Now this, this is how the entire series should be, this was a stroke of masterwork and genius. Kavit M. Tor impresses me on so many levels. As an NPC he offers so many opportunities for interesting roleplay, as a villain with a solitary agenda, he allows for some serious twisting of a campaign, and the capacity for recurrence alone, oh this guy is a treasure trove all by himself.

And then we have his shop, I want to walk around this shop, seriously. This sounds like someone sat down and after reading Needful Things, watched every movie featuring that weird old Oriental "Junk" store (yeah, that includes Gremlins), and then went to work on finding a way to make it work, the evil way. The description of the shop was rich in detail, allowing me to "see" from the top of the entrance steps as I read over the text, allowing my mind's eye to gaze around the room. Reading through the entire PDF, learning what resides within the shop and the handful of items that are presented to us, I went back to the intro passage detailing the shop, mentally placing myself again at the door, looking out across the shop, and was very pleased to see that everything within this collection of "goodies" stood out enough in my mind that I could "see" them on the shelves, racks, hiding in plain site, or simply meditating upon the day of vengeance. Very well done on every item presented here, as well as the inhabitants sharing this space.

Our NPC's
Kavit M. Tor - A simple old man with a pipe, or at least that's what he would have you believe. Cure any curse, trade you for that item that you just can't manage to sell, Has more knowledge collected under one roof than most universities and he's willing to barter for answers. Yes, he is the man you need to see, and he's right around the corner, just up the alley...this week.
Chebutan - The Blind Monk..ey. This, this was that perfect frame to go with a masterpiece painting. He's that Ice cold beer served with an excellent steak. I'm so making plans that involve this dude, he's brilliant.
Apaxut - He's small, he's sneaky, and he's a stone faced killer...There's just something about a small gargoyle, their just creepier, more sadistic I believe.

Each of these NPC's are not only fully stat-ed, but explained, in detail, as to their connection to this shop. We're also given tactics, and motivations for each. Basically, they're playable straight off the page, as is, and that to me, is the best form of compliment I can give. When I don't have to do anything to the presented material to use it, then it was done right, with brilliance, the first time.

The map detailing the shop is again a hand drawn map, but it works this time, It doesn't come off as crude, and the included key makes sure you aren't staring at the chandelier trying to figure out what it is. The map is presented as both a standard map and in a printable battle mat for miniature usage. The artwork is B&W, and for the most part is decent to good. I found a few grammatical errors, but nothing so bad as to confuse the meaning or the text.

If every entry into this series was as good as this one, I would be on here daily, demanding more. This is a an excellent resource detailing a highly interesting and useful location bound NPC, and his shop of wares destined to twist any game they become a part of.

5 stars.

DM's excellent review leaves me with not that much to say about this product.

If you're like me and like maps for the players without a map-key, you unfortunately won't get one. Once again, letters in my map (I know, I can just print out the battlegrid-map, but I don't really need the huge map. It would have been nice to have a layer in the pdf to take out the key, especially due to the fact that "D=Egyptian Braziers" is part of the key. Of course, it's easy for the DM to substitute "Egyptian" for "Osirian", "Har'Akiri" or "Khemitian", but I would have preferred the map to leave out the letters.

However, that is nitpicking on the very highest level:

The Emporium is another awesome installment of the EVC-series on par with the "Rogue's Gallery" and the "Intimate Shape Festhall". It features the extra pdf for Europeans (Battle-map in A4) and is even better in some regards:
While the statblocks are as complex and cool as I have come to expect from Rite Publishing, there is more prose (which is a good thing) and there are 10 cursed items and 10 curses (which is even better!). For 2 Bucks. Now that is value.

That being said, I'd also wager it would be possible to use this supplement in CoC games and similar horror settings.

Apart from the lack of a key-less map and the misspelled name of "Leland GAUNT" in the dedication, I have nothing to really complain or even nitpick about, although "Lord Parakeh's Sword was kinda lame in contrast to the other items.

However, I agree with DM: This could have been more, so much more. That's why I want to suggest a future product: "101 Cursed Items from Kavit M. Tor's Emporium of Collectible Curiosities" as a potential future supplement. I'd be sure to buy it. ^^

Conclusion:
Due to the fact that there is no key-less map, I'd tend to gravitate towards 4 stars. But the awesome production value (2 BUCKS!), the quality of the prose, the items and curses and the fact that I will definitely use this over and over again in my Ravenloft group leave me no choice but to give this the full 5 stars. Great job!

P.S.: I like the pun. I'm curious whether my players will get it...

Evocative City Sites- Kavit M. Tor’s Emporium of Collectible Curiosities by Rite Publishing.

This product is 23 pages long. First 2 pages are cover and credits page.

Chapter 1 – Description (6 pages)
It has a store map and a IC introduction to the shop from a patron the visited the shop. There is also listed 6 secrets about the shop, though I wasn't sure if all 6 was suppose to be true or if the GM should pick the ones they liked. I mean no harm in doing it either way. This section finishes with 5 adventure hooks.

Chapter 2 – NPC's (4 pages)
Here is the complete stat blocks for Kavit M(the owner of the shop), Chebutan(a Monkey), and Apaxut(a gargoyle). Kavit has 2 pages, the others each one. This section has one of the few things I didn't like. It is not a major deal but makes the book a little less useful than it could have been. Kavit is a caster with a template. It doesn't list the template free and clear of the character so you could apply it to others. I mean you could take the figure it out on your own but it would have been nice if the template would have been added.

