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Legendary Vigilantes (PFRPG)

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LGP278LC05E

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Behind the Mask

Whether you're in your secret identity or on the prowl in cape and cowl, you'll find 8 amazing archetypes between the pages of Legendary Vigilantes, perfect for bringing to life an array of classic character types from fantasy, fiction, and comics like the arsenal summoner, masked grappler, and outrageous lyricist. Add to that over 50 new vigilante talents, feats, and specialized magic items, from social and martial talents like keep 'em talking and dynamic entry, feats like Shared Identity and Vigilante Savant, and magic items like mundane glasses and the pugilist's robe. We also bring you a brand-new vigilante-focused prestige class, the scion of the city, whose connection with the city he protects brings him power even as he brings peace to the streets. Finally, we bring you the Dark Star, a fully developed 10th-level sample vigilante, complete with combat tactics and a compelling history and personality, to show how these abilities play at the table in a ready-to-use character you can drop right into an existing game or even build an entire campaign around.

Add this fantastic 40-page class supplement by N. Jolly to your Pathfinder Roleplaying Game campaign today and Make Your Game Legendary!

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An Endzeitgeist.com review

4/5 —

This installment of Legendary Games' series of class-centric pdfs clocks in at 40 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page inside of front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 2 pages of introduction, 4 pages of advertisement, 1 page inside of back cover, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 27 pages of content, so let's take a look!

This review was moved up in my queue as an informal request via my patreon.

All right, we'll begin with new archetypes, the first of which would be the arsenal summoner, who gains proficiency with heavy armors and replaces vigilante specialization with anima union: The archetype begins play with a sentient weapon called "anima" (not the biggest fan of the nomenclature there), which must be a weapon properly sized for the character, acting as a magus' black blade, though it is not required to be a one-handed slashing weapon, rapier or swordcane. As such, the anima basics diverge from those of the black blade, with every odd level after 1st providing improvements. Anima weapons begin play at Int 10, Wis/Cha 6 and an ego-score of 3 and increase that up to Int 19, 15 Wis/Cha and 24 ego at 19th level. Anima weapons begin play knowing common and learn additional bonus languages later. Sense-wise, they act as though they had sight and hearing and may thus be affected by blindness and deafness. The anima uses the character's saving throws. In order to balance ranged weapons, two-handed weapons and the like, an anima's damage is overwritten: The weapon begins with 1d6 base damage and increases that up to 2d8 for Medium characters. Tables for Small and Large arsenal summoners have been included as well. Wielders gain the benefits of Alertness while wielding the anima weapon and wielders can telepathically communicate with the weapon. The weapon is immune t the broken condition and, starting at 1st level, the anima can 1/day as a full-round action teleport the anima weapon to them, usable +1/day at 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter, but only while in vigilante identity.

At 3rd level, an anima not currently in use can take on the look of a mundane object, though transformation into its normal form can still risk exposure for the vigilante. As a capstone, the anima may 1/week cast a maximized breath of life, potentially saving its wielder, but not when it's not within 5 ft. of the wielder. 2nd level yields the bonded armor ability - an armor that the character can instant summon to himself, though it is marked by an arcane mark, potentially allowing identification. The armor may be called Cha-mod times per day. Additionally, the armor receives a +1 enhancement bonus, which increases by +1 at 5th level and every 3 levels thereafter up to a maximum of +5 at 14th level. Such armor does not work for other creatures, btw., though destruction, mark-removal and similar stratagems exist to hamper the class feature. The arsenal summoner may also choose some exclusive vigilante talents, for an additional bonded armor, the weapon master handbook's advanced armor or weapon training, regular armor training and you can go iron man and fuse anima and bonded armor with one vigilante talent. Control over the exact form of a blade called forth via the anima's teleportation, bonded shields, calling a copy of the called weapon, exchange of enhancement bonus for special weapon qualities (with higher levels increasing the selection available) - nice. Using glamered versions in social identity and the like also are included here.

Instead of unshakeable and frightening appearance, the arsenal summoner gains an anima pool with Cha-mod, minimum 1, points These points can be expended as a swift action to provide a +1 bonus to weapon damage and atk, which increases by +1 for every 4 levels after 1st. The bonus lasts 1 minute and at 5th level, it can be used to grant the weapon temporarily a rather extensive selection of weapon special abilities. At 5th level, finally, the archetype replaces startling and stunning appearance with a pocket dimension to stash anima and bonded armor. The capstone allows the character to choose between armor or weapon mastery. Basically, this is a magus/fighter/vigilante-crossover-archetype with "god-weapon"-style gameplay. This hybrid-like theme is btw. something you'll notice in the other archetypes as well.

The next one would be the Beast Born, who loses vigilante specialization as well as dual identity. However, in place of that, the archetype gains a full strength animal companion - identity changing cannot be hastened by the archetype as a balancing measure, though, since yes, this companion may, at a touch, be changed into a harmless Tiny version of its self as a standard action- tiger to housecat, you get the idea. Reversal of this change can be done as a swift action, which means that the companion may be used to net the vigilante the required time to change to prevent exposure. Slightly confusing: The beast born, in the middle of the second paragraph of the ability, suddenly talks about "When transformed into an animal..." in the context of the vigilante identity. This ties in with the second ability - at 1st level, the beast born can change into a harmless form as a standard action at will, with 4th level yielding wild shape, with additional daily uses at 8th level and every 4 levels thereafter. Strong? Yes, however, the archetype also loses the 4th level vigilante talent...and those gained every 4 levels thereafter. As a capstone, the beast born gets free animal growth when going into animal form. I had two associations here: Manimal and He-Man. Make of that what you will. ;)

Next up would be the dynamic striker, who replaces martial weapon proficiency with Improved Unarmed Strike. Instead of the regular vigilante specialization, they choose to either be a brawler or a technician dynamic striker. Brawlers are treated as avenger vigilantes for BAB and talent purposes, while technicians gain studied combat, governed by Wis, but only in conjunction with gauntlets, unarmed strikes, etc. Dynamic strikers may choose from a selection of specialized martial arts talents and use their Wisdom modifier as key ability modifier for the purpose of determining saves, atks, etc. These include cross guard counter attacks, while others build upon the vicious impact ability - basically, the archetype contains two generally schools of fighting and the aforementioned two abilities, granted at 3rd level, respectively, represent the foundation of these fighting styles. Vicious impact nets a monk's unarmed damage progression, while cross guard nets a limited use, AoO-resource-based opposing roll counter mechanic, which, akin grit or panache, is recharged upon scoring critical hits. In short: One of the specializations focuses on a somewhat monk-y style, whereas the other represents a martial artist/investigator - the brainy fighter trope we know from anime et al. 5th level progresses this, featuring flurry and knockout blows, respectively. This sequence of abilities eliminates the whole appearance ability tree as well as unshakeable and also is represented in the archetype's capstone selection, which includes ignoring all DR and hardness or maximized damage for knockout blows, but of which are extremely potent.

