width, professional appearance, usefulness and placement of most tables included
On the bad side: would have liked to see the AoO chart included (not the XP and Treasure stuff), and lose the manga-style artwork (I know I am in the minority opinion here, but the more "cartooney" the artwork looks the more it detracts from a sense of realism in the game)
Overall, nice job, Paizo. I do not regret the $15 price tag at all. :)
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