Chapter 3 - 10 Cursed Curiosities and Other Objectionable Objects (2 pages)
Below is a list of items. I liked all of them and only commenting on how I think they could have been better, to provide Rite Publishing with some feedback.

Dagger of Unhappy Returns
Devils Due Trap – I think the gem shouldn't disappear but otherwise liked this.
Doll House Trap – Loved the idea, but thought those trapped should appear as dolls in the house.
Flameseeker
Hat of Shifty Appearances – Loved it, but thought they should also look a little shifty.
Horn of Smog
Lord Parakeh's Sword – This was the only one I wasn't overly found of.
Ring of Degeneration – Very nasty item.
Slippers of Thief-Snaring
Vain Hat of Curses – I liked this one.

Chapter 3 – 10 Colorful Curses (1 page)
I liked all the curses, I really don't have more to say than that. Here is a list.

A Mouth Full of Mud
Impaired Reading
Lovesick
Lurking Presence – My Favorite
Seeing Red
Self Doubt
Timidity
Thin Blooded
Tongue Tied
Vertigo

It finishes with 1 page for OGL, 6 pages of the blown up map for minis and 1 page for back cover.

They also include a map pack PDF of just the maps.

Closing thoughts. I liked this one, if this is the direction Rite Publishing is going to go with future ones I will be buying more. The previous ones I have, I thought where ok. This one goes beyond just giving you a location and some NPC's. It is well done and makes you want to figure out a way to drop it into your game. The art work is by Joe Calkins or public domain art, it goes from fair to in one case very good. Now other than the one critic I made earlier I do have one more. I really wish the section on objects had been expanded to at least 20 or maybe even 30 objects. If it had been, then I would recommend the book just for the objects section alone. The ones that are in the book are just that good. As it is, for the price it is still a very good buy. I am giving this a 4 star rating, it is good, but I think it could have been better.

Even before I clicked to open the PDF, I had a good hunch (and rightfully so) that this release was going to be a tribute to Leland Gaunt, the proprietor of Needful Things from Stephen King’s 1992 novel of the same name. A seemingly kind older gentleman who claimed to have arrived in Castle Rock from Akron, Ohio (Acheron?) to set up shop; he has a knack to have in stock a number of uncanny items that people would covet to have in their possession. For a low price, it could be yours … if you are able to do something “generous” in return.

Kavit M. Tor fills this niche in Rite Publishing’s Evocative City Sites line for the mythical city of Questhaven. If you need something ‘neutral setting’ to plug in a jiffy in your campaign, you should consider checking out Mr. Tor’s Emporium of Collectible Curiosities. Brought to you by Paizo regulars Wicht (Jonathan McAnulty) and Tarren Dei (Trevor Gulliver), they were able to successfully bring this atmosphere to the forefront.

Included within this twenty-three page PDF are adventure seeds, ten collectible curiosities, and ten curses to aid you in the creation of your own item if the examples provided don’t fit the niche for your active setting or one-shot adventure plot. In addition, you will find further information about the mysterious proprietor, his servant and his ‘pet’ monkey and how they can be utilized in this setting.

What stops this short from being a five star product? I have but only two quibbles: 1) if you are going to pay homage to the character that inspired your setting, you should at least spell his name correctly (i.e. Gaunt; not Grant). 2) I was not familiar with the prestige class that was introduced. Since it comes from a third party publisher book that is out of print, it would be wise to provide additional information about that PrC if the GM may desire to understand the NPC’s abilities or expand upon it as those mechanics were designated OGC . With Rite Publishing having updated other content in their Questhaven product line from OOP sources (actually making a reputation of it, which a good thing for those who can no longer acquire these classics), its availability would have given the prestige class its due justice by updating it to Pathfinder rules. That said; these are simply editorial content that can easily be fixed by the Bean Counter and Lowly Janitor. ;-)

From the pages of dark fantasy, one of the most compelling pairings is the shop of items arcane and perhaps nefarious and its shopkeeper, who is undoubtedly so--though perhaps not at first glance. Paizo board regulars Wicht and Tarren Dei have been teamed by Rite Publishing to give us this classic pairing for some wonderfully atmospheric gaming.

Among the work's good features, its real strength comes from the fully imagined character of the shopkeeper, Kavit Tor. He provides the explanation for the store's colorful and clever cursed merchandise, its planar nature, and its fruitful seeds for adventure. The product gives the GM plenty of material to drop Tor and his emporium directly into any game--another happy consequence of its planar nature. What makes it particularly appealing to me is that it gives interesting material that can be used right away, but moreover the material is presented with the right combination of detail and suggestion to spur one to build on the authors' material for further uses.

The work begins with a narration that draws one into Tor's twisted curiosity shop. Good luck to players who wish to outlive what they take out of it or hope to avoid leaving something valuable of themselves behind as a surety of a far dearer price. Chances are they'll become repeat customers, if they can find their way back in.

For folks who might draw certain conclusions from the stock art cover or the punning title: There is a richness to the contents that makes the price a steal. For many readers, the ten magical items and ten curses alone will make it a bargain, but for me, these are extras to the character of Tor and the atmosphere of his emporium. Other nice touches: the original map is also blown up so that it can be used with miniatures, and the inclusion on that map of a recurring item from the history of the game was a nod that warmed my grognardic cockles.