The exposed vigilante does not receive dual identity, instead gaining +1 skill point per level and an additional social talent at 1st level, which also locks the vigilante out of a selection of social talents. Cool: The archetype does come with an engine-tweak that allows the vigilante to take it after being exposed, akin to what had befallen e.g. the Green Arrow in the comics. This may be a small engine tweaking archetype, but it's actually one of my favorites in the book. The Focused Hunter replaces 5th level's startling appearance with familiar terrain, basically a variant of favored terrain, of which an additional one is gained every 5 levels thereafter. 11th level yields HiPS (Hide in Plain Sight) in requiring no dim light in these terrains (which is very cheesable and borderline OP) and 17th level yields terrain master; these replace frightening, startling and stunning appearance.

The masked grappler would be the grappling specialist vigilante, losing proficiency with medium armor and martial weapons and beginning play with Improved Unarmed Strike and Improved Grapple, using class level as BAB -substitute when grappling, but losing the vigilante specialization. The archetype provides a pretty extensive selection of exclusive talents and using such a technique inflicts damage as per a grapple. What are submissions? Well, they are special such talents that impose a cumulative penalty on the foe in question, making them...well. Submit. They are locked into one such talent at first level and use Con as a governing key attribute instead of Charisma. It is a bit evident that editing here is a bit less precise than in the rest of the pdf: We have the archetype referred to as "masked wrestler" in a missed substitution, a lower caps "reflex" save etc. That being said, the options provided cover what you probably wanted from such an archetype: Anklelock? Check. Chokehold? Check. Death from Above via the VERY potent Frog Splash (double damage, grapple as swift action that pins AND bonus damage per 10 ft. fallen). That being said, I was a huge Undertaker fanboy as a child (and here in Germany, wrestling is VERY niche - none of my friends had even heard of those folks!) and I'm happy to see a sufficiently deadly piledriver, thankfully locked behind a high minimum level prerequisite. Also: Running dropkick is viable. 5th level yields a signature move specialization for a submission or technique, 11th level an iterative grapple for increased damage mechanic and 17th level the option to generate a finishing move, making one such technique/submission more potent. The capstone upgrades all moves to signature moves and also yields a second submission.

I like this archetype...but I think it doesn't have much to do with the vigilante. This is complaining at a high level, for sure, but the archetype feels like pretty much its own entity, which has been smashed on the vigilante chassis. With a bit of tweaking, it could have worked for pretty much every class out there...and the "masked" aspect falls a bit flat. Don't get me wrong, I really like the implementation of most aspects here (though I'll nerf some slightly), but the dual identity, which is particularly important in the luchador tradition, is pretty lost here. And Drop Dead Studios has a pretty impressive luchador base class that does offer a slightly more dynamic playstyle. So yeah, not bad, but I feel it could have used more significant ties to the base class.

Continuing the theme of hybrid-themed archetypes, the noble soul must be good and have both identities within one alignment step of one another. Much like the dynamic striker, this is an archetype that encapsulates two different iterations/traditions, though this time around, both are drawn from the paladin's bag of tricks: Those choosing the crusader specialization gain smite evil (1/day, +1/day at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter), while those that walk the path of the healer instead receive the lay on hands class feature (usable 1/2 class level + Cha-mod times per day). Here, we do have better tie ins to the vigilante, btw. - aura of good is only active while in vigilante identity. The archetype does get an extensive selection of exclusive talents, though the interaction of the talents here can be a bit wonky: Unbound Smite makes all neutral foes count as evil for the purposes of smite. So far, so good. Focused smite, however, treats all evil foes as evil outsiders for the purpose of smite - does that mean that, with both talents, all neutral creatures can be targets of smite as though they were evil outsiders? I *assume* that's the basic combo here, but something in the back of my head, when comparing this combo to the other talents afforded to the archetype, tells me that it's slightly OP in comparison, even when locked behind level 10. Not to the point of being broken, but yeah. The talents also provide a divine bond mount and mercies and, starting at 4th level, paladin's spellcasting at the expense of that level (and all multiples of 4's) vigilante talents. The capstone provides an upgrade for lay on hands to act as a combo breath of life + heal or auto-confirming criticals when smiting. Ouch.

The outrageous lyricist loses medium armor proficiency and gains a bard's spellcasting in exchange for the vigilante talents gained at 4th level and every 4 levels after that. Instead of vigilante specialization, they gain bardic performance (countersong, fascinate, distraction and inspire courage), while 3rd level yields quick change with a 1-minute fascination effect for those watching that fail their Will-save. So that's how Sailor Moon etc. did it. ;) The talents include masterpieces and e.g. dirge of doom is codified as such a talent "black metal medley." (I'd have expected that to be doom metal medley, but yeah... ;P) An emo scream that ignores fear immunity (but immune creatures get a bonus to saves) is nice, but my engine-favorite would be the battle rap "lyrical duel"-style ability for demoralized foes to try to rebuttal the lyricist. Increased damage when flanking with allies is called mosh pit and the archetype can convert weapon damage into sonic damage. The capstone nets immunity for fear, fatigue, exhaustion and negative levels for all allies benefiting from the performance. Once again, a cool archetype, but one that could have used a tighter connection with the base class, as far as I'm concerned.

The sentai soldier archetype replaces vigilante specialization with burn, elemental focus and kinetic blast, but they can only accept up to Con-mod burn and don't take non-lethal damage from accepting burn. The archetype gets a transformation device that mirrors a magical child transformation in 5 rounds, potentially reduced to a standard action with quick change, immediate action via immediate change. Beyond this modification, we get the option to take an utility or infusion wild talent instead of a vigilante talent and the archetype also contains a variety of different talents: Battle Charge allows the character to spend a swift action to reduce the burn cost of the kinetic blade or fist infusion by 1, but not below 0. This can be further improved and the archetype can use these talents to gain composite blasts, elemental defense or metakinesis. 3rd level nets a fascination-inducing quick transformation and 4th level sentai soldiers that have accepted 1 burn or more gains an equal bonus to atk and damage with kinetic blasts, with the very necessary cap based on the class level. The archetype does lose 3 vigilante talents for that and at 5th level, the vigilante gains gather power - and yes, the archetype loses the appearance tree. 20th level yields access to metakinesis (twice).

Part II of my review can be found in the product discussion here!

Keep the Vigil with Legendary Style

5/5 —

DISCLAIMER: This review is based on a free PDF provided by the author and the publisher, which in no way had an influence on the final score.

Legendary Vigilantes is Legendary Game’s entry for the Vigilante class, which first appeared in Ultimate Intrigue. Like all LGs products, this one has excellent electronic features (for the pdf), and awesome art!

What’s inside?
27 pages of content, which include:

-9 archetypes: Arsenal Summoners call a sentient magical weapon called an Anima; Beast Born get an animal companion and can transform into animals; Dynamic Strikers are powerful martial artists and come in two flavors, the offense-oriented brawlers and the precision-specialized technicians, with access to many monk toys; Exposed Vigilantes lost their dual identities, instead honing their skills while being barred from talents that depend on having dual identities; Focused Hunters replace the power of a Vigilante’s appearance for the ability to focus on chosen terrains; Masked Grapplers are luchadors who focus on grappling techniques, be them submissions or techniques; Noble Souls also come in two flavors, Crusaders and Healers, and both of them borrow toys from paladins, even spellcasting; Outrageous Lyricists also steal toys from another class, this time the bard, with awesome visuals and flavorful abilities; Sentai Soldiers again steal toys from another class, kineticist this time.
-8 New Social Talents, half of them giving specific interaction abilities, and the other half letting the Vigilante get a bonus feat or borrow a pre-existing class ability.
-27 Vigilante Talents, many of them giving a bonus feat (sometimes more), and others depending on the vital strike feat to work.
-11 Feats, with most of them being specific to Vigilantes. There is a specific feat line that gives you vigilante toys.
-5 Magical Items, good for Vigilantes but not exclusive. 2 are good for unarmed combatants.
-1 Prestige Class: Scion of the City. Think Batman and Gotham, these Vigilantes get especially good in their city.
-1 NPC: Rashid Zill/Dark Star, a 10 level tiefling sentai soldier vigilante focused on void. This NPC has ties with the companion volume to this, Legendary Villains: Vigilantes. As is the author’s tradition, this NPC includes a nice backstory and a boon!

