Heroes of the East 3 (PFRPG) PDF

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How the East Was Won

It is the spirit of the orient that, in order for one man to triumph over another, they must not only be physically superior, but spiritually more enlightened. The clashing of steel on the battlefield is mirrored by the chasing of ideals in the hearts of men. It is with that in mind we set out to explore our third book in the Heroes of the East.

2 New Base Classes

  • Yamabushi: A spiritual warrior monks whose dedication to the path of self-enlightenment is matched only with their martial prowess
  • Shinshoku: Priests who acts on behalf of a specific kami. They are unique among spellcasters for their wide range of spells and novel method of casting them. Indicative of the culture and mythos, they are in service to their kami companion rather than the other way around.

4 New Martial Art Styles

  • Ninjitsu
  • Southern Scorpion Style Kung Fu
  • Jeet kun do
  • Wudang Sword

Ten New Oriental Themed Archetypes

  • Warrior Monk (Yamabushi): No spells but more martial elements.
  • Sorcerous Ninja (Ninja): A spellcasting ninja.
  • Oniwaban (Ninja): A spy who can perfectly mimic his target.
  • Honorable Shinobi (Ninja): A ninja who gains more martial abilities.
  • Iga Ninja (Ninja): Part alchemist, part ninja, all saboteur.
  • Street Fighter (Monk): A grit monk who picks on characters specialties.
  • Onna-bugeisha (Samurai): A female samurai who specializes with a naginata.
  • Hwarang (Samurai): A noble Korean warrior who dresses in special makeup.
  • Sikh Warrior (Fighter): A katar wielding, chakram throwing warrior from India.
  • Khan (Barbarian): A raging, riding, archer barbarian reminiscent of the Mongol hordes.

Three New Oriental Prestige Classes

  • Dervish: A whirling double weapon warrior who is as much fighter as dancer.
  • Youxia: A mainstay of the wuxia genre, a youxia is a gallant wandering swordsman who fights for the common man.
  • Wukong: Practitioners of a unique school of martial arts that follow in the footsteps of the Chinese folk hero Son Wukong (the Monkey King).

New Eastern Themed Weapons

  • 6 New Weapon Types
  • 8 New Magic Items

Product Availability

Fulfilled immediately.

Are there errors or omissions in this product information? Got corrections? Let us know at store@paizo.com.

PZOPDFLRGHOTE3E


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An Endzeitgeist.com review

3/5

This supplement is 30 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2/3 of a page SRD, leaving us with 27 1/3 pages of content, so let's take a look, shall we?

After a short introduction on what to expect, we immediately kick off with the first supplemental base-class found herein, the Yamabushi (which is unfortunately named just like a certain already existing class by Zombie Sky Press). Unlike ZSP's take on a transmutation-only caster, LRGG's Yamabushi is rather martially-inclined, gaining d10, 2+Int skills per level, proficiency with light and medium armor as well as simple and monk weapons and e.g. katana and naginata, full BAB-progression and good fort- and will-saves. They also learn to cast spells of up to fourth level from teh ranger-list via wis and gain a slight scaling AC-bonus when unencumbered and unarmed equal to wis-bonus plus 1, scaling up to +5 at 2oth level. Oni, chaotic outsiders and dragons are foes of the Yamabushi and thus take extra damage from their attacks: Yamabushi get their wis-mod to damage and add twice the amount to attacks versus the aforementioned creatures, though thankfully capping the maximum amount of bonus damage possible by level, thus preventing abuse. Yamabushi also get a samurai's resolve pool (nice!), may speak to an area's kami and finally capstone with true enlightenment. Overall a solid class - I like the synergy with the samurai's resolve pool - but honestly, I would have preferred the class to be a tad bit less linear - there's not much to do with regards to choices and I would have loved to see more options for players to diversify Yamabushi-experiences there. Still, nothing particularly wrong here.

