Now available—and welcome Ascension Games!
Hello to you too, Garnath! The designer would be me. My name's Christopher Moore, founder and sole designer for Ascension Games, LLC. While I am the only "designer" of the material within, I had feedback and review from several experienced Pathfinder players, many of whom are professional game designers and writers themselves.
Path of Shadows comes out to 81 pages when including cover pages, OGL, and such, making 75 pages of full-color content within. I've contacted the webmaster to update the description with this information.
I hope you find Path of Shadows to your liking! If you have any questions you can also post to the announcement thread here.
Seginus,
Sent a question over to ya on the announcement thread.
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I don't know if this is a good place in which to ask, but do you have other products in development that you are willing to discuss? I am eager to see more of your work.
Sure thing, it's no secret. I've got at least three more themes that I want to tackle in the "Path" series, which should be similar in scope to Path of Shadows, if not larger than it: Iron, Elements, and Blood.
The next one I'm currently working on Path of Iron. So far I've planned out three base classes and probably a few prestige classes. I don't want to give out too much info since it's in the early stages, but at least one of the base classes will focus on the creation and control of a construct companion. I plan on adding several new metal-based spells, along with a new "metal" descriptor which will be added to spells such as molten orb, chill metal, and iron body.
I also want to include more martial options than there were in Path of Shadows, such as archetypes around firearms or creating traps. One of my definite goals is to give new wielding styles to the Magus class, letting it use ranged weapons, two-weapon fighting, or a two-handed weapon.
And much like Path of Shadows, I don't plan on releasing it in several bite-sized chunks. The book will be released in one piece when it's done; no earlier.
My friend was really happy with this though it is still on my list to pick up so far.
I do have to ask, who did the cover art? It's gorgeous! Do they take commissions? Probably some of the nicest art I've seen in a third party supplement.
My friend was really happy with this though it is still on my list to pick up so far.
I do have to ask, who did the cover art? It's gorgeous! Do they take commissions? Probably some of the nicest art I've seen in a third party supplement.
The artist is Danielle Sands, and yes she does commissions. Here's a link to her website. She did a number of great pieces in the book, including the "iconic" nightblade (which is the same woman on the cover).
Started a thread on this a while back...link
Nice to see it's here on the store now!
Dunno why he didn't link it here, but here's Endzeitgeist's review:
Linky
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Part II of my review:
The spell-chapter does provide a cool rules-clarification for spells utilizing the shadow of the caster and provide, obviously, a significant means of providing shadow/light-control. Interesting for other classes - there are spells herein which interact with e.g. shadow surges, making the latter not just an isolated class feature. Interesting would be terrain control spells to confine targets in e.g. areas of darkness, while shadowy wings that can also be used to attack foes and furthermore, allows for channeling 1/cast - nasty and versatile, but I like it. From the ageing capstone, there are other interesting effects - for example, a complex spell which alters an illusion to allow for the execution of quasi-real attacks via the infusion of shadow stuff - as such area attacks, attacks, energy etc. are covered with unique benefits. There are also lunar prophecies or the option to conjure forth the all-consuming maw of the nightwave. Ways to suppress extraordinary senses would also be an interesting move for spells. However, there also are minor modifications/improved versions, like e.g. a darkness/cold-based variant of flaming sphere. Shadow-based necromancy spell-duplication is also covered, as are chaotic overlaps between planes. I also like the concise definition of shadow length for attacks on a shadow, which reflects its damage to the origin of the caster. A new spell-class to summon evil, horrific creatures also can be found herein. There is also a highly complex class of spells that allows for the conjuration of umbral servants for the nightblades, which essentially act on their own after a nightblade's turn -these are fun, allowing e.g. a called magician to freely apply metamagic to certain spells cast close to it, etc.
The final chapter provides ample new magical weapon/armor qualities and specific items - with artworks depicting them that are downright inspired and rank among the best such I have ever seen in any given supplement - WOW. The twilight reaver scythe looks so badass, I just NEED to show this picture to my players, even without knowing that it's a +2 cold iron keen greater umbral scythe that allows for surge storage on crits...
The pdf also sports a handy two-page index and artist-credits.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are excellent - I noticed no significant issues while reading this - none. The 2-column full-color layout used in this book is GORGEOUS. I mean it. This is one of the most beautiful roleplaying book I've seen any 3pp produce, an impression also underlined by the GLORIOUS original full-color artwork by Jasmine Mackey, Bryon Oshihiro, Danielle Sands, Al Savell, Nicoleta Stavarache and Trevor Verges - the artworks, from vistas to spells to characters adhere to a glorious style that is uniform and concise. I am not engaging in hyperbole when I'm saying that this book, in visual, aesthetic quality, could have been a Paizo-book. It's that beautiful. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience, but I'd sincerely advise you to get this in print - unlike quite a few PODs, there is no big chance of an errata invalidating this book. This book looks better than quite a few kickstarted books I could name. Yes, THAT beautiful.