Of Note: Each of the archetypes include unique, exclusive talents, and every one of them, with the notable exception of the Exposed Vigilante, is based on being a hybrid. This is not to say they are bland because they borrow toys from other classes; quite the contrary, they offer players and game masters the option of playing with the newest class’ flair using their favorite class’ toys. In my case, my favorite are the Dynamic Striker and the Masked Grappler, which both reaching my interests in martial arts.

Anything wrong?: Some archetypes don’t feel like they need the dual identity. However, if you like the ability chassis of the archetype but don’t want to deal with dual identities, just take the Exposed Vigilante and forget about it. Also, there is a clear narrow focus on the talents (both social and vigilante) and feats.

What cool things did this inspire?: Well, I know I’m going to make a vanara-trained human vigilante with the Dynamic Striker archetype, focusing on technique and calling himself “The Mad Monkey”, plus an Outrageous Lyricist aasimar who calls himself “Val Hallen” ;)

Do I recommend it? Yes if you like the Vigilante but you can’t build the concept you want, or you want to expand the options for your Vigilante players or NPCs, or better yet, you want to run a full medieval Avengers-like Vigilante only campaign! Even with the (IMHO) small flaws, you get a lot from this book, so 4 and a half, rounded up.

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Silver Crusade

Yay!
Silver Crusade

Hey all, N. Jolly here again to give my dev post about this book, and this one was fun in a lot of ways.

1st playtest
Not only was this my first playtest, but this was also Legendary Game's first playtest, and if I'm being honest, there was a bit of pressure on me to perform here. This was the first time I hit up a few other websites for playtest data, and really, I found out where works and where doesn't for that. But I can honestly say this book turned out a TON better because of the playtest, as you can see from the long list of playtesters in this book. Thanks all, you were invaluable!

The Vigilante Split
For those of you who followed the playtest, you'll know that the actual playtest was EASILY twice the size of this, and so we had to split up the content between two books. Picking who was a hero and who was a villain was a fun little test, and in the end, I think I made the right call on a lot of these.

Arsenal Summoner
The 'gear' vigilante, this was the one that was designed with the most thought about how to play someone with a thinking weapon, and a lot of it was just making sure the wheel wasn't broken with other mechanics. There was a lot of fun thing I got to do with this, but the anima weapon was probably the most fun, even if I like anima armor more.

Beast Born
I'd begun work on this one before the Paizo one came out, and once it did, I figured I could make a more bestial version of that. Having an animal companion and wild shape makes for a fun combo, and the two mesh really well together, making for a very bestial basher.

Dynamic Striker
I don't know WHERE I got the idea for the dynamic roll...This entire archetype is a love letter to hajime no ippo, a great boxing anime, and I wanted to capture both sluggers and counter punchers here, making for a nice mix of different martial art concepts.

Exposed Vigilante
Everyone's ragged on the forced dual identity at some point, or at least enough people so that I wanted to invent this, and this helps make the class more general with only a slight power boost. If you want to play a vigilante with only 1 identity, this is the way to do it!

Focused Hunter
Now this was just people asking for me to get rid of the appearance abilities. Personally, I already did that with quite a few archetypes, but hey, playing a more stalkery vigilante feels like something that would be important too, thus making this very dedicated archetype.

Masked Grappler
This archetype might not lie, cheat, or steal, but it will help you live out your luchador fantasies. One of the first concepts in the book, this was one of the initial ideas I pitched when Jason N. asked for a vigilante book, but it took a very long time to really take shape in a way that was both balanced and fun.

Noble Soul
Because being lawful good is jank, right? The 'paladin' archetype, this gives you the chance to be a true good person while still having a bit of mystique to you, giving you the chance to play it either as a backup healer or as a frontliner. An obvious idea with a fun implementation was my real goal here.

Outrageous Lyricist
Not sure where the name for this could have come from...this was another archetype that eventually felt needed, and it was a lot of fun working in musical references to the abilities as well as finding musical talents that really helped to make it a full archetype.

Sentai Soldier
Yet another mystery as to what I was thinking here...how could I write a book about heroes without putting in power rangers? This mixed my talent with the kineticist and the vigilante for a really neat archetype that still manages to feel fresh to both concepts.

New social talents
Keep 'em talking was probably the first one that I really fell in love with, while friend of a friend is almost certainly my most favorite, especially for parties full of cha dumping jerks. Absurd accusation isn't the most powerful, but man does it make for amusing situations. Really, everything here is just fun and tropey.

New vigilante talents
Or as I called it, MAKE VITAL STRIKE FUN! The amount of support for vital strike builds in here is intense, allowing you to beef it up on charges, use it with spring attack, up the damage with vital brutality, and other things as well as making whirlwind attack so much more mobile. There's also dragoon like jumping talents in leaping dragon and soaring dragon as well as letting you wield oversized weapons without problems.

New feats
Now there's a few new ways to get vigilante talents through feats, but it's not unrestricted, and at least one of them will take up a lot of your feats to do, helping to balance it out. Signature Talent can also get you along your way a lot faster to your idea talent of choice, and cross specialization can let you steal another specialization's toys.

New magic items
This was another 'give maritals nice things' book, with buffs for unarmed strikes with the pugilist's robe, gloves of paired weapons to help dual wielders, martial wraps to further give a leg up to boxer types, and the ill placed sheath of perfect defense [that was intended to be in another book].

New prestige class
The scion of the city felt natural to me, like the kind of prestige class that would have been written during the heyday of 3.5. It works as a class which requires prestige, doesn't really drop the power curve of the class entering it, and requires the GM and the players to be on the same page, letting a vigilante either guard or rule over a city in a very elegant fashion.

Afterthoughts
Yet again, the art for this book is amazing, like mindblowingly so. LG always steps it up in this department, and it shows. This project is probably my first BIG departure from kineticist, and I really wanted to see if I had what it took to make a book with another class, especially one this recent. From the results, I'd say I did quite admirably. Thanks a lot, everyone who playtested this and encouraged me, and I can't wait to see you again for Legendary Villains Vigilantes!

I just got my own copy of this, and it is one great PDF. I'll have to comment further later but I enjoy the archetypes as well as the ideas on how to use this class in a more intrigue-light campaign.

The news that Legendary Fighters is the next book in the series is making me giddy with delight as well!

Is the Inquisitive Detective disappeared?
Silver Crusade
2 people marked this as a favorite.
Eric Hinkle wrote:

I just got my own copy of this, and it is one great PDF. I'll have to comment further later but I enjoy the archetypes as well as the ideas on how to use this class in a more intrigue-light campaign.