The second new class would be the Shinshoku, who gets d8, 2+Int skills per level, proficiency with simple weapons and light armor, 1/2 BAB-progression, good will-saves and full spellcasting - of an unconventional nature. The Shinshoku blurs the borders between prepared and spontaneous casting : While casting via charisma, the maximum amount of spells available per day is more akin to that of the wizard and the class gets a kami companion - who has to vanish to the spirit world, retrieve the spell and impart it to the Shinshoku - including a set amount of time it takes to retrieve the spell. The Shinshoku draws his/her spells from both the cleric and sorc/wiz spell-lists, casting either as divine spells. While their limited proficiencies impede their tanking capability, that measn armored casting is only one feat away - and that's bad. What's worse is that as far as I#ve understood it, ALL SPELLS IMMEDIATELY BECOME AVAILABLE. Yes. You may postpone preparing spells, send off your Kami and retrieve ANY SPELL. That's intrinsically better than either sorc/wiz OR cle/orc. AND the Kami and its damage potential also come into play. Yes, the retrieved spell only remains class level hours in the memory of the Shinshoku, but still - the added versatility makes this less of a drawback than it should. They can't truly die as long as a focus object is intact and even that one can be repaired. I assume roleplaying with the Kami is in some way supposed to restrict what spells are available, but as written, the class is HORRIBLY BROKEN. The spells NEED desperately an additional and much more restrictive limitation - perhaps by only sticking in the mind for 10 minutes per class level or the capability to only have one spell (or only class level spell-levels) in their memory- something severe to offset the massive superiority in versatility over sorc, wiz, cle and orc as well as the companion -especially since the class gets to choose from kami-affinities that further reduce the time retrieving spells takes. This class is a great idea, but one that requires fixing - which could be easily done and make this actually work well...

After these base classes, we go on to some new archetypes: The warbound yamabushi loses spellcasting and ac-bonus, but gets d10 and heavy armor proficiency. Wait. What? They already HAVE d10!!! That's just a sloppy basic mistake that makes me question whether the Yamabushi class is actually depicted as it was envisioned...

The Kuji-Kiri-Ninja is rather cool, learning to cast a limited amount of spontaneous spells from the sorc/wiz-spell-list via Cha, thus replacing their poison use and ninja tricks - nothing to complain here. Oniwaban ninja get 1/2 class levels as bonuses to bluff, disguise and sense motive and replace ninja tricks with essentially impersonation-based powers, essentially making unmasking the ninja extremely difficult - again, neat one!

The next archetype for the ninja would be the honorable shinobi, who gets weapon damage bonuses and count as fighter-levels at the cost of sneak attack and who may enhance their weapons via imbued ki. Iga Ninja are also interesting, losing sneak attack in favor of alchemist's bombs and some discoveries - again, awesome!

Monks may now opt to take the Street Fighter archetype, who actually gets a grit pool instead of a ki pool - all focused on unarmed attacks and when fighting foes using styles, ranger combat style feats, weapon specialization etc. - which is imho an actually rather awesome idea - the overall archetype is iconic, cool and well-crafted. Two thumbs up!

The Onna-Bugeisha is a female samurai especially adept with the naginata, while Hwarang samurai get alternate weapon expertise and alternate skill lists as well as a ki pool and at higher levels, may wear bolstering, creepy make-up and gain evasion. Nice one! Korean traditions only rarely see any kind of rules-representation/coverage - so kudos for doing something distinct here!

Fighters may now opt to become Sikh warriors, who get no proficiency in heavy armors or martial weapons, instead getting their own weapon list -essentially this one is mostly fluff, though much like the Hwarang, it comes with a nice code. Barbarians may now become Khans (imho unfortunately-named - like calling a class a king or a general - Khan is a honorific!) - essentially mounted barbarians. Nothing too interesting going on there.

After that, we're off to the 3 new 10-level PrCs, first of which would be the Dervish, who gets 4+Int skills per level, d10, full BAB-progression and medium ref-saves - essentially these guys are the heirs to 3rd edition's Tempests - only for double weapons. Their abilities are focused on double weapons and they are a weapon specialist of the class, including bonus feats etc.

The second PrC is the Youxia, who gets full BAB-progression, 4+Int skills per level, d10 and medium fort- and ref-saves. They get a ki-pool (if they already don't have one) and gain several defensive powers, making them e.g. superb bodyguards (Shield other) and may expend ki-points to increase his/her damage output.

The third would be the Wukong, who gets d8, medium ref- and will-saves -and lacks information on how many skills per level they get. Sloppy. Which is a pity, for per se the class is rather cool, allowing the Wukong to make his/her staff larger or transform into various forms akin to a druid's wild-shape and make massive leaps.