What a furious first offering! This is quite frankly the best first offering of crunch I've seen a novice designer produce in ages. Last year saw plenty of adventures of newcomers providing an extremely high quality, but new crunch tends to require most designers some time to get right. Well, this is Ascension Games' first product and it does NOT require any leniency on my part. Author (and layout/editor!) Christopher Moore seems to not only be able to edit his own texts, quite a feat, imho, he also provides a level of professionalism with regards to rules-language one sees scarcely, almost never among novices. The language is so precise, it can be considered on par with the errata'd, good Paizo-books. Beyond that, this pdf offered a level of system-mastery and a level of awareness of obscurer rules I quite frankly almost never get to see. While I have some personal gripes against one component or another herein, none really hold up on a professional level and boil down to personal preferences; number-wise, including extensive playtests, this book held up admiringly well. Few books can claim to withstand this level of deep scrutiny to such an extent, especially considering the level of interaction with obscure and complex elements among the design elements. I was positively surprised to see all of this - but where the book shines most is with the material that takes chances and provides things to do that no other spell or system can achieve - it is the unique effects, which stand out and while I absolutely adore the coverage of just about anything one could ask for in sucha context, I still would have loved to see even more of the inspired, unique effects that can be found herein.
Remember, this is just me being an utterly spoiled bastard of a reviewer - this book is, without engaging in hyperbole, up to the level of crunch-mastery exhibited usually only by established, experienced crunch-masters and blends this with production-values out of this world, visually more on par with Paizo than what you'd expect from a 3pp, much less a new one sans a KS providing the funds. This is a hugely impressive book that catapulted Ascension Games to the landscape of my table and to my radar; I can't help but be excited about the things to come and more such supplements and I certainly hope we'll see more material for the Nightblade - the class is inspired and fun and clearly, its potential is not yet tapped. My final verdict will clock in at 5 stars + seal of approval, given without the slightest hesitation, falling short of becoming a candidate for my top ten of 2015 only by a tiny margin. Still, this is thoroughly, exceedingly, impressive. Congratulations to the Ascension Games-team - you have impressed a jaded reviewer.
Reviewed first on endzeitgeist.com, then submitted to Nerdtrek and GMS magazine and posted on Lou Agresta's RPGaggression, here, on OBS and d20pfsrd.com's shop.
@Kryzbyn: My reviews ALWAYS hit endzeitgeist.com before any other site - after all, I have to provide an incentive for people to take a look at my site, right? And personally, I loathe: "Here's a blurb, click here to check my review"-reviews, so that felt fairest to me - no hassle if one doesn't want to wait, quickest access to reviews if you check my site. :)
Also: Thanks for the linkage!
Endzeitgeist out.
Wow. That's some positive review End!
Ever since Direlock V.2 I haven't seen this good a crunch-offering as first product, so yeah. I am impressed. If Ascension Games becomes a teeny bit more experimental, I'll truly be out of things to complain about.
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This week the Nightblade gets a character sheet! Please download a copy at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/jvk3mhtqhzizej7/nightblade_sheet.zip?dl=0
Included a roomier version of the spell sheet, since my players always complain about the original one being way too tiny.
Remember to check my profile for all my other third-party sheets, now neatly organized!
Love your work, The Ragi! You're doing the community a great service!
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WOW! I don't really know how to respond to your review. I'm ecstatic, to say the least, to receive such a glowing recommendation. I'm glad that all that effort came through in the final product, and I definitely need to let my artists know about your love for their work. Now that the bar has been set for my next books, I have to make the next one even better!
Ever since Direlock V.2 I haven't seen this good a crunch-offering as first product, so yeah. I am impressed. If Ascension Games becomes a teeny bit more experimental, I'll truly be out of things to complain about.
Well, let's hope I can get to that point somewhere in the next few books. One of my classes in the next book has its own magic system involving runes, so that should be interesting. Now to make sure the other two classes have equally interesting designs!
Also, that character sheet is pretty sweet. If my group didn't already have a character sheet we use frequently I'd definitely recommend it to our nightblade player.