The news that Legendary Fighters is the next book in the series is making me giddy with delight as well!

I'm glad to hear it, exposed vigilante really does make for a less intrigue heavy option, and everything else was a lot of fun with this too. If you get the chance, I'd really appreciate a review!

Bardess wrote:
Is the Inquisitive Detective disappeared?

Inquisitive detective and trickshot sniper will both be used in other projects since as Jason N. explained to me "We can't put everything you've written into one book without making it 50$."

I mean I didn't have a problem with that, but I can see not wanting to put out 100+ pages of vigilante content at once.
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber

"...with buffs for unarmed strikes with the pugilist's robe, gloves of paired weapons to help dual wielders, martial wraps to further give a leg up to boxer types, and the ill placed sheath of perfect defense..."

Okay, I was already tempted by this with the vigilante being my favorite class, but now you really have my attention. *cart*
Silver Crusade
Nate Z wrote:

"...with buffs for unarmed strikes with the pugilist's robe, gloves of paired weapons to help dual wielders, martial wraps to further give a leg up to boxer types, and the ill placed sheath of perfect defense..."

Okay, I was already tempted by this with the vigilante being my favorite class, but now you really have my attention. *cart*

And people wonder why I do these dev post. I mostly do them because I love hearing myself talk though.

Also thanks for the review from World's Okayest Fighter!

N.Jolly, the Dev posts are genius. The last few times they tipped the scales. right now im grinding my teeth. something about the vigilante never clicked to potentially angered me...

but the Exposed viglante? i want to see how that works, considering im still trying to get at how a vigilante player in general works.

Masked Grappler? ive seen some grappling classes in my day, but let it be said I'm a fan of Lucha Libre.

the new magic items? I am VERY intrigued based on those. I rather like unarmed and natural combat...

But the Outrageous Lyricist. Really? Is it truely so outrageous (SHUSH I HAD TO. ITS. RIGHT. THERE!)? bad enough the soundweaver blew my socks off in the Legendary Kineticist book, now there's this? what does it do? can I combo it with exposed vigilante? URGH.

you already had to do with getting me to turn a leaf on ONE recently released class...
Silver Crusade
Bdrone wrote:

N.Jolly, the Dev posts are genius. The last few times they tipped the scales. right now im grinding my teeth. something about the vigilante never clicked to potentially angered me...

but the Exposed viglante? i want to see how that works, considering im still trying to get at how a vigilante player in general works.

Masked Grappler? ive seen some grappling classes in my day, but let it be said I'm a fan of Lucha Libre.

the new magic items? I am VERY intrigued based on those. I rather like unarmed and natural combat...

But the Outrageous Lyricist. Really? Is it truely so outrageous (SHUSH I HAD TO. ITS. RIGHT. THERE!)? bad enough the soundweaver blew my socks off in the Legendary Kineticist book, now there's this? what does it do? can I combo it with exposed vigilante? URGH.

you already had to do with getting me to turn a leaf on ONE recently released class...

Well Exposed is a really simple archetype, it just drops the identity for a small benefit (since not having to maintain two identities frees up some time). It's nothing major, just for those of you who wanted to not worry about dual identities and play the class.

Masked Grappler works with a lot of 'techniques' and 'submissions' you can use while grappling to give penalties, deal extra damage, and all sorts of things like that. It's overall a heavy control based style that can help open up enemies to getting pounded by foes.

I love unarmed combat, and every day I write things to make it better. Fun fact, combat wraps were one of the very first things I ever wrote about on these forums (like in my first 5 post here), so being able to finally write them was kind of coming full circle.

The basics behind it are Bard Casting (obv) and bardic performance along with a few musical themed talents, such as

Spoiler:
Black Metal Medley-For when you need to sing a black metal dirge of doom
Emo Scream-So scary the paladin will flinch
Headliner-Definitely helps rocking all day and partying every night.
Lyrical Duel-Literally the closest I could do to a rap battle.
Moonwalk-Why withdraw when you can do it in style?
Mosh Pit-Get in the pit, bro!
Power Ballad-Sometimes your songs just need the pure essence of an 80's power ballad
Power Slide-Nothing's better than tasty licks at the end of a devastating power slide
Sonic Assault-Exploding heads is the best part of being a rock star
Synchronize Routine-Because it's more fun being a part of the band.
Up to Eleven-You don't understand, you need to have something higher than ten.
Vicious Feedback-Weaponize everything, including your lyrics

It was one that I had a lot of fun designing and came shockingly late in the design process (originally this was some kind of sidekick/joke thing), but really came together in a fun way.

I'm glad to see people like my Dev post though, I have a lot of fun writing them.

Well Exposed sounds pretty good...

Masked Grappler sounds like an interesting take on some submission wrestling. already wondering if i can put someone in a crippler crossface or a figure four.

you do now? oo hoo hoo... that is awesome. and awesome to see it come full circle indeed.

lets see on the lyricist options here.

Bard casting? blech.
Bardic performance? intriguing...

*Stares at the spoiler options. stares EXCEPTIONALLY HARD at Vicious feedback. looks up with eyes wide as saucers*

oh sweet Chaos. if that is remotely like im hoping... well. success again, N jolly. my interest is insanely up, and im currently going through my pre-buy sputtering.

PLEASE let that mean what I hope it means...
Silver Crusade
Bdrone wrote:

*Stares at the spoiler options. stares EXCEPTIONALLY HARD at Vicious feedback. looks up with eyes wide as saucers*

oh sweet Chaos. if that is remotely like im hoping... well. success again, N jolly. my interest is insanely up, and im currently going through my pre-buy sputtering.

PLEASE let that mean what I hope it means...

I'll be a nice guy, and show you what it means since I'm not sure I clarified it enough.

Spoiler:
Vicious Feedback (Su) Whenever the outrageous lyricist uses
their bardic performance to inspire courage, inspire heroics, or
inspire greatness, all foes within 40 ft of them take a -1 penalty
to attack rolls. At 14th level and again at 20th level, this penalty
increases by an additional -1. This is a mind-affecting ability,
and it relies on audible and visual components. An outrageous
lyricist must be 8th level or higher to select this talent.

Personally, I think the bardic list works for the class myself.

oh. thats what it means? huh. not what i expected. my "music as a weapon" want switch went screaming at full volume, and it refers to using music like a normal weapon in game. still though. this is worthy of a good look, because my laser focus is still going off. the options still sound good- plus their is sonic assault as my eyes have refocused.

personally im not big on spellcasting at all, which is why i went "blech" at casting. Thank you for the kindness- im getting this now.
Silver Crusade
Bdrone wrote:

oh. thats what it means? huh. not what i expected. my "music as a weapon" want switch went screaming at full volume, and it refers to using music like a normal weapon in game. still though. this is worthy of a good look, because my laser focus is still going off. the options still sound good- plus their is sonic assault as my eyes have refocused.

personally im not big on spellcasting at all, which is why i went "blech" at casting. Thank you for the kindness- im getting this now.

Sonic assault sounds more like what you're looking for here, although you could play the archetype without the spellcasting if you really wanted, it doesn't affect any of the other class features.

Spoiler:
Sonic Assault (Su) Whenever the outrageous lyricist uses
their bardic performance to inspire courage or greatness,
they can spend an additional round of it each round to
convert all weapon damage they deal into sonic damage.
At 12th level, they can change the weapon damage of all
allies affected by their bardic performance into sonic
damage. An outrageous lyricist must be 6th level or higher
to select this talent.