After that one, we're off to new style feats, kicking off with ninpo - which allows you to move yourself into an adjacent square still in range of an enemy missing you and later reposition foes as a result of being missed by said foe - as an immediate action as a kind of limit, though I would have preferred it also using up an AoO-attempt, but that's just personal preference. Rather cool would be the option to, as a move action, move 5 foot from a designated enemy and vanish from their sight for one round. Rather iconic, though honestly, I would have required additional information on whether the enemy may retry a perception check upon his/her/its next turn to see you again. The other feats of the style allow you to gain non-stacking precision damage and gain some further bonuses for being missed.

The Southern Scorpion style nets you +10 ft movement rate as well as +2 to AC and for every enemy missing you, you get +2 to atk against them since the start of that foe's turn. The other two feats of the style are even more powerful - one netting you an AoO every time a foe misses you (I assume still adhering to the limit per round, though the feat doesn't specify) - but it fails to add in the caveat that only melee attacks provoke these AoOs. Otherwise, ranged attacks could also provoke AoOs. Beyond that, the third feat in the tree allows you to forego regular attacks for one attack at -4 to atk that auto-threatens a crit and deals double damage as well as imposing a -minus 1/2 dex-mod penalty to saves versus death effects and poisons. If you actually manage to confirm the crit, you deal 3x the damage. Something about this feat rubs me the wrong way - while not per se ridiculously overpowered, it feels like it falls on the strong side and is a tad bit too strong for my tastes - getting rid of the x3 modifier might remedy that, but still - a slightly sour taste remains.

Jyoti Kun Do is an interesting style in that it negates the benefits of weapon focus and weapon specialization (I also assume the greater versions, but the feat fails to specify them) and penalizes users of style feats using them against you. You may also later choose a feat a foe uses against you to not net your foe any benefits 1/combat per creature. Per se an awesome feat - but the rules-text is lacking - does e.g. the maximize spell metamagic feat count as a feat for the purpose of this feat? If so, is regular damage rolled instead of the maximum amount or is the user immune to the spell thus modified? A more tight wording can easily salvage this feat, though - so I'm hoping for a revision here. Oh, and yeah, we get an adept version of the One-Inch Punch, if you haven't by now guessed the inspiration for the style...

We also get 6 new exotic weapons before diving into the magical item-section. Rather awesome is a Guan Dao of legendary weight that requires Str 18 and weighs a whopping 100 pounds, hearkening back to mythology - neat. We also get neat twin blades and bloodthirsty blades here - nice section.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting per se are very good on the formal basis, though there are multiple instances of basic rules-language editing having gone wrong. Layout adheres to a 2-column parchment-background standard with multiple original, nice full color artworks. The pdf is fully bookmarked for your convenience.

I really want to love this pdf - overall, its ideas and the respective executions work well and touch upon some genuinely neat concepts. In fact, while editing is better than in other LRGG-publications, I did encounter some glitches that are easily avoidable/corrected and they actually go so far as to impede my enjoyment of the pdf, featuring several instances of rules-language that needs to be more precise and the e.g. lacking skill-information is a massive detriment, as is the fact that one of the two base-classes is horribly broken and needs fixing. Which makes me angry -for I want to give this pdf the 4-5 stars the content would deserve, were it executed sans flaws. I really hope this pdf will be revised - as written, in spite of the great ideas, I can't rate this higher than 3.5 stars - if you do not mind the issues I mentioned, I still encourage you to check this out.

Endzeitgeist out.


The Most Unpolished Product I've Ever Loved

4/5

I've noticed a distinct lack of eastern-themed material in most of the role-playing games that I have used for a great many years, with those eastern materials that were produced largely feeling either tacked-on as an afterthought, or requiring that I learn what feels like an entirely new system to use them. Little Red Goblin have managed to present some fresh new options for game play, and keep them well within the range of the average player already familiar with the D20 system. With that said, I've got a couple of gripes to include with my praise.

First, one of my biggest pet peeves - which seems to totally fail to phase the run-of-the-mill Internet user today - is the combination of poor grammar and spelling mistakes. There aren't a huge amount of either in this product, but there are some, and it seems like just a little bit more time with a proofreader or editor would have made this already excellent product even better. There were one or two points where the grammar was bad enough that I had trouble telling exactly how a new rules mechanic worked, but I'm sure that it will get cleaned up in errata or future revisions. Users accustomed to textspeak and social media probably won't even notice this, instead feeling a bit off because of all the words that ARE used and spelled correctly.