All the praise is well-deserved - this is definitely impressive! Consider me stoked for the follow-ups! I am definitely looking forward to seeing a custom magic system - at this point, I'm pretty adept at analyzing them. :)
Received a review copy and will be posting a review in the next couple of weeks, but initial reaction is...wow!
Just comparing it to my 28th level shadowcaster from Tome of Magic, which is my favorite character ever in several decades of gaming, and still...wow!
I have to agree. This book was on my 'maybe' pile because regardless of how good a product is, it doesn't go on my priority list unless I need it for something and the theme of 'shadows' wasn't on my list of campaign making themes. But really this goes a long way. It looks good, reading and understanding the crunch was painless and really brings the concepts to life. I cant wait for Path of Iron, particularly since a construct-based base class is always interesting.
Sethvir & Malwing - from what I can glean, you folks know your crunch. So yeah, I'm not surprised you like this book. PoS is very impressive as far as freshman offerings are concerned.
I've been homebrewing ToM-shadow magic for a long time and this book really made me wish for more content in that vein.
I absolutely love the spells offered in PoS. I specifically picked up PoS to acquire a larger selection of Illusion (Shadow) spells for the Wizards I play ... and I was not disappointed. From both a game mechanics and balance perspective, the spells were pretty much faultless in execution. But the real clincher for me was how creative, non-formulaic & outside-the-box these spells turned out to be. You can actually build some really intriguing and different spellcaster characters completely around some of these spell sub-categories. All while avoiding broken mechanics and power creep. Just great, great spells across the board.
Rest assured, these arcane spells will get significant game play in my gaming group amongst both the player contingent and DM NPCs.
Oh...true! Sorry if I messed up a time table or anything.
I'd be interested in more path options...
Reviewed and Kryzbyn that was what I was left with. Wanting more path options and I am looking forward to what he comes up with next, which I think is constructs, which I am not a big fan of, but to each his own. If he upholds this level of design, I think he has a fantastic career as a designer/publisher ahead of him.
how would a dhampir work with the path of eternal darkness? they first become immune to negative energy and then they are healed like undead... but they are already healed like undead!
how would a dhampir work with the path of eternal darkness? they first become immune to negative energy and then they are healed like undead... but they are already healed like undead!
The 10th level ability Death Attunement makes you immune to negative energy damage, so you would still be healed by it. However, if some ability effect would cause you to be harmed by negative energy and healed by positive energy like a typical human, then the damage immunity would apply.
The capstone of being healed by negative energy like an undead provides no benefit to a dhampir unless in the aforementioned circumstance. You would not receive additional healing from the ability.
thought so but I like to have an expert's opinion
I'd like to see an animated shadow herder-like path.
I'd like to see an animated shadow herder-like path.
Can you clarify? If you mean something that summons creatures, that was the intent of the Dark Conjuror archetype.
Sorry for the Necro...
** spoiler omitted **
Normally, regaining a single shadow surge is a standard action, whereas gaining back more than 1 point takes a full-round action. The Dark Resurgence art allows you to, once per day, gain back surges as a free action instead.
Shouldn't it be level 9 then? since Twin Surges come into play at level 8.Normally, regaining a single shadow surge is a standard action, whereas gaining back more than 1 point takes a full-round action. The Dark Resurgence art allows you to, once per day, gain back surges as a free action instead.Sorry for the Necro...
** spoiler omitted **
A free action is still faster than the Standard Action for 1 point, so it is still useful when you only have 1 surge (though it obviously becomes better the more you can have at once).
Can you clarify? If you mean something that summons creatures, that was the intent of the Dark Conjuror archetype.I'd like to see an animated shadow herder-like path.
Sorry it took so long...but I don't even remember what I was talking about. I could've meant the undead shadow...maybe(?)
But you still need a surge to activate the ability to start with.A free action is still faster than the Standard Action for 1 point, so it is still useful when you only have 1 surge (though it obviously becomes better the more you can have at once).Shouldn't it be level 9 then? since Twin Surges come into play at level 8.Normally, regaining a single shadow surge is a standard action, whereas gaining back more than 1 point takes a full-round action. The Dark Resurgence art allows you to, once per day, gain back surges as a free action instead.Sorry for the Necro...
** spoiler omitted **
Dark Resurgence does not require a shadow surge to use; you can use it when totally empty.
If a nightblade art does not explicitly state that it takes a shadow surge in its description, then it does not require having one to use. There's actually quite a few nightblade arts that do not require the use of a shadow surge (Combat/Casting/Flexible art, Disguising Veil, Void Sight, etc.).