Although it's my fault for not giving a sound weapon, I could probably throw that into Legendary Villains.
Scarab Sages Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games

It *sounds* like something awesome. :)
Jason Nelson wrote:
It *sounds* like something awesome. :)

hehehe. its what made me shout Cantikinesis to the heavens- it brought the mechanics and flavor close enough together to let me play an instrument/sing and attack people whenever i wanted with my lyrics or tones- albeit in the form of a kinetic blast. bonus points for it allowing any kineticist element. you'd think in worlds with so much stuff coming out of the seams, you'd find such things more often, but no. I'm now at 2 out of... shoot, who knows how many classes that work music, but not that way.

as such if such a thing happens, ill be glad to hear of it, but enough about what could be. i just gave the book a few reads. I have to say, the Masked Grappler and Dynamic Fighter won my attention the most in this one- not to mention the feat/talent/item support for the unarmed style here. the Lyricist is good, but the only thing that really sang to me was Lyrical Duel out of its unique options- people are gonna need a LOT of Burn salve for that one.

the Dynamic fighter feel great both ways to me- every time I think I prefer one style, the other pulls me back juust a tad. it puts me an that odd "Eye of the storm" sort of feeling. i may have to watch Hajime no Ippo now, because im loving this vibe! normally i dont comment on art, but the art around that entry was perfect for me. minor editing issue- Vacuum Fist refers to Mercurial Duelist.

now, the Masked Grappler. this is pretty well scouted, and im enjoying the concept. the way it handles damage is.. intriguing and i haven't quite got my head into it, but its hallmark is the control elements. like wrenching a solid anklelock. hahaha. the timing around techinques and submissions im a little unsure on, but its another published first (2nd overall) to see a concept this involved into the idea- credit for the attempt!

3 concerns- first is least serious- MOAR OF THIS! i want more moves! can i get a Suicide dive? can we make it a superkick party? how about a 630 degree Senton? hehe, had to get that out- that stuff is doable with what we get so far. next up a mini-rant- Hurricanrana's only Disorient? that surprises me. not only is that move part of a takedown family (usually throwing people to the ground when ive seen it done in the X-divison, Ring of Honor, or Lucha Underground) but in looking stuff up for this response, I found out it often bridges into a pinning move. it being kind of a common move between the high fliers and agile wrestlers... im a bit surprised with this interp. lastly while I very much love the fact you can play said Agile centric character with this class variant due to Lightweight Grappler, while i was rereading the grapple system I noticed that the grapple condition (which you'll be gaining a lot) penalizes your dexterity unless I missed something.. so ouch, not entirely sure what to think on that one. usually i push for Dexterity centric characters, but with that tidbit in... dunno. wish there was a way around that penalty.

small aside- the sample character in here has a feat im.. pretty sure is in the playtest right now, and not in this book. Genius Vigilante?

at the rate this is going, this teams set to empty my wallet... and on classes i didn't think id like, no less. Keep it up!
Silver Crusade
Bdrone wrote:
hehehe. its what made me shout Cantikinesis to the heavens- it brought the mechanics and flavor close enough together to let me play an instrument/sing and attack people whenever i wanted with my lyrics or tones- albeit in the form of a kinetic blast. bonus points for it allowing any kineticist element. you'd think in worlds with so much stuff coming out of the seams, you'd find such things more often, but no. I'm now at 2 out of... shoot, who knows how many classes that work music, but not that way.

Since we know it has so much support, if/when we get around to LK II, I'll talk to Onyx about throwing in some more Canti support.

Quote:
as such if such a thing happens, ill be glad to hear of it, but enough about what could be. i just gave the book a few reads. I have to say, the Masked Grappler and Dynamic Fighter won my attention the most in this one- not to mention the feat/talent/item support for the unarmed style here. the Lyricist is good, but the only thing that really sang to me was Lyrical Duel out of its unique options- people are gonna need a LOT of Burn salve for that one.

What can I say, I love flashy combat. That and unarmed strikes. Masked Grappler was a lot weaker before the playtest, a lot of feedback helped it become a lot cooler.

Quote:
the Dynamic fighter feel great both ways to me- every time I think I prefer one style, the other pulls me back juust a tad. it puts me an that odd "Eye of the storm" sort of feeling. i may have to watch Hajime no Ippo now, because im loving this vibe! normally i dont comment on art, but the art around that entry was perfect for me. minor editing issue- Vacuum Fist refers to Mercurial Duelist.

You know, as much as I love selling a product, I love selling someone on Ippo just as much. It's a seriously great shonen sports anime with a great feel. Ippo himself plays as a brawler, while his rival (SCOFF) plays more like a counter puncher, and I'm glad I kept them split since some people thought there shouldn't be the two different specializations here.

Quote:
now, the Masked Grappler. this is pretty well scouted, and im enjoying the concept. the way it handles damage is.. intriguing and i haven't quite got my head into it, but its hallmark is the control elements. like wrenching a solid anklelock. hahaha. the timing around techinques and submissions im a little unsure on, but its another published first (2nd overall) to see a concept this involved into the idea- credit for the attempt!

We're the second published, but we're the first to begin work on it. It's a hard concept to do in a game like this, but I'm pretty proud of how it turned out.

Quote:
3 concerns- first is least serious- MOAR OF THIS! i want more moves! can i get a Suicide dive? can we make it a superkick party? how about a 630 degree Senton? hehe, had to get that out- that stuff is doable with what we get so far. next up a mini-rant- Hurricanrana's only Disorient? that surprises me. not only is that move part of a takedown family (usually throwing people to the ground when ive seen it done in the X-divison, Ring of Honor, or Lucha Underground) but in looking stuff up for this response, I found out it often bridges into a pinning move. it being kind of a common move between the high fliers and agile wrestlers... im a bit surprised with this interp. lastly while I very much love the fact you can play said Agile centric character with this class variant due to Lightweight Grappler, while i was rereading the grapple system I noticed that the grapple condition (which you'll be gaining a lot) penalizes your dexterity unless I missed something.. so ouch, not entirely sure what to think on that one. usually i push for Dexterity centric characters, but with that tidbit in... dunno. wish there was a way around that penalty.

Trust me, if I could have gone for more recent moves while still keeping the same vibe, you'd have seen Twist of Fate neckbreakers, Angle slams, Pedigrees, and Tombstones. The closest I got to 'modern' wrestling was the stunner (I originally wanted to call it the SC stunner, but I thought that was too on the nose), but I'll admit I probably could have done more than just one splash.

I can see the issue there, and I'll probably work on fixing that in LV: Villains which is coming out soon enough (it's still in playtest), and I'd love to add some more recent wrestling techs too.

Quote:

small aside- the sample character in here has a feat im.. pretty sure is in the playtest right now, and not in this book. Genius Vigilante?

at the rate this is going, this teams set to empty my wallet... and on classes i didn't think id like, no less. Keep it up!

GDI, Genius Vigilante lets you change all talents, abilities, class features, and spellcasting to intelligence based, which fixes any issues had there. Since the doc was originally 1 instead of 2, there were some issues sorting things out.