Next, I have a combination of a criticism and an appreciation. This product relies heavily on rules from the Bestiary 3, Ultimate Magic, Ultimate Combat, and Ultimate Equipment (to a lesser degree). It would be great if this were flagged somewhere other than in the very last section, in the very last column, on the very last page. It's not in the product description on the Paizo website. It's not on the cover. It's not on the title page. It's not in the introduction. Admittedly, all of the rules used are available in the Pathfinder SRD online, so you don't really have to have copies of those books, but I tend to skip over rules that I don't have right in front of me and don't tend to go to the web to get them. Even so, I DO have copies of these books and love the fact that Heroes of the East III integrates so well with them. Third parties have often, it seems to me, ignored the later rules expansions that publishers have produced, and the fact that Little Red Goblin uses them so thoroughly makes Paizo's products even more useful to me. I've always felt a bit like later rules expansions were less valuable than the core rule books, and this definitely adds to the value of those books.

The class archetypes don't have descriptive text with them. I'm not intimately familiar with the various eastern cultures, so I don't just automatically know what their purpose is in the game. The product description here on the Paizo website says more about the reason to use the archetypes than the PDF does. Sure, some of them are fairly obvious, and I'm sure that Little Red Goblin just missed them in the clamor of getting this otherwise excellent product to market. A little poking around on the web or in a well-outfitted public library (does anyone remember those, or what they are for?) should clear much of this up, however.

At the end of the day, and while it seems like I've been fairly critical here, I'm still giving this product four stars out of five. It's well-thought-out and the classes and options that it adds manage to feel like fresh takes on approaching the game and not like new paint over the same old classes. The Yamabushi base class is one of the few new base classes that I've felt excited about recently, and my inner power gamer likes the Shinshoku and is gleefully rubbing his hands together in anticipation of unleashing it in a game world in the near future.

To the guys at Little Red Goblin: you've come through again, and I've come to expect no less from you. Thanks for this excellent product, even if it could use a bit of editing.


I am 4 Ninja(Archetypes)s

4/5

Heroes of the East 3 is a whopping 30 page PDF, filled to the brim with Archetypes, Prestige Classes, Base Classes, Feats, Weapons and Magic items. There is about 3/4ths of a page of OGL, Two Cover pages, leaving 27.25 (wow that’s an awkward number) pages worth of content. For the integrity of the review, I have to mention that I received this copy for free, but for 4.99, there’s something for everyone in this book.

Starting off we have the Yamabushi, one of the first base clases. The Yamabushi is a d10 HD Full BAB Class with a good Fort and Will Save. All Yamabushi have to be Non-Chaotic and they have proficiency with all simple and Monk Weapons, plus the Katana, Naginata, and Wakizashi, and proficient with Light and Medium armor, but not shields. 2+ Int mod skills per level, with a skill set similar to other classes of the type it is (beefy with a few knowledge skills). It gets an AC bonus like a Monk has, and Resolve like a Samurai. It eventually casts spells like a Ranger using the Ranger Spell list, and a bonus to damage against Chaotic Outsiders, Oni and Chaotic dragons. Eventually it can treat all attacks around it made by allies as lawful, and few things dealing with True Names. Its capstone is pretty boring, adding its wisdom to all saves, and allowing it to take 20 on all knowledge checks relating to Kami. My honest opinion? Yawnbushi. It’s not really ground breaking or does anything cool, it’s just good against Chaotic things, and has a few knowledge skills related to Kami. Nothing’s wrong with it (Except the Smite Chaos Listed at level 4 which I’m assuming is a text error), and it’s well designed and balanced, it just doesn’t pop out to me. It’s the kind of thing you’d have to be into.

The next class listed is the Shinshoku. The Shinshoku is a d8 HD Half BAB divine spell caster with an alignment restriction of Non-Evil. It has all knowledge skills among other things as class skills, and 2+ int mod skills per level. It’s proficient with all simple weapons and light armor, and can cast in it just fine (since it’s light armor). It casts both Arcane and Divine Spells, and uses the same progression as a Wizard/Cleric, and casts from both spell lists. It doesn’t have a spell book, so it’s just shackled by spells known. It uses Charisma to cast, and can get bonus spells per level based on having a good CHA mod. How it prepares it’s spell is interesting, as it sends the Kami into the Spirit world, and allows it to get spells in a certain amount of time (1d4-1 rounds for Arcane, 1d6-1 for Divine), allowing it to not use all of its slots in a day. Oh, I guess I should mention its Kami. The Kami it gets is roughly an animal companion like a druids, except it’s treated as an outsider (and gets all good things about that), and has a D10 HD and a Full BAB, and is immune to bleed, mind affecting effects, petrification effects and Polymorph effects as well, along with getting 6+ int mod skills per level. This Class seems very powerful, and I’m wondering what it was balanced against. Being able to not only get all the spells you want, but prepare them in a jiffy, and even leave some open in case of certain situations sounds like it would lead to disaster. I’d be weary allowing one in a game, but it’s certainly there.

