Enemies of NeoExodus: First Ones (PFRPG)

The First Ones - the name strikes terror into the heart of the people of Exodus. They are the bogeymen, formed of living shadow, that stalk the people. They control monsters and abominations that are loose upon the world. They snatch children and lone travelers. They torture men for their own pleasure and cavort with fiends to do their dark bidding.

Those are but myths.
The truth is far worse.

This is the promise of the first page. The truth, though... proves to be elusive. This product is full of information... or rather, misinformation, based on the views and each of the five different races and within their home territory.

Even the "unified" history from the first begins with a heavily slanted view of reality, exceedingly unique to the histories of the First Ones' point of view.

That is not to say that everything here is worthless... there is plenty of accurate information based off the present for each of these races to be able to run anything desired. Secret information - things not known to any of the races - are sprinkled throughout, as are references to other works.

A simple map, gorgeous artwork of the races, and intricate styling of the sides of the pages make this a beautiful book to behold - it reminds, favorably, of cracking open a Paizo-crafted book for its beauty and depictions.

In addition to basic fluff on the races (history and myth; personality; physical description, religion, names, relations, lands, language, and "using the <insert race here>" - which includes "adventurers" and "at war" write-ups), they are given stats, with sample creatures from each race. Later in the book are a surprisingly large new (very flavorful) selection of feats, "relations" (describing various non-First Ones social entities, such as barbaric humanoids, demons, impereal alliance, and so on as they relate to the first ones), famous first ones (including three that suggest that you go see other products), new items (including two weapons, a saddle, five poisons, and a new magic item), and around seventeen new monsters (depending on your counting) with full stats and a basic write-up (one is simply a "this is just like X, except here are the differences, and two are templates) as well as two new sub-types (First Ones and Locari).

The PDF (which is what I have) has a page of OGL legal writing, a page of advertisement, and finally ends with two pages (one page front/back) of "micro" character sheets (for monsters, presumably), two pages (one page front/back) of a "normal" character sheet (Noted for being Neo Exodus, though, upon brief inspection, seeming to be simply a standard PF character sheet with some stylish Neo Exodus design on it) and a combat initiative tracker sheet (which is a beautiful addition).

All-in-all, this is an excellent work. While I've been exposed to very few of Mr. Porter Jr's work prior to this, this entry alone has made me exceedingly interested. It's well written, well-paced, and lovely to behold. The only thing that I would change (and merely for personal preference) is the inclusion of a Contents page, which the PDF, at least, lacks. I'd also love more of that beautiful (but probably expensive) artwork, for the few things that weren't depicted.

In the end, though, those are exceedingly minor complaints. Enemies of Neoexodus: First Ones is a phenomenally written book, and definitely has a place in our games, even if we don't use the Obsidian Apocalypse setting. It's entirely worthwhile to purchase, even if your only purpose in doing so is to get new ideas for how to design, develop, and present races to your players in the world. It's excellent, and comes highly recommended.