I'm glad you liked it, and if you have time, I and those who worked on this would appreciate a review. And make sure to check out the Legendary Villains: Vigilante playtest, there's a lot of interesting ideas there too!

Well, I just posted my placeholder review, hopefully it'll do until Endzeitgeist comes along and blows us all out of the water again. I really do love what N. Jolly did with this PDF! It's an amazing piece of work, and even the in-jokes are genuinely amusing.

The vigilante talents are especially good in this. Really now that we have avenger vigilantes, I wonder why part fo me still wants to play a vanilla fighter.
Silver Crusade
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Eric Hinkle wrote:

Well, I just posted my placeholder review, hopefully it'll do until Endzeitgeist comes along and blows us all out of the water again. I really do love what N. Jolly did with this PDF! It's an amazing piece of work, and even the in-jokes are genuinely amusing.

The vigilante talents are especially good in this. Really now that we have avenger vigilantes, I wonder why part fo me still wants to play a vanilla fighter.

Thanks for the review, although it generally take EZG a few months before he gets on my stuff. He just recently did the Eternal Mage, and I swear I'd forgotten about that.

Also I completely agree with you about fighters, an exposed avenger is only -1 hp, no auto prof with heavy armor, and a good fort save over two good saves for something like this. I can't ever imagine playing a fighter again, and I plan on making sure my group is aware that social talents > 80% of the fighter's class features, and they're the icing on the total package.

Thanks again, and I hope you'll be just as excited for the sequel book, Legendary Villains: Vigilantes!

EDIT: I'm a huge scrub, rising dragon was in fact intended to be leaping dragon. Perhaps I can throw in a rising dragon in villains, since I really do like the idea of making jumping characters more viable.
N. Jolly wrote:
Since we know it has so much support, if/when we get around to LK II, I'll talk to Onyx about throwing in some more Canti support.

*insert Flufflepuff Gasp noise here*

WEEEEEHEEEEEEEEHEEEEE!!!!! <YES,PLEASE!>

N. Jolly wrote:
What can I say, I love flashy combat. That and unarmed strikes. Masked Grappler was a lot weaker before the playtest, a lot of feedback helped it become a lot cooler.

Masked Grappler with regard to damage im unsure on- on style, on control? VERY slick. who doesn't love some flash to their combat. its... surprising for me to not be going on about ranged combat for once. actually, is any range on offer in these books of particular note?

N. Jolly wrote:
You know, as much as I love selling a product, I love selling someone on Ippo just as much. It's a seriously great shonen sports anime with a great feel. Ippo himself plays as a brawler, while his rival (SCOFF) plays more like a counter puncher, and I'm glad I kept them split since some people thought there shouldn't be the two different specializations here.

both sides have something to REALLY want. Cross Guard is sweet combined with study, but then who doesn't like gaining monk elements with a class thats unarmed? its an annoying choice to make, but a difference in style as well. I like it. ive not looked at a newer Anime in sometime- i may have to check Ippo out now for certain- this rival specfically.

N. Jolly wrote:
We're the second published, but we're the first to begin work on it. It's a hard concept to do in a game like this, but I'm pretty proud of how it turned out.

Wait. who published a concept like this as well? the only other time ive seen anything like this was a PF homebrew. whatever the case, it makes me grin with glee to see it.

N. Jolly wrote:

Trust me, if I could have gone for more recent moves while still keeping the same vibe, you'd have seen Twist of Fate neckbreakers, Angle slams, Pedigrees, and Tombstones. The closest I got to 'modern' wrestling was the stunner (I originally wanted to call it the SC stunner, but I thought that was too on the nose), but I'll admit I probably could have done more than just one splash.

I can see the issue there, and I'll probably work on fixing that in LV: Villains which is coming out soon enough (it's still in playtest), and I'd love to add some more recent wrestling techs too.

hmm, so you would have gone for some Hardys, Kurt, Triple H, and Undertaker in there? ahh, solid choices but have you heard the word of Pentagon JR (or even EC3? hehehee)? i just realized how ubiquitous the Undertaker is to piledrivers. personally, glad to see the stunner, but yes, do more of the splashes- im glad for the Frogsplash though.

Thank you for that and if you do it, the singing/instrument playing as a weapon as well. a dex based Masked grappler could really use a work around against that dex penalization so they may high fly and lucha that much better!

N. Jolly wrote:
I'm glad you liked it, and if you have time, I and those who worked on this would appreciate a review. And make sure to check out the Legendary Villains: Vigilante playtest, there's a lot of interesting ideas there too!

I still owe a few different reviews, to be honest. things have been really slow and uncertain here, so apologies for that. i CAN say i will go check out the playtest however- in fact thanks for the Warlock items in it. although i could still use a range extender if possible- never feels right if i can't have a range shot get a good 50-60 feet (increment if possible) a air.

Silver Crusade

Rather than requote:

-Onyx and I are busy on KOP 4, but I'll pass it along to him.

-Masked Grappler can either work with control (with submissions) or style damage (with techniques), so it's kind of like it has its own specialization, it's just not stated. I'll work on making cruiserweights work.

-I'm actually glad to hear it was a rough decision, as if one side was a lot better, it wouldn't be a great choice. Ippo's great for a normalish shonen anime, I got into it and had a lot of fun.

-DDS did the luchador hybrid class; mine was in production first, theirs hit the shelves first. I haven't checked it out myself, I didn't have a lot of time to peep on their playtest for things.

-What can I say, I was an attitude era mark. That's when I was into it, and while I'm getting back into it, I'm not enough of a smark to be hitting up Lucha Underground, Ring of Honor, and New Japan. I would enjoy doing more splashes and moonsalts and such.

-If I get the chance, those'll be on the drawing board!

-Totally understandable, if you get a chance to just do a placeholder review, that'd work for us too, but if not, it's all good. You are right that there should be a way to extend range, I'll make sure that's added too. And I'm a little sad that Trickshot Sniper was moved to another product, I think you'd have loved the hell out of it, even if it was 3/4ths BAB archery. The variety of trick ammo really helps make a ranged character shine.

also rather than requotes...

-i see your angle with masked Grappling now. ill have to wait and see how i get my beloved cruiserweights to pan out.

-DDS did it? oh dear. WELP, im gonna haveta look into that. they didn't steer me wrong with the Artisan...

-Fair enough on the Attitude Era. i didn't get started until much later, and i was still in dormancy on wrestling until season 1 of Lucha underground. now i regularly watch it, TNA impact and Ring of honor. id watch NJPW as well if i had a means. masked Wrestling just... clicks for me REALLY hard, but these groups have airs i like.

-Where did the Trickshot Sniper get moved to? I smell tricky range and I am intrigued! your probably Right id love it just because of that. as much fun as unarmed is, range is my home.
Silver Crusade
Bdrone wrote:

also rather than requotes...

-i see your angle with masked Grappling now. ill have to wait and see how i get my beloved cruiserweights to pan out.

-DDS did it? oh dear. WELP, im gonna haveta look into that. they didn't steer me wrong with the Artisan...

-Fair enough on the Attitude Era. i didn't get started until much later, and i was still in dormancy on wrestling until season 1 of Lucha underground. now i regularly watch it, TNA impact and Ring of honor. id watch NJPW as well if i had a means. masked Wrestling just... clicks for me REALLY hard, but these groups have airs i like.