Moving past the base classes, we have the archetypes. The first Archetype is kind of boring, as in it just changes the Yamabushi a little, making it lose its spell casting/AC bonus to get proficiency with Heavy armor, and martial weapon proficiency. I’m assuming it’s a glitch in that it says it’s HD turns to d10 as it already has a d10, and maybe it’d go to a d12? A little clarification is needed.

The next archetype really tickles my pickle, which is the Kuji Kiri Ninja, or the Sorcerous Ninja. They need to have one hand open to do the motions required, but they are gain 6 levels of spellcasting, allowing it to be a half caster like a Bard. It uses the Divination, Illusion and Enchantment School for its pool of spells, and trades a little more than half of its Ninja tricks for it. Again, really cool Archetype, super flavorful and I could see myself playing one.

The Oniwaban it’s the next archetype for the Ninja, allowing it to fool a lot of spells, and even turn into the other person out of study. It can study people 2 hours per HD, and can store 1 Persona per 4 level + CHA mod, eventually being able to tell everything about the character it’s copied. This makes for great NPCs, and possibly even greater PCs. Being able to exactly clone someone is really cool, and it’s super evocative.

The Honorable Shinobi loses his Sneak attack most of his Ninja tricks to be able to deal more consistent damage, and even adjust his weapons with magical abilities. Instead of Sneak attack, he gets +2 damage on attacks that would count as sneak attack, going up by plus +2 on every odd level. At 4th, he can use Ki to add abilities to his weapons, much like a Magus can use his Arcane pool to Augment it. As someone who curses his dice often, it’s great to see a more consistent way to deal sneak attack damage without having to take wonky talents.

The Iga Ninja instead is more of smart, less sneaky ninja. His Ki Pool is based on his INT instead of his CHA, and he gets bombs instead of sneak attack, following the bomb progression of an Alchemist. Eventually he’s able to take discoveries at certain levels. I kinda wish him getting the Discoveries were at any level, and just let him take them instead of Ninja Tricks instead of getting discoveries for free, but eh, it’s fine otherwise, if a little bit powerful.

The Street Fighter is the next archetype, which is for the Monk. Instead of a Ki Pool, you get a Grit pool, and you’ve got to take style feats instead of the usual monk bonus feats. It can use Grit for a few things that replace regular monk abilities, but can restore it by doing cool things (as per grit), but also getting it while using people who have signature fighting styles, Such as a Ranger using a feat from his Combat Style, someone with Weapon Specialization or Greater Weapon Focus. Since his Grit pool is smaller than a Ki Pool would usually be, he can gain multiple points of grit per round, and can restore them (as opposed to Ki). As a huge fan of 2d fighters, this is the kinda monk I like seeing, as opposed to the traditional aesthetic kind.

The Onna-Bugeisha is an Archetype for female only samurai that specialize in using the Naginata, being able to strike from Close and Far with it, and based on the actual history of how females in Japan preferred that weapon. It eventually threatens 5 feet along with the usual 10, and gets a bonus to crit on it that actually stacks with Keen, which is a rare ability that doesn’t see as much use. Very cool, though I don’t see myself playing a female samurai any time soon, haha.

The Hwarang is another archetype for the Samurai, based on the actual Hwarang, known as “Flower Knights”. They get a different set of class skills (Mostly ones that deal with social and courtly affairs), a different selection of weapons and eventually a ki pool. It’s choice of weapons is based more on the Korean history ones instead of the usual Japanese (Which makes sense since they are based on Korean History). At 4th level they get a ki pool allowing them to do the usual things (Make an extra attack, Get extra movement speed and a +4 Dodge bonus). At 6th they get the ability to… apply makeup? To get a bonus on intimidate checks? This is a little bit of a weird ability but it works, I guess. It’s not very useful but ehhh… Eventually it gets Evasion so long as it has Ki in its Ki Pool, and upgrading to improved evasion eventually. It’s an interesting class, but I wish the Make Up ability was a little bit better.

