This product was brought to my attention by the author, who was kind enough to provide a copy of the pdf for me to review.
The writing itself is good. Few errors or misspellings which always helps prove the quality of a product in my eyes. The art is sparse and fairly generic -- unfortunately it just doesn't seem to jive with the rest of the product. To be fair though at the price and with the page count only going to twelve It is about what I would expect from a product of this type.
What this book promises is the means of having characters where tactics lend themselves to strong mechanical outcomes. Instead of simply sitting there and saying, "I swing again and deal this much damage" the idea is that with this product you'll spend more time setting everything up and because of the set up will have an easier time with the fight.
The first Archetype is one of what is perhaps the most complicated class in the game: The summoner. The first thing I noticed was that it dropped the Eidolon completely -- for some this will be a game breaker for others the one thing that allows it into their game. However this isn't the only major change going on with the Celestial Commander archetype, spell casting gets changed to divine, spells are added and removed from the spell list and a domain is gained. In many ways it almost feels more like an alternate class than an archetype. The summons stay however and if the celestial commander focuses on having only a few creatures out at a time he is rewarded with more bonuses on the few creatures he has. This seems like a great idea on the surface, however it really worries me. Getting out 5~7 lantern archons with this ability and giving them up to +7 to hit and damage off the bat with the focused divine energy ability can quickly cause the party's main damage dealer to question his place in the party -- especially if a haste comes down on top of that. The bonuses are higher than what a bard gives at higher levels and I'm always concerned when that happens, having seen the amount of havoc high level bards can inflict. The fact that the summoned minions also gain the use of teamwork feats (changeable each day) and other bonuses could cause an unprepared GM to question allowing third party publishers in his game. The wording on focused divine energy leaves something to be desired as well since it says, "all his summoned creatures" instead of just "creatures summoned with his summoning mastery ability" leaves a large loophole for using the class feature, then summoning with items or spell slots. However for a savvy player and GM this archetype could produce a lot of fun out of what can normally be a very frustrating class.
The next archetype is for the Cavalier with the title, "inspiring commander". This archetype offers up many reasons to really boost a martial character's intelligence modifier. It gives the intelligence modifier as a modifier onto the bonus from using aid another and makes it easier for the cavalier to do so. combined with the order of the dragon this can easily give a +6~+8 bonus at level 1 to someone's attack rolls or AC. Enough of a boost to really cause a player to think about doing so. However if it was combined with the bodyguard feat from advanced player's guide it could easily lead to everyone constantly having that bonus to AC each round so long as they are adjacent to the cavalier. All in all the abilities here aren't over the top, or hitting too far below the cavalier's normal power curve. While the inspiring commander is unlikely to have the sheer martial presence to drop an opponent on their own in one round they have the buffing capacity to strongly influence how much their allies are hurt and how much hurt their allies do.
The mechanist seems incorrectly named -- it has little to do with machines and a lot to do with stopping casters. It's abilities are extremely focused and in that focus fairly powerful... unfortunately what is given up is much of the same. All in all I would call this archetype even -- some people that like their gunslingers shooting down spells and spell casters are going to love this archetype, those that hate guns in their games in the first place... well they'll simply see more to not use.
The fourth archetype is the one that got me interested in this product -- the pack hunter. It's a fairly standard ranger archetype that grants two animal companions with a few extra bonus feats and the ability to learn specific combat tricks and teamwork feats without needing an intelligence boost. For this you give up your favored enemy all together and both evasion and improved evasion. Honestly I like the fact that the archetype allows a combat capable animal companion for the ranger right off the bat even if you are specifically limited to wolves. The only parts I didn't like mechanically were the revitalizing frenzy and the pack master death attack. I wouldn't say they are too powerful... simply too gamey for my tastes.
The shogun has the ability to grant attacks and move actions to his allies on his turn. Honestly I'm not sure what to make of this archetype. It's not bad... but it never really said much to me.
The War Warder is an interesting take on the Magus however. By giving up spell strike you gain the entirety of the abjuration school of magic to your spell list... including clerical spells. Unfortunately it does leave a question of what to do if the spell is under seventh level on one list but over on another list... however this is something that could be easily FAQ'ed. The other abilities offer the means of locking enemies down and bolstering the defenses of allies within an aura radius. The war warden gives up offensive prowess for more defense and battle field control.
All in all I enjoyed this product. The side bars help provide insight as to why changes were made and what the author was attempting to achieve, as well as warning of potential complicated portions of the product. This was a very welcomed addition and serves to reinforce that while every option should be possible, not everyone is ready for every option at the same time or at the same table.
I would say this is solid work that I would allow at my table. It isn't going to wow the jaded gamer, but it isn't going to break the table apart either and it does offer many options that simply were not satisfied in my opinion.