-Where did the Trickshot Sniper get moved to? I smell tricky range and I am intrigued! your probably Right id love it just because of that. as much fun as unarmed is, range is my home.

Thanks for pointing out the cruiserweight issue, it'll be something I attempt to fix.

-Yeah, they made the luchador class, I haven't heard much of it myself.

-I only watch TNA when they're doing something straight up silly, so I don't have the most experience with it, but it's hard enough keeping up with Raw/Smackdown for me. I'd really like to include more moves, but at that point, I almost feel like I should pitch them to the Luchador if it ends up getting another book.

-As far as I know, Trickshot Sniper, Inquisitive Detective, and possibly Talented Tactician from the current playtest will be ending up in the Intrigue Archetype book that was announced with the Red Queen line LG is currently doing. Trick Shot Sniper bases around special ammo (which can be bullets, arrows, bolts, or even thrown weapons), each of which can apply different statuses, elemental damage, or other things like that. I'm playing one in a game right now, and I'm enjoying it a lot.
Scarab Sages Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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I've gotten a ton of stuff off my desk these last few days, and Intrigue Archetypes and Imperial Archetypes are going to be coming up onto my desk soon!
Scarab Sages Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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Thanks for the great review, Eric!
Silver Crusade
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And thanks for the review, Bdrone! I will admit there were a few issues, and if we do another edit run, we'll make sure to fix up some of these issues.
Silver Crusade

I love the sentai soldier, as it appeals to my love of both the kineticist class and Super Sentai. Also digging the masked grappler and outrageous lyricist archetypes as well.

I do have a question about internal charge. It's the one ability I just can't seem to grasp fully. Is it gather power, but with the ability reduce more burn than the kineticist can with the same mechanic, or is it just the same but worded differently?
Silver Crusade
Blayde MacRonan wrote:

I love the sentai soldier, as it appeals to my love of both the kineticist class and Super Sentai. Also digging the masked grappler and outrageous lyricist archetypes as well.

I do have a question about internal charge. It's the one ability I just can't seem to grasp fully. Is it gather power, but with the ability reduce more burn than the kineticist can with the same mechanic, or is it just the same but worded differently?

Glad to hear it, I actually thought of it as the counterpart to the magical child archetype myself.

And it's the first one. The thing is, I always wanted them to have to gather power, since it's all shonen and awesome, and so it's a gather power that continues to reduce the burn cost, but they have to sit there and power up just like they were charging up for an attack.

I'm really glad you enjoyed it, if you get the time please drop a review for the book, since it helps us know what we did right and what we still need to work on.
Silver Crusade

So I was understanding it correctly when I first read it over. That's pretty hardcore.

Oh and as for putting in a stunner-style move for the masked grappler, you could just call it the Whipwreck Drop, since Mikey Whipreck did innovate the move. From one wrestling fan to another.
Silver Crusade
Blayde MacRonan wrote:

So I was understanding it correctly when I first read it over. That's pretty hardcore.

Oh and as for putting in a stunner-style move for the masked grappler, you could just call it the Whipwreck Drop, since Mikey Whipreck did innovate the move. From one wrestling fan to another.

I thought it'd be the best way thematically and mechanically.

And personally, that would be cool, but that seems like the kind of thing a PC should do. Signature Move was MADE to allow people to give their moves their own flair. Think of the piledriver as the normal form, while the Tombstone Piledriver would be the untertaker's signature (or hell finishing move, he'd be 17th level at least), giving more freedom to the PCs. Personally, if you or anyone else playing a masked grappler really tweaks these moves to be your own, I'd love to hear about them. Me, I messed with the idea of going hurricanrana into my signature move (CQC stunner), and just making it as overly flashy as possible for a really fun set up.

Also thanks to everyone who made this #5 on Paizo's top ten this week!
Silver Crusade

I can dig it. Signature move is pretty sweet when it comes to the fluff aspect of the archetype.

While I don't know anyone that'd be playing a masked grappler, I do have a player that's really interested in playing an outrageous lyricist/wildsoul (arachnid) to represent his take on Spider-Gwen as backup character in my Marvel Pathfinder campaign.
Silver Crusade
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Hey everyone, if you're wondering about Legendary Vigilantes, why not check out this vid on it

And make sure to check out ARMR's patreon to help them keep making videos like this!
Silver Crusade

Thanks for the review, Fedora! There were a few issues with how this book was split, and we're making sure for future releases to be more vigilant (PUN) on making sure everything syncs together.
Silver Crusade

For those of you who enjoyed this product, be prepared for the SECOND half of the playtest to come to life with Legendary Villains: Vigilantes! Check out this post for more info and a preview of the villainous Symbiotic Slayer iconic, Red Love!

Hey I really liked this but both this book and the other one have any reference to a sheath block talent with that one magic item, where does this item factor into things?
Scarab Sages Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games

There is a sheath of perfect defense in the upcoming Asian Archetypes: Martial, though I don't know if that's the same item being referenced from the playtest days.

In any case, you can check out the table of contents for the new book coming soon - just off to layout tonight!

Jason Nelson wrote:

There is a sheath of perfect defense in the upcoming Asian Archetypes: Martial, though I don't know if that's the same item being referenced from the playtest days.

In any case, you can check out the table of contents for the new book coming soon - just off to layout tonight!

Great list! That Mandarin archetype sounds great. Now I can finally play Judge Dee!

Silver Crusade

Ruling on stacking Exposed Vigilante with Outrageous Lyricist
You can, gaining skill focus (any) in place of vibrant transformation and retaining unshakable.
Silver Crusade

Errata for Grit/Panache Pool
These vigilante talents also grant a deed (other than precise strike) upon selecting these vigilante talents as though they were a gunslinger/swashbuckler of their vigilante level. The vigilante’s level must be equal to or greater than the level at which a gunslinger would receive the deed they select.

Reviewed! Villains coming next ;-) I tried a different type of review this time, getting away from the detailed one since I don't think I can compete with Endzeitgeist's style. Hope this kind of review is useful!
Scarab Sages Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games

Yay thanks for the review!

We would be most appreciative if you could copy-paste it over to the book's Amazon product page too!
Jason Nelson wrote:

Yay thanks for the review!

We would be most appreciative if you could copy-paste it over to the book's Amazon product page too!

I already did Jason, I'm waiting for the confirmation e-mail. I'm missing Drivethrough but I can't do it feom my phone, so later today. Thanks for the opportunity to review your products!

And the review is up both on Amazon and DrivethroughRPG.

Well this is now in my wishlist.

I have to say I'm quite curious about the arsenal summoner, anyone care to go into a bit more detail as to what tricks are up their sleeves?
Silver Crusade
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Thanks for the review, Xiao!

StSword wrote:

Well this is now in my wishlist.

I have to say I'm quite curious about the arsenal summoner, anyone care to go into a bit more detail as to what tricks are up their sleeves?

Let me pull up my PDF and check...

-They effectively gain a black blade
-Said black blade gets warpriest sacred weapon damage progression
-They can store weapons or armor in hammer space
-They can snag Weapon Training
-They can make both their armor AND weapon intelligent if they wish
-They can transform their weapon into any weapon whenever they summon it
-They can easily enhance their bonded armor or weapon

There's more things, but the general gist is an armorer who is nice and close with their gear.

Sounds sweet, thanks.

For whatever reason, I have a fondness for "summon their own weapons" types.