The Sikh Warrior is a Fighter Archetype that’s for Good Fighters only. It’s based on the actual Sikh’s and doesn’t do them justice, sadly. Having a code of Conduct and it’s dodge bonus only applying a certain number of things, and it’s stuck using a very specific set of weapons might make for interesting NPCs, but very boring PCs.

Last but not Least is the Khan archetype for the Barbarian. A Mounted ranged archetype for the barbarian is weird, but totally fits the Khans. They get a mount like a druid replacing their fast movement and trapsense, mounted combat as a bonus feat instead of a rage power and a lowered penalty while doing mounted archery.

Starting off on the Prestige Classes, you have the Dervish, a double weapon wielding quick dex style fighter. It has a d10 HD and a Full BAB, with good Reflex saves. Needing Whirlwind attack, and proficiency with a double weapon to get in, there is some feat tax (since Whirlwind Attack is so intensive to get in), but otherwise pretty easy. Two levels in gets you dex on damage whenever you’re two weapon fighting with a double weapon, and you get stuff like the ability to make a whirlwind attack after your full movement. All and all, very well balanced, and seems fun enough.

The Youxia is a prestige class requiring a BAB of 10 to get into, or 7 levels of monk and proficiency with an exotic weapon. With a d10 HD and a Full BAB, and a good Fort and Ref save, it’s definitely up in the frey. It gets a Ki pool, but if another class gives it one, its levels stack with it. It’s the equivalent of a Sword Saint, being able to go into a Trance that costs 1 ki point a round, that gives him bonuses based on the level of Youxia he is. It’s kind of similar to Rage, in that he ends up fatigued at the end of it. Staying in the Trance isn’t that worth it until you hit 4th level of Youxia, where he’s autohasted, and once you hit 10th, all of your attacks are treated like you have truestrike up (so long as you have 7 or more Ki points in your pool) He’s also able to charge his weapon with Ki, to add his Wisdom to Damage, Reroll a miss or Crit confirmation, or even add an extra 1d6 of damage. Eventually they a free bonus to hit/damage with their chosen weapon, and they eventually are able to meditate to get some of their Ki back. It’s a nice little melee style class that can eventually nova out, pretty cool.

The final prestige class is Wukong, which is for Vanera only. Based on the Legend of Son Wukong, many Vanera decide to follow that path. I’m slightly curious as to how to get one without using an archetype as you need to be Non-Lawful and have a Ki Pool. I guess you can use a ninja, but it’s a little blargh, but that’s more the fault of the monk, and not the Wukong. Wielding Quarter staves, and being able to Enlarge and reduce them is pretty awesome and evocative, and very relative to the legend itself. Eventually it’s able to make clones (aka mirror images) out of hairs, use true seeing, and true to legend, become unable to die. If he does die, they are eventually reborn from stone. I’m going to be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to this archetype because I normally dislike Vanera, but I’m pleasantly surprised.

Finally we get to the Style feats, which have fighting styles based on Ninjutsu, Scorpion Style, Wudang and Jeet Kun Do. Ninjutsu is pretty cool, allowing you to sidestep, reposition, or even get a better chance to crit on opponents who miss you.

Scorpion style is interesting, as the original Pathfinder Scorpion style is really really bad. This one makes you a little slower, but harder to hit, and gives you bonuses to hitting enemies who miss you, eventually allowing you to get AO’s on people who miss you, and the feat lets you make an attack that’ll autocrit if it hits, and makes them more susceptible to actual poision, pretty cool if a bit impractical.

“Jyoti Kun Do” is a fighting style from a Jyoti, an Avian Creature from the Positive Energy Plane that learned how fly even after losing its wings in a fight with a master martial artist. Training under the “Ip Meng”, the Jyoti developed its own style. Cheesy story and thinly veiled references aside, JKD is a style all about countering other styles. People with Weapon Focus/Specialization don’t get that benefit against you while you’re using the style, and people using style feats are even worse against you. Eventually you can nullify feats themselves, and even get the legendary 1 inch punch. JKD is a fun style that’s a great throwback to a great martial artist.

Wudang is based on using a Jian in one hand, and having a free hand for a fist, eventually letting you make free attacks with the Jian and fist, or letting your unarmed strikes use the profile as a Jian. And what is a Jian, you might ask? Fret not Gentle reader, as we’ll get into it in the next section.