If it weren't in my wishlist already it would definitely be in it now. :)
Silver Crusade

No problem, let me know if you have any other questions, and check out the dev post for more info on the content from the hero who heroically wrote it. Which would be me. The hero.
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Part II of my review:

All right so far, so good, but we get more than archetypes herein. A total of 8 social talents can be found, which includes the overdue Master Craftsman granting and modifying option to make the vigilante capable of creating gadgets, fixing a crucial hole in the rules. Improving attributes towards groups of creatures, discrediting those that seek to unmask the vigilantes via Bluff (not properly capitalized -like many skills in this section) and even some synergy with the superb Legendary Rogue's skill specializations can be found here. Unless I have miscounted, we get a total of 27 vigilante talents here as well - though not all of them are without issues. Adamantine Fist, for example, nets you the ability to ignore up to class level hardness with unarmed strikes, but at 11th level, they count as adamantine for the purposes of bypassing DR, which is frankly too soon when compared to other classes. Defy Pain lacks an important anti-abuse caveat: It converts damage to nonlethal damage for Cha-rounds (+1 daily use at 6th level and every 4 levels thereafter). In the hands of a build that's immune to nonlethal damage, that RAW translates to invulnerability. Broken and needs to die/be nerfed big time. On the plus-side, talent-based TWFing is a cool idea...but it's ONE talent for 3 feats - three potent feats, mind you. Regular, Improved and Greater TWF, unlocked at viable levels, with the higher ups automatically gained at higher levels. That is comparatively too much in my book.

Other talents net one Equipment Trick, +1 at 6th level and every 4 levels thereafter, which, while also granting more than one benefit, make sense; as does gaining Toughness and Great Fortitude in one package. Gaining a grit-pool, oddly governed by Charisma in a design-aesthetic deviation from the standard and deeds can also be done. Martially inclined vigilantes are the biggest winners here, though, as a whole tree of abilities focuses on both Whirlwind Attack and Vital Strike and making them both relevant for the purpose of the class. I like those, even though, depending on the type of game you're playing/your GM style, they may end up being rather strong. Iterative attacks with Spring Attack would be something I'd personally ban, mainly because the talent fails to specify whether the attack has to hit the same target or can be freely spread around - in combo with some other options, that can be nasty, particularly due to the explicitly stated synergy with the TWF-tree. All in all, a surprisingly mixed bag I am not as fond of as I expected.

The pdf also provides an array of feats that partially net upgrades to archetype specific abilities like bonded armor, the option to cross-specialize at lower potency (-4 levels) and thus gain internal talents you're usually locked out of - which is pretty cool. Identity specialization and, really amazing, Shared Identity as a teamwork effort, make sense and are big winners in my book. Similarly, gaining dual identity via a feat can be rather helpful for certain characters and the feat manages to prevent abuse. All in all, a nice feat-section.

The magic item section contains gloves that pair weapon enhancement bonuses, wraps to add special properties to unarmed attacks, Superman glasses that make you look mundane and a powerful combat scabbard.

The pdf also contains a 10-level PrC, the scion of the city (cue countless Arrow/Spirit-references) that needs 4 ranks in 2 skills, the renown social talent and a BAB of 3+. The PrC gets d8 HD, 6 + Int skills per level, 3/4 BAB-progression and 1/2 Ref- and Will-save progression. The PrC chooses a Scion City at first level, wherein all Knowledge checks are enhanced and they gain great renown in the city. Levels stack with those of the vigilante, though spellcasters must choose to retain either spellcasting progression or gaining vigilante talents at 3rd level and every 3 levels thereafter. 2nd level yields favored terrain as well as increased damage output with improvised weapons. 4th level yields incredible renown and 5th level HiPS in the city, which *can* be a bit early. 6th level yields loyal aid and followers as though via Leadership. 7th level yields gossip collector, while at 8th level the scion may gain renown in a community up to 50K folks instead of gaining a social talent. Additionally, celebrity discount is increased. 9th level nets Shared Identity for the scion's crew and, at 10th level, which is REALLY cool, they may modify a settlements properties - you know, corruption, crime, etc. and he may even generate advantages and disadvantages. I kinda wished the archetype got that one sooner, perhaps a scaling variant - fights between two scions for the properties of the city could have been pretty amazing. Still, overall a flavorful, really cool PrC.

The pdf concludes with Rashid Zill/Dark Star, a sentai soldier vigilante 10 of the tiefling race - once a selfish man, he had his love taken from him by a notorious serial killer he is now hunting down. All in all, a pretty cool character, complete with a detailed background story and even a boon for allied PCs.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are good, though not as tight as usual for Legendary Games - I noticed a couple of formatting hiccups and the like. Layout adheres to the series' two-column full-color standard and the artworks are a mix of previously used ones and a couple of new pieces, all in full color. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience.

N. Jolly delivers basically the "unlock" vigilante book here that provides all the hybrid-y unlocks you wanted. Druid-vigilante? Check. Pala-vigilante? Check. Monk-vigilante? Check. The execution of these archetypes is generally as precise as we've come to expect from the author and quite a few of them have some seriously evocative tricks. Now, at the same time, compared to Legendary Kineticists, they feel a bit less awe-inspiring. The arsenal summoner being the one archetype that really clicked with me. That being said, the exposed vigilante is gold. Still, in some of these hybrids, I felt like they could have used more unique features. Then again, both feat and social talents are pretty damn cool. The vigilante talent section, though, has been one I am not comfortable with and in my game, I'll probably disallow a lot here. Why? Well, from what I've heard, a lot of games tend to feature relatively static front-lines, where monsters and PCs trade full attacks. My home game is nothing like that and we have a lot of shifting front lines, movement, dynamic terrain and the like, which makes Spring Attack and Vital Strike significantly more powerful than in a game where trade full attacks is the default. I am cognizant that that is a peculiarity not shared among all tables, though I felt the need to mention that in such a context, the options here should get some careful GM oversight. Beyond these situationally slightly problematic ones, we also have a couple of options I consider too strong/power creep when compared to the options other classes receive.

I don't want to come off as overly negative and misrepresent this pdf, mind you. The matter of the fact remains that this has a great PrC and fills *A LOT* of rules-holes and allows for some seriously cool options. Vigilante players will certainly have a cool field day with this book and if you're looking for a way to play an all-vigilante group, this may very much deliver just that. (!!!) That alone will make this probably a must-own for many groups. Still, it feels a bit less mind-blowing and refined in some sections than what I've come to expect from N. Jolly's amazing offerings, which, ultimately, makes me settle for a final verdict of 4.5 stars, rounded down to 4.

Reviewed first on endzeitgeist.com, then submitted to Nerdtrek and GMS magazine and posted here, on OBS, etc.

Endzeitgeist out.
Silver Crusade
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Thanks for the review; I think this book suffered slightly from the split between the two, but considering that the content from the initial playtest was enough to spill into 4 books (LV and LV:V which has cooler stuff like the shadow savant and symbiotic slayer, intrigue archetypes, and asian archetypes), there was bound to be some issues. Personally, I think LV:V is the stronger of the two mainline books. I'll be looking forward to seeing what you have to say about that one too, but I do agree with quite a few of your points on the issues in this book.

Was Deft Shot errated out? I keep hearing it mentioned but I can't find it in the book.
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