Some of the new weapons are basically reskins of others, but there are a few new ones, such as the Guan Dao, which is a titan of a weapon weighing in at 22 pounds. The Jian is interesting, in that it acts as a Rapier along with its unique profile. All of them seem fine, though it’s a little disappoint that the Guan Dao is 22 pounds but is only a d10 in damage. I’d expect it to have a bit of a heavier hit.
Finally, ending this PDF, there various magic items, all dotting various types of Eastern history. Probably my favorite is the Gan Jiang and the Mo Ye, two Jians that share effects. If you boost one, it halves the time it lasts, and applies it to both. It sounds really fun, especially if one gets in the hand of an enemy who keeps on buffing it.

All and all, there’s a lot to like and dislike in this PDF. It’s defiantly worth the purchase, as there will be something you will like. Bar none. I’m not a huge fan of the base classes in it, but the Prestige classes, and about 3/4ths of the archetypes are really cool. The only editing error I noticed was on the Yamabushi, but otherwise it’s pretty clean in that regard. 3.5 stars, pushed up to 4 for the purpose of this Review. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll probably be making a Kuji-Kiri Ninja, and casting my way to victory.


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Review posted. Holy crap this was a lot of content in one PDF, haha.


@Rubber Block
Thanks for the fantastic & indepth review! We just fixed 3 misprints (yamabushi chart, wukong alignment, and warrior monk's HD)!


Hey guys!
We added some erratta. In addition to some spelling/pronoun adjustments the following elements have changed. This will be reflected in a revised version later tonight.

Yamabushi
Mountain Hermit
The yamabushi must have at least 1 rank in the class skill and the skill must be a yamabushi class skill.

True Enlightenment
The skill selected must be a yamabushi class skill.

Shinshoku
Spells
“In order to prepare a spell a shinshoku must send his kami companion into the spirit world to retrieve it.”
A kami may only retrieve a single spell at a time.

A Returning Kami
If the square is occupied, a kami returns to the nearest unoccupied square. If this is not possible, it simply returns to it’s object.

Learning Spells
This paragraph is not necessary.

The shinshoku & spell trigger/crafting items
As shinshoku does not actually have an intimate understanding of the magics (divine or arcane) that his kami retrieves. As such, a shinshoku cannot use his spells to craft spell trigger items or as part of crafting requirements.

Sacred Object
A sacred object must be paid for out of the shinshoku’s starting wealth.

Kami
Clarification: The kami stats presented are the only stats you may use for your kami companion.
Caster Level: A kami has a caster level equal to it’s shinshoku’s caster level.

Kami Affinity
A given affinity can only be selected once.
-Shield of Friendship is an immediate action.
-Hold Spell, Shishi & Shishi, Sword of the Kami, Shield of the Kami, Sacred Object Focus are (Su) abilities.
-Guardian kami, improved sacred object focus, detect soul shadow are (Sp) abilities.

Kuji-kiri Ninja (“Sorcerous Ninja”)
Spells known
A sorcerous ninja does not know any 0th level spells.

Oniwaban
Talents did not have the type of ability defined:
Ninja Art of the False Face (ex)
Ghost Whispers (su)
Micro-Expression Training (ex)
Movement Study (ex)
Soul Switching (su)
Convictions of Convenience (su)
Persona Reader (ex)
Martial Study (ex)
Shadow Life (ex)
Aura Matching (su)
Anti-Torture Training (ex)
Anatomy Familiarity (ex)
Confuse True Name (su)
Shadow Play (su)
Soul Stealer (ex)

Youxia
At 4th level a youxia adds his Wisdom MODIFIER to his AC as a deflection bonus.

Ninpo: Shin Shin Shin Gan
The missed melee attacks must come from the target of the critical confirmation.

Spelling/Grammar
A number of pronoun changes have been made to reflect the Pathfinder style guide better.


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Reviewed first on Endzeitgeist.com, then submitted to GMS magazine, Nerdtrek and posted here, on OBS and d20pfsrd.com's shop.


So on a developer note, what part of the HotE series is OGL or is it at all? While reading through the credits page and PFRD/OGL I was unable to locate such wording.

-Greg LaRose


All of the HoE series is OGL.


Sweet. Thank you. There are several game mechanics in the series that are very neat. Just wanted to double check. I didn't see any specific thing that said they were open content.


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Are we going to see a Supporting Roles/Heroes of the East cross over? Because I'm using feats from both sources and they rock. It would be cool if you guys did something together for a monk or other unarmed fighter. Just a thought.

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